Lovely Runner

The two main leads are carrying this show

some plots holes, too much tears from the main female lead, but their incredible alchemy and acting are making up for the mistakes this drama has.

I would have liked the main female to have more character development, aside the development about SunJae! it felt like she was living only for him, and it was a bit too much in my opinion.

I didn't feel the need to know more about the time travel (how? why?), but now I've finished the drama, I feel like there is too much questions and points that weren't explained (what we call plot holes)

but overall, the great points from this drama are definitely the acting and the alchemy beetwen the two mains! you laugh, you cry, you get angry at the scenario. and most of all, you're scared to finish it cause you're gonna miss them. And I think it's the sign you're watching a good drama.

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Everything doesn’t need to be logical to hit deeply

I can’t help but be biased when it comes to Lovely Runner. Even after watching well over a hundred dramas, and not even being a huge fan of rom-coms, this one holds the most special place in my heart. There are probably better dramas I've seen in terms of production or storyline, but a drama doesn’t have to be perfect to move you deeply. So allow me to be unapologetically subjective in my love for it.

At one point, I even debated whether to write a review. Despite its popularity and high ratings, it feels like people are often hating on it just for the sake of it... Calling it overrated, cringy, and whatnot. But everyone has their own taste. Here’s why Lovely Runner stands out as one of the best rom-coms I’ve seen.

First and foremost, the chemistry between the leads is unmatched. There are very few dramas where the romance feels this warm, this alive, this magnetic. The way they portrayed the feeling of choosing each other again and again across timelines was everything. I didn’t even need the time-travel logic to make sense (although it was quite solid in my opinion). I felt the emotional truth of it. So many scenes were breathtakingly beautiful, overflowing with raw emotion.

I’ll admit, Im Sol frustrated me sometimes. Her stubbornness, her need to shoulder everything alone, her tendency to hurt Sunjae unintentionally by hiding things “for his own good”… at times it was tough to watch that. But oddly, that’s what made the love story feel even more real. Flawed, frustrating, and deeply human.

And then there’s Byeon Wooseok. I didn’t even really know his name before I started this drama. But wow. He IS Ryu Sunjae. One of those rare cases where the actor doesn’t just play the role, but becomes it. I truly believe Lovely Runner wouldn’t be half as magical without him. His emotional range, his sincerity, his ability to bring so much heart to every scene. I absolutely adored his golden retriever energy. He made Sunjae unforgettable. And I don't think that incredible chemistry could’ve happened without the real-life care and respect he clearly has for Kim Hyeyoon (the BTS clips say it all).

It’s also probably the only idol-themed drama I’ve seen that doesn’t feel flat or cliché. It handled the impact idols have and the sincerity of fan love with surprising depth.

And the OST? Don’t even get me started. A year later and I still listen to half the soundtrack regularly, screaming my lungs out to those gorgeous lyrics. "Sudden Shower" most of all will forever be legendary.

At the end of the day, Lovely Runner is one of those dramas that stay with you. The blue door. The yellow umbrella. And finally, the kind of love that defies time and logic to find its way back. To me, that’s unforgettable.

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Wow - Yea, not really

*I had to come edit my review because I have fully digested it and it's not a 9.5 lol*

Original: Indeed an amazing drama. I fell in love with Byun Wooseok and I'm now part of his fandom lol! I started watching this three days ago and already finished, and I'm so glad I gave it a shot (despite it being during finals season.... help!!).
The OST is unforgettable and I loved the whole concept of the drama. There are a few reasons why I didn't give it 10 stars though:
1) There were some holes in the story that made me uncomfortable at times. I don't want to include spoilers in this review so I won't go into detail but I think that all time-travel stories are bound to have some "unexplained" events, and it's okay because it's worth it! The story was fun even though it has some loose ends.
2) I think the first 5 episodes are the best of the whole show. I loved the beginning of this story and I wish we had spent more time there. I don't want to be preachy or politically right about this, but I wish we had had more time with original timeline Sol and Sunjae. I think it was a shame that they took the.... characteristics... of both characters in the first episode. I understand why (related to time-traveling consequences) but still; it's like they were used just to add drama.
3) I love the FL and I understand why she was affected by all that happened in the show, but having her cry in every episode is a bit much. And, in my opinion, she doesn't express mature happiness or love as well as she does innocent/childish happiness and love. There were parts where I was like "You don't seem all that happy??" Hahaha but she is a good actress, don't get me wrong.

I loved the chemistry between all the characters! It is an unforgettable drama, that's for sure.



Now: The things I liked about this drama were overshadowed by not so great things. The female lead is just annoying and empty. The ML also only exists for the FL and easily gives up his own aspirations, although less annoying because he cries less. My love for BWS and for golden retriever characters clearly blinded me – I can't help but love Sunjae despite the flaws in the way the character was written and BWS is a big reason for that because he's SO DAMN TALENTED! He was born to play that character and the actor literally saved the character for me.
I still really enjoy the first 5 episodes because I was expecting the show to develop the characters and the plot from there but it never did. It was just the same over and over again, to the point where the emotional scenes didn't hit anymore. I just wish they had taken the first episode and written a story about characters who have a life outside of each other, who have relationships that they value outside of their partner, who follow their dreams (lmao who even have dreams and goals), who make plans before rewinding time so that they can idk ACTUALLY SOLVE SOMETHING????... Having a ML who has loved the FL before they even "met" made it sooo boring once we find out (but I guess that's personal preference). I liked the first episodes because we didnt know that yet and it felt like we were going to join them on a journey; but no, they already liked each other so what's the point? I love the retro vibes like in the Reply series and 2521 but in those shows we can slowly get to know the characters and understand what is moving them in the plot but not in LR. I understand that it's a romance but it should have been more developed.
The music is GREAT and the vibes are ICONIC so I'm actually upset they wasted such a cool idea and turned it into this – "this" being a great drama that had the potential to become my favorite drama of all time but fell short because the FL cries in every scene and the plot is built around a relationship at the expense of logic sometimes. UGH it makes me want to rewrite the whole thing myself because the wasted potential is haunting me. I was clearly blinded when I first reviewed the show, although deep down I knew it hadn't been that great so I had to come and write this so that I can move on with my life in peace.

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THE BEST DRAMA IN MY HEART!!!!! 1000000/10

Lovely Runner has become one of my all-time favorite drama - a rare 10/10 for me! I almost never write reviews (at the time of making this review), but this drama is just that incredible. This is the only drama that I ever give all 10 for all aspects. The acting was phenomenal, with both the female and male leads delivering absolutely outstanding performances. The story had everything: it was funny, heartwarming, touching, heart-pulling, thrilling, and beautifully balanced a mix of rom-com, melodrama, crime, and fantasy.

The soundtrack was so good as well; every song was a masterpiece that perfectly heightened the emotions of each scene, making me feel every moment deeeeeply :( And the best part? The ending was wrapped up flawlessly - satisfying and complete, without any of those rushed or empty feelings that many dramas leave behind.

Lovely Runner is a truly exceptional and well-crafted drama that I can’t recommend enough!

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Beautiful and Warm Lovestory

I have no words, it definitely surpassed my expectations (which were already high). Since everyone has a different idea around time travel, these stories is always kinda confusing, but I liked how there seemed to be a theme of fate (good or bad) and Sol just kept bulldozing it until she got the result that she wanted. I loved every single character (minus the stalker of course) and the episodes were so funny, I was smiling the whole last episode. And Sunjae was a lovable loser in love, Sol was really his one and only. They were such a cute couple, not too much angst to be honest. I loved the OST (Sudden Shower ❤️). Overall this was such a warm love story, never got bored or wanted it to end.

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They killed it!!

I don't know why people are being so mean to this drama. I mean it was a perfect rom com for me . It had perfect mystery and twists and turns. I personally loved it. If you think that fl character was not good or just dumb then you definitely don't like rom coms the way I like them. FL and ML acting was really good and right on point. The way she tries really hard to go back in time or the way fl takes the advice that sun jae gave her to live. I feel that's how the rom coms should be made because every other drama has same story line poor fl and rich ceo type ML. I mean it's so overrated these days. I personally think that if you are thinking of watching this drama then go for it you'll definitely not regret.
Ps- it's a happy ending 😉

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I always score a drama by deducting half a point from the max score for everything that I might consider a flaw to the drama. I came out of it thinking there were no flaws for me, the music was good, the chemistry between the main leads and cast was organic and sparkly, which allowed the romance to flourish.

The character growth was brilliant, particularly with how the FL became such an endearing and benevolent character, when the series started I was a little taken aback by her devotion to Ryu Sun Jae and brushed it off as a cringey K-pop stan but then you come to understand she's like that because she sees him as her saviour and how it becomes her mission to protect him. Kim Hye Yoon's performance was utterly enchanting for me in this drama and her character trajectory in the sense that I didn't like her at the start but then became completely enamoured by the end of it, which reminded me of her performance in Extraordinary You (which I can't believe it's been over 5 years since it came out).

Byeon Woo Seok just reminds me of a younger Park Seo Joon, he just does for me and loved his performance and the chemistry he had with Kim Hye Yoon.

I liked the fact that the time machine G-Shock watch wasn't just a one and done gimmick, the FL used it multiple times to change her and Sun Jae's fate eventually making an incredible difficult decision, you feel for her so much because of her plight. I am aware that some are a little uncomfortable in how she uses the time machine but I think the writers wanted to skip the explanation to it and so we are left with the possibility is all she needs to do is think of a time period to go back and not an exact date and time.

I watched it over the course of a week, mainly 2 to 3 episodes a day and I'm wishing it was longer. I absolutely adore this drama and I am giving it a 10/10, I think this was one of the best dramas of 2024.

Dramas that Lovely Runner reminded me of were of course the brilliant Twinkling Watermelon and My Perfect Stranger.

This drama is definitely not one to watch whilst multi-tasking because I reckon you will miss out on minute details, I never do it because I prefer to watch the drama and that alone but my little gremlin of a sister watches a drama by doing multiple other things at the same time and even skims through an episode (blasphemy, lol).

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