When I first tuned in to Memories of Al-Hambra, I was blown away by the visuals and the AR set up. It was a wet dream for a video game enthusiast like myself. From the get-go, it's clear to viewers that no expenses were spared for the production.
Unfortunately, my love did not extend to how the plot progressed. As with this writer's dramas, the more you watch, the more do questions pop up. And when you get to the end, you are just a confused mess. If I could identify the point where things go haywire, I would generously put it at episode 10. The first 6 episodes were drawn out, yet managed to remain enjoyable and relatively logical for an illogical setup. The plot did pick up at episode 7, but I found myself reading recaps after 10. Things started to get repetitive and it's because of the drama's biggest flaw: it's centrality to one character, Jinwoo.
Now, if you are familiar with video games, a lot of them share the same idea where you have one protagonist who goes on a quest and the game basically follows them. The drama followed this format, where everything revolved around Jinwoo and all characters were to some extent, plot devices; Jinwoo is always in action while others just react. I didn't really care for this aspect of the drama. I know it received a lot of criticism, but I actually found it refreshing. However, for a 16 episode drama, it could get quite boring. Imagine watching 16 hours of a character being pushed around, then fighting, then receiving moral support, then upgrading, then fighting again.. you get the gist. It's not a narrative that suits a drama of such length, which is one of the primary reasons why it lost me.
Another reason though would be character development. I actually love Jinwoo's character. As he is the protagonist, the writer obviously took her time to flesh him out. He was flawed, charming, and quite heroic. I really liked his change throughout the drama. You can see his vibrancy, that energy he was bursting with, just being drained away as the plot progresses. Kudos to Hyun Bin who did an utterly fantastic job in his portrayal of a complex character of this sort; it's why I kept tuning in. I wish I could say the same to other characters, or perhaps, the other? " main" character: Hee-ju. The writer herself said that the story was centralized around the male lead, and that she added Hee-ju because of Park Shinhye's casting (I read that a while ago, so apologies if I am wrong, but it explains a lot). For the entire drama, all Heeju did was cry, run, and offer moral support. Hell, Secretary Seo had more of an active part than she did. It was so obvious that her character was an afterthought. She existed for Jinwoo and only for Jinwoo. It was such a shame, because Hee-ju had so much potential as a character, for she was caring and passionate.
Overall, Al-Hambra is a good drama. It had fantastic music, beautiful ambiance, and a great performance by the actions. However, the story would leave you unsatisfied and confused. It's like a cheat day where you are just biting into the cake you've fantasized about, but it's taken away before you eat it. Yes, that's the perfect analogy. Props to me.
Would I rewatch this? Yes. I would definitely watch until episode, say, 8. I do think you should give it a try though; it might end up to be your cup of tea. Just don't raise your expectations.
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The story had great potential in the beginning and then went downhill because it lacked clear direction, meandering towards interesting concepts but never fully exploring them. At the end you're left with a nagging feeling that this could have been so much better than what it ended up being. I'm still upset by how big of a letdown it was.
The cast's acting was on point but I kind of see where critics of Park Shin Hye come from; there's nothing overtly wrong with her acting but there were moments where I was taken out of the immersion because of her. I still like her though.
The music is phenomenal and doesn't deserve this show.
Rewatch value... none. I went into this with high expectations because W is one of my all-time favorite dramas and this had the same writer. I was so ecstatic, expecting another masterpiece that would blow me away. Instead I wasted half the show playing games on my phone because I was bored. Rewatching this would be like dragging me backwards through hell for the 9th time :'(
Verdict: don't bother. The romance might appeal to some but there are a ton of shows out there that have way better writing and characterization. If you're looking for a twisty and interesting sci-fi kdrama, the following are much better alternatives:
- Are You Human? (Seo Kang Joon. nuff said)
- Duel (hot doppelgangers ahoy)
- Circle (flashbacks with actual purpose)
- I'm Not a Robot (heavily more romance than sci-fi, but I'm recommending this because the romance is so much better than this show)
- The Gifted (Thai drama of students with powers)
- W: Two Worlds (my one and only love!)
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Without giving any spoilers, one of the logic holes is that in this AR game you fight with swords, and you can fight Non-Player Characters (NPCs) with your sword on the game. Well the only technology introduced in the drama was a set of lenses that transpose the game's graphics into the real world, but when a player fights with an NPC and the player's sword clashes with the NPC's sword, that collision of two virtual objects is felt by the player, i.e. its as if literally two physical swords clashed. What is the technology behind this? It is never explained or addressed.
If they had only said something like 'the lenses connect to the users cranial nerve system (CNS) and can simulate physical forces by sending signals to the CNS which will ultimately result in a real life-like experience for the users.' I would've been happy, sure the technology to achieve that hasn't been discovered, but its certainly plausible and feasible from a futuristic perspective, but none of that was ever approached by the drama.
There are other aspects in the drama which are simply not explained (which I won't enter into details so I don't spoil the story), but what's important is that up to the very end of the drama, the notion of this being a sci-fi drama is kept. At no point is it acknowledged that something impossible has happened, rather they call some of that stuff 'bugs' which is the computer science term for faults in the LOGIC of a PROGRAM which implies sci-fi, and yet nothing was ever explained.
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The idea of the story is integrating a game universe and real universe, which somehow weirdly unique.
The story began with a jaw dropping starts. The story progresses steady but too slow. I really love the core story, but the tempo kills the excitement of watching this.
The problem is that there were too many unnecessary details and time shifts to explain minor incidents that happened before rather than explaining what will happen and what happened with the core story.
Acting
Hyun Bin potrays Jin Woo perfectly. The suffer is so real and I am amazed how great he was potraying this character.
On the other hand, Park Shin Hye started awkwardly. Jung Hee Ju seems to be so awkward and out of places. But it started to get better as the story progress.
The other cast did their job great, especially the "bugs".
The chemistry between the leads is great, but not the best.
Ost
The only great ost is Is You by Ailee. The rest are average.
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This drama is controversial. You know, before you make a history-based story/script, you should learn the real history first. Then, when you put it to your story, you HAVE TO put that history-line to your story as it is. You should NOT falsely rewrite the history onto your script. If you don't know the truth or what the world know about that history, then DON'T write it. It makes controversy, makes many people mad, and people will unite to prosecute the actors, actress, director, writer, etc.
It's just same as this drama. On 13th episode, there are lines tell you about one of most believed religions in the world, Islam. I bet, the writer has not done the research about Fatima, Muhammad, Islam, and the history of Granada itself. Once again I tell you, reader. If it has to do with, race, religion, ethnic, history, and so on, you can not take it a joke. Don't even rewrite their history falsely. If you want to create novel, script, or anything that has to do with them, then you HAVE TO research it, do interview with scientist, professor, etc., and make sure yours is legit enough to be published. If you CAN'T, then just find another theme, genre, or whatever it's called. I feel sorry for Park Shin Hye who had to do the lines. I hope people/netizens out there don't blame her. It's the writer's fault.
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Unique Kdrama
I have seen so many dramas and this one is one of the kind. First off all is a unique story, you can never predict what will happen in the next moment, was the only drama i have seen and i have not guess what will happen. The male leader he pass difficult times not in his past but in his present. What a great acting Hyun Bin is perfect , you can feel his pain. I love his character. Touching relationships like him and his secretary. You will see it and you will not forget it in an hour because you can think it again and again you have a lot to explain in your mind . The story is without holes with many meanings. And if you are a gamer is a big extra. I love it and for first time i want to write something for a drama because i cant forget it. Only i want to say sorry for my poor english is so many things i want to express and i cant say it ?Was this review helpful to you?
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No clear ending
Everything is fine, story, casting, places, music... but... the final ending? What´s it? Were directors out of cash? Out of memory in the hard disk? Really, really angry with a very good drama recorded at beautiful Granada with this poor ending. He was just deleted... C´mon... Any intern could write a better final ending... I will haven´t good Memories of the Alhambra. Netflix, I want my subscription money back... Just kidding : )-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Must Watch
I went into this drama thinking I’d casually watch one or two episodes before bed. Fast forward 6 hours, my face is greasy, I’m dehydrated, and I’m Googling flights to Granada to see if Jin-woo needs backup.Let’s talk about it.
Plot? INSANE.
You think it’s just a regular K-drama? Wrong. It’s a virtual-reality-action-romance-sci-fi-thriller-historical-mystery genre smoothie and I drank the entire thing in one sitting. There’s augmented reality, sword fights in broad daylight, hotel conspiracies, missing siblings, and guitar melodies that will haunt you in the shower.
Hyun Bin? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
He really acted like his life (and mine) depended on it. Running through European streets with a digital sword, looking like James Bond fell into a video game. He said, “I don’t need sleep. I need revenge and Wi-Fi.”
Park Shin-hye? Elegant, tragic, and constantly confused—but honestly, same girl. She was holding that entire hotel, family trauma, and the plot on her back. She deserved more screen time and at least one less traumatic phone call.
The game?
10/10 would NOT play. I would die at level one tripping over a cobblestone. But still—absolutely fascinating. I want a headset, but also, I value my life.
The ending?
Was that an ending or did the writers just drop the mic and walk off into the Alhambra sunset?? I have questions. So many questions. I’m filing a formal request for Season 2 and possibly a group therapy session for the fandom.
Final thoughts?
This show will have you questioning what’s real, emotionally unstable over digital NPCs, and aggressively humming Spanish guitar music for weeks. 12/10. Would recommend. Will never recover.
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I had high expectations for this drama as its writer is the same with W. W really blew my mind from the pacing, the characters and damn the plot twists on the first episodes because I didn't really expect any of that. However, Memories of Alhambra seems so lacking in many ways. The first episode was a good start as it was really intriguing and magical. I absolutely love the AR theme, very timely and witty. It was really action-packed which is the thing that I always anticipate on every episode. But things got really repetitive and tedious when Hyung-seok keeps on showing up. I stopped watching it for awhile because the story did not pique my curiosity anymore. Episodes 4-7 were very trivial for me. The Memories of Alhambra (guitar piece) keeps on playing more than twice in an episode and it did get on my nerves at some point. The story picked up its pace again sometime later when we got back to Korea. I guess they just wanted the drama to reach 16 episodes so the scenes on Granada were very lengthy and unnecessary. I then read comments online that Hee Joo's character was also unnecessary and I began to realize that they were right. The story could really go on without her presence and help. The thing with this writer is that he writes in a fast paced manner so I did not get enough time to sympathize with the characters' feelings. Hyun Bin was great but his lines and scenes were really lacking. As for the music, it should have been more suspenseful as this drama is a thriller one. I anticipated it to have lots of sfx to really shock the viewers but it didn't. The guitar piece was overly used. It's where the drama got its title but it doesn't really have a major impact for me.
Let's jump to the finale episode which was a disappointment but I'm really glad it's open ended because if not, there would have tons of plot holes here and there. However, the ending was not satisfying at all. We mostly got scenes on the church with the characters looking at the ashes the whole damn time. We also got a flashback of everything that happened where I realized it was not a roller coaster kind of ride. The story focused mainly on Jin Woo playing the game and finding Se Ju. The story only unfolded just to reveal the past and find Se Ju. This drama should have been entitled Finding Se Ju seriously. To sum up, it was an okay drama for it is very unique and truly magical. It may be flawed on some of its elements but it is still worth watching especially if you are an avid online game user.
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Really good show
This drama was really good! It had a pretty unique idea, Virtual Games in Real Life but with a deep story that no drama has ever made before(I think) The story is 10/10,no debate. Honestly, the first 2 episodes were the best in the series. You'll know why when you finish it. The acting was top notch, same with the music. My only problem was the pacing, for some time, the pacing was very bad so I got bored easily. That's why I don't think I'd re-watch it. Other than that, it's pretty good and it's a solid 8/10!Was this review helpful to you?
