REVIEW: Hit the Spot
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Re-watch value: 3 out of 5 stars
SYNOPSIS
*From MyDramaList*
A warm, friendly, considerate person, Hee Jae is surrounded by people who claim to know and love her. The problem for Hee Jae is that she isn’t really sure if she really understands herself. On the other hand, Mi Na is Hee Jae's confident and energetic best friend and colleague at Play Books, a supplier of books and related products centered around sex and romance. While an expert in how to achieve physical pleasure, her understanding falls short on romantic relationships. When they find themselves told to take over hosting a sex and romance advice podcast, the two feel more than a little lost.
Working to help others find personal satisfaction, will these friends find the satisfaction they both so crave?
RAMBLING
*beware of spoilers*
A show about a couple of 30-something publishing gals running a sex podcast? Sign me up!
I didn’t expect this short drama—at just 8 episodes—to pack such a punch. (The last time I had a surprisingly fun and “woke” experience with a short drama was Revenge Note.) The show did a fantastic job of approaching taboo subjects like sex, masturbation, and female pleasure from a place of love and acceptance. It’s okay to want something more out of your sexual partners, and it’s okay to prioritize your own pleasure.
It’s well-known that South Korea is quite a conservative society, and it’s been a minute since I’d watched a more adult drama, so the first episode opening with an explicit sex scene, nudity and all, was a bit of a shocker for me. But I settled in quickly. The R rating didn’t phase me too much, especially considering how all the sex scenes were tasteful and fit the episode topic.
I really gravitated toward Hee-Jae’s character. I admired how the podcast made her reevaluate her own sex life. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who wanted to reach into the screen and slap her ex-boyfriend Hyeon Woo (played by Choi Woong) when he scoffed at the penis ring and made her feel inadequate and sexually inept. He was incredibly selfish—so selfish, he couldn’t even see past his own needs and think about his partner, what she would like to try, etc. The amount of projecting (if he had a good time during sex, then surely she did, too) and gaslighting (if she can’t orgasm, then it’s not on him, it’s her deficiency) was astounding. But I couldn’t help feeling that the show was super revolutionary, because I would wager that most men in Korea would react in much the same way as Hyeon Woo. In this patriarchal society, I can certainly imagine that any threat to masculinity or dominance or virility would go just about as well as her conversations with her ass hole ex. Hee-Jae’s ex plays such a damning role, and he feels like the writer intentionally held up a mirror to K-society.
Hee-Jae gave that relationship everything she had, but there was no saving that lopsided relationship. I felt for her completely when she stumbles out of a cab drunk, and hot boy In Chan runs over as she’s having a good cry. She blames intense period cramps pain, and off he goes to get drugs at the nearest pharmacy. He’s precious, sure, but how much easier is it to claim physical pain than admit to emotional damage?
Hot boy In Chan. Actor Park Sun-Ho has NO BUSINESS looking that fine and being that shredded?? Like, can a girl get a warning next time??
The scene of their almost-hookup and the whole foreplay kissing in her apartment had me on my KNEES. Lord have mercy!
He was a wonderful green flag for our Hee-Jae and a warm blanket of a rebound. He helps her realize a few sexual fantasies, including simply orgasming with a partner. Now, she was stupid as shit for not realizing his growing feelings for her. I can’t fathom why she couldn’t connect the dots for why he was withholding sex in favor of going on what can only be described as romantic dates. By the end, she so obviously liked him back, maybe not to the level that he liked her, but she was picking up what he was putting down, for sure. (Note: He gets points deducted for saying he loved her post-coitus in the back of his car on the beach—another of her fantasies. She’s understandably stunned into silence.)
Part of the reason for my 4/5 rating was because of how their relationship was resolved. She rejects In Chan saying that she needs to work on herself, find out who she truly is, etc. I actually like this reason. What I didn’t like was the overly simplistic way she found her sense of self: she went on vacation for a month. What is this, Eat Pray Love? Once back, she reunites with In Chan at the office Christmas party, and the two exchange a flirty glance as she tucks her hair behind her ear revealing the earrings he gifted her. The message is clear: I’m ready to start something official with you.
She found herself inside a month? Who is she exactly? What facets of her identity did she discover? All questions that the show didn’t bother to cover. We just see a montage of her smiling and riding a bike on her vacay. A 5-year romantic relationship and a short situationship worked itself out inside a few weeks. Sure.
Switching gears to BFF Mi-Na, I thoroughly enjoyed her arc! She’s a take-no-shit wonder woman. She’s single handedly taking contract relationships to new heights with her sex partner agreements. Although I can’t relate to her at all, I think she’s so colorful, fun, and powerful. She knows exactly what she wants out of her sexual partners, and she’s very open about her sexuality. Of course, the show couldn’t leave this woman as she was. They give context to her dismal outlook on love: she had a dickhead boyfriend who didn’t want to take responsibility for an unplanned pregnancy, and she suffered through an emotional miscarriage all alone.
Enter Dr. Sexy, aka Woo Jae. He’s so fine, and FOR WHAT. He hits her car and runs straight into her heart of hearts. He says one of his non-negotiables is anal, and next thing, she’s scheduling a colonoscopy. A routine surgery to remove some polyps reveals that her surgeon is Dr. Sexy. Love this classic Koincidence™. All it takes for Mi-Na to catch feelings is a little tender lovin’ care from Woo Jae. Poor Mi-Na is probably just as love-starved as her friend Hee-Jae. Woo Jae stays with her in the recovery room, ensures she’s comfortable, wipes the sweat off her brow, I mean, Mi-Na didn’t stand a chance. I’m glad the show had her learning to be vulnerable and opening herself up to love again.
Here’s to more K-dramas covering more risqué topics (although menstruation shouldn’t be considered risqué in 2023, but I digress). Here’s to more K-dramas showcasing organic and supportive female friendships. Hit the Spot felt empowering, and if that’s your bag, definitely give it a watch!
Did you see Hit the Spot? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!
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