Prietena Surorii Mele (2018)

Asian cultures have this strong parental control exerting over their adult children. The adult children have to juggle the balance to lead their lives while making sure they make their parents proud and saving face. Once you understand the Asian cultures then you will understand the pain and the dilemna the female lead character must endure. I applaud the acting and the chemistry between the actors. It is cute but not annoying or over the top as other K-drama. The characters throughly adapt and become stronger as the episodes continue on. It also raised awareness 'Me, Too' movement in addressing sexual harassment at work. A must watch for us women in the quest of finding true love and be courageous.

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Goddammit this show was frustrating. After episode 10 I wanted to smack everyone upside the head and quit.
In episode 15 I wanted to burn the whole place to the fucking ground.
After the whole storyline of fighting against injustice, the main couple separates for five fucking years because the FL can't grow a pair and stand up to her parents, and on top of that she starts dating someone else that her parents chose for her. And you expect me to be on board with a happy ending with the male lead, when all I want is for the guy to meet someone with a backbone who'll stand by him?! I want 18 hours of my life back. Don't waste your life/nerves/energy on this.

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Started with a bang then fizzled out...

Just end... were my feelings after episode 8. The beginning was nice, very nice actually. The stages of attraction from like to love was beautifully done. Wow my kind of romance... loved it!!! Unfortunately at the halfway point of the series the drama went to the left for me. It became a torture to watch. I was begging for it to end quickly. I'm sad because it ended with me not really liking the main character Jin Ah (this doesn't happen often but when it does its disappointing). I hated that Joon Hee loved Jin Ah wished he would find someone who deserved his love... she was older but immature and a liar. Augh her constant lies drove me insane then her excuses were baffling irritating and frustrating... but then I tried to reason what do you expect with a cray cray meddling mental and emotional abusive eomma. I understand eomma wanted the best for her children but jeez she was over the top; however, it was nice to finally see her loving eomma side in the end. I also didn't care for Joon Hee appa but loved his noona, Kyung Sun. All credit for Joon Hee warmhearted love goes to Kyung Sun. Great job noona!!! Oh and lets not forget the twisted office sexual harassment. I have all kinds of thoughts and comments on that but for fear of spoilers I will keep it to myself but OMG really SMH. Overall this dramas love chemistry was soft sweet pretty amazing until it wasn't.

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So this has got to be one of my favourite dramas of all time because of so many reasons, and what made me discover my love for Jung Hae-In!

THE STORY
The story doesn't follow the typical romance tropes I see in Kdramas- there's no chaebols, deadly family secrets, nor is it a cinderella story. While there are typical family dynamics here, it all felt so real. The story pits Jin Ah and Joon Hee in not a "forbidden romance" but rather a romance that places them in an incredibly awkward situation. They're sort-of-friends (through their siblings) and live fairly average lives. There's the crazy mother obsessed with the family image that also pushes the plotline through. There are many mixed thoughts on the story, but I will acknowledge that a lot of times the story was very suffocating. I just wished for these two to catch a break- from work lives and home lives. Jin Ah reminds me of a lot of Asian girls I know and her family even mirrors a lot of my family dynamics. Many people will dislike much of her actions, but in the grand scheme, it's understandable how she's ended up in a lukewarm state because of how she was brought up. I also like the other plot happening at work- the director really knows how to make two large situations together to create one suffocating problem, but one that makes sense and doesn't take away from the other problem. The story leads you to sympathize and hate different decisions, but it's life. Neither Joon Hee nor Jin Ah were perfect, and that's what made it real and believable. You really need tissues and to make sure you're in the right state of mind for this one, but the skillful writing was very well-done.

THE CAST
Son Ye Jin and Jung Hae In are two of my favourite actors. They both executed their roles perfectly and the tender nuances in their gazes- wow. I melted, cried and laughed with them. While I love both of them, I was very pleasantly surprised by Hae-In's skill in acting and how he completely charmed me and swept me off my feet. I could feel the emotion from the other side of the screen. Hae-In has the nuances of Joon Hee so down and you can see that he's been interested in his noona for a while but never really acted or even realized it himself hahaha. I also admire the improv skills they have, and their amazing chemistry. I watched a lot of behind the scenes and I saw how much improv they've done and I was shocked silly. Honestly, Hae-In is a very skilled improv actor and he really knows how to place himself in the shoes of his character. Ye Jin also is an actor that you can sense the experience of right off the bat and she really brought her Noona role to life here. Also, I appreciated how the director kept a lot of the improv and encouraged it all! Honestly, the same director as One Spring Night and they're both so well directed!

MUSIC
God, do not get me started. The music here was amazing and really set the scene. The arrangements were perfect and set the whole kind of "flashback/vintage" vibe immediately. Whoever arranged the set and the music did a phenomenal job. They complimented each other beautifully and I actually had all the songs from the soundtrack on repeat for a month. I literally play this music whenever I sit in the rain and the scenes with just music and their crazy antics were executed beautifully.

REWATCH VALUE
Honestly, I'd watch this 100 more times. I've watched it about five times now (though not completely). I wouldn't watch every single episode again if I didn't want to feel the suffocation from the angst (don't get me wrong I loved the angst) but you know my heart can't take breaking that much all the time hahah. Honestly, flag your favourite episodes and rewatch those or rewatch it all with a couple of friends- this drama is bound to bring a lot of discussions.

CONCLUSION
A beautiful and well-told story. Honestly, the director and videographers did an amazing job and the shots were timed perfectly and chosen perfectly for each scene. Honestly, I'm keeping an eye on this director because all his works are similar vibe and are skillful pieces of art. Ahn Pan-seok is a rare talent and also so funny during filming! All the production crew did a great job as well. I loved this and the story will always live in me and I don't have enough words of praise to fully express my appreciation and love.

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This drama was both a delight to watch and an utter pain in the butt. I get where the director was going with the long drawn-out scenes but while those work aesthetically in a movie, they are just plain awful in a drama. I felt like for a majority of the screen time, absolutely nothing was happening. In fact, it was almost like the production company realized they had about 5 episodes worth of material so they had a pow-wow for ideas on how to stretch that into 16 looooong episodes. I also was not a fan of the 3 songs that continually played on repeat.

That aside (and getting to the “delight” part) Jin Ah and Joon Hee were adorable and I loved every scene of them together. I especially loved how their romance bloomed and the moments playing up to them actually becoming a couple. Man, it made my heart race at times. I even enjoyed the different conflicts they shared in their relationship and how their various mistakes and misunderstandings were portrayed because it felt really real. I did, however, absolutely hate Jin Ah’s mother and felt like we never got justice for how terrible of a human she was, no matter all her excuses of wanting the best for Jin Ah (it just went too far and I couldn't get behind her reasoning).

Which brings me to the ending itself. Not the worst last episode in the history of finale’s but damn close. I could understand most of the conflict in Jin Ah and Joon Hee’s relationship because it seemed relatable and natural to me, however I could not understand most of what occurred in the last episode. It made me not really care about what happened to either of them by the time it was over. In the end, I don’t regret watching the drama as a whole but this is definitely getting filed with the ‘what could have been’s’ and ultimately, forgotten.

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Pulls a strong emotional punch

This Kdrama absolutely pulls at the heartstrings all the way though. Initially we are drawn into the unfolding romance between the leads which is light , playful and a delight to watch. About half way though, the tone begins to change, as the characters encounter fierce opposition from all quarters and don't have the strategies or an ability to communicate with each other in a way that helps them to resolve it.

The acting is outstanding from all players, and the camera work is so loving that each scene feels beautifully shot and intimate.

Anyone watching this for a sure romance will be disappointed, because the real story in this drama is the strong commentary on traditional Korean society. This drama explores the devastating impacts of parental pressure on the choices children have. We are shown two parenting styles - one who is uninvolved and neglectful and the other overbearing and controlling. Both end up playing emotional havoc on their children rendering them incapable of taking full responsibility for their lives. The journey of Jin Ah, in the lead female role, is to free herself from the grip of family and work so that she can grow into an independent self-determining adult. This journey is hard won, and painful to watch.

Because this is a romance, we know there will be a happy ending. However, the happiness achieved is undercut by what the characters will have to leave in order to achieve it and for this reason their future lives together feels hopeful rather than assured. I loved this kdrama for this complexity, and for the questions that linger long after I finished watching it.

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Wish I had stopped watching halfway through. By the end I hated every character. The love story for the first 4-6 episodes was sweet and unhurried. It felt like a warm cup of tea. Then it took a turn into Crazytown. I felt emotionally abused by the end.

The one-note conflict dragged on so long, and the main couple was so frustrating by the end. None of the conflicts with family or friends were solved. The workplace conflicts were not tied up in a satisfactory way. Everything about this show was half-baked. Except for the chemistry of the leads. The acting was great.

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Summary - The first 2/3 of this are wonderful, heart warming and wrenching at the same time. As this pair work against just about everyone in their lives to be able to love each other, overcoming hurdle after hurdle. It's not just the "honeymoon" phase of love, it goes longer, which was great. Then it all goes a bit wrong. The wheels massively come off this one. I lost track of what was happening and why. Ending is ok but unsatisfying on the whole.

Longer...

The FL is 10 years older than the ML. They've known each other for many years and the ML and his sister have practically been raised as siblings to the FL following their own mothers passing and their father abandoning them... so there's some taboo's to overcome when the FL and ML realise their feelings for each other have grown significantly.

This story is one of love, romance and hardship. Fairly early on the couple are getting together and the way in which they overcome that first hurdle of - who makes the first move - was really nicely done. As the relationship grows, the FL's character visibly brightens and changes, she gains confidence and literally becomes more bouncy. There are the silly childish games that couples play in the honeymoon phase along the lines of "no, you hang up first" with some cute scenes involving him dropping her off at home and them taking a long time to actually separate.

There's the FL's brother, the ML's sister, the FL's parents (who by some extension are also somewhat the ML's fake-parents), all of which are probably going to have a problem with this relationship. These are tackled one by one and I thought handled well.

The FL's mother - probably one of my most disliked characters in a story. On the one hand, she's obviously a caring mother, she goes out of her way to help and OUGHT to be a fantastic mother, but she's so controlling and interfering she becomes the clear "bad guy" in this story (that's not a spoiler, it's fairly clear early on who the problem is going to be!). She's acted well though I have to say.

In addition to what's happening in her personal life, the FL has problems at work with sexual harassment from a couple of the male senior staff. I found this whole aspect of the story really hard to watch, but more because it was portrayed well and therefore all the more shameful - not so much about the actual act of harassing but all the scheming and tactics to try and dodge it, cover it up, pass over the blame etc. Ultimately the story kinda builds to a conclusion on this and then SKIPS it however so you actually only find out what ultimately happened via a reminiscence later on, a huge shame.

None of the sound track really stood out for me, it does all seem to be English lyrics which was interesting. One of the songs is a remake of Stand By Your Man - which plays sooo many times - but I found it appropriate if only because this story is clearly - Stand By Your Woman. The FL is going through so many challenges at home and at work, she's a flawed character who makes mistakes on top, and what she needs most (and, for the most part, what she gets from the ML) is support.

So, was it worth watching?

I'd recommend watching this one because of the first 2/3 being SO good, it goes beyond the ridiculously cute honeymoon phase to further in where things become more normal, to where they upset each other, decisions are made and things happen, there's the happenings with the family and with the ML's sister. There's really only two threads (their relationship and the harassment story line) but they are both quite involved.

This is not a story where good people make only good decisions, be prepared to throw popcorn at the screen and shout "just be honest!" "argh no don't do that you fool!" - but that's ok because in the real world, people are flawed too.

The wheels do come off later, the time skip is unannounced and utterly confusing and contributes a lot to the problems in following the story in the last few episodes. The harassment story line is done a huge disservice by not having its conclusion covered properly too.

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How to ruin a great show

The first episodes I really loved this show. The main couple is absolutely adorable and especially the lead Yoon Jin Ah is evolving throughout the story. The supporting characters well defined. Subplots are interesting and relatable: whether it is the dealings with sexual harrasment at work, the problems with the ex-boyfriend or the fear of how friends and family react to the slightly unusual couple. Overall the show is slow but well paced at this point in time.
Until there I would rate this show with a 10, so much did I enjoy it.

But then, the writing goes downhill fast: Suddenly the until that point likable lead character becomes absolutely determined to make borderline-crazy decisions seemingly only to make life hell for the male lead. I have seen this happening in shows before - creating artificial drama where non should be, because some more episodes are needed - but never to this extent. The same happens to some of the supporting characters as well.

The actors seem as confused by this as the viewer, as the acting becomes noticable worse. To stretch the overall slow pace even further, we are presented with minute long scenes of people walking or driving - at this point I was thankful for the "+10 seconds"-button and the newly introduced "x1.5"-speed option of Netflix. And to make things the most annoying song of the very limited soundtrack is played multiple times per episode, often louder than the spoken word.

So, how does the show still rate 8 for me? The beginning is just so very good that I would recommend others to watch it, even if you will be frustrated by the horrible second half.

And now to the spoiler part:
I need to point out how horrible a person the mother is. It is one thing to want a good match for your daughter but the fanatic crusade she wages against the main couple is ridiculous. At some point I was suspecting, that she once had an affair with Seo Joon Hee's father and the main couple are actual siblings by blood.
So as the show itself, I will end on a bad note and say: the only thing that can redeem the mother character is actual incest.

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I have mixed feelings about this drama. It is very mature in its theme, but somehow it converted itself to a very immature ending and it catered to what it believed the viewers wanted in the end. I marathoned the first 14 episodes and truly enjoyed the way the story evolved and how the actors and actresses portrayed their roles. As usual, there is always the "Korean mother" - someone we all want to hate , but if this is a true depiction of life as an unmarried woman living with parents in South Korea then the story is given a higher rating. However, the story failed to really deal with true human emotions, especially when the parties have connected so initimately. Character flaws are really the highlighted themes of this drama. You keep asking yourself - would I do that? How would I respond? If only I had that chance? How far would I go to love someone? Would I sacrifice for the one I love? So for me the drama did merit a higher rating. It was not for the younger or inexperienced viewer. As an older woman you can look back at your own personal life and ask yourself these questions and focus in on mistakes or missed opportunities. The drama was a work of art. The painter drew the lines and colored it according to his/her feelings of what is love so I don't condemn this drama totally. I truly did not feel good at the end -- but was happy at the end. It is a judgment we all have to make after watching - and I do recommend watching. There are some wonderful moments in this drama that should not be dismissed because we disagree with the outcomes. Again, this is a drama about character flaws and I must add - love that is unyielding (even if it is by only one party in a relationship). The music was appropriate, but sometimes annoying.

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I created an account to write this review. The frustration I felt whilst watching this show made me want to cry (i did). I have NEVER felt the anger that I felt towards Jin-a’s mother like I have before.

I’m still struggling to understand why they wrote the mother to be the most insufferable character in the world. I felt like she was going to give me heartburn. The actress really played the part because I just wanted her to get her shit rocked. They were too polite, like sometimes you gotta commit murder; it’s the law.

That being said, initially this drama started out super cute. Jun-hui is obviously more into her than she is into him and it’s refreshing. I really liked how in the beginning, episode was unpredictable. They would throw drama and plot twists after plot twists in the middle of an episode which is innovative. I just don’t know how everything can go wrong in a drama.

I can really write a whole essay on which this drama gave me indigestion, but I will leave with this. The ONLY redeeming quality of this drama is the acting. The actors/actresses had a piss poor plot to work with and they made the most of it. I think every body in the show played their part well, they just weren’t written well lol.

I’m still mad I put almost 20 hours into this show. The weak plot and whole 3 songs really can go swan dive off a balcony.

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