Shout-out to Su San, who was the one who’d put this movie on my radar; I’m pretty sure that without her enthusiastic recommendation, I would’ve missed this one completely.
And that would’ve been a pity, because now that I’ve checked out the movie for myself, I must concur that this one is quite excellent indeed.
It wasn’t always an easy watch, but it was absolutely a worthwhile one.
Psst: Links to watch are at the end of the review!
This show isn’t for everyone. It’s more thematic exploration than straightforward story, and for that reason, I feel it is divisive. Some people like this one a lot, while others think it’s terrible.
If you’re open to exploring uglier themes around the human condition, and don’t mind a narrative that asks more questions than it answers, this could work for you.
If, on the other hand, you’re more interested in the telling of a story, and its characters’ journeys, and how those are meaningful, this might not be your thing – because that doesn’t appear to be where Show’s interest lies.
Not bad, overall.
THE SHORT VERDICT:
A warm little show that brings a good, solid amount of feels, with the right lens adjustments.
From the title itself, you can guess that our story’s main focus is the theme of self-discovery and self-love.
On this front, Show does a lovely little job, with many of our key characters charting growth journeys, and mending relationships, not just with the people around them, but with themselves as well.
A little cheesy, but ultimately very warm and cozy.
So, funny story, you guys.
I was late to the party, and started my watch of this show when everyone else was well into Show’s middle stretch. I struggled enough with Hyun Bin’s character in this show’s first two episodes, that I was legit on the brink of dropping this show.
And then, Show ended, and there was such a heated furore among viewers for Show’s reportedly terrible-horrible-couldn’t-be-worse-let’s-boycott-this-writer-forever ending, that I was so sure that I had dodged a bullet.
But then, I saw a couple of tweets by viewers who actually felt satisfied with Show’s ending. Well, now. That sure got my attention.
If you’ve been around the blog for a while, you might know that I’ve been known to, on at least several occasions in the past, buck general audience trends by feeling completely differently about certain shows versus the majority of viewers.
It was like that when I started the blog in 2012 (my first ever post was for Operation Proposal, which I really liked – and which most people hated), and it was like that recently too, when I’d been very solidly satisfied with the ending of The Third Charm – which most people also hated.
So this curious cat (with a reasonable amount of FOMO) decided to do an experiment. Instead of dropping the show, I adjusted my viewing lens using all the fragments of information I had, and jumped in for a marathon.
The big question I wanted to put to the test was: With the right expectations and the right lens adjustment, would this show – could this show – actually turn out to be, well, good?