Tomorrow (2022)

Action Drama that Got Confused of Its Message

LIKES:
The concept or storyline is good for a drama.
Great casting throughout the show, but the main leads did fantastic in their acting roles.
The Risk Management team threesome had great chemistry (although others didn’t think so as pervious reviews will show).
Every episode was interesting, and gave a little bit of insight into peoples hardships and how to overcome that darkness; talking to someone is sometimes all that you need.
The music was good, although nothing really stood out.
The FX was well done.
The merging of past lives/dreams/nightmares with present and the current reality was done in a way that it wasn’t confusing.
Scenery and for the most part wardrobe were perfect.
Loved Ryeon’s outfits, some of Ryung-gu’s outfits were a bit crazy.
The message: Second chances are what humanity is all about, because everyone can make mistakes.
I loved how they did Episode 6
Satisfactory handling of dark/heavy topics of suicide, murder, death, etc.
Good amount of drama and excitement due to the Grim Reapers.
The colour pallet and variance between past, dreams and present was well done.
I liked that they showed a little bit of punishment for the evil doers, but they could’ve done more.

DISLIKES:
Their cases/missions all got summed up easily and suicide is part of depression and can happen again. That aspect wasn’t shown. I also expected that a show about suicide would have a message at the end about online help or an information hotline to contact.
Sometimes the attempt at humour failed, but other times it was needed due to the heavy content.
The last 5 episodes seemed to have had little budget for the FX.
The ending was rushed and it was an okay summarization of the main leads, but could’ve been written way better.
Too much time spent developing the past for Kim See Sun’s character Ryeon/Ryun. It definitely could’ve cut some of the scenes and still be effective.
The romantic aspect of the drama failed, only succeeded as an explanation to the connections between Reapers, nothing more. Even the end or concluding part was almost boring, less impactful than it should’ve been. Not even the red thread concept helped.
Seemed very similar to the formula used in Taxi Driver.
I thought they would highlight the fact that when we choose to die, we throw away life too easily, but if the choice is taken from us (death by war, illness, etc.) then we fight hard to keep living. The Jade boss lady kept repeating how it’s the individuals choice, yet that constantly was contradicted. The writer seemed to be confused on what their message was.


OVERALL:
I watched it all and couldn’t wait for the next episode. Certain parts I would watch again, but maybe not the whole drama. It’s a decent action drama, with a dose of fantasy. I would recommend it to others.

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Well-Intentioned but Flawed in Execution

In a fantasy reimagining of South Korea, the Underworld (Jumadeung) exists and operates as a corporation. Fearful of the country's alarmingly high suicide rate, a trio of Grim Reapers is tasked with saving suicidal people. Narrated in an episodic case-of-the-week format, the drama covers a wide range of (triggering) topics including bullying, unemployment, eating disorder, loss of loved ones, rape and victim blaming. Thematically dark and tragic, the show tugs at our heartstrings in ways that only kdramas can. No case is too trivial for our trio as they demonstrate repeatedly how empathy can help  individuals survive their darkest moments. But therein lies the show's biggest flaw. For a show that focuses on suicide prevention, its quite surprising that it never discusses mental health or therapy. Not a single character is shown to be in therapy.  All the suicidal characters are magically 'cured' by words of empathy and they go back to their normal lives without any lingering trauma. Furthermore, many of the cases are clearly symptoms of deeper societal rot and the show fails to acknowledge the role of oppressive systems in driving individuals to commit suicide. As a result, many of the cases lack nuance and feel heavy-handed. 


That being said, what I loved most about the show was our trio of grim reapers. The no-nonsense Koo Ryeon, the deadpan Ryung Gu and the rookie Jun Woong had great chemistry with each other and their hilarious interactions provided for the much needed comic relief.  Moreover, the drama looked gorgeous and the world building was quite immersive. Also I loved the ending scene. I absolutely love it when stories come full circle. 

I have mixed feelings about this drama. On one hand, it is well intentioned and well acted but at the end, the drama fails to  do justice to its themes. Here's a message for Jumadeung: If you really want to prevent suicide, the least you can do is invest in affordable mental health care and work to remove prejudices around mental illness and trauma.

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keep the tissues near

So this drama... its a funny one. I cannot say I enjoyed it . It did not make me feel good or lightened my mood, this was not light entertainment. It was hard to watch and some of the episodes total tearjerkers but nonetheless I had to keep watching . The theme is suicide and I think if you decide to watch it you need to go in prepared. This is not a fluffy romance drama, this is heavy and real and at times super sad. The trailers did not really give the right impression of what this drama is about dont be fooled.

However I would recommend people to watch it. My main take after the 16 episodes - I am so glad I was born not too long ago and in a peaceful European country were women `s rights are well established and that has a good social care system! My god how hard it must be to live in Korea in the past and even now it seems to be a real struggle. Especially if you are a woman or old or poor.
The drama shows lots stories of (mainly) women in different times and every time the poor women are treated so badly it breaks your heart . And the most disturbing thing is that they were treated so badly by their own people and even worse - other women. Rape and torture in wars by enemy forces seem to always have been part of warfare but what happens after women went through all that was the most shocking to me. And these are not storys they made up that story about the `Comfort Woman` (I had to search that up straight away) is real and really.. not that long ago. I cried so much, its all so unfair and horrible.

But back to the rest of the drama, so the acting I thought was excellent and I did like Rowoons character, a guy with heart of gold, empathetic, passionate, guileless and forever optimistic. His character brought that lightness that was needed otherwise this would have been too dark and depressing for me. I think he did a great job and I can see why he would act this sort of character after that Period drama he did before (cant remember the name). So different the characters, kudos to him just for that! The female Grim Reaper was great, she is just beautiful and can express so much just with her eyes. I was not so keen on the other two male Grim Reapers/main characters. It was not the acting I think it was just that I didnt like their characters that much.

I did like how they used the 3 main characters to tell some of the backstories and mixed it up with `new cases`from the present. There were some great sentiments and some memorable lines. I did not like the phyiscal violence by the reapers though. I mean really, do they have to beat up people all the time to get results? Beating and slapping people also seem to be quite a normal thing in Korea (seen that in many dramas) and it always sits really wrong with me.

So thats it. I seldom spend so much time and effort on a review so yes, this drama did affect me a lot. I will not watch it again but it will stay with me for a while.

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Undeserved low viewership

The best drama of 2022 so far. Each episode discusses a very sensitive topic - sexual abuse, bullying, eating disorders, PTSD et cetera. The viewer might be able to see themselves in one or more episodes. The cast did an excellent job portraying their characters and we did see some good character development. Through the cases the grim reapers solve, you will be able to get to know the reapers little by little.

In my personal opinion, as much as I love this drama, there were moments that did not make that much sense and moments I would like to address. The controversial suicidal dog episode (episode 9) wasn't as bad as other reviewers make it. It just showed that animals have feelings too. I do admit that the whole suicide act might be a little over the top but the message it conveys (as said before, that animals do have feelings too) was acceptable. However, I have to call out episode 7 which tackled the topic of anorexia/ED. The whole episode didn't really progress much and the ending wasn't satisfying. EDs are very serious mental illnesses and only a five-minute talk won't miraculously solve it.

Towards the end of the show, my satisfaction started declining as it felt that the main focus shifted to the relationship between Ryeon and Joong Gil. It took 2 episodes of a 16-episode drama to show the whole backstory of grim reaper Ryung Gu and that was it. Jun Woong was said to be the main focus of the show but his character development was non-existent. Rowoon's portrayal of Jun Woong was phenomenal yet the character didn't develop at all and stayed the same/similar from the first episode to the last. Meanwhile, Ryeon's character development from cold and distant to an absolutely heartbroken yet caring and kind woman was astounding.

Kim Hee Sun definitely stole the show with her portrayal of Ryeon. Lee Soo Hyuk's character Park Joong Gil was a scene-stealer. Hee Sun was a show-stealer.

Overall, the drama was excellent. The ending was rushed in terms of Ryeon's and Joong Gil's relationship. You could predict some aspects of it while watching the whole show but the ending was completely off. What I didn't like about it was Ryeon's behavior towards Joong Gil. She was in mental pain the whole show yet, in the end, she didn't even care about her husband staying in hell? The whole show kept on slowly improving yet the ending caused my overall rating to go down by one whole star.

Anyway, I still highly recommend it but be cautious about its sensitive topics.

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An absolute consistent gut-wrenching series!

It's been a while since a series made me bawl my eyes and cry like a little baby. In each episode, I cried tears after tears (I did not even know I could cry that much). Each story was beautifully written and told that I find myself easily lost in the series. As a person who was also in a dark place, this series was like a big warm hug to me. I was comforted and consoled by the characters. It even felt like they were talking to me directly. There was no dull moment in this series and despite its heavy themes, the production really outdid themselves to make it 'light' yet serious at the same time. Not once did they make fun of the situation and made it feel like such a small issue, and I respect them for that.

Each major plot was neatly wrapped up and the series remained consistent all throughout its run. The ending did not feel rushed nor cheap, in fact, it even felt earned and leaves you satisfied. Just want to commend all of the actors and actresses who participated in this series. They gave the series the justice that it deserves! Everyone acted so brilliantly that having empathy with the characters that they play is not an issue.

From start to finish, this series has remained consistently good and I really want to praise them for it.

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Absolutely Brillant

The story address' loss in a very human way alongside not sugarcoating suicide and also not romantizing it. We experience the feelings of guilt and growth.

Episode 9 dives deep into animal loss which hits a common point about how animals will run away if theyre sick or dying to not get anyone else sick or to make their family not feel as sad.

Episode 6 we experience a soliders final day; and the guild and the past he brought along with him.

We also see that suicide can be acted by anyone if your mind gets to that point, and that there are resources.

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Angsty Fantasy

Tomorrow is what I’d define as all bark and no bite. This isn’t to say it was bad. I liked a lot of the messages and I thought it was very positive to see a Korean drama addressing a lot of different issues like suicide, depression and anorexia. ( Especially for those who have known these issues directly or indirectly.)

I also have a lot of positive things to say about the cast. Rowoon has always been of a mixed bag actor for me but he really surpassed all my expectations as the ML. I didn’t really know the main actress Kim Hee Sun from other projects but her acting was also fairly decent here as the main female alongside the other unfamiliar face Yun Ji On who delivered a good performance.

Maybe my big problem came from the narrative building. There were a lot of issues tackled but the plot was messy. One moment we had a big issue seemingly built for the main lead but they rarely took it further after the first episode and entirely forgot about it until the ending. The character arcs were also messy. I like how we got insights into their backstories like with the female lead but it rarely felt connected or helping to bring about a big sense of impending doom or obstacles for the main leads.

The filming was pretty and all but it didn’t always make sense with helping to bring to life the world of the characters. I understand that while the webcomic is a lot more straightforward in its art style and approach, the screenplay could’ve probably taken a leaf from that and focused on better building of the setting and characters early on.

Overall I think Tomorrow is a good fantasy with a good cast and a lot of drama fans will probably be fascinated with LSH’s appearance ( only supporting). My big problem came from the writing and I think a lot of watchers have shared their own issues here with it. I’d say give it a go but be prepared for some messy writing moments here and there.

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Definitely Worth the Watch

Wow this drama was sooooo freaking amazing and so good it!!! We may fail on Korean BL but on other drama we definitely have a winner!!!

First of all, my respect to the writer/s of this entire story, it must not have been easy for them to publish the idea and they must have been meet with a lot of controversy, since the main topic of “Tomorrow" is suicide. With this focus it may gain a lot of attention and a higher platform to spread awareness for mental health, each of the episodes showed a different story or a different challenge that people go through on every day lifestyle, not only that, I like how the main characters each had there own issues to deal with as well, and how falling off the wagon every once in a while is Ok as long as you accept it and recognize it and work your way back up again, I don't believe in suicide, but I do know that each have there own struggle to survive in this very challenging time.

The Cast were amazing I really love Lee Soo Hyuk, his amazing and a pleasure to watch, not only that he most definitely fitted this Grim Reaper role to the tee!!

The Story is one a very hard as it deals with real life issues that normal do struggle with on a daily basis, and each person has to go through his/her struggles. Mental Health is a real thing and its not often recognized and possible the hardest thing to show and talk about. There were some really hard scenes in this drama, I literally cried my eyes in certain episodes, others were really difficult to watch and try comprehend how anyone would be able survive such scenarios. I was left with an impression of us humans need to be mindful of our actions and how our actions can effect others. The lighthearted humor in the show is most welcome during the difficult that are dealt with in the show. I liked how they addressed various amounts of pain, pain that some might considered silly but it is a pain to someone none the less and hurts them a lot.

This drama is truly excellent. The writing, the acting, the production, everything was amazing.

Overall: REALLY GIVE THIS A TRY AND WATCH IT..... i REALLY ENJOYED IT

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No wealth in the universe can ever equal a single human life

The planning is amazing. They timed episode 11 and 12 to coincide with Mother's Day and wrote a two-part episode about a mother and her son. Not only that, if I remember correctly, this was the first two-part episode story in the series.

While the series is about death, suicide, pain, and learning ways to comfort people (and possibly prolong their lives), they do not forget to write stories about the living and how hard yet still beautiful life is.

In a way, they are using death to make a statement about life and why we should continue living despite the bad things that we encountered and will encounter. If we look at each story, it is actually inspiring. As most say, "healing".

This is the kind of shows I love to watch. Not only because it is rare these days but more because it is not about entertaining the audience rather it is about piercing our souls, to make us think, to analyse, to learn to put ourselves in other people's shoes, to look at things from different perspectives, and experience it without literally going through it.

Maybe, and hopefully, it shapes us, the audience, in becoming better people and learn value every single life, even those who hurt us. No wealth in the universe can ever equal to a single human life.

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Tackling Tomorrow with the right mindset

Just a heads up: if you don't like the types of shows where each episode has a unique plot, and the "main" storyline is unraveled bit by bit throughout each episode, you probably won't like this one. The background of the main characters are fully addressed at the end; I think it's worth your time though! I thoroughly enjoyed all 16 episodes :)

Something some people don't realize about this kdrama is the fact that the main focus is the topic of how suicide is not one's only option when they're suffering, not Koo Ryeon & Joong-Gil's history. The writers' target audience is people that are facing hard times, where the writers are hoping that they would try grasping onto hope and waiting for better days to come; the plot is just a bonus.

The formatting of this drama is quite different than a regular kdrama, where the plot/backstory o the main characters aren't the main focus, but the very sensitive topic of suicide. I saw other people in their reviews complaining about how the storylines were very uniform and every episode was basically formatted the same, and I do agree with that, but I think that the unique experiences and lessons each individual episode holds makes watching every episode heartwarming in their own ways.
Each episode features a different person, in a very different situation from the last. From animals to celebrities, the writers were able to address many of Korea's most pressuring stereotypes that may cause someone to feel like they don't belong in this world. Though some may think that the amount of diversity between the characters is overwhelming, I think that the heterogeneity of the characters' situations really connects into the real world very well.

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Tackled real-life social issues with beauty and substance.

I am sure I am not the only one here, but Tomorrow is ripe for a Season 2. While the show had its fair share of dissenters, it doesn’t remove the fact that it is one of the few dramas out there which tackled the controversial issue of suicide as its main plot driver. I personally think its timely, relevant and powerful in its message.

The cast is fantastic. Every one of them. I just wished that Park Jung Il had more screen time. Everytime he graced the screen was just awesome.

The drama is episodic, they solve/save would-be suicide cases in a span of 1-2 episodes. Be warned, prepare some box of tissues. Rowoon’s crying face is certainly infectious. I think I teared up a fair few times.

Overall, what an exceptional and remarkable show. I am very satisfied by the ending, and opens plenty opportunities for Season 2.

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the only one who can save us is ourselves.

Tomorrow Drama tells the story of an elite grim reaper who works at a Jumadeung afterlife company. The story focuses on the team of Kooryeon, Ryunggu and Junwoong, new employees who are in a coma, who are tasked with saving humans who are about to commit suicide. This team is tasked for comforting and awakening people who are more afraid of tomorrow than death, that our lives are precious, no matter how difficult the problems we face, we must endure, because the only one who can save and strengthen us is ourselves.

I love every episode because it manages to make me feel emotional. the stories are so touching and relate to life in society. The story that impressed me the most was 넋은 별이 되고 (Soul that became a star). It tells the story of a hero's grandfather who used to defend the country and experienced post-war trauma and ended up living alone until he was old. So I thought, the government should provide counseling for activists who survived the war. Another story that touched me was the story of Kong, a dog who intended to commit suicide because he didn't want to see his owner sad because of the dog's illness. Kooryeon's words are true, nothing is more sincere than an animal.

There is always a lesson to be learned from each case. it seems like if I write it again, it will be long, and bring up too many spoilers. For those who are down, feel that their life is meaningless, this drama is very worth watching because it might provide a little enlightenment and strength for those who watch it.

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