[2021 Year in Review] What does the future hold?

by mistyisles

To be completely honest, 2021 for me was somewhat of a return to dramas. In 2020, I only started a few shows and finished even less. While my drama slump was mostly due to real-life circumstances, I also felt a dip in overall interest for committing to hour-plus-long episodes. But this year I found the spark (and the time) again, and I’m so happy to be back.

As I looked back over the dramas that drew me back in, I noticed a couple of common themes. For starters, most of them featured vibrant ensemble casts – which doesn’t really surprise me, as that’s a huge catnip of mine. But they also tended to have themes revolving around life transitions, especially coming-of-age. Which, as I’m currently in an (often frustrating) life transition of my own, also isn’t terribly surprising. (And I would say they all had satisfying, hopeful endings, but… *ahem* you know who you are.)

These dramas spoke a lot about uncertainty. About facing a future that isn’t guaranteed or predictable, and doing one’s best in the here and now to impact that future for the better. So, in honor of all these transitions and growing-up times and uncertain futures, I thought I’d assign each drama its own “Most likely to…” designation, like many people do for their classmates or friends at graduation.

Imitation
This show was such a gem. So much fun, heart, and memorable characters. And who could forget the music, or the marketing tactic of promoting the fictional idol groups as if they were real ones? (Do I still enthusiastically listen to Diamond? …maybe. But I’m not alone – the Sparkling guys and their real-life bandmates seem pretty fond of it, too!)

There are a lot of idol shows out there, some much better than others. For me, though, what makes this one stand out is that something about it just felt so earnest. From the determined underdog girl group Tea Party to the uber-successful but genuinely sweet boy group Shax to everyone in between, I felt each of their struggles and victories – and their desire to stay true to themselves while pursuing their dreams.

I’m not familiar with the source material, but I remember thinking that there were a few different directions Imitation could have taken certain characters that would have disappointed me. Yu-jin, for example, could have become a creepy stalker who couldn’t let go of his one-sided crush instead of a guy who stepped back and realized he was missing what was right in front of him. The Tea Party girls could have been stereotypical catty mean girls instead of an adorable little thrown-together but generally supportive friend group. Even La Ri-ma could have remained the jealous, vindictive second female lead instead of standing up for her juniors who were facing that same kind of mistreatment she once did. (I would have loved to see her character development be more gradual and nuanced, but I digress.)

And I think that’s one of the things I appreciated the most about Imitation: it chose to see the best in a lot of its characters, instead of the worst. It gave them room to grow and learn and see the best in each other, too.

Most likely to… Succeed at their lifelong dream through hard work, determination, and genuine charm.

Monthly Magazine Home
I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, as a millennial, Young-won’s homeownership struggles were intensely relatable. And there were moments when I really enjoyed the cast’s interactions and zany characters.

On the other hand, those zany characters often ventured into unlikeable territory and jumped to lots of…questionable conclusions.

Speaking of conclusions – I didn’t hate this one, per se. I’ve seen much, much worse. But it certainly didn’t elevate the show in my opinion, or leave me with any lingering interest in the story or the characters. Instead, it left me with questions I don’t really care enough about to try to find answers to.

But the times when Monthly Magazine Home did do well were times when it shined a light into the lives of very different people and showed how their physical homes reflected their inner selves. Closed-off Ja-sung who masked his loneliness with money constantly moved from one empty luxury dwelling to another. Hopeful but down-on-her-luck Young-won did her best to make her home feel warm and lived- in, even when it was simply the cheapest place she could make do with.

And it wasn’t limited to the main characters – each supporting character got their own little spotlight to show how they lived and why, and some of them even got to grow and come to a better understanding of themselves and each other. While it didn’t live up to its potential, Monthly Magazine Home did serve as a reminder that there’s always more to a person than the image they present to others.

Most likely to… Scam everyone they know and run off with the money.

Police University
Was this a perfect show? No. Were there things I would have liked to see it do differently? Sure. Did I love every episode anyway? Very much!

I always appreciate when a drama lets its hero be human. When he isn’t a genius, and his plans don’t always work out perfectly, and he has to learn along the way. And Kang Sun-ho was an excellent example of that kind of drama hero. Yes, he had super hacking skills, but he made mistakes – sometimes really, really big ones – he couldn’t bluff to save his life, and he could be pretty dense. But he was also self-aware enough to know that he was young and needed to learn and grow so he could do better in the future. And he didn’t hesitate to remind his mentor – who was often impatient, demanding, and unforgiving – that he was still a student, both in the classroom and in life.

When a drama begins by having its main character make a dumb choice that could easily destroy his entire future, I’d expect that choice to get buried and then dragged back out at the very end for last-minute conflict. And while that did sort of happen, it also didn’t. Sun-ho had to deal with the consequences of his actions – both internally and externally – over and over again, and come to a place where he could both forgive himself and accept the consequences, while also gaining a second chance to fix the mess(es) he’d made.

In fact, if I had to give this show a keyword, it would be “second chances.” Not everyone gets a second chance, and not everyone puts the second chance they do get to good use. But maybe, just maybe, the world would be a better place if more people were granted both a second chance and the guidance to try and do better next time.

Most likely to…Live an upright and satisfying, if unremarkable, life.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
This show was all about its characters – often at the expense of actual plot – and while there were a lot of them, they all had unique personalities and struggles. From the very young to those nearing the end of their lives, each resident of little seaside village Gongjin had dreams and desires and fears about the future. Some had all but given up on ever seeing those dreams come to fruition, while others were trying to build their lives back up after watching them crumble.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha wasn’t a fantasy, but there did seem to be a bit of fate-like magic in the air of Gongjin that drew people back together so they could face their pasts and move on. While people can bury their pain for a long, long time (just ask Doo-shik), it’s never really gone. And if it isn’t addressed and worked through, it can still cause damage years later. I do wish the show had highlighted more the therapy that Doo-shik had been undergoing, but I can respect that a big part of his healing had to do with forgiving himself and no longer trying to keep all of his trauma and sorrow inside.

But a highlight of this show was actually a single conversation: when Hye-jin met with first love Sung-hyun and they shared one of the most beautiful, honest, bittersweet moments of understanding I have ever seen in a drama, especially between a main character and a second lead.

At one time, those two could have had a very happy life together. But they missed the window of opportunity, and they both moved on. And that’s the thing about life – there isn’t only one path to a happy ending.

Most likely to… Bottle up years of trauma beneath a sunny, romantic disposition until it all comes bursting out at once.

The King’s Affection
“Affection” is exactly the feeling I have toward this show. It was beautiful, heartfelt, heartrending, and inspiring. And I especially appreciated how it consistently moved away from a lot of the conventions of its setup. For a heroine who was forced into a life that wasn’t even her own, Dam-yi was given a surprising amount of agency. We’ve seen so many dramas about women pretending to be men, but how many of them got to reveal their own secret to their love interest instead of being conveniently knocked out and him accidentally discovering it?

Dam-yi’s was a story of surviving despite being trapped in a life she didn’t choose, and yet Dam-yi didn’t just survive. Instead, she took ownership of the life she’d been forced into, strove to do right by the people she loved and to make the most of terrible circumstances, and eventually earned her own freedom.

Most of us can’t relate to Dam-yi’s specific predicament, but a lot of us can relate to feeling hopeless in the face of difficult circumstances beyond our control. A lot of us struggle to define our own identity in a world that wants us to measure up to certain expectations or roles. And if Dam-yi can face an impossibly terrifying future with grace and courage and without losing herself in the process, then maybe we can, too.

Most likely to…Rebel against expectations and live a life that’s wholly of their own choosing.

Inspector Koo
This show was so. much. fun. But it’s hard to put all of its charm into words, because so much of the delight was in the direction and acting. You just have to watch it to get the full theatrical effect! Sometimes dark and twisted, sometimes heartfelt, and sometimes downright weird, it brought a little bit of everything onto its stage and somehow made it all work. And, honestly, any complaints I might have had were completely eclipsed by a finale that delivered basically everything I had hoped. I’m not sure the perfect ending exists, but this one came pretty darn close by my reckoning – and that’s rare in dramaland.

And talk about uncertainty – in this show, we started with a main character so mired in depression and regret that she spent most of her waking hours immersed in games and alcohol so she wouldn’t have to think about real life. Then we paired her with insurance agents who longed to prove themselves to superiors who only looked down on them, and we pitted them against a lonely young killer and watched them all constantly question whether they had trusted the right people.

There’s a fine line between keeping your enemies close and becoming one of them, and many of the characters in this show toed that line. Trust is fragile, and broken trust can destroy both parties involved. But sometimes trust is all you have, and you have to decide whether to only see someone as they were in the past or meet them where they are today.

Most likely to…Make it big on Broadway.

The future will always be uncertain. But if the shows I watched this year have taught me anything, it’s that not knowing what the future holds is an opportunity to make that future better than the current reality. Things may get worse before they get better. In fact, they often do. But the past doesn’t have to define us, and the future is ours for the taking.

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