Mr. Plankton

this is a drama that everyone was hyping up, but honestly, it left me with so many question marks. while the cinematography was breathtaking and the atmosphere was spot on, the storytelling just couldn't keep up with the visuals. the biggest issue for me was the breakup. it was supposed to be the heart of the story, yet they never bothered to explain it properly. if you’re going to build a whole narrative around a major event, you have to give it some weight. instead, it felt like they just forgot about it halfway through. then there’s the theme of abandonment. hae jo reconnects with his father like his past trauma never even existed. and what happened to his biological mother? her perspective was completely erased, as if she only existed to push the plot forward. even the 'donor' subplot, which they hyped from the very first episode, was just left hanging. i also couldn't get behind the constant 'situationship' dynamic disguised as deep sadness. there was so much wasted potential, especially with characters like bong suk. and don't even get me started on the 'blood is thicker than water' trope—they totally missed the real meaning of that phrase, which is actually about chosen bonds being stronger than family ties. in the end, it felt like a visually beautiful mess. i wasn't emotionally invested enough to cry; i mostly just felt sad for the orphans. the trailer and synopsis made it seem like something much deeper than what we actually got. p.s. despite all my complaints about the writing, I have to say—I am absolutely obsessed with the actor who plays hae jo (woo do-hwan👅👅). he is incredible, and honestly, his performance was one of the few things that kept me watching.