[Drama catnip] Complicated camaraderie

by mistyisles

In the comments of one of my weecaps a while back, a Beanie observed that K-dramas are particularly good at depicting camaraderie. And it got me thinking — that may well be the single greatest reason I love K-dramas so much. It’s not the only reason, of course, but it might just be the biggest one.

K-dramas have a knack for creating magnetic, meaningful relationships, and I don’t just mean romantic relationships, either. In fact, sometimes the most compelling K-drama relationships are friendships or familial bonds. And for me, the best ones are those that get a little (or very) messy.

Sometimes they start out that way, as in the case of reluctant partnerships or enemies-to-friends trajectories. Two characters are thrown together against their will and forced to make it work, until eventually it’s not so forced after all. Until — slowly, over time — they can’t help coming to respect each other and *gasp* maybe even like each other.

It’s Tae-joo and Dong-chul in Life on Mars serving as literal police force partners while constantly butting heads over their opposing ideologies… until they start to rub off on each another and challenge each other to change for the better. It’s Prosecutor Kim Young-joo obsessively hunting down the City Hunter… until he has to confront the fact that they both want justice and the only way to get it is together. And it’s Prince Won and Jang Wook in Alchemy of Souls, set at odds by politics and personal pride… but secretly looking for confirmation that one taking care of the other’s turtle might actually mean something.

All of that is delicious, addictive catnip for me. Drop hints that a reluctant friendship is in store, and I’m there! But for a K-drama camaraderie to operate at peak catnip performance, I think it’s got to be one involving a friendship that falls apart — and yet the attachment lingers. The angst! The longing! The I know I have to betray/hurt/kill you, and it’s killing me internal struggle! It gets me every. single. time. Maximum bonus points if friendship wins out in the end, no matter how much hurt has already been dealt.

Take, for example, the trio of childhood friends in Moonlight Drawn By Clouds. As young adults, they find themselves pulled in three different directions by rival political factions. But does that stop them from finding ways to secretly help each other out — even when they know the help might not be gladly received — or reflecting longingly on those long-lost days of uncomplicated friendship? Not at all.

Instead, it puts Byung-yeon through the agonizing moral dilemma of hearing Prince Young declare him the only person he can trust while he’s sneaking around behind Young’s back and colluding with his enemies. It makes Yoon-sung operate in shadows, letting everyone believe he’s turned his back on his old friends instead of openly showing how much he still cares for them. And it gives us that powerful, heart wrenching moment where one friend must beg another not to stop holding him at sword point for fear of losing him.

Or, for less life-and-death-level stakes, consider Hee-do and Yoo-rim from Twenty Five Twenty One. Particularly that one emotionally supercharged fencing match after months of radio silence and media plays at rekindling their old jealous rivalry. Both had compelling reasons for needing to win, and each knew what it would mean for the other to lose, and I cried almost as hard as they did when it was over.

This type of catnip is why, out of all the things I loved about Inspector Koo (which was a lot!), and out of all the dynamic characters in that show, my favorite was Je-hee — the titular Inspector Koo Kyung-hee’s longtime but semi-estranged friend who so worryingly toed the line between double agent and actual traitor out of desperation to protect her family.

And who could forget the classic, captivating bromance of School 2013 with all its angst, hurt feelings (and bodily injury), regret, and slow but exuberant reconciliation?

Ultimately, I think a good part of why I’m so drawn to these types of lost-and-found friendships (or unexpectedly found friendships) is that they offer a uniquely, universally relatable ray of hope that love wins in the end, no matter what that love looks like. Not everyone will find their romantic soulmate, defy fate itself, and ride off into the sunset. Not everyone has experienced or even wants to experience a romantic relationship at all. But friends? Everybody needs at least one of those. And dramaland friendships, messy and complicated as they often are, are great at reminding us why.

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[Drama catnip] Complicated camaraderie