emily_amd
A piece of your mind was a show that I have been anticipating ever since I saw that Hae In was the lead for the show. At first I was very confused by the storyline, but after watching the first two episodes it gets a lot better. Just as it got super excited to watch the show as I was a few episodes in, they announce that they are cutting the drama by four episodes. You'll read later on in this review how dramatic of an effect this has on the drama as a whole.
If you want a summarized version of my review, here it is. The story was good, but it felt rushed through the end and the only one to blame is TvN for cutting it short. The acting and characters really did save the show, and did a great job at portraying the emotions to the watchers. You'll find yourself relating to certain things each character does and seeing a little bit of yourself in them. The music is not that great, and the rewatch value is ok.
Story:
The story of this show is basically that Ha Won and Ji Soo are childhood friends, and as they got older Ji Soo married and feel in love with In Wook. Ha Won on the other hand still loved Ji Soo, and watched the life she lived with his unrequited crush from the sidelines. Ten years after moving to Korea, Ha Won is now an ai developer and Ji Soo is working alongside her husband. Alongside Ha Won is his family member Soon Ho who is the grandchild of a woman that adopted Ha Won. Then comes Seo Woo, a music engineer who works under the studio that Ha Won has recently bought to work on his recent AI project. As the five of their lives come to entangle, the story of unrequited love and all the pain that comes with it is told.
For me the story was doing really good before the four episode cut happened. TvN had stated the cut was due to low viewership, but a drama as slow burn as this needs more than just twelve episodes. I loved the idea and the concept behind it, but after the eight episode mark, it began to become apparent that the writers had to rush the rest of whatever they had in mind. The storylines of the side characters suddenly dropped, and the main character's relationship seemed rushed. It would not have been as bad if they cut it down by two episodes, because then they could have just gotten rid of any unneeded parts. With four episodes comes almost four whole hours of footage and story they could not tell. The story for a drama like this should progress over time, but because of the cut in episodes, a lot happened in the last three episodes of the show.
Even though this happened, I really did enjoy the show and the story it told, I just wished TvN had waited a few more episodes before they decided to cut it or just not done it at all. I feel that they could have gotten a better viewership if they had kept to the original 16 with good progression, over a rushed 12.
Acting/Cast:
First of all, like I stated before, I practically started watching this solely for Jung Hae In being the lead. I watched him in One Spring Night and Tune in for Love, and now he is my favorite actor. I hadn't ever seen any dramas with Soo Bin in it, but I was willing to give it a chance. I recently have fallen in love with melodrama kdramas, and was excited to see where this one went. Now that I have watched the show, I feel each actor played their role really well.
Moon Ha Won - Jung Hae In played Ha Won really well. He was able to display the underlying pain that he always felt yet suppressed and kept deep in him. There were times where you could see the innocence the character had when it came to love and his relationship with Seo Woo. One of my favorite scenes is when Soon Ho and Ha Won first meet, and Ha Won looks up from his computer and cutely waves to his new family member. We all have memories or people we so desperately want to hold on to yet feel pain from, and Hae In displayed those emotions really well.
Han Seo Woo - This was the first drama I have watched with Chae Soo Bin, and I have to say that I loved her for this role. Seo Woo is a character who is honest to herself and despite going through hardship, is trying her best to get past it. She is a character with many flaws, yet I can't help but see myself in her. The moments where she is doubting her abilities, or trying so hard to stay strong for the people around her. Seo Woo is a very human character who I believe everyone can find a little piece of themselves in. One thing I really liked about this casting in particular is how perfectly Soo Bin played the role. This is incredibly unbiased because I have never watched a drama with her in it, yet I felt she really captured the kind of character and person the writers were going for.
Moon Soon Ho - I know a lot of people found this character really annoying, but I felt she brought a sense of lightness to this almost depressing show. The actress Lee Ha Na did a great job displaying the playfulness yet sad character, especially towards the end of the show.
Gang In Wook - This character despite everything he did, made my heart hurt. The actor Kim Sung Gyu did a really good job in showing the despair he constantly went through because of his past and current actions. I felt that I could relate to how something he once treasured, the piano, became a reminder of everything he lost. I'm sure there are several things in our life that once had a happy memory to it, but there are sad feelings tied to it. Sung Gyu did an amazing job at portraying the eagerness In Wook had to find out what happened to his wife, and how far he would go to do just that.
Music:
I will say upfront, I didn't really pay attention to the music so I don't think I am the best to go to for this subject. I will say that the music was not "good" enough to pull me in and make me love any particular song.
Rewatch Value:
Because this show is so dependent on secrets and big turns of events, the rewatch value is not as high. I would probably purely rewatch it to see the chemistry between the two leads again, but beside that I don't think I would be able to put myself through the heart wrenching pain again.
Overall I feel this drama is definitely worth a watch, but I would just be aware that the end will feel a bit rushed. If you need one reason to watch this, then definitely the chemistry and amazing acting between the two leads.
If you want a summarized version of my review, here it is. The story was good, but it felt rushed through the end and the only one to blame is TvN for cutting it short. The acting and characters really did save the show, and did a great job at portraying the emotions to the watchers. You'll find yourself relating to certain things each character does and seeing a little bit of yourself in them. The music is not that great, and the rewatch value is ok.
Story:
The story of this show is basically that Ha Won and Ji Soo are childhood friends, and as they got older Ji Soo married and feel in love with In Wook. Ha Won on the other hand still loved Ji Soo, and watched the life she lived with his unrequited crush from the sidelines. Ten years after moving to Korea, Ha Won is now an ai developer and Ji Soo is working alongside her husband. Alongside Ha Won is his family member Soon Ho who is the grandchild of a woman that adopted Ha Won. Then comes Seo Woo, a music engineer who works under the studio that Ha Won has recently bought to work on his recent AI project. As the five of their lives come to entangle, the story of unrequited love and all the pain that comes with it is told.
For me the story was doing really good before the four episode cut happened. TvN had stated the cut was due to low viewership, but a drama as slow burn as this needs more than just twelve episodes. I loved the idea and the concept behind it, but after the eight episode mark, it began to become apparent that the writers had to rush the rest of whatever they had in mind. The storylines of the side characters suddenly dropped, and the main character's relationship seemed rushed. It would not have been as bad if they cut it down by two episodes, because then they could have just gotten rid of any unneeded parts. With four episodes comes almost four whole hours of footage and story they could not tell. The story for a drama like this should progress over time, but because of the cut in episodes, a lot happened in the last three episodes of the show.
Even though this happened, I really did enjoy the show and the story it told, I just wished TvN had waited a few more episodes before they decided to cut it or just not done it at all. I feel that they could have gotten a better viewership if they had kept to the original 16 with good progression, over a rushed 12.
Acting/Cast:
First of all, like I stated before, I practically started watching this solely for Jung Hae In being the lead. I watched him in One Spring Night and Tune in for Love, and now he is my favorite actor. I hadn't ever seen any dramas with Soo Bin in it, but I was willing to give it a chance. I recently have fallen in love with melodrama kdramas, and was excited to see where this one went. Now that I have watched the show, I feel each actor played their role really well.
Moon Ha Won - Jung Hae In played Ha Won really well. He was able to display the underlying pain that he always felt yet suppressed and kept deep in him. There were times where you could see the innocence the character had when it came to love and his relationship with Seo Woo. One of my favorite scenes is when Soon Ho and Ha Won first meet, and Ha Won looks up from his computer and cutely waves to his new family member. We all have memories or people we so desperately want to hold on to yet feel pain from, and Hae In displayed those emotions really well.
Han Seo Woo - This was the first drama I have watched with Chae Soo Bin, and I have to say that I loved her for this role. Seo Woo is a character who is honest to herself and despite going through hardship, is trying her best to get past it. She is a character with many flaws, yet I can't help but see myself in her. The moments where she is doubting her abilities, or trying so hard to stay strong for the people around her. Seo Woo is a very human character who I believe everyone can find a little piece of themselves in. One thing I really liked about this casting in particular is how perfectly Soo Bin played the role. This is incredibly unbiased because I have never watched a drama with her in it, yet I felt she really captured the kind of character and person the writers were going for.
Moon Soon Ho - I know a lot of people found this character really annoying, but I felt she brought a sense of lightness to this almost depressing show. The actress Lee Ha Na did a great job displaying the playfulness yet sad character, especially towards the end of the show.
Gang In Wook - This character despite everything he did, made my heart hurt. The actor Kim Sung Gyu did a really good job in showing the despair he constantly went through because of his past and current actions. I felt that I could relate to how something he once treasured, the piano, became a reminder of everything he lost. I'm sure there are several things in our life that once had a happy memory to it, but there are sad feelings tied to it. Sung Gyu did an amazing job at portraying the eagerness In Wook had to find out what happened to his wife, and how far he would go to do just that.
Music:
I will say upfront, I didn't really pay attention to the music so I don't think I am the best to go to for this subject. I will say that the music was not "good" enough to pull me in and make me love any particular song.
Rewatch Value:
Because this show is so dependent on secrets and big turns of events, the rewatch value is not as high. I would probably purely rewatch it to see the chemistry between the two leads again, but beside that I don't think I would be able to put myself through the heart wrenching pain again.
Overall I feel this drama is definitely worth a watch, but I would just be aware that the end will feel a bit rushed. If you need one reason to watch this, then definitely the chemistry and amazing acting between the two leads.
Was this review helpful to you?
