If You Wish Upon Me (2022)

CAST - GREAT // OVERALL PLOT - Lack luster (Too over the top)

I know I am the minatory on this one, but here's what I thought about the drama.

I picked up this drama because it had raving reviews. I will admit, I'm not the biggest Ji Chang Wook fan, but he's a GREAT actor, so I can see why everyone loves Healer and all his other works.

The first half of the series was pretty light and good. There were mini-side stories and really added warmth and character development between the cast members. I REALLY enjoyed the side stories a lot, especially the girl who wanted to be in a musical.

The second half of the series pretty much killed my love for the drama. This is where it became a very angsty MELOdrama and I couldn't stand for this.

If you had to create the MOST annoying character on the planet, then yes, it's created and thrown into the drama for dramatic effect. You are talking about people who are 100% shameless and are so Over-the-top, You know the character is written to add shock value.

I couldn't stand the overall main-plot and storyline of the drama, which was basically why the ML was the way he was. His backstory was very hard to watch and not in a pleasant way.

There's a lot of moments you want to throw something at the screen and say, "hey, it's common sense to do ABC, but why are you not doing it?" oh it's because this is the driving plot of the story. Or, "I have a secret" and everyone knows it EXCEPT for the person that needed to know it.

I do LOVE the Casting. FL was spot on and the I'm a mega fan of Sung Dong II, so if you like the cast, it's there.

Anyhow, this drama was not for me and I'm glad everyone else liked it, but like I said, I couldn't get past the second half.

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Stared of strong but dropped off towards the end...

At first, the idea of seeing the stories of different patients and how team genie grants their last wish was really appealing. And the new stories every 1-2 episodes was a joy to watch. The drama really peaked with the episode about the musical and then the one about the dog. I think it's because those episodes were so good that the rest felt very bland in comparison.

Towards the end that 'new story every episode' formay was lost and it focused more on Gyeo Rae's dad, which is fine but it was very slow. Maybe this drama is another example of 'could've been 12 episodes'.

I also found that the FL and the ML's chemistry was really good to start with and then after they get together it suddenly dies and they don't really seem like a couple that much.

On the whole it's definitely worth a watch because it has very heartwarming storylines and excellent side characters that add so much to it. However, it's not perfect and might loose your attention in parts.

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The show didn’t deserve the quality of its actors

I write my reviews as I watch a show and often most of it is written by episode 8 and I tweak it where necessary as I finish watching. So I wrote something for this show, then found that I was watching a totally different drama in the second half.

The start of the show is a touchy-feel of romance, a pinch of mystery, a spoonful of trauma, a litre of tears and absolutely no spice. Mix all ingredients in the bowl and bake for 8 long hours to create a MacDonalds style bun - bland and inflated with not a lot of substance and awash with OTT sentimentality.

Then, about two thirds of the way through it changes completely. I could see the plot twist coming from four episodes previously and was thinking, please don’t go down that route, that’s just way too obvious and cliché. But it ignored my advice and blundered on with a totally predictable and off the wall plot involving a complete psycho with murder, mayhem, memory loss and every other cliche in the book.

Then in the last couple of episodes it found a balance and ended on its best effort.

But somehow through all of that it was watchable and what made it so was the acting. This show really does not deserve its leads. Ji Chang Wook and Choi Soo Young put in really good performances that were way better than the sentimental script and ridiculous plot deserved. They have very believable chemistry, but Ji Chang Wook always manages to have good chemistry and being such a likeable person in RL I’m sure he makes it very easy for actresses to be relaxed around him.

Not only them but the raft of experienced supporting actors really kept it afloat when it was in danger of going under. Especially Nam Tae Hoon (Jang Seok Joon) who put in a sensitive, believable and moving performance. According to his bio on MDL he has only had very small parts in the past, let’s hope this launches his career and he gets better parts in the future.

I criticise thrillers for not doing the psychology right, so now I’m going to do it here because this one really bugged me.

Censorship and taste are strange bedfellows. You can have as much gory, vicious, annihilating, sick and twisted violence as you like, but whatever you do, don’t show the real impact of the trauma which violence begets. And in the first half of this show we had another sanitised version. The sentimentalisation can be just as sick as the gory violence. It pretends that a sickly smile and a nicey-nicey attitude can paper over all woes, and healing from them just needs someone “nice” to smile at you so you can learn how to behave “nicely” in public. I really wish it was that easy…

OK rant over.

So this one is a mixed bag and I’m finding it difficult to know how to remember it and rate it. I think I’m just going to have to give the credit to the actors for pulling it off.

What my rating means: 7+ A watchable drama, but nothing exceptional. Good enough to qualify for the race, but finished with the pack. The sort of thing that promises more than it delivers.

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Not everything I love, but there's so much goodness in it.

Yoon Gyeo Rye (Ji Chang Wook) is a brusque ex-convict on the run from gang members. He almost end his life, if not for an encounter with Kang Tae Shik (Sung Dong Il), who leads Team Genie, a committed, enthusiastic team that ensures that the final wishes of their terminally ill patients come to fruition. Due to an incident, Gyeo Re ends up joining Team Genie and that's when a new and better life begins for Gyeo Re.

"If You Wish Upon Me” is inspired by an actual hospice center in the Netherlands. Realizing about its’ existence is heartwarming and I'm grateful to know it through this drama. The drama itself is emotional, heart-wrenching, full of humanity and faith. Due to the subject matter, it might not be for everyone; it deals with deaths, illnesses, child abuse, violence, also, Gyeo Re’s dog is dying since ep 1. Those all sound depressing, but this drama brings a lot of comfort. As Tae Shik tells one hospice patient, “We started this to bring comfort in one’s last moments, when people need each other most.”

The OST is beautiful, the setting is beautiful, and the acting never let's us down. Ji Chang Wook shows once again how versatile and talented he is. Gyeo Re has an awful start to life and from all this unhappiness he evolves into a gentle, caring man. Then, the incredibly talented Sung Dong Il steals the show as Kang Tae Shik. Gyeo Re and Tae Shik brought out the best from each other. Sonny has my heart throughout and I love how he's being treated by everyone and that his story gives a meaningful character growth to Gyeo Re. Choi Soo Young is just delightful as a committed nurse, though the romance was not memorable to me. Also, the overly dramatic mystery subplot, I think it was unnecessary. Having said that, I think it's a wonderful drama that should be on your list!

June 2024
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge

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This could have been great

Let me just start of by saying that I absolutely love dramas about self-healing and growth but this one seemed to just miss the mark a bit. The acting was amazing and the premise had so much potential but it lacked that punch to the gut.

I feel like the ML's character was a bit contradicting. He shows up looking like a thug and he supposedly stole a bunch of money from his gang but then as the show progresses, you don't really get to know how he stole the money or what kind of work he did. All of the flashbacks just focus on him trying to avoid a life of crime. They dressed him in those ugly patterned shirts for the first few episodes and gave him a standoffish personality but it doesn't match what the writers are trying to show us later. Redemption arcs are supposed to start from a bad person learning to be good but in this story, they try and sell us a good person with bad luck finding happiness. This is not a bad thing but it wasn't consistent with how they began the drama.

The FL also has some plot holes. We meet her brother once and then never again. The other characters talk about how FL lead had a rough life but then they don't elaborate on it....

All in all - it was an enjoyable drama but if anyone asked for a recommendation for a redemption drama, this would probably not be my first, second, or third rec. I'm the type of person who can take note of a show's flaws and still enjoy it but if you struggle to look past these things, this one might not be for you.

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A BEAUTIFUL STORY WITH A GREAT MESSAGE!

A very beautiful story with so much depth. This drama is very important for me, it has so many messages but i think the most important one is that you cant judge a person if you dont know him and his story. The more i watched the more i loved not only the plot but also the characters, i adored most of them either if they were good from the start or if the became good at the end. What amazed me was the amount of plot twists this drama had, like almost each episode something crazy happened and i was speechless. This drama had so many powerful scenes, i cried a lot watching it but at the end i had a sweet taste even if the last episode was hard to finish, it broke my heart but also fixed it somehow. It had the right amount of comedy and mystery too.

The characters were all so well written and with many layers that was so fun to get to know more of them, Their stories really broke my heart, most of them had a very sad backstory we got to watch, it was so beautiful. Kyeo Re was an exeptional character, even if he was so cold at first, he became such a softy, they did a great job with him, he is very real and likable. His relationship with Yeon Joo was so sweet and i like how they gave them time and didnt rash anything, her character in general was a very good one. Tae Shik character was a very heartbreaking one, i loved him, everyone in Genie team were great people, but he was the most caring and helpful, i am so happy he got all this people and found a new family. The entire genie team was like a big family, all of them were so sweet. Joon Kyung was so annoying at first but she became one of the best characters, by the end i can tell she was probably the most interesting character. Her relationship with Seok Joon confused me so much, i kinda ship them at first but after i realized their backround i just wanted them to be a happy family, this two had the best character development i loved them. Also i love that Joon Kyung kinda became the little sister for everyone, even for Yeon Joo, i imagine all of them eating together as a family.

The end was so beautiful, that is why i say that even if it had a sad feeling, it left me with a sweet taste! I could actually see them making a second season, with more stories, the last scene proved that they could make a season 2 etc.

Overall, its a great drama and i have to say a must watch for me,

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This topic is very sensitive to me.

I hate that I'm aging and knowing that this may happen to me, I know now my life span is cut short. I want to have a feeling of peace before it is time for me to leave this earth. Hospice in the United States is not the place that I ever want to be. Elders in Assisted Living and Hospice settings are mistreated. So when seeing this story regarding Hospice and Last wish made my heart turn a flip. The storyline starring Ji Chang Wook, I mean this actor, just made the character Yoon Kyeo Re his own. I love him! Actress Choi Soo Young, Actor Sung Dong Il, and Actress Won Ji An also made their character come to life in this story. Actress Won Ji An was something else and very believable. I'm glad they brought two types of awareness into this story which are aging and suicide. The gangster life is basic in this story, so be prepared.

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A drama that rendered pulls the strings of my heart the most.

As the theme show, it was a sentimental lift.
Basically about the hospital team that grants wishes to terminally ill patients.
All sub-stories were so touchy and made me cry out loud.

Getting to the storyline, it wasn't perfect as I was expecting. The first half divulged so well and then it moved to needlessly for some episodes. The writer shifted the story to make it intriguing but it made the watchers lessen the interest.
It could've been great if they drew the backstory just as a backstory giving them life again was a horrible idea.

And talking about my dearest part it was Ji chang wook's character.
He poured his soul into the character.
I'm glad he agreed to try a different role beside a action related.
Soo-young did a great job as always loved her badass character.
All the supporting cast worked out incredibly.
The storyline got to be that point where things went a little incorrect.

Overall, it tightened my heart as no one else did.

HEALING AND HEART-WRENCHING SHOW INDEED.
Please sit with the box of tissues, you'll be had to them.

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A mixed bag, but worth watching

I have a dream, that someday I'll be able to watch a Korean drama that sticks with one genre and commits to it, that said drama will do said drama with excellence. I've been feeling, lately, that every drama throws a little bit of everything into the mix. This show is a drama, romance, comedy, SOL, action, mystery - you name it, it's in there.

I thought the pacing of this show was very good at the outset, though I could have done without the gangster element. I was loving the stories of the hospice workers, as well as the patients. I would have rated this so much higher if they had just planted the storyline there. It was very touching to see how the workers deal with death, and how the families and the patients themselves cope. I found myself very invested, then BAM! Cray-cray ex-girlfriend and the mystery patient in the hospice. These two things really ruined the show for me. These storylines dramatically altered the direction of the show and pulled focus from the important storylines. I was tempted to drop the show at that time (especially since it seemed to go on forever!), but I waited expectantly, hoping it would get back on track. Ultimately it did, but for me it had gone too far to redeem itself.

The acting was exemplary. Ji Chang Wook: the past few things he's been in have been disappointing to me, because of the way his characters were written. I loved him in this. He's got toughness, but an innocence that is charming. I loved him talking under his breath all the time, not quite understanding everything that was going on. He got pulled into the lives of the people in the hospice, almost against his own volition. He seemed surprised at the things that he was doing and feeling. I could really sense his character's growing and developing his own un-biological family. Chang Wook also has an intensity about him: that soulful stare. If for no other reason, I'm glad I watched this show for his acting.
Sung Dong Il: I love him! He's one of those actors that is always lovely to watch. His character in this drama was wonderful.
Park Jin Joo: I didn't even realize early on that this was the actress I was watching. The makeup department did an excellent job. Her character was special, and I loved the process of her fulfilling her last wish.

And, as far as acting AND storyline is concerned: Kil Hae Yeon and Yoo Soon Wong as husband-and-wife hospice workers, was kind of sad, but so touching. The journey of discovery for these characters was surprising, yet spoke to the power of love, as well as the fact that everyone around them became family.

I can still recommend this drama pretty highly, but I just wish the editors had done a better job, edited out the unnecessary storylines, and given us more hospice stories.

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If You're Struggling Share With Your Close Ones

The story is emotional. It's about forgiving, friendship &, more importantly, you don't need to be blood related to be a family. If you care for each other, are always there for each other, you can be a family.

Yoon Kyeo Re an ex-convict with a troubled past, doing community service in a welfare service which takes care of terminally ill patients. He is rude, unsocial, doesn’t have anyone to care or love him. Which is why he lacks family affection.

Seo Yeon Joo is a nurse in that same welfare. She loves exercising. She is a strong, independent woman, brave.

Kang Tae Shik is the leader of welfare who helps patients with their wishes. He also has a troubled past which connects him with Yoon Kyeo Re.

Loved Yoon Kyeo Re & Seo Yeon Joo first official meeting, she broke his car's looking glass.

It’s funny when Yoon Kyeo Re holds Seo Yeon Joo hair to prevent her from hitting her head while sleeping, when she awake up she also did the same thing to him. Their accidental kiss.

Love Seo Yeon Joo flirting with Yoon Kyeo Re & him being all shy. I would've been great if there were more flirting scenes.

Yoon Kyeo Re expression when he had to read Fifty shades to a patient was hilarious.

Dog’s death hit me harder than anything.

I laughed at the scene where Yoon Kyeo Re picked an old patient on his back the second time while Seo Yeon Joo & Kang Tae Shik both making excuses to make him do it.

Every supporting character has their own story.

It’s sad that each & everyone in Yoon Kyeo Re life, whether it's his father or adopted sister, sees him as an object rather than a human being. They just want him for themselves but don’t love him truly.

Jun Kyung is obsession with Yoon Kyeo Re is something I hate the most, but her past was sad. Her only wish was not to be abandoned.

I liked it. The drama tells us to spend more time with our loved ones, share our problems with them or even our wishes. I know in this modern age, nobody has time for others, let alone to hear others' problems. Sometimes people just want to share their problem or burdens with someone, they're not looking for someone to solve their problem or burden them with it. They just want someone to listen to them & spend time with them, so spend time with your loved ones before it's too late.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama " If You Wish Upon Me " is a slice of life melodrama.

The story is bittersweet, with lots of sad moments, as well as heartwarming ones. The romance, in addition, is subttle and doesn't overboarden the story. Rather, it gives the rest of the story breathing space and allows it to be the centre of the drama and to have a proper development.

However, some of the things that happened or kept happening to the male lead were too much. Thus, it got unbelievable after a while. Actually, the drama started getting tiring in the second half overall.

Finally, the performances were great and enjoyable by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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