Seeing the title Little Women I immediately thought of the book by American novelist Louisa May Alcott. A classic novel that I remember reading back in high school for English literature.
I could only remember two out of the four March sisters. There was the principal character Josephine "Jo" March who is telling the story mostly from her point of view and Margaret "Meg" March.
I remember Jo mostly because of her character being strong-willed and wanting to be a novelist. She in a way was trying to break the mold. In complete opposite to her was Meg who was described as a beauty and traditional.
The kdrama revolves around the life and struggles of the three Oh sisters.
Oh In Joo, the eldest, in a way is similar to Meg as she describes her only talent as being well-liked by men.
Oh In Kyung is similar to Jo as tries to live her life according to her ideals and tenacity as a news reporter.
And lastly Oh In Hye that when I researched the book Little Women as similar to the youngest March sister, Amy Curtis March. Both are artists and have the same level of reluctance of receiving all the love and attention that we are often apt to give to our youngest member of the family
I am often more drawn to comedies and rom-coms because I just want to laugh when I am watching something but somehow it intrigued me to watch the first episode and boy was I hooked.
We are introduced to the lives of the three Oh sisters who are portrayed as poor but still doing their best amidst all the struggles.
They are constantly reminded of how poor they are and that limits the choices they had in life. They are just expected to accept that life is unfair.
Yet there are given the opportunity of a lifetime when 70 Billion lands on the lap of the eldest, Oh In Joo. Would she give in to greed and keep the money so that she and her sisters can live a comfortable life or would she follow what is right?
There are so many twists and turns as the story progress and we are introduced to more characters who have their own motivations and plans to achieve their dreams.
All of these collide head on and who will come on top?
There were times I willed myself to stop watching because i had work the next day and could not go on binge watching.
It also helped that Netflix didn't drop all of it at once so I had some time to savor the episodes.
When the storyline was going one way and I was thinking it would have some level of predictability it would turn things around. While there was some complaints that it seems illogical but to me it was okay and made for a deeply interesting series.
If you want some intrigue, conspiracy with a dash of family and love then this is a series that I can recommend!
My sisters:
I couldn't help but think of my sisters especially during the ending. You see we were never really your typical family. While our mom was always working and tried her best to provide for us certain circumstances in our life happened and we experienced a fall from grace as we term it.
We were relatively comfortable during the childhood of my sisters. When I came to we were still doing okay but there were already some cracks in the real estate empire my mom worked so hard for.
It came to a point that we had to sell everything even the house we grew up in. It was hard seeing everything get hauled away and auctioned and from a comfortable life we came face to face with challenges.
While we were not that poor but it was far from the lifestyle we were accustomed to. I had to switch schools and move to a different neighborhood. My sister had to give up on their dreams in the arts to pursue jobs that paid money.
I still remember my eldest sister abandoning going to New York to study film and get into a freight forwarding company in order to work. She took it upon herself to take care of us and send me to school.
My 2nd sister had to give up painting and singing and work in an office. W
Sometimes I feel guilty as they gave up on their interests just to keep the family afloat. I feel guilty that I could not reciprocate that same level of self-sacrifice that they did.
I remember when I got sick with Covid and the bills kept piling up to the point it reached almost 2 million pesos ($34,000). Hearing that my insurance was not going to cover it and would deplete whatever savings I had and what I could sell, my sisters pitched in even if I knew they had their own problems because of the lack of business during the pandemic.
I felt bad that I was placed in that situation where I was helpless and all I can do was accept the help. While they say that we are family and that they will always help me, I could not help but feel bad about it.
It is as if I am undeserving of such help and love because I know I can't give it back. I feel at times I am emotionally empty and I delude myself into thinking that I am emphatic when I know that I am truly selfish and greedy.
Watching Little Women brought about all these thoughts and feelings.