Lovely Runner

Love the actors and the songs

I absolutely love time-travel K-dramas, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoy the show "Lovely Runner," despite its mixed reviews. It has become my new guilty pleasure, and I often rewatch the episodes whenever I have free time. The music is perfect and even on my Spotify favorites list. I hope it gets released on Netflix USA with English dubbing so that more people in the U.S. can appreciate it. The actors are incredibly talented, and I completely understand why the writer thought Kim Hye Yoon was the best choice for Sol's role. I also appreciate the actors who rejected the male role because Byeon Woo Seok is the perfect fit for the role of Ryu Seon Jae. I can't imagine any other actors playing Sol and Ryu Seon Jae that would make me want to rewatch the show. While I understand that some people may not like it due to the repetitive storyline, I personally don't mind it because the actors bring a different vibe to each episode. It's hard for me to feel the same way about any new K-drama after watching "Lovely Runner," but I guess I can always rewatch the series.

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I Feel unsatisfied

The storyline started off great for the first 5 episodes. I was thinking "Wow this is great, I am invested in this" Then for some reason, it took a nose dive and I ended up fast-forwarding from episodes 8- 16.
Reasons:

1) I saw and felt ML love and obsession for FL. He was too into her if you ask me. Every time he saw her name, saw her, she called him or she seemed to be in trouble he would drop everything and go with her or stalk her.
Kind of weird how a cute/attractive teenager and adult never likes or has a crush on another woman in all that time.
Anyway, I felt his love for the FL. He portrayed the love, obsession, and angst very well.

2) The FL lead did not portray the love nor I don't think she said it ( as far as I can recall from all the fast-forwarding I did) that she loved the ML. She said she liked him a lot during the college time frame I believe and he said " I love you" but I never heard her say she loved him.
She treated him as if she was still just a fan, just like him as a fan, and wanted to, of course, save him from being killed. The FL portrayed the crying emotions, worry, teenage crush on that 2nd ML, and anxiousness to find the killer very well. But, to my eye and feeling she did not seem to portray the love it seems they were trying to portray she should feel even in the present time frame.
She did not show angst/yearning for ML when they could not be together or were apart. It was like they have cutesy moments, she gets distracted with a shiny ball/interest, and then she puts him out of her mind. It is the ML who is constantly making an effort to contact her to stay in her orbit.

3) Also why does she still seem like she has only the thoughts/experiences of a teenager when she went back in time as a late 20's/30 year old. I know she was in a wheelchair for a while etc.. but her hearing/seeing and experience of human experiences should not still be of a teenager. Romantic relationships yes, she did not have those experiences in the present time. I don't know. It frustrated me how they wrote the FL lead lines and how she acted it out. Did she put her " savior" ML on a pedestal as an adult when she was a fan and did not have romantic fantasies about him? I know she was in a wheelchair and did not think it was possible to date anyone, but most female fans still have romantic notions about male celebrities. That is where her " liking' him should have a head start in the feelings moving on to love when she goes back in time with all her memories and feelings intact.

4) Also are they trying to say that teenage FL and adult FL switch places in the same time frame when the adult version goes back to being a teenager? Like the same day? That is why she dated and still has a soft spot for 2ML? They could have kept that just as friendship and developed her feelings for ML even more. It just made it weird/icky that she kept hanging around ML, while dating 2ML and ML did not mind ( actually sought her out ) doing activities together knowing she was dating 2ML.

Anyway, it was okay, I don't get the hype. I am waiting for the ML to have a costar who complements him well as his partner and gives their all. Strong Girl Book Soon (or whatever it is called) and this one, did not have a good FL chemistry and or storyline.

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la mejor serie de la existencia

Es, sin duda alguna, la mejor serie que podrás ver en toda tu vida. Nunca había encontrado algo siquiera parecido, ni una historia que lograra atraparme de esta manera desde el primer momento. Cada episodio es una experiencia única que te envuelve por completo, haciendo imposible dejar de verla. Los visuales son simplemente espectaculares, cuidados hasta el más mínimo detalle, convirtiendo cada escena en una auténtica obra de arte.

Las canciones son otro nivel: cada una encaja perfectamente con la historia y logra transmitirte emociones profundas, haciéndote sentir parte de ese mundo. Es una serie que no solo se ve, se siente, y que permanece contigo incluso después de terminarla.

La recomiendo totalmente a todo el mundo, porque es una experiencia que merece ser vivida al menos una vez en la vida. De verdad, quedé completamente encantada y enamorada de cada aspecto de esta serie 🥹💓

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In the track of my heart, you are the only runner.

Lovely Runner it's undoubtedly one of the best dramas of 2024.

It has all the elements that make a drama a mega hit: comedy, romance, time travel, well written characters (both leads and supporting ones) and an engaging plot line that never bores you. Starring Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok, adapted from the web novel The Best of Tomorrow by screenwriter Lee Shi Eun and directed by Yoon Jong Ho and Kim Tae Yub, the Lovely Runner team achieved a perfect execution in front and behind the scenes.

I think the true star of this drama it's the writing and on this I can't commend Lee Si Eun enough. I had already seen her potential in dramas like True Beauty but here she really manages to shine through a well crafted, smart and cohesive story with no loose ends. I'm incredibly impressed by her talent.

The writing was perfectly complemented by the directors's outstanding work in leading a film crew that was on every detail of each part of the story, in each timeline, never missing a beat. Always delivering their A+++ game. But there was also great work done from the directors part in helping the actors get the comedic timing exactly right, the more emotional scenes to deliver and the team work among cast and crew to be flawless.

This might be a big hit now, but it's actually a sleeper hit because the lack of promotion this drama had was embarrassing to watch and if it wasn't for the devoted fans, studio executives would have never realized they had a gem in their hands. So, Lovely Runner it's not only a great drama with a super fandom that really fought for this story, it's also becoming yet another prime example in the list of films and tv that achieved all of it by themselves because artists delivered nothing short of excellence.

On this point I can't ignore the incredible performances given by the entire cast. Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok are definitely the standouts, they stole the show, this is their story and the actors chemistry it's electrifying. But the way supportive actors would show up in a scene and push the story forward in a coherent way and even make it better, it's wild to me. The chemistry this cast had it's a rare feat for an ensamble cast and how they managed to transition seamlessly through different phases of their characters's lives and relationships when events, in each timeline, were changing because of the things our leads did they still remain truthful. So, not only the leads are well developed in this drama but also every single character that shows up, no matter how small the role is.

The best example of this it's actor Heo Hyeong-Gyu who has been working for sixteen years, playing very minor characters, finally having a breakthrough in the industry because of his role in this drama. And while his presence was prominent and important to the story, he barely had lines. So his entire performance is mainly based on micro-expressions or physical stunts.

I also fully expect the actors like Song Geon-Hee, Lee Seung-Hyub, Song Ji-Ho or Seo Hye-won to receive a lot of what korean entertainment industry calls "love calls" aka commercials, dramas and films, among other things.

Experiencing watching Lovely Runner alongside the fandom, waiting every week for a new episode, it's a big part of what made this drama so good. Healthy and good loving fun people, clowning, poking fun at our faves and crying at heartbreak. It's been a long time since I have been able to engage in this way with other fans and I am thankful for them, the cast and crew for all these amazing weeks of fun.

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A little stretched but ADORED

Starting of, the casting was perfect. the chemistry and skills of both Wooseok and Hyeyoon was top teir not to mention all the other actors, the production team rly nailed it on the spot. (BTS are adorable 🤭)

Overall I personally adored the storyline, the dive into it was smooth and had my heart running at a million miles for the both leads, but they still as always were able to keep it light and comedical at the same time to keep it from being a total emotional mess. (I did cry a bit still though 🧍‍♀️🙈

Many say that they went back and forth a little too much, But I personally think it's what kept the tension going and had you high on your toes – was quite exciting as you had no clue what to expect 🧐 but I do see how the repetitiveness could bore some people.

The music too.. LOVE LOVE LOVE the osts, really match the vibe, not to mention they just had to turn them on at the most emotional of times 😔💓💓


SO all in all I have no complaints, truly an amazing cast and the execution of all the story and how it flows I think was perfect. It made sense – you get to see amazing and adorable scenes from both the leads and support characters too, which I also think had such incredible chemistry. Truly no misses.

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Finally found my "the one" in dramas

To explain the title, my favorite dramas, besides this now, are probably SWDBS and AOS. But with SWDBS I purely liked the romance and nothing else (the serial kidnapper side plot is ok when watching just once). And with AOS the plot, the visual effects, the characters, everything was topnotch and it really is my favorite drama, but for me the romance was a little lacking (which is alright since it's more of a fantasy than a romance drama). But Lovely Runner managed to weave everything together and create an amazing masterpiece.

There's the right amount of everything: action, mystery, angst, comedy, romance, and of course Sunjae's loserism. For me with most kdramas, after episode 13/14 we kind of hit a slump and everything becomes predictable and boring, but I didn't feel that with Lovely Runner. Yes, I could easily guess what would probably happen, but it's the way they present the story. Most ppl are here for the ride than the destination, and if that's you then you'll most likely love this drama.

A 10/10 from me, and if you like romcoms, time travel, mystery side plot, and a lovely romance then this drama's for you.

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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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Romance and comedy

Lately, the recent wave of Kdramas left me feeling a bit underwhelmed, but this particular drama managed to capture my attention in a way that others haven't. It truly hit the mark for me. I found myself drawn into the storyline, enjoying every moment of the captivating romance unfolding between the main leads. The chemistry between the male lead (ML) and female lead (FL) was simply enchanting, tugging at my heartstrings and leaving me eagerly anticipating their every interaction. Even the second male lead (2ML) added an extra layer of charm to the drama.

What stood out the most for me was the perfect balance struck between humor and romance. While some recent releases may have veered too far into melodrama or relied on tired clichés, this series managed to keep things fresh and engaging. The genuine moments of laughter and heartfelt connection between the characters brought a sense of authenticity to the story, making it easy for viewers to get invested in their journey.

The dynamic between the ML and FL was a true highlight of the series. Their on-screen chemistry was palpable, radiating a genuine warmth and affection that made their relationship feel incredibly relatable and endearing. From their sweetest moments to their playful banter, every scene they shared was filled with undeniable passion and emotion. It was impossible not to root for them ❤️

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Unexpected!!!!

Although it is a lot different from the webtoon , But I really love it . My god I have to say Byun woo seok got finally a normal role and he is really cool and handsome . I have always loved Kim hye yoon , I love her acting so much . The story line was really good and ending was wow . I did not expect the ending , it's a time travel drama no deaths , no sudden surprises , until the last minute of the drama I was expecting something but no it was so natural that I couldn't believe it , But of course I am happy that they both end up together and specially remember everything they have done to each other . It's a worth watch drama please watch it
Enjoy!!

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