Prietena Surorii Mele (2018)

It’s great if you skip a few episodes

I took the advice of one reviewer and skipped episodes 10-15. I am glad I did because of how mad I was when 16 started. But at least I wasn’t depressed! And I really didn’t want to be sad after such a strong start. Man, were those first 7 episodes CAPTIVATING. I was blushing at the screen. Swoon-worthy? Like whoa! I didn’t even hate Stand By Your Man completely. But everyone is right, it heads straight to Dumpsterville after that. Just get through 9 and then fast forward to the last one. None of the minor plot lines are going to be resolved satisfactorily anyway, and you can easily figure out the broad strokes of what happened—why sit through five hours of Sads when life is short! Tune in for the typical kdrama ending: “it’s some number of years later, and it’s possible they will finally get to live happily ever after, if this blurry wide shot of silhouettes on a beach is any indication”. Still worth it to watch the first half, if only to see kdrama’s best boyfriend ever, Jung Hae-in, fall for a girl. And SYJ is great as flustered and cute, if cynical, hot noona. I could see myself rewatching some of the first episodes, because they are artful and make my heart flutter. Though for overall rewatchability, I’d recommend One Spring Night over this one.

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bawling my eyes out over the considerate and gentle love that's going on here

I sincerely, genuinely find this k-drama so precious.

First off, its attempt to convey realism was so well-done. At first, the sudden cuts and raw editing was something I thought would be one of the drama's weaker points, but turns out, it was made purposefully to appear as if the events are literally unfolding right before our eyes. The camera angles, framing, and even the way the scenes felt like real life, with all the dull moments and stuttering and you can even feel the awkwardness in the conversations, it's perfection. I understand not everyone would appreciate this kind of drama, though but personally, it was something I enjoyed and am fond of.

Son Ye-Jin and Jung Hae-In's acting were both so stellar. They showed such great expertise in this drama that I got goosebumps especially whenever they're having those heavy conversations. Even the supporting roles did such a great job in playing their parts. There were times when the actors don't talk and the story is told through their actions and I think it takes experience and a great skill set to be able to pull those off seamlessly, to which they were able to. Hands down to the cast choices (sidenote: they put Hae-In and Ha-Joon in one drama they may have just shot an arrow through my heart).

One thing I personally thought could have been better though is the ending. I was left wondering what really happened to the office case because it was just mentioned briefly but not really shown, and though I got a reasonable resolution with the parental relationship, I still wondered if what could have happened next.

Other than that, I loved even the dull moments in this drama. Sure, at some parts, I had to drag myself to sit through everything and not skip, but in the larger picture, for the purpose of 100% feels factor during the flashbacks, it was so worth it. I especially loved how the couple was so considerate of each other and even when they're having arguments, they don't resort to shouting and walking out, they really talked it out, no matter how uncomfortable, and tried their best to stay gentle in the span of the conversation. I think that was so precious and beautiful.

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I listened to all the reviews that said to skip from ep 10 straight to the ending and I won't miss anything. I did exactly that and I agree, I don't feel I missed any important details.

But having said that, this drama portrayed the slow and confusing process of falling in love. The fear of confessing your feelings and being rejected and the first time holding hands. The portrayal of all these experiences and feelings was so well done, that often I forgot to breathe. The honest and naive love that the ML had for the FL is something we all can dream about. But I did skip all the miscommunication and break-up drama that went on for 6 episodes because the last episode summarized everything and then ended on a good note.

Overall it's a must-watch for every K-drama lover and anyone interested in love because it should become the golden standard of how love and relationships should feel like.

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One for the books!

This is one of the best kdramas I’ve watched. I can no longer count how many time I’ve watched this show. This just shows how great of a show this is.

The chemistry between the main leads is superb. They have one of the best chemistries I’ve seen in kdrama (and I’ve seen A LOT of shows already). If you want a true to life romance, matured relationship, heart fluttering love, and a romance that will make you feel like you are part of them, this one is for you. Although a lot of people doesn’t like the 2nd half of the show, I believe that the show was able to portray the culture of having parents being overly intrusive into the personal relationships of their children (especially when it comes to marriage).

Overall, I recommend this show and I will never get tired rewatching it whenever I want a taste of fluffiness.

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A Grueling 16 Episodes

My first review, but I simply could not get over how much I disliked this drama without writing one; it felt like my civic duty, so this is going to be ranty. I watched the first 5-ish episodes thinking it would be something I could get into despite a bit of a rocky start, but then it very quickly plummeted downhill. Like a previous review said, this should've just been a movie and we'd all be happy. If you like noona romances, honestly just skip out on this one and watch "Romance Is a Bonus Book" instead.

I will preface this with the fact that the very, very thin lifeline that kept me watching was Wi Ha-jun as Jin-a's little brother who didn't even show up that much in the end, but as a lot of people are saying, the one good thing about this drama is the actors. Although, what drama these days doesn't have good acting? So it's not that big of a compliment, especially considering they had an incredibly shitty story to work with.
As I said, I liked it at first, but around episode 6, it starts getting excruciatingly long and boring, with plenty of scenes of characters being sad in solitude without any talking- I started skipping after a while because I knew nothing was gonna happen. The characters felt like they didn't learn from their mistakes, and I ended up hating the main couple after the fourth conflict. The conflicts felt contrived and so easy to resolve that I couldn't suspend my disbelief for it; the show is so needlessly melodramatic. The ML was extremely pushy and the FL lied so much that when she said "she's grown as a person," I had a hard time believing it. I will be frank, it did not feel like they were in love. I kinda liked the scenes where the FL hangs out with her friends, and I wish they showed more of that and less of her with the ML because soon enough their cutesy scenes made me want to barf. No one's conversations go anywhere, the mother was controlling and abusive to a cartoonish degree, and the amount of time they spent on her crazy ex was, well, crazy.
Speaking of crazy, it felt like the soundtrack had only 3 songs in it. At first, I thought the music was nice, but then the sheer amount of times they played that same "sometimes it's hard to be a woman" made it start sounding like nails on a chalkboard. If I ever heard that song again, I'd probably lose it completely. You could not pay me a million dollars to rewatch this.

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Horrible plot

The show starts off great, the first 10 episodes are well done and draw you in, but after that, it loses any sign of a plot.
The conflict in the first 10 episodes focuses on Jinah’s stalker ex boyfriend, but after that, there’s no sign of him again despite there being no resolution. The following episodes focus on SA allegations against the men at Jinah’s job, but again, there is no resolution to that either. At some point in the last few episodes, Jinah and Joonhee break up, which in my opinion is one of the worst times to write in a breakup, but I trusted that there was a plan. Alas, the plot failed again and they did not get back together until the second half of the last episode.
Overall, I had high hopes for this show, but was severely disappointed by the lack of plot at the end. I would not recommend watching this.

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This was my first experience in K-drama. Not sure why I clicked on it while searching through Netflix, but glad I did.

I thought the writers did an excellent job of showing how relationships evolve and how they can fall apart when external forces play a role. Yes the behavior of the mother was exaggerated but that was needed in order to drive the story forward. You have to admit she makes a great villain, which most stories need to be entertaining.

The main character was not as well written as I would have liked, I am referring to how things in her life slowly began to overwhelm her to the point where she would do crazy things. If the writers had spend a little more time foreshadowing this aspect of her so the viewer had a better understanding of what she was going through then the story would have been perfect. But overall I really enjoyed the series.

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The only thing that keeps me going is the acting of Jung Hae In. But otherwise this is a slow-cooking drama made worse by alternating cringe-worthy sound tracks playing at inappropriate moments. I was rooting for the couple in the beginning but towards the end, I feel frustrated for the Main Female Lead that I wanted to push her off a cliff because the self-sacrificing male lead deserved better. The decisions made by the female martyr seemed so self-serving even when she thought she had good intentions, as if she WANTS to play the role of the suffering victim that needs to be saved by the young prince. The drama wants to come across as an art film but becomes more fartsy than artsy. Saving this film from pure destruction is the chemistry between the leads, but otherwise this drama can go to hell along with the obnoxious, social-climbing mother.

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Do you like watching people walk?

Walking in the rain? On a sunny day? At night? To the store? To work? Home from work? Down hallways between apartments?

Or maybe you prefer people standing... On rooftops, contemplating. At elevators, waiting. At curbsides, flagging taxis.

THEN THIS IS THE SHOW FOR YOU!

And none of that walking is marred by any dialogue! You simply have lots of time to embrace the visual of walking and standing, often with uninterrupted camera shots void of any close-ups to capture facial expressions.

I saw an interview where HB and SYJ were asked what they did to prepare for CLOY. He had to bulk up at the gym, work with a dialect coach, and learn piano. She said she had to learn to be funny so she watched a lot of comedies. At the time, I thought she had it easier, but now I can see that might not have been the case. There are maybe 2 amusing scenes in all 16 episodes. This is truly a MELODRAMA.

The show takes itself very seriously. It addresses age-difference dating, sexual harassment in the workplace, infidelity, stalking, and persisting discrimination between families of different social status. I wish it were compressed to 8 or 12 episodes. Or if some of the subplots were dropped, it could have been an enjoyable movie.

The first half is slightly better paced, and the chemistry between the leads is strong. Jung Have In is adorable. The acting from the entire cast is really superb. Jang So Yeon (who you may recognize as the wire tapper's wife from CLOY) won Best Supporting for her role at a number of award ceremonies. If you want to skip the second half, I've provided spoilers below.

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The ex-boyfriend never returns after they successfully do the cell phone exchange. FL goes on blind date to appease her mother without telling ML. Her BFF sees her on the blind date and they fight. ML pretty upset about it too when he learns but not as much as his sister. Meanwhile, mom kicks FL out of the family house. She is trying to find a place but they are all scuzzy (unclear how ML and the BFF can have such nice apartments but FL, whose home gave her back all the rent she's paid over the last decade cannot). ML decides it is best for them to move in together; FL rejects that. Then, given the sexual harassment lawsuit, he decides they should up and leave and go to USA -- and gets his boss to reassign him. She's pissed at that, plus she just finally signed for an apartment, and they break up.
Meanwhile, at work, FL gets threatened by corporate lawyer that they will drag her through the mud if she persists with sexual harassment claim. She blackmails her boss with telling him she will go to his family with the video and an audio recording of him admitting he did wrong. He agrees to post a letter of apology on the company bulletin board. The more senior boss gets away with it all. When the promotion list comes out, the other women get real promotions and she gets a lateral assignment to a new position outside of the corporate office at the logistics warehouse.
Skip ahead a few years... FL still working at the warehouse and living solo in her apartment. Her closest friend from work has quit CoffeeBAY and has opened a restaurant on Jeju island. The FL's younger brother is getting married and ML returns from USA for the wedding. FL has new boyfriend that mom approves of but he leaves wedding to attend business deal and she sees ML and gets all flustered. He is still pining for her.
FL tries talking with her old BFF but she will not forgive her. FL decides to break it off with new boyfriend and to quit job and move to JeJu island to help with her colleague's restaurant there. ML is packing to return to USA and hears the recording he made on his phone. He tracks her down to JeJu island and they hug in the rain. Presumably she will go to USA with him this time but really the future is left wide open.

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Turn Down the sound

I'm never a reviewer. I cant take this apart piece by piece. But i will try to make my recommendation as to how to watch this.
The story unfolds beautifully and kept my attention immediately.
You will see people that seem to genuinely interact with each other. you will see long pauses and long hesitations in the dialogue. It is stretched almost to a breaking point. you will hang on their every word.

Do not be afraid. Luckily the subtitles can keep up - very easily. If you are listening for their dialogue, you will not be able to hear it because of the poorly inserted music. I believe it is all in English and I know it is loud. The music drowns out the voices. I hated the monotonal singer Rachael Yamagata covers and really bad Bruce Willis singing Save the Last Dance For Me. If I never hear Stand By Your Man again, it will be too soon. This show ruined some songs for me.
After learning to turn down the music and letting the sound just quietly go on in the background, I read and watched this drama.
The style and wardrobe are minimal and drab. They practically sleep in their coats. And sleep in their clothes. It never improves until the absolute last scene.
The end two episodes were disappointing. I rewatched them hoping that i was missing something. I wasn't. But I would rewatch the drama again.

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