casting
the casting for this dram is not great but the characters play their role well. there could've been a better cast but this casting I pretty good because the character is not that bad. I think that the girl's role was perfect in the first story but in the second one it was not really working out because the girl was supposed to be fierce and the actor was not really able to portray that.
story
this plotline is not many Kdramas. the multiple life might be in a mother drama but the sacrifices in this story are very upsetting and they are really abnormal. it is not normal to see somebody do what the characters do in this story. every role that everybody portrays is odd because not many people can relate to them. Also, there are some roles when the actors supposed to portray a pyco but they are not very good at it.
through this drama has a lot of flaws it thinks it is a good drama to watch if you are into romance and thriller. if you are a hard-core rom-com fan than this dram might not be the best for you.
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Very Disappointing
I am a fan of Lee Soo hyuk, ive been waiting for his comeback drama for quite sometime now. When i read the plot i was very hopeful and his co.star jang ki yong is a good actor as well.So what I ended up watching was just horrible. I felt bad for the actors coz this will be like a stain on their resume.
There was one OST that stood out though, Dream by Sondia. That was the only good thing that came out of this depressing production.
This is just my take on the drama, please go ahead and watch it for yourself and form your own opinion.
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The plot of this drama sounded very interesting with themes of rebirth and reincarnation BUT it just made less and less sense as I kept watching. It felt as if the writer just gave up halfway with character consistency and plot development? Plot:
Jung Ha Eun was this nice innocent character and she started off believing in Gong Ji Chul’s innocence but she suddenly just changed her mind when she visited in jail. Jung Sa Bin was even worse, hating on Kim Soo Hyuk for shooting Chun Jeong Beom to protect her and forgiving JB who basically stalked her. SB went back and forth between the two men who cared about her. ?The ending and epilogue made no sense and was disappointing where Sa Bin chooses Jeong Beom with no explanation whatsoever on how they survived their respective heart condition and brain condition. The crime part of the drama was just crazy where it was solved too quickly at the end. There were some scenes where they touched the evidence/corpse WITHOUT any gloves which is not logical since that’ll obviously contaminate the evidence/corpse.
Acting:
The actors did a fantastic job though despite this messy script- especially the three leads. Lee Soo Hyuk and Jang Ki Yong really showed their wide range of acting either with crying, anger, etc. Hoping they’ll pick a better script next time. ???
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The first few episodes were so exciting and really made me think that it could be my favorite drama during this year, plus during circuit breaker. It was my every week schedule.
But it suddenly goes down to the point that I feel I cannot and hate the author.
I really don't understand why the author let a psychotic and crazy guy falling in love with a girl with no common sense.
She love that crazy guy, why? I don't get it, he stalked her, even tracked her with the tracker app in her phone secretly. Stole her diary. She found out yet told him to ask her directly instead. (what? So creepy, asking her stalker to ask her questions.)
I was rooting for hyungbin who she has make a vow to her fiancé that she will always love and be with him even in another lifetime But she end up loving that stalker who has killed him in the past liftime. She is always protecting the stalker because she love Heathcliff. What is the point of this drama? Basically she is bias towards Heathcliff character.
I really love this show because of hyungbin. But the ending is a disappointment.
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HORRIBLE FL?
I loved this show until towards the end. The fl and her past lover were so precious! That’s why j loved it till the end. When she chose the other guy, I was really upset. The other guy killed her past lover and she still chose him. She chose the stalker over THE LEE SOO HYUK?? This show just had a horrible ending, which was too bad since the story was very unique and fun to watch.Was this review helpful to you?
Great Story, Weak Female Lead
My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.Its unpredictability due to its unconventionality saved this drama. As I watched this drama, I negatively assumed a lot about how the plot would unfold, which caused me to lose interest at times. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Acting/Cast: I decided to watch this because I know the two male leads are good actors. They did well, as expected. There were some side characters that also did well. In particular, the casting for the umbrella murderer was perfect - very crazy and scary facial expressions. My main issue in this category is the female lead. The only drama I had seen her in before was Bridal Mask, wherein she also played a damsel in distress. Simply put, her acting skills were just not up to par with the males leads'. She would often go into these monologues where it seemed as though she would change her voice, as if she were trying to lull me to sleep. It annoyed me every time; It was grating on my ears. This could be more of a directing issue though. Her two uncles were over-the-top with their acting. They literally acted like cartoon characters. Actually, most of the characters felt more like manga characters than actual, realistic people. That comic book type vibe is a legitimate directing style, but it's not for me. I prefer watching more realistic characters on screen. 4/10
Writing: For me, the plot saved this drama. It didn't go where I expected it to. It ended up being very different to what I've seen before in Korean dramas. I like how the redemption arcs played out. However, the terrible female lead really dragged it down. I can't even say that it would have been better with a different female lead because the character itself was so poorly written. She was simply a damsel in distress. She was constantly confused, constantly fainting, giving random unsolicited opinions, and doing stupid things. Just because a girl has a weak heart, doesn't mean she needs to have a weak personality, too. She was an extremely one dimensional character. Even after finishing the drama, I still don't know who she is and why these guys are so in love with her. She may just be a Mary Sue. On a positive note, however, the other characters were well done (aside from some minor side characters) and I liked the ending. It showed that all the seemingly random things the female lead would say was actually meaningful to the story, even though the way she would say it made me cringe. 8/10
Direction/SFX/Music: The music annoyed me. I take notes when I watch dramas and I wrote "this music needs to CHILL". It was loud, repetitive, and sometimes didn't really fit the scene. This makes me think the issues I had with the lead female's voice was a directing issue as well. It was as if she had too much gain? The mic was too close to her? I'm not sure. Like I've stated previously, the characters also had more of a manga style to them, which I'm personally not a fan of. Also, I got secondhand embarrassment watching prosecutor Kim Soo Hyuk miming in public for such a long period of time (pretending to be hit, shot, stabbed to death). I was thinking "is anyone seeing this?" I get it, it's part of the story, but why did it have to go on for so long? Flashbacks are part of the story, too, but it wastes so much time. 1/10
Entertainment Value: The beginning was great. Very fast-paced. A lot happened in just the first 2 episodes. I feel the first half of the drama was better that the 2nd half in this regard. I would lose a bit of interest here and there when I would get too frustrated with the female lead or when I was worried the plot was going in a cliché direction. 5.5/10
Overall, I gave this drama a 4.5/10. For me, a weak female lead can do a lot of damage to a drama.
By the way, does Jang Ki Yong play a main role in anything where he's not the son of a murderer?
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This story really have great concept and could easily fall into superb storyline if not for the very frustrating characters. The term "fate" and "love" portrayed here seems too forced. And the most messed up understanding of "kindness", "sympathy", "compassion" and "love" by the female lead. Yes, its true that strong love can be formed by sympathy BUT... she already have someone who loved her tremendously. And it turns out that Hyung Bin is the one end up honoring Ha Eun's prayer to love eternally? Yes, frustration is an understatement when you watch this. Although, I understand that the second life time is finally being kinder to Ji Chul, but, it comes at the expense of dismissing other characters' progress. Was this review helpful to you?
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Outstanding Story But Poor Writing Hurts It's Potential
Born Again had a lot of potential. We got a refreshing story regarding fate and destiny not being so concrete. About how our past lives don't dictate our present ones. Jong Bum’s life seemed destined to be a killer but he learned that he could be a normal man with a normal life. But this lost me at several points due to the writers over complicating things, which took away from the great elements this show had. For example, the standoff at the end of the “Past”scenes was the perfect conclusion to end that story and lead us into the present day. Everyone dies. Ji Chul kills himself after causing the death of Ha Eun and Hyung BinPerfect, but they opt to renege on that ending, and have this cult, that Ji Chul’s father is the figure of, save him from death and then he gets hung in prison anyway. All so we have a link to the present day. This was not needed whatsoever. Likewise with Jong Bum being related to the Gong Family. The past life link was all that was necessary. Obviously these things on their own are fine but there were too many instances where if the writers left things alone and stopped trying to add their magic to it, it would've been excellent. But the writers couldn't help themselves. I'll reiterate that the story upto a point had me in the palm of it's hand. I was ready to call it a 10/10 drama but the story falls apart in the 3rd gear. And while it's not terrible, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Thankfully the acting is terrific. Jin Se Yeon can struggle to capture the right emotions outside of the romantic character building (Doctor Stranger) but she was really solid in her overall performance, along with the always brilliant Jang Ki Yong and Lee Soo Hyuk. They all had to be two slightly different characters for each time period and they were successful in making all six characters distinct from each other in a subtle way. The low-key greatest performances come from Kim Jung Young, Jong Bum’s (adopted) mother. Her cameos always shine, even in the best dramas (One Spring Night, The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, etc) and her portrayal as a Norma Bates inspired character blew me away. It's a shame that even this plotline faltered a little as well. Her and Jang Ki Yong had the most compelling scenes and relationship of them all. And this is a drama full of them.
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You know how some dramas become your guilty pleasure but this one just was bad by each and every single episode.The ending was no shocker to me but I had a little hope that writer might save the ship but no. We don't do that here.
Sa Bin choosing JB over Soo Hyuk is like throwing yourself in a well by your own will, when a clean water tap is just few steps ahead.
JB needed help, psychological help. He needed to know that his stalking and creepy tendencies weren't cute but somehow the writer decided to make him a sad hero when Soo Hyuk really did had potential to he the saving grace.
Sa Bin was dumb and her whole "Yes I can fix JB" theory was boiling my blood. It's not your damn job to fix anyone.
Whenever she felt pain in her heart I hopped she would just leave becuase there was no need for Soo Hyuk to suffer.
Again, the idea of reincarnation was really unique and good but the execution and character development was just garbage. I'm not sure why would anyone support Jb and Sa-Bin's relationship.
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No Rewatch Value
This show was really well done but the last episodes are wrought with bullshit that doesn't make sense and characters making choices that don't make sense and the ending is bad. Completely ruined the show for me. If I could give zero stars for rewatch value I would. The writers build up a certain theme over two-thirds of the show that they completely throw out the window for the last few episodes. Do yourself a favour -- don't watch it. Here's a tip--If you hated the ending of Cheese in the Trap then you will hate the ending of this show. If you liked Cheese in the Trap? Then you're insane but you and this show deserve each other.
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ball dropped
Born Again has a very interesting concept but suffers greatly from poor execution.Many of the "fate" connections feel contrived for effect. Other things just happen out of left field with little or no explanation. You end up with several cluttered stories the writers are trying to mash together by brute force . There are several flaccid attempts at misdirection but the plot is such a jumbled mess of things that don't really connect or make very little sense that there is no satisfaction when they the misdirection is revealed. Ending are hard, so it's not surprising the entire last episode felt like the interns took over and just yakked up some melodramatic nonsense. i did get the distinct vibe that the ending was supposed to be some how profound. it wasnt. just more mess.
Character development, for those who get it at all, is highly inconsistent and often nonsensical. At one point or another every single character of consequence does at least one thing that is at odds with their characterization. you even get some of it with characters who do little to drive the plot. The worst character development by far has to go to Ha Eun/ Sa Bin. She is little more than a McGuffin. That could be for the best since Jin Se Yeon has the emotional range of a mascot costume. Aside from her barely adequate performance the rest of the cast did very well with the poorly written nonsense they handed.
I'm not above dropping a drama, but i got through this mostly on the performances and the hope that the show would rise to the potential of the concept. i don't feel it did.
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