Known as Kim Woo-bin’s return work, “Our Blues” still lacks some attractions to meet the viewers’ expectations

Many viewers are worried that the stories of too many characters in the omnibus-style drama “Our Blues” may reduce their immersion.

tvN’s Saturday-Sunday drama “Our Blues”, which has raised expectations even before its official broadcast with numerous modifiers, such as “actor Kim Woo-bin’s comeback work 6 years after fighting nasopharynx cancer”, “Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-ah Couple’s work”, “lineup of top stars”, etc. Since its omnibus format is put forward, the problem related to the number of stories in each episode is serious.

Written by Noh Hee-kyung, “Our Blues” was earlier considered a highly-anticipated work with a luxury cast of Lee Byung-hun, Han Ji-min, Shin Min-ah, Kim Woo-bin, Cha Seung-won, Lee Jung-eun, and Uhm Jung-hwa. This was actually the lineup made up for the project “Here”, not “Our Blues”. Since the production of “Here” fell through due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation, screenwriter Noh Hee-kyung kept the same cast and began writing “Our Blues”.

The casting of these actors was possible because “Our Blues” was made in the omnibus format. The episodes are divided according to the characters’ relationships. In the episode in which they are not the main characters, they will appear as supporting roles. As for the reason for writing “Our Blues” in the omnibus style, Noh Hee-kyung said, “I’m tired of the story that centers around only two characters, a male and a female. There are many people in our lives and I feel uncomfortable to follow the story of only two people in a drama”.

“Our Blues”, which was introduced with high expectations, began with the story of Hyun-soo (Cha Seung-won) and Eun-hee (Lee Jung-eun). Then, the appearance of other characters, such as the truck maker, haenyeo, fish store owner, and captain, on Jeju Island appeared one after another. The joys and sorrows of a goose father who has to borrow money from a friend who remembers him as her first love draw the viewers’ sympathy.

However, it was difficult to get rid of the feeling of distraction as two many characters gather in a drama. Although the omnibus format can be considered a measure to prevent the disconnection between episodes, its biggest drawback is that the storyline would become too broad due to the sudden appearance of various stories regardless of the main one. Seon-ah (Shin Min-ah) appeared for the first time in the opening of the second episode. She aroused curiosity when the scene in which she showed a serious look after Dong-seok (Lee Byung-hun) kissed her 7 years ago was depicted but has not appeared again afterward. It was an opening that was used as a bait.

Above all, the fourth episode of “Our Blues,” which aired on the 17th, was the first episode of Young-ok (Han Ji-min) and Jung-joon (Kim Woo-bin), but it did not gain much sympathy from viewers compared to the previous episode. Young-ok, who danced with Bae Seon-jang (Yoon Byung-hee) over drinks at a club, listed her ex-boyfriends to Jung-joon. The chemistry between the haenyeo played by Han Ji-min, who told Jung-joon to not like her, and Jung-joong, who silently stood by Young-ok, failed to shine.

Moreover, Young-ok’s appearance, who did not realize her fault even though she left the area 10 minutes late to pick up more abalones in the female diver’s work, which considers group works an important thing, halved the character’s charm.

In addition, the scenes of Young-joo (Roh Yoon-seo), the top student in school, saying that she didn’t have menstruation after having sex with Hyun (Bae Hyun-sung) or the captain driving under the influence of alcohol appeared so suddenly.

“Our Blues” is greatly divided into eight different stories. The next episode of Young-ok and Jung-joon, which was the main story of the fourth episode, will appear again in the 11th episode together with Dong-seok and Seon-ah’s story. With changes and interruptions, many people wonder whether the romance stories of the couples can get the viewers immersed in the drama.

Maybe the story is too dense, but “Our Blues” is still a human drama. With many more episodes in the future, attention is paid to whether it will be able to capture the hearts of the viewers with only calm stories.