The second loyalty test came a few weeks later with Park Hae-young’s My Liberation Notes. Even after coming prepared that it wouldn’t be a rehash of her previous works, it still surprised me to realize that halfway through the drama, I still couldn’t grasp the tangible end goals of this tale. And yet, I couldn’t stop immersing myself into this journey. It felt like a poetic documentary — at times coming uncomfortably close to the inconvenient truth about myself, at times seeming like nothing but a huge metaphor of life itself.
It was a treat to be a part of the discussion where people easily found themselves reflected by one or more characters, and where different perspectives lent to numerous interpretations of characters’ actions and motivations. It was a liberating journey, and one that convinced me that I will be gladly waiting for whatever new insight and life lessons Park Hae-young would deign to share in her new work.
The last loyalty test came as a real challenge for me. Yumi’s Cells was one of the dramas that saved me from my year-long slump last year. Unpredictable, boldly experimental, but also comfortably familiar in its slice-of-life genre. I knew the second season was coming, and frankly, the drama needed it to provide neater closure. Yet, we all know the grisly reality of seasonal K-dramas.
I was cautious about being too hopeful for Yumi’s Cells 2, but the first half flew by smoothly. Heartfelt, funny, and genuine. I did wish the drama gave deeper exploration on Yumi’s career change decision, but it was a minor complaint. What made me anxious was the too-perfect-to-be-true romance that felt jarringly out of place in this largely realistic exploration on an ordinary young woman’s life journey. Sadly, a bad premonition is rarely wrong, and Episode 9 was where I found myself stuck for months — warring between that sick feeling of foreboding where I knew that sh*t was going to hit the fan, and the urgent need to see the end of Yumi’s journey to meet the promised happy ending. I was hoping the holiday season would provide enough cheer for me to finish this before the year end. But if not, I hope the new year will be the right push for me to visit Yumi’s cell village once more.
In a way, it was kind of a relief to meet Reborn Rich as a closing for this year. It’s nice not to have any “personal” stake in a drama that generally left me wanting for more, even with its three-episodes-a-week schedule. I did like the writer, director, and the actors in this project, but thankfully none of them occupied that pesky place in my heart that inspired near-blind loyalty. This tale came just at the right moment, when I’m craving for another time-travel-adjacent story with a smart lead crouching over huge, damnable secret. What really delighted me, though, was realizing that Reborn Rich has single-handedly resurrected my long-dormant love and glee for a well-done revenge melodrama. I can hardly wait for the double finale eps that will cap this story off (hopefully with all the victory cheers we deserved after this rollercoaster).