May I Help You? 2022

At first, one would think it is just another comedy, 'feel good', “very fictional”, TV series. It was easy to drop it just because. But, a fair warning, doing so would be to your detriment. This series is about life, the value of relationships, and yes, what death means for you and me.

The story transcends faith and religion. This was beautifully depicted with the Catholic priest and the Catholic confessional box; as well as, by the Buddhism beliefs of the other characters. Life, relationships, and death, are universal, and commonly have the same depth of meaning regardless of one's faith and religion.

It isn't about ghosts. In fact, there is nothing paranormal in the story, rather, it is more supernatural. A higher being supernaturally allowed the female lead character to have a spiritual “Stella's touch”. One last opportunity to for the dead to make their wishes known; and for the living to have peace.

The ending is a must-watch, but only if one watched the series from the beginning without skipping anything. It is rare to see an ending that blows the audience, and leaves a long-lasting impression. An ending deserving of the beautifully woven story of the male and female lead characters, and their relationships with their loved ones, their regrets, and their hopes.

This TV drama is a story about you and me. It is a story about the living and our dearly departed. It is a story of healing and moving on. A story of regrets and hopes. It is painful, sad, and you will definitely cry no matter how strong you may be. But in the end, it reminds us how good it is to live, and that all the pain and hardship of life we may have gone through and will go through, are nothing compared to having been loved.

May I Help You?

Originally posted on my blog: Snoworld | YourOnly.One (https://im.youronly.one/snoworld/may-i-help-you-일당백집사-2022-review-2022357/)

The bit about granting dead people their final requests was a little reminiscent of Hotel Del Luna, but objectively, this series was all around better. Except for in the OST category, there Hotel Del Luna takes the prize.

One of my absolute favorite things was all the little hints sprinkled throughout that suggested Hae Ahn was not the happy-go-lucky, talk-a-mile-a-minute guy he seemed like. How, very slowly, glimpses of his darker side started to come out, making me feel more and more wary of him as the episodes went on, so by the time the big reveal was unveiled, it didn't feel like something out of the blue, but something the show had been building towards all along. The puzzle pieces were there all along, we just needed to put them together.

I also ended up tearing up a lot more than I'd first expected. The show didn't shy away from how brutal, traumatizing and devastating it can be to lose a loved one. And the actors were all so genuine in their grief that it was hard not to cry alongside them during some of the saddest storylines. Just keep in mind to have tissues handy.

The uncles were amazing and a big source of laughs. I loved seeing how invested they were in the relationship of their niece and nephew.

Honestly, I think all the different plots were wonderfully woven together from the little boy that started it all, and how closely tied Tae Hee's story was to Hae Ahn, but also how Joon Ho was the tie between Tae Hee and Dong Joo. Then, all the emotional trauma and guilt tied up in the woman Tae Hee had dated for 10 years only to not be able to even look at her after his little brother's death. I'm a little disappointed he was never actually honest with her about that. Maybe if she'd known why he'd walked away, she would have understood and been able to let him go. And, perhaps most importantly, how it all came down to Dong Joo granting wishes for the selfless people that'd helped saved others in the fire that ended up causing her mom's death.

The writers really did an amazing job with this one, and the cast truly made it justice by giving top notch performances. I'm so glad I stumbled upon it!