1
manicmuse
NYC!
Sometimes staying dead is better.
This drama is a mess. I watched because of the number of great reviews, and my expectations were too high. "Born Again" tries to be an ill-fated love triangle, a crime thriller, and a revenge thriller and didn't do any of them well enough to carry my interest. Normally I am willing to go with an unbelievable storyline if the cast is really good but I think it missed the mark here too. The male leads did their best, but the story centers around the love of one woman and unfortunately, that character wasn't interesting enough to make me care or justify their obsessive love.
Based on the title this isn't a spoiler but each lead plays 2 characters. Jung Sa Bin plays Ha Eun and Sa Bin. Both characters for me were too similar and too one-note. I could blame the writing but since this is the second romantic drama lead I've seen her play that was boring I think I have to admit I am not a fan. She played off of being wide-eyed and innocent too much and even her crying scenes lacked emotion that I could feel. I was also annoyed by her speaking with that soft childish voice. Don't even get me started on her dead fish kisses and robotic confessions. This story doesn't have the chemistry I needed to carry the drama and that was my same issue with her performance in the "Grand Prince". Even attractive male leads couldn't save her perfromance.
She is matched with Lee Soo Hyuk as Soo Hyuk and Hyung Bin, who plays the annoying stubborn cop cliché which is one of my least favorite drama tropes, but at least his perfromance is good. She is also matched with Jang Ki Yong as Jong Bum and Gong Ji Chul who has the most complicated roles and also does a good job. Out of all of the performances Jang Ki Yong's was my favorite but it was still missing some of the spark I saw him have in "Search: www" (which I watched at the same time). I really think that these two actors with a better female lead could have made me like this drama a little more and be more forgiving of the plot.
I also have a major issue with the idea that 3 people are reborn in a short amount of time (30 ish years later) and are almost identical to their past selves and happen to work and live in the same area but pretty much no one notices??!!! It can maybe make sense for one of the characters but for the other two it really doesn't make any sense at all. The male lead rivalry also felt too repetitive after a while. I was way more interested in what the side characters were up to (Lee Seo El needed more screen time). The only question that kept me watching was who she would end up with and that was less about me caring and more about putting an end to my curiosity misery.
Would I watch this again? Not even if you paid me. I may even avoid all Jin Se Yeon dramas for a while. Honestly, this probably would have worked better as a movie considering all the overused flashbacks and not much story development until the very end. There arent really any rewatch worthy moments for me, and are way too many fast-forward worthy scenes. I did appreciate the music but it made some scenes seem even cheesier.
Was it worth watching until the end? Yes, and no. Many of the secrets and motivations of the characters are finally revealed in the final episodes but it was too late for me to care and it didn't make me like the drama any better. It no longer mattered to me who she chose and why. The end was also messy. I thought I would at least shed a tear over it but my eyes stayed dry for this entire drama... and "Born Again" is filled with sadness topped with more sadness, and I'm a crybaby.
Overall this drama drags and disappoints. It had potential as a memorable makjang but it missed the mark on the romantic chemistry it needed to make this story addictive instead of forgetable. It could have been much more fun, even with the ridiculous plot, if the performances were just as over the top or charismatic. The older actors were much better at this but their scenes and storylines were cast aside for more boring love triangle scenes. The leads try to take this and themselves way too seriously and most of their deadpan conversations were too skip-tastic. If you don't fall in love with "Born Again" at first episode I suggest skipping this drama completely.
Based on the title this isn't a spoiler but each lead plays 2 characters. Jung Sa Bin plays Ha Eun and Sa Bin. Both characters for me were too similar and too one-note. I could blame the writing but since this is the second romantic drama lead I've seen her play that was boring I think I have to admit I am not a fan. She played off of being wide-eyed and innocent too much and even her crying scenes lacked emotion that I could feel. I was also annoyed by her speaking with that soft childish voice. Don't even get me started on her dead fish kisses and robotic confessions. This story doesn't have the chemistry I needed to carry the drama and that was my same issue with her performance in the "Grand Prince". Even attractive male leads couldn't save her perfromance.
She is matched with Lee Soo Hyuk as Soo Hyuk and Hyung Bin, who plays the annoying stubborn cop cliché which is one of my least favorite drama tropes, but at least his perfromance is good. She is also matched with Jang Ki Yong as Jong Bum and Gong Ji Chul who has the most complicated roles and also does a good job. Out of all of the performances Jang Ki Yong's was my favorite but it was still missing some of the spark I saw him have in "Search: www" (which I watched at the same time). I really think that these two actors with a better female lead could have made me like this drama a little more and be more forgiving of the plot.
I also have a major issue with the idea that 3 people are reborn in a short amount of time (30 ish years later) and are almost identical to their past selves and happen to work and live in the same area but pretty much no one notices??!!! It can maybe make sense for one of the characters but for the other two it really doesn't make any sense at all. The male lead rivalry also felt too repetitive after a while. I was way more interested in what the side characters were up to (Lee Seo El needed more screen time). The only question that kept me watching was who she would end up with and that was less about me caring and more about putting an end to my curiosity misery.
Would I watch this again? Not even if you paid me. I may even avoid all Jin Se Yeon dramas for a while. Honestly, this probably would have worked better as a movie considering all the overused flashbacks and not much story development until the very end. There arent really any rewatch worthy moments for me, and are way too many fast-forward worthy scenes. I did appreciate the music but it made some scenes seem even cheesier.
Was it worth watching until the end? Yes, and no. Many of the secrets and motivations of the characters are finally revealed in the final episodes but it was too late for me to care and it didn't make me like the drama any better. It no longer mattered to me who she chose and why. The end was also messy. I thought I would at least shed a tear over it but my eyes stayed dry for this entire drama... and "Born Again" is filled with sadness topped with more sadness, and I'm a crybaby.
Overall this drama drags and disappoints. It had potential as a memorable makjang but it missed the mark on the romantic chemistry it needed to make this story addictive instead of forgetable. It could have been much more fun, even with the ridiculous plot, if the performances were just as over the top or charismatic. The older actors were much better at this but their scenes and storylines were cast aside for more boring love triangle scenes. The leads try to take this and themselves way too seriously and most of their deadpan conversations were too skip-tastic. If you don't fall in love with "Born Again" at first episode I suggest skipping this drama completely.
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