Our Beloved Summer actually pulled it off — a PERFECT drama! You have no idea how thrilled I am about this fact, and how much I love this show. It has layers and depth. It has impeccable acting across the board. It has the most beautiful, calming OST. And I can watch scenes over and over again. Heck, I can see myself coming back and watching the whole thing over to pick up on things I hadn't noticed the first time. This is THAT comfort drama. I feel so lucky to have watched along with this show as it aired.

It's not often that a show comes around and makes you feel something, yet Our Beloved Summer makes you run the gamut of emotions. I laughed out loud, I cried in front of others, but mostly, I found myself smiling from ear to ear. You go in expecting a light, fluffy romcom, but you end up getting so much more. Every episode has a clear theme that brilliantly ties to the episode title (all of which are named after famous movies). The production choices are immaculate (let's talk about that ep 8 turning-point montage or the ep 10 thematic switcheroo!). And the biggest feat of all was how tight the story was. I can't help but compare Our Beloved Summer to the Reply series/Prison Playbook/Hospital Playlist — that writer/director duo pulls off uno-reverse-cards on the viewers in a high impact way, but geez, those episodes are always HEFTY. In contrast, I commend the Our Beloved Summer team for doing more with less and keeping every episode to a neat 60-minutes. It is not easy to convey all the depth, heart, and meaning that this show does with such limited time. Somehow, every episode offers a contained and thoughtful lesson, but all the episodes together also demonstrate progression... with overarching themes, behaviours, and character arcs that simply make sense. So many shows start strong but lose the magic in the second half, while Our Beloved Summer goes from strength to strength. In fact, the second half was even better than the first! My favourite moments in the whole drama came from episodes 10-12 and 15. The weakest episodes were 13 and 14 though; I'd say they contributed little to the story (but at least they didn't actively sabotage the story, unlike many other dramas that self-sabotage after certain plot points get resolved).

As for the acting... OSCAR-WINNING CHOI WOO SHIK DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I've seen Parasite, but this is my first time watching him in a "fluffy" role. He killed it as Choi Ung; a deceptively challenging protagonist who could easily become an unsympathetic, annoying or bland caricature in a lesser actor's hands. I am so proud that he's a fellow Canadian countryman and a veritable TALENTED STAR. Beyond Choi Woo Shik, all the other leads brought top-tier performances of their own. I can't imagine another actress as Kook Yeonsu. There were moments I loved Ji-ung and NJ more than our 1st leads, and they serve as a perfect foil. And the rest of the supporting cast rounded out the drama beautifully. Every single character serves multiple purposes, even the minor ones. How did the writers craft such a compelling story without any hatable villains? Everyone is so delightfully human.

I didn't expect to gush about this drama on every single criteria, but I must also point out that the OST is top-tier. V's soothing voice made a wonderful primary OST, with so many other shining gems. I don't think I've ever saved this many songs off a single OST before (seven songs, in case you were wondering). Also, can we talk about the gorgeous cinematography? The changing seasons make you feel like time is passing by. Speaking of time, I've spent way too much of it writing out this review. The tl;dr? Make sure to watch Our Beloved Summer — it's one of the best in the business.