Highlighting the struggles of youth today, Cheer Up leaves a colorful and spirited narrative that drives motivation and hope.
Presenting a musical and romantic series, Cheer Up made a refreshing take on youth dramas. It features the culture of Korea on cheering squads while adding a dark tone with a genre of mystery.
- Main Leads: Bae In Hyuk | Han Ji Hyun | Kim Hyun Jin |
- Romance/Addictive Meter:
- Overall Ratings:
- Rewatch Value:
- Dramas of Similar Vibe: Twenty Five Twenty One | At A Distance Spring Is Green | Rookie Cops |
sun_drae watched Cheer Up on Viu!
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 & 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
Cheer Up Final Episode Highlights
“I put myself before anything else. I’m that selfish. But for the first time, I valued someone more than myself and that’s Hae-yi. I want her to be happy. For that to happen, you need to recover soon.”
Thankfully, Jung-woo survived Jin-il’s attack and recovered fast at the hospital. The whole Theia also give time to check up on their Captain, especially Hae-yi.
She would visit Jung-woo every day at the hospital and be his support system. Furthermore, Sun-ho also vaguely shows that he cares for Jung-woo despite losing Hae-yi to him.
He now accepted Hae-yi’s choice and to everyone’s surprise, Sun-ho hasn’t been in a relationship since Hae-yi’s rejection. Additionally, Theia and dancing gradually grew on him and created a genuine reason for him to stay committed.
“Do you know when my heart breaks the most? When you try to take on all the burden by yourself. You should’ve grown up like a kid. But I feel like I raised you to be too much like an adult. Leave the parenting role to me. That’s how you and I can both live.”
Since learning about her mother’s condition, Hae-yi has been anxious about everything her mother does. Hae-yi woke up from a nightmare about one of the bad memories she had with her mom.
She then realizes that her mother was nowhere to be found considering how late it was. When Hae-yi cannot reach her mother, she immediately called 911, in fear that suicidal thoughts would occur to her mom again.
However, Choo-yang returned home unharmed and this is when Hae-yi confessed that she knew that her mom has suicidal thoughts during her father’s death. Nevertheless, Choo-yang reassures her daughter it never occurred again since that day.
Furthermore, she justifies her reason for coming home late. To find the money for her surgery, Choo-yang visited her brother, who helped her despite struggling financially as well.
Choo-yang then expressed that as a mother, Hae-yi should not be worrying about their financial needs. Instead, Choo-yang wants her daughter to enjoy her youth, pursue what she loves, and focus on her future.
“I wouldn’t know until now how much power rooting for one another can have. Whenever we face hardships in life, we will remember the memories from that time. The memory of being a strong support for one another.”
Three years later, Hae-yi and the rest of the 2019 alumni members of Theia got their dream professions while being lucky in terms of their love life. The third prophecy has also been clarified by the famous prophet of Theia, in which one member of Theia will die of loneliness.
This turns out to be Sun-ho since even after three years passed, he still hasn’t been in a relationship while the rest already has. On the other hand, Choo-yang and Jin-hee continue to be friends.
Choo-yang now recovers from her cancer while Jin-hee divorced her husband and is now feeling more empowered than ever before. Lastly, Theia’s reputation at Yonhee returns to normal and Sun-ja and Min-jae lead the squad.
Cheer Up Quick Series Plot Recap
Cheer Up threads on the story of young people who assemble in the cheering squad with a brilliant history that is on the brink of disbandment. Against the backdrop of the 50-year-old
college club Yeonhee University’s cheering squad foretells stories of young love and chasing dreams.
Han Ji Hyun portrays Do Hae-yi, as a bright and hardworking Yeonhee University student. Due to her family’s financial situation, she prioritizes earning money over school. She joins Theia for the money, but while on the cheering squad, Hae-yi discovers the joys of campus life. She then meets several people from Theia who eventually become her emotional support system.
Cheer Up Series Highlights
Han Ji Hyun
Accepting the role in Cheer Up proved that Han Ji Hyun’s versatility is unparalleled. She portrayed the role of Do Hae-yi, which is the opposite of her character in her breakthrough drama, The Penthouse.
As a matter of fact, Han carried the series with her performance and charms that we didn’t know she had. Her energy on the screen is contagious and can brighten up one’s day.
Theia
From elaborate costumes to energetic cheer dance routines, Theia represents the culture of Korea in cheer dance. Through Cheer Up, viewers got to be educated that these kinds of cultures and practices in Korean universities exist.
We got to see and feel the spirit of youth on the small screen which creates a nostalgic sensation for the younger generations. Since youth was badly affected by the pandemic, the series took us into the walls of Yeonhee and let us experience being youth again.
Cheer Up Series Musings
Considering that the premiere of the series was the beginning of people’s recovery from the pandemic, Cheer Up is a breath of fresh air for viewers. With years of being locked inside our houses, seeing the energetic atmosphere of academic halls filled with youth is refreshing.
Of many school dramas we’ve seen, Cheer Up is one of the many series that could easily leave a mark. Oftentimes, these genres usually present the overly depicted stories and struggles of youth.
Even though the series also narrates the reality that the youth faces, the characters proved that the youth is stronger than what they think. Additionally, it also embodies the new characteristics of today’s youth — more resilient, dependent, and prioritized self-love.
However, there are still points that need to be improved like how the story of Jin-il was written. His story was a bit confusing and I was hoping that his actions were justified so his story has a solid conclusion.
Due to this, the plot became all over the place, but it flawlessly became stable in the last few episodes.
Except for these points, the rest of the character developments were written well and the plot twist at the end was unpredictable. Furthermore, throughout the series, we felt the efforts of the cast in preparing for their roles and learning a difficult dance routine.
With that being said, Cheer Up has a charm that can uplift someone during their lowest moments. It emphasizes the importance of having a support system and unloading all the burdens that we can’t carry at once.
Don’t miss out on the motivating and high-spirited episodes of Cheer Up on Viu!
Photos/Videos: SBS Drama
Screencaps: Viu
[wpedon id=”2271″ align=”center”]
