This drama really has me hooked from start to finish (I’m actually starting this review with still a week left, since I already know I have to write something , that’s how good it is)
Rain definitely carried this drama so well. I felt all of his emotions as Lee Jae Sang every time! Also seeing his desire to change, yet still be true to himself, it was great. Lee Jae Sang has become one of my favorite protagonist Kdrama characters.
This drama also has my most hated villains too! Not to spoil it, but I loved/hated them because of just how good and convincing they were it’s crazy!!! It actually makes me want to search out any other villain roles they might have been in and watch just for that lol!
I really felt every character was done really well. From Ra Shi On in both worlds showing her hard and soft side.
Lee Bo Na played by Lee Soo Ah is just amazing at only 5 years old! I’m so impressed, she was great, she just made me smile so much, cracking me up and loving her so much! Looking at her MDL profile she’s got some great supporting roles this year, wishing her all the best.
As for the story, it’s not exactly what I was expecting. It starts out really building up the first world, which is his own world and who he is as a person and his relationships. Then through a situation he’s in this alternate world. There is no jumping back and forth between worlds. He’s in the alternate world for a while, learning that he made different choices in this world which altered his path. When he truly begins to accept this new world, he is then back to his reality, where the rest of the story takes place. We see how his experience and time spent in the alternate world affects how he chooses to live going forward.
I’m actually glad it didn’t jump back and forth. I think it made all the emotions and realizations Lee Jae Sang had even more powerful because you understand that regardless of the alternate reality, he has only one life and this is it! What are you going to do with it? This life you are given.
Okay that’s the end of my pre-ending review. I’ll now write how I’m feeling after watching the last episodes...
So I just finished the last episode and I’m smiling. It truly felt complete and even tied up a major loose end. I’m usually a binge watcher, mainly because I easily drop dramas while waiting a whole week for the new episodes to be released. Not with this one. These last 2 months have been so enjoyable with this drama. Well done! I’ll definitely rewatch.
P.S. major shout outs to the subbers that had same day English subtitles, when an episode was released! Real MVPs!!
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This is an excellent fantasy police procedural drama with a good romance story between the lead couple. The drama offers suspense, action, romance, a great presentation of the two temporal dimensions without going back and forth that allows the viewer to understand the characters and their struggles, and great character development, especially for the male lead. The cast is fantastic and they did a phenomenal job bringing their characters to life. The leading couple has very good chemistry and their romance is realistically portrayed throughout the drama. This drama is full of raw emotions among the characters but it is greatly shown and uncannily depicted by the antagonists, especially Yoon Pil Woo, deftly enacted by Shin Jae Ha. Enjoy it!
REWATCH 0N 7/17/2023: Still a great watch! Acting is top notch! The drama incites all sorts of raw emotions; the antagonists are REALLY horrible beings and the protagonists are not without fault; but justice prevailed and lessons are learned. Enjoy it!
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first of all, I would like to sum up my review with few lines:
nice concept,
good pacing,
awesome execution, and
perfect cast.
i love Lim Ji Yeon! Ms Ji Yeon and Rain hit their acting at full gear.
there was this episode that was really emotional to the bones, and they really hit it off!
I recommend you all to watch this please.
the story itself is interesting enough!
pacing is good too, though not perfect, but almost perfect! i would say errors are just minor details along the plot.
the soundtrack is ok, not that it will get stuck in you, but it fits the series just fine.
again, the acting of the two leads are great! not stiff and the chemistry are good. as good as from weightlifting fairy! i really love Lim Ji Yeon. she won awards and she deserve it. and I can sense an aura that she is a bubbly and kind person seeing her social media profile and her episodes in Law of the Jungle and Running man. go check her out.
i need to write atleast 500 words so I will leave you with a sentence that you should remember.
go and watch welcome 2 life, you wont regret it. again, go and watch it please, i beg you, lol.
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Im Ji Yeon, and the rest of the cast made this story work. yayyyyy! I loved it! Shin Jae Ha who played Yoon Pil Woo, the bad son was very bad. YPW took this character and did what he did, for me that is great acting skills, being a bad guy is hard work. I hope to see him more in other types of characters with his cute self not a bad guy role.
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SMOOTH & INTENSE STORY FLOW✔
ACTING EXECUTION✔
AFTERWARDS THERE IS A REALIZATIONS✔
Oh C'mon!!! watch Welcome 2 Life, you won't regret it, i'm telling you!!!
i have nothing to say but i have to right 500 words in order to submit my review hahahaha
SO HERE'S THE QUICK PLOT:
The story of Welcome 2 Life revolves around a cunning and corrupt lawyer, Lee Jae Sang who would use any means to win a case. He does not care about morals and is only concerned about his personal gains. An accident occurs which leads him to pass through another universe where he is living a completely different life. This change causes him to reflect on his life’s choices.
HIGHLIGHTS:
⚡UNIQUE CONCEPT
The drama follows the concept of crossing over to the parallel universe. Both the worlds are similar yet so different.
⚡POIGNANT PORTRAYAL OF SECOND CHANCES
The first half of the plot focuses on the consequences of the choices made
⚡POWERFUL ANTAGONISTS
For any drama, having a powerful antagonist enhances the story-line. In this drama, the writers have done a great job in creating the characters of Jang Do Sik and Yun Pil Woo.
⚡AMBIGUITY IN PLOT LINES
The journey to the parallel world ends when Lee Jae Sang wakes up in his original world and the audience is left wondering what happens next.
AGAIN WATCH IT!
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This review may contain spoilers
Bingeable show with great acting and likable characters but horrible writing
By the end of ep2, I was really sucked into the story and interested in what would happen next. The show was a very easy watch, and always kept me engaged.One of the main reasons why is because the acting was so excellent almost across the board. The ML gave an excellent performance, although he had to deal with a poorly written character, but he made the best of it. I had never seen him act before, and I actually didn't realize it was Rain until I finished watching. There are times when the character does really horrible things, and that's where some of the bad writing comes in, but you still end up liking him and rooting for him.
But I think the writer could have done a much better job of showing how he changed from this amoral, greedy defense lawyer into a caring family man. I think that change was made too late in the story. It was really hard to believe how so late into the middle of the show, he was still yelling and complaining to Shi-on how much he hated the shabbiness of their middle-class domestic life and how he was dying to join the evil big law firm and get back to his lonely, rich life in the other world. I think it's totally unbelievable for this character--who's demonstrated at this point that he's a decent and rational person--after living a few days with this beautiful wife and daughter, would think that his previous life as a lonely bachelor drinking expensive wine and defending murderous, evil rich people (one of whom tried to kill him) was preferable to this loving family life of middle class comfort. No way.
Also, I was really impressed with Im Ji-yeon. She only came on my radar very recently when I watched The Glory. She did such an incredible job playing a despicable villain there, that the evil character and the actress merged in my mind, and I almost felt hatred for her as a person. So it was really refreshing to see her play a good person, and play that part just as well as the villain. The Shi-on character was just as sassy and energetic as her character in The Glory, but she was so loveable and charming. I'm really happy that she's getting so much acclaim and winning awards recently.
If you haven't watched Crash Course in Romance yet, skip this paragraph, but does Shin Jae-ha have a clause in his contract that states that he must always play a serial killer with mommy issues who favors steel industrial tools, black clothes with either a black cap or hoodie covering his face, killing people who get in the way of some father-figure that he admires, and trying to commit suicide by falling backwards from the top of a building right in front of his antagonists?
Also, even though I sometimes like to watch sick and violent horror and serial killer movies, I thought that the amount of blood and violence against children was a little too much for a drama, so I wish they had cut back on those scenes a little. I would have also cut out all the fart jokes.
Going back to the script problems--what happened to the bitchy chaebol mother in the first world who ordered a hit on Jae-sang? After he woke up from his coma back in the first world, this villain seems to have completely disappeared, like the writer forgot about her, maybe mistakenly thinking that since she was arrested in the second world, that was it for her in the entire multiverse. And several main characters were targets for killing at one point or another, and there were very easy opportunities for this, but the killers never took advantage of the easy opportunity but always waited until they could be prevented. For instance, towards the end of the show, why didn't the serial killer just kill Shi-on at her house, instead of dragging her to the top of the building at the hospital where he could be stopped? I'm glad he didn't do the easy thing there, but it doesn't make any sense if you think about it clearly. And there are many other examples like that.
Also, what eventually happened in the second world? The last scene implies that Shi-on didn't die but was hospitalized and recovered from getting bonked on the back of the head with a hammer. And it also implies that Jae-song was unharmed. But the evil bastard pharmaceutical executive serial killer had both of them tied up, but he just let Jae-song go instead of bonking him on the head next? So if Jae-song wasn't killed or knocked unconscious in that world, why did he end up jumping back to the first world?
Also, La Strada is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I resented how they referenced that classic masterpiece in such a cheap way, and kept repeating that great Nino Rota melody over and over. I thought that this reference was totally unnecessary and inappropriate, and didn't add anything at all to the show. If shows want to allude to things like movies and books and other things from the culture, they should choose them carefully to make sure that there's a relevant and insightful connection that enriches the story, instead of being a random reference just to show off the writer's sophistication.
Despite all these flaws, I still enjoyed the show, and found it be bingeable entertainment.
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This review may contain spoilers
I liked the show. The cast are good they all worked for it. It may be a bit like while you are sleeping but I really enjoyed this better. The viral video on 2 boys fanboying twice made me watch this and I was thankful i did.I love the humor of the series the actors/actress really are impressive. The the twist really good and is really enjoyable, although I really missed Bo Na at the last episodes I really kind of wish he can go back again just to see their bonding moments. I salute Dong Taek he's the real MVP. This is the first kdrama series that I really looked foward to and even waited every week.
If what happens in the other world must happen in his world. Then what happen in his world must also happen in the other world. With all the I was trying to point out that it was safe to say the they were saved in his world by Dong Taek and the other parallel world where Bo Na already exist, Dong Taek should also done the same thing and saved them.
With all that said it is a perfect 10 for me.
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A perfect blend of fun, lighthearted comedy and thriller murder mystery.
Amazing show! Just brilliant!A perfect blend of fun, lighthearted comedy and thriller murder mystery.
The actors gave great performances and the romance wasn't too cheesy.
I liked the fact that it wasn't just about one long ongoing case, but many cases in which we explore the comradery between the characters as they work together.
Would have liked to know more about the characters' backgrounds and families; where did they come from and what has made them into the people they are today. I would also have liked to see the other Lee Jae Sang; they only showed us one side of the coin.
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For those of you on the fence about watching this drama: Welcome2Life isn't really about the smaller sub-plots throughout the drama, but instead the overall gradual change of our male MC. His pivotal turning point is when he is transported to an alternate reality/universe and gets a taste for a drastically different life (changed by different choices made for some very important decisions made in his past). His longing for the life he had in the alternative universe is what motivated him to change - it was great! It makes sense and the pacing was well written.
What I enjoyed so much was the experience in the alternate universe and the male MC's drive to fix things in the "real" world upon his return to his original reality. The amount of growth his character experiences and the strides he takes to repair things is beautiful. I also applaud the writers because, while the characters were the same people in both universes, their character dynamics were a bit different due to their experiences with each other being different in each reality. The fact that the writers and actors were able to mirror the worlds but still maintain their distinctions was expertly executed.
I would also just like to take a moment to appreciate the final scene of the final episode where both universes are split-screened to show us what's going on in both worlds simultaneously with our MCs and OMG IT WAS THE WARMEST AND MOST AMAZING TOUCH EVER. I LOVED IT.
I will definitely be watching this drama again, but this time, binge-watching it with no delays between episodes.
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First of all, although the idea of returning back to life is not original, they did a nice job with the whole building up a nice family atmosphere. The two leads had chemistry, to top it all, so their family dynamics were really good. They had some interesting cases too.
However, they lost the grip on the story flow and in the end it was awkward and it ruined the love story and, worst, the dynamics of the team. The performances, however, were pretty good.
So, overall, five out of ten.
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in the first half, i dont like the story. when i know where it will be going, i feel disappointed. i understand the first half is just a setup, but i am the type who don't like slow pacing drama. but the second half is so good. this drama is so good so i can forget the first half. i give rewatch value 7 because i only want to rewatch the second half.. ahaha...
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This review may contain spoilers
Welcome2Life was an unexpected random journey full of sweet treats that will leave you a smile in your face and a menacing toothache. May contain minor spoilers, since I want to talk about the greatest points of this series in terms of story and character writing.STORY
I'm a huge fan of stories with a supernatural twist. The concept of him experiencing a parallel universe was well-written with intent and spice. In terms of the script, I must say, it's very very cheesy. There's a lot of lines that makes me cringe, but you can easily brush it off because the actors did a wonderful job with setting the tone and atmosphere to make it fit the scenes. You can truly feel their emotions in their voice and expressions, and that's what makes it bearable.
One of my favorite moments is the turning point when Jae Sang woke up from his coma. I felt that shit real hard. It went from like having a really amazing dream that you never want to wake up from to it becoming nightmare, but in the end the sun rises and you do open your eyes whether you want to or not. I felt his pain so deeply after going back to the real world. Seeing how things are completely different makes you long for something far and precious that has disappeared and can never come back. It made me feel... hopeless. The writers did such an amazing job at making us feel the protagonist's feelings especially his pain and suffering. Every flashback of his alternate life makes me cry without fail (thanks to his amazing acting and the background music). It's so heartbreaking and well made, I can't count the number of times I bawled my eyes out and that's a good thing.
The only things that bothered me a bit was some scenes felt a little dragging, questionable, and unnecessary. But they're not that big of a deal so you can definitely ignore the little plot holes here and there. The actual plot itself isn't all that fabulous or unique, but the execution and plot devices used were effective and immersive. A wonderful ride.
CHARACTERS
I would say that one of the strengths of this series is the character development. Well, for the main protagonist mostly. Everyone else around him didn't really change much, but he was the center of it all, and the lessons to be learned that we can as he does is the focus anyway so it works out. He has the "bad guy becomes good guy" trope, but in a well-written way, not taking any shortcuts and actually taking time. I love how they added a realistic touch to his thought processes and actions, most notably when he realized he might stay there for good. Yes, just because he's suddenly transported into an alternate universe with a shabby but happy, fulfilling life doesn't mean he will immediately realize that it's a good thing. Seeing him falter over his past self, not being able to let his rich life go, became one of the strongest points of his character because in that way, we get to see how he progresses. It emphasized his growth as a human being as we watch him think, struggle, adjust, and finally appreciate what's in front of him. It was a fulfilling moment both for the character and for us watching over him and rooting for his development.
I like Shi On a lot, but sometimes I feel like she's just a really big plot device since she never had enough character development. Sure, her perspective on Jae Sang slowly changed and their relationship (kind of?) improved, but it doesn't feel as impactful or meaningful. She's mostly portrayed as the "love interest that changed the protagonist." Her only redeeming qualities is that she's pretty and can kick some ass, but I think that's nice too. It's good that they made her someone who can depend on herself and defend herself. (Went a little weird after watching her kick about 10+ grown man asses all at the same time, but we take those..)
The other characters are also just kinda there to support the protagonists since of course we need to have a team as an investigation unit. But they deliver fun moments that are enjoyable anyway, so it's not much of a waste. In fact, I think they made the series more fun, especially the trio. They were random and entertaining and their relationship is heartwarming. I love the hacker too, I think he was a great addition as a character.
As for the antagonists... well, they're... bad I guess? They don't really have enough personality other than being mean, rude, and having an evil laugh. Oh, and a mental illness. At times it feels comical, but hey, it's for the plot.
I think the only thing that bothered me a bit was the love triangle. It felt a little forced in a sense that there isn't much need for it. I think they did him dirty like that, with the team leader being labeled as "just the second male lead (for all you second male lead syndrome fans out there) who obviously doesn't get the girl but enjoy him because he's hot." At first I thought it was cute and subtle, but when he came all out on Shi On, it just felt uncomfortable and unnecessary. His love didn't serve any purpose to the story but instead to pander to a formula, because we all know that people dig love triangles. You can literally take him out of the equation and nothing will change at all. NOTHING. He does nothing but take damage for our heroine (which obviously any of her team can do) and drag his missy unrequited ass around idk. He didn't even do enough to strengthen the main couple's relationship (just a short moment of jealousy, that's it.) It was disappointing and a let down, but whatever.
Everyone did a great job.
MUSIC
There's a background OST that plays on very crucial moments whenever flashbacks appear and it breaks me every time I hear it. God I fvcking love those flashbacks. That BGM really fits the scene's atmosphere and the character's emotions. But that's it. None of the songs really stood out to me personally, so I don't think anything else will be memorable enough other those times when we crave for that lost dream.
OVERALL
I watched the trailer of this kdrama which piqued my interest and I'm so glad that I decided to give it a try. I binged it within a week and I'm so satisfied with everything despite the small flaws. It will give you a great emotional roller coaster ride with a few bumps and twists that you might not want, but overall you will enjoy the breeze and have fun anyway.
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