Turtle Stomper
Seattle (USA)
This review may contain spoilers
The living mop is the star of this show.
Not to diminish the effort of the actual human actors, but that dog was the cutest, and so talented!
This is an excellent example of a drama that deals with heavy and dark themes but does it with such grace and humor that you fall in love with it. This drama resonated so much with me and my life experiences, they did a great job representing mental health struggles and the stigma associated with getting help, as well as the burden of affair shame that often seems to affect women so much more than men. The people were real, the solutions were messy, the conflict was approachable, and the comedy was exceptional. The female lead actress is super good in every drama she does, I feel like she just -gets- what her characters are feeling and experiences at the time. The male lead was also very good, though I didn't like the parallels toward the end between his character and the bad guy. There's a fine line between chasing after a chick and aggressively stalking her and I feel like his character skirted that line a few times. He was an excellent crier though!
I will say...it's a frustratingly short drama. They did a great job with the plot and dialogue, the acting was great, but because of the dramatically shortened format (13 episodes 30-40 minutes each) there wasn't a lot of space for viewers to really experience the depth of different relationship dynamics that are so hallmark to the Kdrama format. That said, they did a wonderful job really developing the side characters even in the short format, which is something many long-format Kdramas can't seem to get right. I guess my disappointment with the shortened time has more to do with my selfish desire to spend more time in the world the characters inhabit because it was so much fun.
Another thing I really liked about this drama was the Samantha character. Kdramas are difficult to watch sometimes because they get so awkward about alternative lifestyles, especially when it comes to gay people. It was nice to see a straight people romance comedy drama that embraced a cross dressing man while still keeping (but overcoming) the inherent awkwardness. They used that same format, actually, to deal with the reactions of the neighborhood ladies to the scarlet letter situation. The women approach the situation clumsily, awkwardly, but eventually learn to embrace the truth instead of remaining intolerant and ignorant.
Overall, the drama did such a good job at masterfully exploring a wide variety of themes in a truncated but effective format. I might watch this again in a few years because the comedy was good and the initial bickering between the two leads was fun to watch.
As a side note, can someone please explain to me the trope at the end of every romance Kdrama ever where the female lead leaves and returns a year later? Like you finally get everything you wanted, your problems are solved, you found the love of your life...and you bail? I can't fathom it at all. Maybe they do it so you can have two happy endings instead of just the one?
This is an excellent example of a drama that deals with heavy and dark themes but does it with such grace and humor that you fall in love with it. This drama resonated so much with me and my life experiences, they did a great job representing mental health struggles and the stigma associated with getting help, as well as the burden of affair shame that often seems to affect women so much more than men. The people were real, the solutions were messy, the conflict was approachable, and the comedy was exceptional. The female lead actress is super good in every drama she does, I feel like she just -gets- what her characters are feeling and experiences at the time. The male lead was also very good, though I didn't like the parallels toward the end between his character and the bad guy. There's a fine line between chasing after a chick and aggressively stalking her and I feel like his character skirted that line a few times. He was an excellent crier though!
I will say...it's a frustratingly short drama. They did a great job with the plot and dialogue, the acting was great, but because of the dramatically shortened format (13 episodes 30-40 minutes each) there wasn't a lot of space for viewers to really experience the depth of different relationship dynamics that are so hallmark to the Kdrama format. That said, they did a wonderful job really developing the side characters even in the short format, which is something many long-format Kdramas can't seem to get right. I guess my disappointment with the shortened time has more to do with my selfish desire to spend more time in the world the characters inhabit because it was so much fun.
Another thing I really liked about this drama was the Samantha character. Kdramas are difficult to watch sometimes because they get so awkward about alternative lifestyles, especially when it comes to gay people. It was nice to see a straight people romance comedy drama that embraced a cross dressing man while still keeping (but overcoming) the inherent awkwardness. They used that same format, actually, to deal with the reactions of the neighborhood ladies to the scarlet letter situation. The women approach the situation clumsily, awkwardly, but eventually learn to embrace the truth instead of remaining intolerant and ignorant.
Overall, the drama did such a good job at masterfully exploring a wide variety of themes in a truncated but effective format. I might watch this again in a few years because the comedy was good and the initial bickering between the two leads was fun to watch.
As a side note, can someone please explain to me the trope at the end of every romance Kdrama ever where the female lead leaves and returns a year later? Like you finally get everything you wanted, your problems are solved, you found the love of your life...and you bail? I can't fathom it at all. Maybe they do it so you can have two happy endings instead of just the one?
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