Lovely Runner (2024)

A drag to watch

As you can tell by the number of episodes watched(13/16 at time of writing), I'm having a hard time finishing this show, with about 3~ hours worth of content that I still need to get through to mark it off my list.

The same occurred for me with the shows 'Destined with You' and 'What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, and it's not because I don't like romantic drama series or that those two shows are bad by any means, it's just that all these shows have one thing in common, and that's that their stories are non-existent or shallow.

What baffles me is that this show seems to be highly favored on MDL and I still have to find what is so great about it. The majority of people seem to adore the couple, which isn't strange, but aside from that... if you take away that couple and replace them by literally anybody else, what does this show have to offer? It's a highly forgettable show that has the couple carrying it's entire existence, which is telling as a great show overall doesn't need actors carrying it, as great storytelling and great acting ride the boat together down the stream.

The story is shallow and while it starts off interesting, it becomes more and more frustrating to watch..... At the start she has a disability, after 3 episodes it seems that never occurred or existed, they never talk about it again. There is no backstory on the serial killer, nor is there any information on previous killings, nor is there any reasoning given up till episode 13 on WHY exactly he's so hard focusing on this couple, transcending time and space seemingly to get to them at all costs. The serial killer is 1-dimensional, there is nothing else to the character besides being a serial killer.

Personally I think you can remove the serial killer and the time travel and the series would be better for it, as you would have removed two of the weakest elements of the show.

If I had to give an apt description of this show I would say it's similar to eating a single bland cracker, while it may quench hunger for a moment, it leaves a lot to be desired.

If we're going to compare this to other shows with time travel and/or romance elements my personal opinion is as followed:

Time travel romance better done in:
Mr. Queen
Twinkling Watermelon
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
My Perfect Stranger
Chicago Typewriter (Not exactly time travel but timeskips)

Mystery/Crime better done in:
My Perfect Stranger
(Don't recall other shows at the moment, would have to scour through my list of watched shows for that)

Romance/Chemistry better done in:
Gyeongseong Creature
My Dearest
Our Blues (Multiple couples but I'd say this couple the most - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_xuO7s06Tc)
Chicago Typewriter
Tell Me That You Love Me

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Didn't live up to the set up AT ALL

[We have to acknowledge Sudden Shower being the best OST of 2024. That song carries soo much emotion]

PLOT - The synopsis def caught my eye. As much as I typically avoid shows that use time travel but I wanted to see this play out. The set up was too good: a young talented idol gives hope to a girl who seemingly has nothing to live for. She becomes a die-hard fan and attempts to attend his concert one night, but to no avail–That same night he dies tragically after giving one of the most touching performances I've seen in a kdrama. Soon after the FL is magically transported into the past and ends up back in high school with her beloved idol. She uses this strange situation as a chance to save him from the dreadful fate she knows is coming in the future. The pilot is one of the best in a while. It's Oshi No Ko pilot good. After that I expected an uphill trajectory...except that didn't happen. None of the emotional story elements were addressed, and the show had no interest in finishing what it started. Instead the heavier topics were sidelined and character development went out the window to make way for a cop-out happily ever after. Real ones know it was a disservice to all the good this had going for itself. The time travel aspect got more inconsistent the longer this played out. The show also had tone issues at times.

CHARACTERS - I agree about the mains being well acted. BWS IS Ryu Sunjae. Tho she was grating at times, you could tell KHY immersed herself in this role. But even with all the great chemistry neither character progresses. They became devices for fan service and boy was that fan service pushed. Ofc they were cute asf but I couldn't help but feel the shallowness of the relationship. I believe it was a mistake for Sunjae to fall in love with Sol. His first arc was written so well and we lost that so he could become a simp. Once we went from platonic love to romantic, my investment collapsed. I would've been fine with SJ not surviving in the end. That seemed like the natural course of events and would've made this show truly impactful. Had that been the case I'd prob be writing a different review... The SL seemed pointless and only existed as plot device for unnecessary conflict. Seeing more of SJ's dad and his relationship with him would've been nice. In Hyuk served his purpose ok as comedic relief. This show def needed it with all the crying scenes.

The screenwriter here is the same one for True Beauty. Both works mirror each other in the sense of setting up rootable characters and launching difficult subjects only to abandon everything for superficial romance that doesn't feel earned. What a missed oppurtunity to discuss depression and how it affects both regular people and celebrites. Where's the social commentary? Where is the payoff?

In conclusion, this ended up being a big ball of wasted potential. I'd be lying if I said parts of the show didn't still linger. The essence was good and I enjoyed the feels but this didn't live up to what was promised. This had the makings to be one of the best dramas of the year but ended up being just ok. Now back to those OSTs

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Just a drama filled with all the cliched romantic scenes we have been watching for years

I am a Wooseok enjoyer so I decided on giving the series a try. As a fan of Wooseok, I am really happy he got his limelight through this show. But other than that there is nothing new or unique about this drama. Maybe the romance works well for new kdrama watcher. I am just so tired watching the show. The writers really didn't care to explore any other characters in this show. Except ml and fl, every other character are just there as a decorative purpose. The writers were hyper focused on fl saving the ml that they didn't even care about any character development in any of the characters in the story. Just bad writing and cringey fl doing random things leading her in trouble always. Don't know what's the hype abt this drama. Anyway Wooseok lets grab those awards for this year because he really was born to do this role and he played his part really well as always. Could have given better story for the sml, but unfortunately he is also just there to make the ml jealous and for decorative purpose.

Also, The fl's disability got forgotten and after few episodes it felt like she/the writers just ignored it. The writers should have made fl taking time and relive her past like Twinkling Watermelon show. The story and the characters were so shallow which is the main drawback imo. The show had two great lead actors (BWS and KHY) with good side actors but never fully used their potential.

Positive things
1. The comic timing and lil expression variations of BWS and KHY were so good.
2. The chemistry of the leads.
3. The first 5 episodes were really good.
4. Music/OST

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A very ordinary time travel story

I had high expectations or maybe because the drama created such a hype, I was hoping for something phenomenal like something hilarious, some healing and a love story to remember but nevermind.it was an average rom com story with time travel twist which become very obvious and boring towards the end.

I like the male lead but that isn't enough to be attached with a character or show. I couldn't feel connected to the main characters. I like sun jae at the beginning but his character became unimpressive towards the middle of the show. And I got out of his charms very quickly.
I felt the same for Sol, as someone representing a disable women, I had high hopes for her character but it felt like she didn't cared enough for herself. That was a let down. Both Sol and Sun jae lacked depth in their characters. And there was no relevance of the 2nd leads
Apart from characters, there was no extraordinary plot either. I was Hella bored in between the show. It got super slow. Nothing that amazing happened in the show as I expected. .

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only stayed for byeon wooseok

gonna be honest, i did not feed into the hype that this kdrama had. just from the clips i saw online, it didn’t look all that interesting to me. just your run of the mill cheesy drama. and i was right.

it was funny for sure and if not for byeon wooseok i never wouldve watched this. my main issue is with im sol’s character. she lacks depth and personality throughout the whole series, which is a fault many many kdramas are guilty of. they dedicate so much character development and realness to the male lead that the female lead is always overshadowed and unliked. her character was unnecessarily clueless, slow and overall, just stupid. literally in any scenario this girl was in, she chose to make the stupidest decision that negatively affects the people around her. made no sense and just left me resenting her character. also this immature/childish “personality” that theyre always giving to the female lead- get over it already. this 30 year old woman jumping around like a preschooler? really?

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Still undeserving high rating. Show has a negative message

9.1 is crazy high. Show still needs a rating for what it truly deserves

This show being in the same position like some of the few 9 above rated shows in this site seems like an insult. Try checking the other 9 above rated ones here and I wouldnt complain. God, there's even lower rated dramas that deserved a 9 but didnt make it. I recently just rewatched Story of Yanxi Palace too ( best c-drama) and that show is stuck at 8.8 here. Then i'll just give my own opinion of what I've digested from this show as to feel validated for this trouble.

The Good:
OST, Attractive and talented main actors (BWS is the clickbait of the show), good editing. Thats it.
The Bad:
Storytelling, Characters, and Moral story.

Storytelling:
No need to talk about the good, let's start with the bad. The plot of lovely runner has been done many times and is simple as it gets, I was actually curious how they would execute it as long as it holds out. Story was solid, not unique but alright. It wasn't a standout time travel plot like taiwanese drama 'Someday but Oneday' but Lovely Runner need none of it since all they had to do was to be consistent in story telling, but thats the first disappointment. Storytelling of the show was dead and non cohesive. They introduced our depressed female lead had a disability, then our kpop idol male lead who had a mysterious regret. Great start but for some reason they abandoned this part to the point where everything later on is just shrugged off literally because everything becomes solved with our plot device called time travel.
Throughout episodes 2-16 the show literally forgot the story introduction and became a forced love till death do us apart story instead of like showing us how our main leads cope with their initial problem then later on learning how to love because it was instantly solved with the continuous time travel. She had a disability, well one time travel later it's fixed! and goes on to never ponder about it again. He had a troublesome regret, well one time travel later it's fixed! and never ponders about it again. Same goes to the side characters, they had a problem before, well one time travel later it's fixed! Sure. Genuinely theres nothing wrong with time travel and making it as a solution to the plot's conflict and LR isnt the only one doing it but LR is taking the wrong path and it's proven towards the end. Our main leads literally did not suffer consequential matters that were done by time travel cause it was fixed again and again. It's like LR is a water filled transparent vase that keeps on getting broken and the writer keeps on putting a patch to seal it. As to why this is problematic, I talk about it later down on the moral story of the show. Let's move on to the characters.

Characters:
One dimensional characters to the point where they were written to be perfect for each other. Too perfect perhaps. When they genuinely have interaction, we never get a gist of their human thoughts because it will be used as filler time to put fluff romance and unintelligent dialogue, same goes to the other characters. Like I said, the story itself wasn't difficult so the plot should've been the characters but they were just given dead and unrealistic characteristics. What goes on FL's mind besides the ML? and etc. Basically they were written to be fated and meant for each other 'cause they gave us the reason why but the show spare zero effort to give us a reason how.
Let's not even start with the villain. It already has the trope that is rampant in Kdramas, the mysterious killer. But the mysterious killer isn't so mysterious because he's literally a random with no background that was given an excuse to be psychopathic but turns out to just be lazy writing. Atleast other kdrama dared to give their mysterious serial killer to be mysterious and even given a acceptable motive.

Moral story:
Earlier I mentioned how time travel was used as a plot device for fixing the problems this show has and why it's bad. The main reason is because Lovely Runner's story and conclusion made us feel that way. Time travel dramas would give the viewers a message that going back in time would be consequential and morally give a message.
Last year, Twinkling Watermelon aired and also introduced time travel. There, the main leads get caught up to the past of their parents. This experience led them into their character development and eventually the conclusion of the show. The leads wanted to change the present but was lead to the inevitable. None of the things that happened in their time travel changed the literal present timeline but instead what ended up changing is our main characters and how they view themselves and their parents. This is how you leave positive a message for your story. Think again, why did China ban time travel dramas, they did it to not confuse the mass as they think it leaves a bad message. So recent C-drama time travel would come up with ways to make sure it doesn't conflict with the ban.
Lovely Runner's plot has an unhealthy message. The biggest no was when they bypassed through Im Sol's disability just like that using time travel and never to be explored ever again. The story couldve used this opportunity to simply give Im Sol the moment to cope and live on through this disability to leave out a positive message. It's such a negative outlook to such problems that if you're ill fated then all you need to basically change your fate is with a simple time travel and fix problems easily like that, no room for acceptance whatsoever.

Still Lovely Runner, without the criticism should still be a solid 7.5. Despite all, the fluff and romance is definitely the best in recent k-drama release. I just hope people carefully digest a show before easily handing out 10s in MDL.

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This should have been just a movie. Finishing it felt like a task. Woo Seok is not yet a great actor, and I kinda rooted for the second lead more since Song Geon Hee was the more charming character. Kim Hye Yon acted well. I can't blame her for her less than stellar character. I know time travel is the trend nowadays, and that's fine with me, but the I had to turn my brain off so as to not get offended by the time travelling logic. I watched this with my wife because it's one of the top rated dramas "of all time" on this site. Never again will I trust a less than year old drama in the top 10. There needs to be more reviews to knock this down the list.

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A whole lot of stupid decisions and a fantastic ML

There are elements of this show that are spellbinding - such as the male lead role and acting execution. Other elements are simply exasperating. Just when you think the main female character will stop making ridiculous decisions - she goes on to make yet another one. This never-ending cycle of irrational and frequently stupid decisions over apparently several attempted lifetime stories (...I'll stop taking his calls - that will stop him from trying to find me..) is what makes the show hard to get through. The chemistry is there and the top-line storyline is interesting but many elements just make this frequently aggravating and unpleasant to watch. The fact that this show has such hype on social media has left me somewhat bewildered.

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my initial rating was 9, went to 7, went to 8, then ended at 5

it felt like a story inside of extraordinary you, totally "scripted", overly fantasy, bright, dreamy, with zero intellectual depth. one would say, it's a drama ofc it's scripted, but that's why mdl reviews need a "plot development" rating as well

as the story goes on, for a time traveling plot, one might be pleasantly surprised by the early twists and think, wow this is so well thought out, but reaching the halfway mark, and one starts to wonder, why is everything going in a spiral, new developments, but never any resolution

im sol, as a time traveler, was really really not smart. she never thought logically, and she was not really a teen to no think a bit more.
her first answer to anything was to run away, first cuz she didn't think she was good enough for him, then she thought he got swayed by her love and deluded himself into loving her, later she worried their love was the reason for his misfortunes...
so even when she could tell him about her truth, she still didn't think...


Some aspects are so frustrating, like both like each other but both act distant and cold
As if the writer controls them so they can’t be true to themselves, and later with their last plotmove, of making him forget her, she wonders why he's so cold when he was always a bright sweet person... did she have the amnesia as well? cuz literally he was cold to her from the start


Like her awkward “I’m not spending the night with you” just to see the bar sign two seconds later, just because it’s outside the shot doesn’t mean she couldn’t see it
or her saying "yes i'll stay the night" just to realize he wasn't talking to her... or him saying "so pretty" then say "i wasn't talking to you"


like he was happy she was there, and heard she wants to stay, yet he was the one who kept trying to make her leave
And every time he smiles outside the shot then acts cold in front of her

i hate that push and pull, cuz it's not cute flirting, it's bringing one down and embarrassing them, just so the confession looks sweeter
and it was fine for 18 year olds, but not for 34 year olds..




Like yeah sure he’s hurt about her young vr being so cruel to him and that also adds, if she didn’t love him as an idol she wouldn’t have cared for him as a guy and she’d have rejected him, so this drama wasn't about saving his life but about making sol stop being a self centered cringe fest to finally seeing the guy infront of her xD

but he’s not a teen anymore, again sure “being broken hearted and finding his true love” made him not date anyone even as a 30year old, but he doesn’t need to act like a kid, sure his pure hearted ness is cute but his coldness is such a kids behavior





This is what I like about this drama, it’s not just going back and fixing one or two things
It has consequences, unexpected elements and good back and forth that became too much by the end
Tho I do feel a bit of unfortunate lack of depth in character and friendships and connections but it doesn’t overshadow the good flow

I’m sensing a bit of the movie A Day from the taxi driver, but they never explained or explored it? literally no answers, he was just a random dude who randomly liked to kill random ppl and sungjae/sol were just some random ppl that randomly crossed his path?



Going back to a changed future is a cute touch and fun especially seeing sungjae is the same as always

Tbh I feel like sol accepting him as a friend and telling him to stay by her side would be sweet, cuz he’s not a creep and he can just approach her as if she doesn’t remember him and just be friends, but instead they had a whole reset, to "naturally" keep them away,,

They’re like dumb and dumber, solah as a teen was a handful, and not the cute na hido type

She was mean to her mom, she was clingy af, kinda like some day or one day’s young vr, you just can’t like her
Then comes her old self and some scenes it’s like she just freezes or faints, for the convenience of the writer
And sure he’s cute but he’ll also too obsessed about her, I don’t see them working out as teens, so at least not really meeting in the past saved him alot of cringe and heartache



The thing twinkling watermelon had that this doesn’t is the great characters, bonds and feeling of youth
Here the bro and fl friend are a snooze, the taxi thing is frustrating, his feelings are creepy and I now don’t like the “sol was the first love” it’s like now she only likes him cuz of his idolness rather than him as a person

Ironically if this drama didn’t have that ridiculous mystery element and just stayed as a time traveling romance drama where their worst struggle was her not being able to tell him anything and each thing she changed by being in the past made a new future, like anytime she changed the future, he dies, so ofc the answer would be keeping memories as memories and not meeting in the past so he can live
and I do have to say this, 34 year old sol, no matter how naive, kissing 18 year old sungjae, and the whole past romance parts, was eeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

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im sorry for the person im gonna be

there's a lot of things that i wanna say about this drama because the more i watched it the more i started to force me to finished it and i couldn't. i watched half of the 14th ep and i decided to watch another thing ?

i'm not gonna talk abt the acting cuz idk abt those things but instead i'm gonna talk abt sol's character. she pissed me off so bad, she just did things that i didn't like and she was just doing it for stupid reasons. that time where she made the guy from her career eat the mouthwash just because she didn't want sunjae to see her??? and the fact that she wanted sunjae not to fall in love with her and okay, i kinda get it but why would you say that if you're gonna cry and start to date him suddenly?? doesn't make sense. sol needed to make up her mind SO BAD i bet she also didn't know what she was doing

i also didn't know when was the time that sol felt something for sunjae because in 2023, she told him she did but did she really? when was that actually? /gen like, i never noticed that (i think it was when sunjae asked her if she didn't feel anything towards him at any of those times she was in when they were at her house)

also, can we talk abt the crime subplot?? if there's something i hate on romcoms dramas is that mf crime subplot like, why?? if i wanted to watch a crime drama i would. and please don't try to excuse them with the "it's because she couldn't walk" okay i get it, but there's so many options for that, she could've just get in a car accident-

speaking of which, there were a lot of drama at some point because of the guy that abducted her, sunjae confessing and sol's mom at the hospital?? ??‍♂️

even tho i gave it a 6.5 i won't say this was a bad drama. like, i actually enjoyed it and it gave me a good chuckle and, if it wasn't for sol's personality i would say sunjae and her had a good relationship, it was cute and all.

btw omg i loved sunjae's personality. he was so cute, he really liked sol and he was so down bad for her. i love when the male leads are a losers <3

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