Early Access: Thirty-Nine E1 (Patreon)

E1. I honestly wasn't sure how I'd feel coming into this one, because I've heard such mixed reactions, so far. I've heard of folks who like this one pretty well, but I've also heard from friends who really didn't take to it, and couldn't even finish this first episode. How.. polarizing, right?

And that's before taking into account, reports that this show is old-fashioned, and reminiscent of very old dramas, and not in a good way.

So far, I'm happy to say that I like it well enough to want to keep watching, at least for now.

It's not grabbing my heart in the breathless way that Twenty Five, Twenty One's managing to do so far, but there is definitely something here, that I'd like to explore further.

So far, I am genuinely enjoying the friendship among our three leads. I like that the three of them are so different from one another, yet have been friends since forever. It kinda-sorta reminds me of my friendship with my two best gal pals, and that's definitely one of the reasons I'm keen to stick with this one.

The fact of the matter is, these women aren't living clean-cut, straightforward lives. Sometimes, it's messy, and sometimes, people don't make the best decisions. And friendship is about navigating through the mess, instead of giving up on one another, because of the mess.

A great example is Chan Young's emotional affair with Jin Seok. She knows it's not right, even though she tries to justify it to herself, in her own mind. It's a clear case of her knowing what she ought to do, versus not being able to do it, because her feelings are too invested, and her emotions are clouding her judgment.

She knows that the best thing to do would be to cut things off with Jin Seok, because it's clear that he has no intention of divorcing his wife, but she also has long-standing feelings for him that she finds hard to overcome.

What does a friend do, in this situation? How does a friend express love, in such a situation?

Joo Hee chooses to express her love, by giving Chan Young the time and space to come to her own conclusion, while Mi Jo chooses to be vocal in nudging Chan Young to hurry up and make that decision to cut Jin Seok off, before she wastes more of her life on him.

It's hard to say which is the better way, because I actually think that Chan Young needs both. She needs a bit of a nudge, but she also needs the time and space to get to a place in her life where she feels ready to do the mature, logical thing, and cut Jin Seok off.

What's important, I feel, is that through it all, whatever Joo Hee and Mi Jo choose to say or not say, it doesn't actually put the friendship in jeopardy. I really like the fact that even when Chan Young's annoyed at Mi Jo for voicing an uncomfortable truth, she doesn't respond by cutting Mi Jo off. I really like that their friendship can withstand that kind of uncomfortable honesty.

Of course, I don't think a great deal of Jin Seok, for wanting to stay married to his wife, and yet, not wanting to let go of Chan Young. The right thing to do, would be to make a choice, and stick to that choice.

If he wants to stay married, then he should do the right thing by Chan Young, and let her go, so that she has a chance to be happy without him. And if he wants to be with Chan Young, then he should get a divorce, to be fair not only to Chan Young, but to his wife as well. Because honestly, right now, it's not fair to either woman, is it?

That said, I don't think that Jin Seok is the point. The point here, I think, is the friendship between our leads, and how that friendship weathers something like a Jin Seok, in one of their lives. And so far, I like and appreciate how this friendship is working to nudge and support Chan Young, until she comes to a place where she feels ready and able to put herself first, and cut Jin Seok off.

In terms of the terminal illness thing, yes, it's not something that I prefer to have in my drama world. However, to Show's credit, it tells us upfront, instead of throwing it at us at a late stage in our story. Right away, I know that this isn't about a main character beating a grave illness; I know that this is about our main characters learning to live and love, in spite of having to deal with a terminal diagnosis, and with loss.

Knowing this upfront sets me up to get the most out of my watch, I feel.

It's kinda-sorta like how it's helpful to know, going into The Red Sleeve, that the story has a bittersweet ending. Knowing that actually works out to be freeing, because you're no longer wondering about the end point of the journey. Knowing where the journey ends, actually allows you to focus more on the journey itself - or at least, that's how I'd like to think about it.

I don't actually know, at this point, whether Show is going to be successful at teasing out a worthwhile journey for us, given this framework that it's set itself, but I appreciate the idea of it, and am willing to go along for the ride.

As for the thing between Mi Jo and Seon U, I'm.. not super sure how I feel about it, just yet.

It's interesting to me, because, typically with a one night stand sort of starting point, there tends to be a lot more sexual chemistry between the characters. But in this case, the sort of vibe between Mi Jo and Seon U is clearly meant to be awkward and.. ungainly, almost.

I might have a different opinion later, but for now, I feel like perhaps the idea is that Mi Jo agrees to sleep with Seon U, because, 1, it's been a long time since she's had some sexytimes, and 2, she's about to leave the country, and perhaps that's why she decides that it's ok to just throw caution to the wind and just be reckless, for once.

Also, there's that little detail of conversation, where the girls talk about why it's better to go on a blind date at night - so that you can get drunk and sleep with the guy right away. That also gives us an indication of where our ladies - at least Chan Young and Mi Jo - are at, when it comes to sex and relationships. That also adds a useful layer of context to Mi Jo's decision to sleep with Seon U, I feel.

On Seon U's side of things, I'm rather surprised that a doctor dude like him would actually ask to sleep with someone he barely knows, because he'd struck me as a more straitlaced kinda guy. I rationalize that he's attracted to Mi Jo, and mostly when she's drunk, where she does come across as kinda flaky. So.. perhaps that's why he'd felt she'd say yes?

Also, maybe he's a bit socially awkward, and that's how he ended up blurting out the question, of whether she'd like to come see the peonies? I don't know, really. I'm still trying to figure him out. Like, is he usually this straightforward and fast-moving, when it comes to being attracted to women?

So far, I feel that I understand our female leads more than our male leads. And I'm guessing that that's by design. I do think that our main focus is more on our ladies, and how they respond to the situations in their lives - including the men whom they encounter in their lives. In that sense, perhaps it's not so important for us to understand the men and what makes them tick?

Or perhaps Show will surprise me, by giving us more insight into the men's side of things, in future episodes. I'm curious to see how it all works out!

Next episode notes will be out on: Sunday, 27 Feb 2022!

*This show will be covered on the Early Access Plus (US$10) Tier*