This review may contain spoilers
I loved this. Unique twist on time travel with a heart warming love story
10/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 romantic comedy drama that centers on time travel. There are 16, 70 minute episodes. It is based on a webtoon titled “Tomorrow”s Nest.”First I provide a unique synopsis then review.
Synopsis
An accident leaves Im Sol (Kim Hye Yoon) paralyzed and wheel chair bound amd ready to end it. Ryun Sun-Jae (Byeon Woo Seok) calls her “randomly” from a radio show where his band “Eclipse” is being interviewed. His call reaches Im Sol on one of her lowest days but his words inspire her to go on. She becomes his top fan and it is one of the brightest days in her life when she meets him through a “chance” encounter. On that same day she is devastated to learn he ends his own life. Perhaps the universe gets her devastation and responds to her desperation as a magical watch takes her back in time 15 years when they both went to adjacent high schools. During her many attempts to garner Sun Jae’s attention in order to change their future, she is indifferent to most people around her which catches the widely popular Song Geon Hee’s attention (Kim Tae Sung). Tae sung is used to girls vying for his attention. Im Sol’s utter indifference sparks his competitive nature and he finds himself falling for this unique girl. As Im sol travels back and forth through time, her teenage self vascilates between a girl that is in love with Geom hee to an embarassing extent, to the 30s year old version in a teenager body that finds him ridiculously bad boy narcissistic. And as she changes from one persona to another depending on which stage of life brain is driving the teenage body, she changes between idolation and indifference of Sun Jae as well. Which makes for some very comedic moments. Can Im sol fulfill her heart’s desire and change both of their grim destinies?
Review:
This is a unique twist on time travel with a very heartwarming love story. After this series ran Byeon Woo Seok became known as the nation’s boyfriend and it is clear why. The main lead character was so sweet, steadfast, and loyal to the main female lead character, that most would want to have a boyfriend or girlfriend that had all the qualities he had. You will also experience second lead syndrome as second guy is awesome as well. While there are some sad moments, I would not consider it sad at all on balance. Though if you have been impacted by anyone having ended their life, be aware it could be tough emotionally in the first episodes. It dragged me down a bit because anytime that topic comes up it brings things back. For me the emotional drain around him seemingly ending his life was not severe enough to avoid a really good story like this, but it is good to be aware and prepared. I always check before and most indicated it ended happy. I can confirm that it does have a very happy ending. I would highly recommend this to anyone that loves really good romance, likes time travel, or is a fan of any of the actors. All the actors did an incredible job of portraying the characters. I would watch this again and would recommend it to anyone without hesitation.
Spoilers
My daughter said it would be slightly rated down in her opinion to maybe a 9/10 because she felt like it was super confusing how often it flipped around in time. I completely agree. It did get very confusing as she traveled back and forth to know if certain events happened in that particular timeline. Not only did she travel 15 years back and forth but, at times, they would flashback within the same timeline. Lead guy even, at one point, thought Geom Hee had dated Im Sol and she had not dated him in that timeline. So, the writers were acknowledging that even the characters would have been confused. But, I differ from her in that I do not think you could have portrayed the complexity without it being a little confusing at times.
There were some things I wish had been better explained. Like, how exactly the watch was working. How did she know how many times she could travel? How did she know when she was going back? What about grandma? Was she controlling some of the events? It also did not explain whether Sun jae actually ended his own life or if it was the killer got to him, drugged him, and he wound up falling off the balcony and it looked like he had ended his life. At times it seemed the killer had some awareness, like he knew things he should not have known, and it wasn’t clear why that was the case. I think it had to do with something the grandma said that memories do not go away that they become embedded in your soul. And then there was Sun jae’s puffer jacket stalker. That was really developed as a key event in one timeline but then it was like they just dropped it. I thought it might play out on all the timelines in a very essential way but it seems the only point of it was for him to have these frustrating passing moments, where he misunderstood Im sol and they almost but not quite got together.
I got really frustrated with her for pushing him away. I understood she was doing it because she became convinced he would die or get seriously injured from being around her. But, her original purpose for traveling back was to keep him from ending his life. So, if you are worried about someone being sad enough to make that horrible decision, why would you do things that would make them depressed? Even understanding her concern about the killer targeting him, I wanted her to realize she should not make him sad. But I did finally agree with her when he was stabbed and fell off the cliff. I know I would make the same decision in that case. I might talk to others around him to get them to check in on him more and make sure he was doing emotionally well, but I would likely conclude that he need not be around me if I couldn’t get the killer to stop no matter how things changed.
#LovelyRunner #KimHyeYoon #ByeonWooSeok #SomhGeonHee #LeeSeungHyub
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Omg!!! Truck-kun where did you Isekai him to? ???
- Memories don’t disappear. They are smeared to your soul.When you see ‘Romance’ in a tag you look for chemistry and my god they had it. The constant timelines and parallels of snow and cherry blossom was a great symbolic usage of beautiful love myths.
The cast, the story 10/10
Rewatch value 10/10
Just completed it so I’m having extremely mixed emotions but loved it.
But I don’t know whether it was because of the ability being overpowering or something but our Sol only used her power for comedy settings. Ryu Sun Jae being an extreme green flag has my standards on a level I don’t know about anymore and shout out to the coolest ex-boyfriend Tae Sung. The parents being absolute admirers of their children and our second couple being just as green.
P.S: Mal Ja shii our halmeoni the MVP
And where is my Sun jae? 😭😭😭
This turned out to be a rant then a proper review I thought I would be writing but WATCH IT!!! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Kdrama version of all that glitters is not gold
I usually watch kdrama after checking it’s rating and Lovely runner has 9.2 rating!! I have completed watching the show and am shocked as it’s rating is same as twinkling watermelon( that show is a legit masterpiece) and lovely runner doesn’t even come close to it. Still wondering what made people give this show such a high rating. The show feels like a low budget time travel.I am sorry but story was average and execution was below average. There were soo many timelines but hardly any character development in those timelines. Sol goes back in past many times and still can’t get things right. It felt like she didn’t care about her disability that much and was just obsessed with ML. She wasn’t in love with him in the beginning so why was she acting as his long lost lover.
Her actions made no sense and left me plain confused in the beginning episodes. I was expecting more because she is the FL not just any other character.
I have no issue with the SunJae as he was clueless and such a sweetheart. I kept watching the show for him.
The serial killer guy made no sense to me till the end. He was used only to drag the story as there was nothing else to add in the plot. The supporting characters weren’t used that much and felt irrelevant at times. The show could’ve been made more exciting by adding thrilling factors in it as time travel is soo vast and have multiple dimensions in it. I feel like the excitement factor was not there. The show is not bad but just not worth the hype and definitely not worth the rating.
Was this review helpful to you?
"Lovely Runner: A Drama That Surpassed All Expectations"
Almost every drama I've watched has disappointed me at some point. I start watching, thinking, "Oh, it's good," but then it lets me down. However, "Lovely Runner" is the type of drama that has never disappointed me! Most of its OSTs are my favorite so far. The cinematography, the cast, the story—I've never felt bored for a single second! I've never skipped any scene. I took at least 100 minutes to watch a one-hour episode. I've never felt like this while finishing a drama. I never thought I'd like it this much! I started watching it without any expectations, and it's my favorite drama now.Before this drama, I saw Byeon Woo-seok in "Strong Girl Nam-soon," but to be honest, I didn’t like him. I also didn’t like Kim Hye-yoon that much! So, I wasn’t interested in this drama at all. I started it out of monotony! But after watching this drama, I like them more than anyone else. They are my obsession now.I don't know how to express my thoughts. I have so many words to say, but it feels like I've lost all my words. Beat me, but "Lovely Runner" is the best drama this year.Was this review helpful to you?
i think people should appreciate Lovely Runner for a nostalgic romcom about fated lovers.
they keep everything as it should and balanced them all together. the romance is romancing, the comedic timing is excelent and the angst is there just for the right amount, definitiely the highlight of 2024 kdrama line I must say. this is truly one of the best drama i’ve watched in a LONG time.anyway i feel BAD for the people WHO WATCHED THE DRAMA CUZ OF THE HYPE ALONE, because having that mindset would certainly reduced the experience itself. also to the hater down below saying this drama is overhyped you truly DON'T UNDERSTAND how long it has been for kdrama lovers to feel this kind of tingling feeling all over again the dopamine rush in my boring life?! just please skip this drama if it’s not ur cup of tea, don’t comment unnecessary things.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
an opinion+advice ♥️
the first eps made cry because when sun jae was trying to comfort im sol on the radio. i relate too much on "thank you for living" cause i also am a fan of a band that is truly unreachable ,their are basically like stars that shines in the night sky its almost like their watching you every night and as some people know night is somehow someones only comforts at hard times. what im saying is the band that i love for me is like a warm blanket on a cold night, they are comfortable and just there for you when you need them . i felt that about im sol ,she lost her legs as i see as her blanket ,the thing that she needs on that cold night is gone ,i guess thats how she felt after the accident ,she felt useless as she saw her mother struggling every single day bcause of her.but that is no ones fault, she just want to end all the struggles .i guess she felt that on her next chance ,shes willing to sacrifice herself so others wont feel hurt. the same for sun jae ,he only wants to protect im sol and be happy together,but thankfully at the end fate gave them the most memorable love experience since they helped each other despite their struggles on their lives. i give a 10/10 ,its definitely a must MUST watch you'll really gain some advices on certain situations that you may incounter on a some scenarios for example like whenever your sad or worried or accidents happens ,always tell someone that you really trust so that you dont feel alone and feel that no one cares about you,remember there is always people who willing to listen.if a your a fan of celebs or band thats making you happy aslong as your not crossing bounderies then you can support or like them as much as you can.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Form your own opinion of the show/ igonre the reviews
If you are having doubts about watching this cause of the bad reviews, don't listen to them. Form your own opinion on this show cause honestly, it's not that bad.My thoughts on the show:
-Episode 1: This is so good why are people hating on it?
-Episode 3: I almost dropped it cause I was not too fond of her returning to the future and her past self not knowing what she knows.
-Episode 4: The brother & best friend contribute nothing, just a waste of screen time.
-Episode 5: I like it so far but why tf are we adding murder and kidnapping to this?
-Episode 8: I like that there was no time travel in this episode and it is just their new lives in 2023.
-Episode 9: so I'm guessing time doesn't stop if she says she's from the future, only if she says details from the future?
-Episode 10: okay so now we are changing the future again which I like. Also, why tf was this negatively reviewed bombed? Like it's not gonna be my favorite drama but it's better than average.
-Episode 11: The ML is so adorable, his love for the FL is so cute. So far this was my favorite episode.
-Episode 12: Sol is kinda dumb... I agree with someone else's comment "Wouldn't it change the future if you went with them instead of staying in the same town you saw getting yourself hurt?!?? "
-Episode 13: how can she give her brother numbers to win prize money in the future? Why didn't time stop? Is that allowed now? Isn't that telling her brother about the future? I guess there are more loopholes to telling someone about the future, as long as it's not super detailed about others' lives or their own. I also think if they figure it out themselves then it's also okay.
-Well, at least he's not dead. It's sad though because in the first timeline, he loved her, and she didn't know, In the second timeline she knew he loved her and they loved each other later on. In the third timeline only she knows that they love each other and she loves him from afar.
-Episode 14: I like how they turned down the craziness for this episode.
-Episode 15: honestly this show isn't bad, it just feels like the writer didn't know where to go with the plotline and went in all directions. It's funny how this is a sci-fi show, a cop show, a romance show, a slice of life. I don't mind it but I can see how others didn't like how it didn't just pick one genre and stuck with it.
-Episode 16- The FL can be dumb at times but honestly she's not annoying idk why the reviews say that.
----->Final Thoughts:
I saw a review saying that the ending was unsatisfying, I don't agree. I do believe logic is thrown out the window in this show and it can drag towards the end but overall the show itself was good. It won't be one of my top Kdramas but I do believe it deserves a higher rating then what the reviews are giving it. I also saw someone saying that this Kdrama is overrated, I don't think it's highly rated enough. So many of the reviews that I first saw when I thought about watching this show were the lowest of the low. They were all saying stuff about the show. I don't think this is a 10-star show in my opinion but I don't agree with most reviews rating this drama less than 4 stars. I should sometimes stop listening to reviews because Goblin is one of the most praised and popular Kdramas ever and yet I hated the main characters and couldn't even finish it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Really good drama
Not many dramas these days manage to really capture the attention of viewers like older k-dramas. Lovely runner is the exception. Time travel stories might be a little overdone, but I found that Lovely runner did so very tastefully . It always had me wondering what was going to come next, and whether or not Sol was going to succeed in saving Sun jae. The stalker storyline is definitely the most overdone plotline it had. The lack of motivation behind the killer was almost comical at times but it still did a good job at keeping the story pretty entertaining. None of the characters ever felt annoying to me, their actions although may be a little exaggerated for the issue at hand always felt reasonable in concept and not merely to drive the plot forward. Lovely runner does a great job at portraying the love between Sol and Sun jae, and made the more sad parts of the show that much more impactful. Great show in all, sometimes felt a bit repetitive but did a god job at providing a meaningful story and conclusion to a relatively basic concept.Was this review helpful to you?
Personal Feedback
I'll start with the actors — The actors did a really great job portraying their characters. It's like it was made especially for them to act. From the female lead crying and acting tough and the male lead acting like an idol, swimmer, etc.., to the antagonists annoying the hell out of me. Bonus point to that is the chemistry of everyone.For the plot — I have seen other K-Drama with the same "time-traveling" plot, but this one added some twist & turns on it. It kept me on edge until the end. Usually, when I watch K-Drama, I skip 1/4 of its scenes as there are of course awkward and cringey scenes but this one, if you're into sweet, kind-of childish couple, you would find yourself watching almost every part of it without skipping.
Finally, for the storyline — Of course, this isn't a perfect one. You would still find holes in the story such as "why is the grandma like this" or "why is the watch the "portal"" but I guess that might get answered by the Season 2.
Overall, it's not a new concept of K-Drama, but it does deserve the hype.
Was this review helpful to you?
best kdrama in the history of all time tbh
best casting in a drama ever like.. I became huge fans of them both after this. this drama has all the genres and tropes you've ever loved. youth, childhood, loser boyfriend, he fell first AND fell hardest, grumpy vs sunshine, angst etc the list goes on. the ultimate feel good drama that makes you cry and laugh in equal amounts. anyone who comments on plotholes etc just does not get the point of this drama who cares about the time travel plot and script in so much detail???? what makes this drama so good is all the tropes and the funniest and cutest scenes between the two. we get to see them grow up literally. high school to college to adult life we get to see them in every single stage of their life. even their families and friends were so entertaining. never been so obsessed with a drama like the before even the OSTs have me in a chokehold. anyone who thinks this drama is less than amazing just hates happiness that's all there is to it.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A Sincere, heartwarming experience
Look past the obvious pitfall of a story like that - the time slipping, which is the key to the story and it will be a very very very enjoyable experience.I started the series with no expectations whatsoever, having not read the webtoon it is based on or read any reviews. What started as a tentative dip of toes into this series ended up with a binge watch AND a rewatch immediately.
The story starts with a super fan who was saved from suicide by an idol and how she travels back through time to save him from his death. In the process of trying to save him, she discovers alot of forgotten memories and feelings and learns how he was/is a person who has always been in her life. The result of their realizations is an innocent love that transcends time and space. Its a simple yet very compelling narrative.
The soundtrack sung by the actor himself (as a member of the idol group he is part of in the show) is great. Kim Hye Yoon was amazing - yes she cries in every episode but each tear conveys a different emotion and she is the reason why this series works, she makes Byeon Woo Seok look so good, and now they are both on my radar.
In conclusion - this is one of the best series i have watched so far and is highly recommended.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Why you should watch Lovely Runner
Lovely Runner is a romantic comedy which is about a girl, Im Sol, who travels back 15 years to save her idol, Ryu Sun Jae.LR is a sweet comedy and i the chemistry between the two leads were amazing! I love the plot twists in the story.
The ending is happy of course, both of them will be together ❤
This 16 episodes drama (each about 1h 10min) is worth to watch, and can be a perfect show to binge on during the holidays.
Overall, I think this drama is funny, romantic, sweet, and cute. I have watched it already but i miss it sooo much. Great plot and good cast
Was this review helpful to you?
