SmilingRipper
This review may contain spoilers
As a fan of Park Shin Hye and Hyun Bin's work on Secret Garden, I came into Memories of the Alhambra with a lot of optimism, enthusiasm, and excitement for the show. The show's premise was very new and exciting, as the show started, with the story line of a man trying to find the genius inventor of an artificial reality world. The concept was interesting for two reasons. One, this vision of the world being changed through the emerging technological advances of AR is more realistic than fictional, especially when one considers the huge explosion of Pokemon GO! and it's use of AR technology in making fictional creatures real. Two, this concept of having a show revolve around AR isn't commonly used in the tropes of Korean Drama. From my knowledge, only W (which was created by the same screenwriter) had anything close to this concept. The concept of AR created the basis of interest for this show.However, as the series went on, the story line started to experience a drag in story and, at times, character. One key instance of the story dragging was the show's annoying use of flashbacks. At one point of the series, an entire episode was a flashback with the focus on Hyun Bin's character and the reappearance of Chanyeol's character. Park Shin Hye's character (and, in retrospect, a majority of the female characters) were ultimately useless by the time the show ended. Their characters were so stereotypical and narrow-minded that it made the show unbearable to watch at time.
The one thing that destroyed this series was the lack of story and explanation. For example, Se-Joo's (played by Chanyeol) return to reality leaves a lot of questions that are never answered in the finale. Se-Joo, during his escape from the Ghost of Marco, somehow encases his physical self into a different dimension. An 18 year old kid, who invented an advanced AR Game, somehow broke the laws of physics and was able to hide himself into a different reality. Ultimately, the nail in the coffin for Memories is the finale. Hyun Bin's character disappears and, after hearing of his appearance during simulated fights, Park Shin Hye's character ultimately finds him, or rather, his silhouette, a silhouette that is in the shadows and flickers like a glitch. This open ending in the fate of Jin Woo was insulting. To close off a show, in this type of manner, made the viewer's 16 hours of dedication to the show a waste.
While these are one of the many reasons to why the show was a story-line disaster, the show had some bright notes. One, as stated previously, was Hyun Bin's superb acting. Being able to act as though you're sanity is on the brink of collapse and being able to draw empathy from the audience is a trait that is only available through hard work. Hyun Bin's superb acting, alongside Park Shin-Hye's likeable acting, made this show bearable to watch.
While Hyun Bin and Park Shin-Hye brought interest to the show due to their star power, their brilliant acting is not enough to save Memories of the Alhambra from being a slight disappointment. The lack of storytelling and explanation ultimately destroy what was once a promising show into a show that ends with the slap of disappointment.
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