Little Women (2022) review: Topsy-turvy drama with a flat ending

Little Women (2022) is a Netflix Korean drama about three sisters who get caught in some danger and have to go up against a powerful, evil family. All episodes are now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Oh In-joo, Oh In-kyung and Oh In-hye are three sisters who live a very impoverished and difficult life. In-joo is a gullible outcast who works in an accounting agency, In-kyung is a reporter with a drinking problem and In-hye is a talented artist who regrets the hand she’s been dealt in life.

In-joo’s friend from work, Hwa-young, commits suicide and her death gets the ball rolling on a huge conspiracy that drags in the three sisters in and puts them in harm’s way.

At the centre of the conspiracy is Park Jae-sang, a lawyer and mayoral candidate of Seoul. He’s part of a distinguished family that holds a lot of power in the city and will go to any lengths to keep things that way.

There are billions of won involved, suspicious murders and cover-ups and even a secret society as the three sisters do their very best to come out of this unscathed.

Performances

The three sisters are great throughout the series. Kim Go-eun, Nam Ji-Hyun and Ji-hu Park play significantly different characters and each of them impresses on screen.

Go-eun plays the oldest sister who is often naive and easily influenced but her intentions are pure and she gives it her all to make things better for the people she cares about.

Ji-Hyun plays the second sister, the determined reporter who is extremely clever and overcomes her initial issues with alcohol to succeed. Ji-Hyun is inspirational in this role and shows a lot of grit when faced with difficulties.

Park plays the youngest sister and shows talent and maturity beyond her years for a character that is depressingly written as being broody and not always happy. It’s a sad character and Park espouses that emotion perfectly.

Ki-joon Uhm and Ji-won Uhm are brilliant villains that strike the right balance between menace and mania.

Positives

The background score of the series is absolutely wonderful. Many traditional instruments are used to make such melodious sounds and the tone is set perfectly by the score.

The series is shot quite beautifully. The different sets and even the outside shots capture the different worlds of Seoul and give the audience a glimpse of how different classes live in the city.

The story has some interesting twists and turns and certain episodes definitely drive the excitement level high with their writing. The script is also considerably strong and meaningful.

Negatives

Some episodes are a drag and the hour-long run time certainly hurts the series at times. For every good, intriguing episode there is a dull one that just makes you wish for the end.

Some of the plots were left a little too late and didn’t receive enough time to breathe. The final episode aimed to clear up at least 3 major plot lines and because of the congested nature, it isn’t as impactful as it should have been.

Verdict

Little Women (2022) is a satisfying Korean drama with tons of mystery and murder and mayhem but it can be a bit of a task to get through each episode as it isn’t consistent with its quality.

The series maintains a constant ebb and flow to it and by the end, the narrative takes the easy route and provides a happy ending that slightly deflates given the journey up until then.

Little Women
Little Women (2022) review: Topsy-turvy drama with a flat ending 1

Director: Kim Hee-won

Date Created: 2022-09-03 19:30

Editor's Rating:
3

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