Autumn Kaeul
Flawed, but a good heartwarming story with a great cast, music, and cinematography overall.
OVERVIEW: While this drama is definitely flawed, it is still worth watching, especially if you're looking for a good heartwarming story with a great cast, amazing soundtracks, and beautiful cinematography. This drama is absolutely beautiful in so many ways and shouldn't be judged or skipped due to some of its weaker points.
STORY: I REALLY wanted to give this story a 10/10 when I first started watching this drama, but, after seeing it from beginning to end, I just can't do that. As some people have already pointed out, the story in this drama starts off really strong, but then the plot seems to get lost and confused along the way and there are a lot of things that I kept waiting for the writer to come up with an explanation for by the end, but she never did, sadly. It's really a shame, because the plot is unique, interesting, and moving in many different ways, but the writer is clearly inexperienced and had a hard time linking certain scenes or events together in a logical and coherent way, as well as coming up with reasonable explanations for why and how things work in this fantasy world she created. What I liked about the story/writing the most is that it's great at eliciting an emotional reaction from the audience--it can be extremely funny and make you laugh/smile at times, while also moving you to tears at other times. This is not something that is easy to do, and I think this drama does it VERY well.
However, it's obvious that both the writer and the director "dropped the ball," so to say, when it came to many scenes throughout the drama. Some scenes or events have no logical transitions or explanations, and I felt like I never knew what was supposed to be "real" and what wasn't while I was watching as a result. What's more, it felt like there were a lot of filler scenes as well where certain characters keep having the exact same conversations over and over again, in the same places as well, which was not only redundant, but it took away from time that could have been used to explain what was really going on or to add more meaningful information or hints about what was to come or how things worked in this world. I felt like the story had the potential to be much more complex and interesting than it was, but the writer didn't know how to take things to the next level. Overall, while I really liked the story for this drama a lot, I felt like it didn't deliver on what it promised its viewers. When the trailers for this drama came out, it made it seem like it would be a funny, yet suspenseful, rom-com, and the first few episodes supported this impression. However, after the first few episodes, the drama quickly becomes overly dramatic and doesn't even feel like a rom-com anymore. I feel like if the drama had had a better writer/director, it could have been so much better, but the story as it is is still worth watching regardless.
ACTING/CAST: In my opinion, I felt like the cast was well-chosen for this drama. While some of the supporting characters can be frustrating to watch at times, I feel like that has more to do with the writing than the actors/cast themselves. Unlike what many people keep saying about this drama, though, I do NOT think that Shin Hye Sun "carried this drama on her own." BOTH Shin Hye Sun and Kim Myung Soo give stellar performances in this drama, and BOTH also have some weak acting moments here and there as well. While I too had some issues with Kim Dan's character and Myung Soo's overacting in the beginning, since I have seen Myung Soo act in other dramas I know that isn't how he usually acts and I think the fault is mostly on the writer/director for not giving him better guidance, or for instructing him to act in such a way. As Kim Dan (Kim Myung Soo) matures throughout the story, though, we get to see Myung Soo portray a much more serious, empathetic, and nuanced character, and he absolutely NAILS IT. I cried so many times because of Myung Soo's touching performance, and also laughed just as many times at his comical and animated expressions/reactions. Shin Hye Sun's performance is also impressive in this drama, and, though I am NOT a very huge fan of Shin Hye Sun, I loved her as Lee Yeon Seo. Yeon Seo's character can be so funny and so heartbreaking to watch in this drama, and I found her to be extremely likeable as well, especially in the beginning of the drama. However, Yeon Seo's appeal does sadly diminish somewhat throughout the drama as she falls into a lot of the same, tired female character tropes that you tend to see in dramas. Her character returns to her old self from time to time though and shows everyone what a strong, badass woman she can be. I just wish that her character could have remained that way the whole time, rather than becoming weak and weepy and damsel-in-distress-y in the second half of the drama. In general, I felt like ALL of the characters had some pretty poor acting moments here and there throughout the drama. But, again, I feel like this is the fault of poor writing/directing and not the actors, because they constantly redeem themselves again and again throughout the drama and remind viewers what makes this drama so special.
MUSIC: The music in this drama is AMAZING. It's so beautiful and so perfectly matched to the drama that it really brings out the emotions of the scenes and makes you want to watch them over and over again, not just to see the performances, but also to listen to the touching/catchy songs as well. You will want to listen to the songs from this drama over and over again after you watch it--they're really THAT good.
REWATCH VALUE: While I don't think I'll ever watch the whole series from beginning to end in full again, since there are some parts that are boring/annoying to watch, I have already rewatched certain scenes from the drama several times. This drama is truly addicting and will make you want to rewatch all of the funny, romantic, and moving scenes over and over again.
OVERALL: I recommend this drama to anyone who's looking for a good heartwarming drama or a good tear-jerker to watch. While it certainly has its flaws and is nowhere near perfect, the acting, unique plot, beautiful cinematography, and amazing music are more than enough reasons to watch it.
STORY: I REALLY wanted to give this story a 10/10 when I first started watching this drama, but, after seeing it from beginning to end, I just can't do that. As some people have already pointed out, the story in this drama starts off really strong, but then the plot seems to get lost and confused along the way and there are a lot of things that I kept waiting for the writer to come up with an explanation for by the end, but she never did, sadly. It's really a shame, because the plot is unique, interesting, and moving in many different ways, but the writer is clearly inexperienced and had a hard time linking certain scenes or events together in a logical and coherent way, as well as coming up with reasonable explanations for why and how things work in this fantasy world she created. What I liked about the story/writing the most is that it's great at eliciting an emotional reaction from the audience--it can be extremely funny and make you laugh/smile at times, while also moving you to tears at other times. This is not something that is easy to do, and I think this drama does it VERY well.
However, it's obvious that both the writer and the director "dropped the ball," so to say, when it came to many scenes throughout the drama. Some scenes or events have no logical transitions or explanations, and I felt like I never knew what was supposed to be "real" and what wasn't while I was watching as a result. What's more, it felt like there were a lot of filler scenes as well where certain characters keep having the exact same conversations over and over again, in the same places as well, which was not only redundant, but it took away from time that could have been used to explain what was really going on or to add more meaningful information or hints about what was to come or how things worked in this world. I felt like the story had the potential to be much more complex and interesting than it was, but the writer didn't know how to take things to the next level. Overall, while I really liked the story for this drama a lot, I felt like it didn't deliver on what it promised its viewers. When the trailers for this drama came out, it made it seem like it would be a funny, yet suspenseful, rom-com, and the first few episodes supported this impression. However, after the first few episodes, the drama quickly becomes overly dramatic and doesn't even feel like a rom-com anymore. I feel like if the drama had had a better writer/director, it could have been so much better, but the story as it is is still worth watching regardless.
ACTING/CAST: In my opinion, I felt like the cast was well-chosen for this drama. While some of the supporting characters can be frustrating to watch at times, I feel like that has more to do with the writing than the actors/cast themselves. Unlike what many people keep saying about this drama, though, I do NOT think that Shin Hye Sun "carried this drama on her own." BOTH Shin Hye Sun and Kim Myung Soo give stellar performances in this drama, and BOTH also have some weak acting moments here and there as well. While I too had some issues with Kim Dan's character and Myung Soo's overacting in the beginning, since I have seen Myung Soo act in other dramas I know that isn't how he usually acts and I think the fault is mostly on the writer/director for not giving him better guidance, or for instructing him to act in such a way. As Kim Dan (Kim Myung Soo) matures throughout the story, though, we get to see Myung Soo portray a much more serious, empathetic, and nuanced character, and he absolutely NAILS IT. I cried so many times because of Myung Soo's touching performance, and also laughed just as many times at his comical and animated expressions/reactions. Shin Hye Sun's performance is also impressive in this drama, and, though I am NOT a very huge fan of Shin Hye Sun, I loved her as Lee Yeon Seo. Yeon Seo's character can be so funny and so heartbreaking to watch in this drama, and I found her to be extremely likeable as well, especially in the beginning of the drama. However, Yeon Seo's appeal does sadly diminish somewhat throughout the drama as she falls into a lot of the same, tired female character tropes that you tend to see in dramas. Her character returns to her old self from time to time though and shows everyone what a strong, badass woman she can be. I just wish that her character could have remained that way the whole time, rather than becoming weak and weepy and damsel-in-distress-y in the second half of the drama. In general, I felt like ALL of the characters had some pretty poor acting moments here and there throughout the drama. But, again, I feel like this is the fault of poor writing/directing and not the actors, because they constantly redeem themselves again and again throughout the drama and remind viewers what makes this drama so special.
MUSIC: The music in this drama is AMAZING. It's so beautiful and so perfectly matched to the drama that it really brings out the emotions of the scenes and makes you want to watch them over and over again, not just to see the performances, but also to listen to the touching/catchy songs as well. You will want to listen to the songs from this drama over and over again after you watch it--they're really THAT good.
REWATCH VALUE: While I don't think I'll ever watch the whole series from beginning to end in full again, since there are some parts that are boring/annoying to watch, I have already rewatched certain scenes from the drama several times. This drama is truly addicting and will make you want to rewatch all of the funny, romantic, and moving scenes over and over again.
OVERALL: I recommend this drama to anyone who's looking for a good heartwarming drama or a good tear-jerker to watch. While it certainly has its flaws and is nowhere near perfect, the acting, unique plot, beautiful cinematography, and amazing music are more than enough reasons to watch it.
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