"THERE ARE MANY
ENDINGS BUT THE RIGHT ONE IS THE ONE
YOU CHOOSE"
-Jennifer (12 Monkeys)
I don't think that any show will ever be able to give us a better ending than this one just did, but I hope that they all try. Because this one was just phenomenal and hit on all of the timey-wimey and character points that the show has always been good at hitting. Everyone who needed a shot at redemption got it and nailed it. Well, except for Olivia, but we knew that all along, pretty much. (But even there, her bones served a purpose.) And perhaps most importantly, everyone got an ending. Or the beginnings of endings. And happy ones, at that.
Two nice touches that I really appreciated: (1)
They didn't actually show Cassie hitting the Big Red Button, so we don't know for sure if she did.
The results either way are similar, but also different in terms of where Cole ended up. I choose to believe that Cole ended up in the same new timeline as the "real" others. (2) As it clung by a thread to a tree limb, that red (.) leaf that the camera panned to so that it could lead us out of the show at the very end was perfectly symbolic of all living things having an ending.
Cassie and Cole and the others have one life now. Free will over destiny. Do it right or go home. No do-overs. The way that it should be.
Saying it is a heavy watch would be an understatement. Not only will the show fuel you with anger, it will not help you calm down by the end.
Showing the grim reality of the broken military system, sprinkled with comedy, made this quite an emotional ride. We are shown how a few good people are not enough to fix the environment where bad behavior is rewarded.
While it was amazing to watch the main characters trying to make even small changes, at some point they've hit the wall and needed to face the reality of how powerless they are - how they are also part of the problem. We follow a patient and introverted Joon Ho and confident and street smart Ho Yul, as they try to find and bring back defectors. During their job they face a lot of issues ranging from external issues like unsupportive and corrupted superiors to internal struggles revolving around morality and their own principles.
Warning needed - D.P. is filled with abuse, both physical and emotional, and justice is usually not served. The drama shows how it is, without trying to make the topic more approachable and easy to digest. You will be left with building up frustration, and yet glad, you decided to watch it till the end.
The cast did an amazing job. Everyone delivered both the emotional and the comedic parts well. I laughed, cried, shouted with anger. Biggest props to Koo Kyo Hwan for his portrayal of Ho Yul. Outstanding performance that made me fall in love with the character.
The production and the writing left nothing to desire. Mixing the tragic aspects of reality with well fitted comedic bits was done in a good taste, not taking away from the serious topic tackled.
Overall, one of the best shorter dramas of 2021.
Not an easy watch, might be too much for some people - was almost too much for me. It won't leave you on a hopeful note, but it is a story worth witnessing....
A perfectly-paced story about flawed 19-year olds finding out what it means to have people around
I didn't really know this drama would be so short, The pace keeps up during the third episode (ep. 5-6) and after that it resolves the conflict rather quickly. For a drama with this length, it's impressive how they fit their focus and tried to explore various factors of friendship, solidly shown in the second half of episode 4 (ep. 8). It also gave me Park Chan Hong and Oh Donhyuk, two seemingly different individuals who grows together in an unlikely but rather fateful relationship. What makes this drama wonderful is how openly flawed its characters are, considering they are all 19-year old that, despite no one completely being a loner, doesn't seem to perfectly define what friendship truly is. Throughout the story, Park Chan-hong, who gets inconveniently involved in the events following the suicide of a girl, learns to find people (who, unlike him, shares a connection to the dead student) swallowed by guilt. He becomes an impromptu ally and partakes in uncovering the mysteries surrounding the girl's death. Throughout the story, he finds growth and talent in himself, using these discoveries to propel the story forward and ultimately become the key factor in solving their problems.
The drama doesn't excuse bad behaviour but at the same time it shows that one can break free from it as long as they know the importance of a sincere apology and personally develop the will to change for the better. Moreover, it tries to explore ways by which isolation and jealousy can negatively impact self-esteem and cause harm not only to oneself, but also to others. Overall, it teaches its viewers to be more sensitive to the people around them. It's not the best drama out there, but considering its length, it clearly and effectively painted a clear picture of not exactly what friendship is, but how loosely-defined friendships can be when we only think of ourselves. If you want fresh takes on friendship stories (and a teensy-bit romance) without focusing on just the "sunshines and rainbows" part, watch this.
PS:Park Chan Hong is now definitely added to my list of all-time favorite characters.
It made me ponder a lot about the beauty and inevitability of death. You know how when the people you love died and you tend to search for their last remains. The last thing they touched.
Their last message. What were the thoughts of people whom they have interacted with? You smell the fresh sheets and clothes they left.
What kind of legacy did they have when they departed. This show perfectly describes that feeling. It defined death and the feeling of losing someone in such a beautiful way.Apart from the aforementioned, on the technical things in this series, the one who played Geu-ru was phenomenal. It seems that he really studied his role for this as well as Sang gu for being a slightly sluggish personality. It made me cry especially on the third and tinal episode. The OST was also well-picked EXCEPT on grieving parts about their client's death. However, Geu-ru's taste in classical music is still nice. This drama may not be one of my most favorite but you will definitely learn a thing or two from it.
Everything about Move to Heaven is wonderful and honest. heard that this is rated as 19+ in Korea, but it's quite understandable since death remains a taboo in their country (or in any country, I guess). But again, that's the beauty of it, it tackles death in the most unconventional yet frank way of its nature.
this finale was so beautiful. everything was so well closed off. yes we will never know who won the final match, but im actually really happy about that. like a bit of an open ending, but not really. we can decide for ourselves who won. also if taeyang and taejun made it to the national team.. and if junghwan will ever be able to also join again. also thinking about seungwoo and youngsim... they are gonna buy things for youngsim's future place together. theyre so cute. although they're technically not together yet.. We all know they will have a happy ending. i was really satisfied with this last episode. i got so scared in the trailer because we saw the ambulance and ofc hoped everything was alright with taejun, but it ended up being for taeyang. and that flashback of taejun and his old partner, when he was injured and taejun refused to play + taeyang quoting that. absolutely adorable. it was kinda funny too. many characters i hated in the beginning/middle i have started to come to terms with and maybe even like now. especially junyoung and junghwan. i really liked both of their characters this last episode. junghwan did make such a stupid comment when he gave that necklace to yumin and i know he means it well, but he needs to start moving on. i get he's not in love with junyoung anymore, but to keep bringing her up is just weird. the scene where he told the other teammates everything that happened between junyoung, taeyang and taejun was funny tho. i didnt expect him to do that. he seems like such a "ugh leave me alone. it's none of my business. i don't care" type of person, but he has really proven that he does care for his friends. we knew he did in the past, but now when he found out taejun's knee was still hurting badly. he was actually concerned, but not in an annoying way. i can talk about how much i love this episode for days. even that taejun's mom called taeyang. i wished we would've seen the dinner scene. i love how taeyang called taejun and told him how he has a 100% winning rate. that was truly so funny and adorable and i just love it so much. even after he said that he had a 80% winning rate when he got together again, when taeyang's dad and the coach (yumin's dad) were drinking and called their son's in law (aka junghwan and taejun) to prove who's better. exactly what they did to yumin and taeyang too. that was so funny. i hated yumin and junghwan at first but they really have become so cute together. this episode was funny, cute, happy, emotional a bit, but most of all very exciting and satisfying to watch. 10/10
