Image if you will that our existence is tied to a comic book, or a serious of comic books if you will. A writer creates your backstory, dialogue, in fact they control your every move … on the “stage.” But, what about off the stage?
That identity lies within your self-awareness. By default you have a predisposition to follow those traits prescribed to you by the writer. However, if you become aware of yourself, the world, the comic … then the shadow (the world off the stage) becomes yours to behave, feel, and act at will, within reason of course. You are in a comic book after all.
Now … what if you aren’t the main character?
An impossibility to image in our scope of reality. Right? We always strive for a better life, we set goals, we move up in our careers, we even look for love. How are we not the main character of our own lives?
But, now imagine your sole purpose, your existence, is designed to bring two people together.
You are a supporting character.
This is the premise of “Extra-ordinary You,” a 32 episode 2019 Korean drama directed by Kim Sang-hyeop.
What I described is the fate of our female protagonist Eun Dan Oh. (I know … this sounds so meta, a protagonist who struggles with being the supporting character, like whaaaat.)
Eun Dan Oh suffers from a severe heart condition both on and off the stage. She is written as “a terminally ill” student with a 10 year crush on her childhood friend: the sadist Baek Hyeong. Baek Hyeong constantly torments Eun Dan Oh both on and off the stage. He is the epitome of a bully, her personal bully. And, on top of that he just so happens to be written as her fiancé.
Let’s talk about the film’s male protagonist … who doesn’t actually appear until several episodes into the show. A brilliant choice of course.
The first several episodes the viewer is on the edge of our seat anticipating the male lead, the counter part to Eun Dan Oh. Who could it be? Will Baek Hyeong change his ways and be the true love interest? Could another character come up out of the wood works? Who is this person that keeps rescuing Eun Dan Oh? What does he even look like?
His name is Haru, and he has an even worse role than Eun Dan Oh…
He’s an extra.
A no-named extra only identified by his soccer jersey: number 13.
That is, until Eun Dan Oh discovers he is the secret to changing the written scenes.
Determined to change her fate and setup, Eun Dan Oh teams up with Haru on a mission to do the impossible. Little do they know, that their history far precedes the events that have happened in this comic.
Of course, she can’t just refer to him as number 13. She names him “Haru” meaning “my day.”
To him, she becomes his beginning and his end. You see where this is going right?
Overall, this is a fun and intricate universe with thought provoking scenarios and meaningful relationships. The short 30 minute episodes provide a quick option for binge watching or for casually enjoying a k-drama between the busyness of life. It’s fun to imagine life as a supporting character trying to break free, plus it’s heartwarming to see the sacrifices the characters endure for their friends and relationships.
To critique this, I have a simple statement. The story pacing started off strong … and then by episode 24 the story felt as though it was being dragged out. I would have personally liked to have seen the pacing and progression of the story to have actually picked up the pace, keep us asking: what’s going to happen next. Although there was an element of that, why else finish a drama if you don’t want to know the answer, I felt as though the execution was a bit weak.
Moving on from my critique, let’s discuss what I did like.
They are as follows:
- The concepts: the female lead knows she is in a comic book; she believes she is the main character and soon learns that is far from the truth
- You suspect every male character of being the male lead … until several episodes in …
- The episodic series is flooded with tropes. The love triangle exists both on the stage and in the shadows … but ALSO exists not only for the comic book leads … but also, unintended by the comic writer of course, between the “supporting characters.” Thats right, I’m talking about Eun Dan Oh.
- The symbols. Primarily the “trumpet creeper” flower and how it symbolizes “waiting.”
- The comedy, we always know the fate of the second male lead. But, what happens when the second male love interest is aware of his character trope and his fate? How does he react when the scene ends and he finds himself playing the violin? When I say funny, I mean FUNNY. A total satire on tropes.
- Lastly, the ending. The ending suits the tale. No forcing the characters to meet the writer, to confront the writer at that. Nope. Although it’s predictable, it’s satisfactory. But, it becomes undeniable that we will forever be in an endless comic loop. So yes, there is a sense of happiness with the ending but there also exists a pang of loss as it becomes apparent that nothing is permanent.
Cheers to the cast and crew!
You can watch Extra-Ordinary You on Viki
Randi Orr 