Wind Blows in the Winter

My problem with this series starts with the fact that I'm not so into lovestruck gangsters anymore. It always – let's face it – just goes around and around. And in this case, the writer, who I otherwise like a lot (everyone messes up once), didn't even bother coming up with something new. I have another problem with the director, whose error I understand even less (he's one of my favorites, after all). And yes, it's probably a lot about me and the fact that I don't have as much tolerance for overacting anymore and demand a more natural performance. Of course I got used to it after a few episodes and of course I even squeezed out a tear at one point, but for me – given the subject matter – it would have been weird if I hadn't. Of all the actors involved, I liked Hye-kyo Song the most, who played the blind girl very well. For me, In-seong Jo is a chapter unto himself and I just can't decide if I like watching him or not. He can act, no question about it, but when he's pushed into overacting in situations where it really doesn't fit yet or the viewer hasn't been able to form a relationship with him yet, he looks like an idiot and I didn't believe him one bit. Then again, that's the director's fault for not coaching his acting into some sort of natural progression and just lighting it right up. He got to me a lot more when he wasn't acting as much. His crying was too overdone for my taste. But if anyone really got on my nerves, it was his friends. I said of Beom Kim after Padam Padam that no one could suspect him of being unable to act anymore. Well, now I'm slapping my forehead and I feel like accusing him of it myself. But again, I think it's mostly due to the poorly written script and a role that just doesn't work with his innocent face. Plus, how can you like a character who just mouths off, makes threats over and over again, and finally walks off sourly to do his own thing. He and Eun-ji Jeong, who I really adored in Reply 1997, were maddening most of the time. But in terms of bad acting and unnatural reactions, I could name most of the characters in this. Half of them had based their existence merely on being able to annoy the main character with phone calls or texts anyway. I'm not saying it’s all bad. There were bright moments, a nice soundtrack, some nice dialogue, touching scenes, a strong main character... But I'm just too old for a fairy tale about three months and not a day more. But whatever, there were slaps and glasses in the face, so what am I complaining about? A weaker 3 stars. (19.06.2021)