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The Beauty Inside (2018 Viki 16 1:10 eps)

The actors were all very good. I loved Lee Da-hee in "Search: WWW”. She did not disappoint me. Seo Hyun-jin is good in everything I've seen her in so far. The 1st couple has good chemistry. The 2nd couple is cute.

Two people with problems that make them perfect for each other, although maybe ill-fated. They try to discover if inner beauty is the only thing that matters - a great premise, but for me it ruined the end of the show. (See next post) Overall the beginning was interesting & fun. The ending was okay, but the last episodes seemed flat. There was also the noble idiot thing.

It is not a rewatch for me. It has some good messages, learning to love yourself as you are, not judging people by their looks, overcoming things together instead of suffering alone - all worthwhile things to strive for.

https://mydramalist.com/26295-the-beauty-inside

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The Beauty Inside

Han Se Gye is a top actress, also known as a troublemaker, with many rumors around her. To others, her life appears as a mystery, when in fact she is...

While it's a lofty goal to love someone no matter their appearance, I found the idea potentially creepy in this series. We don't know if or when she'll change again or what she'll look like when she finally stops changing. He's a young guy in the prime of his life and although we see a glimpse that he might be attracted to a man as well because he loves her/him, they don't address the situation if she ends up being very young or very old. Would he then adjust the relationship from a romantic one to a familial one? If so, then does he start dating again? What if she changes back? These thoughts were driving me crazy and ruined the ending of the show for me.

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@whoosh see, I thought they covered it pretty well. When he has his notebook of all the appearances she has, he concludes that ALL of them are still her. No matter her appearance, they are all the person that he loves. (Not necessarily the appearance he is sexually attracted to. I think those are separate.)

I thought it was an excellent metaphor for the impermanence of life, love, and even one's physical appearance and abilities. If a spouse is permanently damaged in a car accident- whether it is appearance or abilities- do you still love that person? And the chance for an accident like that is unknown. It could happen at any time. And a person's body changes as they age, too.

Does a non-injured spouse in the prime of their life still get the chance to evaluate how important physical sexual attraction is in a relationship? Yes, as adults in a consensual relationship, they are allowed to re-evaluate as needed.

@whoosh I guess I felt more that it was a love coming from sharing, trusting, and accepting each others' vulnerabilities. It resonated especially with me as I've been with my spouse almost 20 years and am most definitely not the same body shape or personality or even ability as I was 20 years ago. Having my spouse's acceptance and love regardless of those changes have been so critically important to me in the past few years. I had an accident with a facial injury just earlier this year, and as well as it turned out, it was traumatic. His and our child's love and concern for me were the best thing to come home to.

The love the male lead had for the female lead, knowing that she'd potentially look different the next time he saw her, yet him still comforting her when she needed it, was very reassuring to me. 💗

@jillithd
I’m so glad it was a good message for you.

I too have changed physically and I’ve been with my husband for 41 years.

After thinking about this, I wonder if the writers threw in the unknown so that it wouldn’t be “oh, he just has to accept her in a different form 1 week a month”. I think if they had established from the start that she wouldn’t age but could look like anything, I would have been much more comfortable with the idea.

I just didn’t want to see him end up in a relationship with a 10 year old or a 90 year old never knowing if the person would change back. I think this part is key to my thoughts - the never knowing about changing back. IRL you make the assumption the change is permanent and then deal with it however you work through it. But if you never know when the appearance may change back, you can’t really invest in any other plans.

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