Tomorrow – Full Review
Welcome to Tomorrow– Full Review. A team of grim reapers work to stop people from killing themselves. If you haven’t watched this drama yet, I recommend checking out my unspoiled review here.
Tomorrow
♥ Aired: Apr 1 – May 21, 2022
♥# of Episodes: 16
♥Where to Watch: Netflix
♥Genre: Action Fantasy
♥Starring: Kim Hee Sun and Rowoon
The Story
A young man tries to stop a random stranger from killing himself, but after falling into the river with him, he ends up in a coma. But his good deed does not go unnoticed. A team of grim reapers who are part of the Crisis Management Department, tasked with helping people who are ready to try to take their own lives, steps in to offer the young man a deal. While in a coma, they ask him to help serve on the Crisis Management Team. If he agrees to the deal, he can wake up in 6 months, but if he refuses, he will remain in a coma for 3 years. Now as a temporary reaper, he will meet desperate people who are faced with seemingly unsurmountable problems. Can he and his new team mates find a way to rekindle hope in their weary hearts?
The Leads
Kim Hee Sun as Goo Ryun
Years ago, Goo Ryun killed herself and was sent to Hell as punishment. But the Jade Emperor brought her out of Hell on special assignment and made her a grim reaper. Although she started in the Escort Department, they soon created a special new task force for suicide prevention, and made Ryun the team leader. Although everyone in Jumadeong knows that Ryun became a reaper as a special exception, no one knows what happened to condemn her in the first place. Little do they know that the key to her past is closer than anyone would imagine. And Ryun lives in fear of the day it may finally be exposed.
Goo Ryun is cold and emotionally distant. Not only was her heart broken in her last life, but she sees Park Joong Gil almost daily, knowing her actions have made it so that he has no idea who she is. But inspite of all her personal pain, or maybe because of it, Ryun really cares about the people they are trying to save. And she isn’t afraid to pull out all the stops or break some rules along the way, if it can help someone. I liked Kim Hee Sun in this role. Her crisp and detached exterior held just enough chill, without overplaying it. And I loved her character’s fashion sense. She always looked cool and put together.
Rowoon as Choi Joon Woong
Choi Joon Woong is desperately looking for a job to help support his mother and sister, but his lack of connections continues to disappoint and frustrate him, as he loses to less qualified applicants consistently. When an accident puts him into a coma, he is approached by a team of grim reapers with an opportunity to work with them for six months while his body rests in bed. He is hired on to the Crisis Management Team, where he and his team mates step in to help people considering suicide. But living as half human and half spirit has its challenges. And while he will be forced to forget his time as a reaper once he wakes up, his work is bound to have an impact on his heart.
Choi Joon Woong represents the human element within the reaper team. He is compassionate and insightful. And it was fun to explore the world of Jumadeong through his eyes. I enjoyed seeing Rowoon in a role that went beyond the handsome love interest, and I thought he showed a lot of growth as an actor. Although I wish his character had a more consistent personal story arc with a bit more depth and development.
Supporting Characters
Lee Soo Hyuk as Park Joong Gil
Park Joong Gil is the team leader of the Escort Department. He strongly dislikes Goo Ryun and her mission in the Crisis Management Department. Although it has been several lives and Joong Gil does not remember it, he and Goo Ryun had once been married and very much in love, before she killed herself and broke his heart. But he keeps seeing fragments of their time together, which only confuses him more.
Yun Ji On as Im Ryung Goo
Im Ryung Goo is also a member of the Crisis Management Team. In his last life, he adored his single mother, who gave up everything to raise him. But a misunderstanding with him drove her to kill herself and break their thread of destiny. Now Ryung Goo completes each work day right on time, so he can go out and look for the mother he lost.
Kim Hae Sook as Jade Emperor
The Jade Emperor is the CEO in charge of Jumadeong. She is nuturing and supportive to her employees, although she also commands obedience. She has a special attachment to Ryun and her story with Joong Gil that makes her want to give them both some kind of peace and closure.
Things I Liked
♥ Business Feel
The mix of turning spiritual beings into corporate workers was a unique twist that gave this drama its own feel. The elaborate world of Jumadeong was turned into a giant office building, complete with computer crashes and department transfers. It was an unexpected way to portray the afterlife and I appreciate the fresh interpretation.
♥ Social Issues
I really enjoyed the wide range of issues this series tackled. Each case explored a new struggle or trauma: from the death of a beloved pet to a newborn child and from bullying in the workplace to school. While it may have been difficult to do justice to such difficult topics in just a couple episodes, its a great way to get people talking about some important issues.
♥ Life Savers
Another unusual twist the writers used was turning grim reapers into people determined to save lives rather than just gather souls. This worked especially well on the cases where the Crisis Management Team and the Escort Team were both called to a scene to work together. It gave the reapers more complex roles and personalities that made the stories more interesting.
Things I Didn’t Like
Goo Ryun Backstory
I liked Goo Ryun’s past life story and it’s impact on her present day life because of working with Park Joong Gil. But I didn’t think the pacing was handled very well. A more gradual telling of their story between their team cases would have made the whole series feel a bit more cohesive and smooth. Instead we get random bits and pieces that don’t make much sense and then a sudden rush to tell their entire history at once. I think including a bit each episode just would have kept us invested in their relationship and mysterious past.
Simple Endings
Many have faulted this series with their casual handling of some very toxic topics. Its true that it takes a lot more than a pep talk from a grim reaper to cure things like depression and eating disorders. It seemed like in the interest of keeping things from getting too gloomy, the stories often ended on a hopeful note that came a bit too easy for someone who was considering suicide just the hour before. While the optimist in me loved watched those meters go back to green, it wasn’t always very realistic.
Choi Joon Woong
I felt like this series set us up to expect Choi Joon Woong to have some big personal trauma of his own to tie him into his work with the Crisis Management Team. Like Goo Ryun, it seemed like the Jade Emperor would have had a specific reason to allow Joon Woong to work with them. He does save his best friend and meet his potential soul mate, but none of that had the same heavy feeling of destiny that all the other characters had.
The Ending
The ending for “Tomorrow” fell a bit flat for me, but it all ends kind of happy. Park Joong Gil finally remembers his past with Goo Ryun and the two decide to live peacefully. while agreeing that none of that has anything to do with who they are now. The Crisis Management Team overcomes the threat of being disbanded, and becomes a full-time department in Jumadeung. And Choi Joon Woong goes back to his life with no memory of his time as a reaper. But he has changed from the experience. He finally has a full time job and feels compelled to step in when a fellow worker is being bullied. And He is also still a Cho Hui fan, who invites his co-worker to go to the concert with him. It’s hard to imagine how he and Cho Hui will meet again, but destiny appears to be right on track.
Should I Watch
“Tomorrow” is a dark, fantasy drama that covers a range of intense and difficult topics. Not only does it deal with suicide, but also the kinds of trauma that might lead a person to consider suicide, such as physical and sexual abuse, infant loss, and bullying. While the team does work to bring positive outcomes to the lives of these people, their problems and history are no less heartbreaking. But if you don’t mind the darker tone, the stories are interesting and well-developed and the cast has a fun chemistry. I give “Tomorrow” a 8 out of 10 ramen.
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