After we tuned into “Spring of Youth” throughout the premiere week, it appeared just like the present can be a enjoyable, lighthearted story of youth, friendship, and love. However episode 5 proved as soon as once more that youth just isn’t the identical for everybody. Whereas some youngsters stay carefree lives, others like Kim Bom (Park Ji Hu), Sa Gye (Ha Yoo Joon), and Tae Yang (Lee Seung Hyub) face challenges that would shatter even an grownup. From Sa Gye carrying the burden of a painful fact to Tae Yang’s emotions being rejected, listed here are 4 moments in episode 5 of “Spring of Youth” that left us gutted.
Warning: spoilers for episode 5 forward!
Kim Bom’s ache operating deeper
Simply when viewers thought they’d grasped the burden of Kim Bom’s previous, “Spring of Youth” revealed one more heartbreaking layer and confirmed the severity of our feminine lead’s trauma. Earlier episodes already confirmed the immense guilt she carries over donating her mom’s organs, questioning if issues would have been completely different had she simply waited another day. However episode 5 provides a much more devastating fact.
Six years in the past, Kim Bom was in America, calling her mom to share the information of an award she had simply obtained. Her mom answered whereas driving within the rain, proper earlier than The Crown’s CEO Cho Sang Hun (Jo Han Chul) crashed into her automobile. Kim Bom didn’t simply hear the accident occur, she heard her mom crying for assist, trapped and terrified, because it all unfolded in actual time over the telephone.
It’s a chilling element that reframes so a lot of Kim Bom’s reactions. Her anxiousness round automobile accidents, her quiet grief, her separation anxiousness, all of it traces again to that second. Even when she wasn’t bodily there, listening to all the pieces was greater than sufficient to traumatize a toddler. This revelation makes it painfully clear: Kim Bom has been carrying the sound of that evening along with her ever since.
Sa Gye battling a fact he can’t share
(*4*)
One of the emotional moments of the episode facilities on Sa Gye and the unattainable state of affairs he finds himself in. After experiencing vivid goals and unsettling flashbacks, he lastly realizes they aren’t simply fragments of his creativeness however reminiscences from Kim Bom’s mom, whose eyes have been donated to him after the accident. The reality crashes down on him with insufferable weight.
Determined to do the fitting factor, Sa Gye reaches out to the police, solely to be met with skepticism as a result of lack of proof. However figuring out what he is aware of, merely shifting on isn’t an possibility. He’s haunted by the reminiscence and the guilt of being linked to a tragedy he didn’t even absolutely perceive till now. This burden turns into too heavy to hold round Kim Bom, so he distances himself, emotionally and bodily.
In a painful try to guard her, he denies his emotions and tells her he by no means needed to signal along with her within the first place. His coldness stings, however beneath all of it, Sa Gye is simply as younger and misplaced as Kim Bom. Confronted with an insufferable fact and no clear path ahead, he chooses silence, not out of cruelty, however out of confusion and worry.
Kim Bom’s stolen track
(*5*)
Amid all of the emotional chaos, Kim Bom is hit with one more blow: her track has been stolen. What’s much more stunning is who took it—the CEO’s daughter (Han Yu Eun), the exact same “unnie” who had at all times appeared variety and supportive. Up till now, she had by no means been portrayed as somebody with in poor health intentions, which makes this betrayal really feel all of the extra private.
For Kim Bom, music has at all times been greater than only a profession. It’s one of many few issues she nonetheless has management over. To have her track taken, stripped of credit score, and probably utilized by somebody with energy and affect is extra than simply skilled sabotage. It’s a violation of one thing deeply private.
One may argue that the CEO’s daughter acted below strain, particularly with the duty of salvaging The Crown’s upcoming comeback. However with the privilege, affect, and monetary sources her father’s place has afforded her, she had numerous alternate options. She may have employed an expert producer or sought out established expertise. As an alternative, she selected to take from somebody nonetheless struggling to search out her footing within the trade. In doing so, she didn’t simply steal a track, she stole Kim Bom’s exhausting work, hope, and a small piece of her therapeutic.
A bittersweet escape with Tae Yang
Amid the heaviness of episode 5, one scene presents a uncommon pocket of heat, with Tae Yang taking Kim Bom out on a spontaneous platonic date. Over a easy meal, he tries to elevate her spirits with jokes and quiet gestures of care. It’s a young second that reminds us these characters are nonetheless younger, nonetheless attempting to carry onto fragments of pleasure regardless of the ache round them.
Of course, viewers can’t assist however really feel a pang of unhappiness figuring out Tae Yang is the second lead. His emotions, regardless of how honest, possible gained’t be returned. However for a quick second, seeing him and Kim Bom share laughter and lightness seems like a reward in itself.
What additionally stands out on this scene is Kim Bom’s readability. Whereas Tae Yang opens up emotionally, hoping she would possibly see him in another way, she doesn’t falter. As an alternative, she gently however firmly reminds him that solely she will get to determine who she likes, and it’s not one thing another person can push her into. It’s considered one of many moments that present why Kim Bom is such a compelling lead: she’s variety and weak however by no means afraid to face her floor.
The most effective side of episode 5 was that it reminded the viewers that nobody is one-dimensional. Kim Bom’s guardian aunt, usually portrayed as grasping and money-hungry, revealed a extra human facet when she consoles Kim Bom on the police station. Her real concern, nevertheless fleeting, provides nuance to a personality we’ve largely seen in a damaging gentle. Moments like these floor the story, displaying how even flawed individuals can care deeply in quiet, surprising methods.
Begin watching “Spring of Youth”:
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Javeria is a binge-watching specialist who loves devouring whole Ok-dramas in a single sitting. Good screenwriting, stunning cinematography, and a scarcity of cliches are the best way to her coronary heart. As a music fanatic, she listens to a number of artists throughout completely different genres and stans the self-producing idol group SEVENTEEN. You possibly can speak to her on Instagram @javeriayousufs.
Presently watching: “Spring of Youth,” “Second Shot at Love,” and “Our Unwritten Seoul.”
Wanting ahead to: “Squid Sport Season 3” and “Good Boy”
