I booed out loud at the end

As others have mentioned, the series started off with an interesting premise and I enjoyed the first 4-5 episodes. Then, it became clear that the story was really about her first life, which wasn't particularly interesting. The same poorly lit/shot/designed scenes from her first life were repeated over and over again.

Spoilers follow: While one must throw logic and reason out the window when considering the premise of many kdramas, I had to question what the likelihood was that most all of the leads in the show were also in her first life. And they were also all at the same ages as they are in their current life. Which leads me to the biggest headscratcher of the series: When she finally unties herself from her past life and subsequently forgets about them, how is it that she also forgets about the relationships that she has built in her current life? Yet everyone else can remember them. She eats kimchi as Kim Ae-Gyeong's restaurant--where she supposedly had lived throughout her teens--and can't remember it? However, she ended up being the same senior engineer? Huge plot hole.

I'm guessing that the writer(s) was willing to overlook this due to their desire to set up the finally scene at the hotel swimming pool. As if none of the people who knew about her prior lives are not going to tell her about them anyway?

Still scratching my head.

Read More

Gag. Couldn't finish it fast enough

Some series are so bad I just stop watching them. Because this one was only 8 episodes I convinced myself to blaze through it in the hope that something good would happen. Nope. Train wreck. The uncensored sex scene didn't add anything cuz if I wanted that I know where to find it. The timeline bouncing around was a distraction. I feel like the writer has had a difficult life and this series represented some kind of catharsis. No likeable characters. Few happy moments. I guess there is an audience for this kind of show but it ain't me. Someone commented that it should have been a movie. I guess the powers that be recognized it sucked so it was limited to 8 episodes. One episode would have been plenty.

Read More

So Annoying

This series is not so bad that I want to stop watching, yet I'm really annoyed by a couple of things about it. First off, just how stupid is the ML that he can't put 2 and 2 together? How many episodes is it going to take before he can finally see what's right in front of his face? IMO it should have happened in episode 2 or 3 at most. And I refuse to believe that the FL can so easily control herself in difficult circumstances so as not to reveal her big secret. I find it easier to believe in zombies and I hate zombie series. Naturally, the 2 episodes a week format isn't as enjoyable as the binge-them-all-in-one-shot opportunities. Netflix arbitrarily skipping a week didn't help. As it is I have to watch everything at 1.5 speed due to the prolonged pauses inherent to a lot of Kdramas. Overall I just want this series to move faster. Hopefully it will ripen into a good romance, but it's just a bit too green for me right now.

Read More

Watched because Somin was in it

Somin is the reason I decided to finally watch this series and I enjoyed her role, which to me was that of the main/central character. I would imagine that when this series ended in 2022 that the last few scenes, especially the one where Mu Deok / Naksu is seemingly being lifted up from the depths of the lake, offered the hope of a continued role for Somin. How disappointing it must of been (and is to me now, having just finished Episode 20 a few minutes ago) to learn that Somin wasn't going to be a main character in Part 2. While Part 1 of the series was entertaining, I doubt I'll be watching Part 2.

Read More

Hit The Spot

I wouldn't put this series in my top 10 or even top 20, but it did deliver a couple of episodes of what I'm looking for in a Kdrama. I've suffered through too many "real life" type of endings and enjoyed this one where the ML and FL end up together. As is now my norm I watch all episodes at 1.5 speed and managed to watch the last 9 episodes in one lazy day. While I know on one level that I'm watching actors, I still experience joyful emotions when the leads are in love and things are going well. In my 44th year of marriage I'll admit that my wife and I rarely share the kind of looks and emotions that are presented in this new made-for-tv relationships. So to relive those emotions vicariously is very enjoyable and the main reason I liked this series. I liked the symmetry of having the roles reversed at the end and the FL seeking to convince the ML to be in a relationship for a change. There were plenty of things I could complain about, not the least of which was the 3 year gap in the action while the FL was in Europe. It's like everyone goes into suspended animation and then we pick up the story again. I can't imagine many couples in the USA agreeing to try a remote relationship for a couple of years. Overall, this series just made me happy at the end.

Read More

Three Cheers for Team 2!

I just finished binging this series and my overall reaction is reflected in the 8/10 rating that I gave it. It had been a while since I had watched season 1 and I didn't remember most of the story arcs for that series, but I did remember the members of the police team. I like the interaction between the cops and could see them in an American style series with a new story line each episode. I got bogged down in the middle of this series, and based on the audience numbers I saw, mine was a common reaction. I'm glad that I stayed with it, not so much for the reveals, but there were some very good moments in each of the later episodes that I enjoyed. With so many portrayals of conniving characters, it was refreshing to see the good behavior of the Mr. Jung character. As much as I don't want to believe that South Korea (or the US) is full of despicable people like those depicted in this series, I want to believe that there are many more who are like Mr. Jung.

Read More

This was a hidden gem!

I don't usually venture into Jdramas as I am biased towards Kdramas, but I've seen most of the Kdramas that Netflix currently offers. The title of this one and the initial preview got me started on it yesterday. And as I have read in other reviews it was the same for me as I finished the 10 episodes (my preferred length) in just over a day's time. There weren't many distracting subplots and it was a small cast, so the storyline didn't wander too far afield. Many of the reviews I've read say "heartwarming" and for good reason. The characters are likeable and their sadness and happiness are well blended. The restaurant scene near the end of episode 10 was a nice way to bring the cast together and I would have ended it there. Candidly, much like the feeling of having dined on a great meal, this series left me with a similar well-fed reaction. Many people will be able to relate to some aspect of missing a loved one and the hope that this series exudes should gladden many hearts. Unless you're made of stone, expect to need something to wipe tears from your eyes on many occasions.

Read More

I didn't realize how old it was

I just clicked on it on netflix and settled in, watching at 1.5 speed with liberal fast forwarding. The intro music drove me up a wall. One of the standard elements to the kdramas I have watched is beautiful female leads and Song Hye-kyo certainly was good to look at! While watching it I was thinking about the fight scenes and how they were of lower quality and attributed that to an intended style when it probably was normal for 2013. It was a cold, windy, and sometime wet day today and I hustled through the last 8 episodes with just a few breaks. Nice and comfortable. Candidly, I didn't really like the male lead but then I don't think I was supposed to like him...at first. But we got a relatively happy ending amidst cherry or some kind of blossoms, so at least back in 2013 these writers were still formulaic and delivering what audiences want to see.

Read More

I was happy most of the time

A key to my watching Kdramas has been the 1.5 speed as it reduces the long staring shots into something a bit more enjoyable. The writer/director succeeded in painting the bad guys as such, but after a while it just got tiresome. Their ultimate comeuppance wasn't sufficient to atone for all the screen time spent depicting them as baddies. A consistent quirk in these shows is the inability for any of the characters to see more than 15 feet in any direction. They can't see eavesdroppers or people in their peripheral vision just a few feet away.

I was hoping that there would be a moment when the two leads talked about their time spent in the woods together (when they were both ten) after the tragedy. Nope, unless I missed it. I thought the whole "I wanna be a doctor" was out of character and thrown in to satisfy someone other than the audience. Perhaps I'm wrong on this point, but the Princess taking off to study medicine didn't seem to fit the timeline.

My brother had recommended this show to me a couple of years ago and he likes the romantic happy ending type of series. And there were enough romantic moments to keep me smiling in between clicking 10 seconds forward. I wouldn't watch the whole series again, but I could see popping in to see a few select scenes every once in a while.

I'm finally figuring out that some of my best liked series have a similar storyline: Awesome guy and a bratty girl who eventually realizes how awesome the guy really is.

Read More

Comfort Food

Maserati, Quiznos, Godiva. I'm starting with the product placements this time. Godiva I get, as Chocolate is the title and the unifying plot strand. And clearly the writer and director chose to use food preparation sequences to balance out the harsh realities of a hospice environment lest the series just become a tearfest. Upping the playback speed to 1.5 has been beneficial as it removes some on the intentional slowness of many scenes and I'm still able to read the subtitles. Again, I fast forward through much of the subplots / side characters. Except Iron Ranger III. I didn't enjoy the finale victory lap as much as usual, possibly due to how quickly I binged this series and also due to nature of the hospice. Would I recommend this series to someone new to Kdramas? Probably not. Yet for those who have already watched many Kdrama series this one has a place at the table. Not the entree, not a dessert, just a side dish.

Read More

Not Enough Of A Return On My Time Investment

The relationship between Hye Joon and Jung Ha was the central pillar of this series. I slogged through all the episodes (lots of fast-forwarding during the last couple) and felt robbed of a romantic ending, my expected reward. I have a hard time swallowing the "realism" of the ending when the entire story is a fantasy to begin with. Yes, there were a few foreshadowing moments and it was clear that Jung Ha wasn't really ready for a long-term relationship. I guess I don't take much joy from depictions of failed relationships.

Too many product placements! Hurrah for BMW and Subway, among others.

Read More

More Hopes Dashed!

I started watching Kdramas several years ago after my brother mentioned he enjoyed them...and generally I have too, over the 100 or so series I have seen all or part of. About 6 months ago he told me that he had started watching the last part of a final episode first to help determine if he was going to spend 16+ hours on the series. After the last couple of series that I have watched I have arrived at the same point. (Just before Interest of Love I watched Misty and Record of Youth.)

As is common for me (and apparently many others), I started to get weary of the premise / storyline after the first 4-8 episodes. In this case it felt like they were just circling back (as explained in one of the episodes) back to the beginning, without much of interest (pun intended) being added after each lap. The slow pace was getting to me so I bumped the playback to 1.5 and made frequent use of the 10 seconds ahead feature. I binged the first 12 episodes over a couple of days before hitting the wall at the end of episode 12. Maybe I was just tired, but I didn't want to watch anymore, excepting part of episode 16 to see how this train wreck ended.

The memories collage in the finale lacked any joy for me as I felt cheated out a positive ending. True, most of the individual scenes were the best of what had transpired along the way and those segments AT THE TIME were satisfying to watch. I kept watching the remaining time display thinking "There is still enough time to salvage a good ending. Come on!" Alas, their last steamy-stares were left to be interpreted. Were they still in love? If so, what a couple of losers. I get that these Kdramas present what many Americans (or at least my Boomer cohort) would consider dysfunctional, immature, sloooooow-developing romantic relationships. Six or more episodes before a confession of liking someone or maybe agreeing to drop the honorifics or hold hands. Then almost immediately into a committed maybe-gonna-get-married relationship. Heck, back in my day we dated for FUN. I have to believe that these Kdramas do not represent real life in South Korea.

Yes, I'm rambling a bit, an early morning rant about yet another waste of my time on a series that COULD have been so much more enjoyable. As it was, one of the highlights was trying to figure out the product placements. (Is Volvo really happy to have their EV shown as needing a longer-than-a-gas-fillup recharge?) From now on I am following in my brother's footsteps and watching the ending first. If I wanted to see tragic relationships I could always just watch French films. (Or maybe just checking the reviews here, as clearly I am not the only to dislike this show's path and ending.)

Read More

What a Mess!

I've learned to suspend reality when watching certain Kdramas and so I just went with most of the super-confusing timeline crossovers and issues. Yeah, so what if it didn't make a whole lot of sense until the end. I didn't know it was a remake until I got here to write a review and found out from other reviewers. I somewhat regret slogging through this series so I'm certainly not going to watch the original. And the main reason I'm bothering to make this comment is that I'm wondering what happened on the bus at the very end of episode 12. We hear the magical music and and ML asks FL if she is Min-ju and based on the subtitles and her reaction she seems to acknowledge as much. If I got that right--and I went back to watch it a 2nd time--then why didn't she recognize the ML as her former classmate and friend? They were on the same timeline and he remembered enough to ask her name. Why didn't they say like "Hey, haven't seen you in years! How are you?" or whatever folks in South Korea say when they bump into a former friend? It would have made a lot more sense if he had suddenly remembered and asked if she was Jun-Hee. Then she could say "Yes" and he'd have a reason to follow up to figure out how he remembered her. After all, it was to Jun-Hee that he promised he would find her one day. Also, and while it made for good optics to have all of Jun-Hee's and Yeon-Jun's stuff disappear before her eyes--since that timeline wouldn't have occurred--it didn't make sense to me to have her disappear too, unless Jun-Hee was never real to begin with. Which would mean there wasn't a promise to meet again, no great last scene--unless the last scene is just a meeting of two former acquaintances with no other meaning.

Read More