This review may contain spoilers
It took a long time for me to finish this drama. Generally, I have a short attention span for dramas with a slow pace, heavy storyline and stretching upto 20 episodes. I don't like certain types of dramas which have a tragic note attached to them, but this can be counted in the exceptions. It is difficult to write a review without giving away spoilers, but I will try my best.
49 Days is a very beautiful story. It has the power to touch you if you understand it, or it would plainly annoy you. Even if this isn't the usual type of dramas that I watch, I liked it nevertheless. It is a complex and very well woven story. I have to say that the writer is quite talented. I have never come across a story of this sorts before so it had a lot of mystery and suspense for me to hang on to. It has its high and low points, but overall it is done well. Most of it is good because of such great characterizations.
I have never witnessed such immense character growth in a female in a Korean drama before. Ji Hyun's character grows magnificently until the end. Her whole journey is so touching. Her transformation from a naive, clueless girl to a strong girl who fights for her survival was really great! And that is what defines this show. No matter how many characters and sub-plots there were, in the end it all pointed back to Ji Hyun's growth as a character. Only with her maturing and becoming stronger along the way, the story progresses. Everything was centric on her actions and feelings. I personally loved her. Both the actress who played the real Ji Hyun and the one whose body she possesses are superb actors. But since Lee Yo Won had more screentime, she made a stronger impact on me. Her emotional variations shown through her acting were commendable. She is simply fantastic and playing two roles at once must have been so difficult.
Out of all, the second best character was that of Han Kang's. What he had for Ji Hyun is what is what I call true love. His actions touched me till the end. Also, he had an amazing character development from withdrawn, moody and cold to loving, kind and compassionate. It took time for him to grow on me, but he has made a lasting impression. The actor was also quite talented.
While these were mostly the plus points of the show, the secondary characters were simply bland. I never cared about them and wanted to especially strangle In Jung. She was such an inhumane character. I also enjoyed Jung Il Woo as the Scheduler.
The strongest parts of the story were placed at random places, and it felt terribly dragged towards the end after the 16th episode or so. I didn't care all that much about Song Yi Kyung and I loved her best when she interacted with Ji Hyun or was possessed by her. And the show was kind of slow for my taste. But that wasn't that much of a problem once I got invested in the storyline. I had planned to drop it because I knew the ending but the I hate to leave my questions unanswered, so I came back to it.
While the ending was not something I liked, I won't say that it happened out of nowhere. There were subtle hints from the beginning about the outcome. Anyway, it was still sad and decreases the rewatch value. So, this drama is best seen once. Either way, I do not regret watching it and would probably recommend to anyone in search of a good story.
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