Snowdrop (2021)

how am i supposed to live, laugh, love in these conditions?

I went into this show knowing of the intense controversy surrounding it, but my rule of thumb is that the more controversial a show is, the more I want to watch it. All press is good press, as they say. It is not for me to say whether the show should have used the ’87 elections as a backdrop to the show, so instead I will speak on everything else in the show, what I liked, what I hated, what I loved and what I rolled my eyes at.

Overviewing opinion of the show:

I LOVE good star-crossed enemies to lovers and this show certainly delivered and they did not water it down. Love borne from ignorance and innocence that becomes corrupted by beliefs and ideology but eventually overcomes these difficulties, the show really tugged at my heartstrings with how beautiful and poignant it is.

There were points that lagged and lacked, points I rolled my eyes and skipped forward (looking at you, three wives of those three idiots) and the show did suffer from bad pacing when you spend like, what? 5/6 whole episodes trapped in the one place with the same thing happening time and time again? But even then, it’s a ticking time bomb – this pace is like a frog in water that is being brought to a boil. You don’t even notice what’s happening until it’s too late and everything has come down around you and the show explodes into action. Everything is falling into place and you can’t even breathe as you feel the helplessness and frustration of the people trapped inside of the University – who to trust? Who to turn to? Who is an ally and who is an enemy? These frustrations peak and the deteriorating situation literally leaves you having to watch the next episode after the last left you with bated breath because you don’t know what’s going to happen, who’s going to turn and who is going to betray.

The love story of the show is its backbone, its main star and attraction.

Yeong-ro is young and innocent and you watch her fall in love, just as helpless as the viewer. And then when the truth explodes, you can feel her anger and hurt and how betrayed she feels: betrayal for being lied to, betrayed by her own feelings that make it impossible to truly hate Soo-ho. She pulls back as Soo-ho reaches for her because she’s not some hapless teen in love: she’s smart, intuitive, she’s allowed to feel all those feelings of hurt and anger towards him before they lull and teeter off into forgiveness. You can even feel her being partly disgusted for having had those feelings, and partly disgusted for still having them.

Soo-ho, on the other hand, is less than innocent and he looks at Yeong-ro like she’s the only source of warmth in the cold light of his life that has been cast since he was a child. He knows he cannot love her, he knows he should not love her but he DOES. Even when he tries not to, it’s so painfully obvious he does and he’s caught between the rock and hard place of his love for her and his loyalty to his sister and country. He’s pulled in every single direction and spread too thin because no matter what he does, he knows someone is going to get hurt. Perhaps it was fate, perhaps it was destiny, perhaps it was life’s cruel joke to have him find a love and to be loved but cannot be, but he does and while the world is deadset on killing him and Yeong-ro, the two fall into this peaceful inbetween of taking the little time that they have together and seizing it with their hands.

ACTORS AND THEIR CHARACTERS:

I had no idea that it was BLACKPINK’s Jisoo as the main female lead as I’m not a BLACKPINK fan but I remember scratching my head for the first episode because I KNEW I had seen her somewhere and imagine my surprise! I’ve seen a lot of hate towards Jisoo’s acting, and I think a LOT of it is unfounded. For a first major lead as a rookie actress, Jisoo really holds her own against more seasoned actors and puts so much heart and emotion into Yeong-ro. Yeong-ro is young, she’s innocent without being naïve, unknowing without being ignorant – she’s truly a kind soul and a young woman on the cusp of being an adult in the real world and she still has this innocence about her that makes you want to protect her. And you can tell there’s something wanting in her – with a dead mother, a brother on the front lines and an apathetic, absent father, there’s a void inside of her that seems like it can never be filled in. Jisoo’s acting, my God, the girl can ACT and I know for a fact she can get even better with time. I loved seeing her onscreen and she really held her own against Jung Hae-in, especially when the truth comes out and you can feel how she is reeling with betrayal, hurt and how she wants to hate him but CAN’T. I did feel like the chemistry did dissipate slightly towards the end of the series before it was reignited again, but I suppose that is partially due to the fact that Soo-ho really becomes the main character from episode 10 onwards and the storyline shifts almost entirely away from the romance before dragging it back to the love story. Her characterisation flipflops a bit and there are times she does feel like only a plot device for Soo-ho's own character growth because Yeong-ro does not change as a person; suffering through tragedy and trauma is not character growth, not when she's left in the ruins alone after the fact. I liked Jisoo's acting and I know she has great potential for the future and I very much look forward to any future projects Jisoo has in store!

Hae-in, oh boy, lord hath mercy – the man is a powerhouse of talent. I haven’t seen anything that he has been in before, though I do know the titles and have seen clips but this is the first show that I have sat down and watched all the way through and I need to remedy my earlier mistake of not seeing anything he’s been in. Hae-in creates a Soo-ho that is the epitome of a victim of his circumstances. He could not choose where he was born, he could not choose his parents, he could not choose his life, he could not choose his path, his job, his future. He’s like a leaf atop of a streaming river, carried by its current until the end. And prior to Yeong-ro, he lets himself be carried without fighting against the tide, then she manages to take a hold of his soul and heart and pull him back from drowning. You can feel the conflict alongside Soo-ho, the conflict of what he wants and what he needs to do, duty and love tearing him apart. He tries so desperately to reclaim the person he was but it’s too late – the love that he has for Yeong-ro has fundamentally changed him as a human being. You can see him trying to disconnect from his feelings for her during the hostage situation but he’s tied to his emotions and to her whether he likes it or not. He’s desperate and lost because this is the first time he’s ever made a choice for himself and Hae-in is amazing at portraying this, at Soo-ho’s constant internal battle. Just like Yeong-ro, there’s a void inside of him that is shaped like her and only together do they really make each other whole.

The rest of the cast are sublime, Jang Seung-jo as Kang-moo is amazing. He’s desperate and calculating, passionate, pragmatic, and vengeful. You look at him and you know he’s a ticking time bomb, but you never know when he’s going to go off. Jung Yoo-jin was less than stellar, but she does portray Han-na as being exactly the opposite to Kang-moo: she’s a bomb whose fuse goes off time and time again. I did get annoyed with her multiple times throughout the show but I can’t say I hate her. Yoon In-na, unfortunately, did not stand out to me but I suppose it’s just because of how her character is written: cold and detached, pragmatic beyond belief and cold. There is one instance that I did love was her seeing the broken minded Ms. Oh and you can see it in her eyes that she finally realises the future that awaits her: abandoned by the country she served and left to suffer the memories of all the atrocities she committed until it breaks her.

Kim Hye-yoon, woooo boy she did a great job of making me both hate Gye Bun-ok and pitying her. Because on one hand, Gye Bun-ok has every right to be the way she is and you can understand why she doesn’t want to join in on the scheme that is brewing in the university. She has first hand experience of what happens to those who turn against the government and to communism, and the consequences they face as she still suffers the consequences that her old sister made because of that. She’s a pitiful character that I don’t think I can say I even hate her, even though she really annoyed me. She is constantly bullied and looked down upon by the college girls and has been abused by her parents all her life, even while acting as the sole breadwinner. She has every right to not feel loyal to the people who mocked and bullied her constantly, who saw her as nothing more than an infection to the rest of the student body. But, man, you see her act out time and time again even knowing why she’s doing what she’s doing but you just want to wring her neck out. Also, what the hell was that weird thing that was implied going on between her and Gyeok-chan? It really grabbed my attention and was quite disappointed it didn't really go anywhere.

There aren’t many other characters that stood out to me but I will say this: I HAAATTTEEEDDD the storyline of the three wives, like I mean HATED. I did not watch a single scene of them without skipping forward because of how boring they were. I only enjoyed it when they were getting their comeuppance but other than that, nothing positive can be said about these characters whose names I didn’t even bother to remember.

Other comments:
- The music and cinematography of the show were [chefs kiss]. Honestly outstanding and out of this world, a treat to the eyes and a feast that kept on giving. The show was honestly just so beautiful to watch, if I didn’t even like the show I would have kept on watching because it was such a beautiful show to watch.
- Once again, the pacing really hindered the show from reaching full potential as the same things kept happening more than once as well as the fact they stretched out the hostage situation a bit longer than I would have liked. I also would have liked if they kept up the storyline of the girls hiding Soo-ho in the dorm a bit longer.
- Even knowing the politics of the 1987 elections, I do think the show didn’t really go into the nitty gritty of it too much. I partially agree with some of the backlash being towards the show’s narrative of having ANSP agents being the ones trying to end the corruption within the election, but at the same time, I don’t think the show tries to say, “this is the truth and only the truth of what happened”.
- Not enough weird 80s fashion, disappointing.
- Now I know that I said I didn’t like how the hostage situation dragged on longer than it needed, but I liked the fact it made the show feel claustrophobic, as if you’re trapped in the university alongside the bulk of the cast. I felt as trapped as the students and staff did, only able to watch what was happening and not being able to go anywhere or do anything. It really added to the whole atmosphere and made everything feel much more tense.
- I’m going to admit it: there were times that I did wish Soo-ho followed through with his threats during the hostage situation simply because I wanted something to happen. But perhaps, on the flipside, it added more tension for me because I was there, waiting with bated breath wondering if he’ll actually follow through and kill a student as he threatened he would.
- I honestly feel disappointed at people who are hating on Jisoo’s acting because I thought she was sublime, especially considering the fact this is her first major role, I believe. Though I admit there are times I did feel like she was lacking a bit and Hae-in had to carry the bulk of the chemistry between the two – her interactions with Soo-ho towards the last few episodes felt lacklustre especially with the lack of reciprocation towards Soo-ho’s displays of affection, but I’m also empathetic towards the fact romance probably isn’t on the forefront of her mind what with everything going on in her personal life and the situation at hand. I see people getting annoyed over the fact that Yeong-ro felt betrayed and hurt towards Soo-ho as if he didn’t just take all her friends captive and use her as a human shield? As if he didn’t lie to her and put her in this situation? Like, Yeong-ro’s reaction and behaviour is extremely believable and human. Why should she trust Soo-ho after he lied and did what he did, acted how he acted and said what he said? And Jisoo was amazing at portraying this hurt and anger beautifully because you can see the innocence in Yeong-ro leave her, that she’s forced to face the consequences of being young and being in love and realising that all really isn’t fair in love and war.

Conclusion:

This show is not for people who like action packed, constant romance, fast paced, good guys v bad guys and characters who are more than three dimensional. You will feel fatigue watching it, but then it’s the end of an episode and you NEED to know what happens next. It’s a slow burn, an ember burning before it explodes into a fire. I will definitely be adding this to my very small list of shows I rewatch.

Final thoughts:
I wrote the bulk of this review when I was still waiting for episodes 15 and 16 to drop and much of it remains the same, but I am going to retract my last sentence in the conclusion. I do not think I will be able to mentally handle watching this show more than once. The tragedy and even the unfairness of this show remains consistent. I opened the review by saying this show was beautiful and poignant, but I forgot to say how tragic it is. I probably spent an entire hour sobbing hysterically after the finale to the point I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head.

To say I wanted everyone to live happily ever after would be a lie, but I wanted them to simply live a life they can be content with. No spoilers, but I think the tragedy of this show lies in the fact that some people will always be victims – victims to the government, victim to their regrets, their mistakes, to the corrupt people in power, and even to their own feelings. There is no spoonful of sugar to wash down the bitterness in this show. It is raw and burns you and I cannot remember the last time a show has managed to pull this depth of emotions from me before. The ending is unsatisfactory, it leaves you empty and numb and you wonder: "What was it all for? What's the point if this is what the end is?". There are so many unanswered questions, so many loose ends left to dangle untied and even when those who deserved their comeuppance, it's superficial, like sand in your stomach because it fills you up but you're still empty otherwise.

You feel a sense of helplessness and hopelessness and it hurts, by God does it hurt watching that finale. And part of me hates the show for it, and I was adamant that if I didn’t get a bittersweet ending this show was going to get a bad score from me but I can’t, I can’t not when this show has caused such deep, emotional reactions within me.

And you accept what Yeong-ro has come to learn: all is not fair in love and war, not in this life.

And the real tragedy of it all is that you were hoping for much more than what this show was able to deliver, perhaps it's naivety or foolishness, but I wanted, I hoped, I despaired. You watch that final scene and you know in that moment, you are Yeong-ro and you know the life that awaits her, more tragedy paving the path. It leads me to ask: is a life alone, having lost everyone you know and love, any better than dying?

I have a feeling it will be a question haunting Yeong-ro for the rest of her life, forced to carry on when everyone else has been left behind.

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"A perfect spring day! Enjoy it while it lasts because you don’t know what’s coming.”

It's a quote by Marty Rubin in my title

Snowdrops are the first flowers that bloom in the spring. It is a sign of the end of long and cold winter. This white and delicate bell-shaped flower symbolizes purity and hope. The title itself us a glipmse of the content of the drama and that itself is compelling enough to convince you to watch the drama. I originally watched this for Jisoo and to find the meaning of the title. I had doubts as well as great expectations for this drama and I can assure you that it vanquished all by doubts and overcame all my expectations.

Snowdrop is adapted from the handwritten notes of a man who escaped from a prison camp in North Korea. This is director and screenwriter of this drama are Jo Hyun Taek and Yoo Hyun Mi respectively, who also worked together in the drama SKY Castle. Due to the drama accussed of being set against the backdrop of the 1987 Democracy Movement in South Korea or the June Struggle, which is an important historical event for the South Korea as it led to the establishment of democracy is South Korea, and it bringing the people of Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) to good light, it faced many controversy before and after release. JTBC released their first official statement on the controversy on March 26 that read, "The drama is not distorting the pro-democracy movement nor is it glorifying the Agency for National Security Planning. It is a black comedy drama satirizing the political situation between the two Koreas under the authoritarian government in the 1980s. Also, it is a romance drama showing young people who sacrifice their love." On March 30, JTBC released a second statement regarding the controversy that read, "Snowdrop is set around the 1987 presidential election, and not a drama that deals with the pro-democracy movement". Also, the Blue House did not intend to interfere in its production adducing the protection of freedom of expression in South Korea's Broadcasting Law, which guarantees broadcasters' independence and prohibits extrajudicial regulation or interference.

To simply put the plotline, Eun Young-ro is a freshman in Hosoo Women's University in Seoul and Lin Soo-ho (Jung Hae-in), a North Korean spy sent on a mission to South Korea. They first meet during a group blind date and Young-ro falls for him at first sight. After this incident, they kept running into eachother, which led to Young-ro hiding and taking care of him in her dorm despite the strict rules and dangerous situation, whithout knowing he was a North Korean spy, when he jumped into the dorm injured while being chased by ANSP agents. She also helped him to escape from the dorm without suspecion. The period when Young-ro took care of Soo-ho was the time when he started to have feeling for her. Again, while being chased while accomplishing the mission, he enters a shrine, without knowing that it led to the dromitory. This inadvertantly led to him keeping the students hostages, to escape. From here, the pair's story begins to unfold against a political disruption.

There are other main characters other than Young-ro and Soo-ho in this drama. Jang Seung Jo plays Lee Kang-Moo, a NSA agent who dosen't obey orders from his superiors. He has a fiancée Jang Ha-Na played by Jung Eugene, whom he left for some reason and joined NSA. She too later joined NSA to find him. Yoo In Na plays Dr. Kang Cheong-Ya, a National Medical Center surgeon. She is also Nam Tae-Il's, Secretary General of the Democratic Aemin Party, mistress. Yoo Se Ah plays Pi Seung Hee, the strict yet caring housemother of the Hosoo dormitory. Kin Hae Yoon plays Kye Boon Ok, the telephone attendent of the dorm, who was at first friendly to Young-ro. All these characters have an important part to play in this drama. There are many supporting characters too who are indispensable for the progress of the story.

Snowdrop well succeeded in deceiving the audience at first. Most of the charactres in this drama have secret or hidden identities and a back story to tell us, which changes our perspective of the drama and the character. All these makes the character and the story rich and intriguing.

Although most of the drama is made in one set, the dorm, it is really interesting to watch. The mood of the drama changes episode by episode. In the first episode, it felt like Snowdrop was going to be a light and fluffy rom-com but, the whole mood changed as the episode ended. This drama is an emotional roller-coaster which takes us through each and every emotion possible to be felt by a human. The drama became serious and dangerous as the story went on. This drama is a slow-burn romance drama with political and melodramatic elements. Also, unlike someother dramas, the story started intersting and it didn't cease being interesting. You can't guess that they are going to show next. I was hooked from the very star till the very end of the drama.

And when we come to acting, I don't know what to say. As I said before, I came to watch this drama because of the cast. As I recently wandered into the k-dramaland, among the actors of this drama, I was only familiar with Blackpink's Jisoo and Yoo In-na from Goblin. Some of the actors like Jung Hae In and Kin Hye Yoon are the ones I have only heard of and always wanted to watch their shows. So, I took this opportunity to satisfy all my wants and wishes.

I have heard that Jung Hae In expresses his feeling through this eyes and smile. Through this drama, I realised that it is ultimately true! His eyes spoke so much emotions that I could have watch his eyes alone to understand the whole moods of the drama. The character of Lim Soo-ho needed aura of mystery and secretiveness but really caring and warm personality. Jung Hae In had it and gave his all too make his character perfect. I have become his fan through this drama and he is now my favourite k-drama actor!

I came to watch Snowdrop, mainly to watch Jisoo's acting. I wasn't really ecpecting anyting but, the usually average idol acting. But, I was really astonished and stunned watching her performance. At first, I didn't even believe my own eyes! I really can't believe that it's her first time acting in main role. She just nailed her character perfectly. Throughout the drama, she had to act many emotional scenes and she acted like a professional veteran actress who have done many projects!

Do I have to say about the other actors? They were all amazing. Yoo In-na as usual and nailed her characted perfectly which her acting skills and charms. As I had said before, she was the only actress whose acting I was familiar with. So, I don't know how the other actors are usually. But, in this drama, they were flawless. I wasn't disappointed with anyone's acting. Everyone were perfect for their roles.

Jung Hae In ang Jisoo's chemistry is beyond words. It is one of the most convincing and heartbreaking chemistry I have ever seen. Although, there were some inadvertant misunderstanding between them, their love was deep, pure and passionate.

The makeup and costumes in this drama have a key role in setting the mood and vibes of the audience regarding the story. Costumes and makeup give the audience perception of the character wearing it and the time period the story is set in. Depending upon the role, the costumes and makeup may reveal truths or hide secrets. The makeup and costumes of the actors were really nice. It made them look like the people from the 80s. The cinematography of this drama too is ideal.

The drama have many nice OSTs in both Korean and English that takes us to the 1980s ambience. Some of them are:

"If You're with Me" by Sung Si-kyung
"Friend" by Kim Hee-won
"Looks Like a Real Thing" (Korean and English version available) by JeHwi
"Wishes" by Jamie Miller
"Memories More than Love" by Kevin Oh

Among these amazing OSTs, Friend and Memories More than Love are my personal favourites.

A quote from Harry Potter goes, "It is choices that shows us who we truly are far more than our abilities". This drama too is about the choises that the characters take. Though Soo-ho was forced to make many choices which were against his will, he choose what is right in the end. He was a righteous person from the very beginning but, his obligations to his nation made him desperate. There are many other characters in this drama who was like Soo-ho, on whom choices were imposed, making them hopeless. They too changed and stood with what is right.

This drama shows the political dispute between Noth and South Korea. It's hard to explain their relationship. I was really confused about the political part of the drama at first too. As this was my first historical political-fiction drama, everything seemed too difficult for me to digest. But, it got better.

I know that I truly and unquestionably like a drama if the skip botton lies idle throughout the drama. Such a drama was Snowdrop for me. Throught the course of 12 episodes, there wasn't a dull or boring moment for me.

"Your future is whatever you make it" - this is a quote I liked form Snowdrop. Altough the person saying it didn't say it in a good sense (I won't say who said it. It will be a spoiler), what the person said is undoubtebly true. This reflect the Harry Potter quote I said before.

"Of course, love is more important than ideology or principles. Whether you are man or women this is the truth of lofe"- this is another quote I loved.

I won't say anything about the ending. I don't wish to spoil anything for the future watchers who are reading this review.

Overall, this is one of the best dramas I have seen in my life. Of course, this is not perfect, it had its own flaws. Well, nothing is perfect in this universe. But, this dosen't keep me from giving this drama a perfect 10. It has all elements a drama should have to make it enjoyable and emotionally engaged. This drama is amazing through and through. I will certainly recommend this to anybody who is in need of a well-written, amazingly directed drama with amazing actors and chemistry.

Note: Let me know in case of any mistakes or faults.

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