Brilliant.

A Time Called You was brilliant. Brilliant in its writing, brilliant in its storytelling, brilliant in its acting. The cinematography was on another level, absolutely breathtaking. The story was complex and deeply interwoven but not hard to follow. It was more than just a story about time travel and love; it was about identity, free will, depression, and grief. Every episode was thrilling, emotional, and made me want to binge it back-to-back. I tried to predict and foreshadow, but every twist and turn in the story was unexpected and in the end, it all came together, unraveling beautifully.

The Plot: The drama follows a non-linear plot line, and the writers did a great job at being consistent and keeping pace throughout the story, avoiding plot holes and tying up loose ends. The 12-episode format was perfect for this drama. While there were some aspects that the drama failed to address, this did not take away from the story and were only minor issues. The overall premise and plot of the story was interesting and engaging throughout; on multiple occasions, the drama provokes its audience to question, suspect, and think deeper. I loved it.

The Characters: This is where I had to dock 0.5 stars for the drama. Jun Hee’s and Si Heon’s characters felt almost two-dimensional and a little stereotypical in my opinion; there wasn’t much depth to their characters like there was for Min-ju. Aside from this, every character was interesting and served an important role in the plot. I was especially attached to Min-ju and was rooting for her throughout the story; the last two episodes had me bawling my eyes out. I also found it really fascinating and disturbing how Min-ju and other characters whose bodies were taken over were just watching their life go by, like audiences, with no control over their own actions anymore. Overall, the characters were mostly well-written but I found that I only deeply cared about Min-ju even though the story was about Han Jun-hee.

The Acting and Chemistry: Jeon Yeo Been was phenomenal, an absolute show-stealer. The way she portrayed two very different characters so masterfully is something to be applauded. I could easily tell when she was Han Jun-hee and when she was Min-ju just by her body language, her eyes, and her demeanor alone. Even the way she delivered her lines as Min-ju was subtly but starkly different from her character as Jun-hee. The last two episodes were especially chilling and highlighted her acting range brilliantly. Ahn Hyo Seop also delivered his role brilliantly; he embodied both the coolness of Si Heon and the mysteriousness of his future self so well. The chemistry between the two actors was also good, but I found that I didn’t care enough about their relationship and wasn’t as attached to them.

Overall, A Time Called You is a thrilling story, charged with intense emotions and profound meaning. I enjoyed every bit of it. I did not watch the original Someday or One Day, but maybe, I'll also watch it.

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