Review: Fight My Way/ Fight for My Way

What can I say? I'm very pleasantly surprised!

Right from the start, I ought to say it's rare that I see a non-main couple with a love story that is engaging enough for me to care (sadly, those in Boys Over Flowers, Coffee Prince, Secret Garden... sometimes got annoying and pulled away from our main pairs). But this drama, while not blowing anything to ridiculous proportions with romance, and keeping the secondary couple down to earth and relatable, did more than any possible romantic rivals/flashy playboys/bitter exes ever did. I'm impressed, and I found myself genuinely rooting for all four of the leads.

Anyway, the actors did a great job. I'll be honest. Hwarang (Seo-Joon's previous drama) bored me, and I thought Ji-Won's role in Descendants of the Sun was a little flat. I also have never seen Song Ha-Yoon before, and never seen Ahn Jae Hong in a serious role, and he was possibly the most serious in the friend group (he was hilarious and lovable in Reply 1988 though). So this group of actors was almost underdog just like their underdog roles in the show.

The beginning of the show made the characters pitiful, relatable to anybody who has had a bad day, and underdogs we definitely want to see winning in the future. What a setup! Ae Ra always dreamed of being an anchorwoman on TV, the mic is her dream. Dong Man was a promising taekwondo artist who quit the sport. Seol-Hee and Joo-Man have dated for 6 years, and now go through a period of turbulence. 

The romance in the show was very cute from all the characters involved, and even though they were a little frustrating at times (why is he so obsessed with his ex and thick-headed? Why does she cry so much?), there were plenty of cute moments for our two lead couples that the story was an exciting one. Potentially sequel-worthy (very few dramas are)!

A pervasive theme in this drama was that of "it's not too late to pursue your dreams", which was pretty striking, and spoiler alert, everybody more or less achieves what they dream of, and in a way mature to have a better understanding of both themselves and their dreams, which do take on new forms. The romance did overwhelm the dream part at times, which I did not like, but was not enough to put a damper on the drama's merits. Dong Man's character valued money, and for good reason. We are exposed to the sacrifices people make for money, not simply because they want to roll in green, but because they always strive for the better - a better life for themselves, their kids, their families. And I completely sympathize with the realness that this aspect of the drama brought out. 

It's a truly refreshing take on a modern world where our opportunities seem more boundless than ever, and yet we are still tied down in a society of dependencies, responsibilities, and fear. One of the lines I really liked was "If growing up means that I have to give up my dreams, then I don't want to grow up!" I relate 😅😆 And yeah - they were 30 year olds who embarked on a journey to be happy in life. 

Don't be timid! Have self-confidence!

My favorite theme in this drama was that surrounding Song Ha-Yoon's character, which was feminist and practical and fresh in its point of view. I, for one, have never "dreamed" of marrying and having kids. My dreams lie more on the "let's never settle and focus only on work" side. Seol-Hee (played by Song Ha-Yoon) was of the former. Her dream was to be part of a family, to be loved, to cherish and be cherished. And what's wrong with that dream? Absolutely nothing. Feminism is the idea that no matter what anybody wants to do, gender of all things shouldn't be a hindrance. But our Seol-Hee does become more independent, which is a necessity in today's world, regardless of how much you love the person you depend on entirely.

This drama had several points of tension and suspense that kept it interesting throughout. There was this one secret regarding the landlady of the four friends, and the journey to finding out the truth was really funny and exciting. However, the actual execution of it (in the very last episode) felt a little rushed (you don't have to tie up all loose ends that neatly, guys). Perhaps that was the greatest flaw of the show. It just progressed towards a situation in which everybody got exactly what they wanted (in a way very obvious for the audience) and there was a distinct lack of loose ends in the show. But if you like happy endings like that, then hey, this drama did damn good.

I would rate it a 7.5/10 because of how refreshing this drama was. Not the sappy type that would include an all-star cast and become crazy successful, but a nice drama telling us more about ourselves. While I feel that the self-discovery idea was a little overshadowed by the romance at times, this drama was still a sweet one to watch - I'd recommend it!