[2023 Year in Review] A soundtrack for the season » Dramabeans

[2023 Year in Review] A soundtrack for the season

by solstices

Earlier than penning this essay, I stared at a clean web page for an extended whereas, racking my mind for a technique to sum up my 12 months of dramas. Then I considered the latest drama I recapped, and it clicked. Similar to Soundtrack #2’s heroine and her conflicting emotions in direction of the piano, I’d slipped right into a drama droop early within the 12 months. Few exhibits managed to catch my curiosity, and even fewer saved me invested.

In the meantime, I sought solace in musicals. I’ve at all times beloved theatrical productions, and I fell headfirst into them this 12 months — after which, in a roundabout manner, musicals introduced me again to Okay-dramas. I adopted a few of my favourite actors from the stage to the display, main me to find exhibits that ended up reigniting that Okay-drama spark.

In a similar way, a number of Beanie feedback underneath my final Soundtrack #2 recap jogged my memory of how a lot I beloved To My Star 2, sparking a Christmas rewatch of each seasons — and it was such a heat, introspective, and therapeutic technique to wrap up the 12 months. Typically dramas are good, and different occasions they lead you to a different reward as a substitute.

So, right here’s my ode to the dramas of 2023, summed up in vacation presents and peppered with a few of my favourite numbers from musicals I watched this 12 months!

When the winter season rolls round, I at all times discover myself craving hotpot — a hearty soup crammed with components which can be scrumptious on their very own, however style even higher in tandem. It’s for this identical cause that I really like dramas with nice solid synergy, so I’d be remiss to not spotlight the exhibits that stood out on this division.

I’ve already waxed poetic about how good The Kidnapping Day was in my recaps, however I’ll say it once more — this present struck the right steadiness between witty comedy, moral dilemmas, and heartfelt emotion. Our precocious kidnappee and her bumbling kidnapper had been undoubtedly the emotional core of the present, however what actually stood out was their crackling chemistry with nearly everybody on the set, in addition to the way in which their sincerity and integrity impressed others round them to affix their trigger.

Monitor 1: “My Place” from In The Burning Darkness — for a story of navigating by means of uncertainty and crumbling religion to guard what one holds expensive.

 
I’ll not have been completely invested within the central plot of Divorce Legal professional Shin, however the ajusshi trio’s shenanigans had been the simple spotlight, particularly that drunken karaoke scene (made even funnier by the truth that each Jo Seung-woo and Jung Moon-sung are musical actors). Joseon Legal professional had tons of enjoyable antics too, not less than till it went off the rails within the last stretch. As for The Secret Romantic Guesthouse, it stole my coronary heart with its trope subversions and endearing discovered household. I might have watched it anyway, with its solid filled with my favourite web-drama actors, nevertheless it surpassed my expectations and delivered a compelling chronicle of liberation, loyalty, and love.

Monitor 2: “Love at First Sight” from Pirate — for one more story of bravely preventing underneath false identities for the proper to stay, and falling in love within the course of.

After I first noticed the information article saying that musical actor Park Kang-hyun can be making his dramaland debut with Heartbeat, I used to be immediately offered. My dialog with missvictrix went one thing like this: “OMG, Park Kang-hyun is in Heartbeat, can I please cowl it?” “Certain, however provided that you promise to make a number of 2PM references!” “Problem accepted!” Thus started my very first foray into recapping a rom-com — a style that doesn’t often spark my fancy — and boy did I’ve a lot enjoyable. The present might have petered out in direction of the tip, however I’ll fondly bear in mind Heartbeat for its solid chemistry, its hilariously tacky humorousness, and the additional time I spent making an attempt to squeeze as many 2PM and Park Kang-hyun songs as I may into my recaps.

Monitor 3: “Magic” — it might not be a musical quantity, however you’ll be able to’t go unsuitable with extra Park Kang-hyun magic!

 
Typically, following a favourite actor to a drama can result in an sudden discovery. It’s like shopping for a tin of varied cookies only for that one favourite taste, then realizing midway by means of devouring the tin that possibly you want the entire array in any case. Search engine marketing Younger-joo lastly obtained me to cave and watch Story of the 9 Tailed 1938, and I used to be rewarded with a tightly-knit ensemble solid that delivered fiery chemistry and a wildly entertaining journey. Equally, Choi Jae-woong guided me to an introspective story of redemption and reignited ardour in My Pretty Boxer, taking part in a devoted dad alongside a standout efficiency by Lee Sang-yub. As for Kim Mu-yeol, his position as a morally-corrupt manipulator in Trolley led me to a deliberate and harrowing exploration of political machinations and moral quandaries.

Monitor 4: “The Music of the Highest Tower, Sensation” from Rimbaud — for an evocative character examine woven from poetry.

 
Different occasions, although, that favourite cookie isn’t sufficient to persuade you into shopping for the whole tin. As an alternative, you zero in on that single taste, like cherry-picking the pink gummies out of a blended pack. I did simply that — watching a complete episode of a drama I hadn’t been intending to choose up — completely for the tiny two-minute cameos by musical actors Byun Hee-sang in Behind Your Contact and Kim Chan-jong in Welcome to Samdalri. Then I skimmed by means of Gyeongseong Creature simply to look at Choi Younger-joon play a psychopathic researcher as soon as once more, after his flip as one within the musical 98 P.c. And, properly, all of us knew I used to be going to look at Demise’s Sport given the spectacular solid checklist, nevertheless it was a pleasant shock to see Search engine marketing In-gook’s Monte Cristo co-star Kim Sung-cheol in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, so I completely rewound that scene to look at it once more.

Actors apart, typically a drama is a treasure in and of itself. Like a musical field crammed with comforting tunes and nostalgic recollections, these exhibits warmed my coronary heart with their earnest sincerity. Finland Papa was my hidden gem of the 12 months — gently heartfelt and quietly considerate, it felt like stepping right into a fairytale tailor-made to appease the soul.

One other magical story was Twinkling Watermelon, coloured by retro nostalgia, vibrant music, and earnest emotion. Its pleasant characters embodied how love has the capability to be enduringly steadfast, even within the face of battle and circumstance; their uncooked portrayal of connection past communication obstacles introduced me to tears. The present didn’t fairly stick its touchdown within the last week, however the path taken to get there was so filled with coronary heart.

Monitor 5: “Within the Rain” from Dry Flower — for extra friendships fashioned by means of music and the bright-eyed idealism of youth.

 
Speaking about music, we are able to’t miss Castaway Diva, which delivered a rousing narrative of chasing desires and defending the folks you’re keen on. The present might have floundered in its execution and underutilized its distinctive abandoned island setup, nevertheless it featured a supportive feminine friendship and deep discovered household bonds, so I’ll forgive it for what may have been and admire it for what it gave us.

Monitor 6: “Music Be aware 2” from Anna, Tchaikovsky — for a dreamlike nutcracker track and a therapeutic story of musical mentorship.

Some tales had been easy and candy. Different tales had been fairly the other — starting from advanced historic durations, to suspenseful fantasy settings, there have been miles to discover and tons to find. Sadly, these dramas left waters uncharted. Regardless of weaving worlds with fascinating lore and intriguing guidelines, their tales had been too self-contained to completely make the most of the worldbuilding obtainable to them. Like an intricately-crafted diorama in a translucent glass bottle, we had been left peering by means of the fog, hoping that if we squinted laborious sufficient, we’d be capable to see the world clearly previous all its smudged colours and blurred edges.

The largest offender of that is Music of the Bandits, a present which theoretically had all the pieces going for it. A damaged friendship between a Japanese sympathizer caught between the battle for self-worth and the gnawing self-hatred that it incites, and his former serf that yearns to be acknowledged as himself and never in relation to another person. The unforgiving oppression of Japanese colonial rule within the Twenties, and the turbulent lawlessness of the lands on the outskirts. Alas, the wealthy cultural context merely served as a backdrop to the motion; the present traded off its character improvement for prolonged struggle sequences that had been elegantly choreographed, however decidedly hole. The fraught relationship between Kim Nam-gil and Lee Hyun-wook’s characters was salvaged by the actors’ ability in imbuing pathos into their gazes and carving the load of their previous into their postures, but for all that their feelings had been palpable, it didn’t completely resonate with out adequate glimpses into their previous. I nonetheless loved the drama, although I can’t assist however really feel like I’m savoring the breadcrumbs of potential that it implied, not what it really supplied.

Monitor 7: “Alive” from 77 (七七) — for one more heartrending declaration of a person’s will to stay as himself regardless of all of it.

 
On a smaller scale, Evening Has Come additionally fell sufferer to this. The premise — highschool college students trapped in a mafia sport with life-and-death stakes — was intriguing sufficient to maintain me hooked. There have been simply sufficient hints of the overarching thriller, piquing my curiosity in regards to the sport’s guidelines and its creator. The second week took some shocking turns, daring to interrupt away from sure tropes, and I had my hopes up for gripping betrayals and distorted morality. Sadly, the present reverted again to a tried-and-true plot within the last week, specializing in hitting acquainted narrative beats. Evening Has Come had the chance to subvert expectations by mismatching sport roles and character archetypes, nevertheless it selected to play it protected as a substitute.

Monitor 8: “A Boy’s Evening” from The Fiction — for some solace on a lonely and painful evening.

Speaking about psychological fare, my favourite dramas are the type that pose starkly incisive questions on humanity, spurring us to ruminate upon our ethical frameworks. Past their bleak exterior, these exhibits’ depth afford them a lot room for evaluation, delivering delicate but astute societal critiques that linger in our minds lengthy after the curtain has fallen. They’re like a slice of baumkuchen coated in matcha glaze — some folks could also be turned off by the outer layer of bitterness, but when you may get previous it, you’ll be rewarded with layers upon layers of flavorful cake.

I completely love matcha, however on the subject of dramas, that veneer of apprehension can typically give me second ideas. That was the case for D.P., which I placed on my watch checklist the second it got here out, however I by no means fairly felt like I used to be in the proper headspace to deal with it. Then I discovered that musical actor Bae Nara would make his display debut in D.P. 2, and that sealed the deal. Under no circumstances was it a simple watch; I needed to pause to catch my breath and gather myself a number of occasions, shaken by the atrocities portrayed onscreen but unable to look away. For all that it was haunting, although, it was equally gripping. Bleakly reasonable and unflinchingly human, D.P. 2 delved deeper into the paranoia and paralysis of trauma, alongside the culpability of bystanders and the devastating results of systemic and structural marginalization. It was a visceral but achingly poignant watch, and its messages will stick with me for a very long time to come back.

Monitor 9: “Wind (reprise)” from Eli — for extra Bae Nara, however happier this time!

 
With a darkish noir premise that appeared proper up my alley, in addition to Shin Ha-kyun (I’ll by no means recover from his masterfully nuanced efficiency in Past Evil) and Shin Jae-ha on the roster, Evilive was a must-watch from the get-go. Discovering out that Bae Nara was additionally solid on this present was the cherry on the cake, and I totally loved the chronicle of our antihero’s gradual however certain descent into evil. As he fell prey to Faustian temptation and made one poor resolution after one other, it felt like watching an inevitable tragedy unfold, virtually completely of his personal making. As somebody who loves basic literature and Shakespearean tragedies, I used to be wholly enraptured until the very finish.

Monitor 10: “Treadmill” from Treadmill — for one more story of morally doubtful provocation.

Final however not least, the drama that struck a chord with me was Revenant. I’ve already written about why it was my drama of the 12 months — not solely was it a riveting thriller steeped in fascinating folklore, nevertheless it was additionally grounded in ubiquitous struggles and human fallibility. By lacing its religious horrors by means of the mundane, it wove a totally unsettling reflection of grief and greed. Intricately crafted with a eager consideration to staging and element, Revenant was additional elevated by distinctive performing and themes that got here full circle, finally culminating in a poignantly poetic conclusion.

Monitor 11: “Acrobatics” from Black Mary Poppins — for one more haunting thriller crafted by means of manipulation and recollections.

 
Wanting again, my 2023 watch checklist has jogged my memory precisely why I really like fiction in all its kinds — for the spellbinding voyage into one other world, anchored by resonant emotional beats that ring a bell with their universality. At occasions, the wind may steer your sailboat in an sudden path, taking you to a wholly completely different vacation spot, however there’s at all times one thing to be gained from the journey itself and the characters you meet alongside the way in which.

Monitor 12: “Solar Inside My Coronary heart” from Artaud, Gogh — to have a good time the boundless capability for vivid creativeness and incandescent hope in all our hearts.♡

 
RELATED POSTS