The Great Show

Presentation

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Analysis

Synopsis

​Wi Dae Han is a politician, who has suffered from a scandal and has to redeem himself in order to pursue his political career. One day, Han Da Jung knocks on his door with 3 siblings pretending to be his daughter. Dae Han sees an opportunity to put his career back on track and decides to “adopt” them, assuming all of the responsibilities. 

My Opinion (No Spoilers)

I simply loved this drama! I am a bit sad that it didn’t get the recognition it deserves but it was simply incredible: the plot, the complexity of the family links, the life struggles of various characters! Everything! 

​I strongly recommend it to you, you will love it I think!

​Analysis (Spoiler Alert)

Wi Dae Han: This character appears to be at first a self-centered, egoistic and opportunistic man, who simply puts his career and himself first. Even though he is a politician, the greater good doesn’t interest him (like other politicians of the drama) and he only wants to get more fame and popularity, plus winning the election. Yet, Wi Dae Han (Song Seung Heon) is a much more complex character. If we go back into his past, we find out that he has been through injustice and has lived unfairness. He knows the real face of politicians and decided to become one himself in order to right the wrongs of the system. Despite the fact that he started with the very best intentions in the world, he still got lost in transition and we unveil this character at a crucial point in his life. He has forgotten his values, beliefs and the reason why he went down this path in the first place. Little by little he evolves in a positive way and turns into a positive character (he is kind of unlikable at the very beginning). 

​I think the fact that he ends up in a situation, in which he has to take care of children, assume new responsibilities and think about other people and not just himself are a great trigger for him, as he is taken back to his youth and the time, when the world of the adults mistreated him and/or did so in an unfair way. Moreover, he is confronted with children of very different ages (adolescents and younger ones) and has to go through rough parenting phases (puberty, immaturity, childish behavior…). I really loved this character because he was the perfect epitome of parenting and highlighted the difficulties of raising a child, especially when ties are severed, disconnected or worse inexistent. 

​I really hope that viewers will appreciate that new dad of 4 siblings. Even if he wants to use them in the first place, I was really moved by the actual connection he manages to create. Dae Han acts as a cold and distant person but he is very soft in the inside and rapidly feels affection towards his adopted kids; to the point that he considers them as his own at the end. He becomes very loving and protective, even if it means tainting his reputation. Fortunately for the kids, they didn’t choose the worse parent-to-be, because he doesn’t hold his tongue, knows how to verbally defend himself and debate. He goes from a totally manipulative liar to a truly invested and devoted politician, who stands strong on his beliefs. 

​This drama is a real epiphany for Wi Dae Han and I loved to follow his growth throughout the episodes! 

​Political world: This drama also granted me with a global overview, not only positive by the way, of the political world. We are following Wi Dae Han’s campaign as a tries to win a place as Senator and witness the numerous bumps on his road. The drama depicts good politicians as well as bad and corrupted one – Kang Joon Ho (Lim Jun Hwan)’s father for example, justly portraying all types of political figures, a citizen can encounter in his life. We also get a glimpse of everything surrounding elections, like campaigns, debates, but also protests, labor demonstrations, press and media unveiling every simple detail of your life. 

King Joon Ho was also an interesting character because he represented to me kind of the in-between, swayed between the evil behavior of his dad and the constant moral reminder embodied by Wi Dae Han. In the end, he chooses the right side, but I can’t help thinking that without Wi Dae Han as rival, he would’ve ended up doing just like his father. 

​Wi Dae Han in the end portrays the good political figure, one that citizens can rely on and that gains moral sense and conscience thanks to his children. 

​Title of the drama: Of course the title of the drama needs some explanation. Wi Dae Han means in Korean “Great” for the “Great show” but is also the name of the main character. Indeed, the entire drama is based on a show, a masquerade set up by Wi Dae Han to make him appear appealing to parents. Adopting these children is a show he has put on and of which he is the puppet master, deciding how he is going to use each child and situation at his advantage. However, on a broader basis, I also understood the title as a depiction of the political world in general. That sphere is a show that politicians create for their voters, campaigning through the streets, making sometimes fake promises and always putting on their best (fake?) smiles. 

​A good title indeed and very subtle!

​OST: I simply fell in love with the OST entitled “Wing It” by Hooow! The lyrics depict perfectly well in my opinion the various emotions Wi Dae Han went through and is very inspirational! It gives you the will and determination to spread your wings and fulfill all of your ambitions, overcoming any hurdles! 

​Beautiful song that strengthens the ties that Wi Dae Han and the 4 kids formed one with the other. 

​What are the themes questioned?

​Family tied by heart not by blood: I absolutely had to talk about that topic! This drama is perfect to explain how strangers can become a family, simply if they consider themselves as one. The Great Show illustrated the familial dynamics and the composition of families, proving that you don’t need to share the same DNA to be a family. The fact for example that the children and their biological father don’t seem to share much affection, whereas they do feel protected and loved and respected by Wi Dae Han, is one of the many examples. The children’s previous familial construction is dysfunctional, their mother died and their abusive father abandoned them and left them on their own. He didn’t act as a real father, and preferred leaving them when the burden became too heavy. On the contrary, even if it started on a contractual basis, Wi Dae Han accepted to take the children at his charge, financially and emotionally and physically, and didn’t back out when things started to become hard and he had to assume his responsibilities. This is in fact what he real father would do: protect and care for his children. In that matter, Wi Dae Han is the children’s real paternal figure and example; their real father in some ways. 

​I found this topic even more accurate in our actual societies: you don’t actual need to follow the “traditional” pattern of having one mother and one father to constitute a happy family. Proof is with that drama that the main family (Dae Han and his children) doesn’t have a motherly figure and consists of an adoptive father and 4 children. Proof always finds its place in our society: there are many “atypical” familial patterns that make it work perfectly, when the “traditional” ones sometimes fail. 

​A family is an actual family, when its members decide to be united as one, not because of their blood or genes. 

​Teen pregnancy: This subject is also quite important in the drama and I like how bold it got rid of some of the criticisms and even discrimination surrounding teen pregnancy. Sometimes, it just happens and you have to carefully think about what you want to do and not let others decide for you what to do; because in the end the one responsible for the baby will be you! 

Very good discussion around that topic that reminded me of the problematic evoked in the drama called Little Mom Scandal. 

​P.S: Yet another TvN drama, see!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN3gxpxN1aw