Little Women - Review - Must Watch!

 

So after all the hype around this series by all the influencers in the KDrama world, I decided to wait for the series to end so I could binge-watch. I tried watching as and when episodes were released with If You Wish Upon Me, but I ended up forgetting many things. So now that the 12 episodes are over, I can happily watch them all in one go.

To start with the design and music in the introduction are very intriguing - remind us of the vintage Little Women era, the graphics give off that scent tbh.

Little Women is a novel by Louisa May Alcott that was published in 1868. The novel is set during the Civil War and follows the lives of the four March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. The novel explores the sisters' relationships with each other and with their parents, as well as the challenges they face growing up in a time of great social upheaval. As they navigate the complexities of adulthood and the expectations placed on them as women, the sisters must learn to support each other and stand up for what they believe in. Through their struggles and triumphs, the March sisters come to understand the importance of family, friendship, and following one's dreams. The novel is a beloved classic that continues to resonate with readers of all ages.

Coming to the KDrama series with the same name, the Korean version is about 3 sisters who have grown up poor, now trying to live a better life. Their father has taken loads of loans and it is the older sister (Kim Go-Eun), the oh-so-cute Eun Tak from Goblin, who plays In-Joo, and the second sister, (Nam Ji-hyun) who plays a reporter In-Kyung try to pay off. The youngest, Oh In-hye, is in 11th grade in an art school. 

Their mother snatches whatever money they save and abandons the girls to go off on a trip abroad by herself. 

The girls are looked down upon by their peers because they grew up poor and are still struggling for money. 

In the first episode itself, I could relate to a few dialogues that come up. One is this!

I relate to this so much because every time I cry it is not because I am sad, it is because I am unable to do anything at that moment, I am angry and I cry. In-Joo literally felt like me at that moment.

In another scene with her fellow "outcast" at work, Hwa-young, In-Joo gets advice from her that she shouldn't stoop/droop her shoulders because it is the poor ones who do that and people tend to be prejudiced against such people. 

I used to have droopy shoulders till a few years ago and I can tell you, people took me to be a doormat, treated me like shit, and didn't respect me. Now that I stand straight to some extent, the way they look at me is different. Posture is very important. This was such a deep connection for me, just in the first episode. I wonder what else is in store in the upcoming episodes.

As we reach episode 3, the bigger puzzle starts becoming clear, how certain clues come up in each of the cases. How the sisters respond to money, and opportunity is fascinating to watch. Each sister has her own issues to deal with and how they respond to each situation is intriguing. 

At this point, I was reminded of the novel Little Women which was the story of 4 sisters in poverty. Here we have 3, I'd think this series is loosely based on the literature piece but not entirely. There are similarities but also the writer has written the script to suit the audience, the current era, and its relevance to the viewers too which I think is fantastic.

One thing I noticed was the sisters block each other as if it was normal, they do that with their mother too. We block strangers, spammers, and scammers but not family. I am not sure what kind of mentality this is.

They also show Kaya toast while in Singapore. Kaya was one dish I loved when I lived in MY. We also had pandan Kaya. Some old memories just rushed as I saw In-Joo eat the Kaya toast.

The story gets darker, racy, and more intense with each episode. Edge of the seat thriller to be honest. After watching so many soft chocolatey romantic comedies, this one hits hard, and excites you in fact, in a different way. You really won't know what to predict, what will happen in the next scene, leave alone the next episode! Thankfully I chose to binge watch or else I'd have had a tough time being patient. Fast-paced thriller and probably the best series of 2022, hands down this one. 

In-joo comes across as naive and stupid, In-Hye is selfish but I'd think her age and her immaturity make her do what she did and In-Kyung seems to be rational but rash, a fairly balanced one of the lot. She's a reporter and has to report the truth but what does she do when her own sisters chase money and go the wrong path is what forms the rest of the story.

I think it has been a while since we saw a thriller with such precision, the villains are outstanding, inferiority complex, greed for power is what makes them what they are, they make use of innocents for their master plan and play pretend puppet show and derive fun from it. 

I liked how it ended, some people were shipping In-Joo and the male, but the way it ended worked out very logically, it is always not necessary that when there is a male and female character, they need to end up together. Does it happen in real life? I think not. 

On the whole, Little Women is a deep, dark, intense series that takes you through human emotions, greed, money, betrayal, revenge, murder, and suicide. And since it is heavy, I'd suggest you also watch a light Kdrama so it doesn't affect you too much. 

I'd probably rewatch this series and come back with a follow-up review in this blog as a P.S (lol)