5 Reasons Why ‘Crash Landing On You’ Needs To Be Your New Show
A few weeks ago Alannah did and article on foreign language tv shows. I was struggling to find something new to watch because honestly aren’t we a bit too spoilt for choice these days with Amazon Prime, Netflix, NowTV and Disney+? It’s so hard to find something to interest me.
On a whim I decided to try out Crash Landing On You, a show I had seen coming up on my Netflix homepage a lot over the past few months. And I’m not overselling this when I say it’s the best TV show I have ever watched!
Here’s why I’m absolutely obsessed and why I think you should add it to your to watch list ASAP…
The Plot Is Gripping
Crash Landing on You tells the story of two star-crossed lovers, Yoon Se-ri, a South Korean Chaebol heiress, and Ri Jeong-hyeok, a member of the North Korean elite and a Captain in the North Korean Special Police Force.
One day while Yoon Se-ri is paragliding in Seoul, South Korea, a sudden tornado knocks her out and blows her off course. She awakens to find her paraglider had crashed into a tree in a forest in the DMZ in North Korea (an area forbidden for South Koreans). She then meets Ri Jeong-hyeok and falls into his arms when descending from the tree. Ri Jeong-hyeok eventually gives Yoon Se-ri shelter and develops plans to secretly help her return to South Korea. Over time, they fall in love, despite the divide and dispute between their respective countries.
It is the highest rated tvN drama and the third highest-rated South Korean TV drama in cable television history.
I found the North Korea element really fascinating. I know the show is made in South Korea and its a drama, so it’s not an accurate portrayal of North Korea as they’re beefing with the South (and most countries!) but I thought it gave a good over-view of how different the North and the South are. It really is a great obstacle for star-crossed lovers to try overcome – being so close and yet so far from each other!
It’s So Charming
Even though there’s a lot of drama, the main theme of the show is romance and by God does it deliver. I don’t want to give too much away, but watching Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok fall in love is *chefs kiss*.
The show is ridiculously wholesome in how it deals with romance – nothing more than a few very chaste kisses. It has a 15 rating in Ireland due to some very moderate violence, but again that’s kept to a minimum -which is refreshing. I would personally say that a PG or 12 rating would be more appropriate. So, it’s a cute show to watch with family.
So Many Twists And Turns
One of the things that really struck me about Crash Landing On You is how incredibly well written the story is. There are so many twists and turns and they’re told so well. Every episode is like a mini movie. There are 16 episodes in the first season of Crash Landing On You and they range from 70 to 110 minutes long – that’s Game of Thrones level of long episodes!
Even though the episodes are long, it doesn’t feel like it because so much happens in every episode. Because the episodes are so long it doesn’t follow the usual pattern on Western Shows to introduce a plot at the start of the episode and resolve it by the end. Two or three major things could happen all over one episode. Starting one you never know how it’s going to end.
There’s A Wealth Of Secondary Characters
Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok are the main couple of Crash Landing On You, but the show also focuses on Dan and Gu Seung-joon who complicate things with Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok. To be honest I wasn’t super into their storylines, but the four all did intertwine.
It was really the secondary characters, such as Jeong-hyeok’s army unit and the ladies Se-ri befriends in the North Korean village who really interested me. Their storylines made for some of the most funny and interesting moments in the show.
Se-ri’s scheming and wealthy family were also prominent, which reminded me a lot of the movie Crazy Rich Asians mixed with Secession.
The Subtitles Are Great
I know subtitles put a lot of people off for a number of reasons. Some people struggle with reading and some people just don’t like the idea of having to read and watch. I’m lucky that it’s not a barrier for me and I would never have been put off watching something due to subtitles, but wow I fell like my life has changed now that I’ve gone down the foreign language tv show rabbit hole.
Not only has it opened up a whole new genre for me, but for the first time in forever I’m not half stuck in my phone whilst trying to watch a show – which is one of my worst habits!
I have to put the phone away and actually concentrate on the subtitles to know what’s going on. I can’t tell you what a big difference this has made to me. My phone goes on sleep mode at 8pm in the evenings so I can actually enjoy my down time. If you’re struggling to switch off I’d really recommend getting stuck into a good show with subtitles *cough* Crash Landing On You.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for season 2 of Crash Landing On You…in the meant time I’m off to watch it again!
Crash Landing On You is available on Netflix.