Lovely Runner (2024)

Stunning first half. Second half falls victim to lazy scriptwriting.

I have to separate the first and second half.

The first half is a solid 8/10 for me. It's everything I'd ever want from a youth drama, and I absolutely loved every second of it. The characters' love story feels so unique to them. The script also sprinkles in just the right amount of tropes and pulls them off in just the right way to leave any romcom lover feeling satisfied without feeling overdone. The male lead is both cool and handsome while relatable and dorky over his first love. The female lead pulls off the sunshine personality and has great determination as a fan. I especially liked how consistent the story was about her steadfast, optimistic personality which she learned from the hardships she overcame as an adult. The drama never felt heavy, but I could still feel that there was love for the characters and their story. Also, small spoiler (but it happens within the first two episodes), but this is the only time that I have been completely sold on a love at first sight premise. It makes total sense to be a teenager, meeting such a kind, bright personality. It's like that friend crush, that person you wanted to get to know all four years of high school but never worked up the nerve to. Sun Jae's perspective is always so beautiful, and part of why the love at first sight works is because we can see how his feelings for Sol grow into something more meaningful as he gets to know her.

The second half is a 3/10 and falls victim to atrociously lazy scriptwriting. There are entire episodes dedicated to comedic relief and one-off scenarios. At that point, the relationship between the leads fails to develop which was such a waste, considering how beautifully their story was developed during the first half. I couldn't help but feel the shallowness in the story after episode 9. The story fails to have any goals or real development after that point. The writing sloppily tries to close the story with cheap plot twists, and none of the scenes really feel like they fit together or have a particular purpose. In essence, the second half of the show is entirely filler and completely fails the beauty of the first half.

I am still so happy to have experienced the first half but am utterly disappointed in the second half.

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Worth the hype

Lovely Runner was one of the most beautiful series I've seen. Well-written, well-acted and well-directed. The plot was tight. Granted the timelines got a little confusing so I needed to rewatch a bit to understand. But overall, the vision of the writer and director was clear from the get-go. Brilliant acting by the lead actors. Explosive chemistry . Seriously jow can both leads not fall in love yet? >.< Awesome soundtrack. Not to mention, the ending was BEAUTIFUL and so satisfying. I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a top tier romcom with a solid plot. But for anyone looking for a romance series "closer to reality" than move on to romance melodramas. Korea has them in abundance lol.

10/10 because of the rewatch value.

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Okey , let's be honest

This how had a very strong start , the first 5 to 6 episodes were actually great , but then the plot started having problems and giving some unnecessary scenes and stories , letting the main one falling apart .
The hype about this shows was about the main characters and the chemistry nothing further, which makes the show so disappointing. They had great cast , amazing actors , but they failed to make 16 good episodes. The drama actually would have been great if they ended it in like 10 episodes max , but when they decide it to continue it just made it worst .
Honestly , I started watching the show because of the main leads , and I was happy how they did show them during the first episodes , and we saw how much success Byeon woo-seok gained after the show , he actually made people fall for him in this show by delivering a romantic , charming main lead who can make easily people’s heart melt .
So to keep it short , if you wanna see a romantic prince and beautiful chemistry, this is it but if you’re looking for more , this is not for you .

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Form your own opinion of the show/ igonre the reviews

If you are having doubts about watching this cause of the bad reviews, don't listen to them. Form your own opinion on this show cause honestly, it's not that bad.


My thoughts on the show:

-Episode 1: This is so good why are people hating on it?

-Episode 3: I almost dropped it cause I was not too fond of her returning to the future and her past self not knowing what she knows.

-Episode 4: The brother & best friend contribute nothing, just a waste of screen time.

-Episode 5: I like it so far but why tf are we adding murder and kidnapping to this?

-Episode 8: I like that there was no time travel in this episode and it is just their new lives in 2023.

-Episode 9: so I'm guessing time doesn't stop if she says she's from the future, only if she says details from the future?

-Episode 10: okay so now we are changing the future again which I like. Also, why tf was this negatively reviewed bombed? Like it's not gonna be my favorite drama but it's better than average.

-Episode 11: The ML is so adorable, his love for the FL is so cute. So far this was my favorite episode.

-Episode 12: Sol is kinda dumb... I agree with someone else's comment "Wouldn't it change the future if you went with them instead of staying in the same town you saw getting yourself hurt?!?? "

-Episode 13: how can she give her brother numbers to win prize money in the future? Why didn't time stop? Is that allowed now? Isn't that telling her brother about the future? I guess there are more loopholes to telling someone about the future, as long as it's not super detailed about others' lives or their own. I also think if they figure it out themselves then it's also okay.
-Well, at least he's not dead. It's sad though because in the first timeline, he loved her, and she didn't know, In the second timeline she knew he loved her and they loved each other later on. In the third timeline only she knows that they love each other and she loves him from afar.

-Episode 14: I like how they turned down the craziness for this episode.

-Episode 15: honestly this show isn't bad, it just feels like the writer didn't know where to go with the plotline and went in all directions. It's funny how this is a sci-fi show, a cop show, a romance show, a slice of life. I don't mind it but I can see how others didn't like how it didn't just pick one genre and stuck with it.

-Episode 16- The FL can be dumb at times but honestly she's not annoying idk why the reviews say that.

----->Final Thoughts:
I saw a review saying that the ending was unsatisfying, I don't agree. I do believe logic is thrown out the window in this show and it can drag towards the end but overall the show itself was good. It won't be one of my top Kdramas but I do believe it deserves a higher rating then what the reviews are giving it. I also saw someone saying that this Kdrama is overrated, I don't think it's highly rated enough. So many of the reviews that I first saw when I thought about watching this show were the lowest of the low. They were all saying stuff about the show. I don't think this is a 10-star show in my opinion but I don't agree with most reviews rating this drama less than 4 stars. I should sometimes stop listening to reviews because Goblin is one of the most praised and popular Kdramas ever and yet I hated the main characters and couldn't even finish it.

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My Favorite Love Story in 2024

Have you watched a time travel romance that is exceedingly amusing but also exhausting!

Adapted from the web novel “The Best of Tomorrow” (내일의 으뜸) by Kim Bbang (김빵), “Lovely Runner” was supposedly a fantasy comedy portraying the repeated attempts of a fan who travels back in time to save her favorite idol. Starring the fresh pairing of Byeon Woo Seok & Kim Hye Yoon, the show has become a global success, skyrocketing the actor’s popularity to new levels. Although it was tiring watching Im Sol (Kim Hye Yoon) frolicking back & forth to protect Ryu Seon Jae (Byeon Woo Seok), her strong sense of belief that she could save her loved one was truly inspirational. I have never seen a more committed character, even though her journey starts as a fan, it’s not long before they fall in love. The best part of this show was watching their teenage romance; the fact that Seon Jae fell first for Im Sol was shocking & surprising. And he remained true to his heart in every timeline; waiting or searching for her; shows how much they cherished & loved each other. “Lovely Runner” is an ardent love story, unlike any you have seen in recent times.

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2024/05/29/lovely-runner-series-review/

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"Lovely Runner: A Drama That Surpassed All Expectations"

Almost every drama I've watched has disappointed me at some point. I start watching, thinking, "Oh, it's good," but then it lets me down. However, "Lovely Runner" is the type of drama that has never disappointed me! Most of its OSTs are my favorite so far. The cinematography, the cast, the story—I've never felt bored for a single second! I've never skipped any scene. I took at least 100 minutes to watch a one-hour episode. I've never felt like this while finishing a drama. I never thought I'd like it this much! I started watching it without any expectations, and it's my favorite drama now.Before this drama, I saw Byeon Woo-seok in "Strong Girl Nam-soon," but to be honest, I didn’t like him. I also didn’t like Kim Hye-yoon that much! So, I wasn’t interested in this drama at all. I started it out of monotony! But after watching this drama, I like them more than anyone else. They are my obsession now.I don't know how to express my thoughts. I have so many words to say, but it feels like I've lost all my words. Beat me, but "Lovely Runner" is the best drama this year.

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my initial rating was 9, went to 7, went to 8, then ended at 5

it felt like a story inside of extraordinary you, totally "scripted", overly fantasy, bright, dreamy, with zero intellectual depth. one would say, it's a drama ofc it's scripted, but that's why mdl reviews need a "plot development" rating as well

as the story goes on, for a time traveling plot, one might be pleasantly surprised by the early twists and think, wow this is so well thought out, but reaching the halfway mark, and one starts to wonder, why is everything going in a spiral, new developments, but never any resolution

im sol, as a time traveler, was really really not smart. she never thought logically, and she was not really a teen to no think a bit more.
her first answer to anything was to run away, first cuz she didn't think she was good enough for him, then she thought he got swayed by her love and deluded himself into loving her, later she worried their love was the reason for his misfortunes...
so even when she could tell him about her truth, she still didn't think...


Some aspects are so frustrating, like both like each other but both act distant and cold
As if the writer controls them so they can’t be true to themselves, and later with their last plotmove, of making him forget her, she wonders why he's so cold when he was always a bright sweet person... did she have the amnesia as well? cuz literally he was cold to her from the start


Like her awkward “I’m not spending the night with you” just to see the bar sign two seconds later, just because it’s outside the shot doesn’t mean she couldn’t see it
or her saying "yes i'll stay the night" just to realize he wasn't talking to her... or him saying "so pretty" then say "i wasn't talking to you"


like he was happy she was there, and heard she wants to stay, yet he was the one who kept trying to make her leave
And every time he smiles outside the shot then acts cold in front of her

i hate that push and pull, cuz it's not cute flirting, it's bringing one down and embarrassing them, just so the confession looks sweeter
and it was fine for 18 year olds, but not for 34 year olds..




Like yeah sure he’s hurt about her young vr being so cruel to him and that also adds, if she didn’t love him as an idol she wouldn’t have cared for him as a guy and she’d have rejected him, so this drama wasn't about saving his life but about making sol stop being a self centered cringe fest to finally seeing the guy infront of her xD

but he’s not a teen anymore, again sure “being broken hearted and finding his true love” made him not date anyone even as a 30year old, but he doesn’t need to act like a kid, sure his pure hearted ness is cute but his coldness is such a kids behavior





This is what I like about this drama, it’s not just going back and fixing one or two things
It has consequences, unexpected elements and good back and forth that became too much by the end
Tho I do feel a bit of unfortunate lack of depth in character and friendships and connections but it doesn’t overshadow the good flow

I’m sensing a bit of the movie A Day from the taxi driver, but they never explained or explored it? literally no answers, he was just a random dude who randomly liked to kill random ppl and sungjae/sol were just some random ppl that randomly crossed his path?



Going back to a changed future is a cute touch and fun especially seeing sungjae is the same as always

Tbh I feel like sol accepting him as a friend and telling him to stay by her side would be sweet, cuz he’s not a creep and he can just approach her as if she doesn’t remember him and just be friends, but instead they had a whole reset, to "naturally" keep them away,,

They’re like dumb and dumber, solah as a teen was a handful, and not the cute na hido type

She was mean to her mom, she was clingy af, kinda like some day or one day’s young vr, you just can’t like her
Then comes her old self and some scenes it’s like she just freezes or faints, for the convenience of the writer
And sure he’s cute but he’ll also too obsessed about her, I don’t see them working out as teens, so at least not really meeting in the past saved him alot of cringe and heartache



The thing twinkling watermelon had that this doesn’t is the great characters, bonds and feeling of youth
Here the bro and fl friend are a snooze, the taxi thing is frustrating, his feelings are creepy and I now don’t like the “sol was the first love” it’s like now she only likes him cuz of his idolness rather than him as a person

Ironically if this drama didn’t have that ridiculous mystery element and just stayed as a time traveling romance drama where their worst struggle was her not being able to tell him anything and each thing she changed by being in the past made a new future, like anytime she changed the future, he dies, so ofc the answer would be keeping memories as memories and not meeting in the past so he can live
and I do have to say this, 34 year old sol, no matter how naive, kissing 18 year old sungjae, and the whole past romance parts, was eeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

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The show that gave me the biggest comfort in 2024

I don’t trust anybody who finishes this kdrama and doesn’t like it. Lovely runner gave everything I have ever wanted from a show:
Comfort green flag characters (even when sonjae was jealous HE WAS JUST SO CUTE it wasn’t a bad red flag move)
Hilarious scenes
Absolutely adorable romantic scenes
Beautiful cinematography and ost (and literally every song in the show was a masterpiece)
Outstanding acting from literally everyone
Some adventure and fantasy (and because of that we got so many protective cute moments, they were protecting each other all the time I wanted to scream)
Nice little plot twists and attention to the details,
A clever script
An ending with no loopholes, just comfort and happiness. And something really important? NO boring episodes! I finished this in 2 days, while in most kdramas I take (at the very very least) a week (or even months tbh).

All the unrealistic and cliche moments were because it’s based on a webtoon like come on if they got rid of some unnecessary trippings etc you would be like “but you erased scenes from the webtoon you ruined it” WELL here they are!!!!!!!

Overall 10000/10
Please watch it you won’t regret it. Now I gotta see how I’m going to move on from my post masterpiece show depression cause it’s hitting hard right now

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Lovely Runner is my Roman Empire.

For nearly a decade, I felt like Kdramas are not as enjoyable as they once did. Maybe I've just watched too much Kdramas for my own good. However, Lovely Runner evoked those emotions again. Kim Hye Yoon did a splendid job as Sol. No other actress has made me cry and laugh like this. I don't usually like cringe stuff, but Lovely Runner has just the right amount of cuteness and serious moments. I particularly appreciate the parallelisms in every episode.

I don't understand why a lot of people are leaving bad reviews. They probably watched the drama with unrealistic expectations.

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