Douăzeci și Cinci, Douăzeci și Unu (2022)

Beautiful plot, cast, and OSTs - but a very questionable and painful ending...

If you don't count the ending, this is one of my favorite dramas of all time. It's such a well-rounded show that covers topics from all different aspects of life - personal growth, friendship, rivalry love, youth, family, and more. I found myself relating to a lot of the characters in many ways and felt motivated and inspired about my own dreams and life after finishing this drama. Every episode left me with a tear-stained face, whether it was from happiness, sadness, or anything in between.

OVERALL PLOT:
The plot was set up for every character to shine, fail, and grow. There were so many challenges that each character - even side or supporting roles - struggled with and overcame that only made them an even better character by the end of the drama (minus the last 2 episodes lol). Not every character gets their chance to go through that kind of progression all within 16 episodes, but the fact that 2521 made it possible is one of the reasons why I loved the show so much.

I enjoyed how romantic love was not an overly consuming theme in this drama. The main leads had a healthy, reciprocating relationship and aspirations in life that were equally as important. This made the plot more admirable and realistic in comparison to other dramas where couples would do literally anything for love. I found myself feeling inspired and motivated watching Hee Do and Yi Jin lift each other up during hard moments and wholly enjoy each other's presence during happy times; their love was so pure, selfless, and wholesome. Up until the last couple of episodes, I really believed that their relationship was what every couple should strive for. I also appreciated how the writers planted the couple's first kiss towards the end of the drama; it just further reinforced how pure their love was, and made the wait for watchers like me SO worth it. Man, that kiss had me shaking in my boots - the buildup to it was just *chef's kiss*.

The strong emphasis on friendship and fencing rivalry also presented more opportunities for character complexity and development. I loved watching Hee Do and Yu Rim go from enemies to the most supportive besties. Their Madrid fencing competition was one of my favorite scenes of the show.

Hee Do's relationship with her mom is one of the most realistic portrayals of what Asian families can be like. She wasn't just a naggy mom who would only lightly scold her child. She was straight up unsupportive, abusive, and unforgiving to her only child because she was struggling with her own trauma - and we saw how deeply it affected Hee Do. It's ugly, painful, but real.


ACTING:
I loved the cast's acting, but I especially want to express my love for Kim Tae Ri. This is my first time watching her acting and I was truly blown away. She embodied Hee Do's strong spirit, quirky and cute humor, and emotional outbursts so well. Because of her talent, Hee Do's character/personality was a shining point in this show. Young and naive, but full of life, strength, and grit to handle any challenges that come her way. This persona heavily contrasts the endless female leads in other shows who often start off strong and end up weak or dependent on a man again. This alone makes the drama quite rewatchable; I found myself rewinding to certain parts of the show during Hee Do's victories or happy moments because her smile and energy were really contagious! I can't think of any other actress who could've played this role as well as Kim Tae Ri.

OST:
I LOVED every single OST from this drama. Every song really embodied what the characters were feeling. I added all of them to my Spotify playlist. :')

ENDING:
I know a majority of watchers were accepting of the ending because it's "realistic." Not all couples make it, whether it be due to internal or external problems - I get that. But the entirety of the drama built up the characters to have fighting spirits, to never waver in support for one another, and to love each other through life's challenges.

I know the writers' wanted no one to be at fault for the breakup - but it still felt like it was Yi Jin's fault to me. He was stuck in a job that made him depressed and traumatized, and as a result, he started neglecting his relationship with Hee Do. Meanwhile, Hee Do was always so eager to see and talk to him and was always all ears to offer him support. Hee Do also kept pushing him to be honest with his feelings, but he chose not to be. So where's the character development here? Did he just stop growing after he became a reporter? Considering how caring and loving Yi Jin was throughout the entire drama, I felt like this was really out of character for him.

Their last argument really upset me. I felt like they gave up way too easily after yelling at each other, neither one of them wanting to have an open and honest discussion about their feelings. You'd expect that after 600+ days of being in a relationship with someone you claim to love so deeply, you'd have a good understanding of how to bring up problems and be candid with each other.

The ending really broke the characters' continuity and who they're supposed to be to the core. If the writers wanted to take a more "realistic" approach, perhaps just have Hee Do/Yi Jin go overseas like how Yu Rim did - but have them reconcile at the very last second for an open-ended ending. I'd much rather prefer that kind of wrap-up than whatever they decided on.

I don't think the ending completely ruined the drama for me because there were just too many good moments throughout the show that still made it worth watching - but I definitely feel like the writers could've made it the perfect drama had they taken a different approach.

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Sudden Adulthood

You'll eventually got hooked on the first episodes of this drama because it will give you two different scenarios, Yi-jin, a young man who needs to be a grown-up, and Hee-do, a dreamer who would not stop to achieve her fencing goal.

The series talks about the carefree teenage life while someone is not prepared to be an adult yet. A so-called prodigy fencer who cannot go away from the slump and the other is a star but her career costs a fortune for someone who is not wealthy.

It is a great mix of different challenges since the Taeyang squad has their own battles. Overall I'm contented how this series end because it is just realistic between two lover whose career and priorities clashes.

I really recommend you to watch it, it gives another throwback drama!!!

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Some loves aren't meant to be forever

This drama is definitely a mixed bag for me. For one, I loved the relationships between the characters, particularly the friendships, and I LOVED how they showed that this love is equally as important as romantic love. I'm a big friendship girlie, particularly female ones so this was such a treat. I won't be smack talking about the ending because I still don't know how I feel about it. On one hand, I definitely understand why they did it but I just felt like they shouldn't have left it for the last episodes and instead made it a bit more gradual. What I really didn't like was the dual timelines. Going from the 90s storyline to present time was jarring and I honestly felt that it took away from the "progress" we had in the 90s one, I honestly saw no need for it. Lastly, they introduced some ideas with Ji Seung Wan that weren't ever fully developed, which was a bit of a let down. Overall, I truly did enjoy the drama.

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A shitty ending

I don’t know why or how this drama got this much rating, after watching the last episode i thought may be the director gone mad in the last episodes. This drama gives a very bad message to the society that, the one who achieved something will forgets all the hardships and loved ones but expects only comfort in live even though it is immoral or unethical.
There is no proper closure for the characters at all, even though the episodes are very lengthy but simply wasted time on unnecessary things without giving any proper clarity to characters at all.
Especially I hate FL character, she asks the ML that did he really loved her or not, even though after he helped and sacrificed that much for her, it is really disappointing to hear. I don’t know why in Korean dramas they portray FL’s in such bad fashion(I have seen in so many dramas). After telling so many hurtful things to ML she cried secretly and writes in her dairy that she didn’t mean that. I don’t know really what is the necessary of writing in dairy like that instead of comforting the one who got hurt by her.
The main message in this drama is “ the one who love you more will hurt you more” and treat you like a use and throw napkins.

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Heart Warming, Unique and Refreshing

This is almost as full package of a drama you can ask for- from the cinematography, acting, ost, plot and everything in between can be described in one word EXCELLENT. It is light hearted but also while simultaneously highlighting several real life issues faced by the youth back in the 90s

Remarkable chemistry between the 5 main characters, special props go to Nam Joo-Hyuk and Kim Tae-Ri. Their relationships and interactions set up the relaxation mood for the drama throughout. The writing's given all 5 of them enough emotional depth that none of them would feel like an afterthought.

This is still an ongoing drama but it is well on it's way to my favs list. It's very soothing, must watch imo.

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„Let's suffer together when we're in pain. It's 100 times better than being lonely alone.“

Story of love and motivation.
The amount of love I have towards this drama is unspeakable. The way this drama depicts should we escape from our youth or face it bravely is so impressing.
Twenty Five, Twenty One has attracted the attention of many domestic and foreign audiences.
With it's visuals, cinematography, many meaningful messages along with talented actresses and actors, who wouldn't be attracted?
Ever since it aired, people got curious who did Hee Do marry? What happened to the friend group? Where did everyone go? Do we get a happy ending?
With many theories, that even actors of the drama reacted to, we finally came to an end to this beautiful drama.
The series portrayed beautifully how there are long gaps of no growth and how growth resembles a staircase instead of a hill.
The amount of character development we've seen through these 16 episodes was so well written and so well put (Yurim best girl<3).
I was so impressed by their passions and empathy they had towards eachother in the drama, whether that would be between the main leads, side leads or just in general- the whole cast.
Their chemistry is out of this world.
The FL has an unique style and personality. Extremely loud, holds her ground, quite extroverted and a little bit clumsy while the ML is quiet, a big observator and tries his best to stay honest.
In this drama exists a very special friendship/relationship between Yi Jin, who was the unconditional support and Hee Do who was the source of motivation for Yi Jin to find his dream again.
The way they supported eachother through hardships was such a heartmelting thing to see.
“Seeing you work hard makes me want to work hard too. If you can do it, I want to do it too. Besides yourself, you also make others want to do well.” Yi Jin was always on Hee Do‘s side, due to that she had faith and strength to pursue her dreams.
I'm not going to get into spoilers and big details because I know new viewers and fans will come in and watch it, so I hope everyone has lots of fun watching this drama and theorising just like we did.
I'm so glad it got the hype and attention it deserved along with Bona and her cute girl group.
Happy watching to others, so glad we had lots of fun with this drama and it showed an immense talent of the whole cast.

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Why to watch this drama?

This is an interesting drama. If you watch this drama you will be hooked on it. Today the last episode will be released. Craving for second season knowing that it will not come!!! Love from INDIA 💯💯💯💯 Go and watch it now. I'm not gonna give you any spoilers anyway as it will just ruin your interest to watch this drama. This drama is lit!!!!!😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍☺️☺️😍😍😍😍☺️☺️

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Shame of an ending.

I didn’t know Koreans were/are great at fencing and that it was even popular there?

I’m just going to focus on the last two episodes since everyone knows that the first 14 episodes were great. Well, there were some ridiculous coincidences like Hee Do and Yu Rim turning out to be online chat buddies and Hee Do’s mom and her coach being old frienemies. Sigh…

Anyhow…. What happened to this show at the end? Did they change the writer for the last 2 episodes? Once Yi Jin, who was just a local news reporter and not a FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT!!!, was sent to New York, the story went down hill fast. I’m willing to overlook this small point to focus on something more grave.

I get that he was sad and depressed in New York but it was never really explained why he wanted to stay in New York. I get that the writer wanted them to break up but it was such a lame and cowardly way to force a break up. Especially, if Yi Jin was having such a hard time there but they want us to believe he wanted to stay in NY? To hide? Because he wasn’t thinking clearly? Then he came back after 6 months and tried to be wishy washy about breaking up???

When Hee Do lost her diary, I just knew it would somehow end up with Yi Jin. And, sure enough. Sigh…

I really hate that they ruined Yi-Jin’s character at the end without any meaningful explanation just to break them up. He was upbeat and he was a fighter. I get that the writer had a message in mind but this turn of event didn’t seem like it was planned well as if he was forced to change the way it happened at the end. I feel like this break up could’ve been more meaningful. Even till the end, the writer was holding us hostage while we were hoping they would get back together. Ugh… Oh, well. They just couldn’t leave well enough alone. What a shame.

So, everyone, your childhood friendship and love, really don’t mean much. Just move along.

K-drama writers love surprises that are not surprising. Not even remotely clever.

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