If you're looking for something along the lines of "Hometown Cha Cha Cha," you will be sadly disappointed. And if you're looking for a mystery/thriller along the lines of "Stranger" or "Flower of Evil" you will also be disappointed. "Summer Strike" is not a romantic series, despite the presumptions one might get as the series begins, and the story is far darker than one might anticipate. In many ways, the writers seem unsure of the story. In many ways, the writers seem unsure of the story they want to tell. The romantic scenes have little-to-no chemistry between the leads, and we're left with a town of despicable, moody, and angry people who aren't very appealing.
Yeo Reum Lee is a 28-year-old woman who acts like she's 18 at best. She's basically a doormat for anyone to use and abuse. She never speaks or stands up for herself and frequently makes poor choices based on the smallest influences from those around her. She's a pleaser who lacks the ability to stand on her own two feet. She's neither a mature nor a strong woman. She flees Seoul for the small seaside town of Angok, hoping to simply live an easy and frugal life. The big question is: is Yeo Reum running toward something or running away? The more we observe Yeo Reum, we can see that she doesn't change. She leaves one abusive life for another because she refuses to see that SHE is the problem. When you move from one place to another, you take your problems with you. They don't get left behind.
Kim Seol Hyun is the weakest of all the actors in this series. She just can't seem to get a handle on her character while frequently uttering her lines in a soft, breathless manner. When she's being chased by the police officer, she doesn't shout at the taxi driver to keep going, she softly says in a mousy voice, "Please don't stop. Please keep going!" Nobody in that situation would react that way! Especially a woman! Kim Seol Hyun can't even manage to put panic into her voice. She was a poor choice for the female lead of this series.
You can pretty much go down the line of characters that will leave you cringing. Arguably the worst is Ji Young Jo, who works at the library, has feelings for her co-worker and childhood friend, Da Beom An, and treats him like an overbearing mother hen. There is scarcely anything appealing about this woman who snaps and barks at everyone around her. She also does her absolute best to control and manipulate Da Beom into living the life that SHE thinks is best, without taking any consideration for his feelings. I'm not sure I've seen many characters in 45+ years of television who are as deplorable as well as lacking in any positive qualities. I'm not sure how anyone would ever find this woman as being attractive or appealing. She's as horrid as a snake with fangs at both ends!
Don't get me wrong, I liked Granny for her sweetness, even though she's a very weak-willed woman who has zero control over her son or anyone else. She's told-even by her grandkids--what to do. She is a perfect example of how Yeo Reum will likely be when she gets to be the same age. I'm not sure what kind of a grandmother would summarily dismiss an attack on her granddaughter and ask her to lie to the police in order to avoid sending the father (her son) to jail. What kind of a family member--who has ANY love or integrity--would make such a decision? It was heinous and sadistic. You would support a man who is physically abusive as well as being a raging alcoholic who nearly kills his own daughter?!
A big issue with Yeo Reum Lee and Granny is their inability to speak up--especially when they NEED to speak up! If you're not a part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem. And it's people like these two who help keep the cycle of abuse going because they are too afraid to do the right thing--and do right by others--and speak up. Make no mistake, by not saying anything, they are just as responsible for the abuse as those who are doing the abusing, which is another reason why I disliked these characters so much. And people who are too afraid to properly discipline their children, are child abusers themselves.
It seems that Chang Soo's wife can only ever vent her anger on everyone around her, including the physical abuse of a little dog. This woman is hateful, and where we are supposed to be sympathetic, all we see is a vile woman who cannot see beyond her own tragedies and problems.
This is actually true for most of the series; moments when--if we felt any kind of REAL emotional connection-we should feel sympathetic toward many of these characters. Kim Bom and Da Beom are the only two characters in the series for whom I felt some sympathy.
For the most part, this series is very dry, uneven, and disjointed, and it doesn't venture deep enough for us to really gain some perspective on characters like Da Beom and Kim Bom. Frankly, the series would have been better served had these two been the focal points of the story. Yeo Reum is hardly appealing, and by the end of the series, I couldn't have cared less about her situation. She was mostly annoying, and by the end of the series, it's clear that she hasn't learned a thing or shown any kind of growth. She's very much like a woman who's never grown up.
Despite all of these problems, the show works for the most part. I'm glad it didn't go beyond 12 episodes because the series was starting to limp toward the finish line at the end. We get the wrapping up of a mystery that already had a very weak foundation and hints of possible romance between the two leads that had no warmth or chemistry to it. Even when Da Beom is hurt or in pain, Yeo Reum just stands there, offering little-no comfort.
Angok is a dark and dismal town compared to the one from "Hometown Cha Cha Cha" filled with angry, immature people who gripe and complain about everything. There's nothing so sad as one person playing the victim as a whole town doing the same. And that isn't inspiring storytelling at all. It's sad, and not in a good way.
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