Run On (2020)

One of the most horribly written characters and plot I've experienced in a K-drama.

You can only do so much, even with a talented cast. I came into this show after watching the female lead in another show titled "Female Historian," I thought we would get the same caliber of acting and plot, but boy was I wrong. For some reason, the male lead is written as an extremely dimwitted and dense character. It's almost as if they decided he was born at 20 and just barely learning social development skills. Granted, most k-dramas take this route, but it's usually a lead character who is anti-social and only opens up when a female lead piques their interest. In this case, the male lead himself is just dense af. There really is no other word for it. There are numerous cringe-worthy lines, along with awkward writing and meetups that it becomes an abomination by the 6th episode. In fact, the sixth episode is perhaps the worse written of them all.

To make it worse, the male lead acts in a robotic manner with a puzzled "why am I here" look 90 percent of the time. It's infuriating cause there are moments where he acts in a normal manner and stems to be a person who does more for others than himself. The problem is that information is withheld within characters. No one says why they're doing what they're doing, or gives corrections to rumors (except for his fake actress relationship), but instead, hold back info that is counterproductive to their social lives. It makes absolutely no sense. Then when the characters revert to a pre-social development stage, it's when you seriously want to throw the remote at the screen.

For what it's worth though, Ms. Seo or Dan/Dahn is perhaps the absolute best reason to keep watching the show if you must. Her beauty, story, and acting come together for what little material she has to work with. Her love story also overshadows the main leads. To have found this actress is the only reason why I'm glad I checked in.

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We need season 2!

I'm doing this because i really love this kdrama. All the actors and actresses did really well. The ending is nice but i am expecting something natural. But since it did not happen im hoping it will have a second season. If the anime has a slice of life genre. I also find this one that kind of genre too.

If you will watch this but you are looking for a good review first then this is your sign. Watch it. This drama has everything. Good looking cast? This has. Good acting cast? This has. Funny roommate? This has. (Dont get me wrong what i meant "everything" is that they have what im looking for" It may not has a good start but it will become really good after watching a few episodes.

Btw i only submitted a review because this kdrama is underrated and i want more people to watch it.

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THE WHOLE SHOW

okay, i dont even know where to start... i cant remember why i decided to watch this show but i did and was fucking excited when i knew it would be on netflix idk if i binge watched it or what but i watched the whole show and i liked it so much, it became one of my favorite drama.

ive actually rewatched once and a half, because i gotta be honest. i HATE everytime on dramas they do that thing of separating the main relationship because of their parents, specifically if one of them are rich (seongyeom in this case) and i hate it because they are supposedly soo in love but the second seongyeom's dad tell mijoo she shouldnt be near his son she ends everything with him??? and its kind of annoying

anyways, i think danah's character is kind of irritating too if i think of it because she was cruel with everyone around her and she thought she was always right??? like, i get if you dont like your step brother but i think her hate towards him was quite unnecessary

I LOVED SIWAN IN THIS DRAMA he was hilarious, making funny comments, making fun of his friends and even of mijoo and also his personality?? like, because we're kind of used to watch mmc that are full of themselves?? and stuff like that but seongyeom wasnt, because he had low steem and people are like that too!! and its okay, that made him look more real to me

on a side note i wanna praise the person who wrote the dialogue for this show because as a writer (or something like that) they are funny to me and also something that inspires me to write better and i think the characters were well made too?? idk much about this stuff but maybe danah's character was made to not having a redeem arc and maybe thats okay because in reality, not all people change

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I was really excited to start this drama, as the top reviewers gave it a solid 10/10. However, I was a bit disappointed in the end. So, I will keep this review minimal and very short. As a sucker for romance dramas, I thought this one was lacking in chemistry and the overall good romance development. The lead couple were lacking both, in my opinion. But I did like the fact that there were no cheesy love quarrels like in your typical Korean drama, the couples were moving on past that miscommunication. In addition, I did enjoy the OST and the production of this show, brought a very cosy feeling of some sorts. I just feel like there are way better series out there, this one was too mediocre for my liking.

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Same old korean story. Noone can decide who loves who and when they do they go back and forth on their relationship for totally unimportant reasons. Again patriarchic dominance to the point of abuse. Timid people who feel afraid or ashamed to express their feelings. The only exception, Kang Tae O is a delight to watch. His acting oveshadows everyone else in the series. Also great acting by Yim Si-wan.
Absolutely energy draining. You have to have a lot of patience on this one. Korean people are wonderful but they have to get over this extreme shyness when it comes to love and try to do away with this patriarchical domination.

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Run On: The Elliott to my E.T. drama heart

I'm still relatively new to dramas, and I'm picky about romance plots with too much drama, so this was the perfect watch for me.

Story:
Never before has the dialogue of any TV/show I've seen been so intentional. No cringe jokes stuck in for the sake of humor, just friendly banter between friends. There aren't any 2-D characters that only ever seem to have one personality trait: characters that may seem headstrong at first are shown recognizing and apologizing for their mistakes, while characters that may seem soft-spoken or mild in character soon show resilience of their own. All in all, I really felt that the characters' personalities and wit really shown through all of their interactions. There were times I would rewatch a certain scene over and over because i expected a character to have acted one way, and almost thought I had understood the plot wrong. However, I would then realize that this was a learning moment for them (or simply just a representation of their mentality towards a certain subject matter), and it was surprising but also pleasing to see growth. And there were other times I would rewatch a scene because I thought the banter was just perfect, to the point where I would've missed some of the cleverness in the dialogue had I not rewatched it. Most of all, there were moments that gave the drama its own charm, such as the E.T. references or hilariously peculiar situations such as the moments before Dan Ah's birthday party (or Mi Joo and Seon Gyeom's first encounters).

Run On also addressed some major societal issues. The topic of bullying and whistleblowing in the athletic community, the reality of working on film sets, parental pressure when it comes to academics, family dynamics and having a work-life balance, the difficulties of being an idol, and so much more are all addressed. There was also LGBTQ+ representation in the form of both gay and ace characters, as well as some important messages about respecting the difficulties of coming out. Most importantly, the drama addresses the idea of respecting yourself and respecting others. We first see the idea of self-love and communication early on through the portrayal of Seon Gyeom, who is learning to respect himself instead of selflessly sacrificing for others who wouldn't do the same, and is in turn also learning to communicate his thoughts so others around him can help him on his journey. Soon, we see that this progression applies to every single character, as everyone learns to grow in some way. And in turn, the side plots contribute nicely to the overall message of the story - instead of leaving us feeling like "_______ couple" got more screentime than "_______ couple", we are left with a complete picture of characters whose lives and journeys are intertwined.

On the topic of Mi Joo and Seon Gyeom, I've seen some comments about how the chemistry wasn't really felt between Im Shi Wan and Shin Se Kyung (although of course I'm generalizing here). But I think that more has to do with how their characters are written. Neither of them really carries the extravagance of Dan Ah, or Young Hwa's overly romantic view of first love - which makes the second leads' dynamic so much fun to watch. They simply exist in each other's space. Mi Joo learns to break down her naturally strong, independent exterior and learns to open her heart up instead of turning away with difficulties in their relationship. Seon Gyeom learns to better understand both his emotions and others' emotions, no longer keeping things to himself and sharing how he feels. There are funny moments in between their moments of wit/banter, especially in their first few encounters with one another; there are awkward moments at times, when they don't have much to say; there are angsty moments when they break up or Mi Joo becomes frustrated and Seon Gyeom doesn't understand why; and there are cute moments when they show affection towards one another. It's enviable how peaceful their existence is with one another, and it makes me feel warm.

However, the reason I gave this plot a 9 and not a 10/10 is because there were some road bumps toward the middle and end of the story - I felt that some plots did not get as resolved as well as I had hoped, especially in the last episode. However, given that this is only 16 episodes, I think the drama did a good job.

Acting/Cast:
I don't have any complaints about the acting. This is a seasoned cast that did a great job.

Choi Soo Young's portrayal of Dan Ah is honestly my favorite. Soo Young brought out the qualities of Dan Ah as a badass character, and I totally admired how blunt she was with everyone around her. Her expression was often unreadable/she was quite cold to the people around her, but you could see Dan Ah slowly letting go of her pride to admit her wrongdoings in moments of vulnerability later on, which I thought was wonderful.

I also thought the rest of the main cast did a great job embodying their characters. Although at first it seemed that Se Kyung wasn't showing a lot of emotion in her portrayal of Mi Joo, now that I better understand the character of Mi Joo, I think she did a great job. Like I said before, Mi Joo doesn't have any striking personality traits like some of the other cast; all we see at the beginning is her as strong and independent character that doesn't take anyone's sh*t. However, we slowly see the development of her character through her interactions with everyone else: movie references, her perspectives on being a translator, her backstory (family, past relationships) and how it affects her today, being nocturnal, her relationship with blenders, drunk Mi Joo, etc. And she definitely has her funny/endearing moments, such as (like I said before) her first encounter with Seon Gyeom, her conversations with Dan Ah and Mae-Yi, as well as incidents involving a brick and the f-word, lol. All by way of saying that Se Kyung brought out all of these qualities about Mi Joo that we love so much, even if she didn't seem particularly expressive in the way that she portrayed Mi Joo - there was humor when there needed to be, moments of vulnerability amidst a really headstrong personality, and quiet moments with Seon Gyeom that were brought out really well.

Im Shi Wan, despite not doing a lot of romcoms, also served as a great portrayal of Seon Gyeom. Seon Gyeom seemed really level-headed (and often out of the loop, lol), and Shi Wan's eyes were especially expressive when Seon Gyeom didn't express his thoughts with his words (or they matched how he was feeling in the moment). There was a characteristic expression of blankness that indicated Seon Gyeom's confusion which Shi Wan brought out really well, such as when he didn't understand Mi Joo's movie references. Kang Tae Oh also did a great job as Young Hwa, and we could definitely see the transition from his idea of puppy love to a more mature view of Dan Ah.

Lastly, I thought Park Young Gyu really succeeded at embodying the villain role he was given. And Choi Jae Hyun and Yeon Je Wook as Tae Woong and Ji Hyun were hilarious to watch.

Music:
The OST was definitely catchy, and it fit well with the idea of recurring themes across different characters. However, given that this drama tries to be real in its portrayal of love and relationships, we didn't always need the overly melodramatic music and slo-mo shots when there was something touching going on. I don't necessarily have a problem with the songs themselves; rather, I thought the placement of the songs didn't fit with the overall message of the script.

Edit: Changing the music rating from a 6.5/10 to a 8.5/10 because even though it doesn't fit the series that well in my opinion, it's SO GOOD on its own. I've been listening to "Where Are You?" by Kim Na Young on repeat for the past few hours.

Rewatch Value:
Lastly, I would definitely watch this again. It's only been a few hours since i finished the last episode, but wow, I don't think I'm getting over this drama for a while. Every single character was so endearing. I understand why others may think that the plot dragged because there wasn't a lot of action or outright drama happening (and the ending being unreliable), but for me, it had enough suspense at times to keep me going while still maintaining the feel of the mundanity of life.

Conclusion:
Standing ovation to Park Shi Hyun. Definitely going to be watching more of Choi Soo Young's work. I want a roommate like Mae-Yi and a brother like Tae Woong. I also badly want to try japchae now.

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Sweet story with good pace

The key things that make this show enjoyable:
1. Good pace -- things actually happen in every episode! And they make sense!
2. Sweet, sweet story -- not saccharine, but uplifting and leaves a smile on one's face.
3. Excellent cast -- in every part, the actors do a really good job.
There are very few, and relatively minor, downsides. For me, primarily, one of the B-plots was a little too convoluted for the remainder of the plot, but still enjoyable. The other one that made the first few episodes hard to swallow was the impossibly-young-CEO trope (though with a woman, for a change).
However -- overall -- a show that is perfect for lazy weekend viewing.

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Underrated

I am truly shocked that this show did not receive more recognition or love. It has everything a kdrama needs: the classic "kdrama moments," a great OST, and really fantastic characters. Not only that, this show does not feel like a generic kdrama, and it really pushes some boundaries. The main leads felt like very real people, and the story felt original and lacked clichés. I won't spoil anything, but you will watch this show and realize that Run On has characters and subjects that break typical kdrama norms. Soo-Young as the second female lead did a stellar job, and the love story between the second leads was fantastic, especially towards the end. You may think this is just another kdrama, but no, this one makes an effort to be different and stand out, which is why I recommend watching Run On. Some moments may be slow, but I encourage everyone to stick with it and see where the show goes, because I doubt it'll disappoint.

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A promising fledgling trapped in a cage of romance tropes.

This drama was a pleasant surprise that exceeded my admittedly low expectations. There was a straightforwardness and believability about the writing, and the delivery of the lines by the central leads, Im Si Won and Shin Se Kyung, that enhanced the reality of the story. The attitude of the FL was credible given her background. She was written with some depth to her, unusual in romance dramas. The pressures and considerations around her profession as a translator were well illustrated and interesting. I must admit that I’m pretty hopeless at learning languages but I do have an appreciation of how a language shapes your world. After all, you can only know that you experience things that you have words for.

The serious nature of the topic under discussion at the start was well treated, with echoes of DP, another drama that explores institutionalised bullying. The ML had some of the expected personality traits: cold, unresponsive etc, but he was given a credible reason for them in his background. The drama did a reasonable job of showing us the steps of his transformation without completely turning our frog into a prince charming.

The characters of the leads were non-standard for romance and they were well fleshed out and believable. With two unconventional and interesting leads one wonders whether it was necessary to have such a prominent secondary couple. The mood of the drama was more akin to “I’ll see you when the weather is fine” or “Just between lovers”, both of which emphasised the primary romance, with less than usual time given to the secondary one. We really needed to spend more time with our main couple to understand the subtleties of their interactions with each other. Sometimes the time lines were twisted and there was an inexplicable reaction happening before the motivation that explained it, which was confusing and unnecessary.

According to kdrama tweets on Twitter, (https://twitter.com/iconickdramas/status/1347390682848129025?lang=en) this is Park Shi Hyun’s first outing as a lead writer, having been an assistant writer to Kim Eun Sook who wrote “Goblin”, “Descendants of the Sun” and “Mr Sunshine”. If this is the case, Park is definitely to be commended and encouraged because it shows promise and it’s faults can at least be understood if not forgiven.

Having mentioned faults, let’s go there and explore them. I think that one source of the problem as far as I’m concerned was trying to fit a non-standard romance into a standard formula with a standard treatment. In the process the subtlety was trashed and a great deal was lost in translation. The natural flow of the story seemed to be forced in some places and stifled in others by the rigid application of standard romance tropes and editing choices. The relationship between the two leads was forced. The writer hardly gave it time to develop before pulling it apart on cue which seemed totally inappropriate for this drama. As far as I’m concerned, in order to reveal the natural development of the characters it needed it’s own non-standard form. In particular, the episodes around two thirds of the way through lacked character integrity for me.

Unfortunately we were treated to the tedious long frozen gazes that seem to plague romance dramas. Sorry, but I’m so over that style of directing and editing. I find it unnatural, weird and incredibly dated. You know that very soon it will identify an era that was very OTT and laughable. In fact it seems like that to me right now. I imagine that it is all about live broadcasting, allowing viewers to have long lingering hot-shots of their favourite crushes. But this was a Netflix series, watched on-line where you can freeze the frame yourself and gush in the privacy of your own bedroom (or whatever you want to do…). So why?

I felt that Park Shi Hyun wanted to write something different and was being constrained by outside forces to conform to a norm. The result was a strangely unsettling experience full of cliched romance production values and lip bump kisses. It really had the potential to be so much better than that.

What my rating means: 6+ Some aspects of it were OK but it had serious flaws. It will pass the time but you can find something better.

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Definição do que é ser leve e caótico

O amor aqui tem seus diversos significados, não se trata apenas do amor romântico, mas também amor próprio, sonhos, resiliência, amor fraternal, amor não correspondido, o modo que é retratado é incrível de bom, pois não é um dorama para sentirmos ódio, pois nós seres humanos estamos fadados aos erros e acertos da vida, apesar de não concordamos com certas atitudes e até mesmo ficar de coração partido com outras, somos transportados para uma posição que possamos compreender o porquê.
É lindo ver o desenvolvimento leve, porém caótico do Seon Gyeom e da Mi Joo, ambos são um raio de sol na vida de cada um, Seon Gyeom não é estranho, é apenas um ser humano com traumas. Neste dorama o trauma é bastante abordado, mas como os personagens lidam e superam isto é o que deixa esse dorama mais incrível.
Tem ali suas pitadas de comédia, a gente se diverte com a personagem Dan Ah ( apesar de todo caos que ela representa ) e eu nem preciso dizer sobre Yeong Hwa né?, divertido e muito amigável.
Recomendo demais este dorama, tem uma história leve com sentimentos intensos, eu amei.

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