TW // MILD profanity, GENEROUS spoilers

welcome to the world of 한강 philharmonic orchestra; a wonderfully chaotic sh*tshow of intertwined lovers, power dynamics, and confusing developments that make you question what the show wants you to take away.

inherently, the show isn’t all too creative, with the main character being a korean that decides to suddenly repatriate and reconnect with their roots, but it desires to convey an endearing tale centered around the beating heart that is classical music.

however, no matter how hard they tried, i simply could not get over the fact that nearly every rendition of the orchestra was MIDI; even someone with just a little bit of musical experience would easily be able to point out the artificiality of all music played by the orchestra actors, let alone the alignment of their movements to the actual sounds—though, of course, given that one is a bit more experienced in the technicality of such instruments. the only believable thing, albeit admittedly, due to the ease of imitation, was the conductor’s movements and actions. all in all, it was a major turn-off to the show which i really tried my best to ignore.

another red flag is BOTH the male leads… both are snarky and flawed, with one (영재) being outwardly so while the other one (필) becomes as such when revealing his true colors. NEITHER seem to find a way to fix themselves, and 필 gets punished for, seemingly, NOT being that way earlier, whereas 영재 seemingly gets REWARDED for it—it’s hinted that 세음 FALLS for him. yeah, FALLING FOR HIM, a WALKING RED FLAG… girl i would NEVER let that fly were i in any way, shape, or form close to her. instead, the show seemingly praises 영재’s inability to get over her, which, erroneously, pushes the narrative that it’s OK for men to NOT get over their ex-es, and to go as far as taking OVER their lives and PROTECTING them instead of letting them even try to do so themselves, resulting in them swooning for them.

one other major issue i have is that the plot seemingly goes nowhere. we want the orchestra to develop, but it takes painstakingly long for any progression whatsoever within them. all it seems to be is 세음 literally screaming, venting, or projecting on the members, giving them horribly difficult and/or gratuitous tasks, and the members collectively gossipping back, including, interestingly, the old concertmaster as well. these are the major things i’ve mentioned that i dislike about the show, but others are the seemingly unrelated case of 봉주 and his related plothole; where is he and why has nothing been said about his removal? again, what was the point of over-punishing 필, but more relatedly, why is his and 아진’s relationship dragged out for so long just to be taken down? where in the world does luna play into the orchestra as a child genius, and what is she meant to accomplish? you may find answers while watching, but there’s not really many you can give other than that the producers just pulled plot devices out of their a**es to give some filler content while eventually halfheartedly developing answers to these questions.

however, i will admit that the show does have its merits. the one thing that truly shines through is 세음. i truly stood for her endurance and mental tenacity through times of distress and her witty maneuvers—especially her courageous, even audacious, public acknowledgment of her disease, the most satisfying 1-up she scored on 필—and her sheer skill and level of rigor. i truly feel that she carried the show on her back; kudos to her actor 이영애 (she looks disconcertingly reminiscent of 김헤수). in fact, i feel that all of the actors brought about quite a good performance, as they developed the ambience, however annoying or inadequate as written, that conveyed the messages the show intended to convey, at least, to the extent that the writing allowed for.

i’m not saying you should avoid this show, though. if you’re not an avid music enjoyer, or are an avid music enthusiast and can bear MIDI, and are looking for something to get you out of a slump, this show would be a great fit. it’s terrible to binge, so one episode a day will you keep on the edge for the next, as the ending scenes are, admittedly, compelling, and 세음’s stellar performance will keep you coming back for more of her, if nothing else and all else fails. personally, i couldn’t keep watching whole episodes after episode 6 after over a week of back-and-forth watching of the show.

edit: after completing the show, i loved the seat-gripping twists at the end, which, i would say, are worth living through the show for, meriting a 1 star increase overall.