In Your Brilliant Season

Presentation

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Overview

Synopsis

Song Ha Ran has a seemingly perfect life, but she has locked her feelings away after the loss of her loved ones. She accidentally meets Seonu Chan who has a bright and cheerful personality. They start developing romantic feelings.

My Opinion (No Spoiler)

I loved this drama so much! It contains so much poetry and melodrama at the same time. Some may find the lack of communication or the failed attempts to tell the truth quite frustrating, but I think this is what makes the ambiance angsty and tense. There is a beautiful parallel between the leads’ lives that makes their connection deeper. Clearly, the male lead lives and breathes for the female lead. He only has her happiness at heart. Their romance is like a nice spring coming after the harsh winter, and you’ll see that seasons are important in that show. The way the plot is built is also quite captivating. Just like the male lead who has bits and pieces of his memory following the accident, you are given the puzzle pieces episode after episode. By the end, not only the characters but also the viewers are able to reconstruct the whole picture. But I think my favorite part is the web of characters gravitating around the lead couple, particularly Ha Ran’s family. Each sister and her love interest were cute to see, each couple has its own issues to overcome, and the grandmother was just the best. I wish mine were like that as well, such a Queen!! All in all, I recommend the drama, but beware the tears and suffocating lies.

Analysis

The seasons
Seonu Chan’s winter
His new spring
Song Ha Ran’s winter
Her new spring
The truth that transcends seasons

Symbols
Drawing
Memento mori
The engraved pen
The iridescent cloud

The romances
Song Ha Ran and Seonu Chan
Song Ha Yeong and Yeon Tae Suk
Song Ha Dam and Cha Yoo Gyeom
Kim Na Na and Park Man Jae

The seasons: The poetry of the story relies essentially on the metaphor of seasons. From winter to spring, characters are going through different phases of their lives and experiencing either radiant springs or harsh winters.

Seonu Chan’s winter: Seven years ago, Seonu Chan (Chae Jong Hyeop) was at the worst of his life. He was following scientific studies at university against his will because his father had decided he had to pursue the same career as his. His mother had left long ago, leaving behind a lonely son and resentful father. The latter took his anger out on the former by tearing his son’s drawings apart for instance, as it reminded him of his wife. Suffocating, isolated, in pain and unable to follow his passion for arts, Seonu Chan led a depressing existence. He was dark, stuck in a cold winter and surrounded by thick walls impossible to break free from.

His new spring: Chan’s entire life changes when he meets his roommate Kang Hyeok Chan (Kwon Do Hyung) at university in the US. The latter is in a long-distance relationship with Song Ha Ran (Lee Sung Kyung). But the pair is busy and can’t seem to find time for each other, so they slowly start to grow apart. Seonu Chan’s life unexpectedly starts to get warmer the day Kang Hyeok Chan asks him to respond to one of Ha Ran’s messages on his computer. Later on, he begs him to help him find a gift for his girlfriend. So, Chan buys a pen engraved with Ha Ran’s name and gives it to Hyeok Chan. But his real spring begins when Hyeok Chan leaves for a month and inadvertently switches his computer with Chan’s. As he’s about to commit suicide, he hears the sound of a message popping up on his roommate’s computer. Several others follow, making him come back to reality. Turns out it was Ha Ran messaging whom she thought was her boyfriend. Unbeknownst to her, she saved Chan from death and will do it again after the accident. From then on, Chan starts chatting with Ha Ran and they both realize they have a lot in common. He develops feelings for her and breaks free from his winter. She brings him joy, colors, warmth and the desire to live differently. Of course, he knows that he’s pretending to be someone else, but just can’t let go of her. After his accident, Ha Ran’s voice is the reason why he wakes up from the coma. Her face and voice are the only memories he’s got left after the explosion, so she becomes his reason to live.

Song Ha Ran’s winter: Seven years later, roles have been reversed and Song Ha Ran has now entered a deep winter. Seonu Chan changed lives for the better, pursued arts and became a professional drawer. He changed his entire personality and turned into the most cheerful, joyful and sociable person thanks to Ha Ran. Nevertheless, he carries the weight of the accident on his shoulders. Meanwhile, Ha Ran has lost yet another person. She had already witnessed the death of both her parents years ago and is now destroyed by the death of her lover. It’s as if he took a part of her. She’s depressed, cold, distant and fears for everybody’s lives. Her old personality is gone and she can’t get out of the winter she’s entered.

Her new spring: Seonu Chan suddenly erupts in her life and changes everything yet again. He breathes life into her and despite the lies, he helps her become more resilient and self-reliant. He teaches her how to get back on her feet on her own, how to escape the cold winter, how to break down the walls she’s erected around her and thus prepares her for any future tough experiences. He brings her love and devotion.

The truth that transcends seasons: At the end, Seonu Chan can finally reconstitute the entire accident. He told Hyeok Chan the truth about his conversations with Ha Ran. This enraged his roommate, as he intended to break up with her for another woman. They have a small fight, but Chan apologizes and eventually leaves the lab. Hyeok Chan’s current girlfriend is also present and tries to calm him down, but she’s hurt by his reaction. So, she too leaves the place. Alone and mad, Hyeok Chan takes a cigarette out. As he’s about to light it, he bumps into some chemicals that fall on the ground. The flame of his lighter was the last ingredient needed to make a big boom. After seven long years of feeling guilty, Seonu Chan can finally rest. He’s in no way responsible for what happened to his roommate. Worse, he was just collateral damage of Hyeok Chan’s unconscious behavior.

Symbols: The drama is full of meaningful symbols, below are my favorite ones.

Drawing: Drawing is the reason why Seonu Chan clashes with his father. It brought him to the brink of death, but also kept him alive after the accident. His passion allows him to reunite with Song Ha Ran, as the fashion designer and cartoon animator collaborate on a project together. Drawing is at the heart of everything for this character. It’s his way to express his emotions (he uses a drawing to propose to Ha Ran at the end), but also to confess his deepest secrets (he draws his entire story on his tablet and uses it to explain the truth to Ha Ran). Drawing is a common passion for the leads, as Ha Ran is a designer.

Memento mori: This tattoo is a reminder to Seonu Chan that he should live his life wholly and wholeheartedly without regrets. Even more so that he’s already been on the brink of death and came back.

The engraved pen: The engraved pen has several meanings. At first, it is a symbol of luck for Ha Ran that helps her design her fashion pieces. She always gets inspiration with it. Then, it becomes the last item her dead boyfriend gifted her. When she loses it, she feels as if she’s lost the last thing that connects her to her past lover. But in reality, the pen is the physical bond that connects Ha Ran and Chan. He was the one who gifted it to her in the first place, as a way to encourage her through her struggles, support her career and reassure her when she doubted. At the end, Chan gifts her the same pen but with an iridescent cloud drawn on it. This is a symbol of rebirth for them. Just like the couple, the pen is the same but slightly different now. It overwrites the bad memories and the lies with a real relationship based on love and trust.

The iridescent cloud: An iridescent cloud is basically a cloud with a rainbow. Just like an actual rainbow, it’s a symbol of hope that everything will get better. It’s also Chan’s signature in his drawings that allows Ha Ran to find him again after he’s vanished.

The romances: The drama not only displays a beautiful relationship between the main leads, but also focuses on the love stories of secondary characters.

Song Ha Ran and Seonu Chan: Their romance is complicated, based on lies and unknowns, fragile at first sight but extremely profound due to characters’ deep love for each other. The couple is sometimes quite frustrating because of their lack of communication, but everything is so entangled that it’s difficult to judge how one would’ve reacted in that situation.

Song Ha Yeong and Yeon Tae Suk: Yeon Tae Suk (Kwon Hyuk) is the COO of Nana Kim Atelier, but his connection to the Song family runs deep. When in high school, Kim Na Na (Lee Mi Sook) took him under her wings. Therefore, Tae Suk feels deeply indebted to her and her family. He’s loyal, respects and admires his boss. He also seems to keep his distance with the sisters, especially Song Ha Yeong (Han Ji Hyun) whom he’s had a crush on since his teenage days. This distance grew after the car accident that took the life of the Song parents. Tae Suk is eaten away by guilt. He believes that he should’ve been there as the family driver, so he blames himself for that. At the end, Kim Na Na comforts him, tells him he’s like a son to her and that she would never hold him responsible. That’s when he’s finally able to unburden himself and confess his feelings to Ha Yeong. Behind his cold and neat mask, he’s sweet and gentle.

Song Ha Dam and Cha Yoo Gyeom: Song Ha Dam (Oh Ye Ju) may be the youngest, but she knows what she wants. She’s been with Cha Yoo Gyeom (Kim Tae Young) since kindergarten and wouldn’t want anyone else in her life. At the beginning, she’s hell-bent on marrying him, but grows more mature as they go through many ups and downs like lies, love rivals, and uncertainties of the future. Despite all that, this couple was so cute. They are so loyal and devoted to each other. The perfect representation of first love and the innocence that goes with it.

Kim Na Na and Park Man Jae: Kim Na Na and Park Man Jae (Kang Seok Woo) prove there’s no age to fall in love or to renew with past lovers. They used to live in the same town and had a crush on each other, but life decided otherwise. Decades later, these two seniors reunite and reconnect through common memories. Together they are confronted with matters linked with their age like dementia and potential sicknesses, but they navigate it perfectly, relying on their bond to overcome them. They’re loyal to one another and accompany each other for the last chapter of their life.