Review: Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020)
Official Synopsis:
A pianist hits rock bottom and finds herself at a piano academy in a small village where she falls in love with a mystery man.
This show was pretty enjoyable for the first couple episodes. Even though the story begins in tragedy, you know its all a vehicle for helping her bump into the love of her life. Go Ara plays a spoiled rich girl named Goo Ra-ra who gets her life turned upside down. Her father on the brink of losing the entire family fortune ends up having a heart attack and dies on her wedding day. In all this mayhem, Ra-ra's future mother-in-law decides to call off the wedding because the Goo family fortune is no more. Having lost her fiance and fortune, Ra-ra is forced to flee from creditors with a small lifeline of money. Predictably, the naive Ra-ra then gets swindled of her remaining money as well. Then she gets into a horrible car accident and she bumps into a man who basically is "forced" to take care of her. Despite all of this ridiculousness, its still pretty entertaining and if you've watched enough Korean Dramas this is actually pretty tame in comparison to how outlandish these storylines can get. As Goo Rara adjusts to her new life, the story focuses on her love life and the identity of her mystery guardian angel.
Spoiler Alert
Although there are some entertaining moments, DoDoSolSolLaLaSol tries too hard to deliver on too many stories and ideas. Its flooded with every K-Drama trope they could think of. Is there a mystery old man that she ends up helping who ends up being her benefactor? Check. Is there a mysterious guardian angel who was watching out for her since the beginning who turns out to be her boyfriend all along? Check. Is there a handsome and successful other guy that tries to fight for the main girl's affections? Check. Is there a rich future mother-in-law who disapproves of the relationship and try to buy off the female to end the relationship? Check! Does the boyfriend suddenly decide to break up with her because he's diagnosed with a terminal disease? Check. The ending is absolutely bonkers as well. In the last episode, Ra-Ra's boyfriend ends up dying. It is then explained that even though he was sick and dying he still pre-recorded a piano recital so he could play with her one last time. After everyone (including the audience) has spent the entire episode mourning him, he turns out to be alive and has survived his terminal illness so they can live together happily ever after. In the end, DoDoSolSolLaLaSol tries too hard to deliver on every trope from every other successful K-Drama romcom which results in a product that feels clunky and maddening.
Our Rating:
Swin: 5/10 - Likeable characters but insane story.
Written by: Oh Ji-young
Directed by: Kim Min-kyeong
Starring: Go Ara, Lee Jae-wook, Kim Joo-hun
Number of Seasons: 1
Number of Episodes: 16