Come posso aiutarla? (2022)

A decent healing drama that feels arbitrary at times until the big reveal

The premise of this Show is centred on the FL who just started work as a funeral director. She suddenly began to see the spirit of the dead under her care and can interact with them. There are some caveats but that is not important right now. The first apparition who appears before the FL happens to be the younger brother of the ML and he asked her for help. In most cases, this is the general structure of subplots. Various ghosts will ask the FL to help them to fulfil a final task on their behalf. Sometimes, the task is quite elaborate and comes with a touching backstory while others seem to be an afterthought that the Show squeezes in just before the credit rolls. There doesn't appear to be any obvious link between the various tasks.

As the story progresses, a central plot begins to take shape which linked some of the threads together, but it was not until the last episode that the writer-nim gave us the grand reveal that ties everything together. The Show is quite melodramatic, and I would seriously doubt anyone can sit through all 16 episodes without being affected at least once. The writer-nim really toy with our emotions in the last episode but a more astute viewer might see this as a cynical exercise to heighten the melodrama. (I’m trying to keep this spoiler free so please bear with me.)

In hindsight the hiding of the connections between the various threads did the show a disservice because while the impact of the final reveal is significant, we get the “Now I get it!” moment once and it is over. Ergo, the middle section of the show can feel a little adrift. The love line of the leads is certainly front and centre during this section. You might also start to wonder why all these apparitions appear before the FL and only her.

Speaking of the love line of the OTP, it is nice and serviceable. There is a bit of skinship, and they have a decent amount of chemistry, but it is not amazing. Their relationship is pretty much on rails. After saying that, the 2OTP’s romance is even weaker. They are an odd pairing and is mostly used as light comedic relief.

I think that is the key weakness of the show. While the idea of helping ghosts to fulfil their last wishes is reasonably novel and rewarding, the execution is a bit uneven. The Show really comes together once we find out the raison d’etre but that is almost too late. The romances, healing and growth of the leads are mostly predetermined. It is nice and rewarding to watch as it unfolds, but the Show can feels like a scrapbook of highlights but also a fair bit of standard fillers.

In terms of acting, it is generally good. The leads earned their keeps. The poor FL has certainly been put through the emotional spin cycle a few times. There are lots of cameos and the veteran actors can really deliver the goods. In fact, most of the senior support cast are superior to other shows.

In the end, it was a decent, watchable show. It tried to be clever with the causality plot, but it only partially succeeded. It is most likely an one-time watch for me.

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Emotional sweet some what light drama not smart one

This drama is very light and sweet, it's not extraordinary or unique, it's just a sweet peaceful type of drama
I got emotional a lot watching it and I consider any drama that makes me emotional, laugh, and crying to be a very good drama
it served its purpose for me
it made me feel happy sometimes and sad crying loudly other times
its love story isn't that touching, it's more like a healing drama
it made parting loved ones peaceful and calming,, healing the people left behind just with that thought of their parting loved ones at peace
don't watch it if you want something very funny or something very smart, it's not at all
also, they dragged the story of the dead kid too long and made it somewhat thrilling a bit but they failed at that unfortunately
overall it's emotional drama but not smart drama
it's for your heart, not your brain
I gave it 7.5 ratings because it touched my heart

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Ghost Whisperer KR version

Okay, so the premise made it sound like we were going to get some Ghost Whisperer Melinda Gordon action, and that truly captured my attention as it was my favourite show growing up. The main difference is that this show is significantly more lighthearted and doesn't always focus on Baek Dong Joo. The show does a really good job of balancing heavy elements of death and grief with some light-hearted romance. I enjoyed that every character was able to have some type of spotlight outside of their development with Baek Dong Joo.

Kim Tae Hee is the epitome of pathetic (the good kind) as he interacts with Dong Joo and watching them learn and heal together is what made me continue to watch even though the drama went a little off Script.

The ending is extremely bittersweet with an emphasis on Bitter. I would recommend watching this if you're looking for a good heartfelt drama. And I was crying by the end of a lot of the episodes

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Relationship handbook or how they should be!

Finally, I managed to finish this even though it took me longer than I intended. The reason? This drama is a rollercoaster ride but not in a good sense. It starts slowly with annoying main characters. So annoying, I almost dropped it but since I promised to watch it I persevered. After the episode 6 it suddenly gets better, more exciting and faster only to slow down a few episodes later turning into a boring mess. It picks up again towards the ending when it became necessary to give resolution to different storylines.

This is a love story between a doctor and a funeral director. The doctor has abandoned doctoring because of a personal tragedy (death of a brother) and the funeral director needs to earn some money to ease the burden on her father. But she has a magic touch: when she touches a dead person, they wake up and get to have a last wish granted. After the initial scare, she takes care of 21 wishes she was supposed to get. We discover in the last episode the connection between these 21 people and the funeral director with a magic touch. The drama deals with relationships and what do they mean: family, friends, coworkers, religion and how they help us deal with life and death situations, what is acceptable and how we are perceived by people around us, both known and unknown and how we deal with that!

I liked the story, the fantasy element was original. I liked the overall optimistic outlook on human nature: the vast majority of people are nice and kind and really good. I often wonder if they really are or should this as well be counted under the fantasy element (my cynicism is showing!!)?

After my initial annoyance with the leads: I found the FL brazen and rude and the ML a spineless wimp, they grew on me and were really good together. Their relationship managed to avoid those pesky misunderstandings, influence of a toxic ex and last episode break up only to meet after a time skip! So surprising for a K drama!It was not all smooth sailing but it moved nicely forward without being boring! Well done!

There were some amazing support characters the best of which were two uncles: a single man with a funny haircut and a priest! Their bromance and the banter, verging on a BL, were really funny. Only that makes this drama worth the watch! And of course there is the funeral director's best friend with a crush on her boss, slowly pursuing him, making sweet faces and rolling shyly her eyer until he succumbed. Cute! By the way, why isn't Tae In Ho getting better and bigger roles? He deserves much better than the endless string of support and guest roles!

The music was lovely, the songs were appropriately sweet and slow with enough emotions considering the subject matter.

Now that I think of it, this seems to be another entry in the list of dramas dealing with recently deceased and their wishes and last moments (Tomorrow, Move To Heaven etc.) I must have sen others as well! I wonder why are there often such dramas coming from Korea! I do not remember watching as many western shows with such theme (Pushing Daisies, I Zombie...were mostly comedies!). The comedy here is just to give you a breather between serious scenes! The balance between serious and funny was perfectly attained!

I don't like the drama poster: already seen elsewhere and therefore not really attracting attention: so much so I almost missed this drama! Which was an OK watch but I will never rewatch it since it is not bingeable and it did not strike me as memorable!

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Supernatural + light dose of romance= Satisfactory

LIKE:
Cinematography, colour pallet, locations and the interiors of the apartments and funeral home.
Wardrobe was appropriate and in good taste.
The FX for sending the people on to heaven were very feel good.
Writing:
the concept of helping both the living and the dead.
The idea behind why FL was ‘gifted special hands’.
I liked the message of being truthful with those close to you, so you don’t have regrets when they are gone.
Music:
was well suited for the scenes and I didn’t notice it being overpowering when actors/actresses spoke. However I didn’t notice anything standing out or really memorable either.

DISLIKE:
Production:
Shaky Camera Syndrome [Someone forgot to activate the film stabilizer!]
Zooming in too close; don’t need to see their nose hair or clogged by makeup pores.
Writing:
Similar concept seen with Mystic Pop-Up Bar and other shows, so nothing new.
The ML and FL are cute for the first portion of the drama, then ML’s trauma shifts the whole show to be about that, before ending with FL trauma. But don’t worry there’s a happy ending, comedy included! Some parts were rushed and it felt a little disjointed. Could also be the editing though. There was some character growth, but we get no definite conclusion for a few supporting characters that were seen throughout the show.

OVERALL:
Very very slow burn for the romance, but we got a little bit of it. Thankfully the comedy wasn’t over the top or frequent. I would recommend it for a supernatural drama, if you are just starting out in this genre. There are better dramas than this, but it is satisfactory and even young teens can watch it. I won’t rewatch it and there were no moments that I wish to see again.

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So much better than I expected

The bit about granting dead people their final requests was a little reminiscent of Hotel Del Luna, but objectively, this series was all around better. Except for in the OST category, there Hotel Del Luna takes the prize.

One of my absolute favorite things was all the little hints sprinkled throughout that suggested Hae Ahn was not the happy-go-lucky, talk-a-mile-a-minute guy he seemed like. How, very slowly, glimpses of his darker side started to come out, making me feel more and more wary of him as the episodes went on, so by the time the big reveal was unveiled, it didn't feel like something out of the blue, but something the show had been building towards all along. The puzzle pieces were there all along, we just needed to put them together.

I also ended up tearing up a lot more than I'd first expected. The show didn't shy away from how brutal, traumatizing and devastating it can be to lose a loved one. And the actors were all so genuine in their grief that it was hard not to cry alongside them during some of the saddest storylines. Just keep in mind to have tissues handy.

The uncles were amazing and a big source of laughs. I loved seeing how invested they were in the relationship of their niece and nephew.

Honestly, I think all the different plots were wonderfully woven together from the little boy that started it all, and how closely tied Tae Hee's story was to Hae Ahn, but also how Joon Ho was the tie between Tae Hee and Dong Joo. Then, all the emotional trauma and guilt tied up in the woman Tae Hee had dated for 10 years only to not be able to even look at her after his little brother's death. I'm a little disappointed he was never actually honest with her about that. Maybe if she'd known why he'd walked away, she would have understood and been able to let him go. And, perhaps most importantly, how it all came down to Dong Joo granting wishes for the selfless people that'd helped saved others in the fire that ended up causing her mom's death.

The writers really did an amazing job with this one, and the cast truly made it justice by giving top notch performances. I'm so glad I stumbled upon it!

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Simple yet heart warming

I like how the plot focused on kindness unlike usual revenge theme which I'm kind of sick watching them. It's draining.

LIKE

My sudden realisation on why Tae Hee used one arm to save Joon Ho

When the school girl said she regretted not confessing earlier to her crush that made Dong Joo mustered up her courage

When Dong Joo suspected why she couldn't wake Hae An's brother

What Il Sub commented on Hye Jin's case - that statement was very powerful

The real reason why Dong Joo was blessed with her special ability

When Tae Hee and his parents visited Joon Ho - that scene was painful

When everyone was talking about the kind of person Dal Shik was

The moment I realised what Hae An did

When So Ra and Jung Hwa both comforted Dong Joo when she was at her lowest

When Priest Michael found out who was the lady who helped out and visited Dal Shik

DISLIKE

The main leads chemistry is not there but then again this is not a love story

MUSIC - personal fav

Goodbye My Friend - Jamie
Reminiscence - Jung Joonil
Pray - Lee Won Seok

REWATCH VALUE

Seven for now probably re-watching some day.

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Try it for yourself before making judgments

I went into this show with spoilers. I knew what was going to happen and I knew how it would end.
I'm one of THOSE people.
That being said, after reading multiple reviews about this show I was sad to find that many say "don't watch it". They point out all the flaws and none of the good points. Does it have flaws? Yes; why is she a former athlete? What got her into the funeral gig? Why all the deaths but not a lot of explanation/follow through? None of these questions are really answered. Especially one really sad death involving apparent murder/suicide.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. The ML /FL were great and the romance was sweet and even though there was an annoying ex involved at one point, it made sense to me that they be there. The side characters were just what they were meant to be, funny or serious, family, friends, shoulders to lean on. This drama showed depression and growth of a character to have a past and move forward out of it. You'll read that the worst episodes are the final 4. Yes, they suck, but if you go into it blind, they suck because of the shock factor. If you pay attention, it all really makes sense. The final death especially. The mission she had to complete had to end. Of course with the death of a beloved character. How else could she move on in her own personal life? While it was incredibly sad, it was perfect in my opinion. The final death makes sense to me. So does the "villian".

Again, maybe because of the shock value people didn't understand......I got it. It absolutely made sense to me who the villian was and why. The acting was on point as well...do all psychopaths seem like psychopaths at first glance? Are they actually crazy or is there an upbringing that contributes to it. Watch the show and see for yourselves. If you do and you still hate it, fine, that's your choice. But please, give it a chance with all I've said kept in mind.

9 out of 10 for a few storyline glitches.

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Completing Wishes Of The Dead

A funeral director and a doctor (due to past trauma, now works for his uncle "A Dime A Job", doing odd jobs) are the basis of the relationship found in this story.

I had no expectations nor idea of of where the story will lead me as I watched the first episode. Obviously, from writing of this review, I completed 16 episodes without any difficulty. I found this drama absolutely refreshing and enjoyed so much the representation of lost souls and spirits through Baek Dong Joo, who can communicate with the dead, when she touches them in preparation for their wake and funeral.

"A Dime A Job" Kim Tae Hee becomes the loving and supportive boyfriend to Dong Joo. Sceptical at first, Tae Hee eventually becomes her biggest supporter as she tries to complete the last wishes of the dead.

Every episode was entertaining and the un-folding of Tae Hee's past also kept the drama going. Lots of good stories which pulls at your heartstrings. I enjoyed this drama thoroughly.

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