This review may contain spoilers
Even though the last few episodes didn't come up to my expectations, i still have a need to write a review for this drama because its core still amazing to me and i think it's one of those dramas you need to watch. This drama's plot is pretty unique and new. Its start captivated me immediately and i couldn't wait for each week to watch the next episode. As the synopsis says, it's about a girl named Dan-Oh trying to find her own path/fate in life while struggling with the fact that she is a mere extra character in a comic controlled by its author. In the first few episodes we get to know the other characters important for the story and their roles in the comic. The drama portrayed each character really well and you can easily get immersed in their stories. There is also lots of parody in the drama when it comes to the story and characters made by the author because their roles are all cliche and remind us of older dramas. The comedy/parody is amazing here. The cast did a great job in portraying the characters and their lines so it was even easier to fall in love with all of them. The fact that there are stage and shadow in the story (which is explained in the beginning when Dan-Oh realizes she can't control her own actions and becomes aware of her being a comic character) is unique itself. We see those who are becoming aware of the existence of their stage and shadow personas. The stage refers to the time when they are their intended comic persona which is controlled by the author and the shadow represents the time when they are their real persona. The difference between both happens since the moment they become aware of themselves. They are struggling to deal with the lines author made for them in the stage while staying true to themselves in the shadow. It's unique because through the whole drama we have a switch from stage to shadow, we see two different personalities on most of them and we all start feeling sorry for the characters who are aware of themselves yet are trapped in the story-line made by the author. Although drama has lots of comedy, especially in the first episodes, when you realize the depth of it it's actually a sad story. The male lead, Haru is also an extra in that comic and even worse he has no lines because his existence for the comic isn't really important, he's just there to fulfill the number of students in the class. He didn't even have a name until Dan-Oh named him Haru. Just the fact that she found him and decided to change her fate together with him is already beautiful in their romance story. They kinda changed both of their fates since Haru learned that he can talk and he also became aware of himself and Dan-Oh's heart condition changed. We watch them struggling to change the stage and have a control of their lives and it was really exciting to watch. We later learn about the existence of another comic which had the same lines and it becomes even more exciting because we don't know why the author used the same characters and same lines for both comics and why is he torturing them again and again. I think this is where the drama writers got lost. Instead of focusing on that fantasy part and making it more clear, they kinda switched all of their focus on romance (and i wouldn't mind that if it was done properly) but they included love triangle in every single scene and started to get annoying. Baek Kyung as the 2nd male lead was interesting in the beginning but later they made him a character who's always angry, throwing tantrums and using 90% of the screen with his non-excusable behavior. It kinda ruined the mood with him always coming and emotionally abusing Dan-Oh or attacking Haru. It was unnecessary imo and i still don't know why they chose that direction in the last part of the drama. The redemption we got of Baek Kyung in the last ep was good but it could have been done much earlier. We could have seen his character growth and maybe see him joining Dan-Oh and Haru in changing their fates. We never got to know who is the author, why did he do all that to his characters and what was the point of them becoming aware and changing their fates when in the end they get switched to another comic and the cycle never stops. Even the ending of the drama seemed happy but it's actually sad if you think about it. After the drama ended i had so many questions and i wish they spent more time focusing on answering those questions then on a love triangle. But overall i really got emotionally connected to this drama on another level, i adore all of the characters, got to know the cast and even add them to my stan list. I followed the behind the scenes videos as much as i followed the drama itself. It's been years since i got this much immersed in a drama and its characters. I listened to the OST all the time and i still do, it's 1000/10 both instrumentals and songs. Danharu became one of my favorite couples ever, their chemistry was on another level, their behind the scenes were equally adorable. I can't stop watching the videos of those two and their scenes make me laugh and cry. I rarely cry this much as i cried on this drama. Honestly it will take time to get over this drama and even though i wished for some things to be different, overall it's a 9 from me and i still highly recommend it.
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