nekochibi
This review may contain spoilers
I'm a mess after this, but in a good way
I went into this because of Kokoy, not knowing anything about the drama other than the poster and that Kokoy was acting. Please ignore the bad comments and give this a shot, the series does not disappoint at all. This review is spoiler after spoiler but I'm an emotional mess, and need to get it out.
Music:
10/10 Very fitting and beautiful. Found some new music!
Acting:
15/10 Especially the male leads, and Mando's friends!
Story:
10/10 Very realistic and relatable.
Ending :
Happy!
Rewatch value:
I would watch this again!
At first, the Rapunzel dreamlike narrative was odd and wasn't clicking yet, but when it did , it all made sense. Obviously it was Mando's inner turmoil, denial and self acceptance- but to me him being Rapunzel gave Mando an opportunity to try and be objective by sorta distancing himself from the struggle he was going through. I fell in love with the way Kokoy portrayed Mando. Extremely charming and flawed- but not beyond redemption. Yes, cheating is bad- but what made his character redeemable was that he didn't let the affair drag on, he gave Barry an opportunity to come clean and make things right with his sister, he came out on his own terms, and made peace with his conscience. I loved the fact that he didn't let Barry manipulate him into silence and taking all the blame. After all, it takes two to tango. He also showed great strength by not picking up the phone when Barry called, after the messy break up.
Barry, uhhhh, he is a flawed character as well. With self harm, attempted suicide, and willingness to stay silent - there is definitely a lot to unpack. But he too, is not nonredeemable. He did come clean, although forced to come clean, he explained and tried to make amends later on. It took time, this wasn't a "regular" affair, he cheated with his sisters' boyfriend. The fight he had with Mando, prior to being hospitalized for the attempted suicide, when Mando was trying to break it off was extremely realistic. People , when cornered, when in denial and under a lot emotional stress will try to manipulate and shift the blame, or at least some of it - to feel better about themselves. Unfortunately, I've been cheated on, and when presented with the opportunity to suck it up and admit it, my ex tried to make me feel bad as well, so he wouldn't feel like shit. Apart from the blame game and cheating, i relate to Barry and his (in my eyes) self hatred. People in the comments are complaining about how they handled the topic of suicide, and the brevity of the scene- but i think they handled it very well. Even the sisters "Everything will be okay in the end" was spot on. My friend attempted suicide, and upon first meeting there were a lot of emotions. Mostly crying, shame, and super weak attempts at humor. But after hearing her out, there was no grand philosophical lecture on my side. Just a shoulder to cry on, and comforting soft hugs accompanied by "It's gonna be okay, I'm just glad you're here." There is nothing amazing or clever you can say, and they do have to go to therapy.
Think of it this way. If someone murders somebody the punishment is jail. If you harm yourself, the "punishment" is therapy and facing your demons. If they handled it any other way, the storytelling would falter.
Krisha was definitely being used, but i have a hard time completely sympathizing with her. I feel like the culmination of episode 5 was partly her karma. Hear me out: she showed up at Mando's home unannounced by going through the forms, she was being pushy and nosy when they ran into Mando's mother and refused to listen to Mando when he wanted to leave , she refused to be rejected when Mando told her to stop texting him cause it makes him uncomfortable, and she sorta made it her own little conquest game- the trophy being Mando. Something about the actress also made it hard for me to completely sympathize with her. Although, they way she acted in episode 5 was amazing.
Vincent and Leslie are friends we should all strive to be, and be lucky to have. Open, honest friendship, where people are not afraid to call out the faults. But more than call out, accept us for who we truly are- or rather Mando. I liked that they gave him space and time to come out (even tho it was obvious) , that they gave him advice, and how down to earth they were. They saw the mistake, called him out for it, and gave him advice how to solve it, and more importantly they stuck around to see him get better, and move on from everything.
Music:
10/10 Very fitting and beautiful. Found some new music!
Acting:
15/10 Especially the male leads, and Mando's friends!
Story:
10/10 Very realistic and relatable.
Ending :
Happy!
Rewatch value:
I would watch this again!
At first, the Rapunzel dreamlike narrative was odd and wasn't clicking yet, but when it did , it all made sense. Obviously it was Mando's inner turmoil, denial and self acceptance- but to me him being Rapunzel gave Mando an opportunity to try and be objective by sorta distancing himself from the struggle he was going through. I fell in love with the way Kokoy portrayed Mando. Extremely charming and flawed- but not beyond redemption. Yes, cheating is bad- but what made his character redeemable was that he didn't let the affair drag on, he gave Barry an opportunity to come clean and make things right with his sister, he came out on his own terms, and made peace with his conscience. I loved the fact that he didn't let Barry manipulate him into silence and taking all the blame. After all, it takes two to tango. He also showed great strength by not picking up the phone when Barry called, after the messy break up.
Barry, uhhhh, he is a flawed character as well. With self harm, attempted suicide, and willingness to stay silent - there is definitely a lot to unpack. But he too, is not nonredeemable. He did come clean, although forced to come clean, he explained and tried to make amends later on. It took time, this wasn't a "regular" affair, he cheated with his sisters' boyfriend. The fight he had with Mando, prior to being hospitalized for the attempted suicide, when Mando was trying to break it off was extremely realistic. People , when cornered, when in denial and under a lot emotional stress will try to manipulate and shift the blame, or at least some of it - to feel better about themselves. Unfortunately, I've been cheated on, and when presented with the opportunity to suck it up and admit it, my ex tried to make me feel bad as well, so he wouldn't feel like shit. Apart from the blame game and cheating, i relate to Barry and his (in my eyes) self hatred. People in the comments are complaining about how they handled the topic of suicide, and the brevity of the scene- but i think they handled it very well. Even the sisters "Everything will be okay in the end" was spot on. My friend attempted suicide, and upon first meeting there were a lot of emotions. Mostly crying, shame, and super weak attempts at humor. But after hearing her out, there was no grand philosophical lecture on my side. Just a shoulder to cry on, and comforting soft hugs accompanied by "It's gonna be okay, I'm just glad you're here." There is nothing amazing or clever you can say, and they do have to go to therapy.
Think of it this way. If someone murders somebody the punishment is jail. If you harm yourself, the "punishment" is therapy and facing your demons. If they handled it any other way, the storytelling would falter.
Krisha was definitely being used, but i have a hard time completely sympathizing with her. I feel like the culmination of episode 5 was partly her karma. Hear me out: she showed up at Mando's home unannounced by going through the forms, she was being pushy and nosy when they ran into Mando's mother and refused to listen to Mando when he wanted to leave , she refused to be rejected when Mando told her to stop texting him cause it makes him uncomfortable, and she sorta made it her own little conquest game- the trophy being Mando. Something about the actress also made it hard for me to completely sympathize with her. Although, they way she acted in episode 5 was amazing.
Vincent and Leslie are friends we should all strive to be, and be lucky to have. Open, honest friendship, where people are not afraid to call out the faults. But more than call out, accept us for who we truly are- or rather Mando. I liked that they gave him space and time to come out (even tho it was obvious) , that they gave him advice, and how down to earth they were. They saw the mistake, called him out for it, and gave him advice how to solve it, and more importantly they stuck around to see him get better, and move on from everything.
Was this review helpful to you?
