Time-Travel Story About Family and Choice
Twinkling Watermelon (2023) blends coming of age, time travel, and romance in a way that feels heartfelt rather than flashy. At its core is a CODA storyline that explores the tension between personal dreams and family responsibility, layered with the familiar grandfather paradox. The romance is not linear, which makes it feel more natural and emotionally grounded.What stands out most are the characters. They are easy to care about and thoughtfully written. I did spoil myself slightly by checking the cast list on Wikipedia, but it did not affect my enjoyment since the series does not rely on shocking twists.
As someone who enjoys time travel stories, I appreciated the ambition behind the narrative, even if it did not fully reach its potential. The ending feels like it needed more time to breathe. A longer run, perhaps twenty episodes, might have helped resolve some loose ends. Still, not everything needs a clear explanation. Much like Goblin (2016), some elements are simply meant to exist as magic.
In the end, Twinkling Watermelon lingers not because of its plot mechanics, but because of its themes. It reflects on why we live, family and parent child relationships, and the quiet reminder that choosing kindness always matters.
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Fast, Funny, and Full of Chemistry
Business Proposal (2022) is a perfect pick if you want a quick, hilarious rom-com that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Episode one features one of the most iconic scenes in K-drama history. The pacing is fast and binge-friendly, keeping the story engaging with minimal filler. While the ending feels rushed and leaves a few loose ends, it still delivers enough emotional payoff. The ML1–FL1 pairing is excellent, with strong chemistry that carries the show. Overall, it’s a fun, feel-good drama that succeeds through charm, humor, and great lead dynamics. Personally, it serves as a reminder to be more attentive to the small details.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Time Loop Romance That Struggles to Carry Emotional Weight
Lovely Runner (2024) is slightly overrated for me. When you look closely at its emotional core, the story feels far less effective than it initially appears.Across every timeline, the ML is portrayed as endlessly devoted to the FL, to the point where it feels unrealistic and emotionally flat. His character comes across as artificial, as it is hard to believe anyone would sustain unrequited love for over a decade without growth or change. The FL, meanwhile, is often slow to catch on and repeatedly makes poor decisions. Much of the conflict could have been avoided if the characters acted more thoughtfully, which became increasingly frustrating.
A major issue lies in how the show handles time. Lovely Runner functions more as a time loop than true time travel, which limits its emotional weight. Because events repeatedly reset, character growth feels stalled rather than earned. This puts it at a disadvantage compared to time travel dramas like Twinkling Watermelon (2023), where each shift in time carries lasting emotional consequences and meaningful development.
What also bothered me was how the timelines treated Sol. The younger, more immature version of her does all the hard work. She studies through high school and college, graduates, and struggles to build a life, only for the 2023 version to enjoy the results. The 2023 Sol, aside from her period of paralysis in the first timeline, feels like she has not truly lived through the experiences that shaped her success.
Timeline 2 is easily the strongest and most engaging. This is where the characters feel most alive and actively involved in the story. It is also the timeline we spend the most time in, largely due to the watch being used twice. However, the repeated failure of the police to apprehend an obviously clumsy killer strains credibility. Aside from Kim Tae Sung, who resolves the case in the final timeline, law enforcement is portrayed as consistently incompetent. The killer feels more like a plot device than a character, created solely to add tension. Without a meaningful backstory, his presence becomes repetitive and tiring, especially when compared to better-written villains like the one in I Can Hear Your Voice (2013).
Timeline 3 shifts to the college years but offers little that is new. It mostly feels like filler until the countryside arc, where the ML finally gains insight into his backstory. Timeline 4 attempts to wrap things up with a happy ending, but it feels rushed and somewhat forced. While I am not against a happy conclusion, the resolution feels familiar, reminiscent of W: Two Worlds (2016).
In the end, Lovely Runner had an interesting premise and strong moments, but its time loop structure, inconsistent character writing, and repetitive conflicts prevented it from reaching its emotional potential.
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