KBS Drama Specials 2017

You can always count on KBS to deliver at least one good drama special a year - and this year they've outdone themselves. These can all be watched on the KBSWorld Youtube channel, by the way, so I'll hyperlink the videos up to the titles of each one. Be sure to check out the ones that peak your interest. I'll update this post if I get around to watching the remaining few. 

NOTE: Sorry for the spacing, it's Blogger's fault, not mine.

If We Were a Season: This, for me, is a the best example of how a love story that doesn't work out can mean more than one that does. The actors were phenomenal and perfectly cast for their respective roles - particularly Jang Dong-yoon, who arguably carried the most pain on his shoulders. It deals with the crossroads that every student stands at when it's time to leave school, and juxtaposed with the deterioration of hope that a childhood love will work out makes this a rewarding but melancholy watch. Even though it doesn't necessarily have a happy ending (although I would argue that the drama was trying to give the leads a second beginning), it broke my heart in a good way and I'll definitely watch it again. 

Let Us Meet, Joo-oh: Clearly the writer had a lot they wanted to squeeze out of this premise, because although the setting was wonderful and the actors great, the drama suffers greatly due to the script. Perhaps it would have been better as two episodes, since Let Us Meet went from upbeat rom-com to family melo to a political look at history all in the space of an hour, and it gave me tonal whiplash. I didn't honestly believe the connection between the leads - the drama kind of assumed you knew where it was going, and rushed to the end at breakneck speed. I didn't particularly like it, but it was kind of cute so maybe check it out?

Dancing the Waltz Alone: I fell for the beautiful opening, which unfortunately roped me into an hour of pain. The direction here is absolutely gorgeous, fitting for such a bittersweet little drama, but the writing across the middle section frustrated me. I didn't particularly like the characters, but I understand that they were written this way on purpose in order to show the toil that job-hunting stress had taken on their pathetic lives. Ultimately, their love could never have worked out, and the fallout is as serendipitous as it is tragic. I'd say to watch this because it's so relatable, but this is not where to look if you want an unambiguous happy ending.

The Reason We Can't Sleep: This drama is such a classic romance movie - despite feeling like it's mostly been done before (particularly, I detect notes of The Greatest Love, Fight My Way and Last Cinderella) it's warm and comforting with it's cute premise of two people who heal each other's insomnia. I'm sad that these two, especially the male lead, haven't really been given the opportunities to take lead roles in biggest shows. They were delightfully quirky (the passive-aggressive sexy scene was awesome) and you felt their struggles, and they had nice comfortable chemistry. If you're looking for a pleasant, easy watch then this is it.

SLOW: The title refers to how the protagonist has become slow, how life is suddenly passing him by and he can't catch up, and everything about the execution supports this. The camera often can't keep up with him, sometimes drifting off, and the pacing is indeed slow and careful. Kwak Dong-yeon is kind of in his element here - he's good at playing characters who are messy, but it's clear that he worked hard on his fragile portrayal of the mental health of someone at the peak of desperation and despair. We rarely hear what he's thinking but it's clear in every expression. Overall the drama is quite bleak and somewhat depressing, with little surprising sprinkles of black comedy here and there, but I really liked it. 

Buzzcut Love: Aside from a few ignorant comments about how cancer can spread from person to person, I absolutely loved this. Despite the fact Kang Yeon-jung is a rookie, her performance as a cancer patient who doesn't want to spend her final moments in misery was believable and uplifting. If a drama about terminal illness scares you, don't worry, for this is more of a miraculous and spontaneous romance. The fact fact she chose to live as beautifully as possible, rather than die in hospital, reminded me of When I Was the Prettiest, except this drama did everything right which that drama did wrong. The best part is clearly the male lead, who warmed my heart as someone who genuinely thought this strange girl was sexy.