I didn't quite buy the musical element of the show in the beginning and thought of it as a failure from the get-go, not even planning to move forward with the 2nd episode. If not for Ji Chang Wook (and Netflix's autoplay function), I would not have moved beyond the first episode. Cheesy much. Highschool Musical much. Fake much. Not good singing much.
Sorry, I digress.
The series did not expand much about The Magician played by Ji Chang Wook, I guess to keep things mystical.
Thankfully, perspective was given to the lives of the two students who were affected by The Magician. As the teens began to accept the wonder that The Magician was bringing into their lives, we, the viewers, are left wondering....'So...was that real or what?'. Is he real or what? Is he crazy or what? Are they ALL crazy or what?
The last few series I watched left bitter tastes in my mouth because of their inconclusive endings and dissatisfying storytelling so, I didn't want to embark on something I knew was going to do the same again so soon.
The students consist of Ah-Yi, who comes from a desperately poverty-stricken and neglected background. But one thing was sure - she found maths fascinating because there is always an answer to the questions. On the flipside, Il Ting comes out tops for all subjects except maths and his life runs smooth as a Jaguar on a highway because of his family's prominence.
The Magician's mantra is "Do you...believe in magic?". How cheesy. I have a problem with cheesy, fine, ok. But bear with me because this line will carry us through the 6-episode series. It is almost the premise of the stories weaved together.
Like I said, those words, that question, makes us wonder if we all lose our belief in magic, in miracles, in the power of wonder, as we grow older.
Ah Yi shoulders the heavy responsibility of raising not just herself but also her younger sister, constantly begging for her runaway father to come home. Il Ting continues to walk the asphalt path his rich, established parents have paved for him as he struggles to understand the meaning of life if this was all there was to it.
So, when asked "Do you believe in magic?" the two teenagers had their doubts.
The Magician himself was a childlike personality who was never short of surprises. There were gaping holes in the story, of course, but I think Ji Chang Wook played it well enough. He didn't have a name until almost towards the end so...LOL.
I think the story would have been better if The Magician's story wasn't rushed and stuffed towards the end, the VERY VERY END of the series. We could have gone without one or two songs to make time for his story. Come on.
If you watch this series, just be prepared to be frustrated. We are not fed anything, not even nuggets of information, about The Magician.
What I like is that the series addresses the biggest obstacle for teenagers entering adulthood. Are we going to get boxed up, do as we are told, just because we have to? Or are we going to believe in dreams (read: magic) and create our own paths?
There's so much pressure society places on us as we grow that we get mentally stuck in places we don't want to be in. It explains how the teens often end up in the old, abandoned theme park to meet with the magician just to 'learn magic tricks' from him.
At the end of the day, it is not 'Do you believe in magic?' that we have to answer. The question really is 'Do you believe in your dreams?'. 'Do you believe in yourself?'
In the final episode, Ah Yi finally realizes the power of magic. It's not magic that brings about miracles. It's the belief in miracles that brings about magic.
Let that sink in because I think that's powerful.
Despite feeling frustrated from not being told whether the magic performed were real or illusions, the teens finally believed not in the magic but in The Magician himself.
The final episode felt like a panic attack. Like the writers finally realized, "Holy Shite, we've got an hour to wrap this thing up".
I loved the colors that the movie took on. Sure, there aren't that many locations except for the homes, school and theme park, but the CGI was lovely. I could care less about the songs and singing, though. They were good enough.
What I am happy about the final curtain call at the end - as in a real curtain call on the theme park's stage. The good guys, bad guys, annoying guys...all came out together for a song and dance - musical style - before bowing out of the series. Nice...
The social commentary is interesting and refreshing and I enjoyed the show. I know I said differently in the beginning but it was because I started watching without knowing what the show was about. It just popped up out of nowhere on my stream. LOL.
I enjoyed it but felt that there could have been something better done to put more meat into The Magician's story.
4.1 / 5 Stars
Comments