First things first: Don’t watch the show!

If you have problems with the theme of stalking, psychopaths and the likes then this show is not for you. Towards the middle of the show I started to feel physically ill whenever Ki Yong’s character showed up on the screen because of his behavior and actions.

Story

What started out as a promise of two lovers that were torn apart by the most cruel means imaginable, to find each other again in their next lives ended in a tragic ending of her actually starting a relationship with the murderer of her past boyfriend. I thought I might just rip the band aid right off from the start. Yes, you’ve read correctly. The female lead forgives this man everything that he has done from stalking her, putting her life in mortal danger not once but three times (!), killing a woman in the past (because he was planning on giving the female lead that woman’s heart) and killing her then boyfriend right in front of her eyes by stabbing him multiple times in his abdomen. But forgive and forget.

Hyung Bin (played by Lee Soo Hyuk) and Ha Eun’s (played by Jin Se Yeon) love story as depicted in the first two episodes was full of wonder, sweetness, happiness and the promise of them getting married eventually. I don’t want to go into too much detail about the storyline because to be quite honest with you: none of it made any sense by the end of the show!

And we’re only now finding out that part of the reason for that might be the fact that the show added 7 additional writers to the staff by the midpoint and eventually got rid of the original writer.

Acting/Cast

Lee So Hyuk - He was a delight to watch and the only reason why I stuck around until the end of the show. Hyung Bin was a puppy-like character of the first order. He was sweet, protective and wanted to take care of his then girlfriend Ha Eun for the rest of his life. Su Hyuk was the opposite of Hyung Bin but also kind of not. I’m not sure how to describe it but Soo Hyuk did an amazing acting job. Hopefully, his agency will be able to get him a decent lead role for his next drama because he certainly deserves it.

Jin Se Yeon - I guess you could say that she did the best that she could with the script that was given to her. Ha Eun was the sweetest person on earth and her smile shone as bright as the stars above. Sa Bin on the other hand… She was frustrating to watch. Like I said, I think Se Yeon did the best that she could with the script. At one point I just gave up making sense of her character’s decisions.

Jang Ki Yong - Basically the same that applies to Jin Se Yeon. I just couldn’t empathize with his character even though the show certainly tried to get us viewers there.

Music

The OST was hauntingly beautiful. My problem lies with the overall background music and the music choice during the stalking scenes etc. They really tried to romanticize the stalking scenes by adding romantic music.

Overall

Frankly, I’m traumatized by the show. I tried watching other sweeter shows that feature Jang Ki Yong and Jin Se Yeon and I just can’t hear their voices and look at their faces without feeling sick to my stomach and I’m devastated! I never felt like this before. How can a kdrama do that to their viewers? I just don’t want anyone else to feel the way that I’m feeling now. I’m begging you to really reconsider if you were planning on watching the show. Even if you want to watch the show only for Lee Soo Hyuk, don’t. Just don’t. Wait for his next project or rewatch some of his other works.

Don’t watch Born Again!