Lovely Runner

He may be the most successful Stan in history

This started off pretty depressing. Based on the massive amount of love and fluff posted in socials, I was taken a back by the first scenes with our leads. While it was unexpected, I do wish they would have leaned more into that plotline. The first episode was a great foundation to open up the depth of the characters, especially Sol. I was disappointed by the lack of development in her character. Her logic matched that of her teenage self more than the 'grown woman' who was traveling back and forth in time. I think we were all annoyed at her attempts to help Seon Jae but push that poor guy away.

Seon Jae. The newest tree in the forest of green men. A cinnamon roll. As stated in the above title, he is the most successful Stan in history. This man not only pined after her as teens but held onto her (mentally) in just about every timeline. I would have loved to see more about his side of the world as things changed. He really provided the community with unrealistic bf expectations. From the hand scene in E4 to the apologizing to her when he couldn't remember, when SHE removed herself from the narrative.

The side characters didn't add much but I really enjoyed them. I would have loved some more screen time for Tea Sung, In Hyuk, and Hyun Joo (minus the husband, he was aggravating as all hell.)

I see a lot of people ranking this at a 4/5 or a 10. I'm somewhere in the middle. I liked the storyline and characters but they took an interesting idea and watered it down.

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The Spring of Lovely Runner 2024

For : Lovely Runner
How did I watch: From the first premier, religiously waiting for every new eps.
Why did I watched: Kim Hyeyoon & Lee Seunghyub
Themes that I like in the drama: capital ROMCOM, Timeslip, doki doki, Both lead redemption, Fate, Fan Culture Meta,

1. Most favorite character: Baek Inhyuk ( The cherry blossom scattering living rent free in my head). I think he inspired me to do more for my friends.
2. Most favorite interactions:
> Im Sol and Ryu Sunjae. OTL. Im Sol my sunshine, the reason why yellow is so warm and the love of my life. Ryu Sunjae my adorable loser. Together they are explosion.
> Drunk Sunjae and Inhyuk: Inhyuk expression is the point.
3. Most memorable scene/ plot point: The part where inhyuk spill the beans, sol listening hehe.
4. Why did I stay for this drama: The couple chemistry is so good. The way the writer and director construct the show to lean more into the romance. The ost really speak to the drama and each other it felt like going on a journey.
5. What I would like to see more: THE DELETED SCENES and the life after.
6. What I would like to see less: I am sorry im geum and hyunjoo.And someone i love but kept dying, i love you but plsssss plssss.
7. Would I watch it again? YES!
8. When will be the best time to watch? When it's spring somewhere in four season country. When i need
9. Radar alert for the future watch: Kim Hyeyoon ! Lee Sieun ( The writer i have doubts, but she really leaning heavy on the chemistry and the romance and the comedy), but now im excited for her next work.

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It was cute, but lacked in some areas

Now don't get me wrong when I say that this drama was absolutely amazing. But unfortunately, I feel like it lacked in some areas or was dragged out a bit. I loved watching every second of this drama, but I couldn't help but think of how it could of ended 3 or 4 episodes beforehand.

Im Sol and Seon Jae's relationship was absolutely the cutest, but I kept thinking I felt sorry for Tae Sung. There was just something about him that made me feel like Im Sol could have had a better relationship with him. Although, when Im Sol chose to change the past by never meeting Seon Jae, then it seems like Tae Sung's future had changed for the better as well. So I guess it wasn't such a total loss.

The one thing I loved about this drama was that Im Sol didn't keep it a secret entirely that she was from the future. But it would have been so much better if she had told Seon Jae a long time ago. Then maybe they wouldn't have kept dealing with the same thing over with him being confused with how Im Sol truly felt about him..

It would have been SO MUCH BETTER if Im Sol was able to just tell Tae Sung and Seon Jae about the kidnapper. I know she wasn't able to talk about certain facts and such, but there truly wasn't any reason why she was keeping them in the dark so much. Seon Jae and Im Sol could have had a better future if she had been honest about everything (that she could explain of course) and there wouldn't have been so much pain and constant change of events.

I loved this drama.
But I can't stop thinking that it could have been so much better if they changed a few things and it would have been a complete masterpiece.

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"I'm thankful that you exist in this world"

Beautiful, Captivating & Chemistry - These are the words I would use to describe this drama. This time-traveling romance masterfully explores the concept of fate, setting it apart with its exceptional execution. The story transforms a complex narrative into a compelling reality, making the extraordinary feel profoundly real.

I absolutely adore this drama - everything about it captivated me every Monday and Tuesday without fail. I was eager to keep watching each week. Every episode left me with a flurry of emotions: it tackled difficult topics such as grief, love and growing up. The one thing that I loved the most about this drama was the realism; it portrayed the difficulties of life and love as well as the difficulties of losing the one you love to keep them safe. All around: this drama was incredible.

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A Solid Drama

This drama is one of those k-dramas that is really great overall but is perhaps missing that something really, really special that makes it resonate below the surface and takes it from a great k-drama to an outstanding drama. Don’t get me wrong. This is a special drama in that it got a lot of things right. It’s more solid in execution than a lot of the k-dramas of late. You absolutely won’t regret watching it. The first couple of episodes were strong and I think it has the type of ending execution we’ve all been yelling for years that we really want (even though the non-romantic plot side was anti-climatic and wrapped up somewhat too easily for the amount of tension that was built). The middle and the very last episode were less polished but again, great overall.

For me personally, there are great dramas that don’t connect to me that deeply simply because I can see the actors playing the characters rather than just being immersed in the characters. This is not to say the acting isn’t solid. It is. However, this reminds me of when you go to see a play and although you can appreciate and are impressed by the seasoned acting, you can very much tell the actors are acting in a play. In order for me to connect to a drama on a deeper level, I need to not see the actor but only see the character. For this reason I can only say this drama is a solid drama that was executed well and deserves praise but I cannot say it is a drama that gripped me or will stay with me in any way. I admired the love and strength of the characters and what they went through but it was like watching actors in a drama and that’s it. Other less polished dramas have that really, really special something that gets you below the surface; that has so much heart you know you are experiencing something unlike others when you watch. For me, this is not such a drama (although great overall).

If I could, I would rate this an 8.7 as I think it’s higher than an 8.5.

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Lost interest around episode 9

Perhaps my fault for not watching a trailer, but the first 3 eps of this show didn't indicate the rest of the drama was going to be shrouded in such an undeveloped, nonsensical murder plot. I also didn't understand what purpose the second ML served? I spent the entire drama feeling sorry for him. Also, her presence in his life just seemed to make his life harder. The cast is great. Regardless of my disdain for the FMC's writing, the actress committed. Both male leads were great. I wish the family and friends mattered a bit more, but whatever.

Onto my issues:
Not only did the the FMC's actions make no sense, it honestly made me feel like the writers wrote the show as it went along. The FMC goes back in time and clearly has the knowledge that she was kidnapped and violently attacked when she was younger. Instead of trying to get ahead of that and change her own fate, she's solely worried about Sun Jae. She goes back several times but never does anything really impactful to change her fate. There's a glimpse of her trying to learn self defense, but she never does anything serious to do so. It feels like the kidnapper was an afterthought for her. The scene where her mom calls her in like Timeline 3 because her daughter was kidnapped a year prior and never told her was just laughable crazy.

The start of this drama was so fascinating. It seemed like a great set up and opportunity to discuss the lack of accessibility for those with physical disabilities in South Korea. It also seemed a bit like a Y/N fanfic where a fan meets their idol. This was such a cool start and would've made for a very interesting romance drama. Even with the time travel aspect, the chemistry between the actors was great. It just seemed odd to have the kidnapping plot seem almost randomly inserted. More than that, the drama was paced in such a stop/start way that every time the drama would make some progress, the FMC would make a nonsensical decision or there'd be such a ridiculous misunderstanding to slow it to a grinding halt. It made for a somewhat infuriating viewing experience after some time.

Add to that, this drama shoved every possible trope it could in here and it turned into sort of a hodge podge mess by ep 14 (where I stopped). In truth, the first 3 eps are so great. It grabbed my attention and I was couldn't wait to keep watching. It just fell off a bit after and I completely lost interest by episode 9. I hope someday there is a romance drama with a wheelchair user though. I don't think I've seen that kind of rep in any k-drama yet.

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Absolutely Love

Let me start off by saying that I do not like time travel dramas. They typically confuse me, and my "too realistic" brain can't often process how these things work.

Somehow, the time travel of Lovely Runner just works. The storyline is cute, heartwarming, and just overall enjoyable to watch. You'll go through a roller coaster of emotions, but none of it will be regrettable. The cast all did a superb job of capturing the essence of their characters, and the amazing reception that this drama received is full evidence of that. There were many "conspiracy" theories about various elements of the plot on Reddit, but honestly, a completely enjoyable read without needing to get into all that. A definite must watch!

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