What a nice surprise in 2023!
Full of heart and love for music, too. Though neither major, nor minor, but plenty of both. Fresh, cheeky, cheerfully playful and yet with complex substance. RomCom inclusive. “Twinkling Watermelon” follows the trend of 2023 productions: time travel. A journey into the past, into the parents' late youth - as a gift that offers the chance to understand a little more about them and thus at best make peace with life here and there. Charming magic is also involved, as life is full of surprises if you just open and follow your heart... that's the wonderful motto that offers balm for troubled souls. Viva la Vida!

In fact, the story's ostensibly cheerful melody is supported by an emotionally serious basso continuo. This gives this KDrama a warm, complex, lasting depth, despite all its youthful playfulness. The protagonist is a hearing child of deaf parents (CODA). He is an extremely talented, eager, responsible, loving son and brother, but he is inevitably somewhat overwhelmed by his responsibilities (as a child), out of guilt loading even more responsibility on his shoulders. He feels lonely at times with his experiences of the acoustic world that he cannot share with his parents. And he also suffers from the social marginalization that he and his family experience.
Eun-gyeol (for all his positive approach to the challenges of his life) embodies the psychological conflicts of any CODA, that he, too, has to deal with by living between the worlds (with and without acoustics). He does it quite well, yet deep down he understandably suffers from the great responsibility he has to bear as a child already. Sooner or later he has to come to terms with this conflict in a self-loving and self-confident manner, so that he may allow himself to go his own way in life, too, despite the challenge. Basically, it is precisely this inner psychological dynamic that is the dramaturgical driving force of the story.
It is not uncommon for CODAs to seek professional support or ask for help, if the emotional burden feels too heavy. (Just like anybody else would as long as they acknowledge.) Here the support comes unexpectedly in the form of a magical journey through time, and there is help, too. But significantly, Eun-gyeol got so caught up in his trained behavior pattern that he (almost obsessively) only sees the time travel as another challenge to prove himself and being in charge - no matter what the cost. It is almost verging on megalomania to believe that he might now be responsible for the fate of his parents in their past, too. (However, throughout the series this aspect opens up room for fun and comedy.) On the other hand, the immense inner psychological pressure that he puts on himself also subtly reflects the sad dilemma that keeps him trapped. (Which in turn latently contributes to the emotional depth of the KDrama.)

In fact, “Twinkling Watermelon” opens up space for even more serious topics in different storylines. Aside from the social stumbling blocks in the lives of deaf people, there are child abuse and suicidal tendency, too. Thus, overall, there are pretty profound themes that the KDrama tackles bravely and plays through with a lot of feeling, yet still in a digestible manner - despite all the seriousness, embedded in colorful joy of life. "Twinkling Watermelon" radiates warmth and knows how to touch. Cheers to life. (And to magic, too, that can re-shuffle the cards of time and space... who knows?)









PS:
Would have, could have... if only the sign language hadn't been processed acoustically... but authentic silence was probably too daring... and would probably have neutralized the lively esprit of the music band's approach towards life... hmm... everything altogether probably doesn't work...