[HanCinema's Drama Review] "She Was Pretty" Episode 9

At first glance the cliffhanger last episode was all about Hye-jin- Hye-jin, the beautiful woman who finally decides to actually put in the effort to look pretty instead of coming to work every day looking all frazzled. But as is usually the case for "She Was Pretty", nothing could be further from the truth. Hye-jin's new appearance actually ends up having very little to do with Hye-jin herself- note how her upbeat behavior is unchanged. It's the other characters who look at Hye-jin in a different way.

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Well, except for Hyeok. Which was as usual both funny and very much in character. Most men (at least in fiction) are completely flummoxed when a formerly plain woman turns beautiful right in front of their very eyes. But Hyeok just keeps trying to order Hye-jin around like the gopher she is. This makes for a fine humorous touch. Among other things, it keeps Hye-jin from noticing what the other two lead characters are doing.

Ha-ri, for example, is stewing around hopelessly in her own guilt. Whether she deserves to hate herself so much just yet is a matter of personal opinion. Ha-ri may be living a lie but so far she hasn't done anything unforgivable. The problem is when Ha-ri looks at Hye-jin, and sees her beautiful friend beautiful on the outside as well as the inside, that just makes Ha-ri feel all the more guilty about Seong-joon. Ha-ri is trying very hard to convince herself that she deserves Seong-joon.

This is another duality that's typically well done. Seong-joon himself doesn't know what he does or does not deserve anymore. Now that Hye-jin looks like what the Hye-jin of memory is supposed to look like, Seong-joon is very confused. But there's a very traumatic edge to this self-doubt. Being reminded too strongly of yesterday's Hye-jin makes Seong-joon feel guilty about abusing the Hye-jin of today. He's terrified of mounting regrets- and that's something the Hye-jin of the past never fully realized.

Beyond all that I feel I should at least mention the big show-stopping speech- without spoiling too much of course. I just really like the cast in this drama. Even the small roles that don't seem all that important are filled with a great deal of life and energy. This isn't just a group of people who work at a fashion magazine- they live and breath fashion. It is the essence of their very being. And even if fashion is kind of inherently shallow, I like how "She Was Pretty" makes the case that passion is what really matters rather than the literal object of that passion.

Review by William Schwartz

"She Was Pretty" is directed by Jeong Dae-yoon, written by Jo Seong-hee and features Hwang Jung-eum, Park Seo-joon, Go Joon-hee, Choi Si-won, Yoon Yoo-sun, Seo Jung-yeon and more.

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