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Absolute Zero thai drama review
Completed
Absolute Zero
0 people found this review helpful
by Dylan
Apr 12, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 10.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

Mixed feelings

This is an absolutely brilliant 10/10 story! But the one thing that bothered me about the show, bothered me a lot. I'm glad I stuck with it though, because the story is profound. In addition to the right-person/wrong-time element, which was deep in and of itself, it got me thinking about the extra layers. Like: if you knew you could have something unbelievably wonderful for a while, but it would end in devastating heartbreak and terrible pain, would you still pursue it or give it up entirely? In reality, this question is often minimized, but the drama takes it seriously and explores how painful and terrifying such a choice would actually be. It also explores how your final decision might change as you get older. When you're young, you may be willing to take potentially devastating risks, because you've never been hurt before; when you're older, you may no longer be willing to take any risks, because you've been hurt too much. Dunno if I'm meant to read the story like that, but I enjoyed thinking about it all the same.

As well as the profound story, there's plenty more to love. The music is great. The production is great. The setting is awesome. The entire cast is super talented. And the actual age and age-gap of the characters isn't a problem (for me).

So... why the mixed feelings?

Because Old-Soon looks way too old, and Young-Ongsa's age is not clarified early enough. Why is this a problem? Well, visually, we have a middle-aged man flirting with a high-schooler.

BUT WAIT!! Didn't I just say I had no problem with the characters' actual ages and age-gap? Yes, that's true. The characters are actually 18 and 28, so they are both adults and only ten years apart. I have no complaints about that. HOWEVER! No amount of telling myself Old-Soon is only 28 could make me believe him younger than 40. And even though it's pretty important to know the younger man is 18, it's not even hinted at until ep4, then not confirmed until ep10. As I've said, the actors are amazingly talented! I really can't stress that enough. But seriously, dramas are a visual media, and when pairing a high-schooler and older man, even in a time-travel, and even if you keep the romance light, it's nice to be considerate of the audience and not make it any more complicated or problematic than necessary. Personally, I think they needed to state Young-Ongsa age earlier, and recast Old-Soon. But that's just my opinion based on my preferences, and I'm sure there are plenty of people that disagree with me.

Again, I stuck with the drama because there is so much to love, and I'm glad I did. And even the bits that bothered me may not both others, so I recommend anyone interested in the premise give it a go and decide for yourself.
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