Imagine this situation:

A person is driving a jeep on a rocky mountain. It's a bad idea from the start but he's hoping for the best. Suddenly, he takes a wrong turn and finds himself on the edge of a steep cliff, about to fall in an abyss. He's still hoping for the best.

Out of nowhere, a heavy gust of wind comes and makes his jeep topple over. As it falls the person gets all of his limbs broken and his tongue caught between the teeth. He's still hoping for the best.

Suddenly, there's a landslide and huge rocks fall on top of the jeep. Now the person has his abdomen torn apart and his intestines pouring out. But he's alive and still hoping for the best.

The pressure from the rocks causes the jeep to stumble forward and miraculously an ocean appears in the front. The jeep falls in the water and now the man can't breathe. Finally, when the jeep sinks down among debris and lost souls and the man takes his last breath, he realizes that all that hoping was in vain.

Did that all make sense?
No? Well, neither does While You Were Sleeping.

You want to know how the plot unfolds?
Exactly like the events in the above mentioned story: Unrealistically and taking its merry time from bad to worse.

Wanna know how you'll feel after finishing the show?
Exactly the way the driver of that jeep must've felt. You keep hoping for the best but things stays at their worst.

And now I'll explain why.

The show's biggest problem is the flawed characterization. Our protagonists that are portrayed to be these brilliant and hardworking individuals are essentially idiots, only being able to succeed because 1) they can see the future in their dreams 2) somebody from the supporting cast helps them sort out all their problems.

It's like praising an SAT student for scoring high when he saw all of the correct test answers in his dream. Though he didn't even bring his own pencil to the test and had to borrow it from someone, atleast he was able to correctly remember the answers and jot them down.

That has to count for something, right?
In my opinion, that something is bullshit.

After a very long time, I actually started off with liking the role Lee Jong Suk was given. I always say that he's a great actor who's sometimes given bad roles and in the beginning of this drama, I felt like after a long time he was finally given a good role again. Prosecutor Jung made mistakes, messed up and didn't feel as flawless as some of LJS's other roles. But soon, as the episodes progressed, that bubble burst for me as I saw him again mould into his typical run-of-the-mill T.V persona. I'd still say that he acted good but unlike Ji Chang Wook in Suspicious Partner, his acting alone wasn't strong enough to solely carry an otherwise flop show on its back.

Suzy was unmemorable like always. Not annoying but not standing out either and the chemistry between the couple was non-existent.

Surprisingly, the life of the show was the supporting cast. Han Da Wook; sexy and adorable detective was so precious but didn't have enough screen-time that was needed in order to develop his character to its full potential. The side story lines (consisting of 1 or 2 episodes) were so much better than the main ones. The prosecutors were all a source of bliss and some of the best acting was done by people who were there only as guest roles.

It's a shame when you feel nothing for the main characters and instead, gravitate towards the one's that are used as mere plot-lines. Unlike the protagonists, I found the antagonist to be far better developed and dimensional. Even though he was rotten to the core, he actually used his head and had some brilliant planning. He was far more intelligent than our hero and he didn't even have the advantage of knowing the future.

The OST had some good songs but because of the drab plot, I couldn't get a solid feel for them.

The show has classic Park-Hye Ryun written all over it. While You Were Sleeping is an ignored love-child of Pinnochio and I Hear Your Voice but unfortunately, is less captivating than the both of them.

To be honest, all the convenient plot-devices, medical inaccuracies and ridiculous circumstances could've been ignored if the show wasn't boring as hell.
While the last 4 episodes were the best (since Lee Jong Suk's character finally showed some growth) the rest of the show remains horribly dead.

When you don't feel a connection to either of the main guys, finishing such a dull show becomes a feat. I have to say that WYWS was literally the hardest show I've had to complete and it was only because of my utter aversion to dropping shows, that I was able to finish it.

I personally don't reccomend this drama.

Nobody should have to be the person in the jeep but if you're a fan of the casted actors and the writer, you can give it a try.