2049－The Hedgehog Effect (2021)

Messed-up doesn't even begin to cover it.

TLDR; An overall good drama about the complexity of mother-daughter relationships that suffers tremendously from disturbing and harmful messages.

Whump meter: △△△△△ (none).

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【spoiler-free】

LIKES:
► Quite nice cinematography.
► Cool and unique architecture.
► Amazing styling and outfits (especially for FL).
► Quick and good pacing.
► Interesting premise about messed up family dynamics and the trauma surfacing because of it.
► Female centered plot.

DISLIKES:
► The messages and overall theme. (Which basically is: forgive everyone who wronged you, and it’s your fault that you’re unhappy.).
► The fact that the true villain of the story isn't reprimanded but rather praised.
► The abrupt plot twist in the end which leaves you thoroughly confused about the entire story.

It seems like I disliked little, but the messages and themes are the most important parts of this drama ?

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【!SPOILERS below!】

►CHARACTERS:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Characters were alright for the most part. FL is a strict and cold helicopter parent stuck in an unhappy marriage. SFL is in a similar predicament, but she’s more volatile and emotional than FL. The story focuses on the two of them as they navigate their similar lives together and try to heal from the trauma brought upon them by their hatred of their mother.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The supporting cast consists primarily of FL's husband, mother, and daughter. FL's husband appears to be a distant yet caring man who's trying but always falls short of his wife's expectations, but in truth, he's the villain of the story (I'll elaborate more in the STORY section since it's related to their backstory). I have no complaints about either the mother or the daughter; both served the plot well, were interesting, and had complete arcs. Unfortunately (but also understandably), we get less development and focus on SFL's character and family, so there's not much to say there.

►ACTING:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Overall, not bad. The leads were, for the most part, quite good, though there were some meh moments. Supporting characters were kinda hit-or-miss. Some did fine, others were painful to watch.

►STORY:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ FL is forced to confront the reality of her own life when another woman in a similar situation approaches them. Together, they try to navigate their lives and heal from the trauma brought upon them by their hatred of their mother, which is presently affecting FL’s relationship with her own daughter. It had all the potential to be an interesting story about the complicated relationship between mothers and their daughters and how that affects both parties even decades later. But what started as an in-depth story about a severely messed-up family dynamic and the trauma that surfaces because of it turned into a very disturbing tale of forgiving everyone who wronged you.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ At first, FL’s mother is the villain of the story since we’re experiencing it from FL’s perspective. As the story progresses, FL starts blaming different people, including her husband, only to eventually settle that everything was her own fault for not forgiving those who had ruined her life. The final message of the story is that you must always forgive your family because, no matter what, you can never escape them. ? Though FL’s mother is framed as the villain in the beginning, they do a good job of showing her growth since FL was a child and how things aren’t as black and white as FL had seen them. That was good. However, the true villain isn’t the mother OR FL, but rather FL’s husband, who, for some ungodly reason, is portrayed as just a distant but loving husband when he literally got FL pregnant when she was 16 (and he was dating her mother, so definitely not a teen/young adult).

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ This plot twist just ruined the entire story. Not just because it’s a messed-up thing; you can definitely tackle messed-up stories, but that’s the whole problem. He’s not framed as a villain. Him hooking up with the daughter of his girlfriend when the girl was underage, getting her pregnant, and then marrying her is framed as okay?? If anything, he’s PRAISED for sticking around and not leaving the girl pregnant and alone. How is everyone so calm about this? How is the story trying to blame FL when she was taken advantage of by someone who should’ve protected her? I just can’t get over this. Never does this get mentioned again, either. The couple just made up and called it a day... I wanted to rate the drama higher, but such a terrible message excusing such vile behaviour cannot get a higher rating from me.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Other than that, the story was fine. If it wasn't for the above trashshow, the story is definitely more of a 7 than a 2. The pacing was good; it had a pretty solid beginning and middle, the ending could’ve been better and far less confusing, but whatever.

►PRODUCTION:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Very solid. Visual effects were very good, same with the cinematography, locations, sets, and clothing. I honestly have no complaints in this regard. It looked like a very legit drama.

►MUSIC:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Good enough—nothing memorable but also nothing painful to the ears.

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◇ Was it what I was expecting? No
◆ Did it live up to its potential? Meh
◇ Would I watch it again? No
◆ Would I recommend it to others? Unlikely

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