kdramakitty
ExtraOrdinary You was my favorite kdrama of 2019! Original and clever story, great acting, interesting characters, beautiful cinematography, humor is balanced appropriately with seriousness, etc.
Dan Oh, the female lead, is my fave kdrama character of 2019 (Do Hwa might be a close second, but he didn’t get as much screen time). She is hilarious but not over the top, is frustrated constantly with the author, and is really determined to change her fate! She rolls her eyes and cringes at the author’s writing, gets frustrated as the sparkly beam of sunshine only shines on Ju Da, yells at the author for using her as a “love bridge” between the two main characters, and hates every interaction she has with Baek Kyung onstage (“what am I lacking that I have to like this jerk?!?!). It’s hilarious seeing all her reactions and inner thoughts to what the author is doing. Her love for Haru is funny and cute as well (“Dan Oh, how could you just be thinking of Haru all day?”). I love the friend squad of her, Haru, and Do Hwa. I wish they all got more screen time together!
Slight spoilers here, skip if you want: I’ve seen some complaints in these reviews that she just starts getting obsessed with Haru and that becomes her life. I didn’t really perceive it that way, but I see how it could come off that way. Off the stage, the characters finally have control over their own actions, and Haru is one of the few other self aware characters and she has a big crush on him, so of course she is gonna run and find him. Also, sadly, as the show goes on and the stakes get higher, she doesn’t have a lot of time left, so she wants to spend it with the person she loves. It sucks, but in the world they live in it isn’t like they have any goals to work towards besides changing the story; the future is determined by the author, and the story could be ending soon, so the present becomes all the more valuable.
I loved all of the characters! Do Hwa is amazing, Haru is sweet, Dried Squid Fairy is sketchy, Baek Kyung is a jerk and I hate him, and Ju Da is interesting. There are some great character arcs for multiple characters, and in this regard and others the show does a great job of taking kdrama tropes and turning them on their head. The show is very self aware of the tropes it is using and either makes fun of them or does something different with them. It’s a high school drama, but with a completely different twist on it. It is very cool seeing how the story twists and turns. They do a great job of pacing it and revealing information gradually so you continue to be intrigued. The rules of the universe are interesting and the way that you expect things to play out is rarely what happens. The show brings up some existential questions: is it better or worse to be self aware in a world where you ultimately have no control over your fate? Would these characters be happier if they weren’t self aware? What do you do when you have no control over your fate? The characters deal with these tough questions and sometimes handle them different ways. The acting is great in this, the young cast did a great job with their characters and I’m intrigued as to what they all do next, especially Hye Yoon.
The main criticism I have of the show is that about 75% of the way through it starts to recycle some of the same arguments and plot threads, so even in this tightly plotted show it felt like several episodes were superfluous. We did get some darn cute scenes of Haru and Dan Oh though in those episodes so it’s worth it.
I highly recommend this show. Whether you’re a first time kdrama watcher or a veteran, this show is very fun and very interesting and has great actors and beautiful cinematography.
I made one of those silly PowerPoints about it on tumblr if you want an lol version of my review: https://kdramakitty.tumblr.com/post/190601494269
Dan Oh, the female lead, is my fave kdrama character of 2019 (Do Hwa might be a close second, but he didn’t get as much screen time). She is hilarious but not over the top, is frustrated constantly with the author, and is really determined to change her fate! She rolls her eyes and cringes at the author’s writing, gets frustrated as the sparkly beam of sunshine only shines on Ju Da, yells at the author for using her as a “love bridge” between the two main characters, and hates every interaction she has with Baek Kyung onstage (“what am I lacking that I have to like this jerk?!?!). It’s hilarious seeing all her reactions and inner thoughts to what the author is doing. Her love for Haru is funny and cute as well (“Dan Oh, how could you just be thinking of Haru all day?”). I love the friend squad of her, Haru, and Do Hwa. I wish they all got more screen time together!
Slight spoilers here, skip if you want: I’ve seen some complaints in these reviews that she just starts getting obsessed with Haru and that becomes her life. I didn’t really perceive it that way, but I see how it could come off that way. Off the stage, the characters finally have control over their own actions, and Haru is one of the few other self aware characters and she has a big crush on him, so of course she is gonna run and find him. Also, sadly, as the show goes on and the stakes get higher, she doesn’t have a lot of time left, so she wants to spend it with the person she loves. It sucks, but in the world they live in it isn’t like they have any goals to work towards besides changing the story; the future is determined by the author, and the story could be ending soon, so the present becomes all the more valuable.
I loved all of the characters! Do Hwa is amazing, Haru is sweet, Dried Squid Fairy is sketchy, Baek Kyung is a jerk and I hate him, and Ju Da is interesting. There are some great character arcs for multiple characters, and in this regard and others the show does a great job of taking kdrama tropes and turning them on their head. The show is very self aware of the tropes it is using and either makes fun of them or does something different with them. It’s a high school drama, but with a completely different twist on it. It is very cool seeing how the story twists and turns. They do a great job of pacing it and revealing information gradually so you continue to be intrigued. The rules of the universe are interesting and the way that you expect things to play out is rarely what happens. The show brings up some existential questions: is it better or worse to be self aware in a world where you ultimately have no control over your fate? Would these characters be happier if they weren’t self aware? What do you do when you have no control over your fate? The characters deal with these tough questions and sometimes handle them different ways. The acting is great in this, the young cast did a great job with their characters and I’m intrigued as to what they all do next, especially Hye Yoon.
The main criticism I have of the show is that about 75% of the way through it starts to recycle some of the same arguments and plot threads, so even in this tightly plotted show it felt like several episodes were superfluous. We did get some darn cute scenes of Haru and Dan Oh though in those episodes so it’s worth it.
I highly recommend this show. Whether you’re a first time kdrama watcher or a veteran, this show is very fun and very interesting and has great actors and beautiful cinematography.
I made one of those silly PowerPoints about it on tumblr if you want an lol version of my review: https://kdramakitty.tumblr.com/post/190601494269
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