stephie
Canada
This review may contain spoilers
"We're only 18." - 16 Episodes of Love, Peace, and Consolation
I will be honest and say that I first started this drama mainly for Moonbin (I love ASTRO), because I was very excited to see him acting in a drama and I had also heard his character was not straight which piqued my interest even more. However, I can say that right from the beginning, the main plot of the drama, along with the full cast of characters made me stay and wholly fall in love with this show.
First, regarding the story, I found it was very close to perfect, touching on some very important topics related to the age of 18 and the struggles of high-schoolers approaching entry into university. I loved how parental pressure and its impact on teens' mental health was deeply explored through both Soo-bin's and the second male lead, Hwi-young's character. Moreover, a very beautiful and consoling aspect of the story related to the topic of academic pressure was the idea that it's okay to not know exactly where you're going at 18 or to not have the most amazing grades. The message was that youth is a time of exploration and of finding oneself, so while every little failure might seem like the end of the world to an 18-year-old, it may just become a trivial aspect of their life when looking back later on, so people should just focus on loving themselves and enjoying their lives. No one's life is 'ruined' if something doesn't go as planned, as Joon-woo himself said in a very poignant scene. Furthermore, this drama's messaging greatly emphasized acceptance, which was very touching for me. This can be seen as related to the blooming love between Soo-bin and Joon-woo and *minor spoiler* her mother's judgmental attitude towards him, seeing him through the lenses of his reputation and his lack of means, things that gave her a completely distorted view of him, making her completely disregard his inherently kind and mature nature *end of minor spoiler*. I could go on and on about why this story touched me and kept me entertained throughout the 16 episodes (wish there were more!), but I will stop here so this doesn't get too long.
Next, the characters/acting/cast: 10/10, I found both the characterization and the choice of actors to be simply perfect. Something that really stood out to me was how the characters look exactly like real-life teenagers instead of the, more commonly seen in dramas, picture-perfect 'teenagers' that look like adults. By this, I am in no way saying the actors are not good looking, they very much are, but what I mean is that their appearance was made to match the real-life look of Korean teenagers, through their hairstyles, their simple and normal-looking clothes/uniforms, and the absence of (obvious) makeup.
One character in particular that I would like to talk about (for the sake of conciseness, I will not touch too much on the rest of the characters) is Oh-je (Moonbin's character). *Oh-je spoilers ahead* I was so impressed with Oh-je's characterization, going from at first seeming just like the cliché handsome guy that all the girls probably have a crush on, to coming into his own through his caring and beautiful friendship with Joon-woo and mostly, his failed relationship with Soo-bin's friend, Da-heen. Throughout their relationship, one can observe how Oh-je seems very uncomfortable around Da-heen, mainly when she emphasizes the romantic aspect of their relationship. However, as time goes on, he starts caring for her very much, but only as a friend, which ends up leading him to break up with her. Still, he cares for her so much that when he sees how depressed she becomes after their breakup, he suddenly comes out to her and reveals his crush on Hwi-young and his confusion regarding his sexuality. Moreover, I really love how, after rumours start spreading about his crush on Hwi-young and after seeing Hwi-young's cold and insulting reaction to them, Oh-je seems to not have a crush on him anymore, showing his level of self-respect and self-love by not wasting his feelings on someone who doesn't even seem to care for him or respect him. Later on, he seems to just focus on his friendship with Joon-woo and Da-heen while being at peace with himself. This type of representation of different sexualities and of the fluidity of sexuality (Oh-je never overtly states that he is gay, he is confused about his romatic attraction) is very healthy and welcomed, as it strays from the common depiction of non-straight people being the victims of society by showing Oh-je be at peace with himself even when rumours about his were circulating at school. *Oh-je spoilers end* What can I say, I LOVED Oh-je's character and Moonbin's depiction of him!
As for the music, it fits perfectly with all the moods of the drama, having an array of sentimental, sad, comforting, and happy songs. I will definitely be listening to the OST of this drama for a while!
Finally, for the rewatch value, it is 10/10, as even now I feel like I could go back and watch it again. I already miss these beautiful characters!
Overall, this drama is a 9.5/10 for me, very close to perfect, so I 100% recommend it! Go watch it if you haven't already!
First, regarding the story, I found it was very close to perfect, touching on some very important topics related to the age of 18 and the struggles of high-schoolers approaching entry into university. I loved how parental pressure and its impact on teens' mental health was deeply explored through both Soo-bin's and the second male lead, Hwi-young's character. Moreover, a very beautiful and consoling aspect of the story related to the topic of academic pressure was the idea that it's okay to not know exactly where you're going at 18 or to not have the most amazing grades. The message was that youth is a time of exploration and of finding oneself, so while every little failure might seem like the end of the world to an 18-year-old, it may just become a trivial aspect of their life when looking back later on, so people should just focus on loving themselves and enjoying their lives. No one's life is 'ruined' if something doesn't go as planned, as Joon-woo himself said in a very poignant scene. Furthermore, this drama's messaging greatly emphasized acceptance, which was very touching for me. This can be seen as related to the blooming love between Soo-bin and Joon-woo and *minor spoiler* her mother's judgmental attitude towards him, seeing him through the lenses of his reputation and his lack of means, things that gave her a completely distorted view of him, making her completely disregard his inherently kind and mature nature *end of minor spoiler*. I could go on and on about why this story touched me and kept me entertained throughout the 16 episodes (wish there were more!), but I will stop here so this doesn't get too long.
Next, the characters/acting/cast: 10/10, I found both the characterization and the choice of actors to be simply perfect. Something that really stood out to me was how the characters look exactly like real-life teenagers instead of the, more commonly seen in dramas, picture-perfect 'teenagers' that look like adults. By this, I am in no way saying the actors are not good looking, they very much are, but what I mean is that their appearance was made to match the real-life look of Korean teenagers, through their hairstyles, their simple and normal-looking clothes/uniforms, and the absence of (obvious) makeup.
One character in particular that I would like to talk about (for the sake of conciseness, I will not touch too much on the rest of the characters) is Oh-je (Moonbin's character). *Oh-je spoilers ahead* I was so impressed with Oh-je's characterization, going from at first seeming just like the cliché handsome guy that all the girls probably have a crush on, to coming into his own through his caring and beautiful friendship with Joon-woo and mostly, his failed relationship with Soo-bin's friend, Da-heen. Throughout their relationship, one can observe how Oh-je seems very uncomfortable around Da-heen, mainly when she emphasizes the romantic aspect of their relationship. However, as time goes on, he starts caring for her very much, but only as a friend, which ends up leading him to break up with her. Still, he cares for her so much that when he sees how depressed she becomes after their breakup, he suddenly comes out to her and reveals his crush on Hwi-young and his confusion regarding his sexuality. Moreover, I really love how, after rumours start spreading about his crush on Hwi-young and after seeing Hwi-young's cold and insulting reaction to them, Oh-je seems to not have a crush on him anymore, showing his level of self-respect and self-love by not wasting his feelings on someone who doesn't even seem to care for him or respect him. Later on, he seems to just focus on his friendship with Joon-woo and Da-heen while being at peace with himself. This type of representation of different sexualities and of the fluidity of sexuality (Oh-je never overtly states that he is gay, he is confused about his romatic attraction) is very healthy and welcomed, as it strays from the common depiction of non-straight people being the victims of society by showing Oh-je be at peace with himself even when rumours about his were circulating at school. *Oh-je spoilers end* What can I say, I LOVED Oh-je's character and Moonbin's depiction of him!
As for the music, it fits perfectly with all the moods of the drama, having an array of sentimental, sad, comforting, and happy songs. I will definitely be listening to the OST of this drama for a while!
Finally, for the rewatch value, it is 10/10, as even now I feel like I could go back and watch it again. I already miss these beautiful characters!
Overall, this drama is a 9.5/10 for me, very close to perfect, so I 100% recommend it! Go watch it if you haven't already!
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