A romance between a non-celebrity and a celebrity is one of the favourite and anticipated tropes in a story. What happens when this story comes to life? Lives which are worlds apart face immense obstacles when spent together. One requires immense patience and strength to see it through. Won Jun and Doo Na’s story is one such story of love and heartache. Doona! premiered on October 20, 2023 on Netflix. Unlike usual Netflix shows of 8 or 10 episodes, Doona! features just nine. This K-drama is adapted from the webtoon The Girl Downstairs by Min Song Ah. Doona! stars Bae Suzy and Yang Se Jong in the lead.
Doona! is a tale of a K-pop idol Lee Doo Na and a university student Won Jun. The two meet fatefully after Won Jun moves into a shared housing space. Their relationship starts off with a hiccup but eventually the two become friends. Won Jun helps Doo Na face her demons and start afresh. Won Jun finally learns to move on from his residual feelings for Jin Ju and finds love in Doo Na.
As the two begin to spend time together, they begin to rediscover themselves. As their love grows, Doo Na learns to move on from her past. She prepares to resume her life as a K-pop idol. Doo Na and Won Jun decide to pursue a long-distance relationship.
All of us, as K-pop fans, have seen what happens to an idol or an actor’s popularity as soon as they reveal that they are dating. Earlier, this was often frowned upon, and the fans would stop supporting the artists. Fearing the same for Doo Na, her manager tells her to avoid interacting with Won Jun.
An imaginary but very much present wall forms between Won Jun and Doo Na. Sometimes, despite being just one building away, the distance between them could not have been wider. Won Jun, who has been studying diligently all this while and taking care of his family, cannot take it anymore. Despite his love for Doo Na, the physical distance between the two takes a toll on him.
One fine day, when Doo Na does manage to sneak out and meet Won Jun, the two express how this arrangement is hurting them. This conversation signals an end to their love story. Despite having loved each other and still loving each other, the variables needed to keep their story going were not in their favor. Both came from different worlds with demands of their own. Continuing the relationship would have only hurt them in the long run.
Jin Ju, Won Jun’s friend from high school and also his crush, is an interesting character. As Jin Ju comes to terms with the reality of her and Won Jun’s future and also learns to move away from her toxic household, she finds a fresh start in her life. She has quite a long way to go before she finds her footing and opens her heart again, but it is good to see that her journey towards healing has already begun.
The show’s pacing is steady. Each character arc is formed at a reliable pace, allowing for the story to chart its course. With just about 45-minutes of run time per episode (credits extra), Doona! (pun intended) keeps the viewers engaged throughout. There is a veil of mystery around Doo Na. There is a sense of curiosity towards Won Jun.
Won Jun on the surface seems like any other 21-year-old boy in love. But if you dive deeper into the character, you will find that he has quite the mature understanding for such a young age. He deals with Doo Na sensibly when she acts out. He comes to terms with the reality of his and Doo Na’s relationship when he finds that there will be no future.
Doo Na, in all her mystery, is just a poor broken soul looking for someone to understand her and see her true self. All her acts of rash behaviour are just demands for attention with hopes that someone will come and save her from the pit of despair. Won Jun is that saviour. With Won Jun’s love and warm embrace, Doo Na begins to sing again. She laughs again and finds her joie de vivre.
In a Bollywood movie, there is a dialogue which goes something like “I wanted to tell you, you looked beautiful but I only watched you from afar’. One could say the same transpires for Doona and Won Jun. In the finale episode, we see that the two have moved on in their careers. Doo Na is more popular than ever, and Won Jun has landed a great job. Their love for each other is still there but they choose to accept it and move on. Sometimes in life, there comes a time when you meet a person whom you love immensely. Your love nourishes and gives strength to each other. But sometimes it is not meant to last, even if it feels that it was meant to be.
Doona! K-drama Ending Explained: Will there be a sequel to Doona!?
In the finale episode of Doona! we saw that Doo Na and Won Jun have moved on with their individual lives. They are no longer dating each other, but still do acutely miss each other. There has been no news of a sequel so far. Doo Na and Won Jun’s story was meant to be short-lived. The time they spent together would forever remain etched on their minds as some of the most beautiful memories of their youth.
In a person’s life, one needs a story which can be deemed as a catalyst to bounce back on their feet. Doo Na and Won Jun’s love story is that catalyst for them. Doo Na, who could not sing or go on stage earlier, learns to love herself. She begins to see herself from Won Jun’s eyes and gains her self-esteem back. Won Jun, who first thought that he was not doing it right by leaving his ailing sister behind, learns that he too can put himself first sometimes. He deserves to have a shot at the good things in life.
Doona! is a tale of love, heartache and longing. It also goes to show that certain things are not achievable by the all-encompassing power of love. Sometimes one has to forego certain things and relationships in life for the greater good. The grief that it brings along is like no other. One has to learn to accept and move on in life. One can only do so much when everything goes against them.
In other thoughts, Doona! could also have worked well if the show had ended on a ‘will-they-won’t-they-angle’. For a love story that we know is doomed from the start, sometimes it is better to leave an open ending to it. Won Jun was a catalyst in Doo Na’s life to spring back on her feet, Doo Na helped Won Jun have a different perspective towards romance. Perhaps their story was better suited to have remained at a place where they know it would make a tumultuous love story and decide to part ways before things went further. Or perhaps this writer is just a sucker for incomplete romances and beautiful heartache inducing open ended stories.
What are your thoughts on “Doona!”?
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