[As I have watched this while airing, I risk being disproportionately influenced in this review by the last two episodes in my story score, episodes which have left me needing a palate cleanser. However, unlike the show I will not use flashbacks but take it chronologically.]
Memories of the Alhambra uses a brilliant premise of augmented reality gone wrong and weaves cliffhangers and shocking twists in a manner that leaves viewers hooked, especially around the middle of the series. The technology imagined is not that farfetched and it was actually fun to brainstorm with others on MDL how it could really be happening scientifically. The buildup is a bit slow but the problem that our hero has to solve is so interesting and so confounding that it makes one keep racing to know what will happen next. The romance is not a big part of the story but is rather a relief from the pretty grim realities of the situation as it is developing. The main antagonist is the game itself and it is quite good at that. What the hero grapples with is really quite unnerving and chilling to imagine.
Hyun Bin as Yoo Jin Woo is very convincing and the action scenes in which he fights multiple assassins are good stuff. His playful teasing and self-deprecating humour mix with a high intellect, arrogance and recklessness to create a pretty irresistible combination. The drama rests on his shoulders, with him singlehandedly battling both the real world and the AR world. He also excels at being uncaring, aloof, and mysterious whose rare displays of affection completely bowl Park Shin Hye. PSH as Jung Hee Joo tries to make the best out of a poorly written role. She has to cry way too much and contributes pitifully little to the plot. She is a hardworking, empathetic and very ‘normal’ girl but not quite a strong female lead everyone is more accustomed to nowadays. Chanyeol looks every bit his part as the nerdy, anxious and scared software genius but he could have been utilized better, especially towards the end. Lee Seung Jun as the loyal friend who does not know what or whom to believe is very good. Min Joo Woong leaves a lasting impression as Jin Woo’s secretary and ally (pun intended). Lee Re as the younger sister of PSH is very cute and her exchanges with our protagonist are some of the funniest bits of the series. I also enjoyed some other support characters; Choi Yang Ju as the programmer and primary aide to Jin Woo’s efforts in the game, displays a very funny and awkward crush on PSH’s virtual avatar; and Han Bo Reum as Gu Yu Ra is quite pleasing to the eye as the idiotic and unpredictable bimbo. Yet, some important support characters get surprisingly little character development. Their motivations are ill-explained and backstories are weak to non-existent. Things just happen. Se Jun is a classic example; she is ostensibly an important character but we seldom know what is really going on with her.
My favourite part of the show was after the 50% mark and it seemed set for a very exciting ending. Yet, it seemed that the writers were working with a concept that as beyond their skills to execute. So, they resorted to killing time towards the end and giving very loose explanations. There was the promise of much more story but instead, a handful of major events were narrated very slowly. There should have been much more happening. The romance had been finally coming into its own around Episode 11-12 (with a pretty good kiss scene) but it was just thrown out suddenly. So was all the humour towards the end. The original game developer’s way of planning the game was untouched and the alternate dimension thing could only have been acceptable in a drama that was not taking itself too seriously. Like the series itself, the pacing of the fight sequences was highly variable; some got it right (the train sequence was quite good) while others were implausibly slow.
This show would have been better if it did not try to integrate K Drama with an American-type show. Either it should have had half the length and followed the American model of lots of characters and lots of stuff happening across cliffhangers or it should have had the existing 16 (or more) episodes with well-written characters whom the viewer understands and cares for. As it ended, I suddenly realized we do not anything about what is happening with almost anyone in the show. We are merely aware of incidents but don’t know or care about anyone making it easy to just shrug off the drama indifferently. After all, the ending seemed as if sadistically contrived to not leave any happy feelings, and quite unreasonably at that. Unlike Nine, we do not have enough cute and happy moments, or smartly cluttered plot points placed during the series that may warrant a re-watch.
Yet, the show is quite innovative in many areas and so with the option of rapidly forwarding through torturous areas, I would recommend it as a watch. Just do not expect too much as you my feel cheated. The show is successful in using the overseas location of Granada. The production values are top-notch and I have quite enjoyed the OST.