Phoenix

Legendary bird rise to the occasion...

Some say love knows no boundaries. Phoenix proves that when unforeseen mishaps occur, love inevitably fades given its circumstances. Even soulful lovers separate when lives are interfered by cruel twist of fate.

Only By Fate?

Phoenix starts with a simple premise: timing of love is everything. Love will be ill-fated with missed timing, bad connections and misunderstandings. The question is: Can fate be challenged?

In life, maybe. Reality is, in Phoenix, fate is written to be manipulated by poor timing. Beyond the acting and sleek dialogues, the plot development lacks originality. The nonsensical plot is probably saved by the symbolic 'Phoenix' painting that ties the story together, making it meaningful and entertaining.

This particular 'Phoenix' painting, richly characterized in this drama, originates from Egyptian mythology. It serves as a metaphor and conveys love as either "passion" or "sacrifice." Both are ideals interpreted by the two main characters in love, Lee Ji-eun and Jang Sae-hoon. When both are overcoming obstacles in life, the symbolic 'Phoenix' depicts the strength to keep their love alive amidst the fire - challenges and water - remediation.

Wrong place, wrong time

You can't help but have this regretful feeling for these characters throughout the drama. If there is a way to change the time, the place or even the situation, problems will be solved and pain will be erased. Unfortunately, 'timing' is beyond our control sometimes, especially when it comes to love.

Ultimately, both Ji-eun and Sae-hoon learn that, you will never know how much a person means to you, until that person leaves you. The emptiness, the regrets, and the memories left behind, after you lose the person, become a painful reminder of how poignant one's love can be, when it happens at the wrong place, wrong time.