Starring mega Ok-drama stars IU and Park Bo-Gum, this Netflix collection was extremely anticipated and boasts a massive price range and worldwide acclaim. Doled out in 4 batches of 4 episodes every, must you tune in to this newest South Korean collection?
Opening Shot: A bunch of aged males and ladies are sitting in a park doing an organized exercise to write down down their interior ideas within the type of poems. However one girl sits pensively and attracts blue traces resembling waves within the ocean.
The Gist: Within the Fifties, Ae-Solar and Gwan-Sik are neighbors who do little greater than observe each other. Ae-Solar’s mom is brash however caring, a hardworking girl who barely makes ends meet. When she dies, Ae-Solar has to determine it out on her personal—however Gwan-Sik, who has secretly at all times been by her aspect, begins to dote on her and maintain her as his personal, although his grandmother is sad about this based mostly on her lineage.
What Reveals Will It Remind You Of? Starting as adults and flashing again to life as youngsters, the lifelong love story gave me The Notebook vibes.
Our Take: If you’re a sucker for love stories that pan a lifetime, sifting through the small acts that make up our lives, then When Life Gives You Tangerines is for you. While the series starts out slow—the central romantic love story is only really introduced in the last third of the pilot—it’s well worth the wait, and the story that fills the prior two-thirds is rich with character building and other forms of love.
Most of the first hour is centered on the palpable love between Ae-Sun and her mother Jeon Gwang-rye, as we see the mother try to provide the best life she possibly can for her children. In one sequence, Ae-Sun wails about not being able to serve as President of her class as the teacher has ignored the votes and installed the general’s son in the position. Gwang-rye goes to the school to plead for her child’s happiness—and her rightfully won position—even slipping the teacher some money. It’s unlikely to change his mind, but her mother’s expression of love is through these acts of service, something that seems will stick with Ae-Sun throughout her life.
By the time we get to Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik in adulthood, we get a good sense of who they are even in limited screen time. As the series unfolds over seasons and years of their lives, they are tested, prodded, poked, but they never waver. At least, not without each other by their sides.
Sex and Skin: This is a wholesome love story, without either sex or skin in the first hour.
Parting Shot: Time presses forward and shows Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik by each other’s sides through the years. As Ae-Sun runs from Gwan-Sik’s grandmother in the market, there’s one final time jump for the episode that shows Gwan-Sik joining her, grabbing her hand as they run away together.
Sleeper Star: Kim Tae-yeon plays a young Ae-Sun and deftly portrays the highs and lows of her somewhat tortured childhood.
Most Pilot-y Line:: “I was destined to be a porter,” the mom says, watching her daughter sleep. “Everyone just wants to ride on my back. Except this kid, she keeps getting off my back and offering to carry my load.”
Our Call: STREAM IT. This slow-burning love story told over seasons of life is worth tuning in for.
Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed author based mostly in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Paste Journal, Teen Vogue, Vulture and extra. At any given second, she will be able to ruminate at size over Friday Night time Lights, the College of Michigan, and the right slice of pizza. You might name her Rad.
