Lovely Runner

My most lovely drama

I wasn't interested in the drama and actors when I first saw the pre-aired promotion clips.
Somehow, I clicked episode 1 without much interest because I was too bored to finish the QOT drama and the other C-dramas. But surprisingly, I fell in love with both ML and FL and their friends, cinematography, make-up style, script writing, music/Osts and everything. This is my first time writing a drama review, although I have many movies or dramas I have been obsessed with before. But this one hits me differently.
I wish the drama actors could make another movie again and hope the ML and FL date each other.

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Heartwarming and Sweetest

One of the best drama i have ever watched. Such a beautiful cast and storyline. Worth to watch it.
Sun jai and im sol chemistry is just amazing. A little show that looks light and fluffy, but is, in fact, so full of heart, and so solidly smart, that it outshines its similar-looking drama cousins, by a long mile.

Smartly written and tenderly directed on the one hand, and sincerely delivered by a cast that feels pitch-perfectly chosen for this story world on the other, Show has a lot to offer, despite its relatively modest pedigree.

Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon are wonderful in this, individually and together, and were the highlights of my watch; I found them both entertaining and endearing in all the right ways.

As a bonus, Show boasts a great OST that just amplifies every feel that Show serves up.

Very Much Recommended ❤️❤️

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A classic: Perhaps the greatest romance drama ever

If you read the plot synopsis you'd think there's nothing new or revolutionary about this plot. And you'd be right. "Time Slip" genre has been done to death in not just Korean Dramas but Asian Dramas in general. Just last year we had three Time Slip dramas, and those are just the ones I watched. The writer has written the story of Lovely Runner in such a beautiful way that these overused tropes feel so fresh. Each episode ends on such a high that all you think about is this drama, while waiting for the next one to come out, so much so that your life will be consumed by it (I really envy people who are going to binge watch this). The ending of Ep 2 is a particular favorite of mine, where the writer spins the narrative on its head and that is the moment where I knew I was in for something special. And there was no looking back after and there was not one episode until the end where I was not captivated by the storytelling. The writer has a unique take on "Time Slip" where the main female character Im Sol is able to travel back and forth between past and the present. The only catch is, she has limited tries and there are some rules she must not break while she is in the past. This raises the stakes of the story and also keeps the narrative interesting.

Im Sol and Ryu Sunjae are the heart and soul of this beautiful story. Kim Hye Yoon who plays Im Sol and Byeon Woo Seok who plays Ryu Sunjae give career defining performances. I have seen Kim Hye Yoon before in "Sky Castle" and "Extraordinary You", and I always thought she was a good actress, but with Lovely Runner she has become one of my favorite drama actresses. This is my first drama with Byeon Woo Seok and what an actor he is! He deserves all the praise that is coming his way for playing Sunjae. Im Sol and Ryu Sunjae are some of the best written main characters in kdrama history and Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok elevate those characters to a whole another level. The supporting characters were all great, especially the SML, Kim Tae Sung who is a breath of fresh air among second leads in kdramas. Never once does he force his feelings on Im Sol and was such a ray of sunshine throughout. I adored his bond with Sunjae and Sol.

Lovely Runner gives us a romance story for the ages spanning multiple decades. Im Sol challenging fate and destiny, failing multiple times along the way trying to save her love Ryu Sunjae. Their story will make you cry multiple times, but you'll also smile like crazy watching them being in love with each other. Unlike other romance dramas which run out of steam in Ep 10, this one just keeps getting better as it takes you through a roller coaster of emotions. And unlike most dramas the payoff at the end is so satisfying to watch. This is one of the rare dramas which gives you a very satisfying ending, an amazing payoff to Sol and Sunjae's love story.

Music is also an important part of the story with Sunjae headlining a famous band called "Eclipse". It is very well incorporated into the story and the songs are all top tier. Half of the songs are sung by Byeon Woo Seok himself, which is such a nice touch. No wonder these songs are so popular in Korea right now.

Dramas like Lovely Runner only come around once every few years. A drama that will captivate you through its storytelling and acting and production. This drama was not at the top of anyone's "Plan to Watch" list before it came out heck even the channel was expecting it to flop but through its sheer excellence it became the raging Hit that it is. Lovely Runner is a masterpiece and one of the best dramas I have ever seen. I am putting it in the same category as "Reply 1988" and "Twenty Five Twenty One" as my all time favorite dramas.

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it has more fantasy then story

it was satisfying to watch. The character build up, there struggles you feel sorry for female mc. and don't like the fact that its taken as Idol and his fangirl, they tried to hide this fact by she was his first love which made it worst.
they could have shown him as a saviour and owe her, her life. i mean she was suicidal, and his words and his presents even as an idol in her life made her want to live again... which was it self a big plot. yeah the drama version wasn't bad but it made the situation comedic, whatever it was really fun. i think they didn't want to make it serious...
.
but the last episode felt like a rushed one ... they were like doesn't matter what is it just make a happy ending 😂😂

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Wonderful and believable chemistry that carried it

I’m not super picky with my dramas. I generally like tropes and enjoy a huge variety of styles.
For me, the two leads’ chemistry is what kept me watching. I loved how comfortable they seemed to be with each other and nothing felt forced. That part was endearing to watch (even during the happy couple moments I found myself smiling when typically I feel those lovey-dovey times in dramas can get over the top and annoying).
Overall the serial killer trope ruined a lot of it for me. I feel they could have had a wonderful story without that aspect entirely and I found myself rolling my eyes any time he was involved. As a result there were several large plot holes left that would have benefit from having more focus.
I don’t regret watching it. It was cute for what it is and I really appreciated the wonderful chemistry as well as the starring of some of my favorite secondary actors, but it lost a lot of points relying too heavily on tropes to propel what otherwise would have been a wonderful plot if given a bit more thought

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Very good, although not perfect

I thought this drama was very well-done and highly entertaining. Was it perfect? Of course not. But I don't get the hate I read in some reviews and in the Viki Timed Comments while I was watching. It is surprising to me that this drama provoked such extreme reactions, with people either calling it the best of the best (which it isn't) or hating it to bits (which I don't think it deserves). Personally, I lean more towards the positive, although I found some weaknesses, that I will describe below.

The time travel

I happen to like dramas with second and third chances, where the character travels to the past trying to change things and, if it's done properly, I don't mind at all seeing the same things happening in different ways. It is exciting to think about the implications that changing one single thing can have to the future of all those involved.
I loved "Operation proposal" with Yoo Seung-ho, I also liked "Tomorrow with You", I hated "Manhole" with a passion. I loved "Twinkling Watermelon", except for the finale. I felt really let down and cheated of my happy ending. After all this desperate struggle of the son to save his future father, the accident happens anyway - although the outcome is significantly better. I felt like the writers went for the politically correct ending, with all its absurdities (he gets an executive job, of all things, in a company selling music instruments where everyone learns or at least understands sign language, just to accomodate one person who is not even close to them).
I was afraid of this here as well. I was afraid that they would have her end up paralyzed anyway, but with the love of her man, saying "there's nothing wrong in being disabled, it's just as good as not being disabled, you can be happy anyway". I've heard the argument that her ending disabled anyway would have been more realistic? Realistic? What on earth is a realistic outcome in a time-travel k-drama? Does time-travel exist and does it have real rules, realistic or otherwise? What are our criteria for calling something "realistic" in that context? Thankfully they didn't go that route.
Although I thought that overall "Watermelon" was a better drama, this one had its own charm.
I liked that the female lead does not travel to the same moment in time, and also that her visits are not always in chronological order. This gives variety and freshness, and helps us explore different moments of the characters' lives.
I didn't like that the reason and rules of time travel were not explained properly (was the grandma the Heavenly Granny after all, as was hinted at the end?) Just because the clock showed 3 o' clock and the next time 2 o' cloth, she assumed that there were three tries? That's random. But then, time travel dramas usually are a bit vague about that part, you're expected to just suspend disbelief.

Was the main lead a "loser"?

Someone said that it was unnecessary that the male lead is revealed to have liked her since the beginning. That he has no reason to like her. Yes, it wasn't indispensable, yes he could have grown to like her little by little.
But that revelation makes it much less one-sided, it made for a nice twist to see everything from his point of view. And, more importantly, given her crazy antics the first time she travelled, I don't know whether it would have been reasonable to put up with her if he didn't like her beforehand. He would have brushed her off as a weirdo. I know I would have! And, okay, let's be real, teenagers don't need very deep reasons to like someone. Consider that he went to an all-boys' school and wasn't very exposed to females, dedicated to his sport as he was. And at that age where hormones are raging. He saw a pretty girl with a radiant smile and he was smitten. At that point, it was just a generic liking, someone you would wish to meet again and make an acquaintance with, not the great love of his life, for whom he would be ready to give up his own - this came later, in a much more organic way.
There was the criticism that the main lead only thinks about his love and not enough about his career. He forgets about swimming too easily only because of her. Yes and no. The way I understood it is that while he was young he did like swimming and it was his life, but he was also encouraged a lot by his father, and he was happy to be able to excel somewhere. The time he had taken away from the sport led him to explore other interests as well. He did get interested in singing after that first time he got on the stage. He did write a song (inspired by his love, yes, but aren't 95% of songs love songs anyway?) Let's not forget that we're talking about 18 or 19-year-olds. They can change interests. I think that he really didn't want to go the the US for rehabilitation. First he was afraid that he wouldn't make it anyway and he would have raised his and his father's hopes for nothing. I didn't feel that was an excuse, it was a very realistic fear he had. Yes, not going to the US had a lot to do with his love, we know that. But I don't think it's the whole story. Not everyone goes on to do what they did when they were very young. So I don't find this a flaw. Otherwise, yes, he is ocncentrated on her a lot, but aren't we all like that when we are in love? Why call him a loser, as so many people did? Are you a loser if you are able to feel deep love and show it to your beloved? I know, she rejected him so he should move on. But we also know that in reality she liked him a lot. Her eyes often gave her away, her care for him etc... Why not assume that something within him sensed that, he felt that he was loved back, that while her lips told him to go away, she was unconsciously sending him messages to stay, and that's why he couldn't move on? It wasn't spelled out, but that's a factor to consider.
Was it unlikely that the male lead had no other relationships in every possible timeline, even in the one where he had never met her and didn't remember her? Of course it was. I agree with that. But we're watching a k-drama, and this is a k-drama trope. In k-drama world this is the normal thing. Being an idol, it's slightly more likely, as they are closely watched and fearful of scandals, but we know that real idols have relationships anyway, secretly.
The Viki comments consistently called him a loser. How can you call a man a loser when a woman goes through all of this only to save his life, even to the point of risking her own? Just because she doesn't show it and he does, he's a loser? What a shitty, old-fashioned mentality is this? She doesn't play hard-to-get because she's playing games, but becasue there are very important things at stake.

In defense of the female lead.

While I was watching at Viki, many Timed Comments were very critical (nasty I'd say) of the female lead, especially every time she rejected him. And here on MDL, at least two reviews criticized her for not using her time in the past to enjoy the company of her family, instead of making him her only pursuit. People, did you forget? The goal of this trip was not to have a cozy time with friends and family but to save a person's life! And especially once she got the information that the man dies because of her, it's absolutely normal that this desperate quest takes top priority. Moreover, she doesn't seem to have been the sort of person who didn't spend time with her family anyway, one who didn't appreciate the grandma while she had her with her mind intact. So there was no special need to do something extra to make up for lost time, because there was no lost time. That would have been an important thing to do if she had a weight on her conscience that she took her mom and grandma for granted, that she did not spend enough time with them or give them enough affection. But we were shown that they were a close-knit and loving family anyway, so this need would not have overriden the mission to save the life of an innocent person who died unjustly in the prime of his youth. That's all. I don't think I have to add more to this.

And what? they mock her for crying in every episode? How couldn't she cry? When her desperate attempts to achieve her mission fail, time and again, when she's chased by a murderer and she has to witness this young man's death not once but multiple times? Who wouldn't cry, in real life? Then others criticize her for being too bubbly. Make up your mind, is she too sad or too bubbly? There's no satisfying people. As for me, I found the bubbliness forced in some scenes where she's pretending to be carefree and wants to hide something. She's very obvious. The actress is actually quite good but the character was not necessarily a good actress and they want to show us, the audience, that she's lying, doing it in a less than subtle way.

Did Im Sol always make good choices? Of course not. I thought it was careless of her, the last time, to assume that because the man hasn't met her, the killer is no longer a problem. She should at least search the news of the year 2008-09 to see whether he committed some crime and what happened to him. Because Ryu Seon Jae's fate of being killed by that man did not depend on his connection with Im Sol, as was shown at the end, where the criminal is about to kill him without even knowing who he is.
But if we found ourselves in that situation, would you and I make perfect choices every single time? Probably not. Right? The audience sometimes seems to think that the character knows what we the viewers know - what other characters are thinking or doing, where the killer is and so on. Of course this is not the case. The poor girl has to wing it, to do all she can with the available information she has, and with the chances she is given. She is bound to make mistakes. It's also for the sake of drama. The "hero's quest". Drama is made by overcoming obstacles. If there were no obstacles and she solved everything the first time around, the drama would be over in five episodes!
I kept reading "why is she breaking his heart, why is she so hard on him? Just date him and be happy". Those people seem to forget the main point of the travels her main goal, is to save his life.

My opinion on Im Sol's character? I found her very brave, she had the strength to stick to her main goal without wavering. Of course she longed to do what viewers wanted her to, of course she wanted to confess and throw herself into his arms. But if she did, she might have to face the trauma and heartbreak of his death again. After her first time travel, every time she went back with a very specific plan, and she stuck to it faithfully, no matter how much she was hurt, no matter how much he was hurt. And no, "telling him everything and figuring out solutions together" was not possible. We saw what happened the time before the last, when he understood her plan and said , "I don't care, let's love each other anyway and if I die I don't care". Which happened. He came back to the cliff to save her and got killed. So we were shown how this was not a good idea at all. She wasn't planning to blindly sacrifice herself. She had asked for backup from the policemen. She had a plan. Until he ruined it because he thought she was stupidly sacrificing her life.
This was a very smart heroine. Not perfect, but smart and loyal, and as much in love with him as much as he was with her, although she wasn't allowed to show it for most of the drama.

Secondary characters

Side characters are not well-developed and do not have any development arc, they don't mature, they don't change, they are one-dimensional. Yes, that's true. And, unfortunately this is too often true in k-drama (should I say most of the time?), it's one of the most frequent flaws. They are stock characters (the supportive friend, the goofy friend, the fat friend, the nagging but affectionate parent...) there only so that the leads have somebody to confide in, or just for comic relief. And it's a pity.
The second male lead is also not developed enough as a character. I agree with that as well. His family history and relationship with his father is only hinted at, and there's a sweet scene between them towards the end, which sort of mends things, but it could have been fleshed-out much more, since he does play an important role in the story at the end.
The killer. Yes, we would have needed some more of his motives, what his deal was. Not a lot of time spent on him, just a few hints on how and why he did what he did. Not that all serial killers have real reasons, but for dramatic balance it would have been nice.

Slapstick I hated

I was especially furious at how they used the ML's dad. Kim Won Hae is an amazing dramatic actor (as we saw in many many shows, for instance Good Manager and While You Were Sleeping). But since his role in Strong Woman Do Bok Soon in 2017, they have often been using him for heavy slapstick of the most vulgar kind. Since Strong Woman Do Bok Soon is another inspiration (together with Watermelon) for this show, they thought they would make supposedly fun scenes where he hurts himself and has to wash his soapy eyes with toilet water. I wanted to slap the writer for doing this. And yet people in the comments were saying it's so funny. I really don't understand these primitive people who can laugh with those things. Anyway, the actor being awesome as he is, he still manage to injet some humanity to his puppet-like character and show us his good heart and great love for his son. I thought this serious enough a flaw to take one star from my rating. There are more refined ways to make comedy, and we had some of those moments in the rest of the show.


Tropes.

Were there a lot of k-drama tropes? There were quite a few (way too many) "the female falls and the male grabs her to arrest her fall", there was also an accidental kiss if I'm not mistaken, there was the interruption of intimacy by an unexpected visitor and hiding into the closet, there was the botched proposal, the amusement park date and a few others. Although they were not overwhelmingly bothering, I wish they weren't there. And I was happy to see our old friend the white truck of death, for once in the role of the good guy. He deserved that break, after years of loyal service.

Product Placement

I was happy to not notice blatant product placement. Maybe the ice popsicles and a few others, but it was seamlessly woven into the narrative, so it didn't bother me. No female displaying all the range of a certain brand of cosmetics and suddenly starting to extol the virtues of some lotion out of nowhere. No Subway either. I didn't even notice the brand of the jewellery when Seon Jae went to buy the rings, so thanks show, for not being too pushy with those things.

The ending

One thing I was really grateful for is that the resolution didn't happen in the last five minutes, and we had a whole episode of happiness to enjoy, and we also were given the time to learn what happened to most of the other characters. That was super-refreshing. Some people found it "underwhelming" because the show didn't finish with a big dramatic splash. Personally I prefer them that way, rather than angst until the very end or, God forbid, an open ending, leaving you with all sorts of questions.

Music:

The Shower song was pretty good, I liked it, and there were a couple of other good ones. Not a score that will remain forever in my mind, but it served its purpose well.

All in all, I think it was a good drama. Not one of the ten best of all times, but a very good one nonetheless.

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Worth the watch, I guess

So as much as this show made me want to pull out all the hair on my head, I have difficulties being harsh about it. For starter, the positives ; The ost of this show is simply incredible, most of the song by the fictional band Eclipse are on my daily rotation now lol. Also, the ml and fl acting is really believable and they have a pretty good chemistry, this show was really strong when displaying their love for one another, they are many really, really cute scene with them. As much as I want this show to be a 10/10, it’s not. The story felt so stupid at times, the reaction and decision of characters felt to predictable or on the contrary , so stupid that it’s unbelievable I still liked this drama that much. If you want a cute story with a beautiful ending but that will make you question your sanity at times, I recommend!

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Lovely Runner: Special and Memorable

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

I think the best way to describe how I felt while watching this show was warm. I fell in love with everything about the show: the plot, the romance, the characters, the music. And when you feel comfort with something, you aren't ready to let it go. Maybe that's why I delayed watching the final episode by three weeks: because I wasn't ready to let go of something that brought my so much joy.

I first started watching Lovely Runner because I was stressed: I needed something to take my mind off of school, and Lovely Runner seemed easy and fun to watch. I didn't think that by the second episode, I would be absolutely attached to everything about the show. But here I am.

First of all, the characters??!! Im Sol is a literal sunshine, and Sunjae is absolutely everything. But it wasn't just them: In Hyuk and Tae Sung also never failed to make me smile. I grew attached to every single character, and fell in love with them all over again in every episode I watched.

HUGE shoutout to all the actors: they were a huge reason that this show was so amazing. The chemistry between Wooseok and Hyeyoon will never be forgotten (Also the height difference??!! SOO CUTE). They literally sometimes just held hands, and I was blushing and giggling like crazy. And the comedic timing and writing in general?? IMEPCCABLE. The actors and actresses really put their whole heart and soul into this, and it's obvious.

Lastly, I need to give a shoutout to the songs. I cannot get over the fact that Sudden Shower was actually created for Im Sol. Like EXCUSE ME??!! THAT IS THE MOST ROMANTIC THING EVER. And I have been listening to Spring Snow non-stop. But all the songs are amazing, and seriously so worth it.

There is so much more I want to say about this show, but it would take a while. For criticism, I would say there were a few major plot holes. Why was the taxi driver attacking specifically Sol and Sunjae? Where did the Grandma's powers come from? What happened in the first timeline? Most of these plot holes were covered by the chemistry between the leads, but I am still curious.

Anyways, this review is me saying goodbye to some of the best characters, romance, music, and comedy I have seen in a show. I think this show is honestly for anyone who loves a good rom com, or anyone who needs a bit of comfort in their lives.

Thank you Lovely Runner for everything. And I hope to see all the actors and actresses in this show (with their well deserved success) shining in new roles in new universes.

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One thing is for sure, you’ll want to carry SunSol and run!

Lovely runner is a cute drama, has a lot of fluff and the leads have great chemistry. This drama isn’t for everyone. If you’re looking for something mature or more realistic you could skip.

I like the time loop/time slip concept. I’ve seen it in ‘The Call’, ‘365 repeat the year’ & ‘signal’ and maybe that’s why I liked this one as well.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews saying that 30+ year old ‘Im Sol’ doesn’t act her age. Honestly, 30 is just a number. I’ve realized that after having reported to 30+ year old managers at work who are super immature, still figuring out life yet shameless enough to advise you on how to live your life 🙄. I think Im Sol is way better, loveable and quite realistic.

This is the first drama I’ve seen Byeon Woo Seok in. I didn’t think I’d like him much, Idk how to explain this part… I guess I didn’t think he was that good looking (not hating, not sure what I was thinking, I’ve forgotten how I saw him before lovely runner) but he really grew on me. I think he is extremely charming as an actor. He is so charming that he can make you change your mind 360°. The guy can act, sing, has a presence and can make your heart flutter. Now every time I see a picture or video of him, I smile at my phone like a crazy person. Kim Hye Yoon played a similar character in Extraordinary you, which is also one of the reasons why Lovely Runner was written. She carried that drama (EY) but got very little recognition for that compared to the male leads. KHY has done well on this one as well. I think BWS and KHY have really good chemistry and shine equally in the drama. I’m glad they’re both getting the recognition they deserve.

I like the osts. I listen to Sonaki at least once a day while commuting.

This part contains Spoilers

The story itself isn’t something new. To me it feels like a collage of a few existing drama’s stories. For example, in 365 repeat the year, Nam Ji Hyun has the same disability and goes back in time to change that. The characters make you want to continue this drama more than the plot itself. I do believe some of the other characters felt a little incomplete and could’ve been explored more. Overall still a good watch.

There are 2 scenes that I didn’t like in the drama
1) The scene where Sol’s friend and brother are arguing and the kitchen is set on fire. It doesn’t make sense that they don’t smell the smoke or realize that a fire has broken out when they’re right there.
2) Sol decides to stay back at the village without a plan and deal the stalker on her own when she could’ve clearly avoided that and maybe the future would’ve eventually followed the same events that took place in the past which would’ve been better for her as she already had a plan to nab the stalker. But maybe it was her desperate attempt to break the vicious cycle of the stalker chasing her only to eventually kill Sun Jae.

A lot of people feel the stalker/killer guy had an anticlimactic ending but I kinda agree with what Kim Tae Sung says in the drama that these serial killers shouldn’t be glorified and given titles like evil, these people are simply trash. Trash doesn’t deserve a climatic ending, they deserve to be forgotten.

To conclude, I think the characters would shine even more if the story was written a tad bit better. If you’re not a budding philosopher who looks for logic and realism in everything then Lovely Runner is easy to watch, fun and leaves you with happy memories. It has a good ending and loveable characters. I wasn’t bored and this drama made me happy. Sol and Sun Jae go through a roller coaster ride to get their happy ending and you will want to carry them on your back and run.

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Overdid the time travel

To my surprise there wasn’t much to the story. It was quite plain. The writer didn’t overcomplicate the time travel theme which is good but it doesn’t mean there can’t be interesting factors in the plot. The writer didn’t think out of the box much Simply put I lost interest several times while watching the show.

I don’t care about how the time travel(the watch) worked. I liked the simplicity of it but story was too monotonous. There were no “wow” moments. Sol could time travel many times as she wanted so what’s the catch here? Time travel lost the charm simply by overdoing it and coming back with the same problems. Why drag the show for that long! It could’ve easily been a 12 episode drama. Too many filler episodes.

The 2nd lead guy didn’t had much relevance in the story or on sol’s choices same as many other characters !! The comedy had off timing. One moment something serious was happening and the next moment something totally lame. Sol herself wasn’t serious. As the main character she was lacking and wasn’t doing anything sensible that will make you support her.
Sunjae on the other hand was portraying a “boy in love” and we loved him. Mostly bcz he was unaware of what was going on. He was loveable character. But I can’t say that about Sol. Overall it was okay but bit boring.

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