I am always skeptic when I start a drama because I have dropped tons of dramas which I was really excited to watch but in the end, all they did was disappoint me. However, this wasn't the case with WYWS. The idea was interesting, the characters were convincing, the plot was keeping me on the edge of my seat most of the time.
Jae Chan was the typical good guy, someone every girl can't help but fall in love with and, let's face it, we cannot resist him! He's good looking, he's charming, funny, smart and even his innocent side, the side which wants to believe everyone has some good in them, even though it makes him look like a dummy sometimes is charming.
Hong Ju was ok. I am one of those people that does agree with the fact that Suzy has to step her acting game up, but I hope this experience helped her with that.
Woo Tak managed to make me fall in love! He was absolutely amazing, I think Jung Hae In did a really good job with the character.
Lee Sang Yeob managed to play the perfect villain! His evil smirks were out of this world!
All in all, it was a really great drama and I'm glad I decided to watch it!
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Started for Lee Jong Suk, Stayed for the Drama
It's been awhile since I've watched this, but if I'm not mistaken I think this was my first drama with Suzy, and I always hear people raving about her so I had high hopes.As the title states, I started it because Lee Jong Suk is one of those actors I like so much I will watch anything they're in. I don't even think I read the synopsis before starting this drama, which is rare for me.
I did wind up really loving the story because I hadn't seen any other drama with this type of story line. I also like how the story connected the characters and their storylines and their purpose in the show. I usually opt for romcoms as it's my guilty pleasure but this is one of those thriller type romance shows that is also funny at times and it turns out I REALLY enjoy those!
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Very creative, surprises at many turns, cute and believable romance
10/10 is my rating. This was a 2017 South Korean television series that consisted of 32 episodes (each episode is only ~30 minutes). Depending on where it is viewed after 2017 it may be collapsed to 16 episodes. There are three central characters who are able to see future events involving the trio in dreams. The primary male lead, Lee Jong-suk, plays prosecutor Jung Jae-suk, the other male lead is a police officer, Han Woo-tak (Jung Hae-in) and the female lead Bae Suzy plays Nam Hong-joo who is a reporter. Between the three they work together to change future events to avoid tragedy and to solve cases. I avoided watching this because of the title and I thought it was just a re-make or new interpretation of the American Movie by the same name. The two are not related at all.spoiler 🚨 This series combines elements of all your favorite crime shows as a backdrop to an engaging story of friendships, family, and love. I enjoyed this movie from start to finish. It is a legal drama/romance that is exciting and engaging the entire way through. It also has a paranormal aspect with the dream element. This one definitely moves to the top of my list and I would recommend anyone who is a crime show fan to watch this one. The romance in it was also heartwarming and believable. This is one of my new favorites.
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this was ok
I think this series could have ended around episode 10! In fact, I wasn't keeping track and thought it was going to finish soon after ep 10!Here are some things I remember, bc even though I finished this one a few days ago, nothing really stands out to me about the story.
1. I didn't care for the leads romance. Mr Giant crab and Suzy... I didn't feel any enjoyable chemistry as the story progressed.
2. Woo-tak was my favorite character and I wished he had ended up with the girl at the end. Also, how we only saw his abs that one brief moment! And how his big secret was that he was color blind!
3. That scene where the two leads were locked in the burning trailer thing. I mean, wouldn't you grab a chair and just try to smash the barred windows open? They both just sat there in the fire ready to die. That was ridiculous. I actually paused this part and had to complain to my husband about how dumb that was.
I would still recommend this one to my friends. I enjoy kdramas that have light romance and a mystery.
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Entertaining if nothing else...
I'm a little late to the party, but here's my 2 cents. To skip reading it all: it works, especially if you're watching dramas for romance and stuff, and not caring for logic or the art of making movies.Basically, all the weak parts are exactly the parts that supposedly is the hook: the dreams. Also, the dreams are the plot devices. SO, putting it all together, that means that the whole show is screwed if the dreams aspect is sht. And it is. Giving an example from a movie: imagine if a energy-bar wrapper got dropped on the floor of a high-tech, very sterile, experimental, scientific building, and that said wrapper gets sucked in the suction mechanism of a door (why even having one??), that produces a short-circuit, that gives a computer error, that makes the system reboot, that has the DEFAULT setting of opening all doors and release all the dangerous, genetically modified creatures you've been experimenting with (and you know they are dangerous), thus the whole movie can be made possible.... In lesser words, if your whole movie happens because you're giving a sht motive, that also means that the movie is going to be sht.
Back to our drama. Like mentioned before, is not all bad. The visuals are good, lots of good cinematography, the colour palette is in tone with the scene, very nice, inventive shots while the "dreams" occur.
Audio. Good I guess. The tracks are on par with the scene, the mixing is done ok. I don't remember the OP theme, but thats ok.
The pacing is ok-ish for this kind of drama. The world-building is a bit clunky, but its ok for this kind of drama. The acting is mostly good (apart the usual cringe acting when "bad guys are trying to sound evil"), if not amazing, with excellent chemistry all around. Also, very important, while weak for the main people, amazing character development with the supporting cast. If I keep singing its praises, Very good moral subjects.
And now the meh parts. The dialogue is meh. Mostly ok-ish, but dumb when the plot requires it. Evidently so when the scene is supposed to be "tense", the character suddenly becoming re****ed and incapable of saying in a normal way things to save a person's life, using the cliches of babbling and half sentences, because speaking like a normal human being would resolve the plot part and we can't have that yet....
The judicial aspect is a joke. The characters are made to be dumb or smart, or introducing some weird plot device, depending on the scene. I know I know,its because they need to drag the story. But thats the main problem, isn't it? If you can't make the story flow naturally, then you're ot doing a good job.
If I'm talking about bad logic, the dreams. Precognition, supernatural, blah blah. Yeah, Yeah, I don't care about that, as in I'm ok with those. The bad part comes from not being explained well enough. The rules are not applied equally, thus: plot contrivances and plot holes. How the fk can you make "dreams" that contradict one another, but also the "real-time" goes in a whole new direction, but not always... Why having them at all if can get the options: A, or B, or C, or all the above. How the tf does that even work? If you wanna go that route, why not introduce some "punishment" aspect? Having powers with just positive aspects and no drawbacks, thats boring. And if you're saying that its supposed to be like that, then the story becomes sht. Why? Because then every fking problem the characters are in can, and should, be resolved "because it can" and, again, that makes for a boring story if no stakes are offered.
So, it gets a rating of 7. It should be lower, because the whole drama is based on the broken "dreams" aspect, but the show was entertaining enough, the acting and character development did all the heavy-lifting. Re-watching value? Hmm, I don't know... I guess, if you're the kind that likes to watch dramas mainly for the "cute people on screen" aspect.
Have a lovely day.
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This is the kind of one watching drama Just once
First 2 EPs. Were brilliant
Then it goes down the hill for me
It gave me the feeling that the events were irrelevant to each other
If it was one big crime case it would be much more better and the story will be more solid for me
But the many different cases gave me the feeling that the writer just want to fill the drama
It's not on the same level of my expectations
And what frustrated me a lot, I found the romance in it was cold
Only very few times it was heart warming
And the kissing scene at the last ep. When she tried to support him wasn't really in it's place
But The scene where the ML was crying for the death of his assistant was really brilliant and so normal
Just one question was bothering me
They showed us when someone rescued your life from death you dream with his future
The FL saved the ML
So he normally should dream with her
So why she dreamt with him????
Any way if you need a light drama but not a remarkable one
This one is for you definitely
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Well I've been putting these for a long time cuz I'm never into main stream dramas. I finally gave it a chance after seeing some clips online and even till I finished the drama I did not see th reason for the hype for this drama. For me it seemed like an average drama. Yes Lee Jong Suk being there is amazing the supporting cast did their job well but nothing makes it staand out from other drama. I am not saying the drama was bad, it was far from that. The drama held it's ground but nothing made it exciting. Here are some points why it was in the lower ranga.1. The Plot
Nothing made it stand out. It seemed too average for me. A typical plot you find everywhere. The Korean writers should really stop this "I-met-you-when-you-were-small-and-already-fell-in-love-with-you-back-then troupe. I'm getting sick of it. Couldn't they have own childhoods before they met?
2. Acting
By any chance I am not saying the acting was bad, it was ok. This was after all what pushed Jung Hae In to the top but personally I felt his acting in Prison Playbook 1000000X better. There his emotions were clearly seen and he did a better job at portraying his character. Here I felt his character was two dimensional.Lee Jon Suk- This actor is really typecast-ed waaay too much. i did not see a difference between his character here from Pinocchio or Doctor Strange. IT's as if it's the same character that is being played over and over again with different families and careers. I don't know if his new role is better cuz if he keeps this up I wold most probably not watch his dramas anymore even. Last but not least Suzy. I never understood why she had so much criticism for her acting. Well one major reason maybe cuz I've only watched her in Dream High and I passed off her bad acting saying it's her first time but now I think I understand. Her acting chops really need to be improved. Rather than being just pretty it would be great if she can actually get some acting classes and improve herself. She managed the whole cutesy act well without making it cringey but that was all. All the other time her acting was far more suited for a very small supporting role than a female lead.
That being said I won't say I hate the story but rather it seems like cliche plot that has just been over-hyped due to the leads. Will I watch it again? Nope. I rather over-watch Prison Playbook to get my dose of Jung Hae In.
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A drama that will leave you euphoric
This drama was my absolute most favourite K drama. The storyline was just perfect, there was no cringy lines or scenes, the plot was neverendingly getting better leaving me hanging, and the acting of Lee jong suk and Bae Suzy was top notch. The duo definitely brought happiness and tears. The drama was very realistic and subtle as the drama left me wanting more as it didn't bore or tire me as my predictions on what might happen next were destroyed entirely. This drama made me cry almost with the superb ost (when the night falls- Eddy Kim & It's you- Henry Lau) that was ending the episodes. This drama has all the feels and anyone who likes some suspense, romance, drama and comedy you'll get it all in one package. Not to mention the chemistry between the two main characters was just perfect, it wasn't over the top and was just right again making it realistic. Definitely a must-watch!!!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I am the tom holland of reviews so there may not be a spoiler in my reviews, It's just a precaution.READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!: Note I only really found 1 tiny "spoiler in this".
The first couple of episodes hooked me into the story. I felt that it stood out and the drama was also super fast in building relationships. One second you're just meeting someone, the next you are hugging them etc. This drama is quite different from other ones I've watched because of this. However, as the story moved on it got really slow and I found myself F.F (fast-forwarding) more than anything. The parts that I was able to watch were pretty good but nothing "Intimate" happened until the middle of the drama (The kiss {more like peck} that they had together). To add to the problems I felt that it was just the same problem over and over again ( Dream then save, Dream then save, Lawsuit { We already know the winner}). Besides the problems in the story, the actors did rather well. I enjoyed watching them in this drama and actually watched another with the male lead in it (Can't remember his name). I wouldn't recommend this drama to a lot of people but if you are really bored and looking for something somewhat interesting then this would be perfect.
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Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes, I am only one person. ^^
This is just my opinion, please don't come at me ^^^
XOXO,
Unbiaseduser
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I loved it.
After reading reviews of this drama, it sucks that a lot of people seemed to not enjoy it. But yup I probably won't read reviews anymore. Here's what I thought of it:I can say I loved the drama because of the story, or characters, or any of that stuff. But the truth is I just genuinely enjoyed it, and I connected with it. I can't pinpoint the exact reason why. It's just so interesting, especially in the way they tried to question each character's agency and ethics in the show. Sure, they provided a lot of convenient options for Jae-chan, but still, I understood what they were going for. It got me thinking several times, and I loved it for that. It's definitely a show wherein a lot of characters are forced to react to the plot, as opposed to characters being "active" and doing things to actually get the plot moving. But the story it told and the way it told it was engaging and I really liked it.
I ended up rooting for Hong-joo and Jae-chan to get together, too. They were cute. But I loved Jung Hae-in's character, he was fun and nice, an overall great guy. I didn't care much for Hong-joo and Jae-chan's backstories though, it was too predictable and corny. Especially with Investigator Choi. But it didn't bother me too much, I just learned to let it go. (Which I find impossible in some shows. Here, it was possible.)
I just liked the message that so much shit could be happening in the present but in the future, it'll be a memory you can either forget or laugh at. It's not the best drama ever, but it's one that's definitely worth watching (for me).
I didn't find the show boring at all, but some might find the pacing weird because the show's using a "pod" format. Kind of like Agents of SHIELD, if there are any AoS fans out there. They have stories contained within the overarching plot that eventually get us to where we're supposed to go. I can't explain it very well but that's what they did (I think). I definitely rewatched this, it's still as good as the first time. OST was meh at first but I learned to like it. It doesn't slap, but it's not horrible. It's good. (EDIT: I relistened to the OST and I take it back. It slaps.)
Overall, I'd recommend this drama! It's a fun ride. Give it a try, you'll probably learn by episode one if this is a drama for you. I for one love it.
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While You Were Sleeping - Just finished this drama late last night. It was good. It closed all the loose ends properly. It was a good drama with good writing and plot. However, for my part, I felt that the romance was somewhat just forced or squeezed in. Just to acknowledge that Suzy and Jong Sok Oppa were a handsome pair in this drama...Or maybe its just me because this was supposed to be a law thriller and I like romantic comedy too much. Either way, just my thoughts...
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Well-paced story that develops one of the healthiest relationships depicted in a drama
Although I was originally planning on not watching this drama due to the mixed reviews and opinions, I decided to start it due to the curiosity of never seeing a Bae Suzy or Lee Jongsuk drama before.Luckily, I was not disappointed and rather, completely immersed in the experience.
- Storyline -
This drama continuously puts you on the edge of your seat. Even with the slight cliche's within the storyline, you are still given this anxious and nervous emotion, praying that the injustices are fixed and the lead characters are lead to safety in each circumstance. The story is able to avoid any sort of plot-holes by establishing itself and the fantasy-aspects in the first two to four episodes, making it easy to understand and therefore, easier to enjoy. The blend of genres, such as fantasy, romcom and suspense are done in a satisfactory way that doesn't feel back-and-forth or messy, which is a difficult concept that other drama writers have struggled with. This is one of the very few storylines that have captivated me both in the first and second half of its series, never getting boring or falling flat as each episode continues.
- Characters (and Cast) -
Nam Hongjoo and Jung Jaechan have one of the healthiest builds of a relationship I have seen within a Korean drama. They are able to care and understand each other from the beginning, while incorporating slight bickering that help the two build a deeper relationship, and understand one-another. They are both characters that are written on equal-ground, do not take advantage of one-another, and even when disagreeing with each other, they do their best to understand and help each other in different circumstances, due to their built trust. Both Suzy and Jongsuk are able to compliment that simple chemistry and similar humour that aids these characters into both being loveable and relatable.
The supporting characters, as well as second lead Wootak, all have loveable natures that due to non of them being written perfectly or typically, they become relatable and therefore easy to understand as an audience.
Although there is the fantasy theme included through the story, due to the protagonists being able to see aspects of the future in their dreams, the characters are still written to feel like real humans, such as, the antagonist. Some antagonists written in other dramas can feel animated or, inhuman, but 'While You Were Sleeping' antagonist does not feel like that at all. The antagonist is written like a human would be, while evil and morally incorrect, acts and thinks as a human would.
- Conclusion -
'While You Were Sleeping' is a drama that perfectly balances themes of fantasy, suspense and romcom that engages and captivates the audience. The characters are written to represent real people, and although some conflicts and circumstances may be written to be over-the-top or romanticised, the story still has this underlining realism that aids the audience in building emotion for the story and the characters.
While You Were Sleeping is brilliant.
(P.S. this is my first written review)
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