K-Drama 
1
This review may contain spoilers
Vastly Overrated Series about a Bipolar Woman and How She Abuses The "Love" of her Life!
This is easily one of the most overrated dramas I’ve seen in a while. Perhaps not since King’s Landing have I been so disappointed in what was supposed to be a promising series. “Lovely Runner” is riddled with silly cliches and formulaic writing with characters that really aren’t very intriguing or even likable. Now, that’s a formula for a bad series!
To be fair, the first eight episodes were promising, for the most part. But as soon as Episode 9 hit, everything dropped off the proverbial “cliff” as far as story and plot goes.
The sad part about this story is that it sets teh age-old premise that happiness can only be found in the past or in the future. None of our protagonists realize that it can only be found in the present. They spend so much time trying to "fix" things that they learn nothing from the experiences.
The other problem is that it doesn't address the true nature of all relationships. They're all finite. They don't last, either because of a break-up or because of death.
We also get the typical cliches of a "the poor girl falling for the popular and rich boy, "the girl plays hard to get, batting her eyelashes one minute and than brusquely pushing him away in the next." It's sad that this is the type of immature mindgames that actually DON'T lead to a healhty relationship but an insecure one.
We start out with an interesting premise. Im Sol is an insufferable young woman who is stuck in a hospital bed, paralyzed from the waist down. She ends up accidentally on a radio show, and talking with one of Korea’s most popular artists, Ryu Seon Jae. He listens to her pathetic rant of anger and frustration, and after she’s stopped, he encourages her to live and be well with herself. These mere words seem to cause Im Sol to start living rather than feel sorry for herself. However, not long after the call, she learns that Rye Seon Jae appears to have committed suicide.
Im Sol comes across a mysterious digital watch that suddenly transports her 15 years back into the past. She finds out that Ryu Seon Jae lived across the street from her, and that she now has an opportunity to change things. However, she can’t tell people anything from the future, as the “watch” gods won’t let her. Whenever she tries, there’s a quick “blackout” or a deletion of anything she tries to say.
The story is about a girl who keeps going back into the past, trying desperately to change things because the love of her life, Ryu Seon Jae, keep dying. Now, on the surface, this might seem incredibly selfless and romantic, especially when Im Sol believes that she is the cause, and does her best to distance herself from Ryu Seon Jae, even to the point of deliberately spurning him.
Kobe Bryant was once asked if he ever had an opportunity to go back to his past to change something, what would he change? He said, “Nothing. Even if I had that power, I would never use it because it would completely undermine and destroy everything I learned from those experiences.” There is true wisdom in accepting and learning from what is. Im Sol doesn’t have the maturity or even the selflessness to understand that.
Im Sol keeps claiming that she ignores Ryu Seon Jae and changes the past in order for him to “live a long and happy life.” Since when did longevity of life equal happiness? And since when did helping someone be happy mean deliberately mistreating them? Im Sol is too immature to see the hypocrisy of her own desires. Since when did hurting someone provide them happiness?
Im Sol is a rather pathetic and extremely immature young woman who seems to only fluctuate between whining and crying and brief moments of warmth. For a while, I began to wonder if this girl was bipolar! It became so ingrained in her character during the last half of the series, that I thought, “What in the world does Seon Jae see in this girl?!” She behaves like a conceited and insufferable 13-year-old girl. There really isn’t much that’s appealing about her.
While Ryu Seon Jae is far more mature than the girl he falls in love with, I just couldn’t figure out why someone like him would be interested in someone like her. It made no sense at all to me. Im Sol flip-flops emotions faster than a fly on a hotplate!
Kim Hye Yoon’s performance is almost cringeworthy, with her whiny, little-girl voice to her constant lashing out like woman on drugs. She’s unable to really tap into the complexity of her character which really hurts her performance. They should have gone with a much more seasoned actress.
It also didn’t help that everyone is surrounded by idiots. Nobody is competent in anything that they do. Im Sol’s best friend, Lee Hyeon Ju is even worse with the stupid baby-voice as well as the terrible hairstyles! Im Sol’s brother is just as bad. Then, we have Ryu Seon Jae’s friends who couldn’t read a room to save themselves. Finally, we have inept cops trying to capture a serial killer. They’re dumb enough to handcuff the killer with his hands in front, in one time frame, and in another, they fail to guard the only exit from the cab company.
What it all boils down to is very poor writing. The plot is simplistic, and too often, she dumbed down the characters in order to make the plot work. This is always a mistake in writing. It was sloppy and written by a real amateur.
By the time the series ended, it was like getting over a bad cold. There was relief that it was finally over. That was the only good thing about it. The series would have been better served by a better writer and also cut it down to 8 episodes.
To be fair, the first eight episodes were promising, for the most part. But as soon as Episode 9 hit, everything dropped off the proverbial “cliff” as far as story and plot goes.
The sad part about this story is that it sets teh age-old premise that happiness can only be found in the past or in the future. None of our protagonists realize that it can only be found in the present. They spend so much time trying to "fix" things that they learn nothing from the experiences.
The other problem is that it doesn't address the true nature of all relationships. They're all finite. They don't last, either because of a break-up or because of death.
We also get the typical cliches of a "the poor girl falling for the popular and rich boy, "the girl plays hard to get, batting her eyelashes one minute and than brusquely pushing him away in the next." It's sad that this is the type of immature mindgames that actually DON'T lead to a healhty relationship but an insecure one.
We start out with an interesting premise. Im Sol is an insufferable young woman who is stuck in a hospital bed, paralyzed from the waist down. She ends up accidentally on a radio show, and talking with one of Korea’s most popular artists, Ryu Seon Jae. He listens to her pathetic rant of anger and frustration, and after she’s stopped, he encourages her to live and be well with herself. These mere words seem to cause Im Sol to start living rather than feel sorry for herself. However, not long after the call, she learns that Rye Seon Jae appears to have committed suicide.
Im Sol comes across a mysterious digital watch that suddenly transports her 15 years back into the past. She finds out that Ryu Seon Jae lived across the street from her, and that she now has an opportunity to change things. However, she can’t tell people anything from the future, as the “watch” gods won’t let her. Whenever she tries, there’s a quick “blackout” or a deletion of anything she tries to say.
The story is about a girl who keeps going back into the past, trying desperately to change things because the love of her life, Ryu Seon Jae, keep dying. Now, on the surface, this might seem incredibly selfless and romantic, especially when Im Sol believes that she is the cause, and does her best to distance herself from Ryu Seon Jae, even to the point of deliberately spurning him.
Kobe Bryant was once asked if he ever had an opportunity to go back to his past to change something, what would he change? He said, “Nothing. Even if I had that power, I would never use it because it would completely undermine and destroy everything I learned from those experiences.” There is true wisdom in accepting and learning from what is. Im Sol doesn’t have the maturity or even the selflessness to understand that.
Im Sol keeps claiming that she ignores Ryu Seon Jae and changes the past in order for him to “live a long and happy life.” Since when did longevity of life equal happiness? And since when did helping someone be happy mean deliberately mistreating them? Im Sol is too immature to see the hypocrisy of her own desires. Since when did hurting someone provide them happiness?
Im Sol is a rather pathetic and extremely immature young woman who seems to only fluctuate between whining and crying and brief moments of warmth. For a while, I began to wonder if this girl was bipolar! It became so ingrained in her character during the last half of the series, that I thought, “What in the world does Seon Jae see in this girl?!” She behaves like a conceited and insufferable 13-year-old girl. There really isn’t much that’s appealing about her.
While Ryu Seon Jae is far more mature than the girl he falls in love with, I just couldn’t figure out why someone like him would be interested in someone like her. It made no sense at all to me. Im Sol flip-flops emotions faster than a fly on a hotplate!
Kim Hye Yoon’s performance is almost cringeworthy, with her whiny, little-girl voice to her constant lashing out like woman on drugs. She’s unable to really tap into the complexity of her character which really hurts her performance. They should have gone with a much more seasoned actress.
It also didn’t help that everyone is surrounded by idiots. Nobody is competent in anything that they do. Im Sol’s best friend, Lee Hyeon Ju is even worse with the stupid baby-voice as well as the terrible hairstyles! Im Sol’s brother is just as bad. Then, we have Ryu Seon Jae’s friends who couldn’t read a room to save themselves. Finally, we have inept cops trying to capture a serial killer. They’re dumb enough to handcuff the killer with his hands in front, in one time frame, and in another, they fail to guard the only exit from the cab company.
What it all boils down to is very poor writing. The plot is simplistic, and too often, she dumbed down the characters in order to make the plot work. This is always a mistake in writing. It was sloppy and written by a real amateur.
By the time the series ended, it was like getting over a bad cold. There was relief that it was finally over. That was the only good thing about it. The series would have been better served by a better writer and also cut it down to 8 episodes.
Was this review helpful to you?
