Crash Landing On You Review: Trite Scenarios And Unreal North Koreans Left Me Rather Bored

‘Crash Landing On You’ was one of the most talked-about and successful dramas of 2019. Its popularity rolled over this year too and it was being talked about even months after it concluded. All that buzz finally got to me and I decided to watch it. And just as I had expected, I did not like it as much as the fans of this show did. I did not dislike it but the show somehow did not make me excited to watch it. In fact, I actually skimmed through a lot of episodes just to reach the final episode sooner.  

That opinion straight away puts me into the minority section of viewers who did not enjoy this show as much as the others. In this review, I will not bash the show but will try to explain why it didn’t work for me.

Crash Landing On You (2019) (16 Episodes)

Yoon Se Ri (Son Ye Jin) is a businesswoman who runs her own skincare company. She comes from a rich family that is tied in a fight for money and power. One day, while paragliding she gets caught in a storm that leads her across the South Korean border right into the North Korean territory. There she is spotted by North Korean military officer, Ri Jung Hyuk (Hyun Bin). He tries to arrest her but she somehow manages to flee and reaches a village hoping to find some help but there she realizes that she is actually in North Korea. Stunned, she freezes in her place and is almost about to be caught by a police officer when Ri Jung Hyuk saves her. Knowing that she has accidentally landed in North Korea he decides to help her and send her back to South Korea. She starts living in his house and as they spend more time with each other they slowly start falling in love but they cannot be together because doing so can bring doom to Jung Hyuk and his entire family.

Let’s weigh this cross-country love story on our drama beam balance and try to identify the plusses and minuses of this show.

Good Weights

I enjoyed watching ‘Crash Landing On You’ because…

…of the cast. I think the entire cast right from the leads to the supporting actors did a phenomenal job. No matter how short or long the role, every character somehow helped the leads move forward in the story. When you watch the drama, you will see how every actor perfectly suits their character.  

…Son Ye Jin is at her quirky best. I am amazed at how easily she can move your heart and also make you laugh at the same time. Her character, Yoon Se Ri is stranded in the most dreaded country in the world and though she is afraid and anxious at first it doesn’t take her much time to become her normal diva self again. She even orders her supposed savior Jung Hyuk around like as if he is her regular employee working only for her. She is dominating but is good at heart. And her inner kindness comes out after she returns safely to South Korea. Her character development is limited but is sufficiently justified.  

 

There is no denying she shared great on-screen chemistry with fellow actor, Hyun Bin. Both good-looking people bring so much of good visual to the screen that you are compelled to watch.

But instead of Hyun Bin, I liked her chemistry with her four guardians more. The four boys who work for Jung Hyuk are entrusted with the task of keeping Se Ri safe. Each boy shares his own rapport with Se Ri and it is really entertaining to watch their banter. These boys are good to watch together and Se Ri only adds to this fun gang.

…Hyun Bin was also quite good in the drama. This was my first time watching South Korea’s highest-paid star on television and I think I see the reason behind his stardom. Honestly, he did not appeal to me that much. He was good as the nice and helpful Officer Ri Jung Hyuk but I did not feel moony looking at him like his fangirls do.

The only moment I felt my heart flutter was when he confronts the enemies trying to stop Se Ri from reaching the airport (refer to the image below). That was the moment I saw the star in him. His action was particularly slow but he looks good doing it so I think that kinda compensates for his minor shortcoming. His portrayal of the reticent and determined Ri Jung Hyuk was good. There are instances where the uptight Jung Hyuk happens to let loose and he starts pouting and scoffing and blushing like a little girl which makes him look simply adorable. But most of the time he is just as stiff and poker-faced as a North Korean soldier would be.     

…I loved actor Kim Jung Hyun even in his teeny-tiny role. He does not have a very pivotal role and is neither the second-lead but I still like him. This could be because I am biased towards him. His character, Goo Seung Jun is a criminal taking refuge in North Korea to escape conviction for his fraud cases in South Korea. He enters North Korea as a British diplomat and lives in hiding in a plush bungalow.

At first, he seems like a selfish lowlife but there is more to his character and he effectively goes on to redeem himself through the course of the show. He hardly has any role and appears in each episode for barely five to ten minutes but even in this short time, he makes his presence felt and does what he does best i.e. make you smile. Right from his British accent to his dapper look I loved everything about him.

He shared amazing chemistry with both the pretty ladies on the show, Son Ye Jin and Seo Ji Hye. In fact, in a lot of scenes, I felt Son Ye Jin looked better with him than with Hyun Bin.  

 

Bad Weights

I did NOT LIKE ‘Crash Landing On You’ because…

…of the story. My biggest problem was that most of the scenarios in the story were extremely silly and unrealistic. I have done my own personal research on North Korea and read several books based on the ‘hermit kingdom’ so I was looking forward to seeing Se Ri’s adventures in such a scary place. But the story writers decided to treat this vital aspect in a light manner and dumbed down all the North Korean characters to help Se Ri survive.

Read any North Korean defectors’ story online and you will learn how impossible it is for even an intruding foreign mosquito to survive in North Korea without being noticed by the police. And even if you manage to hide from the police, there is no way the people will allow you to remained unnoticed. Right from Se Ri’s entry to her exit, everything was simply implausible. I was interested in seeing some real scenarios but got a glazed version of the Rocket Man’s nation.    

…after a point you get tired of watching Se Ri and Jung Hyuk separating and meeting again and again. In the drama, there are several instances when Se Ri and Jung Hyuk are forced apart either by people or by circumstances. And it is really tiring to see it over and over again. If not that, then one of them is injured and the other is busy crying over it. If you like the lead couple then you probably might have no problem with this. But since I am not a fan of this BinJin couple I could barely tolerate it.  

…of the forgettable OST. For some unexplained reason, I did not like the music of this drama at all. I like romantic dramas with angst and pain and all of that and often fall in love with the music. This drama surprisingly is an exception. Not a single tune registered in my head.

Crash Landing On You has all the essentials for an interesting drama and that explains its success. However, I felt that the overlapping storylines, especially one where you get to see how Se Ri and Jung Hyuk are actually fated to meet each other, were lacking in originality. Though the drama is entertaining, nothing about it made me want to root for the leads or eagerly wait for the next episode. I felt exceptionally unattached to this drama and its characters (all except Kim Jung Hyun 🙂 ).   

I give Crash Landing On You 2.5 out of 5 rating. The unrealistic depiction of North Korea and banal sub-plots is what left me unimpressed. But if you like romantic stories with some politics, drama, and action then you must give this show a try.

 

All Images and Screengrabs Courtesy: tvN

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