Lovely Runner

A story that's full of heart

As I’m typing this, the soundbar in front of me is playing out the song list by Eclipse, the fictional band fronting the OST of this amazing drama series. Before I say anything else, let me say that Lovely Runner has probably one of the best OST compilations for a drama series in a long while. It’s just delightful to me that fans are gifted with 5 original songs specially written for a fictional band to be savored long after the drama’s ending. It underlines just how every detail making up this show is taken care of by its producers.

Another remarkable aspect of this drama is the very palpable chemistry among the entire cast and not just the main characters. They each delivered a stellar and very believable performance collectively. Byeon Wooseok is a revelation to me in this, having watched his previous works this one stuck out to me as very, very well pulled-off comparatively. In fact, BWS truly WAS Ryu Seonjae with every delivery be it in words, postures, facial expressions, both macro and micro. I felt his angst, I relished his jubilance. Kim Hyeyoon was also remarkable as always, though I preferred her portrayal of the adult version of Im Sol for some reason. Maybe it’s because I felt that her youthful aegyo from her school days were a little bit overdone at times. I’m very much willing to overlook those instances though, as I felt that her bubbly character complemented Seonjae’s more reticent, boyish charms very well.

Another aspect of the show I truly treasured was Seonjae’s “bromance” with other characters, especially Baek Inhyuk and the occasionally reluctant Kim Taesong. I’ll never forget that drunken scene with the acorns and in the noraebang. In fact, I love the way this show treats all the friendship, sisterhood, bromance, family values and even the way our band members Eclipse regard their fans.

Okay now moving to the story; I do understand how it’s not a cup of tea for everyone. I also feel that maybe time travel as a storytelling device in presenting the plotline can be an overwhelming concept for some. Many have mentioned how it seemed repetitive, with Im Sol traveling back and forth through time as though in a pointless loop. Well, this is exactly the essence of FATE; fate has a way of reasserting itself back into the original path despite numerous interventions. Im Sol had only 3 chances to do that as per given by the watch, and she even (seemingly) failed all three. So how DOES one change fate? That was what Im Sol had to figure out. It’s just so poetic to me how it was Kim Taesong who saved the day for them and changed the course of their ill-fated relationship. And I love how Kim Taeseong’s dad put it in the end, “Maybe (bad guy) Kim Youngsoo had to die so that another innocent life can live”

Despite several minor inconsistencies, plot holes, and plot conveniences, I truly enjoyed watching Lovely Runner for the feelings it evoked within me. It made me laugh in unabashed hysterics, it made me cry inconsolable tears, and it also inspired me to love the people closest to me that much harder. That’s why at least for this drama series, I’m willing to overlook technical accuracies and savor all the ways it made me feel watching it instead.

I’ll truly miss this one. It’s been a while since a drama series affected me this much. The last one was Six Flying Dragons, I’ll have you know.

Read More

i'm sad that it's ending, but happy it's being given an ending

Lovely runner left me speechless, i just can't seem to find the right words to express how. By delving into these deeper aspects of the characters' lives, this drama resonates with viewers profoundly. This drama provide an escape into a world where love conquers all and i am overjoyed with their witty banters, slapstick humor, and memorable picturesque moments. It has fast-paced, energetic rhythm that keeps the story moving along and holds viewers' attention. It doesn't drag or feel too rushed, it has the right balance between romance, comedy, and plot development. each scene is beautifully shot and evocatively captures the spirit of timeless love.

Read More

pretty good

A cute Korean drama that blends romance and time travel. Kim Hye-Yoon absolutely steals the show as Im Sol. Her performance is captivating, and she effortlessly switches between comedy and drama. Her portrayal of Im Sol's emotional journey is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, making her a standout in the series.

The series also explores themes of love, loss, and, the power of second chances.

The chemistry between Kim Hye-Yoon and Byeon Woo-Seok is pretty good and I think that the pair add a lot to the show.

The show starts off strong, but it loses steam as it goes on. Some of the supporting characters feel underutilized, and their storylines don't contribute much to the overall plot. They just feel a bit pointless at times. I really enjoy good side characters, and I am not sure there is a single notable one in the entire show.

Despite these shortcomings, the show does remain an enjoyable watch. I think Kim Hye-Yoon is amazing here! Her performance is what really makes this show stand out.

However, it's important to note that the series is not without its flaws. The time-travel mechanics, while intriguing, can sometimes feel inconsistent and unexplained. The resolution of some plot points may feel rushed or unsatisfying.

All around, I think it is a solid show, offering a blend of romance, comedy, and a touch of fantasy.

**Pros:**
* Kim Hye-Yoon is amazing!
* Cute romance
* Interesting time-travel twist

**Cons:**
* Drags on a bit
* Time-travel stuff can be confusing
* Some side characters are weak

Read More

The Hilarious, Angsty, Romantic and yet Non-Toxic Drama of this Decade

This drama is no short of getting 10s in every aspect!
Firstly, a huge round of applause and immense appreciation for Kim Bbang, author of the book Tomorrow’s Best. Thank you writer-nim for bringing this beautiful novel into existence because who knows if there would be a loose adaption of this book if you hadn’t written this.
Secondly, the director, scriptwriter, actors, and team, take a bow for stringing together an amazing and enchanting yet detailed narrative that blended romcom, angst, and thriller so beautifully that it managed to always keep the audience on the edge in every episode.
Things that I loved the most in this show [because I don’t have any dislikes for LR!]:
- RSJ was just a boy next door who IS ignored in her original timeline, which made this show instantly different from others. For once I was glad here the guy wasn’t the school/college hunk whom every girl fawned over. It was a coincidence how many of us subeoms never noticed BWS playing insignificant characters[I didn’t notice him until 20th Century Girl!]
- The show proves that audience are craving for non-toxic, positive male leads who don’t just shout and act like they don’t care but then suddenly there’s a change in their character midway. I love the Green Forest RSJ and wish to see more MLs like him. BWS is effortlessly funny and pulls every version of SJ from a school going kid, to a college-goer, to an idol and an actor flawlessly
- KHY did a wonderful job of portraying a fan girl and a lover. I was skeptical about how they would portray IS once she fell in love with SJ, but the transition was beautiful. I loved how KHY brought out the side a fangirl has, the madness, the need to keep up with their idol’s life, and then the devastation of seeing their idol pass away prematurely. Her powerful acting made the transition easy, and when IS lost SJ as her lover, the emotions were completely different.
- The lewserism that SJ oozed is such a treat. It’s not cringey or overdone but done in the right amount. Oh, he is MinMin’s descendant I tell you lol.
- The supporting actors were equally good, especially Baek Inhyuk. I am glad they managed to squeeze in his backstory. Actually, despite less screen time, almost all characters have a good backstory [IDC about taxi driver]
- Special thanks to Gonghee, he is one of the BEST SMLs there is. He wasn’t clingy or even someone who wanted to create misunderstanding. He was there as a supportive friend to the FL even when she was time traveling.
- This show has little to zero misunderstandings and I loved it. I am so glad that there were no severe arguments or fallouts. This show managed to squeeze as many tropes in romcom as can be and still managed to balance them out to not overwhelm the audience.
- The parallels that were shown were so beautifully and seamlessly blended, different yet the same but never boring.
I am so so glad to be a part of this drama while it was on-air. While I am sad, I am also happy that it just pulled off so well. I will miss the madness and obsession I had with this show. Never have I ever been this unhinged over a drama. The theories, the comments, and everything, I will miss this! This show is even more special because of its organic success! The way fate aligned the stars to make this happen is sometimes astonishing. From it being shelved for 3 years because actors rejected the script, BWS taking it up, to no PPL because no one had hope for this drama, not even TvN, and YET this drama emerges victorious, delivering top-notch content from excellent acting to direction to cinematography. Everyone associated with the drama deserves the praise and fame they are getting. Thank you, LR for giving me a wonderful 2 months. Thank you for keeping me hopeful when my life had suddenly gone haywire. I am going to rewatch this show again.

Read More

I would jump through time and space for you.

Mmm, This drama gets so much love on socials, The amount of edits i have seen and saved is crazy. First of all the casting was perfect, I think that's why this drama got famous and it skyrocketed all around the world. I felt like the writer was experimenting in the later half of the drama .

The first two episodes were good, like, the FL giving second-hand embarrassment, but turns out the ML likes her before she was a fan was good. Sunjae being an absolute loser in love was cute.

They gave a good second lead that wouldn't steal the whole show, but added some good jealousy and love triangle to the story. I didn't get second lead syndrome that much, but I did think Taesung was cute with Im sol.

Im sol was not appreciated enough for the whole show , cause she would sacrifice everything for the idol she loves, She has went through so much trauma, just to keep him safe. Her love is very pure. Especially when she went back in time to never meet Sunjae and try to make her fate forget about Sunjae entirely by not meeting in the rain and everything.

The reason why the story went downhill and felt confusing was because of the thriller part of it, I still have so many questions, What motive did the villian have to chase Sunjae and Im sol many times?, How does Sunjae remember everything from the past?, Why couldn't Sunjae use his watch to time travel?, How did Sunjae become an idol even after he didn't meet Im sol ?, He only tried singing to win a phone for Im sol, then after Im sol went back to change her fate, Sunjae didn't want to enter that competition in the first place but only did for Im sol, but without meeting Im sol, How did he become an idol?. There are many holes in this drama that made it slightly mid tier. And you're telling me we spent the whole show waiting to see the villian's motive only to see him getting hit my truck???.

Yes I do think it's overrated just a little bit, since there are many hidden jems which is better than this, But at the end of the day , this is such a comfort show, The romance is cute, light hearted and binge worthy. I would recommend to the peeps who love a cute romcom with a hint of thriller and mystery.

Read More

Never ending loop of same events

This is my take on lovely runner so you don’t have to agree with it.
I couldn’t help but notice alot of similarities in plot of the movie 20th century girl and lovely runner. I will be pointing out those similarities because there are just soo many. I almost thought lovely runner was a drama adaptation of the movie with a time travel twist.
Firstly, Sunjae death in lovely runner and woon ho’s death in 20th century girl.
Secondly sol’s character had resemblance with Bora who is effortlessly cute and cheerful in the movie. Unfortunately Sol didn’t make us feel that way. She was annoying to say the least.
Thirdly , we discover Sun Jae fell for Sol first and same happened in the 20th century girl. The aesthetics, the video rental shop and the neighbourhood are similar too.
Finally , the love triangle that builds confusion between Sun Jae and Sol and it continues up till the middle of the show. This also happens in the movie. i feel the writer was either inspired by the 20th century girl or it was just too much of a coincidence.(LOL)

I absolutely love sun jae and I was rooting for him but sol ughh. I don’t know why but she annoyed me throughout the show. I don’t understand what was she trying to do as her actions were abrupt and not thought through. Poor sunaje suffered much for her.
Anyhow i might not rewatch the show as story was lacking depth.. Sol’s time travel and sunjae’s death keep repeating in a never ending loop. It was bizarre towards the end.

Read More

let's kidnap and run!!

omg, it took me a while to write a review about this but nevertheless i did it!!

this kdrama gives all the vibes i want, the characters, the ost, the acting is so good you gonna rewatch it all the time.

sunjae omg SUNJAE! you are one of the best main characters i've watched, you are a green flag through and through - even how many times he goes back and forth through time he'll end up falling in love with im sol 😭

im sol the cute woman you are, to classmate to a fan to being his first love and to being his forever ahhhhhh!! so lucky!!

love love the plot and the main goal of the story for sunjae to stay alive.

ost is also at its finest - sudden shower is my favorite 💖

Read More

A Romance with a Watch that has a Leading Role

If living your life and falling in love resulted in the loss of life for the one you love but you could go back in time, would you do this to change the life of the lost loved one? Most would say yes. The series is about this scenario. Kim Hye Yoon's Im Sol tries over and over to save her love from death, but always fails. A nondescript watch is the time machine. The series details and narrates her attempts to save his life time and time again but always fails until she changes the narrative to where they never meet. All this in order to save his life. It's the tale of a GREAT love between two people.

I read some reviews before I started the series, and they were not flattering. While I can understand the weaknesses these reviews highlighted, my take is different. This series is a modern day Romeo and Juliet without the family anguish. Two people with such a great love for each other it withstood the test of time, space, death, and time travel.

The weaknesses that I saw were in the editing and somewhat in the writing. There is a lot of detail built into the time travel that can easily confuse the viewer. Im Sol goes back in time 3 times. Sometimes I wasn't sure if I was in the future or past. It didn't help that random scenes were thrown in periodically. In one regard I can understand as it helped to establish the strong connection between the two main characters and it also relieved the sadness and anguish (through comic relief and supporting character subplots) this storyline would inflict on the viewer. After all how much sadness can a viewer take before switching off? Some of the chaotic-ness of the storyline helps to bring the viewer along in the story. At least it did this for me as I never wanted to stop viewing.

If you're going to watch this, see it for what it is. A great love story of two people trying desperately to be together but fate just keeps interfering, yet they keep trying. I have to say kudos to the two main actors, Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon for their tremendous leading roles....nice!! This series had an amazing supporting cast as well. Song Geon Hee (smooth-like- butter, this actor is amazing!! I'm looking forward to future dramas with him), Jung Young Joo, Seo Hey Won, Kim Won Hye (three of my favorites from previous dramas, they did not disappoint), Baek In Hyun and Song Ji Ho added so much to the story and their loyalty to the main leads, and Heo Hyung Kyo was so so very evil. Well done to this amazing cast!!

I hope you give this series a chance. It does wander around a bit, and that is frustrating for the viewer. However, what it boils down to is the story of a great, GREAT love between two people. And who doesn't love a story like this?

Read More

Very cheesy drama with plotholes

Started off as one of my fav drama but after ep 12 the story felt dragging and many points were missing from the drama like the story of the taxi driver , the grandmother, how the watch helped Sol to travel back in the past and why did she get another chance to save Sun jae and I felt that there wasn't any personality of Sun Jae other than being a loser for Sol..I wish that it was a drama where Sun Jae actually committed suicide without the taxi driver plot and in the end Sol had to become disable as it is an inevitable fate like they did in Twinkling watermelon and Sol and Sunjae would help each other to overcome their depression...I thought that the drama will be like this but then I was like no it's again that same serial killer plot...my fav character is Tae Sung ...he had the most significant role in the drama because without him Sunjae and Sol wouldn't have a happy ending

Read More

I think younger me would've enjoyed this a tad bit more but honestly, I'm a little disappointed by the show. Yeah, the romance was cute and adorable. Yeah, the main lead is handsome and sweet and the soundtrack isn't too bad (even though towards the end of the show it was starting to get repetitive) but I just wanted more in terms of writing and story.

The first couple of episodes weren't too bad but towards the middle was when things started to drag. The older I get, the more I realize that I definitely prefer a drama with some type of story going on either that or something entertaining. There was times where I felt bored and I had to keep pausing because nothing much was happening. The stalker plot was beyond pointless but I understand why it was incorporated into the show because without it, there's basically no plot.

I find the stalker plot pointless because we never get any backstory/reasoning on why the stalker is obsessed with Im Sol and Sun Jae. After a while the amount of things that the stalker was able to get away with was starting to get ridiculous and the way he ended up dying was so stupid and forgettable. Instead of a final confrontation with Im Sol and Sun Jae, he gets hit by a truck and dies. The resolution for that plot ended so horribly that it just made everything that happened in the drama seem pointless.

The supporting characters are also weak since the writing is mainly focused on the main couple. I like Im Sol's mother and grandmother. I did not care for the best friend/brother plot line and Sun Jae's dad was okay. I can't take the actor too serious since he still gives me nightmares due to his role on Strong Women (man his character was annoying but funny on that show). The romance is cute and the height difference made me swoon a bit but I just wish the story was stronger because once you get past the romance aspect of the show, there's not really much that you can discuss. It's not a bad show but with the hype it was getting, I was definitely expecting something much more stronger.

Read More