Cheer Up, the new SBS mystery-romance drama is finally lighting up our screens with campus crushes, unusual outfits, and a down-and-out team looking to rediscover their spirit. However, as the cheer squad searches for recruits in the year of a deadly prophecy, it appears that collective pep may not be the only spirit they discover.
If you, like me, were hoping for a drama about high-flying cheerleaders, I’m sorry to inform you that’s not what we’ve got (at least so far). This show’s central crew is more akin to a pep squad; they don’t stunt, tumble, or do sophisticated dance routines. What we do get is songs, lights, costumes, chants, and a lot of excitement — which is all I need to watch, even if it’s not what I expected.
In 2019, we set the stage at Yonhee University, where the majority of our story will take place. DO HAE-YI (Han Ji-Hyun), our heroine, is overjoyed for her first day at such a famous institution. She arrives at college in a vintage varsity jacket she bought online and takes shots with her messed up, nowhere-near-new iPhone while attempting to manifest money through affirmations.
Hae-Yi has all the makings of a classic Candy, despite working in the modern freelance economy. In addition to educating high school students and stacking library books, she works on a “butler service” app, where she does anything from delivering dry cleaning to killing bugs for ridiculously low costs. This is how she pays for Yonhee, and she’s proud of herself for being there. Her degree will elevate her social standing one day, and she’s determined not to let anything get in her way.
When our female heroine is graffitiing the stadium bleachers with her name, she meets the cheer captain and all-around wonderful guy PARK JUNG-WOO (Bae In-hyuk), who orders her to wipe it up. They get off to a bad start, constantly bumping into one another at the university, where the outspoken, scene-making Hae-Yi clashes with the calm, rule-following Jung-woo. Hae-Yi notices a shift when she witnesses Jung-woo perform at the orientation-day pep rally and becomes enthralled by something on stage. (Is that him? Or all the fireworks?)
Jung-woo is a member of the cheerleading squad Theia, which will be essential to our plot. The team is having several issues. They presently have four members, which is insufficient to carry out all of their routines. The flag team joins them during their performances, but it turns out that there is a feud between flag and cheer members. And, after a 50-year history at the institution, their funding is being reduced, while demonstrators stand outside the pep rally asking that Theia be demolished.
Among their major flaws (in my opinion) are their uniforms, which look like rococo meets cowgirl for no apparent reason. When Jung-woo claims they were designed by fashion designer Andre Kim, I found myself rooting for them. But it’s not all awful because Bae In-hyuk looks drastically different when he’s dolled up with his bangs pushed back, which I’ll take.
We have a few more people to introduce to our campus crew. JIN SUN-HO (Kim Hyun-jin), a popular (and wealthy) med student, meets Hae-Yi when she delivers a cake to him on his birthday (from his fiancée, who is breaking up with him via cake message). He comes out as a jerk at first, hitting on Hae-Yi after she makes the delivery, but as he follows her around college, he begins to show genuine interest.
BAE YOUNG-WOONG (Yang Dong-Geun), a former member of Theia (from about 17 years ago), hangs out with the current members and attempts to recreate his glory days on the team, is also present. He’s also the bartender at their favorite hangout, Cheers (the rest of this post should just be eye rolls).
He gets the notion to try to attract Hae-Yi to the cheer team after noticing that Sun-ho likes Hae-Yi. They need to recruit among the freshmen, and he believes that because Sun-ho is so well-liked if someone Sun-ho likes are on the squad, everyone else will want to join as well.
Hae-Yi, of course, wants to join the investing club, so Young-woong will pay her to join Theia for a month. JOO SUN-JA (Lee Eun-same) and, surprise, Sun-ho himself join up after she does (to get closer to Hae-Yi).
Tryouts are a nightmare. The four remaining members are subjected to one awful routine after another. Then Hae-Yi appears and performs a triple back handspring. Tryouts have ended. However, because only twelve people tried out, they decided to keep them all on the team. We subsequently learn that Hae-Yi was on a dance team as a child, but the day of her big recital also happened to be the day her father died. Her suppressed love of performance begins to surface, but can it overcome her financial need?
This is just one of several questions raised in the first two episodes. Another question: will one of the team members die this year? Yep. The drama is marketed as a romance/mystery, and the mystery part is not lacking. One strand involves a shaman who offered the cheer team three cursed predictions in 1999, two of which have come true. 
The third event, which is scheduled for 2019, is the death of a member of Theia. A second, less well-known thread concerns a former member named Yoo-min. A stage light dropped on her during a performance, and she now haunts Jung-dreams woo’s and possibly the halls of Yonhee.
When Sun-ho and Hae-Yi are chosen to move up and perform with the four upperclassmen at the end of Episode 2, the romance and mystery begin to entwine. When it starts to rain, Jung-woo is training the two freshmen. Sun-ho leaves to grab an umbrella for Hae-Yi, but when he returns, she and Jung-woo are laughing.
Sun-ho seemed to be envious. Someone is watching from a distance, holding Hae-Yi’s application paperwork for Theia. Just afterward, she begins to get texts on her phone that say, “Quit the squad. Or one of the team members will perish. “Recall the third prophecy.”
Jung-woo and Hae-Yi tidy up the practice equipment without checking their phone (and with Sun-ho abruptly gone). They’ve grown much more friendly after Jung-woo revealed that he, too, lacks a father — and that she shouldn’t feel bad about herself for working all those jobs to pay for school. The truth is that she is making things work. When the door slams shut and the lights go out, the two are in some kind of subterranean storage area. They’re trapped inside, which triggers Hae-Yi’s recollection, causing her to panic and hyperventilate.
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Should I be the first to say this? This show is ridiculous. It still can be a lot of fun if it realizes how ridiculous it is and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The tone reminds me of those self-aware slasher films prevalent in the 1990s – or, did anyone ever read the Fear Street book series? That’s exactly the mood.
There are some cringe-worthy instances, such as when Jung-woo tells Hae-Yi, “As you can see, our team has a lot of rules.” Consider carefully whether you want to be a part of the team.” Blech. But, since she now refers to him as a “fogey,” I’m hoping the series is trying to make fun of itself.
We have classic stakes and a million difficulties to solve in terms of plot. What are the stakes? If the cheer team does not receive new members and more robust routines, it will be destroyed. What are the issues? First and first, who wants to be a member of a team where someone will die this year? Is there a ghost lurking around? Will they be able to outperform the flag team and rival Hokyung University? Can Hae-Yi choose between Sun-ho and Jung-woo (and finally get rid of her ex-boyfriend)? I didn’t introduce the ex-boyfriend because I’m hoping we never see him again.
So far, my favorite character is Hae-Yi’s mother, SEONG CHUN-YANG (Jang Young-nam). Hae-Yi complains to her that being poor stinks because you can never prepare for the future since you have to worry so much about paying for today.
Instead of being insulted, her mother advises her to keep saying smart things because “it lets me know I have a daughter at a top university.” What’s not to love about that? On top of that, she advises her daughter to join Theia and enjoy her college experience.
I’m looking forward to seeing how both interact in the upcoming. With these meaningful moments interspersed among the cheese, I’m hoping that this program will bring some vividly colored pleasure.
