Melodia de Esperança (2020)

Entertaining but problematic ending

This Kdrama is very entertaining; the characters are appealing and the story line is engrossing. But, as explained below, the ending wasn’t just bad, it was offensive.

Recommendation: Watch it, then read the spoilers, not just mine but others. What’s nice about this story is that its the characters are well-developed and memorable. And because of that, the conclusion provokes a powerful reaction. That’s also part of the fun.

Spoiler: Let's talk about the ending. Here's the setup: The endearing Goo Ra-ra befriends, then falls in love with, Sunwoo Joon. Despite his independence, he's actually a much younger runaway high school student. Joon leaves Ra-ra to study abroad. Ra-ra hosts a Christmas party, which is also a homecoming party for Joon. His mom shows up instead and reveals Joon had gone overseas for cancer treatment and sadly passed away. Five years later, the last few minutes of the show, Joon returns to a joyful reunion.

Wait, what? He didn't die? Is this suppose to be a happy ending?

The Problems:

First, it didn’t just undermined a very touching and well-earned reconciliation scene between Joon’s mother and Ra-ra; it perverted it. To tell someone their beloved just died, when it fact that person is alive, is beyond mean - it’s evil.

Second, what does it say about Joon’s character? Again, lying about his death and not keeping in touch for 5 years? It doesn't matter how you spin it (was he saving Ra-ra from the heartache of watching a loved one wither away?), most viewers will come away with negative feelings. What would you prefer? To be told someone you loved one had died and live without him for 5 years. Or be told he is sick and be by his side to provide aid and comfort while enjoying his companionship and hopefully recovering? Basic humanity solves this simple question. What on earth were the writers trying to achieve? Tacking on a crude Hollywood-type happy ending undercut the magic of this show.

So let’s propose a couple of alternative endings.

Alternative 1; He’s dead. Leave it at that. It’s still a sweet love story with a bittersweet ending that mature adults could appreciate.

Alternative 2: Mom arrives at the party, reveals Joon’s illness and that he’s too sick to travel. Ra-ra goes to visit. That sets up two possibilities for the epilogue: Five years later, they’re married with a kid studying the piano and playing their homecoming song on their wedding anniversary. Or five years later, Joon has died, but she had his child who is learning to play the piano, starting with the homecoming song. (And of course, Mimi the Dog is there playing the piano when nobody is looking.)
Your pick, sweet or bittersweet (I like the latter), both work much better.
Also, did anyone else feel Mimi got the short shrift? This charismatic dog was a scene stealer. We needed her in more episodes.

And while we're critiquing the show, one scene in particular was just embarrassingly stupid. Suspecting her father's business associate had committed fraud, Ra-ra tracks him down, finding him in a car at parking lot where she observes him abusing his wife. When Ra-ra confronts him, he informs her he had become an actor and they were, in actuality, just filming a scene.

Really? So you mean to tell me Ra-ra didn't notice a film crew and equipment nearby?

Not buying it.

Having said all this, it was still a great show.

Leia Mais

READ THE REVIEWS FIRST - OVERALL good, but WORST ENDING

I signed up for this website just to say I am so glad I looked for some reviews of this drama before I watched it. I like light and fluffy dramas, which is what this was for the most part until you get to the last few episodes. THANK GOODNESS I READ REVIEWS....Everything was going so well in this drama - good looking leads, cute story, good secondary leads/stories...and then in the last few episodes, the writer threw in every last K-drama trope ever. It's not clear why the writer felt like that was needed. There were more conventional ways to end it. I feel like they underestimate the intelligence of drama viewers and felt the need to add ridiculous and unnecessary twists at the end. I could've lived with the ending if it wasn't for the fact that the drama literally wraps itself up in the final TWO MINUTES of the series. That was unforgivable. This is a fluffy, fun watch but go into knowing it will go sideways at the end, so best be warned. I still thought it was cute, but I was so glad that I knew the show was going to go horribly sideways in the final few episodes. Much thanks from reviewers for the head's up.

Leia Mais

Lighthearted drama with weird ending

Dodosolsollasol is not the best drama but definitely gives you lots of smiles, heartwarming moments, tears and just happy feeling. Just scratch the ending and weird happenings that doesn’t make sense at all.

Rara is my favorite FL. She is positive and understandable at its finest. Jun on the other hand may be cold on the outside and tsundere, he is also my favorite ML of 2020. So handsome and cute at the same time. Warm-hearted and sweet character I ever watch in k-drama. Love their chemistry, it’s makes me kilig.

The plot twist is fine, it sure shock me.
I have so many questions about the ending, that doesn’t explain why Jun lied about his *toot* no spoiler just watch to know what I am saying.

Overall a must watch drama for people who love happy vibe and not taking this drama seriously. UwU

Leia Mais

A beautiful story that completely falls apart at the end

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean romantic comedy drama series with 16, 60 minute episodes.

Goo Ra-ra (Go Ara) seems to have the world at her feet as an heiress to a cosmetics company whose father dotes on her. On her wedding day, her world falls apart when her father suddenly diesd, on his way to the wedding, from a heart attack. Her father's secretary encourages her to go into hiding as her father was going through a bankruptcy (which Ra-ra did not know) and the creditors would be looking for her. With nowhere to go, she decides to meet a fan who encouraged her piano playing but winds up in an accident with bicyclist, Sunwoo Joon (Lee Jae-wook). Joon is barely injured but Ra-ra injures her hands and is helpless in the hospital. The two bond as Joon icannot leave a damsel in distress even if the damsel is a cute but overly needy ex heiress. With no-one left and being quite helpless, Ra-ra appeals to Joon to give her a place to stay and help her get on her feet with the promise that she will pay it all back. Cold on the outside but warm and caring in reality, Joon cannot say no to someone so clearly in need. When he finds out she is a pianist, and seeing it as a way for her to support herself, Joon builds Ra-ra a space within his space to have a piano school called "La La Land". Joon and Ra-ra become an integral part of the small community they are in, Eunpo City, and form form friendships and develop surrogate families. There is a deeper story behind Joon and Ra-ra's connection and it slowly comes to light that the accident was not their first meeting. There are also reasons Joon holds people at arms length and indicates he has no family.

At the start of this, I loved the energy of Ra-ra and how her engaging personality made people want to help and do things for her. Jun was the complete opposite and people were drawn to him because he was incredibly handsome but had a brooding cold exterior. Those that got to know him a little better, quickly realized he was actually very warm and giving. Watching the energetic and irrascible Ra-ra hammer her way into Jun's cold exterior was entertaining to say the least. I loved them as a couple because their personalities were so complimentary - each providing what the other lacked. The relationship Ra-ra developed with Jin Sook-kyeong (Ye Ji-Won), a single mother who owned the beauty shop next door and Jin Ha-yeong (Shin Eun-soo), who become her best/friend little sister substitute was so heart warming. Sook-kyeong became the mother figure Ra-ra never had. There were lots of plot twists and intriguing incidents to keep things going and keep the viewer engaged and I thouroughly enjoyed the majority of the series. Had it continued on that trajectory this would have been in the 8.5/9 range out of 10 for me. **Spoiler Altert** What nearly ruined it for me was the last couple of episodes. First there was the standard trope where he crushingly breaks up with her and is with another girl and you suspect it has something to do with his mother and her aspirations for her son's marriage. We have all been through that one if we have watched very many dramas and know that typically resolves as he simply refuses to live (often quite literally in starvation strikes etc.) without her. And this resolved as well and they were back together and things were cruising on toward the final episode. Then we find out, at the nth hour, he has leukemia. And I had a horrible feeling at that point it just wasn't going to end well. It would be some kind of "better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all" kind of nonsense. He makes the very uncharacteristiclly selfish decision to hide his illness from the majority of his friends and her and makes up an excuse that he is going to the States to study and has no idea when he will be back if ever. And she actually puts up with that and rekindles her romance with him remotely. She is all geered up for him to finally come back to South Korea for a visit and her and all his friends throw a party and are all excited but he never shows. Then there is the excuse he couldn't come because of his flight being cancelled. It is a crushing disappointment and made my heart very sad for her. Then his mother shows up looking very sad and there are some heart warming moments when she apologizes to her for being awful to her and thanks her for bringing joy into her sons life. Then she tells her June is never coming back because he had leukemia and died. I think I just about cried my eyes out. I was so angry I declared that the show was a zero. How could they build us up with this beautiful romance and then just kill him? After that it shows everyone moving on with their lives and she is around pretending to be happy but you can see she is still just incredibly sad. Then, wham, guess what - he isn't dead after all but FIVE YEARS later he comes back, fully recovered, to get his girl. She doesn't believe it at first. Are you a ghost? And, I have to say, by this time I am with her. What the heck are they putting us through now? Nope, it's him. His only excuse is he didn't want her to have to see him sick and didn't want to come back until he was fully recovered. She cries some more (he makes fun of her for crying) and she pummels him with her tiny fists. And I guess that was supposed to be the happily ever after. Okay but I am still pissed at him for putting our girl through emotional hell. I think, if you love someone, you give them a choice whether to be by your side or not. To keep her in the dark and make her think he had died was emotional cruelty. It would ruin the trust you would have with that person. For a girl who had lost her mother, and her father, and her entire life - for her to think she lost him for so long was really devastating. I do not, at all, like sad movies or series. I can handle a little saddness as long as it is not too long or a significant portion of the show, or ends sad. But, this one, the happy ending was only minutes and the sad part was much, much longer. I do not recommend this for anyone that is an empath or who deeply feels sad movies or series. If you don't mind saddness, then this is, overall, a very good series. I would not personally rewatch it, because of the overwhelming sadness I felt, but it is complex enough you would catch additional things on a rewatch.

Leia Mais

Si poteva finire meglio

La premessa è che non giudico un drama dalla fine.
La storia è secondo me costruita bene. I colpi di scena ti tengono attaccato alla storia, non li ho trovati neanche troppo esagerati come accade a volte. I due protagonisti sono carini, ho apprezzato che non ci fosse tutto lo scandalo per la differenza di età che avevo trovato in "Something in the rain". E poi i personaggi secondari? Li ho amati tutti. La storia di Kim Man Bok e sua moglie, il rapporto madre figlia, il legame con la musica, le possibilità che si perderebbero senza un'occasione, le seconde possibilità.
E poi il destino, mi piace come è stato trattato qui, mai scontato.
Nota di merito per le OST.


Spoiler








Veniamo alla critica principale mossa al drama.
Indubbiamente si poteva realizzare un finale migliore, hanno provato con un happy ending troppo forzato.
Mi è sembrato sbrigativo e senza senso. La madre di lui che si disperava per la morte del figlio, 5 anni senza sapere nulla di lui, 5 anni di vuoto totale, neanche un epilogo finale su cosa sia accaduto 5 anni prima.
Ma ora ammettiamolo, lo desideravamo tutti un finale felice per questi due. Speravamo che dopo tante lacrime DoDoSolSolLaLaSol avrebbe potuto riabbracciare Rara.

Leia Mais

It was SO SO

Finally finished, and it is not re-watchable. At first, I enjoyed the storyline of RaRa and her optimistic view on life when given hard turns and pumps in the road. She was an enjoyable character. Jun was a young handsome lad that matched her personality well despite the 5-year age difference. Jun was definitely the mature one. The storyline was so so. I wanted to return every week for updates. Last week, I wouldn't say I liked the direction the series was going, but I didn't think it could get any worst. So I thought... Many of you will question the ending or love it. I thought it could have ended better. MUCH BETTER. RaRa should have had a nervous breakdown from all the stress, heartbreak, and lies she endured. I felt bad for her character. It's not the romance film of the year, and it wasn't as comical, but cute. You have to watch patiently and not make assumptions about the ending. Try to endure through the sad moments and judge yourself if this series is a hit or miss. I think the last two episodes ruined the entire series for me.

Leia Mais

Okay to start with, this was a really cute drama , I’ll give it a 9/10 overall

One of the main reasons I enjoyed this drama was due to Lee Jae Wook. He was amazing in his other dramas , but I always wanted to see him take a male lead role and in this drama he didn’t disappoint. I wanted to see him take a role where he wasn’t necessarily the bad guy or a role where the FL chooses the ML not the second ML. In “extraordinary you”, I dislike his character, but I resonated and understand him. But I still enjoyed watching him play.

Back to this drama, he was so cute, always looking after the female lead and taking care of her. Even when he was doing all those part time jobs to just look after her, it was just the cutest thing in the word.

I enjoyed the chemistry between them, and how they looked on screen together and I enjoyed how the FL was very decisive on her feeling towards him, it took a minute. But it was cute when they finally got to together.

The last few episodes were okay in my opinion, the last episode was very impactful.

In the last 20 minutes of the series I cried, then I got angry and the writers and then I cried again and then I was mad because it ended so quickly.

Before I complete finished watching the series, in the last 20 minutes or so, I was angry and sad that they killed off the male lead, I thought it was going to end like “ unconditionally fond” when the male lead dies and the female lead ends up alone by the end of the series doing her own thing.

The I got angry in the last few episode where the Fl was talking to a baby and saying that they are going to fetch the father of the baby. At this moment I was angry because I thought the writers made the FL end up with the second ML who was in the with the FL , the ( doctor).
But that wasn’t the case luckily.

The ending was surprisingly and I enjoyed it, but I wish they added 20 more minutes to see how everyone is going to react. I wanted to know how they are going to move forward. I know it’s left to our imagination the ending of their story or continuation, but I would have like to see how it really ended.

I enjoyed watching it, it’s a cute drama that will make i laugh, cry and it’s sweet. There is no second FL who wants to break up the leads. There is a few family drama happening with the ML sides with his family, but it’s nothing series and it’s nothing that takes up 6 episodes of the series .

The ML and the FL were cute together and I would recommend u watching this if ur looking for something cute, light and funny to watch

I hope the make a Season 2, but i highly doubt it

And I hope they give Lee Jae Wook more Male lead roles

Leia Mais

Wasn't Worth the time

I went into this drama not expecting much. However the initial few episodes were quite cute and funny. However by the end somehow the writer managed to ruin it all.

PLOT:
It was alright for a cute watch but some of the writing is the laziest and most pointless ever. The female lead is cute and male lead is a typical tsundere. Had it been just a plain romance drama without any crazy drama like it was initially- it would have become my favourite. However with the introduction of the stalker, weird ass 2nd leads, insufferable side characters, cancer plot and time separation - I would have rated it higher. I thought the beginning made no sense but the last few episodes got worse. The ending was downright horrible and all of it was crazy writing. I wonder why the production companies can't cut the dramas shorter or make some side story episodes if they ran out of things to write in the story instead of this mess I watched?

ACTING:
If it wasn't for the leads the drama would be annoying to no end. Go Ara somehow passes off well as a young female in her 20's and manages to look pretty throughout. The character suited her better than some of her older roles. Not the biggest fan of Lee Jae Wook but he is quite promising. I think given he's so young, he is a good actor and can surely mature in the future. He has a bright future given he chooses the right projects. My favourite was Shin Eun Soo who blew me away with her cuteness. I would kill to see her in more school/college type of dramas as she is so young and cute too. Rest of the side characters were forgettable.

OST:
It has some nice songs but none that became my fave yet.

REWATCH VALUE:
This doesn't exist for an already-difficult-to-watch-once type of drama. Next.

OVERALL:
I won't be recommending this drama unless you are a diehard stan of either of the leads. If you are looking for a good story, maybe look elsewhere. If you just want the fuzzies and don't care about the actual plot then dive right in at your own discretion. I am giving it a pity 6 just for the few laughs I got in the beginning episodes.

Leia Mais

Fun beginning… terrible ending

when I began watching this show I thought it was simple and fun. However the plot then became confusing. I hated the age gap, and the ending??? what was the reason. Definitley not the worst drama I’ve watched. I loved the characters. But I would’ve been fine if I never finished this drama.

I understand the age of minors is different in Korea but I could not get over the fact that she was a grown woman and he was a high schooler. And it came out so early in the show the last 4-5 episodes just felt like filler episodes and didn’t go with the rest of the story.

Leia Mais

Someone call the police and arrest the writer!!!!!

This drama was one of the most “what the shit” dramas i have watched in my life. My fan-love for go ara and lee jae wook was the ONLY thing keeping me watching.
The plot was absolute SHIT. It was cute in the first few episodes but as the show progressed, it started to act like me after drinking milk, it produced massive diarrhoea type of shit. 😊😊
WHY WOULD THE WRITER MAKE HIM A MINOR. SIR THE ROMANCE YOU HAVE WRITTEN IN IS NOW ILLEGAL AND DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT BE PROMOTED.
Not only that, the genius writer decided to make the ML reappear suddenly after disappearing for 5 years without any form of explanation or goodbye. Leaving the FL to assume he is dead during the time. 🤣🤣🤣what a bloody comedy🤣🤣🤣🤣
Oml like girlie was this a ploy to try and make them legal?????????? If someone you loved disappears for 5 MF YRS AND REAPPEARS WITHOUT EXPLANATION, YOU SLAP THE MF NOT MAKE OUT WITH HIM !!!!!! I WANTED TO SCREAM AT THE FL LIKE SIS YOU COULDVE GONE TO JAIL CAUSE OF HIS LYING ASS AND HE LEFT WITHOUT EXPLANATION OR GOODBYE. HOW LITTLE SELF RESPECT DO YOU HAVE ??????
Due to this drama, i have unfortunately gained a regret in life. 😔😔I seriously have never ever been so appalled by drama before. Dont watch the drama its rlly not worth it 👍🏼

Leia Mais

"Good Good!" -Ra ra It's a good show!

I love those show soooo much! I gave it a 10000/10, okay maybe I over exaggerated with the number, but this show, I really enjoyed watching it. I love the story, the acting, the music. The show, it'll make you laugh and it will make you cry, it reminded me that even when in the darkest time to have hope, it's okay to say I'm biased, even if you do watch it and you might think that I over exaggerated, and that would be fine, because I really enjoyed watching Do do sol sol la la sol and I wanted to let everyone else, to hopefully enjoy it as well.
Thank you for reading my review!!
"Good good!"

Leia Mais