Prietena Surorii Mele (2018)

I was really hopeful for this one. The first few episodes felt joyful and I love Noona dramas. Once the main couple gets together it's all butterflies and sweetness and I LOVED IT!!! Tears, smiles all around.

But all good things must come to an end apparently. The "we can't tell anyone" thing just dragged on a little too long until they are found out. Then everyone freaks out and I stopped being able to relate. I know it's maybe a cultural thing for a grown woman to still have to get permission for things from her parents but as a westerner I couldn't relate and it started to grate on my nerves. I'm sorry if that is offensive, it's not meant to be.

The main couple's relationship seems built on a house of cards that crumbled with the slightest wind. There just wasn't much between them save a physical attraction. Perhaps I would have stuck with it if there was more I could relate to. Alas, there wasn't so I bailed around episode 12.

PS. the music gets REALLY repetitive.

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Like many, I'm sure, this show was difficult to rate. The first half was so swoony and perfect, but the characters at the end were infuriating. I read all the warnings ahead of time, so I knew it wouldn't get better. I would've endured if Jin-Ah and Joon-Hee remained steadfast in their convictions. I hate to admit it, but I fully skipped episodes 13-15 and just read some recaps about them. Even then, the last episode closed things off too little, too late.

This is a story about Jin-ah's journey, but I wish she had a bit more growth. Joon Hee is as great as they come, and I would love nothing more than to have my own Jung Hae In (seriously, this character warped my expectations for love like crazy!).

Perhaps I don't fully understand all the cultural implications and taboos here, although I suppose I could put in some proxies. I wish Jin-ah stood up to her parents more, and communicated better during crucial times, but I suppose this story was heartbreaking because of its realism (especially re: the workplace resolution). The ending was lukewarm though, and that was the unsatisfying part. If it were more definitive in either direction (happy or sad, forever or never), I would've possibly come around to the message that the writer was trying to convey. Instead, I'm left wondering: does love really conquer all, or do we have to come to accept the consequences of our actions? To be honest, it makes me feel a little empty inside. I'll surely come to revisit some of the cute scenes from episodes 3-6 sometime though. Episode 5 was probably the most deliriously happy episode I've ever seen in a kdrdama.

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Criminally underrated

This drama is in all honesty criminally underrated! The chemistry of the leads is amazing, the acting overall more than just great and I absolutely loved the slow scenes which brought out all the emotions perfectly! I cannot understand how this drama is not better rated!
I love the character development of the FL though she nearly breaks with all the pressure that she is put under. Her mother, who is never satisfied, her workplace where SA is a daily common happening and let‘s not forget the general expectations people have towards women her age. She is an amazingly strong character who learns to stand up for herself and fight for her own life.
Seo Jun Hui though younger than her shows his matureness in guiding her through quite some of this process and does it beautifully. He is not to blame that even for him the pressure has become too much towards the end. It was wonderful to see how he gave in to his heart in the end.
The OST is the only issue here… the three songs were beautiful but clearly overused and not always fitting the scenes. I think it would have been better using a wider selection and I wouldn‘t mind if the songs were in Korean instead of English… but that is really the only issue I have with this drama.
I will definitely rewatch it, for all the beautifully shot emotional scenes, the chemistry of the leads (their intimite scenes left me speechless) and the story of a struggeling woman who starts to stand up for herself and fights for her rights as a human being who is capable of making her own decisions instead of listening to her mother, her boyfriend or society.

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If you don't want to read all of that, here's the key takeaway. It gets disappointing after like episodes 9.....so prepared yourself to find finishing this drama a chore

If you've ever watched the notebook, or any Nicolas Sparks book turn into movie adaptations, this drama does the same.

This drama starts promissing, even with the jump from them meeting again after ML has been in the state for 3 years, maybe more, I gloss over that confusing jump that had no establishment of their past relationship and if they ever liked each other in the past, so romance started off strong, it was bittersweet and so freaking cute to the front it became cringe and I wanted to barf. It was like I was eavesdropping on a married couple.

But honestly you can clearly see a decline in the drama. Them, mostly the female lead hiding their relationships from everyone was a flag to begin with. But I shrug it off because I was lured by the chemistry.


BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Reactions of their relationship was so toxic and unacceptable that I got angry, especially the mother who needs serious therapy. Like I understand the age gap, but they are two consensual adult in a relationships. She was judgemental and had such high standard that even if her own kids weren't perfect. When she slapped the ML in the face, I seriously almost threw my phone at the wall. How dare she. I understand different culture have different ways of working things. But even my overprotective hatian parents have a limit.

Everyone is acting as if they killed someone and not just dating.

But honestly what frustrated me even more was the FL wishy washy behaviour towards the ML.
1. Going on a blind date, even if it's to have something to hold agaisnt your mother or to even please your mother, was so so wrong and to expect the ML and sister to be okay with that was so insulting.
2. This girl really needed to grow up and have a thought for herself.
3. The constant lie and meddling and expect him to be okay with it. And she gets to validate her anger, like huh why did she get to be angry when she force the father on the ML when he wasn't ready. She again and again proves to be a serial liar. Lying to him easily like that.

4. their so much plot hole and weird way they went about to concluding storylines that it annoyed me. The sexual harrassment plotline resolution was so disappointing and shouldn't have been mentioned if that was the result.

The ending, nahhhh. I would much rather for the ML to end up single and her in that loveless mother's ideal type relationship. Bc even till the end she never stood up for herself and was held accountable just like everyone in this show.

Were we suppose to aww at their laugh, lift up girl in arm and rain ending, cause that wasn't it. How come he's always the one fighting and showing initiative. I would have much rather that the FL would have chased after him instead. Or let them go their separate ways.

Sorry for errors. I was angry and tired to read it over

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I will say first: this was so cute and good for the first 5 or so episodes. Then it went downhill.
The cast was really good (minus the mom, i will talk about this later) and the chemistry between the leads was really (really!) good. They did a great job of portraying their love and making it seem real and nerve-wracking. However this was SO stretched out. Someone else said this could have easily been a 2 hour movie. I 100% agree. They wasted so many minutes with just non moving shots of characters walking or sitting or looking sad. Every time a character got angry and would go to a bar I knew that there would be at least 5 minutes of them angrily opening ad drinking multiple bottles of alcohol. With ZERO talking in between. It got to be that every time I would see a character get mad and go to a restaurant I would just start skipping forward because I knew there were multiple minutes of useless footage in between the next dialogue.
NEXT:
The music. So so bad. The songs themselves aren't horrible.(They aren't good either). But the sheer amount of times I had to hear that dumb "sometimes it's hard to be a woman". I wanted to strangle someone. This was probably my LEAST favorite part of the drama. Their music choices were so poor, I can't even explain.
NEXT (possible spoliers):
They created a few good characters. However, the mother is INSANE. Clinically. No person would ever act like that, especially if they love their kids. It is nonsensical that Jin-ah would forgive her mother after everything that she did. If my mom acted even half as horribly rude and psychotic as her mother I would seriously consider not speaking to her again. That is how horrible her mother is.
Another, less important point: Jin-ah's ex-boyfriend's characterization also makes no sense. He cheats on her, but then can't stop stalking her and following her? He truly makes no sense and was not needed in the show.

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Something in the Rain begins by making the viewer feel like they're falling in love. The first eight or so episodes are a masterclass in subtlety and storytelling through actions instead of words. JunHui and JinA fall in love slowly and then all at once. Their love is shown through little actions, small moments, the quiet between events. It's subtle, subdued, and slow in the ways a real-life romance is. There's none of the whirlwind overblown romance seen in many other kdramas. I had high hopes that this drama would turn into another My Mister. But where My Mister excels at culminating its subdued heavy tones into meaningful character growth and plot development Something in the Rain falls flat. I believe this is why the drama has a relatively low rating on this site.

After episode eight this drama falls apart because of its lack of growth. The plot stagnates. Conflicts that could have been resolved quickly or easily are instead left to fester and come to unsatisfying conclusions. For me, the worst illustration of this was JinA's indecision surrounding her mother's disapproval. JinA disregarded JunHui's feelings regularly. The sheer amount of times he was made to apologize when it should have been her apologizing to him were too numerous to count. It was so disheartening to see how she was treating him in the later episodes after the care she showed him in the first half of the show. JinA's mother is undoubtedly the antagonist of the show but in a much more real way, JinA is just as bad. By the final episode, I was no longer rooting for our main couple. They lacked basic communication skills and the disparity between JunHui's depth of feeling for JinA and her relatively shallow feelings for him were hurdles I felt they couldn't overcome. I thought JunHui deserved better.

Overall Something in the Rain is a classic case of failed potential. The writer and director use unique camera work and emotional storytelling to mask the relative lack of plot development. By the second half of the show, this becomes obvious and the show's stagnation gets boring. There was so much more this drama could have accomplished. If you're thinking of giving it a try I suggest watching My Mister first as they have very similar moods but My Mister succeeds where Something in the Rain fails.

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Disappointing. So so disappointing.

Ah. God I really wanted to give this 10/10 with watching just the first couple of episodes. But the ending and last episodes were so disappointing. It should have ended in episode 9 or 10. It had no plot so the rest of the episodes were dragging.

First of all let me just say, the cast did a really good job. I felt their emotions very well. For me it's 10/10.

Best friends would never do that to each other. I hated how kyung sun handled the situation with her best friend dating her younger brother. The family drama was too extended. I am an Asian too and believe me Asian parents do behave like that but it was still too much. The way Jin-A's mom acted was despicable. And the way they handled sexual harassment was very very wrong too. The drama should have encouraged people to speak up against sexual harrasment but in reality it did the opposite.

So many people were complaining about Joon Hee's possessiveness but I did not mind it. And actually kind of understood. He was younger than her so the insecurity was justified. But hated how controlling he was sometimes and how Jin-A always lied about things. The characters did not have a good impression when the drama ended.

After watching a couple of episodes I think my expectations were too high. I was severely disappointed by this drama. At first I couldn't figure out why this amazing drama would have such low ranking. Now I get it. I learned it the hard way.

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Probably one of the most promising dramas of 2018 which turned out to be less and less immersing in every following episode towards the end.

I'd give this show a 5 or 6 if I had the guts, but you don't even know how excited I was for this drama and I'm still trying to convince myself that I love it more than in reality. The hype was real: the stunning trailer and the cinematography were unbelievable, I saw some of my favorite actors as the leads, the plot summary was something that I'd adore to binge-watch. With much anticipation, I started watching the drama and believe me when I say, the first couple of episodes were spectacular! The chemistry, the colors and the camera skills, the beautiful English soundtrack which was like magic to my ears. Like so many other people, I'd be tired waiting for the subtitles and I'd go on a search to look for some fan subs. At that moment I knew that Something in the Rain would definitely be one of my all time favorite Korean dramas. However, as the series progressed, I was afraid that the love story was moving on too fast. The directors basically compiled the majority of the main plot details into the first half of the drama. Hence, the show got draggy all of the sudden. Some side characters didn't show any development and made me really frustrated. The main couple, however, kept their charm and chemistry right till the very end. This couple is probably the one of the main reasons that I want to love this show so much. In addition, I loved that the problem of sexual assault was brought up as one of the main topics of this drama. Hopefully, it will bring more awareness as it is a huge problem in Korea especially. Some of the other things that made this drama the most enjoyable experience was the music soundtrack and the cinematography. I never even imagined that an English OST would suit this beautifully shot drama so well.

I have every reason to put this drama in my favorites because it's very much fits my liking. I do admit that this series made it into my favorites list, however, it could've been so much better and likeable, I blame the directors for the lack of ideas and poor story planning.

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I hate Jinah with a burning passion

I cannot describe the amount of pure rage that I feel for this drama. I started it and I was LOVING it, I was sure I was going to rate it between 9 and 10. The first half was honestly really good, the relationship was one of the most heartwarming ones I’ve seen in a while. It was a really good set up. I highly enjoy angst so I was ready for the drama and the troubles and a bit of heartbreak, I’m not mad that it wasn’t all sweet or that we had sad stuff, I’m mad that it became an absolute shit show by the halfway point.

(Spoilers ahead from this point on)


First thing first: you know how they tell you that when you read a story you have to suspend your disbelief? Yeah, I couldn't with this story, I don’t know if it’s just cultural differences or bad writing but I just couldn’t believe that Jinah would simply let herself be treated like a 16 year old highschool girl in love with the bad boy. I understand respecting your family, I understand wanting to make them happy, I understand wanting to respect their wishes and all of that but there is a certain limit to all of that, there are some lines that once crossed there is no going back and Jinah’s mother crossed those lines again and again and again. It doesn’t matter how much I love, respect and want to honour my mother the moment she belittles, slaps and humiliates the people that I love I will stop trying to make her happy.ì and respecting her wishes. She’s a financially dependent woman with a full time job and still she acts as if she’s a 16 y/o who needs to live under her parents’ roof because she has no other choice. Girl, get your stuff and leave. There is obviously no reasoning with that woman, when her son told her how her behaviour was one of the factors that made him contemplate suicide not once but twice so she shouldn’t act ike that towards her daughter and she didn’t stop it’s the moment she should’ve realized that there was no point in trying to please her because she was never going to change her mind. So what's the point of trying to please her?
I liked Jinah at the beginning and by the last episode I was just furious with her and hoping that Joonhee could just find someone worthy of his love.
“I love him more than he loves me” she said once previously in the series and what a fucking joke that was.
I would take the “I won’t move to the US just for you because I have a life here” in any normal situation but honestly, honestly, what life does she have there? Does she have super close friends? A great job that she absolutely loves? A loving family that she doesn’t want to leave behind? What does she have? Nothing, and even when the time passes we see her with the shitty job and shitty boyfriend and no real friends. She even leaves the job and move to Jeju island for fuck sake. Why could you now move away but couldn’t before when your boyfriend just wanted for you two to start anew without all the drama and toxicity that you had to experience until now? I’m honestly so baffled, I honestly absolutely cannot understand her reasoning for not moving to the US with her boyfriend AT ALL. And then she has the balls to ask him to be like how they were before and tell him how bad she had felt the whole time. Oh no you felt bad as a consequence of your own actions? Poor you.
Even before that she just kept making one awful decision after the other.
The one that absolutely infuriated me was when she met his father behind his back and then got upset when he got mad? When he kept telling her to stop making him look immature for not wanting to meet his father, she got mad at him for saying that?? I was absolutely ready to punch her. In no way was he acting immature and yes she was making him look like a child throwing a tantrum when he had all the rights to feel like that
In general I hated the way this show dealt with parents. Joonhee’s father and Jinah’s mother were in their own way absolutely awful but the show also wants us to sympathize with them, wants them to be forgiven because they are family?All shows do this, american or korean it doesn’t matter, they all do it and I’m sick and tired of it. That man was nothing more than a sperm donor; he was in no way shape or form a father. End of story. That woman was a shitty mother even though she believed herself to be a great mother who only cared about her children's future. At best she was toxic at worst she was borderline abusive.
I’ll stop here or I’ll continue forever because this show just gets me so heated. I was so sure that I was going to LOVE LOVE LOVE this show but it’s the worst korean drama that I’ve seen so far.

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Firstly, the acting was amazing! Something about the acting made me truly believe the pain and feelings each character felt. With the acting paired with the beautiful soundtrack, it is DEFINITELY a drama I will come back to. In fact, this is actually my third time watching it and each time I discover something new.

The story is amazing. It's about a woman in her mid 30's who is working at a tiring 9-5 (most nights ending the workday around 9 or 10) stuck without much, if any, joy and love in life. Her boyfriend/ex-boyfriend is no good (manipulative, cowardly and so much more), her relationship with her family could be better and her career is tiresome and often dreadful. When her best friend's little brother re-enters her life she stumbles upon that joy and passion she's been missing. With her family being the ones who cared for her best friend and her younger brother since they were in their teens, the family's reaction to the quickly budding relationship is more than what you'd expect. Eventually, this takes a toll on the two and their relationship, resulting in them thinking they can each fulfill a better life without the other- but in the end, they reunite once again discovering that fulfillment can only be reached when they are together.

As a frequent K-Drama watcher, this is a must-watch. Many people see the description and run for the hills, others have given it a try and find it long-winded due to the episode lengths (and I admit it might not be for everyone) but this is a drama you have to watch for YOURSELF!

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Total bullshit

I haven’t seen such trashy male and female lead characters. All characters are too annoying especially the FL is a trash and ML is hyper trash.
Most trashy things of this drama
1. Because ML love FL he always put FL first and his one and only sister in second(never respected her feelings) even though she sacrificed for him so much(she look after him without parents)
2. FL always hide everything from ML and always says sorry to him and he always forgive her without hesitation even though she went for a blind date behind his back, yet he forgives her within seconds.
3. She always says she is older and more mature and don’t do any mistakes but always making mistakes and says sorry to him.
4. Yet she was in deep love with ML, but within 3 months she found a new boy friend, when ML come back than she realize that she did evil thing to him and decided to punish herself because of hurting him and his sister.
5. Even after knowing she has a new boy friend, the ML couldn’t forgive her and wants her only.
I couldn’t write the remaining trashy scenes because it will turn out complete drama.
This is the total trashy character,

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Por mais que exista um amor aparentemente puro e inquebrável, há questões de personalidades próprias e valores familiares que podem entrar em conflito e muitas vezes são intransponíveis. Outras vezes, não.

Ao assistir pela primeira vez "Something in the rain", conforme a história se desenvolve, uma profusão de sentimentos vêm à tona. Alegria, tristeza e principalmente raiva, todas misturadas, nos fazem muitas vezes sentir pena e torcer por um dos protagonistas, sem muito bem entender o motivo que levou o outro a tomar aquela atitude, aparentemente incompreensível e sem sentido.

No caso da história deste drama, por sermos espectadores com uma visão de cultura e valores ocidentais, temos a tendência de não compreendermos muitas das atitudes da protagonista feminina Yoon Jin-ah. Mas este juízo de valor que fazemos sobre as ações que ela toma não seria justamente uma intolerância da nossa parte ? Tentar se colocar no lugar dela, lembrando dos valores familiares que ela aprendeu desde sua infância, por mais difícil que possa parecer para nós, seria o mínimo que poderíamos fazer para não a julgarmos com olhares enviesados. E é justamente o que seu par Seo Joon-hee deixou de fazer em certo momento.

A psicologia das cores em conjunto com o clima (chuva, sol, neve, tempestade) entra nesta história de forma espetacular para explicar a todo momento o comportamento e o amadurecimento dos dois protagonistas. A filmagem, a fotografia e a trilha sonora são maravilhosas. A lentidão das cenas sem cortes se assemelha bastante com filmes cinematográficos.

O final poderia ter sido um pouco mais bem trabalhado, mas não prejudico o todo da obra.

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