Fun fact, most of the Netflix Original K-dramas you see aren't actually distributed by the streaming service. Typically, they'll be working in tandem with a South Korean broadcasting company like KBS or TVN to distribute the drama so that South Koreans who don't have Netflix can still watch the series on either free-to-air or cable TV channels. There aren't too many "actual" Netflix Originals around, with The School Nurse Files or Love Alarm being some of them, but in general, it's easy to doubt that a streaming service alone can produce a quality drama without the backing of an actual broadcaster. That's why it constantly surprises me that Netflix is really upping their game in terms of producing their own dramas and this is exactly the case with Move to Heaven. Truly one of the most emotional and deepest products to hit the market, this drama is sure to hit a sore spot for many viewers and create tons of sentimental moments for us. Let's dive in.
SERIES RETROSPECT AND REVIEW (SPOILER ALERT)
While I did say this drama is produced by Netflix, that's not entirely true. Rather I should say that Netflix worked together with actual production companies to produce dramas, with the streaming service being the sole distribution. With that out of the way, let's get started. I made this pretty clear in my initial thoughts post but this drama was always bound to be super emotional. When the entire premise of the drama revolves around the trauma cleaning business, where our leads literally clean up the belongings of the deceased and uncover their hidden stories from there, there're bound to be few dry eyes in the audience (although I guess I was one of them). The drama primarily focuses on uncle-nephew team of Sang-gu and Geu-ru, who run trauma cleaning business "Move to Heaven" after the untimely death of Geu-ru's father Jeong-woo, and as the drama progresses, we get to see both our leads change and grow as characters.
In my initial thoughts post, I theorised that the drama would largely focus on Geu-ru moving on from his father's death and letting go of his ashes but I was actually wrong because the character that has the most development is actually Sang-gu. When we first meet him, he's a belligerent man who's loud and clearly doesn't care for the people around him. As someone with Asperger's, Geu-ru gets easily stressed out by sudden changes in his surroundings but Sang-gu couldn't care less, leaving trash all around the house and even smoking indoors. It's revealed that in the event of his death, Jeong-woo had asked for Sang-gu to be Geu-ru's guardian and as explained to us by the family lawyer, Sang-gu must stay and work as part of Move to Heaven with Geu-ru for a 3-month probationary period upon his release from prison. Sang-gu checks all the boxes for being a typical K-drama bad boy, being extremely rude and initially only planning on acquiring the deed to Geu-ru's house and selling it for financial gain. Of course, as K-drama law dictates, there's a lot more to Sang-gu's backstory and that's why he undergoes the most character development in the drama.
Sang-gu is Jeong-woo's younger half-brother, sharing the same mother and we see that from a very young age, their family has had to live with constant abuse from Sang-gu's father. Jeong-woo tries his best to defend his mother and younger brother, often getting beaten in the process, but that never stopped him from caring for Sang-gu. After the pair celebrate Sang-gu's birthday in secret, Jeong-woo plans for them to run away together and promises his brother that he'll never abandon him but on the day they're supposed to meet, Jeong-woo never shows up, leaving the scared young child all alone and eventually Sang-gu grows up resenting his older brother for abandoning him. He goes down the wrong path in life, eventually becoming an undefeated underground MMA fighter and severely injuring his young protégé Su-cheol (played by rising actor Lee Jae-wook) in a rigged match. A now brain-dead Su-cheol is hospitalised and Sang-gu is sent to prison, wracked with guilt over this incident. Now that we're more or less up to date with Sang-gu's past, let's go back to the present.
Sang-gu still hates Jeong-woo, thinking that even after his death, his brother's saddling him with more responsibilities like his "disabled" son, and he puts in minimal effort as a trauma cleaner. Over time though, he starts to open up to the job and the people around him, even caring for Geu-ru as his last remaining family member. That said, Sang-gu's still saddled with his dark past, having been brought back into the illegal fighting rings by fight organiser Madam Jung following his prison sentence, with Jung being the one who pays Su-cheol's hospital fees and essentially blackmailing Sang-gu to continue fighting. Near the end of the drama, Sang-gu finally finds out that Jeong-woo didn't abandon him but was actually caught in the 1995 Sampoong Department Store collapse, a real life incident that's considered the largest peacetime disaster to rock South Korea, killing 502 people and injuring 937. Jeong-woo had gone to purchase Nike shoes as Sang-gu's birthday gift but was trapped in the rubble for 3 days. After recuperating in the hospital, Jeong-woo spent the rest of his life searching for his brother and every year on Sang-gu's birthday, he would buy a new pair of Nike shoes as a spiritual present of sorts. He would also bring Geu-ru to a few locations such as an amusement park, various food establishments and ultimately the train station where Sang-gu was "abandoned", all as part of his promise to fulfill his younger brother's birthday wishes from that year.
It's very heartwarming to see Sang-gu's character growth as he goes from the rough-and-tough ex-convict to someone who truly cares for his family, even to the extent where he willingly helps Geu-ru move beyond his father's death in a manner I can only describe as therapeutic. Sang-gu starts out as a character you would love to hate but once we uncover his backstory, we realise that underneath his rugged appearance, Sang-gu has never moved beyond that scared little boy waiting behind the train station for his older brother to "save him". Lee Je-hoon has expertly portrayed both sides of this complicated man and you can really feel every ounce of emotion coming off of him.
Now let's talk about Move to Heaven's other lead Geu-ru. Characters with developmental disorders are never easy to portray on screen for fear of insulting people with the actual condition so huge props to Tang Joon-sang for his excellent portrayal of someone with Asperger's. Unlike Lee Je-hoon's turn as Sang-gu, who was a far more emotional character, Geu-ru is far more socially withdrawn and unable to express his emotions, just like real people with Asperger's. This results in Geu-ru being a character who behaves in a far more "emotionless" manner and this is something that's mentioned in the drama multiple times as well, with characters wondering why Geu-ru sounds like a robot when he speaks, so this is one time when having strong emotional portrayal isn't doing justice to the character. Unlike his uncle, Geu-ru is a far more consistent character and doesn't undergo too much character development, with him staying more or less true to himself and his father's values.
When Move to Heaven gets a cleaning job, Geu-ru goes about his tasks diligently and in the same manner that his father taught him, learning more about the deceased's life and thoughts before their death, and keeping their most important "memories" or items in a bright yellow box. He would then find a way to pass the box to the deceased's next-of-kin no matter what, regardless of whether they want it or not, which actually leads to many of the drama's events (more on this later). Throughout the course of the drama, each episode more or less focuses on a different job each time but the final cleanup is probably the most cathartic of them all as Geu-ru cleans up his father's room. I sort of guessed that the drama would go in that direction after the room is locked for the whole series, with Geu-ru refusing to let anyone inside so I was a little proud of myself for calling this. I also guessed correctly that the drama would end with Geu-ru finally letting go of his father by allowing his ashes to be buried next to his mother's. I really enjoyed Tang's performance in this drama for its accuracy and how he's able to relay emotions despite his character display very few of them. It's quite awesome considering how young Tang is, only being 18 this year, and I very much look forward to more of his portrayals in future.
A big part of this series is of course the trauma cleaning business, which is where the drama gets its name, and all the cases present to us a very sad state of affairs for the deceased. Whether it was an old lady with Alzheimer's who spent her last days trying to purchase a suit for her son, or a terminally ill old man who commits suicide with his wife (who's also unwell) to end their suffering, everyone of these jobs were extremely depressing and really showcased the central idea of how the deceased have their own stories to tell from their belongings. This was indeed a very interesting premise and while the actual cleaning work is of course dramatised, the drama employs a fairly realistic standpoint when exploring these scenes, giving viewers a closer look at some of the realities of South Korean society, such as an older generation's more conservative view on LGBT relationships or the issue with stateless orphans.
Move to Heaven wrapped up quite nicely in the final episode, with Sang-gu and Geu-ru continuing to live and work as trauma cleaners together. Both characters have undergone their own changes and have become better people in their own right so this could very well be the end of the series. However, there's definitely potential for a season 2 so let's take a look why. For starters, in the last episode Sang-gu is involved in a huge underground fighting match with Madam Jung betting a lot on him. Of course, the ring is busted by the appearance of the police, who were called by Geu-ru, but Madam Jung is able to escape with a knowing look on her face. There's a high chance that she's figured out that Geu-ru was involved in this raid and since we don't know what happened to her by the end of the series, there's a good possibility for her to return. Not only that, the final scene in the drama has Geu-ru approached by a young schoolgirl named Cha Eun-byeol (played by child actress Lee Re) who requests for Move to Heaven's help in cleaning up her own belongings once she dies. Of course, Geu-ru is understandably confused by her request but is also stunned by Eun-byeol's beauty (I guess) so a season 2 would be nice to see what happens from there. Of course, even if we don't get a continuation that's totally fine because I think the drama ended quite well.
"I am the keepsake organiser". On the surface the drama's tagline might seem quite lame but it actually means so much more. The trauma cleaners are the last ones to come into contact with the deceased's last memories and help to organise their stories, allowing their families to come to terms with their deaths and find out what the deceased could've been trying to say in their final moments. This was melodrama at its finest, complete with tons of sentimental moments which allows us to take a better look at ourselves. At the end of the day, all of us will die and when that happens, we'll also have to decide what stories we want to tell and what memories we want to leave behind before our final Move to Heaven. Thanks for reading.
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