“Again My Life” (어게인 마이 라이프)

By Jae-Ha Kim
Substack
June 11, 2022

☆☆☆☆
Kim Hee-Woo (played by Lee Joon-Gi)
Kim Hee-Ah (played by Kim Ji-Eun)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

OK guys, I’ve been super busy with work and couldn’t write up a review timed to the finale as I had wanted to do. And now I’m sick, so I’m just going to do a short little review of Lee Joon-Gi’s latest K-drama, “Again My Life.”

Basically, I loved it until the finale, which didn’t tie up some major plot points that had been delved into for almost the entire series. Whyyyyy?

#SonOfJae refers to Hee-Woo — the character played by Lee Joon-Gi — as someone everyone is in love with. Kind of like Vincenzo in that titular series. And he’s right. Handsome, charming, smart and an expert martial artist, Hee-Woo is the entire package.

This isn’t really a spoiler because it happens at the start of the series and is addressed in the trailers etc. but be forewarned … Hee-Woo dies early on and is somehow given the chance to go back in time and get revenge on his nemesis, corrupt political manipulator Cho Tae-Sub, who apparently has all of South Korea under his despotic thumb.

Cho is portrayed by Lee Geung-Young, who was arrested in 2002 for the prostitution of a minor and was banned by some Korean networks from appearing on their shows. Apparently, the Korean entertainment industry has forgiven him and he has been cast in a slew of prominent recentish K-dramas (“Hyena,” “Vagabond,” “Misaeng: Incomplete Life” and “Vincenzo” — though I honestly don’t remember him at all from the latter) where he basically plays the same role: the seemingly kindly old man who’s the brains behind some diabolical plot. I suppose his real-life baggage serves the necessary purpose of making viewers recoil at the sight of him. Or the Korean showrunners honestly don’t care about the trafficking of underage girls.

Anyhow, just as in the present (where Hee-Woo died), Cho Tae-Sub in the past is a formidable and dirty foe, who stops at nothing to get his way.

While the thrust of the story is between those two, some of the most intriguing storylines center on poverty, social injustice, the elite and the manipulation of the downtrodden. One of the series’ most sympathetic characters is an elderly gentleman who has made a small fortune buying foreclosed property. But no one seems bothered much that he then kicks out desperate and indigent tenants to support his bottom line.

I’ll talk a bit more about this series in the Spoiler Alert below. And then it’s back to sleep for me. But to sum it up, this compelling series ended on a flat note. The finale is kind of like being promised a delicious gourmet dinner and being served stale fast food instead. It’s edible, but hard to digest.

Airdates: Sixteen episodes — each between 60- and 70-minutes long  — aired on SBS from April 8 to May 28, 2022.

Spoiler Alert: The ending seems to hint at a second season to come. But let’s deal with what we’ve got.

Near the start of the series, Hee-Woo is killed by Cho Tae-Sub’s robocop-like henchman who is seemingly indestructible. He is brought back to life by a woman in red, who we later learn is Cho Tae-Sub’s trusted assistant. She and the henchman are siblings who almost died decades ago during an orphanage fire, but were miraculously rescued by Cho.  Coincidence? Nope. His staff committed arson so he could rescue them and appear to be a hero.

I expected the finale to tie up a few things, but no such luck. For instance, how did she morph from Cho Tae-Sub’s assistant into an omnipotent being who’s able to revive the dead? Just howwwwww???!!! Why does her brother have no memory of her? Was it from the trauma of the fire? Why did Cho trust her to be his assistant but turn him into a killer?

And this one caught me by surprise: Cho knew about Hee-Woo’s having been given a second chance at life. But how did he know this? And if he knew all this, why wasn’t he better at thwarting Hee-Woo’s strategy to take him down?

Honestly, the finale was a disappointment to a series that deserved better.

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