I was super stoked for this drama and I want to preface what comes next by saying that I DID love it in many ways. Having said that it certainly wasn’t one of my favorites for any of the 3 favs I mentioned above. Drama wise, I Hear Your Voice and Pinocchio were much better works of Park Hye Ryun and Lee Jong Suk/Suzy have both portrayed stronger roles. Everything here was set up to be so good but just continually fell short. The story was never intense enough. The chemistry was never hot enough. The emotion was never strong enough. It just all felt kind of fake.
I get it. It’s fiction. But fiction done right can make you feel like it’s real...and WYWS just didn’t.
Also, I know this writer has struggled before with unrealistic court cases but goodness it’s very apparent in this show. I was especially annoyed with how the other characters always narrated the legal scenes like “Ooh, now he’s trying to discredit her.”
Come on now. We KNOW.
It makes the viewer feel like the show is treating them like a child, for lack of a better word.
In the end, there were still scenes I loved. Despite not quite having that sizzling chemistry I’d hoped for, Lee Jong Suk and Suzy we’re adorbs. I will look back on this show fondly and still strongly recommend it as a one-time watch, but I probably won’t be coming back for seconds.
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Amazing.
While You Were Sleeping might be the best kdrama I've watched in awhile. The acting was amazing. All the characters were amazing. The plot was amazing. I recommend watching this, I cried, smiled, laughed, every emotion you can think of while watching this. Lee Sangyeob really does a good job at making the audience hate him. All the acting was good and there were a lot of familiar faces as support/guest roles. I enjoyed the plot and seeing Jaechan and Hongju find out they knew each other. When I was watching I thought for sure Wootak was gonna be bad and plotting something, but its nice to know i was wrong. It overall was a good drama but if I could critique anything I would critique the fact that Wootak never got a proper ending, he just got thrown to the side at the end. I would recommend this drama to others, if you like romance dramas that aren't toxic and a lot of fighting and the male lead getting mad 24/7 then you'd like this.Was this review helpful to you?
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Let me start with the plot. This is the best paced plot that I saw so far. The pacing of the plot is so smooth and normal that I can know the background of all characters very well. The transitioning is so good. The prosecuting/law genres and the supernatural power to dream about the future really complimented each other very well and there are a lot of plot twists that I love. I thought the ending would be disappointing but I think everything ended well for me. ALMOST everything was well explained. Almost? Why the word "almost"? Well, it's because there are just little things that I wanted to know about the plot in order for it to be perfect. For example, they didn't explained how Hong Joo got that power to dream possible futures in the first place. I don't know. I really wanted the kind of drama to explain everything which were the plot and the characters (really strict when it comes to those things). But a big salute to the director(s) for this kind of drama. Very unique indeed. 9.5!
Ugh let me just say the characters did so well at acting. They really showed their expertise and experience in acting to this drama. Their sadness and struggles really made me cry and also did so well when it comes to comedy. Let me just say that Hong Joo and Jae Chan had such great chemistry but why do I feel butterflies in my stomach whenever I see Hong Joo and Woo Tak's scenes? I don't know what's wrong with me. I hope for a RomCom drama with Suzy and Hae In SO BADLY (PLEASE PLEASE). Anyways, A perfect 10 for the marvelous acting skills!~
The music, nothing to say. Really fits with the scenes. Perfect 10!~
It's really rare for me to re-watch because I keep on watching new dramas after another but I would watch this again (and Hae In's hot body and handsome face AHH :D)
Overall? Giving it a 10, despite of a little hiccup on the plot because it's just based on my perspective. I loved it. One of the best dramas that I've watched. Wishing for another season since it focuses on crime cases. ;) BRAVO!
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My definition of perfect entertainment
Story was not perfect there's still some holes here and there, but for me it's close to perfect. Like, I would like to know we're their gifts come from..A fated girl and boy met and shared a tragic past. They survived and thrived. FL has this gift of premonition. Her dreams seems to come true wether she wanted it to it not. She was a good reporter taking a break from work. ML is a good looking straight laced prosecutor. ML and FL met again as adults, unknowing of each other's identity. ML saved FL using his dreams premonition, he too now shares with the FL.
Later on, they've learned that the gift is possible if your life has been saved or changed by the gift. The need to return the favor of wanting to save your savior triggers it.
Their life and love journey is fun to watch. Their work gives an adventure and mystery to the story, makes it a bit more exciting. Their romance is really heart warming. From friendship to falling in love to survival and their quest for truth and justice.
ML was not an overbearing dominant male with cruel tendencies. He's a little bit dorky who loves his suits. FL was not a naive spineless girl, she's brave with a ready smile for everybody. It's refreshing. The actors chemistry was really good too.
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I binge-watched “While You Were Sleeping”
PLOTIt’s a mystery/romance drama and to be honest I didn’t care about the romance at all. I liked the plot, this whole “future seeing” thing was amazing! The first 3 episodes were my favorites, so many twists, and turns. Lee Jong Suk did a great job in this drama ,I loved watching him. Loved the family dynamics and the parallel story lines.
THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN OUR MAIN COUPLE(S)?
Ahhhh…it was okay,it felt like Suzy tried too hard at times ,but that’s my only complaint. To be honest, I reaaalllyyy didn’t care about the romance,the cases and mystery was something I was invested in.
HOW IT ENDS*Mild Spoilers*
The ending was so satisfying ,it had everything I love in an ending!
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I love the couple but for me the 2nd male lead is the best. Haein looks so cute in this drama, I want him to play a role like han woo again.
*I only followed Bae Suzy drama . I love her character in every drama except this one. I think hong joo's character is too good?
* no conflict for couples. It's very boring when the couple has no conflict. If the case does not interest me. I swear I'll stop watching this drama.
*Stories about the past are also boring. I mean can we put 1 episode for the past?. I'm just a little confused about that.
*haein really did a great job as Han woo tak. I was disappointed with the ending. I wonder what he's become. I hope Haein plays a role like han wootak again but as the main character.
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Wow, oh wow. I truly enjoyed this drama.
【Ｓｔｏｒｙ】10I normally do not enjoy stories based around supernatural abilities and was hesitant to watch this drama. Though, I kept seeing it on the top of ranking lists and being recommended on the K-Drama social circles and after watching it, I now understand.
While the story does heavily revolve around this premonition ability, it is handled extremely well and never feels over used. I think this is what sets it apart from other dramas that revolve around a singular supernatural ability, that I do not care for.
I also love the general development of the story overall. The pacing is great and I never once felt a sense of boredom or thought that a scene was dragging on. This alone makes the story get a 10 from me. It is like finding a diamond in the rough.
【Ａｃｔｉｎｇ／Ｃａｓｔ】10
The casting for this drama is spot on and everyone performed an incredible job. The main cast felt like they fully embodied their roles. Just fabulous!
The acting was so good that when a character felt an emotion, I also felt the same emotion. Whether that be sadness, happiness or even anger.
【Ｍｕｓｉｃ】10
It was enjoyable music, never felt over used.
【Ｒｅｗａｔｃｈ Ｖａｌｕｅ】8
This is one of the few dramas on my watch list that I will for sure rewatch.
【Ｏｖｅｒａｌｌ】10
Wow, oh wow. I truly enjoyed this drama. The story, acting, camera work, all of it was amazing. If you have read this far, I implore you to watch this show yourself.
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I think just the first episode leaves a good preview of what the entire drama is going to be like. The whole concept of dreaming about the future was represented perfectly in this drama: in my opinion, how the scriptwriters, wrote it to be this perfect is completely amazing, the flashbacks and waking up scenes are well-placed between the main timeline.
All the actors did an amazing job too! I loved each one of them, even the supporting roles (not the bad ones though, but it is a proof that the actors played so well, it made me dislike them to a point where i could basically scream insults in front of my screen).
I loved the OST too, all of them coming at the right moment to connect emotionnally the watcher with the scene. It's You by Henry being my favourite, i even dowloaded it.
The rewatch value is also good, i will definitely rewatch it later!
Don't hesitate about watching it, it is worth the hype!
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Refreshing, great storyline, wholesome characters
You know there are dramas whose first episodes don’t just feel like an introduction but also give you vibes of something epic coming your way in the next few episodes? Well, While You Were Sleeping is exactly that. It’s not slow paced, it rushes right into the events and you are hooked in it from the beginning.The plot is original, we have a character who sees the future of someone’s death in her dreams, believes that nothing she does will be able to stop them, but things take a different turn when she’s acquainted with a newbie Prosecutor and a young police officer.
I loved the friendships portrayed in this drama, the way the second lead was kept non toxic despite him having feelings for the main female lead. There are enough plot twists, intense moments, humour along the way that makes this drama stand out. There isn’t one moment where the drama falls flat. The transitions to the past and from the present and vice versa are so well done, too. Every character felt complex and the actors did justice to them. A perfect combination of thriller, romance and mystery. Do give it a watch!
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This review may contain spoilers
Severe Second Male Lead Syndrome
The first episode (or two episodes as it’s listed on MDL) was amazing. It was one of the best first episodes of a drama I’ve ever seen and set my expectations sky high. Unfortunately, the first episode was the highlight of the show.The execution of the romance was one of the biggest issues. While the connection was there at the beginning, it really seemed to fade throughout the show and they stopped seeming romantic. Both the male and female main leads were odd characters on their own, and the two of them together seemed to magnify their awkwardness. Jung Hae-in plays one of the best second male leads in history and it was impossible not to root for him. I loved his character on his own, I loved his friendship with the leads, he was great. The show did handle his character’s feelings towards Hong-ju, the female main character, very well. His character deserved more screen time and a romance plot line of his own.
The psychic dreams started off extremely interesting but the show continued to complicate the lore so that by the end it was just very confusing. It did make for exciting storylines because they were all foreseeing each other’s deaths and then coming to save them. The thing that seemed crazy was that they weren’t better at saving the day when they would have all the details about a tragic event and somehow barely get there in time. It’s just to add the drama but it was a little annoying. Hong-ju made a lot of really bizarre decisions, even while having the knowledge from her dreams.
We all know childhood connections are very overplayed and this one did not work at all. The “twist” of the flashbacks was so unbelievably obvious but the show kept drawing it out as this great supposed mystery. If they were going to have their pasts connect, they could have done it in a much more interesting way. With all the time spent on their connection, the show didn’t spend enough explaining other parts of the main character’s backstories.
While You Were Sleeping has a pretty large cast of characters and a lot of the side characters were great. Firstly, Hong-ju’s mom was very funny and she got to interact with a ton of the other characters. The way she kept score of her daughter’s love interests was one of my highlights. The other prosecutors in Jae-chan’s office started out annoying but became funny and charming over the course of the show. The office romance was another really great side plot.
The beginning of While You Were Sleeping started off so strong for me and it just felt that it had lost some of the magic along the way. I did really enjoy a lot of the show, but the boring main romance and stupid character decisions brought it down a bit for me.
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