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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" Episode 13

Due to the lack of dynamic story beats, "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" is a bad drama to marathon. The lack of anything happening can get to be tiring very fast. Yet the core concept still works well as character exploration in leisurely beats, and this episode features a fair amount of variety in service to the same thematic point. Hye-jin wears a Christmas dress to Chief Hong's birthday party. Afterwards we get the first real taste of actual conflict in their relationship, with Hye-jin trying to needlessly impress former classmates.

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Chief Hong manages that feat easily enough. Yet doubt has already already been planted. What if he hadn't? Chief Hong is provincial by choice, and it's not clear that Hye-jin really gets that. Already, in their relationship of somewhat ambiguous length, Hye-jin is talking about returning to Seoul. And I have to say, I'll be very disappointed if she does. The more likely conclusion is she chooses not to, even though Chief Hong offers to after the drama deals with whatever his trauma is.

In the more immediate sense I liked the contrast with existing romantic relationships inside Gongjin, brief though many of them were. Seong-hyeon is explicitly told that his lead writer has a crush on him. There's not really much to work with there. Another brief scene where Mi-seon tells her younger cop friend to not worry about being too provincial is much sweeter. Mi-seon has a similar background to Hye-jin, yet rather notably lacks Hye-jin's anxiety about what metropolitan people think of her lifestyle or boyfriend.

There's a far more substantitive story beat with the married couple Geum-cheol (played by Yoon Seok-hyun) and the increasingly heavily pregnant Yoon-kyeong (played by Kim Ju-yeon). They're relatively young, to have a grade school daughter anyway, and we learn that Geum-cheol is not as attentive as he should be. Nevertheless, he tries. He learns. A little late, maybe, and his accidental misogyny against his pregnant wife is well documented.

Yet his devotion in spite of these imperfections is touching. We're likewise seeing similar exposition with Hwa-jeong and Yeong-gook, the latter finally, tearfully learning that his ex-wife is still trying to exert small kindnesses to him. And their child has clearly learned from his parents' mistakes, being a patient and comforting friend to Bo-ra, who is terrified for her mother's fate. The question is naturally begged- is Chief Hong that devoted? Can he be? Presumably we'll find out in subsequent episodes.

Review by William Schwartz

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"Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" is directed by Yoo Je-won, written by Sin Ha-eun, and features Shin Min-a, Kim Seon-ho, Lee Sang-yi, Gong Min-jung, Seo Sang-won-I, Woo Mi-hwa. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/08/28~Now airing, Sat, Sun 21:10 on tvN.

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