Împreună Acasă (2017)

Recommend!

I liked this show A LOT. I loved the main characters, but i found the other side couples annoying. I liked how the show was trying to be relatable and slightly show hoe couples are. I just could not with her friends though. The friend in a relationship was crying 24/7 and i just found it very annoying. And I felt like the whole time the "single" and "cool" friend was being lowkey being exploited as this "easy" girl. I liked the message they were trying to put out about how woman should be respected, but they did it while also not?
Now, the main couple was my fav part. Their plot kept me on my toes, and i was so nervous i almost hated it? I was so stressed wondering what would happen next. I love jung so-min and this show is what really started it for me. she did a great job and this show, even with it's flaws, i really liked it. I loved the ost "feel like falling in love," it was so romantic and catchy. Lastly, (spoiler alert) I liked how they split apart, but ended up missing each other so much at the end. Overall, i recommend, but idk if i would rewatch completely.

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Preferred the other two side couples

This drama started off interesting enough... another contract marriage based storyline, but this time it was for an apartment.

After Episode 10, the love story between the main couple Se hee and Ji-Ho started becoming very dull and slow. It picked up when they started holding hands and kissing, but then all of a sudden, she decides to end the contract and leave? Simply could not understand her reasoning. Too many monologues and the pace of their conversations were snail-like. (Ironically she likes snails in the drama!)

What kept me interested was the other two side couples. Soo Ji and Gang Soo were a breath of fresh air! Their relationship development and understanding of one another was very unique and loveable. Their characters were also funny and quirky and you would just grow to love them!
Ho Rang and Woo Seok was also memorable, I could literally feel their pain and heartache, although I didn’t quite like their ending in the last episode. Ummm... I felt it could have been much more meaningful.

Production in 2017, but only watching it now in 2021. Not a bad watch, if you like the ML watch The Beauty Inside- it’s much better :)

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Maslow Would Approve

This one is bit different. The initial contrivance is a romantic drama, and in the first few episodes the story plays out as might be expected. However, half way through or thereabouts the main story (which revolves around the primary couple plus two other couples) continues but the self reflection and injection of ideas via quotes and allusions to famous and not so famous authors markedly increases (e.g. Maslow, Becker, Goethe). These injections and allusions are in the dialogue and often in the thoughts and or overview narration.

This might be off-putting to some as it was to the primary female lead’s mother. In a scene near the last episode the female lead is explaining some unexpected and radical decision to her mother, and she starts saying out loud some of these self absorbed rationales for her decisions and the mother abruptly says, “That’s a load of crap.” If the viewer empathizes with the mother then they probably won’t be watching through until this penultimate episode anyway, but if the viewer appreciates the in depth self reflection of the main character, then this series is for you.

I suspect a lot of autobiographical inspiration for many of the experiences of these sharply drawn characters.

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A Re-watch Analysis

Production Quality:
What stood out to me the most was the OST for the drama, 3 years later, they are still a recurrent play on my playlist. Anyone who understands the lyrics will appreciate that they were not just random love songs but accurately portrayed the thoughts of the characters under the situation when it is played as bgm. Also, as a feel-good but slice of life drama, the choices made in selecting the wardrobe, house set, pet etc were well-done, being reasonable for the characters and not there just to be pretty, for example, Se Hee's house was pretty and big, but made sense given his cleanliness and bank financed debt, while Wonseok's rooftop house showed their financial condition and personality. The monologue narrations by Jiho were also a nice touch and many a time while I find them a little too in the face or bland in other dramas, here it was done well with it being used to extend the plot and introduce new details rather than just being a summary.

Emotional Investment into the Characters:
A rewatch binge helps in finding points that were missed while waiting for an on-air drama to finish. I was emotionally invested in the girl's friendship and the relation between Jiho and her mom the most. This is for me the decisive charm of the show and has been executed brilliantly. Jiho's thoughts in particular were always explained in detail and I felt for her and related to her, until the finale arc happened. On the first watch, I thought the breakup to be unnecessary, but on rewatch was more digestible and made more sense given that maybe Jiho felt too tired to sort out the misunderstanding and Se-hee sensed it. However, the drama did not do a good job explaining their thoughts and the reunion arc was handled even worse with both of them behaving out of character. It was so good before that though. Another caveat was Ma Sang Goo and Se Hee's friendship which though was really funny could have been explore more and I actually liked Won Seok's relation with both of them more, finding it more natural. Ho Rang though could get whiny at times but was realistic and I liked the actress' portrayal of her. Soo Ji and San Goo's relationship was done well and in general I related to Soo Ji's character the most. Also, thank god for Se-hee's ex not being a bitch (thank you drama gods, finally!)

Ability of Actors to Emote:
The entire cast did a fantastic job with the roles they were given. Each of them felt real, believable and yet had quirks of their own. Lee Min Ki's micro-expressions were amazing to observe and Jung So Min was so believable as a smart but downtrodden writer. Park Byung Eun, Kim Ga Eun and Kim Min Seok are comedy gold-mines. Special shout outs to Esom and Kim Sung Young as Soo Ji and Jiho's mom (both of them stole the show for me). Also, a special mention to Lee Chung Ah's guest appearance as Se Hee's ex, I felt what Jiho felt when she saw her, she exuded charisma and demanded my attention.

Memorability:
Given the fact that I actually rewatched all 16 episodes again and not just bits and scenes, it is a highly memorable drama for me. Maybe because it hit the right notes such as rethinking about career, marriage, family - I'm at that age lol. I love this drama despite its flaws, and absolutely addicted to the OST.

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More than worth the Watch

I truly enjoyed this movie. This was my first foray into modern KDrama ( unusually watch Historical Drama) and I am quite impressed. I started watching this movie because I love the acting of Jung So Min in Alchemy of Souls as I couldn't get enough of her.

As expected, she shone brightly again in this drama, I also enjoyed the acting from the remaining cast. especially from the ML..

Cozy, relaxing, this drama offers both a serious and introspective look at the lives of young adult in South Korea. It covers a tapestry or subjects to include
romance, finance, piety and traditions.

Light. comical, romantic this drama has everything and I highly recommend it

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BRILLIANT. Absolutely loved this series from beginning to end.

This is the first show that has compelled me to write a review.
PLEASE give this show a chance. It was so much better than I expected.

First, I must say that what drew me into this show was the DETAILS. Everything was so well-thought out and felt purposeful. With that being said, the plot is also quite simple which is a rare combination.

Early on I didn't feel much chemistry between the leads, but it definitely improved after a few episodes. I also got annoyed by the FL being too passive at times, but that is also addressed later on.

The underlying message throughout the series was more impactful & thought-provoking than I ever expected it to be. Every storyline came full circle by the end. Slight lull for me around ep. 13, (probably from binging too fast), but the show stays strong until the end. The OST is the only area I'm knocking points... it wasn't my favorite. Regardless, it's a great show, and perfect for a rewatch.

Oh, also, side characters get major points on this show. Each one was nuanced, multi-faceted, and played a complex role in the story. Love it.

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its a must watch show

Omg i cant describe how much i love this dram...............................................
frst i was hesistant to watch this drama bcoz of the official drama poster bcoz it looked boring :P
but once out of boredom i watched it and damn i was so happy to watch it...........................
no stupid evil characters no stupid love triangles no stupid in laws problems,, .................................
3 different couples with amazing acting skills.,,,.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
the chemistry between all the couples were on fire.........................
i highly recommend this show....

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Keep this show in your star pocket

This show was a delight to watch. It's mostly lighthearted, with a few moving and truly hysterically funny moments thrown in. I was pleased that it showed how love can be messy and complicated, - not always easy and instant as so many K-dramas depict. Of course, since I am also a hopeless romantic I loved the endings for all three couples.

The couples:

I enjoyed watching Ji Ho and Se Hee going from a relationship of convenience to having genuine feelings for one another. It was a cautious process for them both, and not without misunderstandings on both their parts. I did not like that she, knowing he was about to confess and having feelings for him as well decided to leave him, it just felt like an unnecessary plot twist to add tension as a build-up for the final episode. I think it would have been more enjoyable to watch the two awkwardly explore their feelings, and in general could not understand the motivation for Ji Ho to leave like that.

Soo Ji and Sang Goo were actually my favorites of them all. She was so unconventional and truly marvelous, and he was a truly good and kind man. Even before they were dating he was bothered by the offensive way she was treated by her colleagues, and tried to stand up for her even when she wouldn't herself because of her fear of retaliation. He was shocked by her wild ways, but fell completely and totally in love with her and gave her support and encouragement. I felt she was a strong woman, and was delighted when she demanded an apology from her sexist colleague, and even more so when she punched him when he made a mockery of it.

Ho Rang and Won Seok were my least favorite couple. I truly disliked her most of the time. I found her selfish and irritating - and every time she yelled at Won Seok or told him not to speak of anything that interested him I cringed. I was glad when she got a little taste of her own medicine from the very weird accountant from Sang Goo's company, and really felt that she was less intolerable in the scene when she and Won Seok finally got back together.

The friendship between the three women was also a treat to see. I could not stop laughing at the scenes that showed them all becoming friends. The way they were all there for one another in good times and bad was special.

The supporting cast were also quite good in their roles, particularly the characters of Bo Mi and Jeong Min. Both actresses were well-suited to the women they played.

This drama was fun to watch and time well spent. Definitely recommended if you're not in the mood for anything serious.

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It will make you see things in a different way.

How can i explain things about this drama this drama totally is
something that makes you see life in a different way. i loved each
and every dialogue used in this drama and they are totally stuck
in my heart for example the whole room 19 story, the remember
the book se hee was reading on the bus ' Although you cry nothing will change ' and the line from that book it goes like.. words comes out of our mouth and dies in someone else's ears but there are
some words that are stuck in someone else's heart. This drama said to be honest with your heart and say what you are feeling. Although there was hardships in everyone's life there was still some happy
moments in between. and the title itself is so good ' BECAUSE THIS IS MY FIRST LIFE ' we all have only one and first life to spend so we
should make sure never regret it later, speak your heart , do what
you wanna do because this is our first life.
This drama made me feel happy, sad, smile like an idiot and laugh
like crazy sometimes and it felt so good watching this.

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Family Marriage & Sex In The City Seoul °7.7° °VG°

Boo-hoo, Ji-hoo❕

We meet her when she's face-to-face with complete failure; a bona fide low point.

Raised by a patri-to❌ic father & a sympathetic-on-the-sly mom, she needs relief now. What she getz is this: Though she's a talented script writer, the TV station wants to credit her work to a known entity, in order to boost viewership. She needs fair recognition NW.

She lives with her brother. /She/ paid the depo$it / mainten-cent$ / expen$e$ / replaced appliance$ & more↗. While she was mandatorily sequestered at writer #1's office crunchin a deadline, her brother married his preggos GF. Nobody told Ji-hoo that GF-now-the-Mrs has moved in. Upon her return, when she innocently poked her head into her brother's room to say 'hi', Ji-hoo found ☢ut the hard-☹-way. Given that 🗻Dad🗻 is thrilled that Ji-hoo is about to be an aunt - the aunt of a #nephew (IT'S A B✨Y!!), she knows it's Game Over. There will be no getting that won back. She needs =equality=]> RIGHT N✴W.

Even after she'd been sexually harassed at work, she was asked to "Just work with us." They won't give her equal rights N⏱W. "Your time will come. We promise." She needs a new J.O.B. N⭕W.

She quits. N✴W❗

now she can't afford her rent

She.needs.aff⚙rdable.h⚙using.n⏱w#

$he absolutely, most direly needs affordable housing tonight

Engineer Se-hee is a self-isolated loner who has trapped himself in a rigid life, devoid of joy. His only goals are to maintain his strict schedule, save up $, and pay off his home mortgage asap. Nothing is going to work out for him without a roommate, though. He ran those calculations years back. The rental income is required in order to keep his journey to financial Buelah Land on track. ⭕ of his roommates ever work out, though. He even had to call the police on the last. He needs a compatible roommate N☹W…

Right on time, here come their bands of buddies. Se-hee's friends & Ji-hoo's friends are linked thru Ho-rang (Rang) & Won-seok, who have been dating the better part of a decade. None of the women have met the men yet. Based on names alone, each gang assumes they have a perfect landlord-tenant match-up for their bud. They weren't /trying/ to create a coed dorm, which is not as acceptable in conservative K-country . Well, didn't /they/ stumble onto something??

Thus is the show's opening. Ji-hoo & Se-hee are planted within 15ft of eachother with the cat going back and forth between them as a fluffy emissary. It grows from there. As it turns out, they are very✨compatible. Se-hee's ex-roomies never came close to the competence of Ji-hoo-roomie. It's several days of co-habbing before they even meet, due to conflicting schedules. When they discover the "setup", they plan to separate. But... well… things are working out so well...

So well, in fact, that Se-hee, who works for the App: ‘Don't 'Marry, Date', pulls a reverse play & proposes! They should get married! ? !WAIT! That's wrong. He PR⛔-Posed. He wants to marry for 'Not Love'. No one will question their living situation if they do. That way, his parents won't continue nag him about marriage, plus his dad has offered to pay off his mortgage when he marries. Ji-hoo benefits as she'll have the affordable housing she needs to stay in Seoul, rather than go home to live with M&D. CEO Ma always says that 2 are better than 1. Coincidentally, Ji-hoo had just finished writing: A Dork's Love. Is she about to marry a dork?

This writer is a clever devil. Going into the real-but-fake ceremony, Jihoo's mom talks to her about love & marriage in the bridal chamber and causes Ji-hoo to S⛈B. The unfeeling, ever practical Se-hee comes looking for his missing bride and finds her in that state. He says these words to Ji-hoo: "You can't stop crying? Then, we'll go together. It's all right if you cry. Come with me. I'll stay by your side. I will be with you." Sounds like a vow; an intimate vow between the 2 of them, alone in the bride's chambers. It's not yet ♥️. It's genuine friendship & comraderie + a promise of loyalty. It's not a fake marriage. Not really.

BTIMFL sets out with a light-hearted tone~>> a couple's friends eventually meet & interest sparks. The characters are rounded off nicely. There's a generous amount of Mars & Venus (man/woman) misunderstandings. No relationship in the series is w/o static. The romance between Soo-ji and Ceo Ma is the most fun. He's a catch - he even does a musical number! She finally comes to see who he is. The side characters greatly enhance the series.

Like ♥️, BTIMFL hurts sometimes. What's unnecessarily ♥️-rending is how Ji-hoo leaves and stays away - for what looks like weeks, maybe more. While the cutting with the snappy sounds is generally a fun touch, this later sadness is resoundingly out of sync with the quirky elements. Why would she cause such unnecessary pain to Se-hee? There's a clip of her having a good old time with her friends, while his world falls apart. She knows she's returning to him, while at the same time, he's demolished by heartbreak. The viewer feels his pain.

The show became so sad that the ending didn't lift me back up. It comes close to ruining the series, and it didn't even make sense! It's an example of awful Kdrama MSS (Mandatory Separation Syndrome: An overused Kdrama device in which the couple is separated by distance after professing love, but prior to their Happily Ever After). MSS is routinely awful. While there are times it's for the best, usually, MSS is detrimental to a series. How could a couple that has just come together, often after many struggles, bear to be apart? Why, oh why, are they compelled to write it in? Furthermore, in the emotionally wrenching letter Ji-hoo's mom wrote to Se-hee, she asked him to stay by Ji-hoo's side when she cries. Ji-hoo dumps him cold, allowing him to despair alone. What ugly irony.

The primary theme of BTIMFL is equality for women in a hyper-patriarchal society. Ha-rang wears a shirt that says "Raise girls and boys the same." We'll see a 2nd woman sexually harassed while trying to build her career. BTIMFL addresses this tired out, but still "what's happening now" indignity competently - 1 flagrant scene is like a horrible sexual harassment training video that the cubicle overlords foist on their employees. {If that's what's still going on in SK, they definitely need to tweak the power balance somehow. Women's rights were stalled there due to a military dictatorship (1961-1979) that solely focused on maintaining power, giving no thought to protecting the vulnerable.}

BTIMFL features The Disease: Good Daughter i/l Disease, in which dtr i/l's are
treated as slaves by the in-laws. That ain't healthy. Ji-hoo's mom is able to read it between the teas when the family's meet. She didn't want her daughter living her life as a slave to the In-laws. Still, the show is a little cynical about family life. It is entirely appropriate to prevent a mother i/l from bullying a young wife, but it's usually not a reason to withdraw from all family interactions. Their agreement to holiday separately is highly questionable. If a set of their parents is not respectful of them or their marriage, separation is appropriate. Apparently i/l's abusing their kid’s spouse is a pro-sport in K-country, so the writer is proposing a viable solution. We can hope that the separate holidays will rejoin if they have children. That all serves to drag down the production, which is outstanding through 13 episodes.

No show is without flaws. Besides MSS, the last three episodes end the show on a more sour / less sweet note. BTIMFL is amusing until around Ep14, where long, overdone, and wearisome shots framing Ji-hoo's pain-gripped face keep the series from continuing forward. The pacing is otherwise steady. Without that drag, the show's easily an 8+.

The poetry in BTIMFL, the discussions of literature, and "Room 19" add depth. "Room 19" is now part of my consciousness and vocab. This series tricks us into thinking it will be a lite piece, only to punch us later with surprising depth. Some notables are:

▶"We don't even know ourselves, so how could we know the dark sides of others?" 5✨

▶"When a person comes, it is in fact a tremendous thing. That person's entire life comes with them - Because it's fragile, so it may have been broken before - the heart that's close."✨

▶"A heart isn't something that is taken or grabbed. It comes to you." ✨

We can all applaud that, can't we?

Overall this is a VG view. One of the best things can can be said is that it leaves plenty for discussion. Spare us the mindless pap, which this show is not. My favorite FAVORITE takeaway from watching this is when Soo-ji declares: "I'd rather be a crazy bℹtch than a pathetic wench." Amen.

QUOTES⚜️

If I were to tell the 20 old me, would that punk believe me?

Ji-hoo! You should go out and get pregnant tonight. We're going to a club! (Soo-ji. Woman of action.)

Perhaps, if you have some time, would you marry me?

〰 IMHO 〰

Directing 7
Writing 8
Acting 7.5
Romance 7
Flutters 5
Warmth 5
Art 6
Excitement 5
Laughs 5
Thought provocation 8
Ending 4


Age 14+

Watch again? ✅ twice and counting…

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