You and Everything Else (2025) 은중과 상연
Directed by Jo Young-min, starring Kim Go-eun as Ryu Eun-jung, Park Ji-hyun as Cheon Sang-yeon, and Kim Gun-woo as Kim Sang-hak.
Watched 19 - 22 February 2026 — 15 episodes (NETFLIX)
*I chose this series for the lead actresses, Kim Go-eun and Park Ji-hyun. Love them both, and they give great performances here. I already know Kim Go-eun is a terrific actress, but Park Ji-hyun surprised me with how good she was. Also, the child actresses are really good.
*This is a slice-of-life drama, a slow-burn, following the love/hate relationship of two friends, Ryu Eun-jung and Cheon Sang-yeon. Over the decades, they lose contact multiple times and reconnect again. They experience envy and rivalry, and ultimately reconciliation when terminally ill Sang-yeon asks Eun-jung to travel with her to Switzerland for assisted dying/euthanasia.
*The show is well written with well-developed main characters. But I had not expected the friendship to be so toxic. It was never a healthy relationship to begin with and also one-sided (more from Eun-jung's side). Even in their better days, I never felt much warmth between the friends.
*Sang-yeon is not the most lovable character (and that's an understatement) — she's self-destructive and manipulative, yet I couldn't help but feel sorry for her occasionally because she was so lonely and makes her hurt palpable. But like Eun-jung said, Sang-yeon was responsible for her own loneliness. She had Eun-jung's friendship but chose not to cherish it. Overall I disliked Sang-yeon. Still, it was nice to see her happy and at peace in her final moments with Eun-jung. (To be honest, Eun-jung was just too good for her. I would have dropped a friend like Sang-yeon a long time ago.)
*The love triangle felt uncomfortable, and I was glad Kim Sang-hak didn't reciprocate Sang-yeon's feelings. The reveal that Kim Sang-hak was a friend of Sang-yeon's brother was an unexpected twist.
*I had wished and expected the jump to the present to happen sooner. Actually, I think there were too few episodes dedicated to the present timeline. I found it rather abrupt and incredible how quickly Eun-jung accepts Sang-yeon's request. After their fall-out, they hadn't seen each other in years. And I bet, if Sang-yeon wouldn't have suffered from a terminal illness, she wouldn't have gone to Eun-jung to make amends and seek forgiveness. This reeked of emotional abuse.
*Not a series I'd likely watch again. It's draining to hang out with a toxic character like Sang-yeon.
(Screenshot by me, taken from KISSKH.)