Our Blues Review: The Writing Blew Me Away Over and Over

Guys. Our Blues is one stellar piece of work.

My jaw dropped too many times watching it. All I could think of every other minute was how ridiculously talented whoever wrote the drama was. Noh Hee-kyung helmed the screenplay and apparently, she is a star writer in Korea responsible for acclaimed dramas like, It’s Okay, That’s Love and Dear, My Friends. I have not seen those dramas, but I’ve heard praises about them. Noh Hee-kyung seems to understand the complexities of human emotions to an astonishing extent. From the old, to adults, teenagers and kids – her understanding of human feelings cuts across every age group, and when you add that to her raw and highly seasoned talent, she just leaves you in awe.

Our Blues is not your typical countryside drama. Although shot against the scenic and popular Jeju Island, it’s written in an omnibus style. Meaning, the drama follows the independent stories of several relationships – platonic, romantic and familial – with interconnected characters. Each relationship enjoys episodes dedicated to their foibles, conflicts and resolutions. You see, it’s already hard to write about just one, two or three relationships and do them justice in a typical 16-episode drama, but Noh Hee-kyung wrote about eight different relationships and narrated each of their stories cleanly and robustly all in a 20-episode drama. Mind-blowing, if you ask me.

I’ve not even mentioned how through the relationships we follow, she covered a broad range of social and mental issues including depression, suicide, single parenting, disability, divorce, teenage pregnancy, verbal/physical abuse, low self-esteem, and friendship fallouts, all in an unusually eye-opening and thought-provoking way. As she weaves in and out of these heavy themes through different relationships, NEVER ONCE did her writing come off as messy. Everything was so seamless and effortless. Mehn, I’m impressed all over again❤️

Stunning writing aside, the cast of Our Blues is pitch-perfect. It’s truly a case where A-class screenplay meets the actors destined to bring its genius to life.

Well, well. Time to plunge into the main relationships/themes followed in this drama and what I thought about each of them. Hope you enjoyie! It’s going to be a little bit of a long, but fun ride🤗

Choi Han-soo (Cha Seung-won) & Jeong Eun-hee (Lee Jung-eun)

This was first relationship explored in the drama, and it was quite sobering. Eun-hee is an antsy but bubbly owner of a local fish store business. She comes from a poor family and didn’t go to college, but ends up becoming a rich woman with a chain of successful businesses. She remains single and unmarried, though. Han-soo on the other hand, is her high-school crush from the city who is already married with an athlete daughter whose expensive training saps all his finances to the point of him taking loans with expensive interests, from an old friend.

Eun-hee and Han-soo happen to cross paths in Jeju and a form of deceit starts to unravel. Basically, Han-soo tries to take advantage of Eun-hee’s long standing crush on him to get money from her to fund his daughter’s training.

You know what this whole relationship showed me? That some people don’t just choose to deceive people because they are greedy. Sometimes they are deeply repulsed, tortured and humiliated by their own actions. They just can’t help but fall for the ugly temptations their unfortunate circumstances present.

The story also posed this question to me: “How much of a friend can you be when you find out that a longtime friend is deceiving you in a painful way, but only because they are struggling themselves and being taken advantage of by other so-called friends?”

This relationship taught me grace, forgiveness and the importance of letting things go – no matter how difficult – that can lead one to taint and crush their own soul. The acting was crushingly emotional and humane. The actors, especially Lee Jung-eun, were amazing here, playing Eun-hee without an iota of vanity or self-consciousness, sucking me into the drama.

Lee Dong-Seok (Lee Byung-hun) & Min Seon-ah (Shin Min-a)

Dong-Seok is a truck-driving salesman with a grumpy and snarky attitude. He lashes out abruptly and rudely every other moment due to his mummy-abandonment issues. To me, he was a child in a man’s body and I did not like him for the most part of this drama. It was only when we began to see his deeper layers, child-like innocence, and curiosity that I warmed up to him. Seon-ah was his teenage love, who is now a divorcee and a mother to a young boy, and she’s battling depression. They cross paths again and their reconnection was quite impactful and eye-opening to me as a viewer.

What is depression, really? How do you love someone who is depressed? How do you help them come out of it? And how does an irritable man with issues become soft and tender?

God, I loved the visual depiction of mental illness in Our Blues. Depression is real, however it’s also an illness of illusion that is very hard to depict visually, at least outside the usual cues of a character looking sad and distracted. But Our Blues did something brilliant and creative. It was in the way all the bright lights in the city start to go off one-by-one until all that’s left is crushing darkness. Anytime Seon-ah’s depression kicks in, this is what happens. All the bright lights out the window go off one after the other, until she is enveloped by stark darkness and stillness.

Although it’s all happening in her head, it’s presented as the reality to Seon-ah. It was quite triggering and painful for me to watch because it’s such a more accurate and deeper depiction of depression. I also loved the way Seon-ah explained it to Dong-seok. You could be surrounded by the brightest of lights, but all you can see is darkness. How apt. How excruciating.

It really helps you see that depression is as real as it is an illusion, and that if you have people by your side that can constantly remind you of its illusiveness (thanks to Dong-seok’s frank and linear nature. He really was what someone like Seon-ah needed), whilst being silly and giving you the loving permission to reach out whenever you need them, healing could begin.

For Dong-seok, Seon-ah didn’t have all the answers to his problems. But she gave him listening ears and proffered the advice she could proffer to the best of her ability. And that helped. It kept him grounded and tethered.

I really loved how the couple communicated plainly with each other. I especially loved Dong-seok’s curiosity. It seemed so child-like but ironically, it asked the simple, straightforward questions that helped Seon-ah describe how exactly she felt. Questions like, “Why are you depressed?” or “What does depression feel like?” – simple as they are, were questions Dong-seok had to ask to even know how to help at all. We really need to start being more curious We really need to start being more curious about people (politely and sensitively, of course). And the questions don’t have to be complicated at all. The simplest, most innocent questions can elicit the deepest, most enlightening answers about someone’s struggles. I loved that the writer showcased this, while intimating viewers about what depression really is like for its victims.

I also loved how the drama showed that broken people need to heal individually before they come together, but not without showing how in the meantime, honest communication, friendship, companionship and being one another’s voice of reason are crucial to kick-starting this hard, individual healing. It was powerful how Dong-seok changed Seon-ah’s entire perspective at the point where she almost gave up on herself. Just him pointing out that she might send her son down the same depressive hole her father’s suicide sent her if she chose not to fight and heal was enough to snap her out of her dangerous haze. We all truly need a voice of reason, particularly in our most dire and vulnerable moments.

Bang Young Joo (Roh Yoon-seo) & Jung Hyun (Bae Hyun-sung)

This was a classic Romeo and Juliet love story, but one with a spin. Two single fathers hate each other, but hilariously, they are about to become young, blood-related grandpas.

Young-joo and Hyun, their daughter and son, are a secret senior high-school couple who discover that they are pregnant. Interestingly, Young-joo is the class president and class topper who ambitiously plans to study Medicine in Seoul, and leave her “boring” countryside behind for real adventure. Hyun is also one of the class toppers and he is almost too obedient, quiet and responsible. Given the characters and background of the two, I believe the writer’s aim was to raise important questions about teenage pregnancy.

Hormones aside, how did two model students find themselves in such an “irresponsible” situation? Why does Young-joo crave adventure badly? And why does Hyun seem subdued and repressed, emotionally?

For starters, Young-joo and Hyun are both raised by single fathers who can be incredibly childish. In fact, our first encounter with the teenagers interacting with their fathers was when they came to fetch their bickering, drunken dads from a friend that had come to drop them off. While it’s true that both fathers work hard in stressful and physically demanding jobs to provide for their kids, we notice something – the full presence, attention and connection teenagers need from both a father and a mother are missing. In that sense, single parenting is a factor, and I appreciate this drama alluding to it because it’s definitely one of the causes of teen pregnancy, and the need for escapism.

Another important factor to note is the verbal and physical abuse Hyun endured in the hands of his ex-gangster father. It was not extreme abuse, but it was to the point of being disturbing and demeaning that it just makes sense that Hyun is unnaturally quiet and subservient, and that he would seek solace and affection in the arms of a girl he loved. I really appreciated the allusion to these deeper, underlying issues. It’s not everyday we get to see the more complex reasons some teenagers engage in certain acts or behave the way they do.

Another thing Our Blues did exceptionally well with concerning this teen pregnancy theme, was how powerfully and realistically they portrayed the enormity of pain, disappointment, shame, guilt, and self-denial that an unplanned teen pregnancy can cause, both for the teenagers and parents involved.

Young joo’s dad, Bang Ho-sik, childish and happy-go-lucky as he is, is a highly doting father, who not only takes serious pride in his daughter’s academic achievements, but also loves and trusts her deeply. And Jung In-kwon, excessively brash and abrasive as he is, cares about his son’s future, education, and reputation.

The words they sputtered to their children on discovering their pregnancy were painful but so truthful. The writer’s talent really overflowed in the tearful and emotional scenes surrounding the pregnancy reveal. I was blown away by the depth and extremely realistic nature of the writing.

I felt bad for both parents, especially Bang Ho-sik – a single dad who had had to care for a finicky teenage girl all his life, only planning to enjoy himself once she finally left for university. And now, she is more than six months pregnant. Not only did he somewhat drastically lose his daughter to another boy, he now has to bear new responsibilities and make painful sacrifices as he navigates his new, abrupt loneliness. Choi Young-joon really knocked it out of the ballpark with his portrayal of Ho-sik. I found his performance soooo endearingly moving and nuanced (he was actually my favourite character in the entire show).

If there’s one big thing this story emphasised to me, it’s that good parents are the only kind of humans rendered selfless and helpless in the moments they want to pay their kids back in their own coin. It’s impossible to turn your back on the child you love, no matter how much they’ve hurt and disappointed you, and this drama showcases that so well, especially with Ho-sik and his daughter.

I’m satisfied that the couple realised the magnitude of pain they were causing their parents as well, and came to understand that whether or not they deemed their baby a mistake, they owed their parents who had sacrificed a lot and trusted in them – and who were going to have to make more sacrifices – an unmistakable and heartfelt apology.

Overall, there are two aspects where this storyline fell short.

One, beyond Hyun letting his father know that he found him embarrassing, he never directly spoke about his own hurt; how his father abused him physically and verbally. This was a critical discussion that should have been had, so the otherwise ignorant and blustery father wakes up and realises what he had been doing to his son, mentally. Also, so that all parents watching can know that any kind of degrading abuse, towards your child, is NOT OKAY AT ALL.

Two, I’m not going to lie, this drama indeed romanticised teen pregnancy in certain ways – particularly in the slow-motion, playful rainy scene, right after the couple decided to keep the pregnancy, and at the end of the series. It’s true that the pregnancy reveal was done in a powerfully realistic manner, but nothing about the reality and difficulty of raising a baby, especially by teenagers, was depicted afterwards. Not to mention, not every teen guy is as hearteningly sweet, loving, and committed as Hyun was.

Once anger dissipated on the side of both parents, the couple became fully happy and romantic. And after we’re shown the pain of pushing a baby out, we get a very neat ending of enthused, teenage parents enjoying a communal sports game while their baby rested in a cute cot. I’m afraid that the show did not realistically portray the consequences of a teenage pregnancy post delivery. The first few months of a baby’s arrival is usually the toughest period for new parents, let alone, young ones.

How do they raise a newborn with studying; part-time jobs; and their own dreams and youth craving freedom? Touching on this visually (even if briefly) would have presented a more holistic and realistic view of what it means to have a baby at such a young age. 18 Again, for instance, is a drama that depicts this wonderfully well.

All in all, this was an impactful and highly entertaining storyline (hands down my favourite!). And the acting, on every front, was so good. Special kudos to the daughter and father duo – Roh Yeon-seo and Choi Young-joon. Their emotional acting packed a real punch!

Jeong Eun-hee (Lee Jung-eun) & Go Mi-ran (Uhm Jung- hwa)

I bet that their story is one of the most painfully realistic stories out there about female best friends.

Here, we have Eun-hee again. The successful, local business woman who grew up from a poor family. Our Blues narrates the story of her friendship with city girl and 3x divorcee, Mi-ran, who has been her bestie since their high school days. Unlike Eun-hee, Mi-ran grew up rich, pretty, popular, and beloved by all. In fact, their high school friendship started with Mi-ran being nice to and cool with poor, outcast Eun-hee.

At first glance, it’s easy to think Eun-hee and Mi-ran have the perfect friendship, despite the differences in Eun-hee’s tacky and Mi-ran’s glamorous appearance. But as it is with many relationships that seem perfect, we begin to see facades and pretences reveal themselves.

Apparently, Eun-hee has been nursing resentment towards Mi-ran. She feels insecure in the friendship and thinks Mi-ran takes advantage of her since she is always at her beck and call. She feels used and low, but never mentions any of these things to Mi-ran. Instead, she plays the good, laughing best friend who loves her friend and stays unwaveringly loyal.

Mi-ran, on the other hand, has a flirty and frivolous vibe to her and is known to us as a divorcee who’s had three failed marriages, so it’s easy to suspect her character even when she doesn’t seem to be a bad person. However, when you see how she happily cleaned and lovingly rearranged Eun-hee’s apartment while Eun-hee was away, you’re forced to have a rethink.

It begs the question, is Eun-hee’s inherent insecurity making it comfortable for her to just resent Mi-ran without talking it out? Does Mi-ran sometimes mistreat Eun-hee on purpose? Who is the bad guy here? The friend who keeps pretending that she doesn’t resent her friend or the friend who made her friend feel insecure and used?

When the facades are off and Eun-hee is forced to reveal her resentment, you can see that she wasn’t exactly innocent either. Basking in your victim-hood, while secretly deceiving, resenting, and blaming your “best friend” – no matter how loyal you are – is not a good look on you. When people hurt you, let them know. Have the difficult conversations. The way they respond would say a lot about whether they had been purposely hurting you all along.

Mi-ran just turned out to be a spoiled brat who didn’t take her offhanded actions and words seriously. What she needed was a wake-up call; brutal honesty that would make her adequately mature, aware and sensitive when dealing with Eun-hee. I found it very interesting how the reasons for Mi-ran’s three divorces, which were later revealed, turned out to be mostly none of her fault. A cheating husband; another husband who engaged in a secret business; and one who wanted babies when she was going through menopause…

What was she to do?

It reminded me not to judge people so quickly by their image and circumstances. It also forced me to look back on the “best friendship” I had in high school and wonder if I really was any different from Eun-hee who blamed her own insecurity and inability to speak her mind, on a “best friend”.

It also made me wonder what that friend would have done or said had I opened up to her about some of the ways she made me feel. Maybe, just maybe her reaction might have been different from what I feared or imagined. I remember I also judged Eun-hee for holding onto a grudge for years, since high school. But then again, I realized I was no different. I’ve never forgotten about the little, hurtful things my high school friend said and did to me when we were much younger. It just goes to show that words and actions, no matter how insignificant they may seem, matter. Hence, we need to be more sensitive and thoughtful, especially when dealing with people whose feelings we care about.

Anyway, this friendship was a very, very thought-provoking one. Its lessons are so important, I wish everyone could watch it. Lee Jeung-eun was amazing again. Playing her role with zero vanity; instead she was out here laying universal insecurities and vulnerabilities bare, in all its ugliness. Well done, Jeung-eun.

Lee Yeong ok (Han Ji-min) and Park Jeong Joon (Kim Woo-bin)

Yeong Ok and Capt. Jeong Joon were the least problematic and most romantic couple in this drama. They were fun, fresh, flirty, and charming together. Han Ji-min and Kim Woo-bin made for an incredibly good looking couple. There was no way Shin Min-a wasn’t jealous watching her boyfriend romance long, beautifully haired and gorgeously youthful Han Ji-min.

I didn’t know if I was going to be okay seeing Kim Woo-bin romance another lady in the same drama starring his real life girlfriend. But boy did I worry for nothing. Han Ji-min and Kim Woo-bin had effortless chemistry. There was no awkwardness of any kind. Every banter and touch was natural and breezy!

I remember being fascinated with both actors and just thinking, damn it, they are really playing Yeong ok and Jeong Joon like these are who they really are. Fantastic, fantastic acting.

I loved seeing Jeong-joon bond with Yeong-ok’s elder twin sister who has down syndrome. Their relationship was really special. I also loved how the drama touched upon the ugly feelings people can have about their disabled family members. It’s not like you don’t love them, but sometimes you just wish things were different. Sometimes you want to get away from them. Most times, these disabled family members know they are a burden and feel bad too, but they are also not unaware of how truly loved they are.

I’m happy that Yeong-ok’s fear of not being accepted by Jeong-joon’s family because she was an orphan and had a disabled sister turned out to be just that – fear.

Also, I’ll never forget the lines Jeong-joon said to Yeong-ok about her constant need for adventure. It was along the lines of – No one can be excited or happy all the time and so what? That’s what life is. Boring here. Exciting there. After admiring the writing so much for a second, it made me realize just how mature and perfect he was for Yeong-ok.

Hyun Cheon-hee (Go Doo-shim) & Son Eun-gi (Ki So-yu)

This grandmother and granddaughter duo tugged at my heart deeply. They made me SO emotional and entertained at the same time. The funny thing about them is that they are both headstrong and unyielding when it comes down to it. Gosh!!! To think that I expected them to have the mushiest relationship? Lurdddd😂😂😂

Ki So-yu is the cutest little bean I’ve ever seen and her acting is probably one of the best, if not the best, I’ve seen from a child actor. How could she deliver so deeply, purely and passionately at just five years old?

How could she pour herself completely into a wide range of emotions, making me wonder if she’s even acting at all? I’ll never get over her performance and her cute little being.

I was so happy that a miracle showed up for grandma and her granddaughter. Soooooo happy. Poor little Eun-gi deserves nothing but pure happiness, not her perfect, little world crashing down to suck the light out of her precious soul.

I don’t think I would have ever gotten over the news that threatened to rip their world apart. Even grandma’s best friend, Ok-dong, couldn’t bear the thought of it (P.S: their old age friendship, especially the way they always held each other’s hands taking slow, shaky steps, was heartbreakingly human and sobering😥).

Anyway, this whole storyline was highly gripping, suspenseful and touching. I loved it so much.

Kang Ok-dong (Kim Hye-ja) & Lee Dong Seok (Lee Byung-hun)

While this story was personally was not the most exciting one for me to follow, I wanted to see what Ok-dong had done so horribly to Dong-seok to make him so lousy, hurt, harsh and reckless.

What exactly had she done to deserve the mean and utterly disrespectful treatment she got from her son? And why did she abandon him? Also, why did she never apologize to him?

Well, while I wouldn’t say I got to really understand why Ok-dong mistreated her son in the past, one thing became evident – she had deep regrets about her actions. She is so regretful to the point where she is emotionless and doesn’t feel like she deserves to apologize or seek forgiveness.

Another thing became clear. All the lashing out from Dong-seok; they were cries for affection and attention. I was so moved by Dong-seok’s kind and gentle treatment of his mother later on that I thought to myself, people can really display the most nasty attitude simply because they want to be loved or held, but had been turned away, harshly.

Underneath the surface, Dong-seok immensely craves his mother’s love and would do absolutely anything he could to please and make her happy. This is why they say upbringing from the family is so important. Imagine how many Dong-seoks there are in the world, who crave love and attention from their parents and don’t get it, and how it alters their personality for worse.

Kim Hye-ja and Lee Byung-hun’s performances were so intimate and guileless. They really gave their all. A great job well done, indeed.

In Conclusion

Our Blues is one of the MOST emotionally intelligent, heart-warming, realistic, robust, seamless, and immersive dramas I’ve ever watched. I would categorically call its writing the BEST I have ever come across on TV (even with the flaws I pointed out in Young joo and Hyun’s story). If Twenty Five, Twenty One were not in existence, holding a super special place in my heart, I would have declared it to be the best K-drama I’ve ever watched.

It would definitely be nominated big time during this year’s Baeksang Awards. Although My Liberation Notes is a strong contender, I’m placing my bet on Our Blues winning best drama.

Noh Hee-kyung outdid herself with this one, and the cast and crew delivered with their whole heart and soul, making Our Blues truly a drama for the ages; a light and heavy masterpiece that must have taken painstaking creativity, dedication and hard work to materialize seamlessly. It’s crazy to think that I almost didn’t watch it because it seemed like it had a lot going on and I wasn’t going to be able to get into it. Tah!!!! Thanks to the beautiful videos of Hyun and Young-joo on YouTube, and the comments appraising all the characters on the show. They really spurred me to check out this unbelievable drama. So here are my heartfelt kisses😘😘😘

Thank you for reading, lovers! See you in my next review. And to my Muslim folks, Ramadan Mubarak!💗