Another Oh Hae-young

Another Oh Hae-young aired last year and became a ratings hit for tvN, it even surpassed Signal at one point (which I still can't believe, since Signal was a bloody masterpiece). With a breezy new premise and a stellar cast, it could have become the romantic-comedy of the year. Could have. 

NOTE: Spoilers, spoilers, everywhere. Feel free to read, but please, beware.

Another Oh Hae-young stars Seo Hyun-jin as the titular Hae-young, a fairly plain girl. She's always hated her name - when she was younger, she was in the same class as a different Oh Hae-young, who happened to be prettier and more popular, so she was always being compared and put down. Well, now Hae-young is all grown up and the other Oh Hae-young is somewhere far, far away, but her life hasn't gotten much better. The day before her wedding, her fiancee dumps her, and she spends a month trying to put the pieces of her life back together. This is around the time she finds Park Do-kyung. Or rather, he finds her, because not only is he the reason her wedding fell through, but he's also the other Oh Hae-young's ex-boyfriend. Oh, not to mention that he sees the future sometimes, and only when our Hae-young is involved.

  Now, many praised Another Oh Hae-young for being a fresh, modern My Name is Kim Sam-soon. This was probably the problem I had with the show. I've watched My Name is Kim Sam-soon, and although there were definitely some great things about it, I was cringing my way through the first half. This show was the same. It was bubbly, fun, a little poetic, but it would also be loud and outrageous. Don't get me wrong, this is just a tiny issue I have, because the content of the story was absolutely fantastic. 

Seo Hyun-jin was winning as Hae-young, my heart just bled for her, and Eric was equally or more charming as Park Do-kyung. Something I liked about Another Oh Hae-young was how the main characters grew. Hae-young's presence in Do-kyung's life turned him into a bigger and better person, one who could love properly, and in return Do-kyung made Hae-young feel beautiful and valuable, something very few people did. Both characters felt raw and imperfect, like real people who make mistakes and drown in their emotions and fall in love, even if it doesn't make sense.

  I like when a drama is with more than a few main characters. Hana Kimi's giant ensemble cast is one thing, but sometimes just when the second-leads get to share the spotlight. I was a little sad about the resolution of Lee Jin-sang (Kim Ji-suk) and Park Soo-kyung's (Ye Ji-won) story. Soo-kyung is the older sister of Do-kyung and also Hae-young's boss, whilst Lee Jin-sang is Do-kyung's long-time best friend. After a one-night stand that Jin-sang doesn't remember, Soo-kyung subsequently becomes pregnant and falls in love with him. I thought these two were absolutely adorable, more so than the main pairing at times, but I was a little disappointed with the way their story played out. The two of them had electric chemistry, but with a scene or two per episode, they hardly got the chance to show it off. Soo-kyung was definitely my favourite character. She was already fantastic pre-pregnancy with her drunken antics and fierce fighter personality, but she was even better post-pregnancy. I could have watched a drama all about her.

  There were so many wonderful aspects of this drama, but I look back on it and weep for how much better it could have been if it wasn't extended. Like with most popular shows, Another Oh Hae-young was granted a two-episode extension. I wish the creators had declined, because that extension ruined the show's flow. Evidently, the writer's couldn't think of any new material, because all the other viewers and I had to suffer was episode after episode of angst. Angst, heartbreak, separation, slaps, crying. I get angry thinking about it. I'm going to go back to my happy place before I break something.

In conclusion, Another Oh Hae-young was a wild ride, and although there were some bad moments, it was generally a fun one. I loved the use of future-seeing as a plot device, I always enjoy a twist of fantasy and it's not something I've seen used before. The chemistry between all the actors was fantastic and even though all the characters were so bizarre, they felt grounded and relatable. I don't think I could watch the show in full again, but I will definitely be watching out for any of the actors' future projects.