I'm in love with When the Weather is Fine (Episodes 1-8)



(Sorry, I wasn't able to do a double post like I promised last Sunday. I got busy!)

I don't really watch Korean drama often. I rarely finish up until the last episode because most kdramas I try to watch get boring or it slows down its pacing reaching the middle. Either that or the plot becomes uninteresting midway. I'm also very picky in choosing the kdramas I actually finish until the end. There are certain plot lines or particular acting that just puts me off whenever I try to watch. The first ever kdrama that I found myself finishing was Dream High (but I never tried to watch its second season). It only followed up about three to four years later when I watched Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo. You would think I'd watch Strong Woman Do Bong Soo after that (like so many others tried to recommend me) but I didn't. I also haven't finished Fight for My Way but it's an "okay" Korean drama (there were really entertaining parts).

As for most recently, I stopped at Episode 12 of Extraordinary You (I was put off by the slow pacing towards the unfolding of events but meh) and that was until our Netflix subscription ended. Now, I'm currently watching When the Weather is Fine on iFlix.

When the Weather is Fine has 16 episodes and I'm currently on Episode 9. Before I had to continue, I wanted to update what I think about the Korean drama so far right here. Since kdramas reach up to 1hr and 20mins maximum per episode, I don't trust myself to remember everything if I finish it until Episode 16 and then, make a review. So, consider this as my part one review of When the Weather is Fine.

I honestly had no background of what the story line of When the Weather is Fine would be. Nobody recommended it to me. It was just the first random Korean drama shown on the iFlix home page. I liked the vibe of the poster so I took a peek. It didn't disappoint me though. From the first time I watched the opening of the show, I immediately fell in love. The soft musical score grabbed me tight and refused to let me go. Now, I keep coming back to the kdrama, anticipating even the opening intro (I can't seem to find the title of the piano piece though! If any of you ever find out, please email me or comment down below!).

The first eight episodes of When the Weather is Fine follows the narrative of Mok Haewon. She's basically a music teacher majoring in cello but some circumstances led her to quit her job. She then returned to her province to move away from the issue she had working in Seoul. I probably shouldn't talk too much about the actual story because most of you might not want too many spoilers about the plot. What I do love about how Haewon was shown in the first part is that she seems characterless. I mean, most people would find her boring and stiff as you begin her journey. But whenever I see characters like that in a kdrama, it only means that there's going to be a colorful and extensive amount of character development about to happen. I live for character developments in shows, movies, and novels! I even tweeted about Haewon, saying that I'm excited for her character development and I would definitely be disappointed if there wasn't going to be any.

I'm withholding my judgement for now if it did disappoint about Haewon's character development or not. What I can say though is that I love following Im Eun-soeb's narrative as well. Im Eun-soeb is the "supposed" love interest for Haewon (I mean, of course, it depends if you're going to root for him or Youngwoo). There's something similar with both Haewon and Eun-soeb that I've pieced out in watching half of the series. They both seem lifeless and reserved for the first few episodes.  I can relate to both Im Eun-soeb and Mok Haewon with their reserved nature and coldness. From a psychological perspective, it seems like it's their defense mechanism to be cold like the winter the series is set on. For the first eight episodes, however, Im Eun-soeb's story was not fully spoon-fed to the audience. We would only see glimpses of Eun-soeb's past with Mok Haewon during their high school days.

The character narrative focus shifts from Mok Haewon's story to Im Eun-soeb's story reaching Episode 9. So that's definitely a plus on this drama for me. I love character perspective shifts on dramas and shows (which is probably why I love watching Korean dramas: They don't focus on only one family, one person or one direct story line). It gives the audience something to yearn for. Speaking of which, I'm still waiting for Shim Myeong-yeo's and Shim Myeong-joo's full narratives. I also want to find out Boyoung's story. Let's see in the last eight episodes.

Another thing that I find relatable with the series is the fact that it sets entirely during the winter season, moving back and forth from the mountains, the forest, a cozy pension and the Good Night Book Store (which is one of my faves of it all!). The whole series just feels calming even though there are intense narratives in the story. The book club is also interesting because the rotation consists of people from different ages and experiences. The novels, poems and stories they share are obviously adding to the intensification of the protagonists' development but I also like how I'm learning those legends and poetry as well. It probably helps that I love reading and the book store vibes feel so close to home. Im Eun-soeb's online entries during the end title cards of each episode finds me in nostalgic sentiments as well (since I used to post blogs about the person I like back when I was 14). Those little things find me giddy. I love that the drama is also light. From the music to the aesthetics, it doesn't feel heavy unlike most kdramas.

Although, I get that this series wouldn't be everyone's cup of coffee. Maybe I'm just into the sentimental and quiet type of setup rather than most dramas that intrigue and affect its audiences in more ways than one. I love how simple yet complicated "When the Weather is Fine" actually is. I've yet to update you guys on the second half though. I'll be right back with that soon!




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