BLISS RATING: ★★★+
“We’ll meet again. Don’t know where or when, but I know we’ll meet again, some sunny day.” – Vera Lynn
Regrettably, this is yet another BL love story where a somewhat successful but isolated individual in the present is still living in the past. Racked with guilt about something traumatic, he has obviously not dealt with its lasting effect. It seems to hang over him like a continuous voice that whispers into his ear – perhaps if I could go back to stop a tragic situation, maybe everything would be different. Although I had been lied to as to what those circumstances were, I still want to go back and change something else just to make sure the same predicament which I am not sure what that is, never happen. Confused? Well, you should be. The story frankly is bewildering from a logical point of view. Oddly enough, it also made little sense from a mythus frame of reference. Is this series enjoyable? Well, yes, it kind of is, only because of the acting of the main protagonists. Yet, the screenplay itself let the actors and the story down, I am afraid.
Jang Hye Seong (Woo Ji Han) is an accomplished artisan but seems to be somewhat of a recluse and has a generalized malaise about him. His friend from high school, Tae Jun (Seo Seung Hyun), who now is a high school arts teacher, cajoles him to come back to their former high school to give a lecture and advise his budding students. While there, Hye Seong finds his old sketchbook filled with the images he drew of his first and perhaps only love, Lee U Jin (Shin Jeong You). As he reminisces, Hye Seong begins to resketch U Jin. Suddenly, he is hit by a blinding light and is transported back to his old high school art room.
Who comes to rescue Hye Seong from the now locked art room under construction is none other than U Jin who happened to be passing by. Instantly there seems to be an attraction between the two. Also, from Hye Seong’s reaction, we have to conclude that he is shocked to see U Jin alive again, leading to speculation that he passed away some time ago. While the circumstances of his death are not made clear except in obtuse ways, we assume that it is directly or indirectly connected to Hye Seong. However, he apparently never knew the full extent of exactly how U Jin passed away until he re-returned for a second time and his sister Jang Hun Ha (Min Do Hee) told him what frankly happened. At the time Hye Seong was in high school, Jang Hun Ha was the school nurse. Her reasoning for not fully informing Hye Seong initially how U Jin died, seemed to be excused as ‘in his best interest not to know’.
When Hye Seong went back in time and changed something that caused a rippling in the events of activities, he would go color-blind. That was inexplicably introduced without a logical rationale as to why that would be the case. Nor, by the end, if he had changed events, would he then have been completely color-blind? How would he then have a career in art? None of that is dealt with effectively or forthrightly clarified and only seems to be for melodramatic effect.
What confused me even more was the inconsistency to the flashbacks of the story. At the same time Hye Seong seemed to be in love with U Jin in high school, perhaps it was all just a projection? Hye Seong’s reality seem to be giving little to no notice and even seemingly less care that he was leaving to study art abroad which later we all find out was the contributing factor to U Jin’s death. Unquestionably, U Jin seemed to be in love with Hye Seong but was it all so intensely reciprocal? Thus, the reality may be one set of facts while the reflection back to what he wished he had handled better becomes his new world? Wishing that we all could turn back the clock and correct past mistakes, or desires, is a strong foundation for eternal guilt.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? This distinction must go to Seo Seung Hyun as Tae Jun. He has to be a weirdly complex character in a variety of different timelines. While a good and close friend to U Jin for a long time, we can see his jealousy erupt when he feels as if Hye Seong is dominating U Jin’s time. He does not trust him, and he is suspicious, especially when he seems ‘changed’ after he ‘disappeared’ and returns again. Tae Jun must accept Hye Seong’s explanation that he is from the ‘future’ and is trying to ‘save’ U Jin. Each time, Seo Seung Hyun must make his characterization of Tae Jun seem consistent with his time; yet the fact that Hye Seong from the moment he went back began to change events, which should have been reflected in Tae Jun’s responses. Yet, they were not, which ironically helped me to process this confusing story and lead me to only one conclusion.
The ending is absolutely baffling. One can make strong cases for all kinds of interpretations to the ending but for me you simply cannot cheat death. Death is the final arbiter of life. Sure, the presentation ‘tried’ to imply U Jin is alive but that all seemed like a ruse. Hye Seong is dressed in all white while U Jin comes back dressed in all black, which is dichotomous and oxymoronic. The imagery of both is shrouded in cloudy, misty tones of muted colors almost dream-like. Their definitions are unclear and ill-defined as if they are in a twilight. One would almost have to conclude that, as much as we might want a happy ending, it is only wishful thinking. It is unfortunately not real. This is Hye Seong’s wish for a happy ending but not every wish in life concludes genially. Hye Seong never became color blind.
The production used cheap presentation methods to try and lead the audience into hazy choreographies to what was actually going on. I detest that approach because it simply is a coverup for poor writing and places undue pressure on actors to feign a response in the audience that may or may not be what is actually going on. To be sure, the acting of Woo Ji Han as Hye Seong and Shin Jeong You as U Jin are strong and their screen chemistry is good, but the story did not reflect any depth of who they were as a couple. Yes, we got that individually they had strong feelings for each other, but there was simply not enough there for us to believe in them as a couple. Remember, this was high school.
While I truly love series that are interpretive, this left the audience hanging. The logical holes in this series were gaps so big that the story began to become declivitous. Every time you have mid-to late 20’s characters try to go back and feign being high school boys, it simply does not work. This is particularly evident in this series because Hye Seong had all the wisdom of his older self in his younger body and therefore, while you might look 17, you are not. Your ethical and moral standards are now at different levels and how you approach and try and change the outcomes must be considered from a whole different perspective. Your thinking, your experiences, your attitudes are vastly different from a chronological 17-year-old boy. You simply should not be trying to develop a relationship with a 17-year-old, knowing you ARE 27. Therefore, one should not be engaging in any type of a relationship. Period.
In addition, both actors are in their mid-to-late 20’s trying to play 17-year-old characters. It cannot be done from every measurable perspective – looks, emotions, impersonations, attitudes, language, personality, and maturity. It simply cannot be established. It all from an aesthetics point of view is dishonest.
This series could have been a good one; but it was not. It is unnecessarily confusing and obtuse. Time travel is always dangerous as it seems like an easy storyline but the complexities behind trying to change the past need to be handled with sensitivity and more importantly, logic. This had neither.
Unless you find a way to travel back in time to be completely 17 again – fully, wholly, and unequivocally – then do not. You will always bring some part of you back with you that will inevitably change elements you did NOT want to change. That alone will digress the outcome you intended. Perhaps it might be best to leave the past – alone.
Leave a Reply