Love, Timeless (2017)

What makes this drama stand apart from other time-travelling dramas is the way in which the time-travelling aspect is implemented. Whereas, some dramas that feature time-travelling are more concerned with evoking a sense of nostalgia and wanting to return to a simpler time, this drama uses time-travelling as a way to examine the characters. I should mention that this drama is not solely a "plot-based" drama and there isn't an emphasis solely on narrative/story beats. Instead, this is more of a character study with more of a slice-of-life pacing to it. We're watching these characters encounter "timeless/unforgettable moments" during a crucial period in their lives and how the decisions they make/actions they take end up shaping what kind of person they become in life. There's a lot of subtle details/changes that occur within characters and it was nice to see them subtly change throughout the drama. The characters in this drama are certainly flawed with their own issues/hang-ups in regards to love but I found it more fascinating to watch these characters learning and trying to improve themselves rather than watching your typical perfect drama characters.

Another thing I liked about this drama was the little details the writer gave that make the world feel more lived-in. Without spoiling much, there is an early episode where the characters are told a story about a ghost haunting a building. Although, played for laughs, this story later plays a somewhat important part to the main story. It's little details like this and others that eventually add up and have repercussions on the characters and their decisions and actions so you'll get more out of this drama if you pay attention to all the fine details. Beyond the theme of love, this drama also touches on the subject of regrets/second chances, independence/freedom and fate/locus of control.

The main four leads varied from good-great with Summer Meng and Huang Wei Ting being the standouts to me. Summer Meng and Nick Chou should be commended for selling the fact that they were close friends with a shared history together. The glances the two shared as the other pursued other love interests definitely were effective in portraying the love they had for one another. Johnny Yang and Blue Lan were also good in supporting roles that provided some levity during some of the more "serious" moments.

The OST was great with Let Go, My Turn to Love and Could Still Embrace standing out for me. There were some technical/sound mixing issues when songs were used sometimes but that is a minor nitpick.

I would definitely rewatch this drama as many of themes touched upon in this drama are right up my alley and I became invested in watching these characters change and grow. Ultimately, I felt like this drama set out to explore the theme of love, which means showing both the joy you get out of it and also the pain it can also bring. How we learn to endure the pain part of it makes the joy part of it that much better. For my money's worth, the drama succeeded in conveying this while also tackling other themes to great effect. As a result, I believe this is one of the more overlooked dramas of 2017 and feel it deserves your attention and time if you want a drama that has loftier ambitions than simply who the characters will end up with.

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