Today the final episode of Thirty-Nine was released, and I was looking forward to how things were going to wrap up. Before I review the show, I want to say that this series was VERY well-acted. Every character portrayed was believable and convincing. I give my props to the entire cast of the show. HOWEVER, as well-acted as this show is, it suffers from some very large head-scratching narrative issues, and I cannot figure out why some of these decisions were made. ESPECIALLY in the season finale. If you are a fan of any of the actors, I recommend this show highly, just be prepared to question some things.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
I want to talk about the final episode first. What a strange tone this episode had. Throughout the entire show we're awaiting the moment for Chan Young to pass away. The moment finally comes and hits everyone hard. It's sinking in for the characters and the audience. Then LITERALLY 20 SECONDS LATER, Mi-Jo LITERALLY says "we weren't as sad as we thought and we got back to our lives quicker than we expected" then shows everyone laughing and having a good time, including her parents. LMAO I was in disbelief! I thought it was a slap in the face. I was wondering how everyone was going to handle her death throughout the entire show and THAT'S how they handled it. AND THEN after THAT fiasco the show goes back to some emotional moments of everyone watching Chan Young's movie and Mi-Jo watching her recording and everyone's sad again and crying and remembering Chan Young. Don't get me wrong, those final scenes were emotional, but I was still in a state of confusion of how this was being handled. It was like they had two different people directing at the same time. It definitely somewhat ruined what might have been a strong finale.
I was glad the show was only 12 episodes. One, because I prefer not to watch endless shows. Two, this show's narrative was all over the place. It didn't know if it wanted to be a show centered around romance, friendship, family drama, or living with a disease.
When I read the synopsis of the show it seemed like a rom-com type show centered around three girls. The show starts off with a funeral, and not only is the show telling us that someone is about to die, but a couple episodes later we're told who it's going to be. Any suspense the show could have had throughout the series is gone.
Chan Young was brilliant, but her sickness was revealed too soon in the show. In every single scene, even when the scene is about other things, in the back of our minds her condition is the elephant in the room. We know where all roads lead to. The writers made her seem selfish in some instances. She's constantly chasing after Jin-Seok to marry him, but when he finally divorces his wife and asks Chan Young to marry him, she doesn't want to? And she gets annoyed at him for keeping asking? This is apparently what she always wanted but now she doesn't. She doesn't want to burden him since she's dying, but she didn't consider his sacrifices.
The writers must have hated Joo-Hee's character, because for as much as the show led us to believe these girls were the bestest of friends, she was given some harsh third-wheel treatment almost the entire time. She was always the last to know about things. Mi-Jo and Chan Young were always confiding in one other while dismissing Joo-Hee completely. Chan Young would tell Mi-Jo things like, "I'm not worried about Joo-Hee, I'm worried about you", and literally recorded a "thank-you" video just for Mi-Jo. That's some pretty cold-hearted stuff right there, considering how worried Joo-Hee was for her. Her relationship with the chef started off well, but was pretty much forgotten about.
All the other backstories took a backseat the last few episodes to focus on Chan Young's eventual death, so it was almost like those stories were pointless because they held no weight in the end, and there was really no satisfying closure with much else.
I know I've been rambling and it seems like I disliked this show, but I do in fact like it. I was just disappointed in how the storytelling was handled. This could have been a much, much better show given the talent on screen. 10/10 acting, 5/10 narrative.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
I want to talk about the final episode first. What a strange tone this episode had. Throughout the entire show we're awaiting the moment for Chan Young to pass away. The moment finally comes and hits everyone hard. It's sinking in for the characters and the audience. Then LITERALLY 20 SECONDS LATER, Mi-Jo LITERALLY says "we weren't as sad as we thought and we got back to our lives quicker than we expected" then shows everyone laughing and having a good time, including her parents. LMAO I was in disbelief! I thought it was a slap in the face. I was wondering how everyone was going to handle her death throughout the entire show and THAT'S how they handled it. AND THEN after THAT fiasco the show goes back to some emotional moments of everyone watching Chan Young's movie and Mi-Jo watching her recording and everyone's sad again and crying and remembering Chan Young. Don't get me wrong, those final scenes were emotional, but I was still in a state of confusion of how this was being handled. It was like they had two different people directing at the same time. It definitely somewhat ruined what might have been a strong finale.
I was glad the show was only 12 episodes. One, because I prefer not to watch endless shows. Two, this show's narrative was all over the place. It didn't know if it wanted to be a show centered around romance, friendship, family drama, or living with a disease.
When I read the synopsis of the show it seemed like a rom-com type show centered around three girls. The show starts off with a funeral, and not only is the show telling us that someone is about to die, but a couple episodes later we're told who it's going to be. Any suspense the show could have had throughout the series is gone.
Chan Young was brilliant, but her sickness was revealed too soon in the show. In every single scene, even when the scene is about other things, in the back of our minds her condition is the elephant in the room. We know where all roads lead to. The writers made her seem selfish in some instances. She's constantly chasing after Jin-Seok to marry him, but when he finally divorces his wife and asks Chan Young to marry him, she doesn't want to? And she gets annoyed at him for keeping asking? This is apparently what she always wanted but now she doesn't. She doesn't want to burden him since she's dying, but she didn't consider his sacrifices.
The writers must have hated Joo-Hee's character, because for as much as the show led us to believe these girls were the bestest of friends, she was given some harsh third-wheel treatment almost the entire time. She was always the last to know about things. Mi-Jo and Chan Young were always confiding in one other while dismissing Joo-Hee completely. Chan Young would tell Mi-Jo things like, "I'm not worried about Joo-Hee, I'm worried about you", and literally recorded a "thank-you" video just for Mi-Jo. That's some pretty cold-hearted stuff right there, considering how worried Joo-Hee was for her. Her relationship with the chef started off well, but was pretty much forgotten about.
All the other backstories took a backseat the last few episodes to focus on Chan Young's eventual death, so it was almost like those stories were pointless because they held no weight in the end, and there was really no satisfying closure with much else.
I know I've been rambling and it seems like I disliked this show, but I do in fact like it. I was just disappointed in how the storytelling was handled. This could have been a much, much better show given the talent on screen. 10/10 acting, 5/10 narrative.