Crash Landing On You — Drama Review

An entertaining and emotional ride

Introduction

I am a big fan of both Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin so when Netflix released this drama series I felt like I hit jackpot.

It is a confirm must-watch for me. Now that the 16 part series is coming to a close, here’s a quick review.

Plot Synopsis and Review

A South Korean Heiress, Yoon Se Ri, (played by Son Ye Jin) got whirled away in a paragliding accident to North Korea. There, she was rescued by a handsome North Korean soldier, Ri Jeong Hyeok (played by Hyun bin). He brought her into his home to protect her and plan for her transport back to the South. The two quickly fell in love.

OKAY, this is the general plot. I am not going to go much into the details lest I review too many spoilers.

I guess some of you may find it rather unremarkable but here are some reasons why this drama is so amazingly entertaining:

1. Comedy was weaved in at every opportunity.

So most of us are aware that North Korea is poor and do not have much access to technology. Poverty can be a very heavy and unpleasant topic but the writer managed to tease out the ‘romantic’ and ‘comedic’ elements of poverty.

I particularly liked the scene where Ri Jeong Hyeok handmade some noodles for Yoon Se Ri. It felt sweet and sincere.

In addition, one of my favourite scenes from the earlier part of the series is — During an energy outage, a lady was paddling away tirelessly on a stationary bike to generate electricity for the television. She did so to curry favour with an influential lady in the village. It was hilarious!

We cannot forget how Yoon Se Ri very frequently mentioned how she had trained herself for starvation by ‘intermittently fasting’ when she was in the South. It is a hilarious and ironic concept— In the North, people starve because they lack food; in the South, people starve themselves to stay slim.

2. Lead characters are nuanced

I really enjoyed the writing. In particular I adored how the two lead characters were so nuanced.