Sometimes I get scroll paralysis where I don't want to get up and just mindlessly scroll in different social media platforms and Youtube until something sticks and I get interested in it.
I saw a trailer for this and its first episode sorta called to me as I am feeling a bit stuck in an endless loop of I don't know how to be happy anymore. I have this feeling of emptiness that I trick my head and heart with new experiences and people but when I am alone it feels so futile.
I know its bad but I always do a sort of escapism be it in reading books, watching shows or building Gundam kits. So this brings us to this show.
Summer Strike is a story about Lee Yeo Reum, a young woman who is feeling down with how her life is unfolding. She has a job that she feels suffocated in, a relationship that is seemingly empty and a tragedy that pushes her to rethink her life.
One day she boards the train and just decides to let it all go. She finds herself in a remote seaside town and meets the local librarian, An Dae Beom, who has some inner demons of his own.
We are then treated to a number of different situations that involves the two main characters but also gives us a glimpse of the lives and motivations of the sub-characters.
It kinda reminded me of Hometown Chacha with that idea of a worn down main character who finds solace and healing in a rural town and meets an enigmatic local who has some mysterious past.
It has some funny moments as the main protagonist gets into all sorts of situations but it is the interactions that she has with the librarian that I liked seeing.
As strange as it sounds I would catch myself smile whenever they act awkwardly around each out as they find themselves unable to tell how they feel.
yes it is your typical rom-com but it feels like a rom-com of two introverts who are unable to articulate their feelings through words but find a silent comfort in the being in the presence of each other.
It is a slow burn as there are no fireworks so to speak. No sweeping scenes of emotions, no overtly acts of love to make people swoon. In a way it feels natural.
It is not just the relationships that makes you want to keep watching but there is a side story of a murder in the town that hangs heavily in the heads of everyone and one particular place that is integral in the series.
I had several moments of thinking ah this is how it happened only to be completely wrong.
Then there is the maternal grandma figure in these kinds of series that just knows how to push certain buttons and emotions in you.
Overall when the series ended I did feel in a way it helped alleviate that feeling I had when I first watched the trailer. It gave me a sense of hope that maybe I will find peace and contentment.