[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Lovers of the Red Sky" Episode 7

I've been on a bit of a break from "Lovers of the Red Sky" lately. First "Squid Game" came out, and then I had to do catch up for "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" before the historical drama's priority became apparent. I thought I picked a good stopping point, as I didn't see how the drama's overly mystical plotting could ever improve on the artistic contest. But time and tide has been kind to "Lovers of the Red Sky" and I find myself liking the drama quite a bit more than I did before.

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The art direction in particular is excellent. Which is surprising, given how awful the computer graphics were in early episodes. Here, effective use of color does the work. Our heroine Chun-gi looks cute and fantastic in Korean traditional dress as always. There's also noteworthy menace when necessary. One flashback depicts how the soul of an important character was corrupted. Black-and-white cinematography with brief splashes of color marks the mood as effectively ominous.

Outside the confines of more creative setpieces, even the more mundane scenes are impressive. Take the opening scene, where Chun-gi is pleading for mercy from her father from...one of the more villainous characters whose exact function in the plot I can't keep track of. The point though, is that the whole scene is layered. We have Chun-gi's subservience, the villain's sadistic menace, and finally, Ram coming in to save the day with a combination of reasoned argument and social shame.

The romance between Chun-gi and Ram is also well-emphasized despite their lack of mutual screen time. We can see how their childhood meeting was of shared importance, not due to destiny or any such nonsense, but because of the stark turning points their lives took shortly thereafter. Chun-gi gained sight, and was able to express beauty in the art she had only ever understood abstractly. While Ram underwent tragedy by comparison, knowing Chun-gi's unfortunate circumstances gave him the humility needed to endure the misfortune.

It's also hard to ignore that despite the apparent unfairness of the sight swap, Ram is still in the stronger position. He has a nice house, as Chun-gi is repeatedly and unsubtly reminded in an amusing late setpiece. And Chun-gi is only able to persist in her ambitions thanks to some sheer dumb luck, in that her father's past importance was finally recognized by someone willing and able to assist him. There's gentle hope here, and it's quite comforting.

Review by William Schwartz

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"Lovers of the Red Sky" is directed by Chang Tae-you, written by Ha Eun, and features Ahn Hyo-seop, Kim You-jung, Gong Myung, Kwak Si-yang, Kim Kwang-kyu, Choi Kwang-il. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/08/30~Now airing, Mon, Tue 22:00 on SBS.