Early Access: Youth Of May E1 (Patreon)

E1. I don't know what I was expecting from this show, but I certainly wasn't expecting Show first episode to primarily vibe chaotic, but yet manage to end on an almost whimsical note. I'm.. intrigued.

I also hadn't been expecting to start our narrative in the present, since this show's been promoted as a retro sort of story. That springboard, where skeletal remains are discovered, which are likely to have been from the Gwangju Uprising, immediately lends a somber undertone to our story. This is going to get dark at some point, if someone's going to die.

That said, just knowing that this story takes place with the Gwangju Uprising as a backdrop, should be enough to inform us that this isn't going to be a lightweight, rom-com sort of story. There is going to be angst, suffering and bloodshed for sure, because those were all part of the Gwangju Uprising. At the same time, I also expect this to be a stirring story, because the Gwangju Uprising was powered by the passion of a people who desired democracy for the citizens of their country.

In the 1980 timeline, it quickly becomes clear that there are two broad categories of people in this world; those who protest against martial law, and fight for democracy, and those who don't. At least, that's the way the protestors see it; you are either with us, or against us, whether you're part of the regime, or simply don't care enough to get involved.

At first glance, it seems that our male lead Hee Tae doesn't care enough to get involved, especially with that scene of him literally driving his car through a protest. However, it soon becomes clear that there is more to his situation than meets the eye.

We're not told the details yet, of his friend Seok Chul, who's in a serious condition at the hospital. But we do see that he feels responsible enough for it, that he'd sell his car in order to pay for the hospital bill, and even attempt to move Seok Chul back to Gwangju, even though he doesn't have the money for it. At the same time, it's interesting to see that Hee Tae is careful to keep all of this on the down-low. He doesn't get involved in the protests, and endures the accusations from his schoolmates, that he doesn't care.

We do find out that his father is an influential person, who was once the Head of the Anti-communist Investigation, so this must be one of the reasons that Hee Tae's keeping a low profile. (Also, where has the time gone? Oh Man Seok is now old enough to plausibly be cast as Lee Do Hyun's father? 😳) Dad wouldn't want him to be involved with the pro-democracy movement, for sure. How curious though, that Dad seems to barely see Hee Tae as a son. Why is that, I wonder? Is he perhaps not Hee Tae's biological father?

I love Lee Do Hyun, and I'm enjoying him very much so far, in this role. He manages Hee Tae's carefree facade well, while managing to inject that facade with more serious, complicated layers.

I'm also quite quickly drawn to Myung Hee as our female lead. She's in a complicated and difficult position, balancing her dream of going to med school abroad, with being the main breadwinner of her family. The way she works herself regularly to the bone, already triggers my compassion for her. She is not having an easy time at all, and to make things worse, her colleagues gossip about her because they're upset that her hardworking ethic is making them look bad, and it seems that she's also regularly harassed by unreasonable patients while on the job. I'm exhausted just imagining what it's like to be her.

She has spirit, though, and I admire that about her. The way she doesn't flinch at the skeevy patient's inappropriate advances, and makes a stand for herself, even though it gets her into trouble, is pretty darn badass. She's no-nonsense because she literally has no time for it, and she strikes me as a sort of delicate bulldozer. I am very much enjoying the way Go Min Si is delivering Myung Hee's combination of softness and steeliness, so far.

I'm not quite sure what to make of Soo Ryeon so far, in that she's clearly living a double life, moonlighting as an activist, while living as a rich girl by day. I'm curious to know how deep this passion for democracy runs, for her. Is she serious about this, or is this a passing fad, where she gets involved for the thrill of it? So far, she appears to be full-on serious about it, and she does appear to be embarrassed by the fact that she's a rich man's daughter, but I'm interested to see whether we will get to see more layers into this, over time.

Soo Ryeon's brother Soo Chan seems like the typical perfect second lead so far. He's well-educated, rich, and seems primed to fall for Myung Hee, now that she's all grown up.

By the time we end our episode, Hee Tae's and Soo Ryeon's paths are primed to collide, with each of them agreeing to the marriage meeting (ie, not just any old blind date, but a blind date with clear intentions to explore marriage) arranged by their fathers. Hee Tae is that desperate to fulfill Seok Chul's wish, and Soo Ryeon is that desperate to save her activist friends.

From Soo Ryeon's point of view, she detests the idea of meeting with an Anti-communist Investigator's son so much, that she'd rather pay for Myung Hee's air ticket to Germany and have Myung Hee attend on her behalf, than show up for the marriage meeting herself. (Little does she know that it's with the guy whom she'd found intriguing, at the activist meeting. I wonder how she'll react, when she finds out..?)

In the meantime, even though Myung Hee's mission is to get dumped by her (well, technically Soo Ryeon's) blind date, it looks like it's going to be an uphill task, since Hee Tae, who recognizes her as the feisty badass nurse from the hospital, already seems charmed by her. This is where we end the episode, and I have to admit that I am very keen to see how this blind date unfolds.

As stirring as the Gwangju Uprising backdrop of our story is, I have to admit that it's the characters, their stories, and the associated feels that actually interest me more. And with Hee Tae already smitten with the blind date whose task is to get dumped by him, I am excited to see how the sparks fly, going forward.