susukam
This review may contain spoilers
Was Great until the Last Two Episodes
True Beauty starts off as a show with a good balance of entertaining and lighthearted highschool angst with a backdrop of mainstream issues faced in school, such as self-image, understanding love, and bullying. I enjoyed how the drama touched on real-world issues in a way that wasn’t hard to stomach. My highschool self would’ve love this drama, and to be honest this drama had the potential to be so much more. However there is a tonal shift that occurs in episode 14 that completely ruined, and changed, my opinion about the drama.
My verdict for the show is that episodes 1-14 were highly enjoyable and had a great balance of drama, angst, and fun, but after episode 14 it goes downhill when the lightheartness of the show disappears and instead is filled with only drama and angst. The characters even shift, which created a bunch of characters who don’t feel true to their, episode 14, prior selves.
For me, the Han Seo Jin after episode 14 was disappointing. I had hoped he would get over his highschool love and move on, but instead you can see that he has not moved on. And it takes until the last episode for him to fully move on. The love triangle after episode 14 becomes uncomfortable to watch and is no longer fun.
I noticed that one overused plot element is that characters in the show only mend their relationships in relation to a an occurrence of a negative accident. What I mean by this is that, when there is conflict that needs a resolution the drama will introduce an illness or trauamtic event. These negative accdients have to happen before the character talk openly, so it never feels like the characters have open communication. For example, Seo Jin and Soo Hoo only talk about their past, once they have the car accident and are forced to share a room-- and I loved this element, however what I didn’t like is when this same element is used to mend Soo Hoo and his father’s relationship. The father having an illness felt very unneccessary. The subsequent move that Soo Hoo makes to America also feels unneeded. It would have been okay if Soo Hoo didn’t break up with Ju Kyung, but the break up was the straw that broke the camels back for this drama. It was very out of place for Soo Hoo’s character. One of my most hated elements of a drama is when long-distance is used as an excuse to break up, instead of having open communication between the two characters.
Soo Hoo is a character who gets closer to people through hardship, so his distance with Ju Kyung, after his move to America, does not make sense to his character, and instead creates anger for the audience wehre we have to suffer an undeed plot element because the writers thought it would be a good idea--and it indeed was not.
My disappointment in the show stems from how much I actually enjoyed it in the first 14 episodes that is why it's so heartbreaking to see the lazy writing the drama takes in the last two episodes.
I would recommend only watching up to episode 14 and skipping the end. The first 14 episodes are filled with fun youthfulness and the struggles of youth, but in a tolerable light-heartend tone that makes it enjoyable for the viewer.
My favourite character is Ju Kyung who stays true to herself throughout the drama. She uses her love for makeup to transform her life, but in a positive manner. At first she is sure that she is unworthy, but her character develops and she releases that makeup is not a clutch but an asset.
Soo Hoo, up until episode 14/15, also has great character development. He becomes more open about his struggles and emotions and begin to rely on Ju Kyung and Seo Jin for help when he is feeling down.
The way Seo Jin is portrayed makes me respect him, he remained in conflict over the ethical nature of his relationship with Ju Kyung, when she was dating his friend Soo Hoo. Initially he wanted to steal her from Soo Hoo, but once he lets go of the resentment and sees Soo Hoo as a friend he ends up growing as a character. Seo Jin’s character is a positive contrast to Soo-Jin, who destroys all her friendships over her crush with Soo Hoo.
I genuinely feel so much frustration over the last two episodes, even though the characters physically age they seem to mentally regress. In an ideal world, the way I would’ve wanted True Beauty to end is with Han Seo Jin, during his highschool times, learning how to grow from the difficulty of his unrequited love and fully moving on. I wanted to see Soo Hoo have a healthy covnersation with his dad, without the need of an illness to force him to have that conversaion. And for Soo Hoo to fully commit emotionally to Ju Kyung, so that the break-up would’ve never happened. My whole love for the show shattered with that breakup by Soo Hoo, and despite the happy ending, it feels soured because of the messy writing for the ending.
If you were also disappointed by the show and need a better drama to watch, you should try Something in The Rain, its much more heavy-hearted but the way the characters deals with their conflicts is very mature and satifsying. Or you could go back to our OG Crash Landing on You for a nice all-round drama.
My verdict for the show is that episodes 1-14 were highly enjoyable and had a great balance of drama, angst, and fun, but after episode 14 it goes downhill when the lightheartness of the show disappears and instead is filled with only drama and angst. The characters even shift, which created a bunch of characters who don’t feel true to their, episode 14, prior selves.
For me, the Han Seo Jin after episode 14 was disappointing. I had hoped he would get over his highschool love and move on, but instead you can see that he has not moved on. And it takes until the last episode for him to fully move on. The love triangle after episode 14 becomes uncomfortable to watch and is no longer fun.
I noticed that one overused plot element is that characters in the show only mend their relationships in relation to a an occurrence of a negative accident. What I mean by this is that, when there is conflict that needs a resolution the drama will introduce an illness or trauamtic event. These negative accdients have to happen before the character talk openly, so it never feels like the characters have open communication. For example, Seo Jin and Soo Hoo only talk about their past, once they have the car accident and are forced to share a room-- and I loved this element, however what I didn’t like is when this same element is used to mend Soo Hoo and his father’s relationship. The father having an illness felt very unneccessary. The subsequent move that Soo Hoo makes to America also feels unneeded. It would have been okay if Soo Hoo didn’t break up with Ju Kyung, but the break up was the straw that broke the camels back for this drama. It was very out of place for Soo Hoo’s character. One of my most hated elements of a drama is when long-distance is used as an excuse to break up, instead of having open communication between the two characters.
Soo Hoo is a character who gets closer to people through hardship, so his distance with Ju Kyung, after his move to America, does not make sense to his character, and instead creates anger for the audience wehre we have to suffer an undeed plot element because the writers thought it would be a good idea--and it indeed was not.
My disappointment in the show stems from how much I actually enjoyed it in the first 14 episodes that is why it's so heartbreaking to see the lazy writing the drama takes in the last two episodes.
I would recommend only watching up to episode 14 and skipping the end. The first 14 episodes are filled with fun youthfulness and the struggles of youth, but in a tolerable light-heartend tone that makes it enjoyable for the viewer.
My favourite character is Ju Kyung who stays true to herself throughout the drama. She uses her love for makeup to transform her life, but in a positive manner. At first she is sure that she is unworthy, but her character develops and she releases that makeup is not a clutch but an asset.
Soo Hoo, up until episode 14/15, also has great character development. He becomes more open about his struggles and emotions and begin to rely on Ju Kyung and Seo Jin for help when he is feeling down.
The way Seo Jin is portrayed makes me respect him, he remained in conflict over the ethical nature of his relationship with Ju Kyung, when she was dating his friend Soo Hoo. Initially he wanted to steal her from Soo Hoo, but once he lets go of the resentment and sees Soo Hoo as a friend he ends up growing as a character. Seo Jin’s character is a positive contrast to Soo-Jin, who destroys all her friendships over her crush with Soo Hoo.
I genuinely feel so much frustration over the last two episodes, even though the characters physically age they seem to mentally regress. In an ideal world, the way I would’ve wanted True Beauty to end is with Han Seo Jin, during his highschool times, learning how to grow from the difficulty of his unrequited love and fully moving on. I wanted to see Soo Hoo have a healthy covnersation with his dad, without the need of an illness to force him to have that conversaion. And for Soo Hoo to fully commit emotionally to Ju Kyung, so that the break-up would’ve never happened. My whole love for the show shattered with that breakup by Soo Hoo, and despite the happy ending, it feels soured because of the messy writing for the ending.
If you were also disappointed by the show and need a better drama to watch, you should try Something in The Rain, its much more heavy-hearted but the way the characters deals with their conflicts is very mature and satifsying. Or you could go back to our OG Crash Landing on You for a nice all-round drama.
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