It’s over and we will heave a sigh of aid. Twenty Five-Twenty-One has come to an finish, after conserving us on our toes for 16 episodes. The writers have been merciless to the viewers — they did not give us the solutions we so craved since Episode 1, and as a substitute stored taunting us with cruel hints. The rigidity and suspense concerning the destiny of the protagonists stored constructing slowly from the primary episode, reaching a crescendo until the finale, that had atoms of candy, in a lot bitter. The journey has been breathless and brutal, if I could also be sincere — however oh, the emotional pay-offs have been so utterly price it. While the romance felt consuming, the great thing about the present was that it was about a lot extra, that by the top you simply really feel moderately drained and exhausted.
Who knew {that a} seemingly innocent-sounding drama could be one thing just like the Squid Game of romances? At its coronary heart, Twenty Five-Twenty One juggles with many themes — the game of fencing, the completely different phases of affection, unconditional friendship, the compulsion to mature throughout excruciating circumstances, the selections that may wreck a person emotionally and but chart their profession, and dwelling throughout politically charged instances.
We’re launched to the present by way of the eyes of a younger little one named Kim Min-chae, who discovers her mom’s diaries from the 90’s. It is thru her that we meet the rebellious and overtly blunt Na Hee-do (Kim Tae-ri), whose ardour for the game of fencing does not let her see a lot else. She befriends the moderately battered Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo-hyuk), who’s struggling to construct his life once more after the disastrous IMF monetary disaster in South Korea. An unlikely but therapeutic friendship is fashioned between the 2 of them that is not hampered even by distance or sudden disappearances.
Nam Joo-hyuk and Kim Tae-ri (Photo: Netflix)
It’s the time of the 90s when the world was with out the web and Whatsapp, and but these two discover a method to be of help one another by way of payphone calls, once they can’t be close to one another. You know they’re going to fall in love ultimately, however that is not the level of the present. There is one thing stunning in watching this unusual and humorous friendship evolve over a span of a number of years, with out expectations and profound explanations. The chemistry is addictive, virtually hypnotic between Nam Joo-hyuk and Kim Tae-ri. The affection for one another is embedded in every smile, head shake, and their lingering hugs. The magical and unconditional love that’s so central to Korean dramas is not born immediately, not even when Yi-jin confesses his love merely to Na Hee-do the primary time. She is aware of she feels strongly for him, however is it truly love, she wonders. Slowly, she finds the reply herself, as she waits for him as he struggles to make a profession. We be taught together with her as properly—the completely different colours of their love, similar to the rainbow, in entrance of which they confess for the primary time. It begins with friendship, grows right into a deeper attraction, after which the gradual understanding of romantic love, with its ache and bittersweet heartbreak. But the love of your youth shouldn’t be the bliss you dream that it’s—-and the younger characters are unsure whether or not they can carry one another’s exhausting burdens. It’s virtually exhausting to look at, and dread begins to seep in as you begin questioning, will this relationship survive?
Friendship and rivalry is sports activities is central to Twenty Five-Twenty One. As her college shuts down the fencing membership, Na Hee-do is transferred to a different college which homes her idol within the sport, Yu Rim. Yu-rim is chilly and seemingly bitter, as a result of she has needed to develop up faster than others, and shoulders extra burdens than any 16-year-old ought to. The two spar on quite a few events and their conflicts are taken to the worldwide area, when a small second throughout an important fencing match ends in a victory for Naa Hee-do, one thing that Yu-rim can’t settle for. Yet, by way of a sequence of healthful and really hilarious circumstances, they turn into associates, virtually sisters. There isn’t any room for pettiness; life is just too brief for that. Perhaps, it is simply simpler to make reminiscences.
(Photo: Netflix)
Life comes full circle once they spar as soon as once more, this time for various international locations. Emotions run wild, and the ultimate victory does not style candy. Their friendship is highly effective in entrance of the media of each the international locations that had labored arduous to pit them towards one another, and in one of the crucial heart-wrenching scenes of the present, they break down and hug after the match. The value of the match is seen of their tousled hair and tear-ridden sweaty faces as they take off their masks and face one another. As they are saying, nobody will know the way arduous this match was for each of them.
The restlessness, and need for solutions units in early within the present. The knife twists brutally at instances simply after enjoyable comedian scenes, with out you anticipating it, and your creativeness begins to run wild. By Episode 7, we’re dying to know if Kim Min-chae is Yi-jin and Na Hee-do’s daughter, and Yi-jin’s whereabouts within the current. The suspense is an excessive amount of to bear, and the innumerable theories thrown by followers on Reddit and YouTube are testomony to that. Did he die, did she get amnesia, or did they divorce? Ah, for these solutions, it’s essential to endure the identical journey the remainder of us did, and watch the present. We’re all Kim Min-chae by Episode 14, attempting to piece the puzzle collectively, bawling on the separations and the reunions of our lead couple. Yet, the present reminds us, life is not about that ‘blissful ending’. The ending is a punch within the intestine; it is a brutal realization that life is not a fairytale. Sometimes, probably the most therapeutic moments are momentary, although the results resonates all through our lives. The unhappy half is, we do not need the realism. We need the fairytale. The ending virtually appears like a diabolic betrayal and I virtually did not wish to settle for it, as a result of I refused to consider that after eight weeks of wholesomeness and the seeming consolation of a romcom, this is able to the way it finish. Who desires actuality, is not life sufficient?
Bona and Kim Tae-ri in Twenty Five Twenty One (Photo: Netflix)
Twenty Five-Twenty One is a shocking, healthful, and but bittersweet portrayal of friendships that wrestle to face the check of time. The delicate nuances to every character brilliantly shines by way of, from Yi-jin’s desperation to do something to keep away from falling again into the pit of melancholy from which he had climbed out of, Na Hee-do wrestling together with her love for fencing, her father’s sudden demise , new sights, and her sisterhood with Yu-rim. The development in every character is seen all through the course of 16 episodes, and at instances it is virtually painful to look at. Na Hee-do’s perky and chirpy perspective slowly ebbs away as she learns the price of fulfilling goals and a relationship that was simpler as a friendship, whereas Yi-jin realizes the emotional toll of being a reporter throughout a devastating world disaster. Nothing comes straightforward for anybody — not even in the event you’re world-champion in fencing, or a reporter who has the entry to greatest exclusives. Dreams could persist; actuality is one thing else. Yet, with a bit bit of affection and friendship, you may discover a motive to carry on.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
