The drama worked out to be a pretty mixed experience for me.
In short, I thought some of the arcs dealing with familial relationships were truly excellently written, with certain beats making me feel particularly seen and understood. 🥲
Unfortunately, I felt that some arcs, including the OTP arc, were unevenly handled, and I found certain portions quite underwhelming.
Overall, I do think that this could be a pretty enjoyable watch, with some lens adjustments – which I’ll talk about next.
The biggest compliment I can give Show, is that it knows what it wants to be, and accomplishes its core purpose with finesse and aplomb.
Sure, there are some narrative decisions I didn’t prefer, but Show demonstrates such a profound understanding of its key characters, and teases out the finer points of each of these characters so very well, that I’m more than willing to look past any dissatisfaction I might have with these other details.
Lee Junho and Lee Se Young are wonderful in this, both individually and together. It’s no exaggeration to say that these two had my heart, unequivocally.
Carefully written, tenderly directed and richly layered in every aspect, Show isn’t for everyone, but those who love it, will likely love it deeply.
Show explores themes like isolation and connection, and what it means to be human, in the slow unfolding of its narrative, and it all feels more like a compassionate exploration of our characters’ states of being, than a typical story, which might be more event-driven.
Our entire cast is strong, but the stand-outs are absolutely Jeon Do Yeon and Ryu Joon Yeol, who both inhabit their characters so well, that I often felt like I could understand how they felt, without them having to say anything at all.
I realize that over the last little while, I’ve grown a significant soft spot for jTBC dramas in general. Sure, there’s no network that consistently puts out great shows, but I have noticed that more often than not, the shows put out by jTBC tend to work nicely for me.
Which is why, when I saw that jTBC was putting out this little drama special, I couldn’t not check it out. Well, that, and the fact that this story sounds like just the kind of heartwarming, poignant sort of story that I’d eat up with a spoon. 😉
At just 2 hours of screen time, Show manages to pack quite a lot of meat on its bones, and I’m suitably impressed.
Many moons ago, when I was in college, I picked as many film courses as I was allowed, coz they were the coolest, and also, the funnest, and therefore, I got to watch a whole lot of movies as part of my curriculum.
(See? Film really was the coolest and the funnest, heh. Especially when we got to the part on animation and sat around watching cartoons together.)
To tell you the honest truth, though, I never was a great film student, and I often didn’t see the genius in certain films, unless it was pointed out to me.
I mean, while most of my classmates were blown away by the brilliance of Prospero’s Books, a strongly avant-garde adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, I was sitting in my seat, trying to digest – what was to me, anyway – a very, very weird film. I didn’t naturally geddit, y’know?
Kinda the same thing with this show, for me, methinks. I know there are folks who love this one, and some who even revel in its reportedly clever use of metaphors and imagery, but I think it’s time for me to admit that I just don’t geddit, with this one.
A highly-buzzed, high-profile drama project that boasted strong credentials, a big budget and an even bigger cast, but which ultimately failed to deliver the expected awesome.
Patchy writing, jerky direction & execution, and uneven acting all contribute to Show’s general lack of oomph.
For the tenacious viewer, though, there are small stretches of soapy crack to be had, and quite a lot of pretty to gaze at, for the most part. Lee Jun Ki is mesmerizing and quite wonderful in this, despite his character getting off to a somewhat shaky start.
