REVIEW: Hello, My Twenties! (Season 1)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Re-watch value: 2 out of 5 stars
Synopsis
*partially taken from Dramafever*
Yoon Jin Myung (Han Ye Ri from Six Flying Dragons) is a University student, busy supporting herself both academically and financially, so she understandably has a severe shortage of sleep and little time for drama.
Song Ji Won (Park Eun Bin from Choco Bank), whose drinking habit does nothing to tame her bright personality.
Jung Ye Eun (former KARA member and Secret Love star Han Seung Yeon), who is completely devoted to her boyfriend and is very clear on what she does and does not like.
Kang Yi Na (Descendants of the Sun actress Hwa Young), whose popularity comes almost exclusively from her stellar good looks.
Yoo Eun Jae (Yong Pal alum Park Hye Soo), who is rather timid but has a very unique taste in men.
This ensemble comedy is about friendship, love, and college tuition. Together, they navigate the many challenges that life will throw their way because, well, what else are roommates for?
Rambling
*beware of spoilers*
Not bad at all! Surprised by how much I enjoyed watching these crazy gals play off each other. Tremendous chemistry in this ensemble cast.
I loved Ji-won's charisma. She was the life of the party! I felt deeply for her, though, since she could never bridge the romance gap. Every guy viewed her as a friend and nothing more. And why? Was she too much to handle? Was she too enthusiastic? Too talkative? Too funny? Not attractive enough? I hated how each of the girls with a romantic partner (or a few, in Yi-na's case) had to hide a part of themselves from their significant other. They couldn't just be themselves; they always had to please their boyfriend. Ji-won never stooped to that, and so she was never as appealing, I guess...
As for Yi-na's scandalous, gold-digging life, I couldn't tell if the show was trying to pass judgement on her or not. It seemed like, at the very least, the characters were judging her harshly, but was the intent in showing this character with all her flaws to make you see past them? I think so. I think Korean culture inherently looks down on women who sleep around, let alone women who make a living off of being arm candy. But Yi-na is more than just a gold digger. She's a flawed woman who hates herself for murdering someone during a desperate survival situation. Perhaps not just feeling guilty that she did so, but also feeling guilty because she was the sole survivor of the freak accident. Why should she live? What makes her so special? Nothing. So she treats herself like nothing. Disrespecting her body was a way of coping, of imposing penance. It was a deep storyline, and it could have been better if we didn't have the entire plot line with the dead girl's father going after her.
Most disturbing character goes to Eun-jae, who spent the entire show feeling guilty over supposedly killing her father. The body, of course, gets exhumed for an insurance fraud case and she's quietly deemed innocent (or is she?). I rather liked how I was feeling so sorry for her at the beginning of the show and rooting for her to make it with her guy...until suddenly I was scared of her? She might have killed her father, sure, but that scary look on her face was enough to make me rethink my allegiance.
Quickly touching on Jin-myung, she was the most frustrating character. But she had the best story. A cold, hard-ass, she works to put herself through school. Her mom is in debt, keeping her vegetative brother alive in the hospital. Damn. I was most frustrated with her disregard of the sous-chef. He was perfect, but she kept pushing him away! At last they got together at the end, but geez, it was really touch-and-go there! Bittersweet to see her mom get imprisoned for euthanasia. You don't see it coming at all either. The editing makes you think Jin-myung is completing a bucket list of sorts so she can unplug her brother, what she's wanted for so long. But her mom beat her to it. Damn. Throw on top of all this the workplace sexual harassment, and Jin-myung's storyline surpasses the rest of the character's stories by being the most heartbreaking, realistic, and redeeming.
The biggest K-twist of this season was Ye-eun's boyfriend becoming a PSYCHO after she breaks up with him. They had me going. She tries to break up with him (because he's obviously a shit person) but she can't, she still loves him. Fine. Later she finally plucks up enough self-respect to finalize her initial decision and breaks it off for good. Then the monster kidnaps her and holds her hostage in his apartment. Even though he's a hostile, insecure, completely violent dude, it seemed like a half-baked idea at best. What, did he think this would be long-term? Did he think this through really? No. He just kept her tied up like an animal in his living room, laying out all his crazy, and for what? She DEFINITELY won't take him back now! It was disturbing, sure, but I guess the only redeeming part of this plot line is when the roomies save her ass. Girl power! Stupid to go in by themselves, but FIGHTING!
I adored their sobbing as Eun-jae is loaded up into the ambulance. It was hilarious and touching, and it just felt like a warm blanket of estrogen. Bless them.
My favorite scene was actually while the girls are waiting at the hospital for Eun-jae. Each girl gets a visit from a worried male suitor who saw them looking a mess on TV. All except Ji-won. That hit me right in the damn feels. But I still love the dumbstruck look on each of their faces as another dude rolls up, asking if they are OK.
The show had trouble deciding who was the main character. Was it Eun-jae and her rough time adjusting to living in a group house? Was it Yi-na and her internal struggles? Each episode had a voice over narrator, one of the girls. You could argue that there is no main character. That each episode has a host and nothing more. However, it still felt a little disjointed.
All in all, I would highly recommend watching this slice-of-life show. It was cute and funny and hit almost every sweet spot.
Did you see Hello, My Twenties? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!
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