Considering how long each episode of Start-Up was, I think I finished it pretty quickly. Going into this drama, I was worried that it would be too heavily focused on coding or even the business aspect of things but I'm very glad to see that this drama was so much more than that. At its core, this drama was about how we're not limited by the choices we make in our lives or even the situations we're presented with but instead, we forge our own paths through whatever hurdles life throws at us and I think the characters we see on the small screen embody that very well.
SERIES RETROSPECT AND REVIEW (SPOILER ALERT)
The biggest thing to come out of this drama is probably the insane boom in Kim Seon-ho's popularity. Despite having had lead roles in previous dramas as well as being in variety shows, his role as Start-Up's second male lead Ji-pyeong has undoubtedly shot him to even bigger stardom. Many people sympathised with his character's love problems, with him striving but ultimately failing to win over female lead Dal-mi, even with the odds somewhat in his favour. The "Second Male Lead Syndrome" is especially prevalent in this series and a big part of it came out of seeing male lead Do-san and Ji-pyeong's war of nerves as they competed for Dal-mi's heart, with the audience either on #TeamBigHands (Do-san) or #TeamGoodBoy (Ji-pyeong). I'll probably get flak for this but I am a firm member of the former.
While Ji-pyeong's backstory is sad and he's clearly one of the major forces pushing this drama forward, I wasn't invested in him as a character. However, it would be wrong for me to say that it wasn't interesting to follow his journey. Even though he's now a successful and rich venture capitalist, deep down he's still that angry and lonely orphan who feels scorned by the world. I find that the screenwriters have actually portrayed Ji-pyeong as an almost antagonistic character of sorts and as he represents the harsh, realistic business world, he's a good foil to the idealistic Do-san, and their chemistry is off the charts (but more on that later). Although he gives off a very standoffish and negative vibe at times, often giving harsh criticism to the teams under his mentorship, nothing he says is wrong, it's just very very honest. If I were to put him on the D&D alignment chart, Ji-pyeong would be either lawful neutral or neutral good because no matter how insulting his statements sound, he's doing it for the good of the young entrepreneurs.
Even though he had many chances to woo Dal-mi and probably end up together with her, Ji-pyeong selflessly takes a step back and helps Do-san become the man of her dreams. Even though he made his feelings known to both our leads, at the end of the drama, he takes his final step back, knowing full well that Dal-mi will never reciprocate his feelings and that regardless of realistically how much more he has than Do-san, this is one battle he won't win. It's probably this tragedy that massively increased #TeamGoodBoy's numbers, as they see him lose the woman he loves to another man who has much less than him, all because of a big misunderstanding and his own reluctance to act on his feelings. I can appreciate his character development but unfortunately I never once rooted for him to get together with Dal-mi (cue rotten tomatoes being thrown at me by his fans).
I actually preferred Do-san's character way more and the fact that his name directly translates to "bankruptcy", which considering how poorly his business was doing at the start of the drama, is very on-the-nose. I think many people don't like him because of how socially inept he's portrayed or they say Nam Joo-hyuk had no chemistry with Suzy but I found his awkwardness to have its own charm and I found his character development to be far more interesting than Ji-pyeong's. Do-san had spent his whole life trying to live up to his father's expectations of him but always fell short, causing him to feel like a failure and retreating into his own shell. By the end of the drama though, he's become far more confident and true to himself, having made peace with the fact that his life is his own and he should be living for himself, not others. As his character becomes stronger, we see that his love for Dal-mi continues to grow because he knows that she's his dream and that whatever happens, he wants to stay by her side and help her accomplish her own dream.
Do-san is a very idealistic character and seeks to make his mark on the tech world by pioneering AI technology, and like I mentioned earlier, the contrast between his and Ji-pyeong's personalities is an integral part of the drama. I thought their chemistry was great and in fact, I think they are in the top three "pairings" in this drama if you will. Seeing them interact on screen gave me a lot of laughs, especially when they behave like fools in front of Dal-mi to win her affection, and when they have their heart-to-heart talks, the tension between them is sizzling. Even though by the end of the drama they can never return to their former relationship with each other, they have acknowledged each other's success in different aspects of their life and will move forward as business partners.
I think a big part of why I was #TeamBigHands can be attributed to the underdog qualities shared by our leads. Having struggled so hard in life, Dal-mi finally gets her big break after working together with Do-san and after so long, she's become a successful CEO of her own company. A classic K-drama story, she's a character who's spent so many years jumping over society's hurdles to make it big and I can see why many people would relate to her character. Her never-say-die attitude is also something that many can appreciate because no matter how many times she falls, she always gets back up even stronger than before. I was rooting for her till the end because I can relate to having an older sibling that others would consider more successful and so much like our heroine, I too want to make my own mark in life and become successful. It's nice to see her step out of her sister's shadow by not only surpassing her in a different company but eventually realising that she doesn't have to feel inferior to her and can work together with her. Unfortunately while Dal-mi's journey was something that I felt very personally attached to, I wasn't feeling her relationship with Do-san. While I support their ship, which had no shortage of sweet moments (just like the literal translation for Dal-mi's name), I didn't feel much chemistry from them. Our leads were entertaining to watch but their on-screen interactions never made me feel like they're meant to be like some other couples in other dramas or even in this drama (more on that later).
We can't talk about Dal-mi's growth without mentioning her sister, In-jae. For a good part of the drama, I was quite tilted at her constantly behaving as if she's superior to her younger sister and belittling her for choosing a different path in their childhood but as we got deeper into the series, we realise that her somewhat cold demeanour is a byproduct of a sense of inferiority as well. In-jae starts out as the CEO of a company under her stepfather's group and while she performs very well, she's eventually removed from her position in order for his biological son to take over. With such a fall from grace and an eventual climb back to the top, In-jae matures throughout the ordeal and realises that she too, doesn't need to feel inferior to her stepfather or stepbrother. Once she realises this, she rekindles her sisterly relationship with Dal-mi and they're back as one family again.
No series retrospect is complete without talking about the side characters and I'll focus on 4 of them, Dal-mi's grandmother Won-deok and the remaining members of Samsan Tech/Cheongmyeong Company (Yong-san, Chul-san and Sa-ha). Won-deok is probably the glue that holds the drama together and she's the link between all the leads. She's the one who sheltered a teenage Ji-pyeong and who loved him like family when no one else did, raised Dal-mi singlehandedly after her young granddaughter was left all alone and who accepted Do-san, a complete stranger, into their family with open arms. She's quite possibly the only character that I wasn't tilted at at some point in the drama and her interactions with our leads were just wonderful to watch, I really felt her grandmotherly love through the screen. Even as her eyesight started to deteriorate, Won-deok never stopped caring for others and her chemistry with the leads are simply off the charts.
I'm not ashamed to say that the only three scenes in the drama that made me tear up all had to do with Won-deok. When an apologetic Ji-pyeong went to find her after finding out she's going blind, when she met him again after finding out he's lost Dal-mi to Do-san and finally, when In-jae comes home to the Seo family for good. It absolutely broke my heart to see all that and I can't express how emotional that made me. That's truly the mark of good acting and without a shadow of a doubt, Won-deok binds the cast together in ways that no one else has in this drama.
I keep a list of my favourite K-drama couples and to qualify for that list, the on-screen pairing needs to make me smile like an idiot just from how absolutely amazing the couple are and make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Regrettably, Do-san and Dal-mi don't make the cut but you know who does? Chul-san and Sa-ha. I can't stress just how much I love this couple. Chul-san is one of Samsan Tech's founders or as I like to call them the three stooges and he's arguably the funniest out of the trio. He's a natural comedian and his comedic timing is impeccable. Yoo Su-bin became a fan favourite as the K-drama-obsessed North Korean soldier in Crash Landing on You and he definitely stole our hearts as the lovable goofball Chul-san. Sa-ha on the other hand is the polar opposite of him. Played by model Stephanie Lee (When I Was The Most Beautiful), she's portrayed as the ice cold queen who knows exactly what she wants and how she's going to get it. From the moment Chul-san laid eyes on her, he was completely smitten and throughout their time working together, he never stopped showing affection for her. While Sa-ha's initially disgusted by him (cue "I am disgusted" voice recording), she starts to warm up to and eventually falls for him, with the pair entering a relationship. It's not often that I appreciate supporting characters' romance that much but Chul-san and Sa-ha just completely hit it off. I love these two together because they're so different from each other but yet complement each other so well. It's funny too because a close junior of mine said that after seeing Chul-san and Sa-ha, he lamented that he actually wished it was possible for programmers to get such pretty girls. Bottom line, this couple's chemistry is amazing, far better than our leads.
Now we get to the drama's dark side with Yong-san, who's unfortunately the most uninteresting of the stooges. Do-san has to be interesting as the lead and Chul-san's an absolute mad lad but Yong-san? Well, he didn't stand out until we delved into his backstory. There was a plot line woven in about one of the new Sandbox occupants being out for revenge of some sort and I instantly predicted that it would be Yong-san because if not he would be so irrelevant. Of course, your boy here was right and as it turns out, Yong-san's brother was part of a previous Sandbox startup programme but was mercilessly shot down by Ji-pyeong. With investors turning away and funds running dry, the young entrepreneur ended up taking his own life, with Yong-san blaming Ji-pyeong for this tragedy. I was initially intrigued by this plot line because it gave some motivation to an otherwise uninteresting character so I had hoped for further development as the drama progressed. To my complete disappointment, nothing came out of this side story. Yong-san did eventually come to terms with his brother's death, realising that he just needed someone to blame but I wish that the drama had focused on this aspect a little more because it was glossed over so quickly that it ended up making Yong-san look like just another one-note character. It's unfortunate because I thought this plot line could've made the drama that much more interesting.
As someone who's never thought of starting my own business/company, it was refreshing to go into this drama and have my eyes opened to all the business lingo they're throwing around which of course went completely over my head. While I think the drama did a good job of portraying the struggles that young entrepreneurs face, I fear that the idea of creating your own startup was romanticised and many people might be hurt from going after something they're not necessarily prepared for. I have a feeling that many people will be inspired by this drama, especially those who had been sitting on the idea of creating their own startup for some time. Many of us out there want to make it big in life and be our own CEOs or bosses, running large companies that spawn from our desires and goals. I'm not one of those but if I've learnt anything from this drama, sometimes you just need to take that leap of faith and trust in yourself because who are else are you going to trust when you're running your own Start-Up? Thanks for reading.
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