'Yonder' on Paramount+ Review: Kim Jae-hyun and Cha Yi-hoo's love story tackles major human emotions
Spoilers for 'Yonder'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Who else doesn't like the fantasy world? Exploring the unknown world where anything is possible gives us the excitement that we need. The most recent Amazon Prime Video's 'The Wheel of Time' and Netflix's 'Invisible City' are some examples of it. And when you add a futuristic world with unimaginable, yet the possibility of advanced technology, the concept of the content becomes much more intriguing. And combing the genres of sci-fi and fantasy comes the new series 'Yonder.'
Paramount+ has been invested in producing a variety of new content in recent times. And now the streaming platform has released a sci-fi fantasy Korean mini-series 'Yonder.' 'Yonder' stars Han Ji-min as Cha Yi-hoo, Shin Ha-kyun as Kim Jae-hyun, Lee Jeong-eun as Seiren, Jung Jin-young as Doctor K, Bae Yoo-ram as Hacker Park and Jo Bo-bi as Cho Eun.
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The unusual world of 'Yonder'
At the outset, 'Yonder' can be regarded as a romantic tale between a husband Kim Jae-hyun and his wife Cha Yi-hoo. Set in 2032, the couple is living alone in their home, with no children. Yi-hoo is diagnosed with terminal heart cancer. And in a world where euthanasia is legalized, a new social system is devised to face death. When Jae-hyun tries to pull the plug on his wife with a hard heart, Yi-hoo makes the process easier for him by signing the acceptance papers. But when Jae-hyun tries to mourn the death of his wife, he receives a video message from his wife from 'Yonder,' a place where one's memory can be stored after their death. This leads to a lot of shocking revelations. 'Yonder' tackles all the major concepts, from death to life philosophies in the six-episode long mini-series.
The major problem of 'Yonder'
On one hand, 'Yonder' is really a trailblazing show. But the sci-fi fantasy drama mainly explores life after death and the memories that we hold on to of our beloved ones and takes a softer approach to this highly potential concept. The show is slow-paced, which affects the pace and impact of the series. For instance, Jae-hyun refuses to accept the concept of 'Yonder' for the first time, after interacting with the memories of Yi-hoo. After the interaction, the conversation between Seiren (the controller of 'Yonder' in the real world) and Jae-hyun goes with Seiren asking, "Do you believe in what you see?" to which Jae-hyun replies, "What about you?" To this Seiren replies, "I believe in my thoughts." And the delivery of this conversation is so extremely downplayed that it fails to create the intended impact it was supposed to create.
The logical issues of 'Yonder'
When you watch sci-fi fantasy content, you do not expect logic to play a key role. However, having some common sense and a grounded approach to world-building only will make up for the believable factor. And this is where 'Yonder' faces some struggles. More than sometimes, 'Yonder' tries to test our patient by filling up each of the episodes with philosophical quotes regarding life. This makes the tone of the show inconsistent and at times dragged out. There are several logical issues with 'Yonder' as well. For instance, when Jo Eun from the organ collection team finds out a chip (later found to be used for transferring memories) on Yi-hoo's body, instead of reporting it to the authorities, Jo Eun informs Jae-hyun, a journalist. Jo Eun even reveals that there are several of these chips that were found recently and do not seem to take any actual actions. The team consisting of Jo Eun, Jae-hyun and Hacker Park (a friend of Jae-hyun), take the case upon themselves and try to solve the mystery. This makes you wonder where were all the detectives in 2023.
The positives of 'Yonder'
Apart from some of the insignificant hiccups that the series faces, 'Yonder' is a fairly good series to watch. It is really hard for one to create a fantasy world with minimal characters but the cast of 'Yonder' keeps you engaged with their performance. The concept of storing memory as an interactive AI, the world of 'Yonder' and the mild differentiation they have shown to differentiate the real world from 'Yonder' are some of the major positives of the series.
The show also tackles several major issues that we face in the real world, like how huge companies can make people blindly give up their personal information on their own, how people will always try to find a way to escape their problems, how people will choose illusion over reality any day and most importantly, the importance of holding on to a memory. The complex emotions that every human faces upon losing our beloved ones are portrayed precisely without overdoing it. The vulnerability of the human mind and how it is exploited by others are depicted in a way that gives us chills. After watching the series, you are left to wonder about the questions that are raised on this show.
Though 'Yonder' may test your patience for some time, it is a great series to binge-watch. And if you are an ardent fan of this new-world genre, you should definitely give out a try for 'Yonder.'