I spent the better part of Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol enjoying the comedic elements as well as the engaging plot. Having such an optimistic female lead, to the point of naivety, was also very refreshing and made the drama all the more fun to watch. So, it's a huge disappointment for me to say that this drama really dropped the ball in the last two episodes. Let's dive in.
SERIES RETROSPECT AND REVIEW (SPOILER ALERT)
I absolutely love how this drama doesn't take itself too seriously, especially with the almost excessive effects added in post-production. Little touches like giving speech bubbles to Ra-ra's dog Mimi, literally having words appear in thin air or even creating a spoof poster of the Oscar-winning Parasite (this last one really made me burst into laughter) gave the drama a lot of personality and really drew me in. I laughed a lot seeing these additions and truly, the silliness of this drama makes it very unique and really captures the viewers' attention. While most dramas bank on the leads' charisma and chemistry to propel the story forward and while there's no shortage of that in here, I actually think that the side characters in this series had the most charm and were the cornerstone for the drama's comedy, making them the primary force that compelled me to keep watching.
Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol does side characters very well, giving them their own unique personalities which allowed them to wriggle their way into my heart. My favourite ones by far and away are the four Eunpo "ahjummas" who form TWD (Those who Want a Divorce). They each have their own distinct characteristics and their constant gossip in Jin's Beauty Salon is a riot to watch because it's super silly but thoroughly enjoyable. It's amazing the stuff that comes out of their mouths and I really looked forward to seeing their interactions every episode. The explosive chemistry within this quartet spills over to other characters they interact with, even the more serious ones like Joon's mother, making everything so much more interesting. Out of these four, Sook-kyeong (Ye Ji-won) is the most developed one, not only being Ra-ra's "mother" in Eunpo but also having a whole sub-plotline about being a single mother to daughter Ha-yeong. It's very heartwarming and just makes viewers care a lot more.
Another hilarious side character is Chu Min-su (Choi Kwang-je), a PI who's initially hired to search for Joon but ultimately settles down in Eunpo and actively woos Sook-kyeong, who he's fallen head over heels for. The drama attempts to portray Min-su as a scary gangster-type person who hunts down targets for money but in truth, he's a huge softie at heart. He practically becomes part of TWD and constantly joins in their gossip. Not only that, he even ends up moving in with second male lead Eun-seok and takes care of him like a wife, cooking delicious food for him. The bromance between these two is absolutely hilarious and you see that just like an onion, Min-su is a very layered character. At the end of the drama, we don't actually see him and Sook-kyeong become an item even after 5 years but he never gives up, still chasing her.
I could wax lyrical about the side characters for a while but I want to talk a little about the charming unsung hero Eun-seok, who joins On Joon-soo from More Than Friends as "the second male lead that I liked more than the male lead". I unfortunately knew that he wasn't going to end up with Ra-ra but his character was nothing but supportive and caring for her. Even though she rejected his advances more than once, he never held it against her because he knew she was meant for someone else, so he just continued to provide her with friendly support. Eun-seok really does have good chemistry with everyone too, from his roommate Min-su to Sook-kyeong, from his former rival-in-love Joon to high schoolers Seung-gi and Ha-yeong, and even with his ex-wife Young-joo, which makes scenes with his character very likable. I wanted the best ending for him, which is why I was super happy to see him rekindle his relationship with Young-joo. Even though it felt like a little bit of a cop-out because their toxic relationship at the start of the drama ultimately led to divorce, I feel like these two were meant for each other and after growing as individuals separately, they could come back together as a stronger couple.
This brings me to our female lead Ra-ra. I absolutely adore her because she just brightened my day every time she appeared on screen. Even when everything was going wrong for her in life, she never lost her smile. As we see many times throughout the drama, Ra-ra's optimism has positively influenced the lives of Eunpo's residents, whether it's becoming part of the Jin family or helping a young piano prodigy discover his talent. The fact that she always sees the best in everyone was also really cute because it just showed how pure and untainted her character is, and much like Eun-seok, her likable nature gives her great chemistry with almost everyone. That's what I feel to be the crux of the drama, Ra-ra's optimism being able to weather everything thrown at her because she's just that kind of person. All roads then lead to the most disappointing element of the drama, male lead Sunwoo Joon.
Joon was defined by his mystery and viewers would probably question why he ran away from his family. Considering the fact that he's an adult, it's kind of weird to see him being so willful and running away. That part of his character takes a backseat at some point in the drama as we see his relationship with Ra-ra blossom. There's no shortage of cute moments, with Joon being constantly exasperated at Ra-ra's openness. Everything's all peaches and cream until the bomb is dropped on us that Joon isn't the same age as Ra-ra but is actually a high school senior who ran away after his father completely disregards his best friend's death. At this point, I actually think that revealing that he's a high schooler actually adds to his character because we do get flashbacks to his school days and his performance is very befitting that age group. It's a short look into his life before everything spiraled out of control and it's interesting to see that.
The second part of the drama then focuses on how Joon and Ra-ra will find their way back together after she finds out he's a student. Nothing's wrong with that because that made for a good story and added another element to their relationship but the drama then decides to pull the rug out from under us in the second last episode and hit Joon with a cancer diagnosis. I cannot stress how annoyed and disappointed I was when that happened. Why would they give Joon acute leukemia? Is this a 50-episode makjang weekend drama? The male lead doesn't need a terminal illness to make the story intriguing, it was interesting enough already. That's the first strike for me. We then find out that Joon and Ra-ra have actually known each other even before they met at her wedding, just that Ra-ra forgot. In fact, they meet at a café called, you guess it, "dodosolsollalasol" and Joon has been in love with her since then. Employing the usual "our leads have had a connection for a very long time" K-drama trope isn't new so I wasn't too bothered by it but what comes out of it is annoying.
In the same vein, another big mystery in the series is the identity of Instagram user @dodosolsollalasol. In my initial thoughts post I settled on Eun-seok and considering how much his character supports Ra-ra throughout the series, I really thought it would be him and Ra-ra even comes to that conclusion at some point. Of course, both of us are wrong and after going on another chase with Min-su's help, it's revealed to us that Ra-ra's Eunpo landlord Kim Man-bok (Lee Soon-jae) is the most likely candidate for @dodosolsollalasol. He was another name that I thought of and when the drama took this path I thought that was the end of it. It's better to give the identity of this benefactor to someone who's not the leads to show that others care about Ra-ra and want her to succeed, and in some ways Man-bok could've used this as an opportunity to repay Ra-ra after she brings some joy back into his life. In fact, I even thought that the Instagram account was just a mask for the creepy Ahn Joong-ho, a stalker-like character who becomes obsessed with Ra-ra. That would've worked too but instead we get a major cop-out when Joon's revealed as her secret admirer. It's sooooooo lame and really added nothing to their relationship. I didn't feel anything but annoyance from it. I really should've seen it coming too because most dramas are pretty simple but I guess I liked too deep. That's strike two.
Now I will talk about what angered me the most about this drama. After Joon gets diagnosed with cancer (which by the way is something that no one apart from his family knows), Joon's mother pays Ra-ra a visit on Christmas Day in the last episode and tearfully spills the beans about his illness. Not only that, shock and horror, we find out he's dead and I wouldn't be exaggerating when I said I shouted "what?!" when it happened. Part of me thought they would do this because dramas are, well, dramatic but a larger part of me thought the screenwriters wouldn't be brave enough to go through with this. So I'm absolutely stunned by this news and likewise, the residents of Eunpo are also devastated, especially Ra-ra. Fast forward 5 years and we see that a lot has changed. Seung-gi and Ha-yeong are married and have a kid, Ra-ra's piano school has become successful and Eun-seok has gotten back together with Young-joo. Of course, Ra-ra's still recovering from Joon's death and she probably won't be the same person for a very long time, if at all. All this happens in the last two episodes which is a shame because the development is super rushed but I can live with that, even with all the disappointment. Joon's death could've been the final stepping stone for Ra-ra's character arc, where she comes to terms with it and moves on, allowing her smile to touch other people's lives and change them for the better, much like with Joon.
This then brings me to the event that killed the ending for me. While the makjang stuff in episodes 15 and 16 were total nonsense and really didn't need to happen, I could live with it. But what I cannot stand is how Joon is revealed to actually be alive in the last 10 minutes of the drama. It's so dumb I cannot fathom why the writers would leave this in. It makes absolutely no sense and gets rid of all the stakes that have been set up. It just cements that Ra-ra needs Joon physically in her life and stops her from completing her character development. Joon's actually a terrible person because he hides the fact that he's alive from practically everyone in his life for 5 years and he just reappears and everything goes back to normal. Does he not care about the emotional toll that his "death" has taken on everyone, especially Ra-ra? Did his mother really just agree, "alright I'll tell your friends in Eunpo that you're dead and then you'll magically come back and everything will be fine again"? How on earth is Joon going to explain his return to everyone? I was so angry when this big reveal happened and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one this ending triggered.
Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol could've just concluded with Ra-ra's growth as a person but they decided to take ten steps back and pull some makjang nonsense out of thin air. It annoys me because this ridiculous ending negated everything this drama had going for it and left a sour taste in my mouth. It's a shame because the cast gives off tremendous performances and I really cared for these characters. Ra-ra is potentially the most likable female lead in all the dramas I've watched and the side characters are amazing. This drama could've just been about how music changed these people's lives and brought everyone closer together as a community but they decided to put too much unnecessary focus on the leads' love stories, which ended up slapping us in the face with a terrible ending. But I guess at the end of the day, we have to look past the ending and realise what the point of the drama was. Like Ra-ra says in the drama, it's ok to cry when things are hard, just to let everything out and then start afresh. That is the essence of the drama. No matter what struggles are thrown our way, we need to be able to weather it and come out stronger at the end, with a smile on our face. Thanks for reading.
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