KBS Drama Specials 2018

They're finally here! I always look forward to the KBS Drama Specials - you'll never know quite what they'll be, so watching them blind is such a fun experience. Here's a mini-review of all the ones I watched. There's something for everyone here. Also, I was half-way through writing this post, when suddenly it just up and disappeared, so hopefully I was able to remember most of my original thoughts?

The Review Notebook of my Embarrassing Days: In earning some extra cash writing exam questions, Do-hye is forced to confront a figure from her embarrassing past.
  Although this doesn't deal with complex themes like most of the other specials on this list, I would pick it as one of the best this year. Jeon So-min was the perfect actress to cast here - she's such a talent and drove home the relate-ability of Do-hye's predicament. It manages being a romantic-comedy better than most full-length dramas do! What an adorable love story - I suppose the dark lens in which the drama was filmed served to subvert expectations, because I walked in expecting a darker tone (a la Individualist Ji-young). But Review Notebook wasn't depressing in the slightest - it was a story about a woman desperately trying to control the variables in her life to no avail, and that was endearing. I only wish we'd had a little more insight into the circumstances of Do-hye's divorce, but it's a small complaint for an otherwise lovely drama.

Forgotten Season: When a girl dies in a small hostel, it changes the lives of the people around her for the worst.
  It's no secret that this is one of my favourite specials for this year. This isn't a story for everyone - there are no good people left standing, and no happy endings - but as a character study, I found it absolutely outstanding. The gorgeous direction lends it a cool and unattached tone - every scene, especially the very last, was rich with meaning too. I didn't predict the turn of events at all, which I think means that the writer deserves just as much credit for making this such a disturbing thriller. Forgotten Season is harsh in it's portrayal of messy humanity, and that got to me. I was more emotionally invested in this than any of the others on this list, and thus, ironically, I won't be forgetting about it for a while.

The Tuna and the Dolphin: Roped into a woman's childish plot to make her crush fall for her, a swimming instructor ends up head over heels for said woman.
  This is a predictable love story, an unoffensive and forgettable tale. I found out whilst searching for a picture to accompany this paragraph that the tuna and dolphin actually tend to swim together - which admittedly is a nice touch, and proves the decisions made towards this programme were very deliberate. Regardless, I had issues with the execution of this drama. The pacing wasn't quite right, since Yoon Park was barely present until half an hour in. I had trouble following the logic of the heroine, and I feel like an extra ten minutes would have been useful to flesh out the middle. Basically, the chemistry between the actors deserving of a much better drama, and whilst this is a fool-proof crowd-pleaser, I wanted more from it.

Too Bright For Romance: Down on his luck, a man is comforted by the memory of his first love until she appears in front of him.
  I think a far more articulate person than me would be needed to describe why this drama worked, even though there was no plot to speak of and it doesn't fall under any particular genre. Although the title indicates so, I wouldn't call this a romance, even the end of one. After all, Choi Kang-hee's character was barely in the present timeline. It felt like an hour-long poem, which comforted me even if I didn't quite understand the meaning of it. Nevertheless, it proved succinctly that it's perfectly possible to make a horrible male lead understandable and even likeable. I think it was a nice watch, if lacking in any real narrative.

Miss Kim's Mystery: The new worker in the office dresses weirdly and keeps to herself - that's not because she's poorly adjusted. She's a secret agent.
  This special is plenty of fun - the zippy pacing contributes to an upbeat and comic ride. The mystery is honestly a little difficult to understand, but I didn't think that prevents you from enjoying it particularly. After all, the interactions between the characters is the actual focus. I'm a little sad, though, that they didn't commit more to the romance between Miss Kim and Mr Lee. Instead of pretending to be risque and avoiding ever putting them together, they should have actual given the two a few romantic moments. It convinces me that they were so cautious because Mr Lee isn't a conventionally 'handsome' man, and that's not okay.

The Long Goodbye: Sometimes love just isn't enough, as a couple with conflicting professions having dated for eight years is about to discover.
  To be honest, aside from the wonderful actors  I didn't think there was anything particularly remarkable about this special. We've seen similar stories before. Unlike Dancing the Waltz Alone from last year  where the directorial flourishes elevated the narrative ten-fold, there isn't a lot to make it unique. I want to tally about the ending, mostly, since I saw a lot of comments saying it was a bad one. To be honest, I thought it was the best part of the hour - it felt like gasping for air after holding my breath, like the tension had suddenly been relieved. Basically, my verdict is that the special was perfectly adequate, but not something I'll be returning to any time soon.

Dreamers: Heartbroken in the aftermath of his girlfriend's tragic suicide, a police officer escapes to his dreams for comfort. But they seem to have rules unto their own.
  You can tell the director had so much fun with this - the dream sequences are artsy, sometimes off-the-wall and experimental. (I was happy to discover they were also responsible for Too Bright for Romance, and Mystery Queen, which doesn't surprise me in the slightest.) Whilst I mostly enjoyed the story, I was unhappy with the amount of narration. On one hand, it gave the drama a story-book feel, but on the other it felt like a lazy way to hammer information in that otherwise could have been integrated in a subtler way. It was almost patronising, but Dreamers gave me some things to think about, so I can forgive it.

So Close, Yet So Far: Kicked out of a curling team in the big city, Yeong-joo winds up in a mixed doubles team with a figure from her past.
  How can something be so subtle and so emotionally charged all at once? This might just be the greatest Drama Special to come out this year, because I've never watched a drama deal with the issue of forgiveness in such a nuanced and almost heart-breaking way. The constant tension in every scene has the actors to thank, especially Kim Min-seok for playing Seong-chan, who had to be distressingly human - good, and bad - at all times. Then again, Park Yoo-na proved ridiculously talented as well. It's funny, because even though in a narrative and tonal sense they are very different, I'm reminded of last year's SLOW. The weight put on ambition here is exactly the same, and provides an equally raw and painful watching experience. Go check it out! Go, now!