Oh my Geez. Father is strange. What a warm gem of a family drama. Back when I was watching the extraordinarily emotional family drama My golden life; Father is Strange another KBS family drama that was running simultaneously, was generating so much buzz as well. So I was really interested in checking it out since My Golden Life had succeeded in working its way into the deepest crevices of my heart.
However, at that time I just didn’t have the mental and physical strength to. MGL was a grand emotional rollercoaster of a ride that invoked different waves of strong emotions in me and to make things worse, Father is Strange boasted the same long 52-episode length as MGL and I just wasn’t, urh, you know, ready for another kind of emotionally draining journey.
Nevertheless, I knew that one day when I was ready, I was going to check it out. And months later, when I discovered that KBS has all the episodes subbed and uploaded on YouTube, getting down with it was no longer as scary a task (Guys, how awesome and GENEROUS is KBS for doing that?❤)
In another few months, I began watching on YouTube and the whole journey, I must say, was an highly entertaining, pleasurable bag load of family warmth, unconditonal love, crazy fun, bustling personalities, and interesting fates.
For just a sec guys, can we just appreciate KBS for always delivering FANTABULOUS family dramas? Seriously❤. Mad Props to all their ridiculously talented writer-nims and directors.
Father is Strange was HEART-GRABBING with an unusual charisma, down-to-earthedness, fluffy love, chummy affection and achingly real emotional outbursts.
WHAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVED
1. The family bond and unity on this show is second to none. The ties, joy, support, care, forgiveness and unconditional love displayed by this family were honestly some serious FAMILY GOALS. Even when they didn’t seem to take each other seriously at times, there was no inkling that real love and concern abode in this family. And to witness the warmth and tenderness the girls came to treat Yuju with and the one Junyeong came to treat Jung hee with even though they couldn’t seem to buy into them one bit when they first joined the family; did some legit fuzzy things to my heart.
II. The parents’ deep love and affection for each other is the best by far that have graced my screen in all my years of dwelling in K-dramaland.
Even when they had differing opinions on an issue, their disagreements were mostly borne out of desperation to protect each other. That’s how abysmal and pure their love was. They are the perfect picture of how a couple who love each other too much would relate with and treat each other in old age.
Wholehearted respect here for Kim Yeong cheol and Kim Hae sook for their effortless chemistry and playing such a soul-mate of an old couple to beautiful perfection❤.
Lee Yeonsoek ( Kim Yeong cheol)
I didn’t understand how the hell I was going to like Kim Yeong cheol who I was last saw as a ruthless self-imposed King in My Princess Man as our nice Daddy. But I’m pleased to announce that even with his bad record with me and that real harsh face of his, he absolutely convinced me that Lee Yeon soek was a gold-hearted father who loved his family with the whole of his heart.
It was so palpable that his family’s satisfaction and happiness were the only things on earth that caused pure joy and bliss to fill him up from within. Huge respect for Kim Yeong cheol who was able to perfectly embody Lee Yeon soek’s profound guilt, genuine humility and doting streaks.
Lee Yeon soek’s highlight for me on this show was that outburst in the court scene of ep 51. The bitter splutters hit home really hard and moved something deep within me.
He always said so little and was just belly-full with his family’s happiness. So him speaking up for himself, for once, so was unexpected and deeply affective.
Going berserk was a mental and emotional purge he’d needed badly and I was relieved and touched at the same time that he was able to have at it in full glory. Huge respect for an amazing delivery of that monumentally heartbreaking scene.
Lee Yeongsil (Kim Hae sook)
As for Kim Hae sook as Mom; her performance was very well one of my favourites.
I particularly found mom’s constant breakdowns and gutting, emotional wreckballs very difficult to nail and was in inexplicable amazement of how she delivered every single time.
Mom’s connection with Hyeyeong was the most special of the one she had with all her children. She and Hyeyeong were two hot heads who always wanted to have the last say but their love for each other were their weak points. Mom admired her flawed lawyer daughter to a fault and Hyeyeong took zero bullshits when it came to her mother.
I especially loved the scenes where mom watches Hyeyeong with so much affection and immeasurable love and where Hyeyeong stands up for her, fiercely.
Their bickering reminded me of my relationship with my Mom and it just made me find their little moments, whether of heated arguments or rare emotional hugs, special❤.
III. I loved Hyeyeong (Lee Yoo ri) as a crazy, smartass, fierce character. I was really inspired by her to be more strong willed, confident and unapologetic in my opinionatedness. And Lee Yoo ri was too real as Hyeyeong. Exceptionally real to a wondrous point. How can someone embody a fictional character so charismatically and turn them into someone so damn real and inspiring?
Well done, Lee Yoo ri. Seriously, well done. Hats off. She hands down had one of the best performances that made the show the commercial success that it was.
I grew to love Jeong hwan too. His cheery, playful vibe and how trustworthy, reliable and completely in love he was with Hyeyeong who wasn’t always exactly easy to love.
Their crackpot dramatics of love was absolutely one of my favourite things on the show😂😂😂😂.
IV. Ahn Jung hee (Lee Joon) was literally the best thing for me on this show.
He stole my heart when I wasn’t expecting it. His pure lambie demure smile, his beautiful dentition, adorable prickliness, amusing sensitivity, innocent vulnerability, petty irk whenever Miyeong was being chummy with his rival actor, his genuine chirpiness and childishness, his tender relationship with his pet, Al (this relationship got me excited for his real loveline – the prospect of how similarly or even more sweet he was going to get with the woman he falls in love with made wobble so hard with butterflies!); everything about Jung hee was so sincere, amusing, entertaining, endearing and pure.
Lee Joon played Jung hee to a FLAWLESS fault. I marvelled at his ability to embody special quirks and nuances of a non-existent character and make him feel so authentic and real.
And his delivery of flaring anger and emotional pain with that otherwise childlike character of his,😱 whoa, MIND-BLOWING. I honestly cannot seem to conjure up any other actor that could have portrayed Jung hee’s character better or made him any more endearing and loved. Lee Joon is officially my latest beloved oppa. And I’m definitely watching out for him!
V. The Bold Commentary on Controversial Themes.
It was such a fresher to have a bold rhetorical on what society has subjected women to and how they are expected to act to be considered pure, well-mannered and respectful.
Must a woman be married to feel fulfilled in life? Must she be someone who no man has touched pre-marriage before she is considered a woman of true virtue and dignity? Must a woman bend, cower and be subjected to mistreatment from her mother-in-law to prove that she is indeed from a good breeding? Must women be treated as incapable once they fall pregnant? Does being pregnant automatically mean that a woman cannot be as badass as she was with work before?
I know that Yuju’s frantic eagerness to prove that she was still more-than-capable at work felt excessive but I honestly believe that a lot of women go through similar, perhaps worse pressure to prove their worth and efficiency in the face of being at risk of losing their jobs.
The exposure to these underlying issues and the questions we were forced to ponder about were satirically satisfying and refreshingly contentious.
VI. Junghee and Miyeong’s relationship
My favourite couple right here. I always hated them leaving my screen for another character narrative to take over. I always wanted to see them in every single scene. I was in love with these two as one.
Even when they hadn’t started dating, I was totally satisfied with just the two of the interacting chirpily or bickering jealously. And when they finally started dating, God I wanted to die of butterflies and tingles. I also died from second-hand embarrassment whenever they were being so sugary and painfullly cheesy with their profession of love for each other.
The shy, sweet, understated Miyeong just seemed like the perfect type that someone as flashy and sensitive as Jung hee would indeed fall in love with and that alone made their relationship feel so genuine and extra special.
Jung So min and Lee Joon’s chemistry has officially joined my lists of favourites ever. It’s no wonder at all that since 2017, they are still dating💕.
VII. Jung hee and Father’s Relationship
I was really happy that Jung hee got to experience the true love and affection of a father and know in his heart that he’d been sincerely loved. I was also relieved and heartened to know that Yeon seok could finally rid himself of his guilt and allow himself to freely care for Jung hee.
Their ultimate bonding in face of all that they went through in the hands of each other was truly heart melting and so satisfying. Absolutely loved them together❤.
VII. The Realistic Growth of Certain Characters
Every character on this show grew. Every character. Everyone became more mature, responsible and easily forgiving and accepting in very realistic ways. The most impressive and shocking growth would be that of Yuju’s and Hyeyeong’s.
I LEGIT couldn’t stand the sight of Yuju. I hated her bullying of Miyeong, hated her guts in spite of that, hated her face, hated her pretentious nature, hated her defensiveness, hated her unrepentant behaviour, I virtually hated everything about her and the depth of my dislike for her really alarmed me when I couldn’t seem to empathize with her even after she lost her baby.
But guys, after this woman sincerely apologized to Miyeong and realised how despicable she’d been, I began to forgive her.
However, till now, I don’t understand how I went from stark despite to warm affection. I began to find her beautiful and genuinely kind especially after she helped Mom through her cancer scare and made her feel less lonely. It truly amazed me how I developed a fond feeling towards her and how my dislike for her vanished into thin air. It just really proved to me how attractive and beautiful kindness is. If your heart is ugly, no amount of fake smiles or chumminess can make up for it.
As for our lawyer Hyeyeong; she went from fierce, self-centered, strongly opinionated and apathetic to level-headed, yielding, compromising and sympathetic.
The beautiful thing about her growth is that it was fuelled by her love for Jeonghwan and her family. Despite her temper, she occasionally put up with her ridiculous Mother-in-law, did some absurd chores and signed crazy contracts just to be married to her Cracker. She was the first to easily forgive her parents and show sympathy to their unfair past because her love for them was no ordinary one.
I loved that Hyeyeong’s fierce streaks were still intact even at the end, the maturity that comes with being in love and trying to be more understanding of others had only toned it down a bit.
VII. The Genuis Characterization and Acting
All the characters on this show were totally slice-of-life, down to earth, organic and relatable. The drama’s biggest strength is how realistic, varietal, distinct and brilliantly, brilliantly, brilliantly acted the characters were (Man…the acting was STELLAR).
Lee joon, Rayeong (she was really cute as the tall last baby) Miyeong and Hyeyeong were my favourite characters😍.
VIII. The Terrific Writing
Almost every reason that I’ve highlighted for loving this drama ties back to how terrific and deft the writing was. The drama is full of so many characters with different challenges and stories of their own. Yet the writer was able to treat every character with significance and narrate each of their unique stories without getting sloppy at all or losing sight of its major narrative.
And what a brilliant job on the creation of characters such as Hyeyeong, Lee joon, Jeonghwan and Mom. I personally think that Hyeyeong’s character was the most interesting and refreshing that writer-nim came up with. Hyeyeong was a character that was not only fierce, hard-headed and confident; she was also genuinely funny, cute, down-to-earth and surprisingly shameless in her profession of love for the man who owned her heart. How writer-nim was able to create an eccentric hybrid of a strong-willed, charismatic yet down-to-earth, jocular character honestly leaves me in awe.
To showcase Hyeyeong’s smartness, her lines had to be really calculative and smart and man, were they! Writer-nim always had a way of giving Hyeyeong the upper hand. Girl was always ruling even when the odds were stacked against her.
The exemplary characterization, bold commentaries, brilliant dialogues, remarkable insights and deft pacing are testament to how terrific this show’s writing is.
What I didn’t Like (More like “What didn’t Make Any Sense”)
This. Appalled me guys.
Like time I checked, in this episode, Miyeong and Jung hee still thought they were half siblings who shared the same father. So the two of them actually agreeing with no strong qualms, for one nit-wit of a director, to make them share a lip kiss was OUTRIGHTLY OUTRAGEOUS. I literally cringed in disgust and serious disappointment at this scene.
The drama had been brilliant with so many things so far, so them actually creating a scene where Jung hee and Miyeong had to kiss to set the romantic ball rolling between them seemed downright silly and stupid of them. It really washed down a lot of their hitherto brilliance. I was honestly appalled that such unnecessary incestuous scene took place. It wouldn’t have rubbed off on me so wrongly if it’d only been the light pecks that Miyeong planted on Jung hee’s cheeks but what I’d feared would take place as soon as the director opened that annoying mouth of his actually did happen.
Why on earth would Jung hee who was already going through so much torture from abhorring romantic feelings for someone who he thought to be his sister, readily heed a stupid director’s suggestion for them to kiss? And as prickly as Jung hee was by nature, it made no sense whatsoever that the writers made this scene happen for him during the turmoil he was in.
And what about Miyeong? Someone who was supposed to be upright and morally discerning? She thought this man was her half sibling, so being in a position of subordination, shouldn’t stop you one bit from making excuses and vehemently refusing to kiss someone you considered your half-blood on the godammed lips!
I know I’ve been ranting, but seriously, this scene is the only great flaw this drama has for me. And it is one flaw that disappoints hard. It was completely disappointing, unreasonable, unsettling, upsetting, absurd, uncharacteristic and DUMB.
One last rant: I promise. Why did writer-nim always find it convenient to make the director ask Miyeong to rehearse all sorts of romantic scenes with Jung hee on an official set? Or is it a normal thing for female managers to be asked to take up a task once their actor’s female co-star is missing in action? Why on earth couldn’t Jung hee’s co-star plant those kisses on Jung hee’s cheeks and lips herself? Heck, where the hell was she during the preparation of the kiss scene?
Urrrghhhh. Words can express enough just how illogical and plain disappointing the kiss scene was for me. Words just can’t🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️.
Other Annoyances (Just not as severe)
Jeonghwan’s mother was, oh my god, irking and frustrating for the most part of the drama. It had been so long since I found a character to be such a fundamental pest. It was only at the latest episodes, that I started to start to accommodate her a little and overlook her excesses. Song Ok sook played her to aggravating and much later on, entertaining perfection.
That voice of hers that rolled out words so sugarly and twiteerishly, were things that I genuinely enjoyed and got amused by. Well done, Ma’am!
III. Rayeong and Chul soo’s relationship could have been one of my bests from this show. They were that promising and interesting to me. But the uncharacteristically easy, random way with which a normally cool, reticent, charming Chul soo confessed his love for Rayeong, made their whole love story come across as unclimaxed and dry. In fact, I enjoyed their relationship more when they hadn’t started dating. They were more fun, mischievous and interesting then. Once they started dating, man, they lost touch to me. They became well-mannered, mundane and just…boring.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Father is Strange is one hugely warm, hilarious, dynamic, charismatic, charming family drama that would leave you with a feeling of longing way before it’s even over. TOTALLY RECOMMEND. 52 episodes won’t even be enough for you😅😅😅
RATING
90%