How can you admit to someone that you spent over 16 hrs watching a show about how a con man poses as a wealthy blind woman's brother & ends up falling in love with her? This is utterly ridiculous. The plot summary is ridiculous. What's more ridiculous is that I cried through at least nine episodes. Part of me felt I myself was inside a scene from a comedy. Looks like the joke's on me.
Apparently, I'll have to accept that I appreciate art with my heart much more than my head. If one can roll with the premise, it's a more pleasurable experience Thus, romance addicts will hop on this cathartic roller coaster & love the ride. Be warned, though, mostly everyone else will hate this.
Between 🤧, thoughts were trying to jump to the front of my brain, like: "Hey, this is more ridiculous than a General Hospital, Peyton Place, & Dynasty doing a Reunion-Funny-Raccoon-Video-Holiday-Extravaganza!" Or, "This could be one of the most aburd plot lines ever." As it turns out, this is nothing! Who knew the following soap opera plots were being inflicted on the public?
>Luke & Laura save the world from being frozen.
>It was all a dream... a dog's dream.
>Timmy, the doll that came to life.
>Precious, the obsessive orangutan nurse.
Therefore, TWTWB isn't so bad... I've decided to not be embarrassed for loving it. My list of KDramas that prompt similar thoughts is expanding.
TWTWB is the story of Oh Young & Oh Soo. She is born into one of Korea's dukedoms (her father is a CEO). Her parents had a nasty divorce, ending with her mother leaving the house & taking her brother, Oh Soo, along with her. Age 7 at the time, Oh Young longed for them, but she never saw them again.
There's two Oh Soos, & they end up friends: Oh Young's brother, also born into modern day royalty, & the the other Oh Soo, who had been abandoned under a tree at birth.
Oh Soo is a grown street kid, sometimes thug, always a gambler, & usually a con man. When the Ohs finally come looking for the long lost son, he has been dead a year. At the same time, the still living Oh Soo suddenly owes a debt to a mob boss that, in the words of The Boss, "no honest man can pay." So when the family lawyer comes tapping around, Soo jumps at the golden opportunity to make connections with these "well-off" targets.
This sets up a line of obstacles that he & his friends who are helping him, must navigate with thriller style machinations. The irony is that while Oh Soo believes he's moving into that house with his eyes open, ready to plot his course & exit monied & worry-free, he actually went there blind & snared himself.
TWTWB is a show about isolation, family, lousy or absent parents, dignity, responsibility, telling oneself the truth & honor. Most of all, however, it's about forgiveness. The players have a roulette wheel of hurts, slights & other grievances laid out in a circular fire squad formation. Almost every character needs to forgive another in this series. Young's list is by far the longest. The person that forgives can go on to heal. Maybe it isn't possible to pardon somebody out of selfish motives, but the party that gets the most benefit when forgiveness occurs is the one that does the forgiving. As the aphorism goes: Dwelling on hate & anger is like drinking poison & expecting the other person to get sick. TWTWB also underscores that once a person has passed, we must live a little hollowed out if we've missed the chance to attempt reconciliation.
The slow pace mirrors Oh Young's pace. She must proceed methodically & feel everything out prior to stepping forward. The director wants the viewer to FEEL the actors emotions.
It seems that half of the series is extreme close-ups. That, along with the cello music, is a direct send up to the lauded Ingmar Bergman. When we don't hear the cello or the chimes, there is a thrumming beat to the soundtrack that's intended to build tension. Every episode adds to the taut atmosphere. Given the long close-up takes, the actors are nothing short of sensational showing a range of emotions hidden under poker faces. It should excite lovers of the craft.
There's nothing novel about the plot: Poor, but smart street thug with a heart of gold, meets innocent, poor-little-rich-girl. Over time, his evil agenda evaporates as love blooms. That's not a problem, in the balance, as it's always the journey that matters.
Young, who went blind shortly after the siblings separated, was completely cloistered while growing up. She's grown to not trust anyone at home. She knows nothing of the world or most human interaction. She has locked herself away as she's too vulnerable & naive to be left alone. Yet she is very, very alone. Her money blinds everyone around her to her humanity.
Their relationship is adorable. It is as beautiful as it is increasingly uncomfortable as the show continues. He can't take his eyes off of her. He is nurturing & caring for her. She opens up like a flower. He seems more & more reluctant to go through with his plans. He starts to deflect his agenda and, rather, work on unlocking some of the mysteries in Young's life. Winter is representative of Young's life: A very cold & very long winter. Soo's the warm wind. He blows in and shakes everything up. Soo makes the chimes ring.
Soo & the boys from the street are shown to have limited options in life. At the end of the show, Soo loses all interest in making any excuses, valid or not. He & BFF Jin grew up next to Moo-chul, who has given Soo 100 days to pay off his debt. He has a complicated relationship with Soo over a past tragedy. Moo-chul may mot like Soo, but he sticks to his word, though being pressured to act earlier. Mr. Kim, the mob boss, is juxtaposed with all of the neighborhood boys. They have a code of conduct, but Mr. Kim respects nothing but his self image. While he likely knows Soo didn't steal his money, he demands repayment anyway, because he's jealous of Soo. Everybody is making deals & promises throughout the show, but Mr. Kim has no intention of keeping his word. Moo-chul may have been contracted to kill Soo, but everyone seems to understand it's just business, which makes for good watching.
Soo is compared to the people around Young. We see that most of the condescending snobs are worse than he is. Young is the center of the wheel that everything turns on. The people around her may seem to care about her, but the money always undermines relationships & corrupts everything.
Soo came to defraud her, but ended up guiding her to the land of the living. He may have been abandoned at birth, but Young, born to "privilege," was treated even worse, as Soo was taken in by a loving family. The people around her claim to love her, but from one perspective, they are the #true con artists. Her life has been pain. She's given up, out of exhaustion, by the time Soo arrives. She is secluded in that secret room, with despair & self-pity infecting the space. She wants to die.
Soo is next to Young because he wants to live! These opposite forces draw them together, swirling around each other, as fate tries to bring balance & promote growth.
The portentous soundtrack amplifies Soo's (and the viewer's) dread of that fateful day; Young will learn the truth someday. We learn just how sweet & pure she is & how desperate she is too be loved. If you're like me, you'll also tear up from around episode 6, give or take, until the end. Flush out those tear ducts.
Now to the Uh-Ohs. There's some near insulting logical gaps & pitfalls. Several things make no sense at all. They did so well with many elements, but some of the mistakes are astounding, given the context. This is a no spoilers review; few examples are possible. One of the worst things that occurs is related to revelations about one character. This person turns out to be delusional & dangerous. It's wildly inappropriate that the others permit this person to linger around. The flaws are severe enough that I can't go higher than a 7 rating. The cropped ending is too brief & klutzy, which is an issue with many Kdramas. Yet, it still is probably in the re-watcher category. I miss them already.
Besides, Kim Bum, as Soo's BFF, has never looked more adorable. His parents, who raised Soo, are the only good parents in the show (even Secretary Wang has problems with her dad).
Soo was utterly transformed by his time with Young. From doing anything to survive, he now knows what he wants to live for. He makes amends, he shows appreciation for those that looked out for him. He's left his room, joined his family & is open to caring for others. His face radiates a beautiful peace, tinged with underlying sadness. He has accepted truth into his life, particularly the truth about himself. That's even more useful than loving oneself. No excuses. Soo refused to make any excuses. That's not easy. How many of us can do that? He says he wants to pay for his mistakes. It's a touchstone at the gate of the path to redemption.
In the end, the cold winter yields to a glowing, warm & blossomed spring. The path of redemption & healing is complete. Love Isn't Blind After All.
QUOTES
~Things end up as you believe.
~Certain times are so heavy and long certain times feel so lite and short and at times the two are interchangeable at worst they perish for good...
IMHO...
📣7.7 🎭8 💓8 🦋7 🤔7⚡7 🎨8 🎵9 🔚8 Age 15+
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