What Is the Story About?
A depressed & retired K-Pop idol becomes flat-mates with a college going student, only for the duo to get attracted with each other. Their deepest insecurities, social-status hurdles, career and idol culture cut through their relationship over the years only for the duo to find and fix each other all by themselves.
Performances?
Bae Suzy adapts so well in a role that’s such a forte for her. Her K-pop idol background helps her in many ways as she effortlessly glides into the role of Lee Doona. Be it Doona’s desperation for attention, fear of abandonment, groveling loneliness or puppy eyed in-love looks, she aces all of it and makes the viewer sympathise for a confused and depressed idol who rediscovers and reinvents herself. Yang Se-jong plays Lee Won-jun, an extremely ordinary college student with a heart of gold for everyone around him and especially for Doona. He becomes her anchor during her hardest waters and covers her with love, presence, selfless affection and helps her find herself. The actors are a treat to watch together and otherwise, all thanks to their fire-cracking chemistry.
Analysis
Based on the Naver Webtoon, Netflix’s Doona starring Bae Suzy in the titular role follows the bittersweet romance of an extraordinary college student, Won-jun and a retired K-pop idol Doo-na as they become roommates. Doona is a story of redemption, self discovery and the immaculate power of love that helps a person to withstand the hardest of waters and sail through toughest of times even if two people don’t end up together.
Doona starts with Won-jun, a top scoring student shifting to Seol and moving to a shared apartment where he meets Doona, a retired K-pop idol. Won-jun’s school best-friend is a fan of Doona and her band Dream Sweet, and this familiarity brings Won-jun closer to Doona even if he was never a fan. Won-jun socialises well with his roommates that also include seniors and also meets his high-school sweetheart Jin-jo who happens to study in the same university.
Doona falls into the cliche of every mushy K-drama romance while portraying how Doona and Won-jun falls in love. But the maturity of the show lies in how it deciphers the horrors of idol-life and the pain of loneliness. Doona shows how celebrity life is often shallow, with celebrities often not even having real friends to open their hearts out to and of course the toxic idol-making culture and grooming.
Amidst all of this, Won-jun becomes Doona’s everything and most importantly the shoulder she could rest herself on. Her suicidal thoughts vanish and she begins to love herself and her music like never before. This comes with a lot of baggages ofcourse. The rumours and negativity that would spur with a popular celebrity dating an ordinary and typical engineering student cracks their relationship with both sides willingly readying to break themselves up.
Doona shows how even normal relationships are looked down upon when it comes to celebrity dating lives. How agencies and public keeps both Doona and Won-jun away from each other and drifts them apart. But this time, the duo are thankful for being in each other’s lives, happy and moves forward in life with their treasured affection for each other still intact.
Coming to what doesn’t work, for a show that is titled Doona, it shows very little of her painful childhood, ordeal with depression and grooming phase. The show tries to maintain a breezy and pleasant tone throughout which shouldn’t have been the case. There are characters that enter mid-way and contribute nothing to the show other than acting like fillers. Doona also fails to explore her broken relationship with her opportunistic mother apart from few mentions here and there and a scene together.
For a show that has Bae Suzy, Doona fails to tap into the untapped emotional gravity of the actor and write a character that had the potential to be one of the most layered Kdrama characters ever. There’s no clear reasoning to why Doona is selfish, annoying and attention seeking. Although we’d root for her relationship with Won-jun, it’s not clear why they’re not capable of being together if they aren’t together.
Open endings work for romantic shows that establish a relationship and circumstances believably well, but Doona isn’t all that. Viewers buy Doona and Won-jun’s arc mostly due to the actors and their incredible chemistry. In fact, they do carry the show and it’s melancholy on their bare backs.
In short, Doona works as a romance between an idol and an ordinary college student, but falters as a story that revolves around a depressed idol who finds herself through the magic and power of love. A love so strong that it doesn’t even require the couple to be together to carry its positivity and strength within themselves.
Other Artists?
Although some of the characters and tracks make little to no sense to Doona and Won-jun’s story, Doona has a terrific supporting cast. Shin Ha-young who plays Kim Jin-joo is the most heart-warming character of all. Won-jun and Jin-joo’s scenes together are so beautifully written and the actors share incredible chemistry as well.
Park se-wan who plays Choi I-ra, Won-jun’s childhood sweetheart, is an annoying character on paper and onscreen, but the actor makes her a breezy and fun character. The other actors who play Doona and Won-jun’s flatmates are also charming and happy-going for the show’s vibe.
Music and Other Departments?
The biggest strength of Doona apart from the main leads is it’s music. The melancholic strain of the show is rightly captured by Nam Hye-seung after the super blockbuster soundtrack in ‘Our Beloved Summer’. The music sets itself on a journey through Doona’s life from a self-depreciating idol to a Self-confident musician who re-invents and fixes herself through selfless love. Doona also has some really impressive camera work, setting the right tonality of a feel good show.
Highlights?
Bae Suzy
Commentary on idol culture
Chemistry between leads
Music
Drawbacks?
Less Focus on Doona
Random filler characters
Filler scenes
Slow Pace
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, in parts.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, with reservations.
Doona Series Review by Binged Bureau
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