[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Super Daddy Yeol"

Adding comedy to a story about someone's terminal illness and last attempt at leaving their own in good hands does not sound like a wise move. Life is of course complicated and joy co-exists with sadness. In fact, one gives the other more impact. It is therefore not a wise move, but also not impossible to pull off well. Sadly, 'Super Daddy Yeol' does not succeed with this approach and the rest of its issues drag its good potential down.

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Han Yeol (Lee Dong-gun) works as a rehabilitation coach for baseball players, something he himself was before his circumstances ended his career. Having been hurt by Cha Mi-rae (Lee Yu-ri) leaving him, he has remained a bachelor. Mi-rae herself is raising her daughter as a single mom, but life throws her a curveball and she finds out she is dying of cancer. Mi-rae sets in motion a plan to find Yeol and start a rehabilitation attempt of making him into a good father for her daughter, Sa-rang.

Despite the problems in the writing and development of the characters, the cast itself deserves high praise. They manage to make their roles' comedic moments as extreme as the work demands and salvage many of the more human moments when the writing itself fails to make the best of them. From the warmth of Lee Dong-gun, to the energy of Lee Yu-ri and the subtlety of Lee Re as Sa-rang, the skills are there and the chemistry works. The supporting cast tries their best as well.

When the series takes a break from trying to rapidly progress its plot, there is a short frame in which 'Super Daddy Yeol' presents its best material. Around the middle of the series, the cancer tear-jerking, the bickering and misunderstandings, the irrational behaviors, misplaced humor and other problems take a step back and the work becomes the family show that could and maybe intended to be. There are human, warm and beautiful moments, the character interactions feel coherent and make sense again, everything flows nicely and is easy to follow and understand.

Unfortunately, this is but a few episodes in a series otherwise so superficial that it is a wonder it is not a typical romantic comedy. The characters have sudden and unexplained lapses in logic and changes in behavior, the humor which is often based on physical, mental and emotional abuse is disturbing and dehumanizing and the more serious parts feel barely touched upon. The character and humor issues also contribute to the last one.

Ultimately, the biggest problem with the series is that it clearly tries to be a poignant piece on life, family and enjoying what we have when we have it, but it is written in a messy manner. The messages are there, but by insisting on trying to lighten the mood through overcompensation and not addressing all the heavier topics it presents with the same respect, the series makes it harder to take its truly good parts seriously. The progression of the story and emotions does not feel natural and smooth, there is melodramatic plot stretching and the bad outweighs the good. It is a shame, because there are genuine human and beautiful moments in this, which could have been elevated by a good whole.

'Super Daddy Yeol' tries to do something admirable. Rather than presenting the troubles of life as something to only cry about, it tries showing how they can mature us and show us what really matters. During a few brief moments, that message seeps through the bad execution. It is not, however, enough to save the show from its overall flat delivery, inconsistencies and clumsily fluctuating tone.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

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