Twinkling Watermelon is about a teenager (Ryeoun) whose entire family is deaf, and he is the only hearing member. He lives a double life as a model student and a band member, and then travels back in time and where he meets his teenage father (Choi Hyun Wook) and joins a band with him.
Ryeoun is Ha Eun Gyeol. He is a high school student whose parents and older brother are deaf. Feeling the pressures of life, he secretly joins band. But after discovering a mysterious music store, he gets transported back to 1995 where he meets he his teenage father.
Choi Hyun Wook plays Ha Lee Chan. He will one day be Eun Gyeol’s father, but in 1995, he is a kind but immature teenager with a love for music. He also has a crush on a popular cellist, but to Eun Gyeol’s dismay, she is not his mother!
Seol In Ah is Choi Se Kyeong. She is a popular cellist who lives a difficult life as her mother’s trophy child. Her life takes a turn though when she gets involved with Lee Chan and Eun Gyeol.
Then we have Shin Eun Soo as Yoon Cheong Ah. She is a deaf teenager and the future mother of Ha Eun Gyeol. She is lonely and isolated from everyone because of her controlling family.
Twinkling Watermelon a lot of things for me. It’s a unique drama with a fresh spin on the time travel genre that is filled with heart and emotion. There’s family, friendship, romance, and so many amazing relationships.
The story is fully-developed with great pacing and nice twists and turns. The characters are fleshed out and interesting with great performances by the actors. This drama is fun to watch and put a smile on my face so many times. It’s filled with a lot of joy and inspiration, yet it also deals with some heavier subjects. It handles everything quite beautifully.
The bromance between Eun Gyeol and Lee Chan is next level. It really is what makes the drama. This is the kind of bromance I live for! It’s such a rich, well-developed relationship that is packed with so much emotion.
I loved watching Eun Gyeol learn about his father as a teenager. He had to reconcile his conflicted feelings of love for him as a kind, gentle father and as a loud, immature teenager. We see both Eun Gyeol and Lee Chan grow as individuals as they experience joy and sorrow together. Their relationship was funny, frustrating, and so heartwarming.
The performances given by both Ryeoun and Choi Hyun Wook were stellar. Ryeoun gives an emotional performance as Eun Gyeol goes through an emotional rollercoaster. I loved seeing him smile and enjoy himself, but he really delivered with heartfelt tears that tugged at my heart.
Then Choi Hyun Wook was such a delight as Lee Chan. He’s a ball of energy who is loud and acts without thinking, but he’s such a kind soul with a heart of gold. He was both hilarious and such a joy to watch. He completely lights up the screen.
We also get a couple of nice romances. SPOILERS BELOW: We watch as Lee Chan does his best to win over the heart of Se Kyeong and soon finds himself in a love triangle with her and Eun Gyeol.
We eventually see a slow burn romance develop between Eun Gyeol and Se Kyeong. They have a strong bickering relationship for a long while, but once their feelings grow, I really enjoyed the playful banter between them.
Then Lee Chan moves from a boyish crush to a more mature love as he shifts his interest from Se Kyeong to Cheong Ah. It was nice to see a softer side of him come out around her and how a very sweet relationship develops that will ultimately allow them to become the parents of Eun Gyeol. END OF SPOILERS
Being a drama centered around a band, we do get some nice musical performances both in the present and the past. We get closer to the band in the 90’s, Watermelon Sugar, and learn about Eun Gyeol and Lee Chan’s bandmates and friends. They all add to the fun and playful vibe of the show.
I really liked all of themes Twinkling Watermelon explored. It looks at complicated family issues and various challenges that individuals face. It also deals with the repercussions of time travel.
I love this genre because it deals with question like: what happens if something small is changed? Should I change things if I can? How will it affect me and others in the future? You will always find loopholes when it comes to time travel, and there are definitely some here, but I find it all to be so much fun and just really enjoy thinking about all of the possibilities.
Twinkling Watermelon was such a lovely drama. It’s so nice to see a well-done time travel drama that explores interesting themes of the genre while also delivering such a wonderful story and great characters. Twinkling Watermelon is packed with heart, emotion, beautiful relationships, and a lot of fun.
My Rating: 8.5/10
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