Hangul: 밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나 (Literally: Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food)

Original Air Date: March – May 2018

Plot: A story about an older woman in her 30's who falls in love with her best friend's younger brother and the struggles that come with love that is not accepted by society or their family.

My Review:

Something in the Rain is a slow placed romance/melodrama showing the struggles that a single woman in her 30's face with society pressures to get married, finding love, gender discrimination and sexual harassment. I really enjoyed the first half of the drama and then I got frustrated a lot during the second half when it turned really melodramatic and angst heavy.

Jung Hae In was absolutely adorable as Seo Joon Hee. His cute smile and flirty playfulness towards Yoon Jin Ah (played by Son Ye Jin) was enough to pull you in and start binging this drama. I caught myself a few times smiling back at him on the tv, it's hard not to fall in love with him! Especially because he played such a supportive friend and later a supportive boyfriend. I also liked Jin Ah in the first half as she started to get stronger and stand up for herself.

*spoiler alert*

The two of them were the cutest before anyone found out about their romance. The drama did a good job depicting the progression Jin Ah had of platonic feelings, to seeing him in a new attractive light to eventually falling in love. There were some cute scenes of the both of wanting to make a move, but were still afraid to cross the line from friend to romance. I also loved that Jin Ah made the first move by holding his hand under the table at the bar. So brave of her to take a leap towards love! The show gave us a few more episodes of massive cuteness as they were in their honeymoon stage. But eventually reality has to set in.

Cute scene as he debates if he should put her arm around her!
Photo from JTBC website

What frustrated me about their relationship was the constant non-communication and the lying. They both often hid the truth from each other in order to "protect them." And that dynamic is what lead to their eventual break up. What also frustrated me was Jin Ah's immaturity. For someone who was supposed to be around 35 and experienced in relationships, she sure acted like she was 18 at times. I had trouble with her pouting, baby voice and selfishness. Joon Hee also started to frustrated me with his impulsiveness to fight when he was angry, withhold the truth from Jin Ah and make huge decisions like moving to the US without talking to her about it first.

Perhaps though, my biggest irritation with this drama was Jin Ah's mother. I know many Korean dramas depict mothers that want their children to marry into a well off family, but her mother was next level horrible. She actually advocated for her daughter to stay in a relationship with an abusive boyfriend who cheated on her just because he is a lawyer? Although she loved Joon Hee like a son, she looked down upon him because his mom died and dad left. She even said she rather Jin Ah die alone than to be with Joon Hee. WHAT? Everything about her just angered me. In the last episode, she did a half-ass apology to Jin Ah, but I'm not convinced she would still support them in their relationship.

The last thing that bothered me was the handling of the workplace sexual harassment and gender discrimination. It lasted the entire series. So for it to last for 16 episodes, I really was expecting a more positive outcome. Although Jin Ah technically won the case, it still felt like she lost. Everyone in the company kept their jobs and she was the one who had to leave. I am trying to figure out what message the writers were telling us. Were they trying to say make a commentary that this is reality of females in the workplace? Because the message I heard was that it doesn't matter if you step forward to report, the system and companies will silence you and other women, so it's better to just stay quiet and keep your head down and bear the harassment. How sad.

By the end of the drama, I was too frustrated with all the roadblocks the writers gave us and the personality dynamic between the leads to really root for them. I understand part of a drama is to have relationship roadblocks to over come, but the writers just heaped on really big foundational problems for 8 episodes and then in the last 7 minutes had them kiss and make up. We have no idea if the cycle would repeat. Is their communication problems fixed? Will they stop lying to each other? Will Jin Ah's mom support them now?

*spoiler alert over*

Something in the Rain is definitely not a drama for everyone. An older and more mature audience might enjoy this more. The themes of dating abuse, workplace sexual harassment, discrimination based on parents, and dating taboos were all pretty heavy. If you are into melodramas and slow burn romances, then this is the drama for you. If you are looking for something light and fluffy, then skip this one and look elsewhere.

I personally enjoyed it better on the first watch three years ago. Rewatching it this past week, I enjoyed it up until about episode 8 and then forced myself to get to episode 12 and finally gave up to read some recaps then skipped to watch the last episode 16. The rewatch value is low due to the slow pacing and the heavy angst. Also, the music started to get to me after a while. It was enjoyable the first few episodes, but then they really over did it with playing the same three English songs over and over. Sometimes the song didn't even match the moment! I would rate the first half of this drama as a Must See and the second half as a Skip it. But since I can only pick one rating, I have to go with the lower end due to second half frustrations I experienced.

Final Opinion: If you got nothing else to watch. Sorry Jung Hae In, I still love your smile and will watch anything you are in! I can't wait for Snowdrop!

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