The latest cute and bubbly drama to come along is Run On, which like most of the others has a shadow side that we can only hope doesn’t take it over. Who has been pulled in so far?

Our Ladies

The first thing I liked about this show is that the female lead can give as good as she gets. Oh Mi Joo is an interpreter who does movie subtitles. (All of us who watch dramas with subtitles already like her!) She is borderline rude because she talks before she thinks, although she thinks pretty fast on her feet. Who else would pour water on herself and ask someone else to apologize, just to point up how badly they had behaved?

It took me longer to get to like Seo Dan Ah, who is assertive and usually blunt. It’s fun to listen to her fast-bicker with Mi Joo because they go off on tangents, and you have to pay attention to understand them. It’s so funny when Mi Joo walks away, saying, “She got me this time!” Dan Ah runs an agency that represents athletes and has them model for her sportswear company.

Park May is Mi Joo’s roommate; they are long time friends who were at school together. She is smart and competent, and a little sarcastic always has a listening ear and goes to the film festival to take a picture of Mi Joo’s name in the credits. She has her own company that distributes indie films and musicals.

Our Gentlemen

Ki Seon Gyeom is a professional athlete who is now a sprinter but used to throw the javelin. That is why he can stop a thief by throwing something at him and hitting him from a distance! He seems unassertive until he finds out that another runner is getting bullied, but since his father is verbally abusive and occasionally throws things, that pushes a button. He decides to do something about it, but so far, his efforts seem to have backfired.

Lee Young Hwa is a university art student and a math tutor on the side. Several of his paintings are displayed in a local cafe, where Dan Ah sees one and buys it. She leaves her card with the cafe owner and requests that he talk. When he arrives, her idol singer brother gives him a hard time and demands his name. Young Hwa doesn’t believe he is really the singer and answers with another famous singer’s name. Hilariously the brother doesn’t recognize the name and continues calling him the fake name. Ha.

We can’t leave out Dan Ah’s long-suffering assistant, Secretary Jung, who is fast becoming a favorite. He knows that Dan Ah is in a power struggle with her brothers for the family business and tries to smooth over all difficulties and uphold her dignity. He’s so sweet, even when Dan Ah’s despicable older brother gets on his case.

Our not so gentle Men

The shadow side to our bubbly little drama is bullying, which is moreover accepted or overlooked. The coaches know that one of the runners is getting beaten up, but they don’t stop it. This show has such good buzz that I kept going, but this part of the story was very hard to watch and almost made me drop it. It happened in episode two and was the background story that moved the main character to action. It’s distressing, but at least we didn’t get a serial killer.

Every so often, just as you are thinking the show is settling down, something happens; abuse that people higher on the totem pole feel entitled to inflict on anyone lower down. Mi Joo’s professor and Dan Ah’s older brother are examples. (I could really do without that brother.) Seon Gyeom’s dad acts all pious but often loses his temper, going so far as to kick the head coach in the shins. There are starting to be consequences though, so maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Back to the Bubbles

The relationship between the main characters is a major plus. The lead actors Im Si Wan and Shin Se Kyung are perfect for this drama, and I grow fonder of them and the show as time goes on. I loved her encouraging him and assuring him that he can ask for help and doesn’t have to pretend he is fine. But mostly, I’m just watching for the cuteness.

One of my favorite things is Young Hwa eating fried chicken and figuring out how many chickens it would take to buy things. Another is Mi Joo chugging iced coffee and saying, “If you’re finished toying with me, I should go now.” Then we have May telling Seon Gyeom there is a mugger in the neighborhood so he would stay with them, and Seon Gyeom’s dad sending out random tweets, and his assistant begging him to let the staff check them first.

Who else is watching this little gem of a show? It is streaming on Netflix. Let us know your favorite moments in the comments! Enjoy the mayhem.

Telzeytalks

Dramas with a side of Kimchi