It was almost perfect

My thoughts about this drama: “what a valiant roar, what a bland goodbye”

I loved the first episodes, how complex their dynamic was and how well Soohyun and Jiwon brought them to life with their micro expressions. The way the pacing felt realistic, since a lot of things have passed between them and they're relearning each other. For me the drama took a bad turn when they lost focus of the main characters and expanded so much on the Queen’s drama. Especially the villains, they had so much screen time and were not really nuanced. Or the aunt, like yes, she was a nice character, but ???? why would they think I wanted so much screen time with her and that bland guy? At first it was cute, but when they gave them so much screen time the last episodes it turned out really annoying for me.

I feel like the car crash was unnecessary and something the writer included because she felt like the audience had not forgiven Hyun Woo enough for the way he acted at the beginning of the drama. That we needed to see him have this big gesture and go rescue her as proof of his love, but it was unnecessary and redundant by this point. We’ve already seen how much he loves her ever since the reality of losing her was on the table and he realized it (when she gets lost on his hometown and she admits it and he hugs her and cries).

In episode 1 and 2 we see how distant and resentful they’ve grown of each other, how they’ve built walls between each other (like when she says he is acting out of character by siding with her and taking her hand) but the moment she is honest and vulnerable (probably it’s been years since that) it dawns on him that she is sick and loosing herself. And it breaks him, because it turns real, that maybe she won’t be saved, that they’ve lost years of companionship they took for granted and both of them could’ve done something to fix things (their talk outside of the supermarket). Him recognizing he forgot that love (while she didn’t) and that scene in episode 6 in Germany was top notch, and staying by her side with Queen’s take over and also recognizing his own mistakes (like how Haein tells him she never wanted to be alone, and both understand she is talking about their baby; or him saying that he wishes he would’ve asked her about her day back then instead of acting as strangers) for me was enough. Him egging her on to have a reaction out of her, bringing her family to his hometown, being vulnerable with her and recognizing his faults, listening to her and caring, were reasons enough to forgive him.

I was also not a fan of her losing her memory. I think they chose way too many conflicts and they overlapped and we didn’t have enough scenes of them being happy without the threat of her disease. I would’ve either picked the Queen’s take over or her amnesia, both was too much. Especially when the pacing by the end was so bad and they chose to keep her amnesia instead of her remembering. We didn’t have scenes of “them” but of HyunWoo and a HaeIn that didn’t feel like HaeIn at times and did not know their past. Like, yes, their past wasn’t perfect, but it was what gave their relationship depth. And then they chose to skip her falling in love with him or any life milestones between them!!! Like them finding out about her being pregnant again and this time supporting each other and facing the uncertainty together. Their child’s first birthday! We got like a few seconds of them on the steps and then were clubbed with old HyunWoo facing her death and meeting each other again as “souls”. I think it would’ve been a little less shocking if we’d had at least more scenes of them spending their life together before that scene. Especially after most of the drama they made us bawl our eyes out.

One of the worst things they chose to do was that the reason they both grew distant and started to resent the other was not addressed with the depth and care that it should’ve been. They both hurt each other. HyunWoo felt that his feelings were not taken into consideration by HaeIn and that she did not care as much as him (shown by his surprise by the date being her passcode) and that he was not given space to grief. Like he grew up in a family in which they talk things together and support each other, that’s the way he is able to bear sadness, and HaeIn closing off emotionally and being defensive made him feel isolated. Meanwhile, HaeIn has already suffered the loss of a family member and she was blamed and resented by her mother for it, so it makes sense that because of that experience and the guilt and trauma of the miscarriage she was going through she thought HyunWoo would do the same, especially after seeing that he moved his things out of their bedroom. He did it because he felt hurt by her breaking down the nursery and not giving him space to grief, but it was how she was taught to grief: walk around it, pretend it did not happen and don’t talk about it (like how her father was going to turn the page of the family album when there was a photo of her older brother). I feel like the way they started to approach it was on track: HyunWoo seeing the birthdate being her passcode, HaeIn admitting she never wanted to be alone and HyunWoo understanding she is talking about the miscarriage and realizing he misinterpreted her back then and the look of regret when he apologizes and hugs her. But I think they should’ve talked about it sooner (like when they’re in his apartment, when she sees the birthdate being his passcode as well) instead of the gloss over they did on the final episode when she still does not remember a lot of what they went through.

The drama started out great but I feel like the writers didn’t understand the characters enough and thought we needed big action scenes to be impressed and hooked. Instead, it would’ve been better if it stayed as more of a character study on how for love to be kept alive it needs to be nourished, it needs work and communication and respect between each other. Jiwon and Soohyun are amazing actors and have the range to bring those scenes to life, so it’s a shame that the writers chose to sideline them (like I think the villains have almost more screen time than HaeIn in the final episodes...). Tbh, Soohyun and Jiwon were the reason I kept watching, especially by the end, I can say that the last two episodes are some of the worst episodes of the drama.

I love HyunWoo and HaeIn, and it’s been a while since I’ve been so hooked with a drama and the actors had the ability to make me care so deeply about their characters. “Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new” by Ursula K. LeGuin reminds me of their relationship.

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meh

The female lead suffered a lot of “too stupid to live” syndrome, and it was a little annoying and dragged that she’d do way too stupid stuff and you’d have male mc chasing and nagging after her. Like… HOW MANY times did she decide it was ok to walk alone through alleys in the middle of the night knowing somebody was stalking her; or to enter alone the place she knew was dangerous?!! And then you have male mc being the one that manages things or “saves her”, like, I think there were way too many of this moments. Besides that, their relationship was nice to see and I liked that the writers didn’t make it insta-love, the brief scenes of shared moments of care and comfort that were portrayed in the restaurant when she had nightmares, along with them actually talking through their issues and admitting to their flaws, made me believe in their romance.
I do have to admit that I was way mooooore emotionally invested in the romance of the second lead couple. I think both actors were able to convey a lot of emotion in their scenes, and the “we’ve known each other intimately and know each other’s vulnerabilities/still care” just made me hold my breath at their interactions. I wish we had more scenes between them, but I was glad for the ones we had.
I think that what I liked the most was the relationship between female mc and her mother and grandmother. The three actresses did an amazing job portraying a close family, and their scenes were hilarious. Their scenes were so comforting and I loved the twist about (the grandma being the grandma in-law that considered Bokhee as her true daughter).
Regarding the little sister, a part of me was hoping that she’d just been kidnapped and adopted out or something, and we’d see her introduced as another character (the female cop crossed my mind) but if that happened I think it is something that would’ve been hard to believe as well. Same with the father, I was… kind of waiting for him to appear on the final episode after his inquires took him elsewhere. The scene in the forest was bittersweet but very well done.
The music was good, I really liked it, It was a little bit overused like, sad scene approaching “that song” and so on, like they’re nice songs but it was a little like “ you don’t need to put the song every time, you can let just the actor’s acting make the audience feel things without trying to influence them through the OST”

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The feelings remain askdsald

So, this drama. I wasn't a fan of Rowoon's character, but he grew on me. And I must say that he is getting at acting, which is nice.
I've seen Yun Ji On in Be Melodramatic, and I liked him back then, I also liked his acting now. His character is interesting and I must say that, out of the main characters, he was the one that had the most satisfying ending for me.
Before I talk about the other two mc characters (and, tbh, the reson I picked up the drama) I want to say that I liked the way they approached the different cases, especially the one of the comfort women. It was done with respect and it does help to make people take knowledge of it (I myself didn't know anything about them until I saw Chicago Typewriter a few years ago, and then I read about it and consumed other novels like, for example, Pachinko, that also mentions them), especially considering the international audience a show that can be seen through Netflix has. The case I wasn't completely satisfied with was the one about the eating disorder, because it isn't as simple as suddenly accepting yourself and deciding to eat, I would've liked to see that character getting proffesional help from an interdisciplinary team.
Now, regarding Goo Ryun and Park Joon Gil, the pacing the directors chose left little time and they gave them a rushed conclusion that only didn't suck because this two CAN ACT, their eye acting was so good that it saved a little the lack of dialogue and scenes they should've been given together. I'm still annoyed that they waited until the final episode for PJG to know about their past and, that after he found out, they had only one scene in which they talked about it. That scene served as an apology from PJG about his rash decitions in the past, and as an exoneration for GR because now he understands what she went through and there is some peace in his acceptance. I get that, but I honestly think we should've been given more scenes of them post that, not a vague one at the end that is supposed to be lighthearted. Because their relationship was one of the things this drama revolved around, and then it was just discarded. This is what I meant when I said that, out of the mcs, Im Ryung Goo is the one that had a more satisfying resolution about his past life.

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I started this drama just trying to kill some time before I finished another tv series I'm watching. And it wasn't good but it also wasn't bad. It's one of those dramas that won't stick with you forever, but it was entertaining and addicting to watch while it lasted.
What I liked the most about this drama were the flashbacks of the relationship between In Young and Chan Hee, I thought they did an amazing job capturing how they started dating and then slowly distanced themselves and the art that was a snapshot of those moments. I knew it'd be used and I was a little sad and wistful when I saw the rain scene. I do love the pining and angst of ex-lovers and second chances, so I enjoyed that. Though I do admit that in this case I didn't want them back together because he was a huge asshole to her before-during and after his absence. Before: they were distancing themselves and he'd treat her coldly and ignore her, the way he ended up things and said he was more important than her was unnecesary hurtful: he could've just said he didn't want to let go of that opportunity. During: he never tried to fix things. After: he actually tried to insert himself back on her life as if nothing had happened and became more insistent when he saw her being happy with somebody else, to the point he even suggested they get married right away. The drawing of them not breaking up and kissing under the rain was his "big gesture" and he even kept the drawing of them being married and said it's something he'd been working the year he was abroad,which... in his mind is supposed to fix it all.
And, even though I've said all of this about him, the other romantic interest was even worse. He's childish, manipulative and emotionally constipated. I also didn't feel the drama spent much time with scenes of them developing real feelings for each other, we're just told than they did. The only times I saw cute scenes of them were during the flashbacks on the 11th episode. I also thought the female mc forgave him way too quickly.
My ideal endgame would've been her leaving those two assholes behing and becoming the badass art curator she could become.

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I wasn't expecting much when I started this drama. In fact, I almost stopped watching because it did seem a little bit fatphobic in the first episode. I liked that they turned that a little and made it more about her health instead of only her weight as a superficial beauty standard. I liked that the male mc told her that she was more beautiful when she was healthier instead of saying when she was thinner. I also liked the secondary characters. They didn't feel as 2D as you see in another kdramas, specially her ex-friend, with the ex-boyfriend I still believe he is an ass, but the actress who played the ex-friend made me pity her and respect her even if she wasn't exactly my fav person.
I didn't like how they treated the physical abuse case, rehabilitation doesn't always work and sometimes you're exposing the victim again to more abuse. I wish the scene in which she advised that to the victim didn't exist. I also felt that that scene of them as children wasn't necessary, but I can't say I disliked it, it's just that I'm a little tired by now that it seems EVERY kdrama couple knew each other as children for some reason or another.
Howerall, I don't think this is the most complex or unique drama, but it's a good drama to watch with sad and deep momments that aren't exaggerated and diverse characters.

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To be quite honest, I went in not expecting much of the drama. I've found the premise interesting, but I was badly burned by how much "W" dissapointed me, so I wasn't that hopefull about this one. And while at the end drags on a little and it can turn repetitive sometimes, specially towards Baek Kyung, it's still a really good drama. I loved how the characters becoming self aware felt so real, I specially LOVED Ju Da's self awareness and I even wish a little that it happened sooner because THAT GIRL CAN GET IT. I really enjoyed watching this drama, Dan Oh, Haru and Do Hwa were a pleasure to watch and root for. I also loved the parody aspects calling out manwha, shoujo manga and novels and tv series in general about the tropes and how shallow some of the motives the writers give to the characters.
While the acting wasn't out of this world, the actors were doing their best and the dialogue was interesting and the drama made sense. I don't really have much to say, except that I had a wonderfull time while watching it.

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I enjoyed watching this drama. Above anything else, it's about sticking to your values and yout own self. Friendship and loyalty. Which is good, and interesting to watch. Specially when you see the characters influencing each other's actions. Even though the male lead is presenting as this upstanding guy with amazing morals, there are times in which he moves things according to his endgoal, even if he knows deep down that it's probably hurting somebody (like how he kept coming back to the ex-cop or in a way took advantadge of a character's feelings for him to keep her by his side when she could've have better offers). And the opposite thing applies, one of the characters is cynical and more of in a gray area but learns from watching him and I like that they start to enjoy live and human interactions together. She says it in the final chapter, neither of them knew what human warmth was until they tried to built it together.
I liked that the drama talked about racism, transphobia, ageism and so on, but I find it was a little shallow on its approach. Things don't solve themselves by miracle and knowing how the world, specially Corea, is about those topics, I don't really believe for example in the scene in which a character can easily say she is trans and everybody cheers on her. It's difficult to find that scene realistic, but I want to believe that there'll be a time in which it won't matter. Like the show said, you don't have to prove yourself, your choices, and in my opinion you don't owe people an explanation. I also don't like how easily forgiven the character who outed her was. Like I wouldn't even do that to somebody I considered my enemy, even less to a friend and in a society like that, wtf.
Other issue I had is that I do like the endgame couple and I was sold in why they fell for each other. He broaded her worldview and made her want to live and have values to believe in and work to achieve them by watching him and then later on wanting to fight for him. And she was his pillar, he's always done everything by himself, putting barriers even among his friends, but little by little she became a part of himself without his notice. I understand that, so that's why I liked the pairing. I just would've liked more scenes of them in the 2020 timeline pre-kidnapping in which he catches himself having feelings for her he can't quite understand yet. I think the writers clun to the love square-sometimes pentagon for way longer than they should've have done so.
I wouldn't say this is the best drama I've ever watched, but it was worth watching and I'm glad they're starting to include social issues like the ones they did. I also understand that there might be limits as far of what the writers can say on tv, and that even having a trans character and a character with a darker skin tone it's already a step forward.

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