I wouldn’t say that Show is particularly inventive, but I liked this one a lot anyway.
Show is a healing story that includes romance, friendship, family, a search for identity and purpose, with beautiful Jeju Island as a backdrop, and a very pleasant OST to score it all.
Our cast is very solid, but the standout for me, was Shin Hye Sun, whom I felt delivered some particularly outstanding scenes.
A little tropey, yes, but Show’s boatload of heart more than makes up for it.
Show is extremely pretty to look at, scored with a pretty fantastic soundtrack, and has an interesting central premise as well as a capable cast.
The tricky thing, I think, is that your mileage is likely to vary, with this one. Some folks love it all the way through, some can’t get into it, and there are so many permutations in between, as well.
I personally felt that Show started strong, but slowly became more uneven as it went. I’m also in the camp that felt that Show could have done better, with its ending.
A reasonably solid watch on balance, but on hindsight, I do feel like Show didn’t live up to its full potential.
This one’s been on my list for a long time, because everyone who’s seen it, has recommended it enthusiastically, saying that the show is excellent, as are Lee Jong Seok and Shin Hye Sun, who star in this.
However, I’ve been dragging my feet on actually pressing “play,” because this one is billed as a tragedy. I mean, it’s kinda there in the title, isn’t it? It just sounded very.. heavy, to me.
Now that I’ve finally put my brave girl pants on and checked it out for myself, I do agree that this one is very solid, and worth a look, if you feel you have a bit of fortitude for a tragic (true) love story, and 3 drama hours to spend.
Psst: Link to watch is at the end of the review!
THE SHORT VERDICT:
Show took a while to settle, for me, and Show’s chosen ending also isn’t my favorite choice that writer-nim’s made, but by and large, Show had me firmly by the heart during the course of my watch.
Shin Hye Sun is simply outstanding in this, putting in a tour de force performance that makes this show watch the watch, all on its own, and Kim Jung Hyun is fantastic as well, making his character Cheoljong someone that I really wanted to root for, both as a king and as a person.
The chemistry that our leads share is of the deliciously cracky variety, and I found watching their burgeoning connection a true delight.
Aside from this, there are also a nice handful of supporting characters that I found myself growing very fond of, as well.
Not perfect by any means, and Show does require some hefty lens adjustments, but still so worth it, in my opinion.
Elaine writes:
I have a Dear kfangurl question to ask! My question is whether you’ve ever had a problem watching the same actor in a different role, because you have such a strong impression of him/her in the first show you saw the actor in?
Asking because I just started watching K dramas last year, and i started with highly rated ones like Crash Landing on You and Healer, where the OTPs are so smashing that I was reluctant to see the actors in other shows as it would feel to me almost like they were cheating on their original OTP! Lol.
So far I haven’t “repeated” any actors besides Lee Jun Ki – I first saw him in Arang and the Magistrate and a few months later in Flower of Evil. But to me that felt ok as his performance made the two characters feel completely different. It probably helped that his Flower of Evil character was supposed to have antisocial personality disorder so has flattened emotions.
But now almost a year after watching Healer, I’m watching Park Min Young in Her Private Life and I keep getting flashbacks to her Healer performance, especially when the two characters overlap on certain traits like optimism, pluckiness and sunny smiles.
It’s probably a personal quirk but I do wonder if anyone faces this issue too! For now there are so many dramas out there that I can avoid repeats of actors but soon it won’t be an option! Ha ha.
I’ve come to the conclusion that this is one of those shows that either really works for you, or really doesn’t. Some of my drama friends seem to really like this one, which is kinda why I thought I might, too.
For the record, I kinda-sorta liked this one okay after the first episode, but afterwards, there just wasn’t any spark for me with this show (kinda like how a second lead in a drama somehow never seems to manage to spark with a lead character, ha).
And since dramas have consistently taught us not to try to force love, after 16 episodes of trying – and failing – to get sucked into this one, I’m calling it quits, you guys.
On the upside, at least I’m taking my drama lessons to heart? 😉
THE SHORT VERDICT:
Thirty But Seventeen is a pretty special snowflake of a drama, whichever way I look at it.
I mean, it manages to be sweet, fluffy and cute, yet extremely heartfelt, while dishing out occasional deep nuggets of wisdom, and dealing with our main characters’ trauma-related anxiety in a pretty meaningful manner, to boot.
Plus, no one in this drama world is an actual villain either. On top of that, the drama doesn’t even get boring, despite the absence of a villain. Say, what?
No, this show isn’t perfect, but then again, no show ever is, and this one did so many things right, that I feel like I can’t quibble too much, in the overall scheme of things. Totes recommend.
When you think about it, family dramas are pretty expensive in drama hour terms, aren’t they? I mean, they cost the equivalent of at least 3 whole prime-time mini-series’ worth of drama hours, after all.
Which is why, even though I really enjoy a good family drama every once in a while – not the makjang-fests where screaming, scheming, kimchi slaps, birth secrets and trucks of doom are regular everyday features, but the kind of family drama that’s warm, comforting, hopeful and tends to make you feel all toasty-warm inside – I don’t often actually commit to one.
This is one of those rare times where I did commit myself to one, and I’m super pleased to report that Five Children is solidly worth the drama hour spendage.
THE SHORT VERDICT:
A fun rom-com that, in-between the comedy and the laughs, manages to get under your skin in the best way, with its warmth.
Some of my favorite things about She Was Pretty are the heartfelt performances, the lovingly-drawn characters, and the relationships brimming with organic, sparky chemistry.
On top of these, the breezy pace and the ear-wormy OST – not to mention the uplifting themes of self-worth and self-love – make this a satisfying, enjoyable watch indeed.
Not perfect by a long shot, but Show gets the important things so right, that it’s hard to be nit-picky.