Why I Liked Our Blues & Not My Liberation Notes

  Warning - there may be spoilers

While I know it might not be right to compare two Kdramas that were being telecast almost alongside, I cannot help but do that. After all the hype about My Liberation Notes, I started watching that series and yes, I binged. 

I follow a few Kdrama influencer handles and one such is Noona's Noonchi. Being a mental health expert she shared a lot of videos about this series and I kept waiting every episode for something to happen. But it was all very bland. I tried very hard to connect but couldn't. I still cannot wrap my head around the hype. Anyone out there who share my thoughts? 

Nevertheless, I jumped on to Our Blues as I saw the ensemble cast and the imagery reminded me of Hometown Cha Cha Cha. What more, Shin Min Ah and Kim Woo Bin were also among the cast. To be honest, I developed a bit of liking for Kim Woo Bin after I watched The Heirs. He had transformed so much and his understated acting (as much as I could see in the trailer) told me, this series would be much better. And it was.

So on to the review - Where do I start! There's a bit of us in every character. The way the writer has explored relationships, be it as classmates, first crushes, girl friends, teenage love, father daughter/father son, mother-son, Grandma-grandchild, adult love, sibling love, I can keep going on and on. And how can we forget the special needs character. 

And each and every character has been etched so well, with the flaws and goodness, I was in awe at how someone could come up with something so perfect. 

The finale episode tied up all the loose ends, brought everything to its logical conclusion and left us laughing and smiling after a bit of weeping. On a personal note, I could relate to each and every character in the series. 

I have begun to love these sea side/village style stories where the camaraderie is just so admirable. There's someone who always has your back, something we rarely (at least for me) see in cities. That one big family concept is so lacking in our fast paced city life. 

The connect is just awesome and probably that's why I love Our Blues more than My Liberation Notes which felt more like an individual's story, too many inner battles. It could also be due to the fact that I don't want to see lonely people and not everyone enjoys loneliness. That inner battle is tough and varies with each individual, probably why I couldn't relate to it. Things like drinking every single day/alcohol addiction, father remarrying, introvertedness - these are aspects I have not personally encountered in spite of the fact that I was introverted in school, not that I didn't wish to mingle and talk but I was of the quiet type. So with MLN there was very less I could relate to, even the single dad and his nosy sister, ugh, irritating to the core, add to the fact that they were devout Christians - cancels all boxes. 

End of the day, I loved Our Blues and would probably watch it once more as I finish Healer. Light, breezy, funny and endearing - that was Our Blues for me. 

As the credits rolled, here's something that caught my eye and it is beautiful.

What are your thoughts on this series? Let me know in the comments!