So I just finished watching Who Are You : School 2015. I watched the last few episodes on Viki, and this is a new experience for me. The timed comments makes the drama wayyy more fun, because some of the comments are really really funny, and you get to comment there as well, and it makes me feel connected to the drama community. I get to know how most people feel about how the drama went, and how they felt about the ending. Reading blogs is either just a cross sectional review or one that is done at the end of the drama. It isn't nearly as fun as reading live comments. While some people were very pleased with the ending, most people wasn't. For me? I was very pleased. As usual, the Korean cinema does not make films in order to please the crowd, and that is what I love most about it. They have a message to portray and they always do it stylishly.
I shall not write about the plot here. Trust me, I tried, but its so complex that I can't word it well. Please watch the drama haha. I shall just analyze its meaning here. Basically, being 18 is the age where you should be finding out your true identity. Everything you are very sure of at that age, may no be the truth, and it is okay to make mistakes at that age (at least that's what the drama is trying to say). When you don't have a personality, people will tell you who you are, or more accurately who you should be. They will toy you around, not necessarily with a bad intention, but people will want you to be, who they need you to be. Just like when Eun Bi lost her memories and took Eun Byul's place - she was told she was Eun Byul, she was told she was cool, had friends, had a great mom, had a best friend/potential bf. That's how suffocated you will be, living up to what people want you to be, not what you truly want for yourself.
I really really give credit to the writers and the directors, because in the end, none (the main characters) of the love stories went through. They remained friends till the end. What they are trying to say is, people change as they grow up. When you find your true self, you may realize that the person whom you call your "soul-mate" really isn't the one for you. No matter how real the love may feel at that moment in time, it may not be real till the end. That also doesn't mean that you do not act accordingly for your age. That's why they ended off saying, its okay to make mistakes, after all, you are still 18. There were different groups of people in different ships, hoping different pairs of couple to sail, but in the end many were disappointed by the way they ended the drama. For me, it was very mature of them to end it that way. Males and females could actually be really good friends no matter how much people disagree with that statement. At least for me, I believe its true because I have a couple of really good friends of the opposite sex that I really trust, and that I can lean on without having anything more that a platonic relationship.
The next issue they were focusing on was the bullying issue. I disagree with how they ended this part of the story, because it's hard to find a bully that repents in the end. Usually, when you pressure a bully, they end up bullying more and find other means to vent their rage. Maybe the gender of the bully plays a huge role too. Also, they discussed briefly in a couple of episodes about the stress of maintaining good results, and the pressure that originates from parents. Although I feel its a little exaggerated here (wait...in fact all k-dramas are exaggerated), but maybe that's how Korean parents are. Parents here are not too different anyway.
Suicide is a real thing. Pushing someone to the limit, can cause them to break. However, the product of a psyche breakdown can result in one of two things. They can either get stronger after that, or they can break - once and for all. The result of which, is not a choice, rather its something we have to look out for in people to see what kind of people they truly are before pushing them to limits that they can't handle. They also showed about how lying can get us into a huge web of troubles. Everybody was caught up in their lies. The homeroom teacher, the chairman, Eun Bi, and also the class leader during the formatting computer incident.
Well, in the end I really enjoyed the journey and the end of this drama. Loved the fact that Eun Byul realized that she grew and found herself to be different and not suitable for Yi An. Eventually, Yi An also accepted that fact. In fact, everyone including Tae Kwang and Eun Bi since they all remained as friends. I was really glad about the ending. Of course I have to mention a word or two about Kim So-Hyun as Eun Byul/Eun Bi. Her acting here was near perfect. She totally pulled off two opposite types of characters - the bully and the victim. She has already acted as a victim in 'I Miss You' (one of my favorite dramas too), and also she has acted as a total badass in Reset. Here in this drama, she did both. Well done! I also need to mention that the soundtracks for this drama were really awesome, especially Tiger JK's Reset ft. Jinsil. I kept looping the song during the first part of the drama, and still listening to it now! Till next time, see ya! :)
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| Kim So-Hyun as Go Eun-Byul |
