Warning! Spoilers Ahead
Based on the popular Korean webtoon “The Girl Downstairs,” the nine-episode Netflix K-drama “Doona!” was released on Oct. 20, following the story of the retired K-pop idol Lee Doona (Suzy) and her upstairs neighbor Lee Won-jun (Yang Se-jong). As their lives intertwine, the complex relationship between the characters reveal the reality of life and its unexpected twists.
The character-driven plot revolved around the interactions between Doona and Won-jun. As she performed on stage, Doona’s anxiety took over, causing her to feel as if she was drowning underwater, which prevented her from singing. Because of this, she dropped out of her K-pop group, and her manager, who was her lover at the time, abruptly cut ties. Depressed, Doona let her sorrows consume her as she stayed on the first floor of a shared house in a college town. Not knowing much about her, Won-jun moved into the second floor for his freshman year at the nearby college. As they got to know each other, he eventually drove her out of her darkness.
Not only was the contrast in personalities of the melancholic yet playful Doona with the kindhearted and naive Won-jun shown through their actions, but it was also displayed through the setting. Doona’s room was depicted as dark and lonely, with little light shining through the windows, to reflect her desolation. When Won-jun came, he lit up her life and brightened her surroundings, proving to her that she can be genuinely loved and cared for as an ordinary person, rather than an idol.
While the drama was centered around the relationship between Doona and Won-jun, viewers caught a glimpse of the lives of the supporting characters — the four other housemates and Doona’s old manager and bandmates — but solely focused on their impact on Doona and Won-jun. Including only a few characters in the drama enabled the viewers to develop a close relationship with them and stay invested in these characters’ lives.
The focus on the relationship between characters made the drama more personal but also more emotionally draining, especially towards the end of the show. Because of the character-driven plot, the scenes focused less on action and more on conversations between characters. However, there were often loud silences and little dialogue during these moments, making the scenes more authentic and intimate. Oftentimes, the characters’ feelings and intentions were expressed more through their facial expressions than their exchange of words. During Won-jun and Doona’s last meal together, viewers could tell how hard she was trying to stay optimistic about maintaining their romantic relationship, offering small smiles and twinkling eyes filled with tears. Meanwhile, Won-jun seemed distant as he constantly stared at the dishes on the table and said little to her. Without conversing his honest thoughts to Doona, Won-jun’s blank, tired eyes conveyed his true feelings of confinement from their relationship. He felt constrained by the limited contact Doona was allowed due to the possessiveness of fans and her busy schedule.
As Doona returned back to the idol industry as a soloist, the emotional distance between her and Won-jun grew as their paths diverged, leading to their separation. Her life was finally coming back together with her career taking off — she became happier, no longer unstable and started accepting herself. Despite seeming to have it all, Doona was still deeply hurt by Won-jun’s decision to leave her, even years later. He had pushed her away even when she was still trying hard to make their relationship work. She received immense love and support from her fans, yet she couldn’t receive love from the one person she wanted the most. Watching their relationship fall apart was heartbreaking, considering that idols in real life probably experience a similar story.
The drama ended with an open interpretation for viewers to craft their own happily ever after for the characters. Years later, the two met again, but this time in Japan. As they made their way through opposite ends of a shopping mall, Won-jun and Doona briefly walked past each other, which could portray how they will continue walking forward on their different paths in life. However, Doona turned around and looked in Won-jun’s direction, as if she caught a glimpse of someone familiar, but Won-jun continued walking next to his boss. While this scene could have been interpreted as the characters moving on to live their separate lives, the subtle details hint that the two reconciled and continued their relationship in secret. The detail of Won-jun taking a deep breath after passing Doona without acknowledging her seemed as if he was relieved to dodge a bullet — they didn’t arouse any suspicion of a relationship between them while in public.
Furthermore, the short, introductory scene where the two faced each other across train tracks was shown at the beginning of every episode, in reference to the previous scene in Japan to foreshadow the future where they meet even while on parallel tracks moving in different directions. The beginning of the final episode also showed a scene where they met again in Japan’s pink fields: Won-jun wore the same business outfit as the ending scene while Doona wore a different outfit than her fans saw her with. These scenes addressed how although they were living in completely different worlds as a celebrity and college student, Doona and Won-jun still managed to cross paths, ultimately emphasizing the unexpected twists life can bring.
What made these scenes even more heart-wrenching was the complexity of these characters. It wasn’t that Won-jun didn’t want to be with her, but as an overthinker who easily gets hurt, he knew that he would be let down if Doona’s career separated them. Won-jun knew that it would be impossible to be with Doona if she went back to being an idol, but he still encouraged her to go where she shined most, which was on stage. It was frustrating and devastating to see Won-jun give up on their relationship, pretending that he could nonchalantly let her go and telling her not to worry about him. These scenes left viewers empty and lost, understanding both characters’ perspectives yet not being able to help mend their relationship.
Rather than the sweet, light hearted ambience the teasers portrayed, the drama took viewers on an emotional and bittersweet roller coaster. While there were many happy, butterfly-inducing moments, the atmosphere often felt heavy and wistful. These emotions were masterfully captured through the directors’ contrast between dim lighting and colorful backgrounds, creating a yellow, nostalgic tint. As viewers watched Doona’s relationship with Won-jun shift from distant strangers to forbidden lovers, the beautiful cinematography perfectly encapsulated the poignant reminiscence one experiences after losing someone important.
