Good story, bad execution

So, I really wanted to love this one. I had heard nice things about it and the ratings were quite high. I think the director's intent was good and I liked the story, but everything felt so rushed. I found myself often confused about what was going on. I think part of it was the execution and part of it was cultural aspects I did not understand or that were lost in translation. What I liked the most about this story was Ren Mi's acting as Yi Yao. It felt really realistic and she did portray a lot of raw emotions. That one scene with her monologue towards the end was beautifully written and acted. Overall, I think this movie has a beautfully heartbreaking message, but things were too rushed for me to really appreciate the heaviness and the sadness of this story.

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Beautifully written, with a lot of heart (and a side of gummy smiles by Yook Sung Jae)

This drama had everything I like in a drama plot : a portion of its story set in historical times, a tragic backstory, fantasy, reincarnation themes and star-crossed lovers. And it lived up to my expectations.
While this drama is far from perfect, it has a whole lot of heart and sincerity to it. The meaning of this story is so beautiful. The acting is really good, the leads were great and the side characters were also pretty good. I often found myself being touched by the stories of the side characters and their grudges were very relatable, for the most part.
Side note: Yook Sung Jae has the biggest gummy smile of any Korean actor change my mind. His smile light up my heart everytime, guaranteed.

I definetely recommend this drama.

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I don't think words will ever be enough to describe the journey I went on while watching this drama. It was a beautiful, sad, happy and hopeful one, all wrapped into one bittersweet masterpiece. This story left me speechless.
I will not go as far as to say that this drama was perfect, but it was so wonderfully close to perfection, that I am willing to look past its small flaws and call it what it is : a masterpiece. No drama has ever made me feel this way before. I felt deeply connected to the characters (especially those of the 1930s era) and around the final episodes, I had to remind myself that these are fictional characters. I was so invested in this story that it felt like it was real and I felt every emotion that the characters felt.
I went in this drama knowing a few big plot points (and by that, I mean episode 15 and 16 major spoilers), so I sort of knew how this story would end, but I was still caught off guard by the way this story unfolded. Starting episode 10 or 11, I think I cried at least once every episode. Sure, I am a sensitive person, but there was something so beautifully tragic about this story that made my eyes water and my chest tighten in a way they had never before in front of a drama. Even now that I completed it, I still feel the emotions rushing back to me when I think of the 1930s story. Truthfully, the only reason I didn't put 10 as a rewatch value is because this story touched me and made me feel so many things that I'm not sure I could go through that again in a near future. However, I can easily see myself watching it again after a little while has passed.
Our main cast truly shines in this drama and I felt especially drawn to Yu Jin Oh and his growth throughout his story of acceptance and moving on from the past. His character was at times comedic, at times tragic, and Go Kyung Pyo truly let the character shine. Im Soo Jeong shined as Ryu Soo Yeon and I was so impressed by Yoo Ah In's skills, making the past and present day characters seem like totally different people. I kept forgetting that they were both played by the same actor !
Like many other people, I do wish we saw more of the 1930s timeline, as it was for sure more interesting and poignant then the present day one, but I honestly don't think my heart could've endured more of the emotionally charged 1930s scenes. To me, it was satisfying and somewhat comforting to watch the present day romance evolve in a free manner and let those two souls love each other without the 1930s context being in the way. The simplicity of the current relationships (when compared to 30s ones) gave more depth to the sad-yet-beautiful story of our past characters. It made it more interesting, and the contrast between the two romances was so beautiful to witness.
I never expected that I would ever feel so connected to a drama, but here we are, and I regret nothing. It will take a long time before I move on from this drama and I think its life lessons will always stay with me, in a way.
Here's one of my favourite quotes of this drama :
"Tomorrow might not be yours. Your loved ones won't always be by your side. If you want to say "I love you", say it now. If you want to smile, do it now"

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Strong and original in the beginning, predictable and cliché ending

So, here's the thing. For me, this drama started out strong. It was refreshing, had a good positive message and had me laughing out loud at times, while being super heartfelt at other times.
The actors did a fantastic job in my opinion. Hwang In Yeop (Seo Jun) is obviously a very skilled and versatile actor, and he definetely stole the show. He stood out to me as a second male lead, even though the second male lead arc has been (over)used time and time again in kdramas. I am not the biggest fan of Cha Eunwoo's (Suho) acting, but he definetely improved from his acting in My ID is Gangnam Beauty. Instead of his usual tsundere/stoic character, he got to show more range and he was pretty convincing in this drama. Don't get me wrong, he still has the tsundere feel, but he had some touching and sincere acting moments where I almost felt the emotions along with his character.

It was pretty good, and then, somethings changed and more and more clichés piled up. I started feeling less connected to the story around the 13th episode, but I really felt disconnected by the time I reached the 15th episode. In the last two episodes, too many things with the story felt wrong for me to keep enjoying the story fully. Borderline creepy behaviour was played off as a romantic gesture, there were a lot of filler scenes, and all trace of originality in the storyline seemed to have vanished. At that point, I didn't care much about the romance, or even the plot as a whole. The only scenes I looked forward to were the ones where I got to see Hwang In-Yeop. He was so so wonderful in his role, dealing with both a really sentimental and comical sense to his character.

I think the main problem with this drama is that it is too romance focused rather than dealing with its actual subject. Had it dealt more with their subject of "true beauty" and the actual challenges the main character lives because of her appearance, things would have felt way better in my opinion. It feels like they pretty much forgot what they were trying to say by the end and only focused on the romance aspect. They resolved her worries too quickly. It's a shame, because I think this drama could have had a good message, but it was drowned out under the weight of the romance.

To be fair, I didn't HATE the ending. I just wished it was a bit more original, as it felt like I had seen this "perfect" ending 100 times prior. However, I have to say I do like open endings or bittersweet endings, so it may only be my taste that didn't suit this ending.

Quick note on the OST: it was great. I litterally have nothing to say. The song written by Suho and SeYeon is so so so beautiful.

So, I'm definetely not saying "do not watch this". I think it's a pretty good drama. But I think keep your mind open to the fact that the ending is pretty predictable and things don't make sense sometimes (like the fact that we are meant to believe that Ju Yeong (Moon Ga Young) looks unrecognisable with makeup, when she just looks like herself with bad skin). That's probably okay too, after all, kdrama endings are usually predictable.

Overall, I would recommend it, if it's your style. I probably won't be rewatching this though (maybe just compilations of Seo Jun's scenes...)

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