I honestly ignored this show for years, probably because it's Canadian and not enough people I knew were talking about it here in the US. BUT IT'S SO GOOD. I'm a first gen immigrant millennial, so I immediately identified with pretty much every plot line and every character. I'm not Korean, but this show is so well-crafted and so well-performed, that the themes of family, identity, perseverance, and progress shine through in every ep.
At like 45 seconds into episode 1 I knew I was falling in love with the show, but it was the bittersweet Appa/Jung situation that let me know this wouldn't be a run-of-the-mill superficial comedy. I can't get over how well-written and nuanced the show is. Even Umma and Janet have a mother-daughter tension that is SO REAL when it comes to immigrant mamas and their daughters. Appa and Umma are 1000% the reason why this show is so good. I'm BEYOND excited for more seasons.
More things I love:
Things I don't like:
At like 45 seconds into episode 1 I knew I was falling in love with the show, but it was the bittersweet Appa/Jung situation that let me know this wouldn't be a run-of-the-mill superficial comedy. I can't get over how well-written and nuanced the show is. Even Umma and Janet have a mother-daughter tension that is SO REAL when it comes to immigrant mamas and their daughters. Appa and Umma are 1000% the reason why this show is so good. I'm BEYOND excited for more seasons.
More things I love:
- ALL of the fellow immigrant business-owners and recurring customers (Enrique!!!, the stringy-haired white guy, Mr. Mehta, Frank). These characters are portrayed so perfectly, it's ridiculous. It always feels like a treat when one of them walk in the store.
- The establishing shots/b-roll of Toronto. The shots are either super inventive (i.e. the reflection of the Kim's Convenience sign in a puddle outside of the store) or super mundane (i.e. a random elderly person sitting on a park bench) or super random, but I kind of like seeing these little bits of Toronto.
- The deep love Appa and Umma have for each other, even with the hijinks and sneak attacks. I love seeing how they support each other and choose each other every day.
- How Stacie is always just counting down the minutes until she can clock out, and how delightfully naive Terence is. UGH ALL THE SUPPORTING CHARACTERS ARE SO GOOD :)
Things I don't like:
- The fact that in all of these seasons we still haven't seen Toronto in the snow. It snows over there, doesn't it??