Like Flowers in Sand (2023) 모래에도 꽃이 핀다
Directed by Kim Jin-woo, starring Jang Dong-yoon and Lee Ju-myoung.
Watched 23 November - 8 December 2024 — 12 episodes (NETFLIX)
*This sports drama was enjoyable but I didn't lóve it and it took some time to get into it. Much has to do with the main couple, Jang Dong-yoon as Kim Baek-du and Lee Ju-myoung as Oh Yu-gyeong/Oh Du-sik. I was not so invested in their romance because I had a hard time seeing them as a romantic couple and I couldn't make up my mind whether I liked or disliked Lee Ju-myoung as Oh Du-sik. She slowly grew on me but still, I had wished for another lead actress. Someone sweeter, and a better match with our hero. She was never really nice and kind to Kim Baek-du except maybe in the last episodes. Always a bit surly, she also acts like she's constantly annoyed with him. And I didn't like her hitting him on the head all the time.
*I like Kim Baek-du as a character. He looks slow on the outside but, like someone says in the series, he's actually deeply intuitive and one cannot fool him. He's not stupid and he's totally selfless. I love his heartfelt plea at the end of ep. 9 where he addresses the community and pleads with them to not wrongfully accuse people because it will make them live the rest of their lives in pain.
*I like seeing Choi Moo-sung and Jang Young-nam play a couple here, the parents of Kim Baek-du. I've seen them respectively as Professor Yoon and Coach Choi in the recently watched Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, and like them together. Wouldn't mind seeing a romcom where they play the leads. They have great chemistry.
*In the end I didn't care about the romance, or the killer getting caught (the mystery wasn't that exciting). I only cared about Kim Baek-du becoming the ssireum champion, and when it happened it was a great and emotional moment. It even got my eyes moist.
*I did like the happy ending and the love declaration on Oh Du-sik's part. I also like the final scene with the group of friends together, with the atmospheric music swelling.
*Show looks good. There's great photography and I love the seaside setting with the beautiful colours.
*It has some great ingredients but somehow they're not blended well, or not in the right dose. I would have liked to see more of the sport and less focus on the murder mystery.