Memories of the Alhambra (2018)

The main reason I liked this drama was the plot, unpredictable and captivating, it does not allow you to get distracted not even for a second or you will miss the change of setting and time.
The production is incredible, honestly one of the best I've ever seen. The choice of places, the direction of photography and cinematography was extremely high-quality, the music is perfectly matched with the setting, and whenever I listen to "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" on my own I shiver remembering the scenes in which this song was used, I remember the feelings, the characters, the landscapes and the infamous train scene and the sudden rain.
The actors were amazing, I loved the romance between the two main leads, even though it was a little predictable (maybe the only predictable detail about the plot).
Not gonna spoil the end, but it made me cry. I still think about it nowadays (I finished it in February), and it still makes me shed a tear.
Really a great drama overall, one of the best I've ever seen!

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Great Potential, but Disappointing Finish

I finally watched Memories of the Alhambra, but wish I hadn’t. Let’s do the good stuff first. The premise was fun, confusing, never explained properly, but fun. There were lots of really interesting scenes, especially the locations in Spain. Sets, photography, music, etc. were well done. The cast was outstanding. Hyun Bin didn’t even need his dimples to be cute and sexy. (It even had a very young Lee Jae Wook in a small role that he absolutely nailed.) The chemistry between the male and female leads was OK. , but the writer didn’t give them much room to maneuver, which brings me to my big disappointment. The writing could have been better. It started well, but fell apart in the end. Great writers have great endings. Mediocre writers don’t. They can’t sustain the emotional momentum right up until that last cathartic breath when the audience accepts “it was meant to be.” Whether the ending is sad, happy, ambiguous, or a cliffhanger, great endings feel organic. The audience understands they are appropriate in the context of the story. They don’t feel, “Huh? What the hell? Where’d my ending go to? Wait, let me rewind, I must have missed something.” The ending to MOA was flat, boring, and unsatisfactory. There were too many subplots that never made sense, no loose ends were tied, the leading actors had no emotional finish lines to cross, character arcs were tossed out the window (nobody’s character changed dramatically; they didn’t grow, learn a life-lesson, or become a better or worse person), and many viewers felt uncomfortable and confused at the end. We were hungry for a happy ending, but would have settled for a tragedy like the Christ metaphor they tried to concoct, “he sacrificed himself to save others.” (Frankly I got tired of being hit over the head with so many images of Christ on the cross. All right already, I got the message.) We could have accepted a cliffhanger where a second season was implied. But none of that happened; it just closed with a dull thud. Worse yet, they threw in all kinds of miscellaneous scenes that didn’t make sense. The F. L. meandered around so they could pad the time with flashbacks they’d already shown too often. His ex-wife’s wedding made no sense at all. It was irrelevant to the plot, the ending, or the audience. Give us meat, not a narcissistic potato in a wedding gown. And what was the director thinking, “It’s a good idea to destroy 15 good episodes by making the last one a stinker?” Meanwhile an outstanding cast has to live with the knowledge that Memories of the Alhambra had the potential to be excellent, but wasn’t.

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I love this K-drama so much that I managed to finish watching all of the episodes in one sitting. The plot is interesting and unique. The cast was amazing. The male lead was a bit of an ass but I could deal with that. The female lead is not a strong character but who said that every drama needed one. The soundtrack was also great. As an EXO-L, I originally watched this drama for Chanyeol oppa (who plays Sejoo) and the plot but at the end I stayed for the amazing story. Memories of Alhambra is fantasy, sci-fi and romance drama that I would recommend to both gamers and non-gamers.

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First of all, I've always wanted to watch this drama but I was so lazy and picky. It looks boring and plain because of the Profile and it's in a different country(bcoz of Heirs xD I wanted them to meet in the US again but it didn't happen..) so, I just keep looking for more other dramas on Netflix but since I am watching Crash Landing On You (RECOMMEND!!), I decided to watch it. TURNING POINT! -that was the best decision ever before 2020 came. I started watching on dec31 in the afternoon and I loved how the beginning is already eye-catching. The action came right away, I got confused at some point but after watching the first episode and two I began to understand it. I like the way they put flashbacks into this drama, it flows so nice and not like a broken slide. The Editing tho, holy 100/100. I'm so amazed at how they create such a story, I wish I can do it too. lol
Trying not to make it long but... overall... This is a good start of 2020 for me even though this drama came in 2018. I'm really impatient on dramas that are not done yet because I get distracted and began to watch diff dramas and I hate that... soo.... and right now... Catch Landing On You is still airing and That drama is SOO GOOD too... sorry, got distracted.
I'm trying my best not to spoil the story, plot twists and etc but if you are into a new genre and a very creative drama. I really recommend this because even in the end, I couldn't think of any possible ending. It's hard. Omy, idk what else to say :( I still cried at the end tho.. UGH! idk!!
There's a lot of twist tho... that's all I can say.
Soooo.... Right now since I just finished watching this drama, I will now watch The Bride Of Habaek!
Still tore and can't get over this drama, BUT YOU GOTTA MOVE ON!!
8:22pm 2020-01-03

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I got bored after all the dramas that I've watched or started but never finished. While I was scrolling through Netflix to find SOMETHING to watch I bumped into Memories Of The Alhambra but the trailer did not interest me enough so I went past it. After that it happened a few more times. One day I said - okay Netflix, I'll give it a chance since I don't know what to watch either way. I was hooked on since the beginning - but I must admit that first two episodes are a bit slow, although I liked the way it's going to. Then, around episode four, it actually got 1000% of my attention, and my journey in Alhambra has started.

The plot - that's the first thing. AMAZING. I loved the story! I won't tell you what I liked most about it because then I would have to tell you the story, then a few spoilers... No. Trust me. Through out the series we are learning that the virtual reality that someone has created (the person is missing in the series) is not really a virtual reality after all. Main leads - you will see more of a male lead than the female at the beginning, then, with the whole plot development we will see that the woman is important to this story - she is the beginning and the end. Also you might be interested in romance side to this story. I will say that: it's there, along with the characters development. Main leads are building the strong conncetion and then... and then!... but then... oh yeah, there is also a lot of plot twists ;)
That's all you need to know ;)

Moving on to the cast - everyone played their roles very well, they reflected all emotions in a credible way - when they cried I cried. When they felt like everything was good, I felt a nice feeling in my heart too. I'm not here to discuss music or rewatch value - I think that this is personal - because as much as I loved the series I cannot imagine myself sitting on a couch and going through this crazy-good journey again - it has some sad moments, so I could possibly cry again, but louder.
Damn, I actually hope they will make a second season but in the mean time I hope they don't, because they might destroy the story. I know some people are not entirely happy with the ending but it was all I needed. Different from other dramas. You'll have to see this and then decide what you think about possible continuation .

SUMMING UP: PLEASE GUYS - if you're bored or don't know what drama to watch - this one is HELLA GOOD and one of the BEST I've ever watched. You will enjoy it very much! I swear!
Enjoy xoxo

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I already saw its trailer but I'm too scared to watch it because for some reason I am not used to seeing a kdrama with a different vibes,I felt like Park Shin Hye is a woman from a Middle East country. Maybe I just watched it because I ran out of a good series to watch,surprisingly this type of story can be finished in just one sitting because the first episode made you already feel excited about what's gonna happen next,and you want your questions to be already answered hehe. Unfortunately I didn't finished it in one sitting but in 2 days :P I like the mix of suspense and I think the sound of the guitar and Mr.Cha will remind me of this drama.

Cast:
This drama also made me watch Secret Garden and My Name is Kim Sam Soon,also Crash Landing On You , (PS: to those who already watched Crash Landing on You can relate about the humor about "Memories of the Alhambra" hihi

Chan Yeol really fits the role of Se Ju,he's given only few appearances but his acting is really great!

Professor Cha- Watching him get a taste of his own bad plans is satisfying!

The only thing I don't like about it were the number of flashbacks they've shown before getting direct to the point •

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It's not just any show that can keep me interested for the entirety of it, this show did! The plot is original and creative and as a gaming lover I loved the whole concept of the vr game and how they made it look like a game was really being played.

All the actors did a great job especially Hyunbin who carried the show on his shoulders, I already had a crush on him since secret garden and now I admire him even more.

The romance was good, they had good chemistry, and there was just the right amount of it, it wasn't the main focus of the show.

If I'm not mistaken there was only one ost that played during romance scenes and I wished there were more although I did like that one song.

Of course there are aspects that could have been better explained or more detailed like Park Shin Hye's character, or Chanyeol's character, etc, but the show evolved around Jin woo mainly so I understand. The ending could have also been less open ended and more clear but it was good and I personally liked it.

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I really liked the plot & story of the show. Everything was mysterious & unexpected. When the show started I could never imagine how it's gonna end. It took 16 eps to understand the game & what was happening from the beginning. Acting was really good especially my 'Captain Ri' from 'CLOY' killed it. His expression & acting felt so real. But I really missed So Ye Jin here. After 'CLOY' I can't stand any other female lead with Hyun bin. Park Hye Shin's acting was fantastic but still the chemistry wasn't good compared to 'CLOY'. Btw, the story was amazing & I loved the plot. So, worth watching.

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Okay, first of all, just stop what you are doing, just go sit down and binge the whole thing tonight okay!?! This is one of the best underrated dramas of 2019! I said what I said. Okay first of all I LOVE PARK SHIN HYE AND HYUN BIN! They have super great chemistry! This drama isn't a romance drama but it provides it for sure. This kdrama is SO unique. I can not stress that enough. The writing and production and visuals is EVERYTHING. It's thrilling, full of action and packed with scifi qualities. You will be rooting for Hee Joo and Jin woo for sure. This is a MUST WATCH. Okay? I also forgot to mention that this kdrama gives you ALL THE FEELS, at times you will be scared too (you'll know why later, plus next time it suddenly starts thundering and raining you will freak) Go log off and watch it now.

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God I really really wanted to love this drama for so many reasons. Like a lot of others I thought this drama had so much potential and such a great cast! The beginning was great, I loved it. I think I binged the first couple of episodes. But then at some point I lost complete track of the whole point of the story. It started to get messy and repetitive and all around boring. I feel like there was so much SO MUCH potential and so many places that the story could have gone, but it just went nowhere. I finished it out of loyalty but I was real cheesed for the whole second half.

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This drama gave me major W vibes. Which isn’t surprising since it’s from the same creator. The concept is so fresh and original. The plot in itself is reason enough to watch the show.

Also laughing over the fact that after ‘Pinocchio’ both Lee Jong Suk and Park Shin Hye moved on to medical dramas and then ‘alternate reality’ shows.

Another thing I find funny is how this drama is more of an action thriller and yet we get better kiss scenes than actual romance dramas lmaooo

But man, what a man Jin-woo is. He risked it all for a man he hadn’t even MET. He lost SO much in the process. I couldn’t believe he was still in one piece after going through all the pain and trauma he suffered. The ghost NPC of his ex-best friend coming to kill him every day?! With other enemy NPCS appearing out of the blue around him constantly, in every shape and form?! What a life to live, jesus.

I both liked and disliked the ‘Momento’ story-telling method. How we’d see one scene and then go back in time to see what happened leading up to it. It did make things interesting, although it was annoying to watch entire scenes we’d already seen all over again. Still, it was different and I liked the originality.

If I did have another complaint, it would be Hee-ju’s role. I wish she had more involvement. She was such an amazing female lead (and honestly deserves better, whoops) and did everything in her power for the man she loved. She was so intelligent and kind, and this is why I wish she had played a bigger role. Apart from being Jin-woo’s shoulder to cry on, I wish she could have joined the game properly and made a difference plot-wise. I wish Jin-woo could have fought with Hee-ju by his side. Or for her to also have some ‘hacking’ skills and help from the sidelines. Just something that helped him apart from emotionally. That’s just my two cents, I feel like it was a wasted opportunity.

I was going to write I was somewhat okay with the ending, but after seeing other people’s reactions and realising what we could have had, it does make me disappointed. Jin woo really did deserve a happy ending (shown on screen) after all the suffering and pain he went through. And jin woo and se ju should have met. Jin woo spent the whole show trying to save him, they deserved to meet.

Other than that, I did enjoy the suspense and originality of the drama. You honestly never know what’s coming next, it’s always up in the air. But the writing is good and it does make for a good watch

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