Twenty Again Korean drama review

Long ago, I blogged about why I love K-drama beginnings and get bored when most shows reach the halfway point. Back then, I started developing the terrible habit of watching until the last 2-3 episodes and then never finishing a drama. 

Over time, that habit has gotten increasingly worse. I used to agonize over dropping anything after the first 2-4 episodes, but now I have a massive pile of shows I dropped by episodes 8-10, and I really have no intention of going back. Life's too short to waste watching boring dramas (sorry, Yongpal).

My mid-drama boredom is such a regular part of my drama-watching experience at this point that I sometimes catch myself bracing for the slump episodes. Every once in a while, though, there's a show that somehow manages to avoid the mid-series slump, and, even more rarely, there are shows that just get better and better as the series progresses.

Twenty Again is one of the latter shows. It started with promise, but there were a lot of things about the first few episodes that could have gone horribly, horribly awry. Fortunately, they didn't, and we ended up with a (mostly) satisfying series.

Premise: Ha No Ra (Choi Ji Woo) was a promising dancer in her youth, but when she had a child and married at the age of twenty, she gave up on her dreams and became a devoted wife and mother. Now, twenty years later, her jerk husband (Choi Won Young) wants a divorce and her jerk son (Kim Min Jae) is headed off to college, so No Ra decides to live out her dreams and head back to school. Little does she know that one of her professors is Cha Hyun Suk (Lee Sang Yoon), who loved her in their teenage years.

The Good

What made Twenty Again such a satisfying watch is that, from start to finish, it's all about No Ra's progression. She starts off as a sad housewife with no real sense of self, and we gradually see her blossom into a confident individual over the course of the series. Nearly all of the side characters and plot developments work together to highlight No Ra's story.

I appreciated that the drama skipped opportunities to give us the typical massive Dramaland obstacles, opting instead to give us a fairly quiet story. No Ra's growth felt real, and I was far more invested in her progress than I would have if her husband had her framed for murder or she suddenly ended up with amnesia or something.

While I love a dastardly drama villain as much as the next person, I found the depictions of Woo Chul and Yi Jin particularly refreshing. Yes, they do selfish and petty things over the course of the series, but they do selfish and petty things that are completely in the realm of what normal people might do. Even if you dislike them, you rarely hate them (except in some of those Woo Chul flashbacks).

When No Ra first entered Yi Jin's classroom, I was convinced that Yi Jin, as the antagonist, would make No Ra's life a living hell and try to get her kicked out of school. Instead, after giving her a hard time on the first day of class, Yi Jin actually grows to like and respect No Ra, something I never would have imagined. It was a small detail in the writing, but those kinds of details made the drama world come to life for me.

I also really enjoyed how, instead of overshadowing No Ra's personal journey, the romance between her and Hyun Suk always supported that journey first and foremost. Okay, sure, I thought Hyun Suk was way too petty for way too long and sometimes I had my reservations about where the romance was headed, regardless of how handsome Lee Sang Yoon and his dimples are, but overall, I thought the romance was handled in a realistic and thoughtful way.

Of course, the dimples don't hurt.

What bothers me about many dramas is that the romance often revolves around what the male lead wants. He takes a liking to the female lead, and then suddenly we have to watch as he makes her the object of his affection. Even romantic gestures become the fulfillment of his fantasy rather than hers. He gives her a makeover so that she can look "worthy" to stand by his side. He drags her around by the wrist so that she will listen to his feelings. The list goes on and on.

Twenty Again reverses the trope. Every gesture Cha Hyun Suk makes isn't for his own sake, but for No Ra's. His focus is never on gratifying his own desire to be with No Ra or make her "his woman," but rather on helping No Ra accomplish what she wants. Even his jealousy towards Woo Chul isn't so much about another man "possessing" the woman he loves as it is frustration at seeing the man No Ra chose treating her like she has no value. Sure, he misunderstands No Ra every once in a while, but even then, he's trying to put her needs ahead of his own.

At the end of the series, I felt like Hyun Suk: I loved everyone and everything that made No Ra happy, and I was annoyed with everyone and everything that got in the way of her dreams.

The Not-So-Good

As I said, this series gained momentum as the series progressed, and there were a few episodes in the middle (episode 6 comes to mind) that were some of the most enjoyable drama episodes I've ever watched.

Then we got the last two episodes.

Now, I know a lot of people were angry with the conclusion of episode 15, but I actually appreciated the move in some ways, even if it wasn't the direction I would have preferred. 

If Hyun Suk had a major flaw, it was that he couldn't let No Ra do things for herself. He was so eager to help her that, even after she repeatedly expressed her desire to do things on her own, he still tried to step in behind the scenes. We also have to remember that No Ra just got out of a 20-year relationship where she was completely dependent on her spouse, so it's natural that she is particularly sensitive to other people trying to coddle her. From that perspective, it makes sense that No Ra would cut ties until she felt confident in her ability to take care of herself and Hyun Suk could understand the boundaries of when to help and when to step back a little bit better.

Even though I understand that move, the execution of the last two episodes left me a little dissatisfied. 

You can't just backhug your way out of this!

First of all, No Ra was terrible at communicating why she needed space. Second, episode 16 didn't actually convince me that either one of them really learned anything. Instead of showing Hyun Suk understanding No Ra's position and No Ra understanding that she could still be her own person even with someone by her side, the writer opted for a traditional time jump. Yes, No Ra got a job and supported herself financially, but otherwise, it sounds like it was just three months of them pining away for each other pointlessly. When they decided to get back together, it kind of felt like "Welp, we're almost to the end of this episode, so let's get things moving!" instead of a natural step as the result of mutual growth, making episode 15 seem entirely useless.

If they were just going to get together with an awkward kiss at a random time anyway, why bother separating them at all? I'm sure the viewers would have preferred a finale full of happy No Ra/ Hyun Suk scenes instead of apparently purposeless angst.

I loved loved loved loved the final scene and its callback to No Ra's earlier experience in the park, but otherwise, the post-confession relationship in the finale was kind of a letdown as well. I can't quite put my finger on what was missing, but the chemistry of the earlier episodes wasn't really there. 

I don't need to see them tearing each others' clothes off, but these are two people in their late thirties who are supposedly madly in love! I mean, Min Soo didn't exactly come from the stork, so we know No Ra knows something about physical intimacy, even if it's been years. I don't think they needed some super sexy scene or anything, but there was so little physical interaction in the last episode that their relationship almost came off as platonic rather than romantic.

At least you can admit it?

My only other enormous beef with the series was the whole Min Soo/ Hye Mi loveline. I guess Min Soo kind of grew on me as a character, but the two of them together felt like a giant waste of time. Maaaaaaaaybe if they had been better actors, their scenes wouldn't have been so incredibly irritating, but the writing didn't really do them any favors either. I found myself chanting "Truck of Doom! Truck of Doom!" every time the two of them popped up on the screen.

Conclusions

Yes, Twenty Again had some rough patches in the beginning and the end, but the middle sections more than make up for it. I was surprised at how much this show moved me, and at the end of the day, that's enough reason to watch.

Where to watch Twenty Again:

DramaFever

New K-Drama Alert: Cheer Up/ Sassy Go Go

Source

Update: Final series review

You know how I was just complaining that there's nothing to watch? Well now, in the space of a couple of days, I'm having trouble deciding what to watch first!

I ultimately decided to go with Sassy Go Go aka Cheer Up! For the record, Sassy Go Go is the literal Korean title, while Cheer Up! is the official English title according to KBS and also the original Korean title. I'm just going to go ahead and stick with Cheer Up since a) it's shorter and b) Sassy Go Go is awkward and kind of makes my eyes bleed. Cool? Cool.



What it's about: Kang Yeon Doo (Jung Eun Ji) is the leader of her school's dance team, a ragtag group of outcasts who rank at the bottom of the academic barrel. Kim Yeol (Lee Won Geun) is the number one student at school, and he leads the "cheerleading club," which is really a study group for the top 5%, both academically and financially. The two eventually find themselves forced to mesh their two teams into one. Can they make it work? (If you've ever seen a sports movie, the answer is almost certainly yes, but only after some sweet training montages.)

Number of episodes watched: 2

Thoughts so far: I generally need four episodes to really get a feel for a series, but I didn't see reviews on the bigger recapping sites yet and and want people to talk about it with me, so let's just jump in a little early and chat together, shall we?

I have to admit that I have a soft spot for cheerful high school dramas, and I have an especially soft spot for cheerful high school dramas where people dance or sing or otherwise perform. Maybe it's because I inherited oh-so-awkward Finnish dance moves from my father (and by "moves," I mostly mean flailing off beat), so dancing of any kind is like watching wizardry to me.

No, really, is this magic?

In any case, I was already primed to like this series before the premiere, and so far, it's hitting exactly everything I want from this type of show. When done well, high school dramas manage to combine the lightheartedness and the angst of youth in a way that feels nostalgic and heartfelt rather than obnoxious. I would point to Answer Me 1997 as the gold standard of high school dramas, but even shallow fluff shows like Dream High can get away with being shallow fluff shows because they're filled with so much joy, energy, and friendship.

When done poorly, high school shows only dwell on the angst and forget the exuberance. Heirs strikes me as a perfect example of high school students spending way too many episodes dwelling on their annoying high school student angst without any kind of tongue-in-cheek recognition that having an angry love triangle face-off at the end of every episode is maybe a little bit silly.

What I like about Cheer Up's opening episodes is that they draw you into the emotion of high school when everything feels so raw, and yet the show does so in a way that feels natural to teenage life. I loved the moment in episode one when Yeon Doo burst into tears at the dinner table because it reminded me so much of the way I felt at 16. There's some nuance there that makes the series feel like it's populated with some living, breathing high schoolers instead of soap opera adults trapped in school uniforms OR one-dimensional cuties who have nothing to do for 16 episodes but look nice for the camera and go on dates.

We're only two episodes into the series, but Eunji really deserves a lot of the credit for making me feel so invested in Yeon Doo already. I know some people complain that Eunji tends to play similar characters over and over (if you can even make that kind of claim for someone who's only had 4 roles), but I don't really mind. Yes, her characters are similar, but they're also intensely likable, and they all go through such a full range of emotions that it never feels like she's playing a caricature.

Thus far, this is Eunji's show. We've seen glimpses of character depth in some of the other players (and my heart is already breaking � again � for poor Ji Soo), but they haven't really had enough screen time to show us what they're all about.

I swear if you make me cry one more time,Ji Soo...

Personally, I want to see much, much more of Kim Ji Suk's sympathetic teacher. How much do you love him? Because I love him a lot.

I'm particularly perplexed by Lee Won Geun's Kim Yeol. Why is he always smiling like that? Is it just arrogance? Does he have some secret reason for liking Yeon Doo? (Please tell me they are not long-lost first loves because I will throw my computer.) Is it just stiff acting from an inexperienced actor? I guess only time will tell. Lee Won Geun does seem to be a bit wooden so far, especially next to the firebrand that is Eunji, but the script hasn't given him a ton to do yet, so I'm willing to suspend judgment for now.

It's a perfectly nice smile and all, but why?
Years of drama watching has made me suspicious of any man who isn't glowering in episode one.

Even if he ends up being a little stiff, I can't say that I necessarily mind. Under normal circumstances, being pleasant and having a nice smile aren't enough to cover bad acting, but if there's anywhere to get some practice in a lead role before really jumping into the big leagues, it's a teen drama. I mean, Taecyeon and Suzy weren't exactly Academy Award-winning material in Dream High, but that never hindered my enjoyment like it would in a different genre.

We have some hints that Cheer Up can be more than just a fluff cheerleading piece, taking on some of the more serious issues that students face. If it can keep up the balance between serious and joyful, I think I'm going to enjoy this ride very much.

P.S. I know this series got abysmal ratings for the first episode in Korea, so let's all keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't get cut short, shall we? Please tell me that there are more people in the international audience watching this one! I'm not watching alone, right? ...Right?

Where to watch:
DramaFever
Viki