This is a new experience for me. I literally sobbed my heart out at the end of the show and it had nothing to do with the story line. It was because the show was over, and I am heartbroken that I will never be able to spend more time with these characters again. I gave this show a perfect rating, not because the show had no flaws, but, like when you fall in love with someone, you love them despite flaws, and they are perfect to you. This show, from start to finish, was perfect to me.
I have to caveat this with the fact that I was just slightly spoiled: I knew who Doek Sun would end up being married to in the end before I started watching. Okay, so that's more than being slightly spoiled, so I don't know what my watching experience would have been like if I hadn't known, because I wasn't frustrated by the whole love triangle thing, but was able to sit back and enjoy all the different relationships in all the iterations.
And that really is the heart of this show. These characters, each and every one of them, and how they live and love and grow together. This show had me grinning from ear to ear the one minute, and crying the next. I was emotionally invested in each of their stories and rooting so heard for them. Not just the kids, but the parents too. This is what family is about -- the silly, heartwarming stuff, and the real, heartbreaking stuff, and all the things in between.
What also got to me was the show's nostalgia. Maybe it helped that I grew up in the 80s and 90s as well, and there were so many, many things in this show that I could relate to and made my heart warm with remembering, despite the fact that I grew up in a different culture, speaking a different language and a whole continent away in Southern Africa. Some things are just universal I guess.
And finally, I fell in love with the show and all the characters, but one in particular stopped my heart. Park Bo Gum's portrayal of the Baduk star Choi Taek was nothing short of breathtaking. Having seen him in Moonlight Drawn by Clouds, and he certainly impressed me there, his portrayal of Taek was even more impressive when you see how different the characters are and how he makes it hard to believe they are played by the same person. On top of that, with as straight a character as Taek is, how amazing is Park Bo Gum in being able to show so much emotion with just the slightest expressions. Ok, I'll stop gushing now.
If you haven't watched this show, don't wait, but do get yourself a box of tissues (for all the happy tears) and do clear out your schedule because you're not going to want to press pause.
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