Week in Review (Oct 11 – 17, 2020)

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

TV

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) – Ep 3-4

So many mysteries were set up this week, and things are getting creepier. Stalkers, murder and fraud have all become part of the mix and the show seems to be throwing the characters and us a lot of red herrings as to who these people may end up being. My guess on the body that was found is that it’s going to be the same man from the picture Joon (Lee Jae-wook) was looking at since we got a couple of shots of that watch, and the man in the picture also had a distinct-looking watch. Could it possibly be Joon’s friend and also the reason that he felt the need to run away from home?

As for the stalker, I highly doubt that it’s going to be Eun-seok (Kim Joo-hun), but it does bother me that he keeps showing up and that he lives in the same building as the ladies. Add to that the uncomfortable feeling that Ra-ra (Go Ara) has around him, and he just gets even more mysterious.

But the bright centre of this show is still Ra-ra as she continues to navigate her way through her hardships. I’m curious if she is genuinely as nice as she seems or if she’s just really good at subtly manipulating the people around her, having grown up in the cutthroat world of high-society. She was absolutely masterful in getting the mother-daughter duo to do what she wanted just by putting on a bright smile and throwing some compliments their way. We seemed to get glimpses of Ra-ra being extremely aware of her surroundings, although she still seems to be rather naive in a lot of other respects.

The visuals of this show are the strongest of the show so far. That scene where Sook-kyeong (Ye Ji-won) was making the sandwiches made my mouth water. The show is actually quite good at linking the sense, adding visuals elements to allow us to follow sounds and smells and tastes, as well as linking them to emotions. We also got our first few looks at how the director will incorporate music into the show, and so far I like it. The scene where the old man (Lee Soon-jae) asks her to play had me tearing up, and the animation of her talking to the stars had a soft dreamy quality to it.

The show does have some over-the-top tendencies, but I’m willing to forgive them for the moment because I feel like that’s part of the storytelling, trying to show us the world not as it is, but as Ra-ra sees it. Everything in Eunpo has a shiny glow over to it, and when contrasted with the cooler tones of the Seoul scenes, it seems even more vibrant. I’m sure that as Ra-ra embeds herself further into life in Eunpo and becomes closer to its residents, that will only become more pronounced.