Melancholia (2021)

"Melancholy is the happiness of being sad."

Edgar Allan Poe in one of his anthologies says, "And so, being young and dipt in folly, I fell in love with melancholy." Knowledge of the soul boundlessly make s us gloomy if the pros of feelings fail to keep us cheerful and vigilant. Melancholy leads to doubt which in turn results in despair and ultimates cultivates wickedness.

"Melancholia (멜랑꼴리아)" is a journey of desolation, dejection and despondency with fruitful meanings and worthwhile outcomes but what's different? It's mathematics. Yes, the most hated subject in the world, haha. The drama uses a different approach to promote the mathematical perspective of life through the characters who are devotedly peruse mathematics.

The drama have more than a dozen of flaws, even to be called good. It's purely an average piece and can be easily skipped though I can't exactly say it's bad and deserve to be treated as a complete trash, and I have many reasonings for it as well.

Note: There is no paedophilia or cheating involving the leads of the drama. It's just stupid perceptions of some narrow-minded people who jumped into conclusions without watching the drama.

Based on 2 different time periods with a gap of 4 years, the story is almost equally divided into 2 parts; a past story of 2017 and a present narration of 2021. Ji Yoon Soo (Im Soo Jung) and her most favourite student Paik Seung Yoo (Lee Do Hyun) falls victim to a conspiracy of intentionally set up scandal that frames them of having unsound relationship. Owing to the constraints, both of them fail to prove their innocence and fall apart, just to find themselves in misery. 4 years past the tragedy, both of them cross paths and unite to bring to surface, the corruption, conspiracies and the big faces behind it, in the school, of the past and the present.

Yoon Soo, morally upright and endearing woman, is a highschool math teacher, who is aware of the art of steadfastly making someone fall in love with the subject. She's all the qualities to be a perfect teacher but her sense of righteousness gets her in trouble. Paik Seung Yoo, born genius and immensely attracted towards math, is a highschool student after dropping from MIT which he joined at very young age. After a tragic experience, he shows no interest in studies, tho he has all the capabilities to conquer.

Im Soo Jung is an amazing actress and a movie person, rarely opting for dramas and very selective in that regard. She must have seen some potential in this though the execution went shabby. Lee Do Hyun is definitely the best in acting, among the rising Korean actors and his performance was good as well. Other than the leads, there are in fact many familiar and good actors in the drama and I will refrain from mentioning them to keep it short. But special applause for Jin Kyung who played Noh Jung Ah, the Principal of Asung High though she's the main antagonist in here. She definitely created an impression with her character dynamics and we are aware of her acting skills.

Plot development.....umm..... It's inconsistent and unremarkable though it had scopes and rooms for improvement with the episodes; like given the basic plotline and the mixture of 4 genres (romance, highschool, slice of life and corruption reveal), it could have been a lot lot better to finally come forward as a decent melodrama but, alas! I wasn't really that bothered while watching the initial episodes with the slow pacing, but the later half consequences made me realize that that the speed was totally inaccurate to begin with.

As a story, it isn't actually a trash as some people will tell you, or even below average. I would say it's just ordinarily average and the ratings can lie somewhere around 6.5 bcs Well, talking about episodic progression, From ep1 to ep8, i.e exact till the first half, it's a fair watch and didn't feel like skipping or fast-forwarding. The show starts going downhill from the beginning of 2nd half with the repetition of some events and constant push & pull between the characters over one thing. To reach the ultimate goal, i.e. bringing forward the truth, they particularly start dragging from the 13th episode and that's clearly visible. Tbh, I started fast-forwarding from 9th ep at 1.5× and kept the same till the end.

The script could have been squeezed into 12 episodes or even 10 by increasing the pacing and removing all the dragging they did in the last 4 episodes. However, I must admit that the ending sequences in the last 2 episodes were good.

Kim Sang Hyub is a producer of extremely popular yet qualitatively mediocre dramas. His dramas blow up bcs of good-looking cast and the story he adopts are usually typical cheesy romcoms. But this was a different approach, i. e. not a romcom and cast ain't dominated by good-looking young mass. Moreover, the slice-of-life elements along with mathematical pov; all these things are not his forte and he couldn't even execute them experimentally, which is quite visible. The direction was poor, the pacing is unnecessarily slow for a corruption-reveal drama. The slow screenplay could have been manageable only if it were a warm pure romance genre but that's not the case.

Kim Ji Won is known for only one of her scripts, that's Doctor John, which was in fact a good drama. I haven't followed other 2 dramas of her so can't really tell about her skills though I can assure whatever she had to offer for Melancholia, that didn't work to a great extent. Can't cite the script a total failure but it surely had the potential to be a good and likable one-time watch. I have already talked about the plot development above, so let's move on.

OSTs are very good indeed. Park Se Jun is quite a talented composer with the experience of working in uncountable numbers of dramas and the 4 OSTs of this show are the proof. I loved all of them. 2 of them are in English and other 2 are in Korean.
"All I Need" by Jemma is a ballad of comfort. More than love, it depicts solace, relief and assurance. The vocals of one of my fav singers Sunwoojunga in the soulful and longing song "Darling" questions one's faith in love. "Lilly of the Valley" by Band Nah, a popular indie trio is actually a cover of the song with the same title by Daniel. It's simply a beautiful melody that expresses gratitude to the essence of love. "Let Me Know" by Cheeze is a melancholic call in true sense; it has the feels of an authentic Kdrama OST.

The most notable thing about the drama is mathematics. I am a bio major and wasn't that fond of mathematical practises but I, for sure, knew that it's an interesting subject and studying it can be enjoyed though not everyone can accomplish it with utter amusement. The writer has tried to connect mathematics with life, love and living in a beautiful way. Mathematics here is not just a mere subject of academia and profession, it's much more than the mystery of the universe and one's pleasurable experiences.

There is very short-lived romance or you may take it as almost little to no romance, but sure there is development of chemistry, there ie comfort and there is undisplayable emotions that constantly blooms despite all the odds they have to pass through. This is not romcom and you should skip it, if you're actually expecting some romance. Even so, this buildup is worth it, in my opinion.

Bullying in highschool, corruption in admission process, unfair and unequal treatment to students in the same school, illegal & phoney favors, creation of unnecessary competition among students, parents negligence to children as well as leading children towards wrong paths, etc. are the factors used in the drama. I love how the writer has put emphasis on the ways of nurturing a child and their future, both in home and school along with the mistakes in the process that can ruin them. It also addresses the ways in which children are wronged by adults.

In short, the drama had too much potential with a good plotline, good actors and good premisea but what ruined it are choppy script, poor character dynamics, shoddy plot development, superfluous pacing and expendable characters of no significance. But personally, it was watchable for reasons like: mathematical interpretations of life, resolute leads, acting of the major characters, up to par basic plotline and so on.

I don't believe in completely discrediting something for flaws in some parts of it. If something specific has convinced me, I should def be fair with mentioning them. On that note, Melancholia, overally, is not a bad drama though it has a lot of flaws which could have been easily avoided. The major reason to watch the show is the mathematical frame of reference and utilization of that outlook in the drama. I came here, as expected, for LDH and ISJ and several other actors whom I like, and yeah, I loved their performances even though the drama didn't interest me to a great extent. So on a final remark, you can either skip the drama entirely or watch it in leisure when you have nothing to watch.

P. S. All of these in my review are very personal. I loved the drama but I didn't; i would like to describe it like that. For me, this drama was actually very difficult to judge; it'a not really very bad and not very good as 2 different groups will claim but I guess 7.0 is fair enough considering all the aspects. I thought it's important to put a unbiased, fair and balanced review. Some might agree and disagree with both my contents and ratings but I'm okay with constructive arguments.

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Hidden gem!

I didn’t look for the title, the title found me. And simply, if you liked WWW, you will love this one, me thinks. It’s not sugar coated romcom, and it’s beautifully written, directed and acted. A gem!
The series give you very well developed characters, the actors for me portrayed the resolution and hope of youth and the struggles and complicated world the older generation have. It created a circus of relationships, clashing those, who always have everything, their games, and contrast this world with the one of other people. They both have their struggles and truth and it’s interesting how you are guided to also the see both side fairly.
Despite all, there is a simple, pure love born out of being connected, truly connected, with someone. Haven’t finished the drama(2ep to go), but I loved it so far.
Why not 10 for me - mainly because I’m a bit tired to be shown that we have to bare the responsibilities of age - we all need to be free at some point, to hell everything else, we need to breath (I secretly hope that’s what will happen in the last two episodes) So I’m holding my horses:-)

(By comparison with Now we are breaking up, 100% better!)

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너무 아름다워

I wanted watch this drama from the first ...
But I checked comments in MDL
I became really confused...
Even all was negative comments , I wanted to give a try
Which I did ...
I'm glad that I gave a try to this drama...
It was a good drama...
It's not your typical romantic drama
It taught me many things ...
Like being too much greedy only brings destruction (which we can see in Noh Jung Ah ' s case )
If you don't have confidence people gonna take advantage of you ( sung yerin )
Let's talk about our main leads...
Lee Do Hyun🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
His chemistry with Im Soo Jung was fire.....
Their acting was so realistic....
Their character was so good and controlled..
I mean see Seung Yoo when he was minor he never crossed his boundaries
Only thing he did was fall for his math teacher
We have to salute Ji Yoon Soo sam
She never had any feelings for Seung Yoo when he was a minor ...
Crossing boundaries ?
Hahaha I can't even think
From the first day she was really glad to meet Seung Yoo...
She was so excited that she meet someone who has same passion for Mathematics...
She fall in love after seeing him as a adult
Who was brave for her ....
Only wants to get her a apology from the people who ruined her life ...
Everything in this drama portrayed through math and it's was 너무 아름다워 ( really beautiful)
If you're looking for slow burn romcom then give it a try
You won't be disappointed if you like things slow and getting bad people their karma...

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One of a kind; heartbreaking, passionate, moving

Now that I have finished the show all I can say is that it was MORE than worth the time. This drama is CRIMINALLY underrated and you won't find another drama handling such topics so beautifully. Every scene kept my attention, even the side plots (which is a lot to say considering how easily I get distracted).

STORY
The main thing that needs to be understood about this drama is that it is a romance. The two leads being Ms. Ji and Seung Yoo it's pretty much a given that the main story and romance overall is going to be focused on both of them. With that being said there is some give here for me to get past the main issue. That is the teacher/student relationship. The two are going to interact with implications of a romance no matter what way you look at it, that's just what the show is and just what it wants to show. Still, with it still airing I can't really tell just what way it will go about with their relationship and how.

I wouldn't call this a romance really though, it focuses a lot on corruption and the motives of the characters. There is a time jump about 8 episodes in, which wasn't forced or confusing. Overall the story was engaging, heartfelt and kept my attention and leaving me on the edge of my seat


CHARACTERS/CAST
Seung Yoo clearly has trauma that stems from his childhood, and the depiction of those feelings and raw emotions are portrayed insanely well by the main lead Lee Do-Hyeon. In all honesty the fact that Lee Do-Hyeon was starring as the main lead was the reason I started watching this drama in the first place. What is making me stay for the whole thing is the overall story. The experiences of someone who has a traumatic memory or past is something I can say has 'tried' to been portrayed well, but usually ends up falling flat due to the writing or the unbelievability of the acting. Lee Do-Hyeon is a scene stealer in whatever he is in, the guy is talented and it shows specifically in scenes where he is having a breakdown or some sort of remembrance of what had happened to him. Lee Do-Hyeon doesn't give me any doubt to his character, I don't have to think about the fact that it's a show and someone is acting, I just believe him and I can truly get immersed.

Ms. Ji is a likable character. Again that's my opinion. What makes a likable character to me is to have a character be genuinely a good person. She isn't trying to seduce Seung Yoo, and it may be argued that she is 'stupid' or 'ignorant' to the issue that could be seen with her relationship with Seung Yoo. I see that she has her dignity and sees a student that she can relate to (even more than her husband). Seung Yoo and Ms. Ji see the world in somewhat of the same way with their views on math and infinite possibilities and all of that. You just have to watch the drama and think, you can't go in hating the relationship or thinking she is a predator. Seung Yoo is the one who is drawn to Ms. Ji, there isn't anywhere where they've crossed the line (yet). It may come in the future but at least it was expected.. it's in the description of the show. I don't understand how people are getting so upset when it is said in the forefront. I see it more being there as shock value to get people to watch, even in the first episode. I believe it will be brought back and be a misunderstanding, even if it's not- it's just what it is. It would be wrong, but it wouldn't make this show the worst. There's a lot to like: Lee Do-Hyeon's acting, the portrayal of trauma, corruption, etc..

You have to give credit where credit is due. No Jung Ah (the principal) was one of the most compelling and well-written characters in the show. She was given a background and therefore a motive, and she was developed well enough yet not given too much screentime to take away from the protagonists. Jin Kyung is such a versatile actress and portrays this character eerily well. There were moments when I had to stop and pause as she reminded me so much of similar situations I have been in, specifically people that her character represents. No Jung Ah is selfish but blind to the potential damages she causes, she's power-hungry and is a character that is actually fun to not like as opposed to antagonists that are typical and easy to read.


ISSUES/CONCERNS
Another issue that people have with this show is the attention she gives to Seung Yoo compared to her other students. To that, I'd say that it's a drama with the leads being Ms. Ji and Seung Yoo. Of course, it's going to be the both of them alone, and going on trips, taking things too seriously makes watching things less fun. In the end, what I expect from this drama is for the characters to be developed, a time skip for years from where they are at.. acknowledgment of the flaws of the relationship.. closure..
I would've liked to have seen more development of Ms. Ji's and Seung Yoo's relationship regarding how they got together knowing in the end they were. Other than that the drama was wrapped up perfectly and had one of the most satisfying endings to a K-Drama or any show in general that I've seen. One thing that I also found a little weird was how Ms. Ji's father died at the end, only because I saw it coming.

FINAL THOUGHTS
This drama is one of my favorites, I could gush about it all day and wish I could write better reviews because there is only so much I can say to reflect just how good this show is. It's well done and wasn't typical, it wasn't cliche, it does it's own thing and it does it SO WELL. The music.. especially the OST. 'Darling' makes me tear up every time I hear it. This drama is realistic, acted so well that I didn't doubt any of what was happening or the acting even once. I look forward to more dramas coming from this director and any actors/actresses that were involved with this show.

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The ‘ Melancholia’ Of Slow-Pacing…

Announcing ‘ Melancholia’ as " completely different" from his other works, rom-com director Kim Sang Hyub ( ‘ True Beauty’, ‘ Extraordinary You’, ‘ 7th Grade Civil Servant’) and screenwriter Kim Ji Woon (‘ Doctor John’, ‘ Hyde, Jekyll, Me’) collaborated project seemed to indicate a drama-narrative that would focus on mature and darker subject areas. However the mixed-reception amongst the audience towards the delivered result of ‘ Melancholia’ is admittedly understandable due to the drama’s delivered narrative and pacing.

The storyline is nearly concisely divided into a dual-narrative between the past and the present. The events of the past (2017) foregrounded some necessary backstory into the lives of optimistic and resilient mathematics teacher Ji Yoon Soo( Im Soo Jung) and stoic MIT dropout and prodigy Baek Seung Yoo( Lee Do Hyun). By following the events surrounding the false scandal setup by their school, viewers learn how “ melancholia” has now torn about their lives after a four-year time skip. The duo meet up again now with a rekindled objective to expose and bring down the corrupt system of the school once and for all.

Rom-com director Kim Sang Hyub ( ‘ True Beauty’, ‘ Extraordinary You’, ‘ 7th Grade Civil Servant’) is notoriously renowned in the industry (and even amongst fans) for his heavy reliance upon overused and generic soap-opera tropes . Therefore it should come as a surprise for those familiar with his past projects when Hyub announced his venture into ‘ Melancholia’ alongside his collaboration with screenwriter Kim Ji Woon (‘ Doctor John’, ‘ Hyde, Jekyll, Me’) as " completely different" from anything he had done before , there was certainly promising potential.

‘ Melancholia’ arguably delivered a presentation to viewers with Hyub clearly being out of his comfort zone . The drama maintained a lighter edge at times but clearly offered “ darker” explorations into realistic subject areas than some of Hyub’s previous projects. Naturally this presented many opportunities for ‘ Melancholia’ to tackle some realistic sociological themes from corruption by the rich, social hierarchies, the academic ranking-system in South-Korean education, peer pressure, bullying and public-shaming. ( To name just a few. )Yet it’s hard to deny that ‘ Melancholia’’s conveyed messages could sometimes be a difficult challenge for audiences to truly digest by the illusive and vivid palettes and schemes through cinematography often feeling like a presented decoy for audiences .

Of course uncertainty by directors unfamiliar to genres against time limits and deadlines given to them by the studios and production companies is to be expected with evident problems and flaws along the way. It was evident to see Hyub’s willingness throughout the drama to attempt something different. However in addition to Kim Ji Woon’s uncertainty towards interweaving genres with subtlety, ‘ Melancholia’ could often seem like the outcome of a balancing against vision and deliverance ;different genres crammed into a short duration length led to an evident and arising conflict between messages and pacing as episodes progressed.

The characters of the series were admittedly an intriguing range of individuals with a lot of potential to be more than meets the eye. Ji Yoon Soo and Seung Yoo had their own personal backstories and issues, whilst even the antagonistic forces of the series were far from being shoehorned into mere “ nefarious villainy” either. On the other hand Ji Yoon and Seung Yoo did have two notable flaws ( like many notable characters) in the series; they lacked deep-drive.

It’s important to establish that Ji Yoon and Seung Yoo’s own personal drives against plot-shaken drive are two different things. The two main leads certainly were useful assets to the storyline and helped to be “ subverted” by their experiences . However multilayered psyches which seeming intriguing characters were supposed to possessed were constantly submerged beneath the surface-lingering faintly, but rarely giving opportunities to breathing fresh air into shoehorned archetypes either.

Perhaps one of the few arguable exceptions to this fallacy was Noh Jung Ah( Jin Kyung); the antagonistic driving force of the series as the head director of Aseong High School who had some surprising moments of layered complexity against her role . Nevertheless Jung Ah was far from being flawlessly executed and many characters in the series seemed to suffer a similar fate.

The other quintessential point to note with consideration to ‘ Melancholia’ is that it isn’t a pining tale of love and woe. Whilst there are certainly elements of slow burn and gradual relationship development between Yoon Soo and Seung Yoo, their relationship is fairly platonic (for the most part) as they bond initially over their shared-goal and passion for mathematics. This naturally doesn’t diverge from watching the characters’ relationship grow but it admittedly does present focus ( romantic or not) upon the issue of healing. At times plot-drive did present focus upon this “ issue”. However there were few opportunities for both main leads to truly learn and develop from their experiences in a symbiotic manner; a process which is often key towards relationship developments ( platonic or romantic) in life and writing.

Sadly the main leads were not the only characters to suffer from the fate of writing. Side character Sung Ye Rin ( Woo Da Vi) had the potential to be one of the most intriguing characters of the series after her initial introduction and setup through her own personal fear of failure and disappointment. Nevertheless Ye Rin was rarely given her moments to be presented than anything more than a plot device; necessary to keep the storyline moving but rarely having her moments to shine in the series.

Of course it’s wrong to entirely critique ‘ Melancholia’ and pound the drama into the ground as " inadequate". For the most part the main cast were brilliant and aside from a few awkward line deliverances, powered through heavy dialogue and dragged-out scenes with ease. Actress Im Soo Jung was undeniably the perfect choice for Ji Yoon Soo, whilst costars Lee Do Hyun and Jin Kyung offered moments of dynamic charm and suaveness to important characters who viewers could’ve easily become disengaged with. The pacing arguably remained one of the drama’s greatest downfalls. Whilst the first-hand offered viewers with a slow but gradual revelations, the second-half began to cataclysmically descend into a dragged-out finale which whilst attempting to keep viewers on edge with "shocking" plot twists rarely carried through with an ending that whilst complete and pleasing, lacked greater impact.

Yet for a series which pledged itself as an ode and effectively a " love story" to a greatly complex subject such as mathematics being more than just numerical figures but a passion and tool for uncovering new depths, ‘ Melancholia’ could often find itself barren from passionate flare. Filming techniques used by Hyub were clean and slick but lacked a experimentation. Potentially vivid scenes which could’ve indicated more about the characters’ personalities and ideologies through the palettes used as well as how the world of mathematics is seen by our main protagonists was rarely brought to life onscreen.( Even the OST was a mere device for transcending certain emotions through vocals and instrumentals in scenes and endings when necessary but often could lack a lingering presence in the minds of viewers afterwards. )

Kim Sang Hyub’s ‘ Melancholia’ had an intriguing premise and certainly an impressive lineup. Nevertheless it was clear even to audiences that the drama marked uncharted territory into genres and styles not explored by director and screenwriter before. Whilst this did give opportunities for both Joon and Hyub to explore and play around with new forms and tones, it could often deliver a detrimental impact upon writing and pacing. Perhaps if the series had condensed its overstretched storyline into a shorter episode duration length or even given more golden opportunities to experimenting with styles, depth and character-writing, ‘ Melancholia’ could’ve escaped its mediocrity into an impressionable viewing experience for audiences.

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A Bit Boring…

Idk what to make of ‘ Melancholia’ to be honest.

It wasn’t a bad series entirely. I love Lee Do Hyun and he’s certainly proven himself even here to be a really good actor. I’m not that familiar with the actress of the FL, but looking at the shows/ productions she’s been in and her performance here were certainly well-done!

Maybe I’m a bit biased. I wasn’t a big fan of the director’s previous involvements with Extraordinary You or True Beauty because they felt as though they were purely running on good looks and sugary plot.

I think I can see where the director was going here with the series being a bit more mature but as other reviewers have pointed out he seemed to have struggled a bit with trying to actually deliver the storyline.

I didn’t really mind the main leads tbh. The female lead was sweet but she never really captivated me, just as the male lead was a lot more than meets the eye but his story and experiences never really made me pity him that much. I guess that sounds kinda cold but the leads never really made me connect that much with them? The only one who think I felt was semi-interesting was the head director- she was sorta layered but never really had further padding imao.

For me the thing which turned me off the most was the pacing. It was slow. Really slow. I don’t think slowness is always a bad factor in a series but Melancholia didn’t really use a lot of time to explore other factors in between. I think if the director had maybe shortened the drama it could’ve worked but sadly it like just didn’t.

Overall I didn’t think Melancholia was a bad show and there were a lot of hooks like our cast to drag you in. But I didn’t really enjoy it because it was a bit slow.

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One of the most satisfying endings I've seen in kdramas

The drama is an ode, a poem, a dedication to the relationship between Hardy and Ramanujan, full of passion and maths. The leads have a connection quite different from typical kdramas, metaphorically linked to the way Hardy and Ramanujan inspired and cheered on each other.

The first half is a lot of maths and the second half is a revenge plotline. I enjoyed the first half more, as I love maths, but I can imagine that a lot of kdrama watchers will relate to the more stereotypical second half better. The drama has one of the most well-paced, complete and satisfying endings ever, wrapping up all plotlines beautifully in episodes 15 and 16.

The acting is impeccable, especially from Jin Kyung (the Principal), Oh Gwang Rok (FL's father) and Choi Dae Hoon (the 2ML). The child actors have also done a good job. Lee Do Hyun looks absolutely gorgeous and very stylish in the latter half!

Overall, a terribly under-rated drama with consistent pacing, good OST and good visuals. I would recommend everyone to pick it up and give it a try despite its bafflingly low MDL rating.

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I don't even like math, but I might start to like it.

First, I usually don't watch dramas that are not romance focused, this was the second on my list and I couldn't be introduced to a drama without romance in a better way.

For me, the drama is about school corruption and all the ( few) scenes where the main characters have together romantically is enough once their chemistry explodes and I realized that you don't need many scenes focused only on romance to realize that they love each other as much as they love math.

I simply LOVED the whole corruption part, usually in other shows that deal with this subject, it's a very complicated thing to understand, but in this one I found it extremely well explained.

Another positive point is that it shows how much Korean parents expect too much from their children, always expecting them to be the best at everything, and that corruption really happens, very real.

In general, it is a very slow drama, you need to start watching it knowing that the main point is NOT about the romance because if you watch it just for that, you will not like it and above all, you will not enjoy the plot about corruption.

Another very interesting thing was the approach to mathematics, I didn't know it could be so beautiful and above that, how it could be the love language of the characters.

In general, the ending was well done, but I think they left too many questions unanswered: Was everyone who was part of the corruption arrested? What happened to the school committee? And several other questions.

But in general, I liked it more than I expected, it has such a soft touch at some moments but at the other you are shocked by the end of the episodes, waiting for more answers.

If you like "revenge" with a dash of love, it's definitely for you.

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We could have done without the teacher-student relationship, honestly!

The drama's aesthetics are pretty and well done, especially the scenes where Seung-yoo stares at the scenery and you can see a multitude of numbers and equations from this perspective. Honestly, a brilliant portrayal of the mathematical view that pulls us, viewers, in too. The subject matter also seems very well researched and applied in the scenes. Personally, I'm not very happy with the pacing of the episodes. Believe me, the story is perfectly paced but the pace of the scenes in the episodes itself seems a little off. Some scenes are too in-depth when not required and others have not been properly elaborated.

We all thought that they would show the time skip sooner but it makes sense to build upon their past first. Seung-yoo almost gave up on math. Without giving a proper resolution to this personal conflict with his mathematical abilities, we will not get him as a competent math teacher in the future. It was a good decision to expand this arc because there is a lot to unpack even in terms of the ongoing corruption at Asung. Only then can we see the two leads fight together against the authorities in the future.

Secondly, there is a long thread of causes behind their scandal, one that involves many of the other characters and their reactions. Especially Sung Yerin who seems the most affected by Seung-yoo's performance. I can't help but appreciate how beautifully her character's personality and context have been written and portrayed. It truly shows that what fueled her revenge was the extreme pressure and expectations imposed on her by the adults. Then we have the Principal at Asung and her need for power and dominance over her own sister. We are only 5 episodes in but the birth of that scandal was likely a joint effort. So far, this extended arc from the past has given us well-explained reasons for their actions because let's admit it, there are multiple people (in positions of power) that feel threatened by the two leads. In this process, the show has also grabbed the opportunity to discuss the modalities of privilege! I can see why Im Soo Jung must have chosen this drama.

Regarding the whole controversy about the age difference, I think the drama cuts it too close by romanticizing a teacher-student relationship. Based on the events of Ep. 5, Seung-yoo was the one who had romantic feelings for his teacher and they seem unrequited. But the whole vibe of some of their shared scenes, suggests otherwise. Regardless, it's an adult's responsibility to sit the kid down and explain to him why it's wrong (since adults are the ones in power in any relationship involving a minor).

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is it ok to romanticize a teacher student relationship

The story is not bad, but it doesn’t make the relationship between the leads of ok. Having a crush in your teacher can be normal but actually writing a story of confesing those feelings and acting on them is crazy. In real life the actors have a 15 years difference and for the first few episode I was so uncomfortable watching hoping that the female lead would not become a freaking pedophile by becoming interested in the male lead in his school years and that feeling accompanied me in the rest of the drama, I personally could not get attached to their relationship at all, thinking about . The good point is the acting, the redemption of some characters as well as the revenge plot.

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A tribute to math, pure love, humanity...

I’m starting to watch Melancholia by getting myself to be more open-minded in the definitions of love, and not just what a social condition leads us to accept it. Melancholia portrayed “taboo romance” related to socially-sensitive topics about student-teacher relationships developed through their love for mathematics, though it never crossed the line. Love is a universal language as an expression of feeling, it is a human heart. I respect the author for her courage to bring this theme into the drama.

BaekJi couple shows us a pure and innocent love story, that differs from the typical romance we've seen so much before. The romantic scenes are shown by how much they love and care for each other through math and actions, rather than lots of passionate physical scenes. This math couple is loving each other in a very meaningful way. The two of them are healing each other and changing each other lives to be better people. Their relationship is far beyond the usual typical lovers. 7 years for finally she acknowledged him as an equal and partner she falls in love with and be socially accepted. They got their well-deserved happy ending after all the melancholic love journey they had to undergo. The ending is so mature, beautiful, simple but clearly shows us that they are a couple, absolutely mesmerizing.

The use of mathematics as a subject makes the uniqueness. Being a non-mathematician, I can feel how math could be so beautiful. Melancholia shows us a unique perspective on "human problems" through the eyes of a mathematician and uses the meaning of mathematics as a metaphor in the journey of life and love.

Melancholia gives us life lessons in many aspects of life and also portrays humanity. This drama shows the character development of casts and proved that people can change and be better. Melancholia also explores parenting, the education system, mental health, injustices and privilege for high society, unbridled ambitions, academic and corruption scandals, etc.

Giving you the rollercoaster of emotions, Melancholia with its pure romance, beautiful osts, and beautiful cinematography will be one of my all-time favorite KDramas. Big thanks and cheers to the screenwriter, director, casts, staff, and crews for this beautiful drama, especially to Lim Soo Jung and Lee Do Hyun. They proved that they could fall in each other regardless of the age gap as long as they love and match each other. Their chemistry is on fire!

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A very refreshing surprise - reminded my why I love K-drama

I loved this drama! You need to watch it. It’s more about competition for grades, and scams where the wealthy and privileged buy preferential treatment for college admission, than it is about an affair between a teacher and a student. Misleading info about this show: 1) The title “Melancholia” sounds depressing. This isn’t a comedy, but it was not depressing, either. I binged 16 episodes in three days. I couldn’t do that if it was depressing. 2) There is no physical relationship between a student and teacher. I’ll admit a couple of episodes seemed slow, but the other episodes more than made up for it. I loved the ending, which is more than I can say for a lot of K-dramas. I was so impressed by what happened in a couple of later episodes that one scene made me cry happy tears, and another gave me goosebumps. Several people have asked if they should watch this, and I say definitely yes.

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