Welcome 2 Life

Welcome2Life was an unexpected random journey full of sweet treats that will leave you a smile in your face and a menacing toothache. May contain minor spoilers, since I want to talk about the greatest points of this series in terms of story and character writing.

STORY
I'm a huge fan of stories with a supernatural twist. The concept of him experiencing a parallel universe was well-written with intent and spice. In terms of the script, I must say, it's very very cheesy. There's a lot of lines that makes me cringe, but you can easily brush it off because the actors did a wonderful job with setting the tone and atmosphere to make it fit the scenes. You can truly feel their emotions in their voice and expressions, and that's what makes it bearable.
One of my favorite moments is the turning point when Jae Sang woke up from his coma. I felt that shit real hard. It went from like having a really amazing dream that you never want to wake up from to it becoming nightmare, but in the end the sun rises and you do open your eyes whether you want to or not. I felt his pain so deeply after going back to the real world. Seeing how things are completely different makes you long for something far and precious that has disappeared and can never come back. It made me feel... hopeless. The writers did such an amazing job at making us feel the protagonist's feelings especially his pain and suffering. Every flashback of his alternate life makes me cry without fail (thanks to his amazing acting and the background music). It's so heartbreaking and well made, I can't count the number of times I bawled my eyes out and that's a good thing.
The only things that bothered me a bit was some scenes felt a little dragging, questionable, and unnecessary. But they're not that big of a deal so you can definitely ignore the little plot holes here and there. The actual plot itself isn't all that fabulous or unique, but the execution and plot devices used were effective and immersive. A wonderful ride.

CHARACTERS
I would say that one of the strengths of this series is the character development. Well, for the main protagonist mostly. Everyone else around him didn't really change much, but he was the center of it all, and the lessons to be learned that we can as he does is the focus anyway so it works out. He has the "bad guy becomes good guy" trope, but in a well-written way, not taking any shortcuts and actually taking time. I love how they added a realistic touch to his thought processes and actions, most notably when he realized he might stay there for good. Yes, just because he's suddenly transported into an alternate universe with a shabby but happy, fulfilling life doesn't mean he will immediately realize that it's a good thing. Seeing him falter over his past self, not being able to let his rich life go, became one of the strongest points of his character because in that way, we get to see how he progresses. It emphasized his growth as a human being as we watch him think, struggle, adjust, and finally appreciate what's in front of him. It was a fulfilling moment both for the character and for us watching over him and rooting for his development.
I like Shi On a lot, but sometimes I feel like she's just a really big plot device since she never had enough character development. Sure, her perspective on Jae Sang slowly changed and their relationship (kind of?) improved, but it doesn't feel as impactful or meaningful. She's mostly portrayed as the "love interest that changed the protagonist." Her only redeeming qualities is that she's pretty and can kick some ass, but I think that's nice too. It's good that they made her someone who can depend on herself and defend herself. (Went a little weird after watching her kick about 10+ grown man asses all at the same time, but we take those..)

The other characters are also just kinda there to support the protagonists since of course we need to have a team as an investigation unit. But they deliver fun moments that are enjoyable anyway, so it's not much of a waste. In fact, I think they made the series more fun, especially the trio. They were random and entertaining and their relationship is heartwarming. I love the hacker too, I think he was a great addition as a character.
As for the antagonists... well, they're... bad I guess? They don't really have enough personality other than being mean, rude, and having an evil laugh. Oh, and a mental illness. At times it feels comical, but hey, it's for the plot.
I think the only thing that bothered me a bit was the love triangle. It felt a little forced in a sense that there isn't much need for it. I think they did him dirty like that, with the team leader being labeled as "just the second male lead (for all you second male lead syndrome fans out there) who obviously doesn't get the girl but enjoy him because he's hot." At first I thought it was cute and subtle, but when he came all out on Shi On, it just felt uncomfortable and unnecessary. His love didn't serve any purpose to the story but instead to pander to a formula, because we all know that people dig love triangles. You can literally take him out of the equation and nothing will change at all. NOTHING. He does nothing but take damage for our heroine (which obviously any of her team can do) and drag his missy unrequited ass around idk. He didn't even do enough to strengthen the main couple's relationship (just a short moment of jealousy, that's it.) It was disappointing and a let down, but whatever.
Everyone did a great job.

MUSIC
There's a background OST that plays on very crucial moments whenever flashbacks appear and it breaks me every time I hear it. God I fvcking love those flashbacks. That BGM really fits the scene's atmosphere and the character's emotions. But that's it. None of the songs really stood out to me personally, so I don't think anything else will be memorable enough other those times when we crave for that lost dream.

OVERALL
I watched the trailer of this kdrama which piqued my interest and I'm so glad that I decided to give it a try. I binged it within a week and I'm so satisfied with everything despite the small flaws. It will give you a great emotional roller coaster ride with a few bumps and twists that you might not want, but overall you will enjoy the breeze and have fun anyway.

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A Masterpiece

This show is a perfect blend of romance, crime and fiction enough to push down goblin from my top favorite list. If a higher rating than 10 were possible then i would have given it.
So drama lovers this is a must watch drama or else you will regret it and don't worry about lack of romace there's a plenty of it and a happy ending too.
It would have been better if the writers concluded the parallel worlds ending too.
If you liked this drama i would like to recommend you others similar to this " again my life" , "lawless lawyer", " vincenzo ", " come and hug me"

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Synopsis sent a different message, and set expectations, that it did not meet

This is the problem with coming to a show with expectations, if they don't meet it, you're disappointed.

At least based on the synopsis, it gave me a sense that the ML will be switching between two worlds and solve his cases because of the knowledge he gains going back and forth.

Unfortunately, that's not what happened. It was a one-time major switch, and then that was it. When he returned, he rarely used his knowledge from the other world to solve cases in his own world. Everything simply diverged, that he had to investigate from the bottom up.

The other world? You'll see it again in the ending as sort of closure only, but did not answer questions it left.

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most wholesome law k-drama i have ever watched, yet!

wow, absolutely fckin brilliant!

i don't think a wholesome law drama like this can easily be beaten. it's truly so well done from start to finish.

interestingly some gruesome factor wasn't exactly toned down but i bet this is the kind of dramas that the entire family can watch together because it's so well made and balanced that way.

in particular, i am not sure if i am the only one not properly understanding this. but the 'assumption' of an existence of a parallel world itself isn't entirely correct.

since there are two versions of Ra Si On and two versions of their daughter (one Se Rin, one Bo Na) and quite frankly everyone else, but there is only one version of Lee Jae Sang.

and we also saw that Lee Jae Sang didn't exactly transported himself physically to the parallel world and meet his other self in that world, and then they crossed each other's worlds (which i half expected the direction of the story was going to be middle-way through the drama), rather it was him dreaming of all these happenings when he was in the coma.

obviously masking this dream as the existence of a parallel world is very smart and a way of creative liberty way-out in telling the story because the writer needed to use that storytelling device to make a case that those experiences were real, and about to be replicated as a form of dejavu in the real world, rather than as a mere hallucination.

therefore, despite having such gripe in the story and finding there's logical fallacy (well, courtesy the fantasy element), the script really managed to stay outstandingly coherent and consistent that it never glaringly lost focus or balance. this is truly an effort to be applauded!

also, unless i can come up with a better, more logical way of reconnecting these incidences than how the writers have come up with here, i don't feel the need to deduct a point for its story. i truly believe that the writers have used up their imaginations enough to think of other possible ways/directions to tell the story, and they really ended up with the best option.

only that Ra Si On in particular, at times wasn't very likeable. she's violent and also in the 'parallel world', she's rash and always puts herself in danger incessantly. so i feel like if anyone would have a problem with the story, that would be her character LOL.

Bi Rain did such a fabulous job portraying the characters of a wicked lawyer, a wanna-be righteous prosecutor, a greedy selfish bastard and a wonderful husband/father that i believe it's impossible not to get lost and drawn in his character immersion.

he truly is phenomenal in this role, and quite possibly could not have been acted better!

shout out to Shin Jae Ha who played Yun Pil Woo, the character with such a sharp contrast in the 'parallel' and the 'real world'. that was such a bomb plot twist and he's such a phenomenal, convincing actor. i really hope this boy gets more leading roles in the future.

also, the finale episode was very rewarding. it's one of the best finale episodes across many k-dramas i have watched and nothing really feels rushed and things feel so well-concluded. i also loved how there was a little scene at the very end where the two worlds seemed meshed or joined together.

definitely one of the most rewarding dramas i have come across, ever. i cannot praise the work of everyone behind this gem of a drama enough. enjoy!

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I'd never seen Rain acting before, actually, I'd never seen him at all, period. The story was really good, it had no flaws to my opinion, it kept my interest at its highest to the very end. I enjoyed the presence of Bo Na, the little girl, so witty dialogues with her father (we have a saying in Greek, 'you may find the truth either from a crazy man or a child', which was just the case), that was the highlight of the story.
Overall, the acting of all actors and actresses was superb -I read a review for the bad guys that was a complimentary one and I agree, hate/love reaction of the viewer.
I liked the parallel universe story, it was not over the top.
My recommendation is a must see one. Welcome 2 life was one of the best series I've watched so far.

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The Best Parallel World Drama

The Best Parallel World Drama

The ending is a left open ended on purpose, but this drama keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire show.

You're not left wondering about loose ends as it's one of the few korean dramas that ends well and has good pacing.

While it's not explained why he is able to travel between the two worlds, you're not really left wondering why either he is able to due to the way it ends either.

Rain acting here is stunning as well. The only frustrating thing perhaps, is as the FMC which is more of a trope and not really a flaw. As there needs to be a hot headed policewoman who ignores police protocol and dives headfirst into danger without a partner backing her up.

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