Lovely Runner

Entertaining but plot feels lacking

This drama was entertaining - the actors did a great job, the music was great, and it contained all of the classic k-drama elements. I loved the side characters! However, the overall plot is a bit disappointing. The plot required a lot of coincidences to occur for the story to go on - while I think some of them are fine and can add to the comedic aspect of the drama, some of them felt very annoying. I was constantly yelling at the screen because the female lead was doing something unnecessary, especially towards the beginning of the drama. I found the ending for the main thriller plot quite disappointing as well. There were so many attempts at catching the bad guy throughout the entire show, but the final attempt was very quick and lackluster in comparison. The romance scenes and character dynamics were cute though.

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EVERY TOUNGE RISE AGAINSE SOL AND HYEYOON WILL FALL.

Some of you watchers are very weird cause the storyline is honestly very easy to understand but i saw some of yall are actually being really ...
- Saying Sol is lack of regard to other ppl cause she is too into Sunjae?? now let's ignore the fact that the series has 16 episodes, each with nearly 1 hour, also the fact that yall beloved Sunjae died. Sol actually saved her house from being on fire, leading to her mother getting burned in her hand. Sol care about her mother you can actually see that through Hyeyoon's outstanding acting when the mother was in the hospital. Sol spent her days with her family, going to the market with her mom, doing chores, helping her grandma, bickering with her brother, literally told him the lottery numbers so he and her best friend will be comfortable in the future... and more than that, she stayed friends and gave advice to Taesung. Her reason is savng Sunjae but she also had times with her loved family and friends. Moreover yall are hypocrite because when yall criticize Sol for neglecting her family, Sunjae did literally the same but guess what, it's somehow cute and for the comedy.

- Now move to the main plot of the show, saving Sunjae. yall just never get tired of hating and blaming Sol for everything she did cause when she tried her best saving the ml, all you care is "omg this hurt sunjae fvck sol". only care about the ml feelings but never put yourself in sol shoes cause Sol literally sacrifice her happiness just for him to be alive and yall still criticize her. She's happy yall will freaking scream saying how about Sunjae, she's desperated saving him yall will still blame her cause your fragile ml is sad. At the end of the day, yall just watch this show for the visual but not for the plot cause everything Sol did is so understandable and empathic.

- The reason why Sol did not use time stop or whatever it's called is literally so easy to understand but yall chose to be dumb. SHE CAME BACK TO SAVE SUNJAE AND IF SHE KEEPS PAUSING THE TIME, THE TAXI DRIVER WILL STILL BE FREE ROAMING AND HARM SOL IN THE PAST, LEADING TO SUNJAE SAVING SOL IN THE PAST AND SUNJAE WILL DIE IN THE FUTURE. So what's the point of coming back? Also everytime she screams for the time to stop, there's always a person to listen to her story. One scream to stop the time then keep screaming while running to escape the taxi drivers who has a fcking car to drive, with the panic she is having. Yeah let's get yall in that damn story to see if it's gonna freaking work.

- And about Kim Hyeyoon, i swear i will really raise hand if i see anyone downplaying her cause the muse of Im Sol, the Blue Dragon, Grand Bell, Baeksang awardee is not something to be joked about. Not to mention the male lead, and many actors in the show said SHE made them acting and expressing emotions better because SHE acted so well. Her acting skills, her acting range, her diction is praised by not only the crew but also film critics, experts. Pay some respect to her name.

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Calibrate Your Expectations

If you don't like fluffy rom-coms with mild fantasy/sci-fi elements which sometimes lean into staple rom-com (for some, cringey or cheesy) humor, and prefer dramas with super tight writing that is plot-focused rather than character-driven, then you will probably find the gushing on this thread misplaced.

Do yourself a favor and reset your expectations so you don't come out the other side thinking, "That was overrated/overhyped." A lot of people like this kind of drama, hence the gushing. You may not be one of them, but that doesn't make everyone who loves this "wrong" or "a teenage fangirl."

This drama is not an artistic "masterpiece," but it is a very fun drama with strong chemistry between the leads that leans heavily into the concept of fate and true love with a dash of that old-timey romantic Kdrama nostalgia.

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The butterfly effect or we can just call it fate...

so at first i was pretty skeptical about it since im not a fan of dramas that have going back in time or that kind of stuff, cuz it just feels repetitive, however that was the whole point of the show. it was a bit repetitive in middle but, that itself potrays the character development and how the choices can lead to different thing.

so basically everyone is convinced that she was able to change her and his fate, well thats not true. yes she may have gone back to the past a few times and made some changes, but those changes were never meant to be changed or moreover she had no right to choose.
why i think this?
well the Main lead's friend, who had become a mother tells her that, fate cannot be changed, and even if she was able to go in past she wouldnt change a thing, because everything is already in motion.

so if we take that in account, dosent that mean there are more than 100 timelines, no probably more than that, because how do you truly know that you are in the present?

its just events in a paradox.

and that paradox will continue, sun jae's death is inevitable, because he will die one day.
like i said, im sol changed nothing, she was dancing on the palm of so called fate.
to support my statement, whether she is in present or past, you can go all the way to episode 16.

(SPOILER) ep 16
They both see themselves getting married, which is strange, because similar things happened to sun jae when he was recovering his memory from a different timeline, and same with im sol, when she was gonna catch the killer.
meaning that the memory they saw was either from a timeline, took place in future or a premonition, similar to when im sol was at the restaurant waiting for the killer.

why i made this post?
well, there are alot of people who kept on going on abt how its poorly made or how she did nothing even though it was obvious that she could save sun jae. No.

she had no right to mess with the timelines from the beginning and if she did, nothing is bound to change, either the events will take place later on, or in some other way. but they will happen whether she changes her choices or keep them the same.

"lovely runner"
could have many interpretation. for me I'd say it means that she is denying fate to protect her loved ones, but you know its 'runner' its as if its telling us that someone or something is running away from something terrible or unfortunate which cannot be outrunned or matched, because of how complex it is. it also shows the endurance of im sol backed up by runner, because she dosent give up no matter what.

i can keep rambling about it, but this series was very well written, they chose the story carefully and there were some hidden hints yall missed while watching the show, if you still call it shit despite not noticing all of that, you must be one biased individual.

producing a story with such a complex concept can be veryy challenging, especially dealing with timelines, but yes there were some loopholes, tho with enough thinking and common sense, it all adds up in the end. i would have given this a 10 if it had no loop holes, however no show is perfect imo. but this series really captured me because of its repetitive (that i dont like) it's music and Ost, truly 'crush'ed it lol.

my fav ost: spring snow by 10cm and sonaki.

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best kdrama ive ever seen

i love this drama so much. from the plot, to the characters, the acting and the music, visuals.. honestly everything was perfect.
i will rewatch this for sure. its so well written. I LOVE IT and enjoyed watching every single episode which is rare for me.

the fact sun-jae liked it sol from the start gets me everytime and his love for her?!
and i love how its not one-sided at all because sol shows how shes selfless as well and sacrisfies their love for his life although she missed him so much. i love how you can see how she went from fan to a lover. soo so so well written.
annnd honestly sun-jae is the standard. ill never get over him as ML. his love for sol is insane and made me giggle sm. mans loved her in every single lifetime and waited for her. and the things he does for her WOW. ill die alone.

the music as well WOOW. every time spring snow by 10cm played i got goosenbumps. it resonates so well to their love and dont get me started on their amazing acting and the actor's chemistry. i rlly enjoyed watching the BTS. both kim hyee-yoon and byeon woo-seok worked so hard you can tell by the outcome of this masterpiece. :)
i could write sm more but my fingers r getting tired... in conclusion ill def rewatch this kdrama!!!

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To enjoy the drama without an unbiased perspective

Will it live up to your expectations? 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦.
(from someone who watched from beginning to end during streaming season)

You must go into this show without any expectations and despite being recommended by a friend, I listened to her explanation and it helped understand the story a bit more before going in. The only thing I asked her to clarify was the relationship between her and the male lead. I will not watch it if I knew it was a love story between idol and fan B/C IT IS NOT. So first, you must listen to a honest good review before deciding whether you would like the show! (it might not always be your taste but it will always be someone else's and don't criticize ppl for saying it is their fav because as someone who barely watch k-dramas, it is one of my top ones). If you expect people to respect your opinion, you must respect someone else's.

And remember, there are three instances of their love occurrences and progression of the story [high school, college and corporate]. It is an entire package of love sequences which is why I love this drama a lot! You can see their growth as time progresses. The acting is comedic at times and emotional to the point my heart aches for them to be tgt.

THE STORY

It all starts with a woman in her 30s who came back to the past to save a man, who has wrongfully met his demise. Sol and Sunjae’s fates intertwined with their first encounter — when Sol mistaken Sunjae for a delivery man. She called “Ajusshi!” She gracefully ran in his direction and under that rain or perhaps it was definitely love at first sight, Sol came into his life.

Sunjae was someone who loved to swim, but he hated the rainy days a lot because it reminded him of the days he used to swim and stopped due to a long-term injury. Because of his first and only love, he started loving the rainy days.

It’s only fair to mention that Sol doesn’t know who Sunjae is or at all who he was before Sol became Sunjae’s fan. She became a fan because on live broadcast, Sunjae has to dial a random stranger and give them a message of motivation. It’s no stranger that Sunjae would decide to dial Sol’s phone number. Sol picked it up while not in a good mood, lashed out. She couldn’t stand having such a miserable life — all while holding a piece of glass and almost about to kill herself. Sunjae’s voice came through so smoothly and peacefully that Sol was moved. She was bound to be moved by it.

“Please continue to live because the weather is nice today. If it starts to rain then you could wait until after the rain has stopped then continue to live again.”

I don't know about you, but going into this drama, I had zero expectations whether I would experience similar tropes to other dramas but at that moment, I felt something and I started crying when Sol was screaming, the pain of losing her legs and all at once lashing out --- not knowing he was the one who saved her. And Sol also didn't know she would be met with kindness and such words turned her into a fan. And I think the time-travel allows for them both to meet and understand each other's hardships and one, Sol isn't time-traveling for Sunjae; it is for HERSELF and her LOVE STORY.

It’s brilliant because Sol told the same thing to 19-year-old Sunjae exactly: “Sunjae-ya, someone told me that you should live because the weather is nice today. And you could wait till the rain stops then live your life again.” She said that because at the time, she believed Sunjae was overwhelmed by the internet hateful
comments and chose to commit suicide.

CLIMAX

The killer, despite not knowing why he’s choosing to go after our main leads, doesn’t mean he’s unimportant but whether important to the entire plot line. If there’s more episodes, I think the drama would’ve been a masterpiece of a masterpiece. The killer not having ties to both leads is a great choice because there’s no need for a pity story but whether he’s there b/c he’s crazy and like most stories, he is there as he exists. The show dealt with many themes of self-acceptance, suicide, and disability — while yes, love is the main theme but I think it give people an alternate reality where you can change your fate and in this case, be with a love that’s out of reach.

The ability for Sol to time-travel was a watch that Sunjae used to wear.

While Sol remained as herself and dated Taesong as her 19-year-old self — when she went back in time, 34-year-old Sol didn’t interfere and simply told him to treat Sol well. She continued searching for answers and ways to protect Sunjae — which in the process, she loads herself with so much love and also suffered at the price of losing it all when Sunjae dies again.

First time slip, Sunjae and Sol met which shouldn’t have originally happened so the watch brought her back into the present immediately when Taesong basically confesses his love as well to Sol. Sol knows 19-year-old her knows nothing and will accept it. Fate can’t be overturned and Sol respects it. But I think it gets troublesome for Sol as she knows very well that Sunjae likes her as well.

The second time, our Sol went back basically, to correct her past wrongdoings, and to face the embarrassing occurrences by her 19-year-old self but once again, she respects what her old self have done and what choices she has made back then. Despite being in a relationship with Taesong, Sol’s goal never changed though, and that is to save Sunjae. While keeping a relationship with Taesong, Sunjae grew a bit jealous but of course in a good way — he’s always trying to improve himself for Sol. Just Sol’s presence makes Sunjae anxious, and he realizes that he would never move on from Sol even if she dates someone else. I think it’s brilliant that the director made Sol listen to the MP3 where Sunjae confessed “I like you, Sol” all in the action of Sunjae quickly appearing into Sol’s view and said, “I like you a lot, is it possible for you to break up with Taesong?” Sol of course didn’t do it immediately until she found out that Taesong was just playing around with her, using her as a facade to avoid someone else’s confession.

But Taesong actually started to like Sol, yet another detail is that Taesong only loved the 34-year-old Sol in 19-year-old Sol’s body not the original Sol. While Sunjae likes Sol no matter what kind of Sol, he loves her for her. I think Sol hasn’t realized that Sunjae liked her for a long time, and she never would’ve guessed that Sunjae’s death may be linked to the killer who caused Sol’s tragic accident, leading her to lose her functioning legs. And the brilliance of the director to make Tae-song, the love security or officer. He lived up to the title of a police officer and tracked down the killer with his brilliance. I think the second male lead here isn’t a plot device because he was born to be a officer/detective in every timeline.

THE PLOTLINE

The moment when Sunjae comes into the rescue, saving her from the killer and jumping into the water to get her out of there, she let the tears fall out slowly and hugged Sunjae tightly because she finally recalled Sunjae running towards her at the day of the tragedy — this isn’t just memory loss — she’s losing the only person that loves her so much more than his own self. And time skips ahead to another present time but this time Sol actually got her job at the film company and encounters Sunjae again. Her legs are fine.

It’s funny because Sunjae remembers everything Sol has said to her. He ends up getting excited over this little reunion, which didn’t happen as accordingly. But on the day where in present time was the day that Sunjae was supposed to pass away — Sol waits for him there. She hopes he doesn’t come but still hopes for him to come. It’s been 15 years again — an unrequited love.

“We will meet at this bridge, 12 am, and dig out the time capsule.” Sunjae happened to have already done that, way before that day.

And both of them in their 30s — this time, Sunjae isn’t a famous singer but a famous actor. Though, he still sings “Sudden Shower,” a song written just for Sol without her knowledge of its contents, Sol still wasn’t able to get into the concert venue with tickets, and listened from outside the stadium. She experiences a cracked phone, then falling snow. Sol realizes and parks her car near the bridge to wait and see if Sunjae comes.

She receives a call and answered, “Yeoboseyo. Yeoboseyo—?” Sunjae replies with: “It’s me.”

Sol turns around and sees Sunjae looking at her earnestly. And Sol held the yellow umbrella over him again — referencing the first time they met on a rainy day which at the time, only one person recalls.

“olaenmaniya.”
“long time no see.”

And in that time period, they actually had a short happy-ending. They experienced an adult’s love — where he cooks something for her to eat, while she is willing to stay at his house for a longer time. Both of them are panicking because they are able to be with each other peacefully. They had their first kiss as adults when Sol told Sunjae that she likes him too, but she won’t do anything about it. Sunjae stood there trying to process everything and was like “HUH?” He rushes really quickly up the stairs and stopped the closing door. The tension is insane where Sol looks at the Sunjae — Sunjae asks again, “do you like me?” Hahaha then they dissolve into a slow kiss. It was cute because Sunjae was holding her back to the wall and kissing her — 15 years is definitely long…

MY THOUGHTS

Although in present day, Sunjae loved her from afar — wanting to get close to her, but also not wanting to disrupt her life as an idol. I get it, it is a one-sided love where everything goes unknown but I believe the director says god also cannot see our beloved main character, Sol — live with the pain of the accident which left her paralyzed and unable to walk or not being able to pursue her dream to be a movie director, to be rid of her career and even love. In one chance or another, god gave Sol three chances + an additional one to save Sunjae for the last time. The last chance was a cruel one, but Sol had to do it for her sake and Sunjae’s sake.

I think it’s logical because he loved Sol even before he became an idol. So yes, 15 years of loving Sol from behind and protecting her from behind even without her knowing is sad. Because in a way, Sunjae had disappeared from Sol’s life even more when she lashes out saying “why did you save me? why did you turn me into this paralyzed monster? why can’t you just let me die?” I cried because Sol is in pain and Sunjae is in pain because he couldn’t do more to save her.

It’s so heartbreaking despite that it’s a rom-com. They’ve just been through so much and I can’t even stand that Sunjae literally falling off a cliff and Sol time-travels once again. Sol decided harshly to remove herself from Sunjae’s life completely. No love at first sight. Nothing.

But hey, it doesn’t end there.

Sunjae is still Sunjae — he just needs those experiences. He’s the 4.0 Sunjae that sees and feels everything Sol has been through. “Sol.. Sol.. Sol!” I remember just bawling my eyes out because my Sol needed Sunjae so much right now. She’s suffering, having to also live without Sunjae by her side and loving him for 15 years, with him having zero knowledge of who she was or having the same feelings for her back.

But our good old grandma is definitely a spiritual guide or a god, she was able to control the watch somehow and decides that you know what, my sol needs a happy ending because she misses him. He misses her.

Sunjae is still Sunjae even without the memories because he still falls for the same smile that Sol gave him 15 years ago. And slowly, Sunjae’s memories came back. I think the only thing I’m sad is that this episode can’t be longer. They definitely cut a few things out because Sunjae and Sol probably took a while to really figure everything out. It’s hard being that Sunjae might be hating himself for forgetting Sol and Sol feeling guilty because she wants him back so much that she can’t even hope for a happy ending. Sunjae saying, “do you want a happy ending?” He goes and hugs her. I think at that moment, Sol knows Sunjae is back but she’s afraid that Sunjae might still die. I think that hug just reassured her that everything will be okay. “Whatever happens, I died saving you and that’s okay.”

CRITICS

My only issue is if they clarified why the killer chooses the both of them as targets --- it would be better than it being plot device, and why they chose to make Sunjae 4.0 instead of the idea that Sunjae also time-traveled but opposite sequence and IDK WHY but I wish they didn't make SOL erase herself from HIS MEMORY LIKE HOW COULD YOU. YOU ARE EVIL FOR THIS. As much as I love this drama, I cannot overlook these mistakes and several plot holes.

I am not a film director nor writer but I know many viewers can be if they tried which is why they are our voices to make stories we want into a show! I want them to know that we want genuine portrayals of love and this love is perfect. If they made the Sunjae who experienced everything travel to the present, it would have been so much better than him just remembering. I think the show wanted to maybe show he also time traveled but ep 15-16 felt too rushed! They barely had time to cry and reconcile before the happy ending. I am glad it's a HE, I would be throwing hands if it wasn't.

My mondays and tuesdays will never be the same [04/2024 ME]

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Lovely Runner: Almost there to the finish line

The cast of Lovely Runner shines brightly. The main leads deliver strong performances, and the seasoned actors hold their own, creating engaging dynamics. The supporting cast does a good job of...well, supporting the leads. However, the show stumbles in its writing.

Clichéd Cupid: The romance between the leads, while well-acted, drowns in a sea of overused tropes. What starts as cute quickly becomes repetitive, leaving viewers yearning for something more original.

Time Travel Troubles: The central plot device, the time-slip, is a missed opportunity. The show fails to explain its core mechanic, leaving a gaping hole in the narrative logic. This lack of explanation is frustrating, hindering the audience's ability to fully invest in the story.

Conveniently Ever After: The ending feels rushed and predictable, opting for a simple "happily ever after" conclusion that ignores the complexities established throughout the show. It leaves viewers wanting more depth and a more satisfying resolution... and explanation.

Overall: While the cast is commendable, Lovely Runner banked more on the cutesy romantic feels and that's it. Clichéd romance, unexplained plot points, and a predictable ending prevent the show from reaching its full potential.

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