Nine: Nine Times Time Travel (2013)

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NINE : Nine Times Time Travel - ENDING EXPLAINED

I just had to write about the ending of this drama. There could be so many possible situations which can happen after the end scene.

According to me, it happens like the following.

I'll explain through the eyes of 1992 park sun woo. Whenever I mention sun woo, it's the sun woo from 1992. The present 2013 sun woo has died back in 1993.

It's Dec 2012. Our 1992 sun woo has grown up. In the last episode, he learns that his future sun woo had already died back in 1993 during time traveling. This knowledge cracks him up a bit and now he is worried that he might die because there is no future sun woo after April 2013. He believes that he is making the right choice every time in his life (because future sun woo had told him in his last message that he will always make right decisions) so he follows his instincts and travels to Nepal to find some answers and also because he knows his brother Jung woo is there. This is where the drama finishes before that one final scene of Himalayas. So excluding the final Himalayas scene of the series for now, this is what happened after sun woo traveled to Nepal. The first scene of the series becomes relevant. It's shown that jung woo dies while climbing the mountain as a shadow of a man gets over his face. I think that shadow was of park sun woo. He has traveled to Nepal and because he knows his brother is there he tries to know his whereabouts. He succeeds in finding him but Jung woo dies seconds before he reaches him.
Now he finds the incense stick in his brothers hand. He notes the time and place his brother has died. He saves this single stick for exactly 20 years. Now we see the last scene of the drama. In Dec 2032, sun woo travels back 20 years using that single stick to Dec 2012 and saves his brother from dying on the mountain. He looks 20 years older than the original sun woo(2013) as we see the beard and mustache. And he says "it's nice to see you brother, it's been a very long time".

So, do you think the same way ?

I also have a theory as to why he gets stuck in the past after the usage of last incense stick. If anyone of you want to discuss about that, you are welcome to message me anytime :)

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While time traveling is nothing new in the drama world, it can often be a tricky topic to deal with and deliver well. Nine, however, does a great job providing a well written story that incorporates a fresh take on time traveling. In this drama, our lead encounters a way to travel to the past. What is the catch though? There is a limited number of trips he can take, a set amount of time he can spend there and a precise time/location he can travel to - exactly 20 years ago at his current location.

Despite a few predictable parts, there were enough twists and turns that kept me thoroughly entertained and wanting to watch on. This drama does an excellent job in illustrating the effects of time traveling. I really enjoyed the parallelism in time and the use of the split screens to demonstrate how just one change in the past continuously springs new actions from characters which ultimately changes the future. It was interesting to watch history rewriting itself into present time, day by day, second by second.

Yes, as you probably have already heard or read about, this drama does have an open ending. But, I found it to be a well written one. I would explain more about why I like it but I don’t want to give away any unintentional spoilers so I will just leave it at that. I will say that the ending provides enough closure while leaving the rest up for viewers to decide on their own. While I don’t think the additional scene at the very end was necessary, it does spark more questions and forces you to think a bit more.

I was unfamiliar with the cast prior to this drama but I did find myself enjoying Lee Jin Wook’s performance as our lead. As far as music goes, I didn't really notice it. Nothing was really memorable. Thus for me, it was neither good nor bad.

In short, why watch Nine? -- It’s time traveling done right (or at least as close as can be).

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okay,,, basically i always love fantasy genre. and this one drama has mesmerized me as a whole. at first i doubted to watch it as i don't really know the cast. but then after several minutes of the first episode i just couldn't stop. so i watch 8 episodes instantly until midnight.
the story is just genius. even i still curious with the secret of the time traveling but i think this is just a very clever way of telling a story. the twists in every episode just made me scream in anticipation on what might come next. i never get it right to guess the next scene because everything is just unpredictable.and after several episode i realize something. the way they edit the cinematography the music and the story itself remind me of queen in hyun's man. so i googled it and found it that both dramas have the same writer so i was like,,,, ooohhhh daebakk, so there is still more to time travel genre. and i loved both of them.

there is no scenes that i don't like. i just like everything.and the last episode i watch was just wow!!!

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Its my first time writing a review for a drama but this drama was super amazing I cant help myself but praise it
this drama is a masterpiece its super awesome It was a rollercoaster ride right from the start to the end which I really enjoyed... It has a gripping plot, writers did a brilliant job how the past and present time story is intertwined is just great, there is attention to details carefully written, had lots of turns and twists, cliff hangers which were super amazing, unpredictable, kept u thinking on the edge of your seat what will happen next yet u would fail to do so I felt like I was going thru the journey together with Sun Woo every time I was so absorbed into the story that when something worst happened it freaked me out as well cried together with Sun Woo and became relieved and happy whenever something got resolved... I couldn't help myself from pressing the button for next episode as I was too curious about whats gonna happen next how would things turn out to be what would be the effects of the actions taken by Sun Woo...
I Loved Sun Woo's character he was charismatic, intelligent, smart and the friend Young Hoon's character as well those two were my fav characters I loved the bonding between Sun Woo and Young Hoon he was a great friend for Sun Woo always besides him Sun Woo was really lucky to have such a friend... also loved Sun Woo's relationship with director Chul Min... all the actors did a superb job they played their roles perfectly Lee Jin Wook was superb as Sun Woo perfect portrayal this was the second drama of Lee Jin Wook that I watched he's really good.. also the actor playing his friend Young Hoon did a great job their younger counter parts acted out there roles nicely and director Chul Min did a good job as well... There was romance as well great chemistry between leads though that wasn't the main focus of the drama but it had a good balance perfect mix... even though I loved the romance between leads but for me the friendship took the center stage in the drama.
one more thing I totally loved the expressions/ reactions of Young Hoon whenever he realized something changed, and about Choi Jin Cheol's OMG I found his expressions/ reactions somewhat funny lol haha
I totally LOVED the drama, great story superbly told & portrayed, highly recommended to anyone who hasnt seen it yet!!! if you are thinking of watching it go ahead its one gem of a drama...

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This show had an incredible mystery and was satisfying in a way that most shows in it's genre, Asian or western, fail to be. This was the first K Drama that I am glad that I did not binge watch because it gave me more time to appreciate the story.

What I liked:
- Story-telling. Once you watch a couple of Asian Dramas you know how most of them will end. There are usually only a few ways to resolve the story and unless they completely jump the shark, most stories are pretty predictable. THAT WAS NOT THE CASE HERE. Each episode deepens and complicates the mystery in a way that I kept finding myself thinking... I have NO IDEA how they are going to finish this story. There were honestly a lot of similarities between this show and the movie Looper and the show Lost. While Looper did a good job with time travel, I feel like Nine did a much better job telling it's story than Lost did.

- The ending. I know it is a little controversial but I loved the ending. It answers most questions but because of how complicated the alternative universes have gotten, it definitely still leaves some questions unanswered, which I liked. Everything goes full circle and you realize how careful the writers/producers were with the attention to detail.

- Love story. I was honestly a little turned off by the love story at first. I thought, the couple gets together in the first episode...what kind of build up is that? Boy, was I wrong. It's okay if you don't feel attachment or investment in their love in the beginning, you definitely will by the end. The main couple has great chemistry.

- Bromance. Sun Woo's relationship with all of his male friends/family is very heartwarming. Although the Yeong Hoon character is a little ridiculous at times (he spends much of the show running around bewildered from location to location, half the time covered in blood), the friendship between him and Sun Woo is really touching. At Sun Woo's bleakest times, he always turns to his rock and best friend. Sun Woos complicated relationship with his brother Jeong Woo also beautifully evolves over time.

What I disliked:
- Jeon Dong Hwan. I thought that Chairman Choi as a character was written fine, but the actor playing him spent at least 4 whole episodes making the exact same "shocked" face. You'll know it when you see it, but it is cartoonish, unrealistic, and made me question how anyone could ever take this guy seriously. I've seen Jeon Dong Hwan in other things and he's not awful, so I don't what made him decide to be utterly ridiculous in this show.

- The music. I agree with everyone that the music is not great. The show tries to have a few "themes" but doesn't do anything memorable. If they did a better job with the OST, I think this show would be even more of a classic.

Overall, I recommend this show to anyone, regardless of if you're a Asian Drama fan or not. The time travel idea is not new but the 'rules' that are applied to the time travel in this show make it exciting, risky, and a constant tool for moving the story forward.

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Nine: Nine Times Time Travel is my 2nd favorite drama of all time and my DH's #1 and that's saying a lot since he finds watching dramas slightly torturous. The premise is interesting and the acting spot on. If you are looking for a suspenseful drama that will have you wondering what's going to happen next, this one is for you. I'm usually pretty good at working out storylines beforehand, but I have to admit this one kept me on my toes. I was watching this as it aired and found myself waiting impatiently for the next episode. When I wasn't watching it, I was thinking about it. I would see if I could figure out the repercussions based on what the main character did, but it very quickly spiraled out into areas I had not even come close to guessing so I decided to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

There were one or two parts that dragged a bit but overall even through several re-watches it holds up very well. I can't for the life of me remember any songs from the OST though so I gave that a 5. Nothing stood out song-wise, but nothing made me cringe.

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This drama started of awesome, with lots of thrilling twists and turns. Its interesting to see the consequences of his time travel and how they reach farther than you would think with one small action completely changing someone's life and effecting so many others aswell. There are lots of different elements that combine to make this a great drama; comedy, action, family and romance.
While I loved the drama I was disappointed with the ending, which was left as a write your own or believe your own ending and also the drama got a bit confusing at the end too without giving any spoilers thats the most I can say.
Overall while I thought the acting and everything was good I probably would not rewatch, firstly because I dont really rewatch dramas anyway and secondly because I felt cheated by he ending.

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Time travel drama that defies logic ,, turn off your brain while watching it

Started watching this drama in 2022 after Bulgasal drama of the main lead lee jin wook
he attracted my attention there with his amazing Charisma so I've began binge watching all his old dramas
this one had unique story also of time travel and good cast except for the female lead here ,, she's so annoying
I skipped a lot of her scenes
as a viewer from 2022 and how the dramas now came so far from the old korean dramas ,, I find the production quality is good for seven years a go but the styling wasn't that good
.... what bothered me most is how they dealt with time travel story ,, the writers as usual ruined every logic in it
How can the male lead go back and change some little thing to come to the present losing everything ,,, and he remembered the two time lines so it's ok because he's the time traveler but how his best friend remembered the two time lines too and only remembered the multiple time lines after the male lead got back from each time travel that was the opposite of logic
his best friend shouldn't remember but one time like that was set
also ,, his younger self saving him by chance ,,, dying and coming back to life by chance ,, that was laughable
his girl friend and his brother also remembered the multiple time lines ,, the words from another time line were still exist on musical album in the present time line ,,,, It was like mixing few multiverse together with the same people ,,, my head hurts
the writer played the story as he liked without any logical explanation at all
all I liked was the Bromance between him and his best friend also his boss at work ... he really loved him
the younger version of him was amazing and made me excited about his reactions to what's going on
the female lead made me hate her and their love story ,,, she put me off big time
his brother was stupid but that was his role ,, and their mother is actually the one who caused her sons to suffer for life
she got her punishment for it but they never blamed her for what she did to them and she was the cause of all that happened to them

over all it's a good drama but not the best with ridiculous time travel story in the mix

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One of the Best.. Job done so right!

Ladies & Gentlemen,this is how you make a good Time Travel Drama.Back from 2013 but still such an interesting and unique story.I believe the Genre Fans like myself,will definetely enjoy this.

Music was well chosen and some songs back from the 90's brought memories.Was a nostalgic feeling,so no complains about this factor.Never covered the scenes or the emotions,had the right dose.Sometimes too mild but still a fit.

Acting was decent.Nothing super wow about everyone's performances.Not bad,just good.Tbh,i was a bit annoyed by Ml's acting especially the lack of facial expressions,or better say he has always a very cold face and look.I wanted him to be more emotional and to show it in a more dramatic way. But the story took over for me so i passed it.

Also Direction and Cinematography wasn't something special.But don't forget is an old Drama so i don't really bother.

Time Traveling is always an appealing theme and i think we all wished at some point in our lives to have a machine to take us back to our past to correct or change things we have done wrong.(Although if i had this machine i would love to witness historical events rather than change my life,lol)

I said the story is kinda unique,well as unique as it can be especially for someone who watches similar dramas too often.But what i really liked in Nine was the fact that the device of the Time Travel was actually a visible object.The Burning incenses and not some vague idea/theory which just happens and turns the protagonists lives upside down!

Always and forever fan of THE Delorean!You know you will travel by using a car.Here is the incenses.And this travel happens upon the main lead's will and not drag him back to his past without a notice!

I also liked his faults and the mistakes he did several times while he was using the incenses.Those objects didn't come with a manual and it would be stupid if the Ml had done all right in his very first attempt of going back.I mean yes i was upset every time he made a mess and instead of fixing things made them worse.But this was the right way for the story to go on.

Another great detail was the fact that others than the protagonist carrying the memories from the past,even if this past had altered several times.That was something new or at least you do not find it too often in Time Travel dramas.And i was pleasantly surprised because i loved the fact the Ml had so much help from his best friend who firstly believed in his crazy story of being able to travel back to the past and secondly he had the memories to back him up every time things went downhill.

I have to say here that their friendship is one of the strongest and sweet things about this Drama.The Doc is the best friend anyone wish to have.As a woman the only thing i really-really envy about Men is their bond and the strong friendships they can hold through the years.

As for the Romance,iam glad it wasn't heavy or dragged too much.It was essential for the story,the Ml changed few things because of love(not that this ended pretty well for him at some point,lol)and for my taste it was tolerable!Not forget to mention the "real" kisses which was a plus!Actually ive noticed that older Dramas always has nice and real kisses comparing to newest.Oh well,it is what it is and when i see good screen kisses iam always excited!

The Fl char,as always,got into my nerves with her childish attitude.Not to mention her looks too!The actress looked so young like a kid it was a bit awkward see her kissing the handsome ML!I had to check their real ages and i was shocked to find out the Ml is only one year older than her!Great genes,you girl!

Obviously the story itself is the best thing about this drama,with actors, characters and all the rest just supporting it,the best possible way.Suspense and tension in high levels.Kept me wondering what will happen next and how this mess is going to be fixed.
The common "paradox" of not being able to occupy the same space with your past self doesn't apply here,so this made things more easy and smooth for the storyline.

Another positive aspect is that Ml does not see things just black or white.He often walks in the forbidden grey areas,being selfish and arrogant,being impulsive and sentimental.It is a well written character with many flaws and occasionally not the perfectly perfect altruistic man.He cares about the people he loves and try to protect them but is human too,sometimes choosing his own hapiness over others'.I have a soft spot on this kind of characters.

Clichés,few flaws and some draggy parts,still here.But nothing to annoy you and make you feel like wasting your time(unlike other related dramas,see "365: Repeat the Year"im sorry that one left me with a very bad taste,lol)


As for the ending..Choose what you like to believe.Write your own script.Use your imagination and give the protagonists the life you want.Everything is inside your head.Everything is possible.Make it happen.Or not!

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Flawless story. Uninspired execution

Nine , Nine is such a good story with great mechanics and messaging that I really enjoyed.

There wasn't a lot of hair pulling physics at play which I found refreshing. Instead, the physics employed where the physics of emotions. That no matter what you do in time, a person's essence will remain true to character and form. The push and pull of character essence staying true throughout time made for an enduring watch with stunning character portraits.

It scored a mediocre 7/10 because the presentation of this beautifully woven story was dull and uninspired. It lacked x factor, charm and charisma. This drama has zero personality and at times, that made for boring watches. It took me literal MONTHS to finish this drama as a result.

Its my hope we see a remake of this beautiful story because for sure , it is lovely . Maybe a modern one from South Korea again or even an international one, Hollywood style . Even a movie . I would definitely watch !

OVERALL- the story is quite literally flawless and resolved very well. The character portraits are some of the more enduring I have seen in all of dramaland and it gets it 7 top marks from that. However, it was low key boring.

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THE RIGHT EXPERIMENT WITH TIME TRAVEL

Where do I start?
This drama used its potential to the fullest and is definitely under rated.
By the name only you've come across what the plot is gonna be about exactly.

The only horrible thing about this drama is the starting 2-3 episodes.
It's f slow and has zero plot development which left me frustrated and I was about to drop it .

From EP 4-20 it's really good.
The hype kicks on, every possibility is tested, and the ending is open which is one of the best things about this drama .

The acting is amazing, none of the actors disappointed me , the direction could've been better but then again they really did wonder with the budget.
Go and watch it if you're in the mood for time travel.

And yeah you can fast forward or skip the first 2-3 episodes, they're a pain in the a88 to watch.
ENJOY! I won't reveal much as anything else would be a spoiler .^^

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