Again…

If I am not raving about my latest watch it does not mean that I have stopped binging on K Dramas. Well, to be precise, I do not binge any longer but see them one episode a day. Nevertheless I enjoy them as much and more.

Cutting short on binging is just my way of reducing screen time because of other preoccupations. And of course I do realise that it’s not a healthy habit. Moreover, not binging does not mean I am enjoying them less. In fact it’s more so.

In this post I talk about a few highly acclaimed/watched serials and why they are so with a special note on what I have learnt from them or what I felt watching them.

My Mister

It’s the story of a middle aged, married man who has lost the charm of life. He works in an architecture firm ridden by survival politics. His superior is a man who was junior to him in college and having an affair with his wife. In this firm works a young girl with a scarred past. She is a temporary on contractual basis. The two of them also stay in the same neighborhood. Eventually, both come together and bond in an unusual manner giving meaning and hope to each other’s existence.

This serial takes human relationship to another level. A man woman relationship need neither be physical nor platonic yet remain undefinably supportive and understanding.  It’s also about social alienation and community nurturing. How an entire neighborhood emancipates a young soul mistreated by life ! Human relationship is on one hand so fickle and on the other surprisingly and unexpectedly deep and strong.

Our Blues

This is an omnibus series about the habitants of Jeju Island – the commoners – some of them have risen in life and some have merely survived. It’s the heartwarming story of  their day to day struggles, their dreams and aspirations, their expectations from relationships, their heartbreaks and their rejoices and reunions and  momentary happinesses.

This serial gives you life lessons very unobtrusively.  Though the series walks through the ups and downs of lives yet ends on a very positive note on seeking happiness in life.

Thirty Nine

Three childhood friends from different walks of life grow and bond together till an annual health check up reveals that one of them is terminally ill. The diagnosis shatters the friends emotionally and psychologically. How they grope with reality, life, friendship and grief is the theme of the series. It may sound morbid and melancholic but it’s not as the three of them decide to make the most of life knowing they have limited time in hand. The two of them decide to make their terminally ill friend the happiest terminally ill patient.

Interweaved with hilarity and poignance this series is worth watching because it tells  so much about depth of relationship and female bonding.

Welcome To Samdalri

A very successful fashion photographer’s rising career is doomed by her deceitful and jealous junior. Losing everything overnight she with her two sisters and niece return to her homeland, Samdalri, to her parents. At first she is too embarrassed to reveal why she has come back to her neighbours and friends. However, thanks to the internet, her friends come to know the real reason and support her unconditionally to reset her career and gain fame.

This is also the story of her ex-boyfriend who refuses to forget her and leave the island in order to take care of his ex’s mother. Again community bonding, deeper nuances of relationships and unshakable faith and friendship with each other play a very important thematic role in this series.

Do watch these Netflix series in case you find the narrative interesting. With the ever encroaching internet we have forgotten our roles as social animals, nurturing through community, human bonding and the layers of relationship which give meaning and strength to our existence.

These series are just to remind us not to be alienated from ourselves and society.