Last April, I was totally swamped with researching and writing a learning module for a local short-course center. And for that, I couldn’t watch many films or series but I saw a lot of cleaning YouTube videos that accompanied me during my lunch breaks (I’ll share these channels in a different post). It may not be much but these are the worthwhile series I managed to squeeze into my busy schedule:
SERIES
Title: Thirty-Nine (2022)
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis: A story of three close female friends Cha Mi-Jo (Son Ye-Jin), Jeong Chan-Young (Jeon Mi-Do), and Jang Joo-Hee (Kim Ji-Hyun) as they navigate their lives celebrating their friendship, encounter romantic relationships, and deal with loss on the brink of turning 40.
My thoughts: I love drama stories that explore the beauty of platonic friendships that goes beyond the sake of entertainment. It made me reflect also on my own friendships and how much these people matter to me whether they are here close or time zones away.
As someone in my mid-thirties, I can definitely relate to the struggles that these ladies have – juggling careers, love interests, and most importantly maintaining a good relationship with our families. I saw some characteristics of myself in some characters which made me feel seen/represented in the media. And this is also what I enjoy in this drama, it’s a story that resonates well with its viewers.
This is a well-written drama that seamlessly weaves different stories of the protagonists while making the audience anticipate, and appreciate the realistic situations without going over the top. Despite being a female-centered friendship story, I believe everyone can relate to the genuine feelings of love and care we have towards our friends which we also consider our family.
So I do recommend watching this series. Oh and prepare tissues, this drama will make you laugh and cry (more) all through its 12 episodes and leaves you with a bittersweet feeling.
Title: Conversations with a Killer: the John Wayne Gacy Tapes (2022)
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis: A limited series documentary about notorious American sex offender-serial killer John Wayne Gacy using taped conversations between him and his defense lawyers. The documentary portrays how this public servant and part-time clown hides a dark and sadistic nature which led him to murder at least 33 young men.
My thoughts: As you already know that I’m a true crime fan, so this was definitely one of my anticipated docu-series to watch on Netflix. It may only be a three-part episode but each is emotionally heavy and leaves you wondering how on earth such ruthless psychopaths could exist. His story has been explored in many YouTube videos on true crime channels but none as detailed and in-depth as this docu-series.
A word of caution though, this isn’t for the faint of heart as you will hear many unsavory statements from this criminal – which may raise your blood pressure and give you multiple WTF moments. My heart also goes out to all his victims. And no matter what people will say, a victim shouldn’t be blamed for becoming a victim of a crime. No one deserves that. And I think as a society, we should learn to feel empathy for others and learn from these criminals so as to prevent another serial killer like him from rising.
Seen any of the series above? What are your thoughts?
ladyveilchen writes 