Tag: tv

Week in Review (May 2 – 8, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

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

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Invincible (2021)

When my friend mentioned Invincible to me, I was instantly sold. J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh and Steven Yeun as the voices of one of the most powerful families on TV sounded like a great premise. Add to that the coming-of-age story of a young man who has to grapple with being the the son of the most famous superhero on the planet when he himself has only just gotten his own abilities and has little control over them. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it.

I love the way that the show sets up the mystery elements of the show. The first episode start out so slow that it’s almost boring, with two security guards at the White House having a run of the mill conversation. What follows is anything but boring, as we are suddenly introduced to a team of superheroes, Guardians of the Globe, that parodies the likes of the Justice League. We learn their names, their powers, their relationships and team dynamic, only to have one of the most jarring fight scenes where Simmons’ Omni-Man kills the entire team.

This is merely the catalyst for the series of events that follow, and as Mark Grayson learns to become better at being the superhero he wants, his father’s motives become more and more questionable. The momentum that the show builds over the course of the season is so incredible, and I was hooked till the last minute.

What I enjoyed most was the moral questions that the show brings up. We’ve all seen superheroes before, but a lot of them recently have been about the big set pieces and witty one-liners. What Invincible does is allow us to see the toll it takes on the people behind the mask when they lose a fight, have their trust broken or make bad choices. I was just as heart-broken as Mark when he finds out what his father really is, because the build up to it felt earned, and I’d had time to put my trust in these characters.

The style of the show also contributes greatly to this overall mood. Mark is still so naive in the ways of the world, and the first few episode have such a vibrant palette that contribute to that world view. That contrasts so well with the scenes with his father in the final episode, where everything is so much more dull and muted.

Animation also helps greatly with this, because it allows for these massive set pieces without having massive budgets to go along with them. We get to see so much more of that throughout the show instead of the production saving it for their climax episode like a live-action show might.

The train scene in the last episode in particular felt like something that wouldn’t be possible live-action because a production team would much rather focus on bigger action sequences in a final episode. However, I loved that they kept the scale of it so small and focused on Mark in that scene, because you get to feel the horror that he feels at causing so much destruction by just being who he is. That one scene felt more real to me than entire seasons of other shows do.

That’s what Invincible comes down to, though. It’s violent, it’s gory and it’s unabashed. But it also has a lot of heart, you feel for the people in it. These character invest time and effort into becoming who they are, and you root for them through their stumbles and their successes. I hope the show keeps up the momentum they set up in this first season because I can’t with to see what’s in store for Mark going forward.

Week in Review (Apr 25 – May 1, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

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

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Shadow and Bone (2021)

Having been a fan of The Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows for a long time now, I was looking forward to the adaptation of Shadow and Bone since it was announced. With that, however, came my usual guarded apprehension of having one of my favorite series being adapted, since it’s rare that book-to-series conversions deliver what I want.

That being said, I’ll try to hold off on comparing the two, and look at the show on its own merits.

The series gets off to a slow start, and felt a bit disjointed at times. There was a lot of set up, and because the show has a massive cast of character as well as having to build the universe from scratch, we don’t actually get into the main story until halfway into the series. Since the show is also dealing with separate locations, the scenes that take place in Ketterdam with the Crows, or in Fjerda don’t blend well with those in Ravka. This is where I start to wonder why the creators didn’t just leave Six of Crows as a separate story, since it isn’t doing Kaz (Freddy Carter) and his crew the justice they deserve.

As for Alina (Jessie Mei Li) and the Grisha world, I think that the show managed to capture the right tone. The Darkling (Ben Barnes) has always intrigued me, having a rich past. He is also not your standard romantic lead, in that he is willing to sacrifice anything, including Alina, for the sake of his grand plan. Perhaps the lack of chemistry between Barnes and Li had something to do with it, but I found it very believable that The Darkling wouldn’t abandon his centuries-long plan just for a woman, as so many YA leading men do.

While I did enjoy the first season of the show, I have doubts about how the show is going to balance the style and tone in the next season. I don’t have much faith in the production team to bridge the gap between the Crows and the Grishaverse, and I’d rather they didn’t feel like two separate shows. However, there isn’t much to be done about it now, so I’m going to hope that they find a miracle cure soon.

Movies

Promising Young Woman (2020)

Promising Young Woman seems to have arrived at a time when it feels like it is needed. Dealing with issues relating to sexual assault, and men taking advantage of women, the film feels very timely in the middle of the #MeToo movement, and when women’s rights are being more openly addressed. PYM almost feels like mandatory viewing, and yet our protagonist is rather unsettling. Perhaps this was the message the director was trying to convey: that it may not be pretty, and it may not be comfortable, but it’s definitely something we ought to be talking about.

The film is shot almost like a mystery thriller, following a loner woman as she preys on the very people who are usually the predators. It starts by making Cassie (Carey Mulligan) out to be a victim, then suggesting she’s a murderer before finally revealing that she is in fact merely holding up a mirror to society, hoping that when they see themselves they are just as disgusted as she is with them. However, she never gets to see the justice she delivers, perhaps reflecting our own society where women have yet to really get the fair trials they deserve.

While the story was quite predictable, the editing made the film fun to watch. I was especially impressed with the cast and the way the film reveals each person’s intent and motivation. Everybody is questionable, and not a single character is above suspicion, even those like Ryan (Bo Burnham) who seem respectable. I found it particularly amusing that almost every “nice guy” in the film was an actor that has a stereotypical reputation for playing meek, wholesome people throughout their careers, from Adam Brody to Chris Lowell. The person I was watching with had a particularly difficult time separating Lowell’s Al from his counterpart in GLOW, and was horrified that he would murder Cassie.

PYM is by no means original in the story it was trying to tell, but sometimes you need to say the obvious because people haven’t heard it in a while. That’s what this film feels like. It reminds us that just because no one is talking about it, it doesn’t mean the problem has gone away.

Week in Review (Apr 18 – 24, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 1 Comment

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

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Once Again (2020) – Ep 1-24

My first ever weekend family drama has been an interesting watch so far. I started this show because of the charm of Lee Cho-hee and Lee Sang-yi, after the latter caught my eye in To.Jenny, and I am living for the adorable sadon couple.

While things move relatively slowly on the show, and there are several storylines I’m enjoying. I’m watching the show very passively, and taking all the cute and fun moments I get. The performances definitely feel stilted at times, but I was aware that would be the case going into the show, which is making me a bit more forgiving of them. The strongest performers so far are Lee Jung-eun (unsurprising, considering her incredible turn in Parasite the year before) and Lee Sang-yeob, both of whom have found a good balance between the dramatic and the down to earth.

I’m really liking how writer Yang Hee-seung is teasing out both the Da-hee/Jae-seok and Kyu-jin/Na-hee (Lee Min-jung) pairings. Because the format of the show is much longer (at a whopping 100 35-minute episodes), there is definitely a lot more time for slow-burn tension-building than there is in a 16-episode drama. 

The look of the show is definitely giving me daytime soap vibes, and a lot of the plot threads support that look. Long-lost brother and sister reuniting, down-on-his-luck older brother, struggling single-mother older sister, this show has the works. While none of these are fully engaging me at the moment, with proper addressing they have a lot of potential.

The main purpose of these shows is of course the drama, and the show makes sure to move things along quickly. I’m enjoying the quick pace of the show, so that even if there is something I’m not liking, at least they move on from it before it becomes tiresome. Now that the show has done it’s big reveal of Na-hee and Kyu-jin’s divorce, we can finally get into the aftermath of their actions as well as their inevitable reconciliation.

And of course, I can’t wait for our sadon pairing to begin their journey together.

Week in Review (Apr 11 – 17, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

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

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Oh! Master (2021) – Ep 5-8

Week 3 and 4 of Oh! Master seems to be trying to hit us with all the drama trope punches, but none of them really seem to be landing for me. While I am thoroughly enjoying Nana and Lee Min-ki‘s performances, as well as the older trio of friends, the story is just too run-of-the-mill to be exciting. Not to mention that Jung Yoo-jin (Kang Min-hyuk) seems to primarily be there for window dressing and the occasional bearer of PPL gifts.

The slowly building tension, and seeing Bi-soo and Joo-in be more open with one another is extremely compelling, but I’m not sure why the writers are insisting on making it so that Joo-in’s feelings seem unsure. A blind person could see that she feels nothing more than friendship towards Yoo-jin. I hope that we move past this stage pretty quickly, so that we can see our main duo enjoying each others company as they slowly learn about one another.

I’m also enjoying each of their relationships with their mothers. Joo-in had to come to terms with the fact that her mother (Kim Ho-jung) may one day lose her memories of her. While this comes as a massive blow, she was also able to reframe this in a more positive light with the help of Bi-soo. He one the other hand has to deal with his own mother’s (Lee Hwi-hyang) demise, but he cannot be open with her about it because of the heartbreak she’ll experience if he knew. Instead, he’s using this opportunity to care for her and shower her with small acts of love. And while the mothers lean on each other for support, along with Kim Chang-kyu (Kim Chang-wan), their children do the same for each other.

All that said, I’m probably going to hold off on watching the show for a little while and wait to watch it in larger chunks since the story is not holding my interest as much as I hoped it would. Hopefully knowing where the finish line is will help me eventually get to it. And I’ll be able to enjoy all of Nana’s adorableness in one go.

Week in Review (Apr 4 – 10, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

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

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Hello? It’s Me! (2021) – Ep 9-16

Just as I expected, Hello? It’s me! didn’t make any huge strides in terms of their storytelling, but it was an easy fun watch.

The standout relationship on the show was that between the young Ha-ni (Lee Re) and Anthony (Eum Moon-suk). Anthony started his journey as an actor with the intent to find his first love, and in a way he did. Young Ha-ni also made him realize that he can be a better person than what anyone thinks of him, himself included, and she helps him get back on the right path to do so. The bullying storyline felt like it had been grabbed from the headlines. Although the show didn’t go too in-depth with it, at least it showed that Anthony was willing to accept the consequences of the past while still showing that he has become a significantly different person than he was 20 years prior, or even from the start of the show.

My second favourite pairing was the father-son duo of Han Ji-man (Yun Ju-sang) and Han Yu-hyeon (Kim Young Kwang). Ji-man’s condition was a lot less dire than the terminal illness I was expecting the show to throw at us. However, it was still a big change for the family, and while his sister and nephew were willing to take advantage of the situation, I liked that it actually brought Yu-hyeon closer to him and strengthened their bond (as if it needed strengthening) and made them understand one another better.

The way that various reveals on the show were done did seem a bit forced at times, but that was pretty much as I expected of the show. The one element I wasn’t expecting was that there was no way to save Ha-ni’s father. The older Ha-ni (Choi Gang-hee) had lived with the guilt of his death on her shoulders for the last 20 years, and although her family eventually absolved her of some of it, knowing that the younger version going back and not being able to save him because of some supposed bad consequences felt a bit like a cop-out. I also thought that we could have done without the shadow of death following Young Ha-ni around, especially since she had the old phone to count down the days for her. If only that had been developed more clearly and concisely.

While it wasn’t the most concise ending, there wasn’t anything particularly off-putting about it. Additionally, almost everyone managed to resolve their problems by the end, including Ji-man and his sister paving the way towards reconciliation. It was nice seeing everyone returning to their rightful places, and at least about that, I can’t complain.

Oh! Master (2021) – Ep 1-4

After having throughly enjoyed Nana is her last role, and in need of some fluffy viewing, I decided to pick up Oh! Master (also titled Oh My Ladylord, but how ridiculous is that title). I have absolutely no regrets so far, since I am in love with Oh Joo-in’ bubbly personality and her equally grumpy counterpart in Han Bi-soo (Lee Min-ki).

The show has already set up some rather high stakes, with Joo-in’s mother suffering from Alzheimer’s and her feeling a strong sense of responsibility towards slowing down its progress, and Bi-soo’s mother having some mysterious (potentially terminal?) illness. Add to that an unhinged stalker and a strained father-son relationship and you have more than enough elements for peak drama.

While all of that spells doom and gloom for our main duo, there are also plenty of lighthearted elements to the show. Both assistants instant attraction to one another was hilariously cute, and seeing Bi-soo’s mom connect with her past friends was also satisfying.

But by far, the tension that is being built between Joo-in and Bi-soo is what I’m going to be watching for. I can’t wait till we start getting proper housemate hijinks, and we’ve already started to see how intense they are with one another, whether they are being angry, earnest or flustered. While I haven’t yet seen what the aftermath of Joo-in’s stalker’s actions are, I know it’s going to cause a shift in their relationship. I’m also curious into how Jung Yoo-jin (Kang Min-hyuk) will fit into this dynamic since he’s already displayed several hints of interest in Joo-in.

The biggest shocker, of course, was the Truck of Doom. I actually laughed out of shock when that happened and I’m not sure what this ticking clock is going to mean for Bi-soo, both career- and relationships-wise.

Overall, there are a lot of elements to keep me interested at the moment, and I’m looking forward to see where it goes.

Week in Review (Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 2 Comments

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

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Good Manager (2017)

It took me quite a while to get settled into the world of Good Manager and our eponymous chief, Kim Sung-ryong (Namkoong Min). Much like his namesake, Jackie Chan, Sung-ryong has a larger than life attitude, a go-getter personality and an indescribable charm. However, it all takes a bit of getting used to, since first few episodes of the series throw us a rather bizarre set of circumstances and personality types.

But if you stick around long enough to become used to the antics, the payoff is incredible. The characters and the relationships between them are heartfelt and endearing. The story finds a nice balance somewhere between the extremes that are absurdist and mundane. The visual style helped to complement the plot is unique and interesting ways.

While I was perhaps a little too invested in the lovelines between Yoon Ha-young (Nam Sang-mi) and Seo Yul (Lee Joon-ho), it was accounting teams dynamics that really got me in the feels. Kim Won-hae is quickly becoming one of my favourite actors, and his portrayal of the surly and cynical Accounting Head Choo Nam-ho was so great. It was particularly rewarding seeing Sung-ryong win over each member of the team, and it was genuinely heartbreaking every time he had to be separated from them.

The other actor who really stood out to me was Lee Joon-ho. Much like a lot of other idols-turned-actors, I wasn’t expecting much out of Lee than simply to look good while he was on my screen and deliver his lines. I was actually quite impressed with the way he managed to take us along with him as his character went from villainous to heroic over the course of the show, and he managed to bring out the nuances of the character quite well. The writing really supported his performance and foreshadowed his journey well, and we could see hints of where his character was headed well before the story actually let the events unfold.

While it was a tough start, I thoroughly enjoyed Good Manager. I was completely charmed by the cast and I’m glad I watched to the end. I’m going to miss our accounting crew.

Week in Review (Mar 21 – 27, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 2 Comments

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

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

To. Jenny (2018)

What I learned from watching this endearing miniseries: I need more musicals in my watchlist.

To. Jenny is an adorable look at how a young man pursues his first love, overcomes his stage fear and helps her while she overcomes her own difficulties in the music world. Kim Seong-cheol is far from the conventional leading man, but he plays Park Jung-min with such an innocent charm that you can’t help but fall for him over the course of the 2-part special, and watching him win over Na-ra (Jung Chae-yeon) is such a delight. The cast is rounded out by his family and friends, and I was particularly impressed by Choi Yoo-ri, who plays Jung-min’s little sister who’s always pushing him out of his comfort zone.

The music in particular really struck a chord with me. (ha!) I love that they made music about the mundane from being jealous of the couples around them while eating pork belly to tiramisu cake. Writer Lee Jung-hwa manages to take the everyday, and make a sweeping love story from it. This was a cute story from start to finish, and even though I wish it were longer, I wouldn’t want it to get watered down with unnecessary plots when it is perfect just as it is.

Week in Review (Mar 14 – 20, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

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

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Marriage, Not Dating (2014)

In what was a rather slow week for TV watching, I decided to give Marriage, Not Dating a shot. This show is touted as on of the classics, and on starting it I immediately understood why. As soon as the show opened, I was reminded of some of the dramas of the early 2000s. Han Groo’s Joo Jang-mi is supposed to be a mix of strong-willed, happy-go-lucky and just the slightest hint of unhinged. All the elements don’t always mix together very well, which was probably why Jang-mi sometimes come off as two-dimensional, but Groo delivers a charming performance and I found myself simultaneously rooting for her and being annoyed by her. Gong Gi-Tae (Yeon Woo-jin) is similarly archetypal, in that he’s gruff, entitled and just the slightest bit too confrontational for my liking, a tsundere to the tee. The cast is rounded out with Han Yeo-reum (Jinwoon), the aspiring chef who falls for Jang-mi; Lee Hoon-dong (Heo Jeong-min), Gi-tae’s closest friend and Jang-mi’s source of constant headaches; and Kang Se-ah (Han Sun-hwa) who competes for Gi-tae’s affections.

However, while the show does feel quite typical, I found that I enjoyed watching it, even when I was annoyed by it. Whether it was Gi-tae’s family’s meddling, fake-dating shenanigans, or the mutual pining that could be resolved with a single conversation, I looked forward to seeing just how many tropes the writers would be able to fit into a single episode. It also didn’t hurt that the cast was extremely easy on the eyes. Jinwoon’s charming smile and Groo’s easy-going nature in particular stood out, to the point where I was rooting for their characters to end up together.

While there was plenty of conflict to go around, this is of course a k-drama, and a happy ending was practically guaranteed. While I’m not going to complain about neat endings, I was happy that the show also showed that there were some unconventional forms of happiness too. The ladies in Gi-tae’s family ultimately found a stronger bond once they tried to understand one another and seeing his mother kick his father to the curb was rather satisfying. Yeo-reum achieves his dream of becoming a chef, and Se-ah gets to have the child that she wanted, even if it might not have been the way she planned.

While the show did have its ups and downs, it was entertaining. They tried to have unconventional takes on the conventional tropes, and while it might not have always broken the mold, it at least felt familiar. It’s reminiscent of older dramas and pays homage to the likes of My Name is Kim Sam-soon and 1% of Anything and a time long gone.

Week in Review (Mar 7 – 13, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

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

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

Movies

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Raya and the Last Dragon, Disney’s latest feature, boasted a lot of potential. The first film featuring the Southeast Asian region (or at least a fictional version of it), a largely female cast, and rich universe to explore. However, I found myself constantly wanting for more from the film: A uniqueness to the animation style, one that featured the regional artistic style; More dimension to the characters; A slightly less predictable plot.

While the film did have moments that made me genuinely laugh, I found the plot to be a bit meandering most of the time. Conflicts were resolved a little too easily, travel seemed to happen too conveniently and everything was wrapped up in a neat bow at the end. Yes, this is a Disney film, and that sounds like par for the course by their standards, but it’s been a while since one of their films actually grabbed my attention. It felt a lot like they had a checklist of requisite components and were just going down the list and ticking all the boxes.

Tangled was probably the last time they made large strides in changing up their animation style, and that film came out over a decade ago. While the animation of the dragons was interesting, it wasn’t exactly groundbreaking, since we have seen similar things in Frozen, Tangled, Moana and a number of other features before this one.

The one thing I did enjoy about this film is how they showed the history of Kumandra and each of its regions. Each had a unique identity, and even if it may not have been explicitly featured, I could tell that someone on the research team had made the effort to show the diversity of each land by showing how its people lived. Whether it was the floating houses of Talon or the frozen wastelands of Spine, there was detail in the outfits and houses to show how people adapted to their unique environment.

Ultimately though, that isn’t enough to build an entire film around. Perhaps they were trying to do too much, and ended up sacrificing depth for breadth in the story. Or maybe they were trying to keep it simple and ended up with too little to make the film substantial. Either way, Raya felt like a bit flat, and left a lot to be desired.

TV

Hello? It’s Me! (2021) – Ep 1-8

Hello? It’s Me! has almost all the same issue as Raya, but strangely enough I’m actually compelled to keep watching it. I was initially drawn to the show for its sci-fi plot elements. A 37-year-old woman who has fallen a long way from the confident, beautiful popular girl she was 20 years ago, suddenly encounter that very same 17-year-old version herself. In practice, the show is filled with all the tropes they could possibly cram into an episode.

As annoying as the young Bahn Ha-ni is, Lee Re is so fun to watch. Seeing her take childish glee from pulling pranks and long for her family feel so real that she seems like the character come to life. And she’s also the driving force of the show. I find it funny that she actively frustrates all the people around her, from her (older) self to the guys that supposedly fell in love with that exact version of her. The older Ha-ni (Choi Gang-hee), however seems to be attracting those same people back into her life as the new and reformed version of herself. By working together, they seem to find the best traits to bring out in one another, both the ones that existed in past Ha-ni’s idyllic world and the ones that the current Ha-ni learnt through the tough life she’s had to lead so far.

While the the younger Ha-ni is focused primarily on returning to her past glory, her older counterpart admitted to liking having her around. I think the more time they spend together the harder the separation is ultimately going to be, but it’s going to be even more difficult when Ha-ni ultimately tells her past self about what happened to her father on the night that she came to the future.

There are a lot of additional plot elements, from the mystery figure that’s haunting the Ha-nis’ house to Anthony (Eum Moon-Suk) and his team’s mission to get his top star status restored. But the ones that are drawing me in are Han Yu-hyeon (Kim Young-kwang) and his father’s (Yun Ju-Sang) petty back and forth (which seems to be fueled by his father’s desire to train him to take his place, since he seems to be ill) and the strained relationship between Oh Ji-eun (Kim Yu-mi) and her mother-in-law (Baek Hyun-Joo).

I’m hoping the show doesn’t drag out the reveals for too long, since I find the show does best when the characters get to put their heads together to problem-solve. The second half of the show doesn’t promise anything extraordinary or groundbreaking, but I hope that the performances continue to stay true to character, and hopefully they don’t get too bogged down in extraneous plot elements.

Week in Review (Feb 28 – Mar 6, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

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

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

WandaVision (2021)

I went into the show with high expectations and a fair bit of skepticism, but I came away from WandaVision pleased to have watched it.

The story remained engaging throughout, mixing in elements of action, mystery and comedy to name just a few. But also, due to the nature of the setup, the show also pays homage to a multitude of eras, from I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show of the 1950s to mockumentary style family sitcoms of the 2010s, complete with confessionals.
As much as the plot kept me engaged, I was also fascinated by the characters and the inner working of their minds. While the performances were a bit too big for my liking sometimes (like the scenes near the end when Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) are having their battle mid-air), I really liked some of the quieter moments between Wanda and Vision (Paul Bettany), as well as seeing Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) as she tries to navigate the world after her return from the blip and back in the field.

While I do wish we had gotten a bit more depth to the new characters that have been explored, I feel like Marvel is saving that up for its future installments, and considering all the pieces they set up in this show, I’m sure the cinematic universe is only going to continue to expand. White Vision (is that a thing?), Rambeau’s introduction to the Skrull and Wanda unleashing her powers has set up the threads for so many new stories. 

Overall I came away from the show impressed, and as a first foray into shows on their own platform, Marvel has set a high bar for its upcoming line-up. I’m looking forward to what they have in store next.

Into the Ring (2020) – Ep 9-16

The second half of the show took the momentum from the first half and absolutely ran away with it. Into the Ring continued to be just as delightful in it’s second half, blending story, characters and themes into a compact and entertaining package.

The main take-away for me from this show is that humans are inherently fallible. They all make mistakes, some that they can recover from, some that are unforgivable and some that they don’t even see as mistakes in the first place.

No one gets life handed to them on a platter on the show, whether that be our leads or any of the many supporting characters, but those that work hard and love what they do can get joy out of their lives, even when they don’t necessarily achieve their goal. Hee-soo (Yoo Da-in) was content campaigning even though she knew that the people around her didn’t have confidence in her. Woo-young (Kim Mi-soo) and Han-bi (Shin Do-hyun) respectively discovered and rededicated themselves to their passions. Council member Shi (Lee Chang-jik) found inspiration from Se-ra (Nana) to achieve more than was expected of him, even when Se-ra herself considered her political career a failure.

Although Se-ra faces all sorts of hardships over the course of the show, from discovering Council member Bong’s (Yoon Joo-sang) hit-and-run to being ousted from the Chairperson position and then nearly voted out of office, she always manages to persevere. That’s not to say they don’t show her being angry or upset, assigning blame to herself or engaging with the other council member. But it also shows that she takes her lumps in life and learns from her mistakes. She has a lovely, supporting network of people around her who are willing to fight for her when she can’t, willing to console her when she loses, and willing to celebrate with her when she wins. The show allows her to grow organically, not into a perfect person, but into a more self-aware one who may still have the occasional stumble.

By contrast, Seo Gong-myeong (Park Sung-hoon) seems to get the perfect happy ending. He gets his old job back, is in a loving relationship with Se-ra, has abandoned his snake of a father and acquired two new parents in Yeong-gyu (Ahn Gil-gang) and Sam-sook (Jang Hye-jin). That he got such joy out of simply having someone to greet when he returned home made me both happy and sad. That even those simple things resonated so profoundly is a testament to the writing on the show.

This show is easily one of my favourites, striking just the right balances between writing, directing and performances. I like to think the characters live on in this universe, going about their jobs, sharing their lives and bringing about small but significant changes towards making Mawon a better place to be.