Early Access: My Liberation Notes E1 (Patreon)

E1. I hafta say, I find this first episode a little surprising.

Show is everything it said it would be - and yet, I find myself feeling surprised, because, first of all, it had never occurred to me, that the 3 siblings at the center of our story, would actually be commuting to work in the city.

For some reason, I'd had it in my head, that they were living and working in the countryside, and that's why they were so desperate to leave, for the big city. Because they wanted to experience more of the world, and have a bigger life, in a manner of speaking.

It changes everything, really, that the 3 of them work in the city, and commute daily, to get to and from work.

No wonder they've grown tired; that kind of daily commute is no joke.

You have to leave extra early in the morning, when most people in the city are still probably asleep in their beds, and you have to leave work on time as much as possible, AND you have to get home later than most, particularly if there's a work gathering that you need to attend.

That can really wear you down, over time, and I haven't even taken into account the relationship issues that come into play.

Lee Min Ki's character, listed as Chang Hee, is such a bundle of chaotic, perplexed energy. He's so full of consternation at the state of his life, and he's convinced that it's because he lives in the countryside, that his relationship is on the rocks, and he likely won't be able to get married.

I mean, he's not completely wrong; his bluster about not having a car in which to kiss a girl, does have a ring of awkward truth about it. And, I'd imagine that if he's always busy commuting to and from the city, that he wouldn't have as much time to spend with his girlfriend.

At the heart of it, though, I think, is his blustery, angry personality. That's not very attractive at all, and I personally think that this is the bigger issue, when it comes to his marriage prospects.

Although, he's not wrong too, in thinking that his chances of dating and marrying a Seoul girl are limited, because of the fact that he lives in the "egg white" (such a fun analogy, I thought!).

And then there's Gi Jeong, who's pretty much just as angry and perplexed and grumbly as Chang Hee, at the state of her life.

From what I can tell, she also thinks that living in the countryside has ruined her marriage prospects.

When we meet her now, she thinks of herself as over the hill, and now regrets ever having been picky about men.

If drama convention holds in this drama world, I'd expect her to eventually have a loveline with Lee Ki Woo's single dad character, Tae Hoon.

But, that's the thing. I have no idea whether this is going to be a conventional drama world.

I'd kind of expected the countryside life to be rustic, but charming, in the vein of Racket Boys and Hometown Cha Cha Cha. Instead, there's a lot less shine shown to us, about the country life.

In fact, what we see is dirt and hard work under the hot sun, with our family of characters harvesting leeks together on the weekend.

What a lifestyle to be born into, where you're expected to pitch in on the farm on your days off, after dealing with long daily commutes all week. I can see why Chang Hee and Gi Jeong are as discontent as they are.

But then there's Mi Jeong, whom I must confess I'm most drawn to, this first hour.

Mi Jeong's quiet, docile and cooperative, and there's nothing to dislike about her, really. She's a hardworking colleague, and a daughter who works on the farm without complaint. And, she does tend to fade into the background, like one of her male colleague pertinently observes, when he thinks she's not there to hear him.

I'm most drawn to the fact that Mi Jeong's created an imaginary connection in her head, with her soulmate - whom she hasn't even met yet - so as to cope with the mundane, exhausting and pedestrian nature of her life. Isn't that so.. whimsical?

I like that glimpse that we get, of the dreamer within, underneath the unremarkable surface that Mi Jeong shows the world.

I don't really know what Mi Jeong's dealing with. Aside from the pressures of work, there also seems to be a loan that she wants to hide from her family. Who did she borrow that money for, I wonder?

On top of all this, I'm suitably intrigued by Son Seok Koo's character, listed as Mr. Gu.

From Show's synopsis, I knew, coming into this watch, that he'd have an air of mystery about him. However, I wasn't prepared for the fact that he really barely speaks, at all, if he can help it.

That just makes me all the more curious to know more about him. Where's he from? What's his story? Why doesn't he talk much? Why does he drink so much?

I'd been looking forward to the connection sparking between Mr. Gu and Mi Jeong, because that's in Show's synopsis, but had wondered how that was going to happen, with the way they've been studiously avoiding speaking to each other, this episode.

So, it seems like a great catalyst, that Mi Jeong's worried enough about that letter in the mail regarding her loan, that she'd approach Mr. Gu, and ask him to retrieve that letter for her while she's at work, so that her parents won't see it.

Ooh. Approaching the mysterious stranger, with your biggest secret, that you don't even want your family to know about? Well, yes, that's surely going to galvanize some kind of connection between you, whether you like it or not, to which I say, yes please, bring it on!

All in all, this was a solid first episode, and even though I'm not in love with Show or its characters yet, I'm reasonably confident that Show will continue to draw me in, given a few more episodes.

Next episode notes will be out on: Sunday, 17 Apr 2022!

*This show will be covered on the VVIP Early Access (US$20) Tier*