Can I Be Someone Else (2023)

a wasted story

A love story between a man who doesn't know what he wants and a woman who thinks she knows exactly what she wants. Even after more than ten years together, they don't truly understand each other and fail to share the truths about themselves, making them a flawed couple from the start.

Their imperfections are certainly rooted in nonsensical details within the scenario. In this drama, everyone except the main couple behaves as they should. The other characters are well-developed and consistent in their actions and behaviors. However, the two most important characters in the series are written in a completely incomplete, absurd, and inconsistent manner. It seems the writer intended to showcase their emotional ups and downs in a peculiar way.

The female lead is a strong divorce lawyer, initially presented to us as an intelligent woman, but she ultimately lives completely by her emotions, appearing quirky and even a bit foolish. I found her actions, especially in the second half, to be truly absurd. Her pursuit of her ex-husband, who treats her poorly and shows no signs of affection, cannot be explained merely by love. At the very least, it doesn’t align with what an intelligent woman would do.

The male lead is the most absurd character in this drama. He seems to have no emotional ties left with his ex-wife. He has no qualms about starting a job at her workplace, and on top of that, he arranges a date between his best friend and his ex-wife, helping them become a couple. What? Even if there's no love between them, this would still be quite strange. Despite exhibiting numerous red flag behaviors, the woman shows no reaction to any of this.

The male character orchestrates a fake game of infidelity to get a divorce from his wife. Really? Is it that difficult to explain to someone you've known for over ten years why you want to get divorced? Moreover, the reason for the divorce presented to us felt quite forced. Yes, I admit that even after years, one might not fully know someone, but come on, have you only gone on ten dates in ten years? Is it possible that a couple together for such a long time never discussed whether or not to have children? When they get back together in the series, the woman suddenly finds out that the man doesn’t want kids. It’s revealed that he has hidden his childhood trauma and relationship with his mother from the woman he married for all these years. Seriously, what did you talk about during that time?

I also want to touch on the mothers. While it's a common theme in Korean dramas, I still find it odd how intrusive and authoritarian mothers are in their children's lives. Both of their mothers were quite disturbing. They constantly interfered in their lives, relationships, and characters like children who cry when they don’t get their way, and in the end, they faced no consequences and were simply forgiven. I didn’t like them.

Although I was initially intrigued by the legal stories in this drama, as the episodes progressed, the topics began to reflect their lives more and more. This led to a repetitive cycle, and aside from a few, most of the storylines felt very dull. This isn’t a romantic comedy, but it also didn’t succeed as a drama. At times, it was quite tedious and overwhelming. Especially in the first half, since they hardly came together physically or emotionally, it didn’t feel exciting at all when they decided to reunite. I didn’t think they loved each other enough for that. With so many dramas waiting in the queue, it would have been better if I had postponed watching this one.

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BORINGGGG !!!!

it’s just toooooooooooo boring 🥱 I don’t even know why did I watch drama… it’s a waste of time…. I expected the main leads to get together in end but since it was written in the title itself I knew but I still watched it….

I will NOT recommend anyone to watch this k-drama AT ALL!!!!!

the male lead was handsome and even the female lead was pretty…

the whole story was pretty much about after the divorce why they couldn’t live together and then in the mid the female lead tries to convince him but then in the end he just rejects him

it shows the 2nd couple (friends of the main leads) getting pregnant and married…

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Romance que é necessario paciencia e compreensão do espectador

A galera está dando notas baixas para esse drama. Os protagonistas nos causam raiva porque tomam atitudes baseadas em sentimentos próprios (frequentemente infantis e sem sentido).
Eu considerei o dorama bom, justamente porque traz uma necessidade do espectador ter um olhar mais adulto e empático com as situações. Os protagonistas tem opiniões muito diferentes sobre a vida, mas o amor que um tem pelo outro traz uma insistência em fazer "dar certo" a relação. Eles tem sentimentos "entendíveis ou coerentes" com suas histórias de vida.

Conclusão:
O romance mostra a necessidade de comunicação dos personagens, a importância de entender até que ponto se pode levar uma relação e que o ódio e o amor estão sempre presentes, basta ambos entenderem qual está prevalecendo.
O final do drama é ótimo, a trilha sonora é ótima, e os atores são muito lindos ;-;

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Not my thing

Okay so last night I finished this recently aired drama 'Strangers again'. I started watching it cuz someone said it's a 'lovers to enemies to lovers' but in the end it turned out to be 'lovers to enemies to lovers to strangers'. even tho i'm a wh0re for happy endings(the kind where ML and FL end up together) i was pretty satisfied with the ending. The leads have only dated each other all their lives but still didn't end together showing they were just not meant to be. when they do see each other they aren't compatible at anything but When they aren't dating, they can't seriously see someone else cuz their hearts seem to be somewhere else, but in reality it's just that they have only dated each other all their lives so, they are kinda afraid to see new people.
also, i had a love hate relationship with the 2nd lead couple...at times i was really really annoyed with the 2nd FL
overall it is a slowburn drama with law subplots and Melo as a main plot
it was overall an 7/10

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It's and open ending so delude yourself however you want!!!

What a beautiful drama, the title states the intention of this drama and in my own opinion I reckon they executed it very well. A lot of people are upset about the ending however this ending is a great open ending.

The key factors to this open ending is, they established that both leads still loved each other very much with the FL stopping her mother's consistent blind date setups. The MC seemed to have overcome his 'BINK' stance when he mentioned at the end "I look after my nephew and nieces quite a lot these days" indicating the possibility of him being open to having kids now as he had come to make peace with his mother, the ML is also seeing a medical consultant on his swaying mood swings and erratic behaviours. Finally to wrap it all up they both asked the final question "Can we really go back to being strangers again?" Providing an open question to this open ending...

Option 1:
Both leads crossed paths from time to time as they each continued to work on themselves all whilst still holding deep affection for one another. Eventually, as enough time passed, and each finally reached where they wanted to be, they finally came back together. Got married, started a family and though not all moments were good times, this time they survived the game of life as a pillar for one another.

Option 2:
They came to realise love wasn't enough to keep their delusion of being together again a reality...after some time and hard work, both came to see each other more as friends than as lovers. Still holding that deep affection for one another however this time held from the perspective of close individuals. Each finally found the person best suited to them and came to find true peace in their new reality.

As my title stated and now the context of my review states the ending really is up to how you want it to be...we already got to see them be affectionate and if that was enough for you, then write the after story however you want. If you prefer they got back together, by all means that's what they did...you just have to imagine this as the true ending. That's why I found this ending well-suited for this very drama, it left me feeling oddly at peace with how this ended and quite fulfilled.

I'm not saying others will or were left feeling the same way but I was hoping to share my lens around, so others can see how I perceived the drama.

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The Tragedy of Divorce Lawyers

Both tell stories about divorce lawyers, auto comparing the Chinese drama "My Boss" with the Korean drama "Strangers Again".

What is the difference? The actresses and actors of the Chinese drama "My Boss" are more good looking. Maybe it was because Chen Xing Xu and Zhang Ruo Nan were younger, both 27 years old. Meanwhile, the actresses and actors of the Korean drama "Strangers Again" are more "senior", Kang So-Ra (33 years) and Jang Seung-Jo (42 years).

The impact on the quality of acting. Main lead (ML) and female lead (FL) in the Chinese drama "My Boss", acting safely as the prince on a white horse and Cinderella. A truly entertaining watch.

Meanwhile, the Korean drama "Strangers Again" shows FL who has a strong and dominating character. Her husband (ML), who was used to giving in, finally raised his hand by pretending to be cheating so that FL would get angry and want to divorce. An expensive choice that must be paid for with large amounts of allowance.


Every decision has a price

If the price is regret

There's no other choice


Apart from the different acting, the story of the Chinese drama "My Boss" feels softer. Both ML and FL explain the legal rules (including articles and verses) in full in the memorization scene and the quiz scene.

Viewers of the Korean drama "Strangers Again" receive a more comprehensive presentation of the case. We look for loopholes in the rule of law to win cases. as well as related legal regulations, such as displaying bad things about your partner/ex-partner on social media. For me, of course this is more interesting, even though South Korean law is certainly different from Indonesia.

Apart from successfully formulating the case and the legal rules, writernim Park Jin-Ree also succeeded in building the foundation of the main character, by telling the story of the ML family and the FL family. So family members don't come together to create conflict between ML and FL.

But whatever, the reason I watched the Korean drama "Strangers Again" was because it starred Kang So-Ra. After getting married and having children in 2021, this beautiful woman is still cool. Tall, slim with adorable chubby cheeks.

The next review can be here: https://www.maria-g-soemitro.com/2024/03/strangers-again-review-drama-korea.html

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Reality of dating and marriage

Didn't expect that the drama about two divorcees that are forced to work together can be so engaging 😏 Ha Ra and Eun Beom happened to be very intersting characters whose history hooked me up already from second episode. The leads are not only each other opposites but are also their presentation is twisted to compare to other Korean dramas. Goo Eun Beom is not typical because he not a cold-hearted guy with EQ of river-stone, nor an athletic heir to a fortune, nor the best lawyer in town. On the contrary - he is emotional, broke and has as good as no career at this point in life. Ha Ra ... well .... she surely won in this divorce. I adore this drama and probably will watch it one more time in the future. While the story develops the conflicts between the leads goes to another level. I was feeling hyper conflicted wether I cheer for them being back together or not. Even though at first I hated the ending, I came to thing that it happened for the best.
I speak more about this drama on my blog: https://my-asian-dramas.blogspot.com/

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Real Love Is Complicated

Must watch break from sickly sweet immature love stories that are so common in dramas. (Not bashing as I totally have a sweet tooth too!) This was a refreshing modern love story about finding value and meaning in partnerships. Centered around a family law office, each episode imparts a lesson on managing relationships. The main leads’ history, office family dynamics and episodic case studies align well for addictive pacing. Honestly wish this was a full 16 episodes to see more of the love backstory (like Our Beloved Summer) and added side character development. Think some of the negative reviews are due to the portrayal of divorcing clients however these somber character illustrations match well to highlight the main character growth and reconciliation opportunities. Anyone who has experienced a break up (not necessarily divorce) will be able to empathize with the characters complex intimacy and self reflection. Don’t worry about the naysayers and give it a go!

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[Currently Updating]: SAME FORMULA BUT STILL AN ENTERTAINING WATCH

When I read the synopsis I automatically knew how this drama would play out based on my drama-watching experience. haha. Regardless I decided to watch. It is very entertaining so far and I can tell that there is some miscommunication that leads to their divorce. It is apparent that the ML and FL are still in love with each other despite the ex-husband's alleged affair.

Both reunite at her place of employment which seems to be a place that is familiar to both since everyone seems to have some relationship with the leads. After watching episode 2, the ML does not seem to deny the "affair" or that he may still be in love with the FL however, the FL seems convinced that the affair did happen.

I am invested in the sense that I want to see what truly happened that resulted in their divorce despite their love for each other. It may be along the lines that he may have felt inadequate, or it was a misunderstanding but he still allowed himself to be in that position and hence decided to not dispute that he had an affair. He still seems to be looking out for her. despite all of this, I do want to know what has happened in their relationship so I will continue to watch.

Additionally, these two actors' chemistry is good and the comedic relief I get from their scenes is definitely worth a watch.

Depending on how the other episodes develop, I will be updating my review as I continue to watch

Ep: 3: The episode started off well. The issue I seem to be having now is with the FL character, mostly because even though her actions are coming from being hurt in the past her current actions are starting to annoy me. She obviously is still madly in love with the ML. She is currently dating someone else, who obliviously is willing to wait for her only for her to enjoy the time together IF THE ML IS NOT AROUND. But once she sees the ML she automatically makes it about him and her, disregarding everyone else. The end relevance of the divorce was not something I was expecting so props to the writers because I did not see that. However, I can suspect that it had to be due to a lack of communication in the past, which resulted in the divorce, which would not be surprising based on the FLs current actions. [my rate will remain the same: 7.5]

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