The Asexual K-Drama Geek Reviews: Memories of the Alhambra
This post contains well-marked spoilers
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Summary
So, you may be wondering how all those very different genres
can possibly fold into one show and have it work so well, but I think the
story’s premise will soon make this clear. Starring two of Korea’s top
actors – Hyun Bin and Park Shin-hye – in the lead roles, Memories of the
Alhambra immediately launches us into the intriguing and mysterious plot by
introducing us to a young game developer who contacts the CEO of a major tech
company. This CEO is Woo Jin-woo (Hyun Bin), and the technology in question is
a pair of contact lens you can use to play an incredibly immersive virtual
reality roleplaying game. Set in Spain where the young Korean expatriate lives
with his family, the game incorporates some of the best elements you might
expect from a fantasy adventure game. As such, it allows players to swordfight around the
beautiful Spanish landscape, buy weapons from virtual non-player characters who
use real shopfronts as the facades for their fictional establishments, and of course
level up as they go.
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| Image description: Hyun Bin as Woo Jin-woo |
Intrigued, Jin-woo goes to Spain to test the game and see about acquiring it from the developer before someone else can buy it. However, there are a few problems with this plan. Chief in Jin-woo’s mind is that the game also has the interest of a rival tech CEO by the name of Cha Hyung-seok – not just a rival in the business world, but in Jin-woo’s personal life as well, thanks to an extreme personal betrayal. Naturally, Jin-woo is determined to get the game before Hyung-seok, but that leads to the second problem: after the game’s developer contacts Jin-woo, he mysteriously disappears. Thus, when Jin-woo arrives in Spain, he finds himself unable to move forward with acquiring the game unless he wins the trust of the game developer’s older sister, Jung Hee-ju (Park Shin-hye), who owns a hostel for Korean travelers in the heart of the city.
From there, both Jin-woo and Hee-ju find themselves drawn
into these mysteries – especially when the game begins to malfunction and bleed
into Jin-woo’s reality in frightening and inescapable ways. As they try to dig
deeper and answer these questions, the two eventually begin a romance, which I
believe is a delightful slow burn as the pair goes from the animosity of their
earliest interactions into an actual, genuine place of trust and understanding.
Both Hyun Bin and Park Shin-hye are outstanding in these roles, but the entire
cast is excellent, providing heroic supporting characters, real and authentic
side characters, and great villains, both real and somewhat supernatural. Like
many K-Dramas, the story is self-contained in one season, leading to what I
thought was quite a thrilling story full of twists and turns with a very
surprising ending.
My
Thoughts/Review
Okay, so admittedly I already spoiled my thoughts about this
show at the beginning of the post. Obviously, if it’s my favorite K-Drama, I
absolutely love this series and I have to likewise admit that I really don’t
have any criticisms of it. In my opinion, it manages to combine not just the
best of different genres, but it also manages to mingle great characters with
beautiful scenery and interesting plot that keeps you guessing, but in the best
way possible. It also does something that, if you’ve read my other posts or
have followed my main blog for a while, you know is something I tend to see a
lot in K-Dramas and enjoy each time – it tells a good love story.
Although I identify as an aromantic asexual and I neither
feel romantic attraction nor want romance in my own life, I nevertheless love a
well told romantic story. As such, I enjoyed how the relationship between Jin-woo and
Hee-ju develops, especially since it's a part of the plot rather than
something that threatens to overshadow it. In my post about how K-Dramas do romance, in fact, I mentioned this show and this romance as an example of a
show that I would consider not romance-centric despite the romance being an
important part of the plot. In that post, I mentioned that it makes sense that
the romance develops between the two because trying to solve the plot’s
mysteries draws them closer to one another.
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| Image description: Hee-ju and Jin-woo share a romantic and comforting moment before facing some of the plot's dangers together |
But that’s just the thing – they are drawn closer to each
other because of the plot, not instead of it. Their romance is not shoe-horned
in, and it doesn’t take over the entire show; rather, it develops as
a reaction to the plot and the things happening around them, all of which are
allowed to take precedence. Furthermore, although the romance is important to
both characters, it’s not the only thing, nor is it treated like the only
important relationship in the show. Both Hee-ju’s relationship with her family
and Jin-woo’s relationship with his friends and staff are allowed to flourish,
and are treated with just as much depth and appreciation. Especially in
Jin-woo’s case, since he begins as somewhat of a distant and self-absorbed
character, developing into the romance is an important part of his character
development, but it’s perhaps even more noteworthy when he develops stronger
bonds with the people he’s known for far longer, such as his secretary – and
certified Best Boy – Jung-hoon.
For that reason, this show is not "just" a romance, much like
it’s not "only" a sci-fi/fantasy series or an action piece or an adventure. Much like
the VR game that forms the main part of the plot, the show itself is many
things throughout, and in my opinion, they all work. This is one of those
dramas that I think many different types of people with varied interests would
enjoy because it does give such a great cross-sample of genres and plot points.
If you want that romance (especially when it’s a good slow burn built on respect
and understanding), it’s got you covered. Love the techy sci-fi aspect that the plot
promises? Check. Want to enjoy the beautiful scenery? Also check. What if you’re
a fan of fantasy-inspired roleplaying games? Then it’s definitely got elements
you’ll love and delight in. I believe the diversity of genres and plot elements
in this one drama alone really encapsulates what makes K-Dramas as a whole so
great and why they are always my preferred form of entertainment. The
creativity of the genre is unparalleled, and in my opinion, dramas like this
prove it.
The Aspec Stuff
Much like I have virtually no criticisms of the show as a
whole, there is really nothing in Memories of the Alhambra that I
objected to on an aspec level. This is one of those wonderful examples of
checking a show on IMDB or a similar website to see the parental guide for sex
or nudity, only to find that the section merely says “none,” which as a
sex-repulsed asexual is so valuable to my own personal comfort level. And indeed,
although the story does involve romantic elements such as kissing, romantic
dialogue, and (my personal favorite) the K-Drama hug, things don’t go further
than this, and I appreciate that.
The only thing that really comes to mind – and it’s pretty
minor – is that Yang-joo, one of the tech guys at Jin-woo’s company, has a big
crush on the game’s non-player character Emma, who is based on Hee-ju. Her
brother put her in the game as an important part of the game’s system; however, once
Yang-joo gets a hold of the game, he thinks she’s gorgeous and dresses her up
in different costumes and such, thinking of her as merely a pretty NPC that
will appeal to male gamers. This is a bit weird, since we of course know Emma
is based off of our female lead, and even Jin-woo tells Yang-joo to delete her for just that reason. Therefore, it’s a minor and altogether
not overly sexualized scene, even though Yang-joo's intentions are a bit objectifying. The outfits themselves are even actually quite tasteful for the most part, so it’s definitely not as bad as it could be, but
something I thought I’d point out anyway.
Overall, being able to enjoy romance worry-free is very valuable to
me, and indeed, just being able to enjoy a show without worry is something that
was extremely rare before I found K-Dramas, but has become somewhat standard
since I became a fan. After all, that’s exactly why I made this blog in the first
place, and it’s why I’ve fallen in love (no pun intended) with shows such as
these. Memories of the Alhambra and dramas like it have really helped me
remember that I can watch and enjoy shows, have favorite characters, get caught
up in amazing romances, and do so without fear that at some point I’m going to
have to walk away. In fact, more than that, these shows demonstrate to me that
I can find comfort in these worlds, their characters, and their storytelling in
unexpected way.
Let's Talk About Those Ending Spoilers!
I briefly want to touch on the end of the show, because I
get the feeling that many people consider the ending to be unsatisfying, but I
actually have the exact opposite take. In fact, I love the ending, and many
elements of it appeal to me as an aspec viewer because it takes our characters
and their bond into areas that are non-traditional and thus, in my eyes,
amazing. If you don’t want the ending spoiled, I’ll just say that Memories
of the Alhambra doesn’t let viewers go without an excellent final twist that
sets my imagination on fire and makes me believe that this show is storytelling at its
best from start to finish. I can’t recommend this show highly enough and think
it’s a great show to watch whether you’re just getting started on your K-Drama
journey or have been a fan for years. If you’ve seen the show or don’t care about spoilers, my thoughts will
be below this dotted line, and then my spoiler-free conclusion will follow.
Scroll with caution, you’ve been warned!
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| Image description: Woo Jin-woo comes face to face with non-player character Emma |
Spoilers to follow
In the show’s last episode, Jin-woo is able to reset the
game and fix the problem by deleting the bugs in the game – in this instance,
the bugs are the people who have gotten stuck in the game, himself included.
Once he has deleted everyone else (in a beautifully emotional scene), he
undergoes the same process at Emma’s hands, ostensibly vanishing. This is
obviously devastating for Hee-ju and for Jin-woo’s friends and allies at the
company, but the thing I find truly interesting is that, even when everyone
else decides to give up on Jin-woo and assumes he’s dead, Hee-ju does not. She
even kindly refuses any efforts to try and get her to move on and date someone
else.
Naturally, there is absolutely no problem with someone who
has lost a significant other eventually moving on and finding someone else to
love. But there is also no problem with someone deciding to not do that,
continuing to live their life and move forward in healthy ways, but deciding
romance is not a part of that. However, I think media tends to portray this
attitude as a bad thing, or assumes that someone not dating/not pursuing
another romance after they lose one is unhealthy. It can be, of course, if the
person’s refusal to move on has unhealthy tendencies, but I don’t think it
automatically has to be, despite typical societal conceptions.
Although this notion is not inherently aspec – and plenty of
non-aspec people can choose to not find a romance after they lose a partner, just like plenty of aspec people can choose to move on – I find it aspec-friendly
because I feel it respects love as a concept in new ways. I’m a sucker for a
soulmate romance, and so I can appreciate when a character decides that not
just any old date or new partner can replace the unique feelings they had for
that unique person. In the case of Jin-woo and Hee-ju’s romance, their bond was
special precisely because they understood one another and the situation that
surrounded them in a way no one else really could. That type of trust was
hard-won for both of them and as such is not easily replaced.
I can also appreciate this plot point in large part because
it’s subversive. Something that bothers me a great deal in both real life and
in media is the notion that people can only live happy or “normal” lives if
they follow certain standard societal metrics – which often include dating,
romance, marriage, and having children, just to name a few. Again, there’s
nothing wrong with these things, and I can tell you I love a good romance story
that ends with my fave pairing happily married with their children surrounding
them. But in my own day to day life, I often find myself extremely frustrated
with the stereotypical attitude that only these things can be considered
fulfilling. Therefore, I like that the plot ends with Hee-ju and Jin-woo’s
future up in the air.
In the very last scene of the show, we see Jin-woo still
lurks within the game, possibly as some sort of digital ghost or NPC, and
Hee-ju is determined to find him. This open-ended, non-traditional conclusion
allows us to interpret their romance however we want and decide if they get a
happy ending or not, and I love that the show doesn’t try to force a happy
ending or steer us towards one of these more “societally acceptable”
conclusions. This is the type of storytelling I long for in more media and it
delights me to no end that I could find it here. As a long-time shipper of
tragic ships, I know all too well how frustrating it can be to not see our
favorite couple get together, but I believe this ending is actually more
satisfying because it demonstrates to us the enduring nature of Hee-ju and
Jin-woo’s bond.
As I said in that first post I did about K-Drama romances, I
like knowing that Hee-ju considers Jin-woo her one true love and keeps his
memory alive even against the odds. As also stated in my previous posts, I’ve
seen this with other K-Drama ships and it’s often terrific and something I
really enjoy, but Hee-ju and Jin-woo were the first ones I saw do it with such
aplomb and with such a unique vibe. It might not appeal to everyone and that is
completely understandable, but it certainly appeals to me, and so I’m a huge
fan of the ending, open-ended though it may be. That being said, if they ever
want to give us a second season, I mean, I wouldn’t complain.
End of spoilers
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| Image description: Jin-woo and Hee-ju meet for the first time |
Although Memories of the Alhambra wasn’t among the very first K-Dramas I saw, it was certainly early enough in my K-Drama rotation to make some of its elements new and refreshing things that pushed me even farther down the rabbit hole. If you’re a K-Drama fan and you haven’t given this one a try yet, I highly recommend you check it out on Netflix. If you’re not a fan yet and you’re just curious about these shows, I think this one might serve as a great hidden gem that can be a great springboard to introducing you to the best that this media has to offer, from acting to characters to plot and everything in between.
Either way, as I said in my Squid Game review, these
are all just one geek’s opinions. These are also just one aspec person’s
opinions, and what I say is not law, nor will my thoughts represent the opinion
of the entire aspec community. But if you, like me, have wanted to enjoy media
that’s thrilling and fun and spectacular with some romance thrown in for good
measure, then maybe consider taking a trip to Alhambra Palace with me. However,
let’s maybe not go when it’s raining (if you know, you know).
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