AnicsiRoscoe

„Do you think it’s a blessing that we get to know about our future?“
- „It would be terrifying not to know.“
„What if we’re destroying today for the sake of tomorrow? What if we’re complicating our fate in order to change the future?"

It took me a while to finish this drama because I was afraid of the ending. While time travel always leaves room for 'whys' and 'what ifs' and 'why didn't they' and 'shouldn't there be', I have to say, it is one of the better written time travel dramas, and it certainly helps that it was pre-produced. All the flashbacks and time jumps at least made sense and you can follow clearly if you pay attention. It will get confusing if you have a lot of time between the episodes, though, so I recommend you to not drag it.

Now, why I really loved this drama can be summarized in just a few words: Amazing chemistry, fantastic actors, beautiful scenography, moving music and subtle writing. As I said, time travel is a difficult topic, but what I loved most about the writing was not the plot in the first place, but how genuine all the conversations and interactions felt. In many other dramas I find myself thinking: 'Nobody would say that' 'Who does that?' 'why are they so stupid, that's nonsense'. However, in this drama, even though there are some actions that may be misunderstood, you can perfectly comprehend why they act the way they did, how they are driven by fear of irrecoverable loss...
Yes, the directing and filmography are beautiful, but the script makes it complete. I love how it falls together so perfectly.

„Do you love me?“
-„I think I will die if I don’t marry you.“

„Leave! It is hard to even look at you.“
„But what should I do? In my eyes, I see you telling me not to leave…“

Yoo So Joon in the beginning is selfish, and we all know it. Does he really love her? Is he just using her for his own benefits? Is there even an ounce of sincerity in his words?
These thoughts are repeated in an endless cycle in our brains from the moment he decides he must marry her in order to change their fate. I love how the writing uses lines that show us that although he knows he is deceiving her, he carefully chooses his words so as to not to lie too blatantly, like when we feel shame by lying and think it will be less of a sin if we keep as close to the truth as possible. And even more, you can nearly watch how their relationship slowly changes, until there is truly nothing left but genuine love.

For all those reasons and how much it made me smile, cry and feel, I will give it a score of 9.0. It was close to a 10, but near the end there were some things that couldn't quite keep up with the brilliant start. And of course, it leaves us with a very nice message as well:

- No matter what the future holds or what happens tomorrow… can’t we just live freely?

I didn't really like Eric in other dramas either, but Another Miss Oh is an amazing drama, with a somewhat similar vibe to this one, so I think you should give it a shot and watch the first episode at least. They have amazing chemistry as well!

I think I should try rewatching Goblin, too. I never finished it, with one episode on hold, as I also thought it was just lacking a tinyyyy tinyyyy something, and got disappointed. Maybe I'll adore it the second time around. I would hope so!

Unfortunately I have to say I don't feel any of your choices, besides Kim Ji Won as Elizabeth. I love all the actors listed here, but I don't get the vibes I got from the 2005 P&P. I guess that's why it's so difficult to find the right cast in auditions or when offering roles: It's a matter of taste. But it's a fun article :)

Ah, yeah, I know what you mean. I must say I don't agree with them having no chemistry at all, but it's true that it cannot compare to what they had f.e. in Age of Youth (fav silly couple forever!) or Marriage Not Dating. Well, I hope there'll still be some progress on that matter...

I think the problem lies elsewhere. Jung Joo definitely has other things on her mind than romance, so while she must realize she cares for him, she doesn't put much meaning behind those feelings. And Eui Hyun, well, we all know history seems to be repeating itself from their parents. He knows his best friends is head over heels for Jung Too, so he doesn't dare make a move. He's way too considerate for that. I am also disappointed, but it's neither the actors fault, rather the story is going in a direction where romance is not (yet) ready to bloom.

She definitely tones down, there are no more over-the-top antics. I almost preferred her that way though. I recommend you watch two more episodes to decide.

Yes, suspicious partner was somewhat dull and bland, but I've seen 'I remember you' (Hello Monster) already 3 times. It is a hundred times better. It picks up after the first couple of episodes with the main story.

Personally I think it's really cool you took time to come here and talk about something that matters to you. It's great your wife managed to draw you into the K-drama world to some extend, because it's simply human nature wanting to share things we love with people who matter to us. Either way, I also think that Korea has a very high-end entertainment industry, and especially in terms of production quality, it can hold up with American tv-shows any day, especially if we're talking about the ones with low-budget. I am talking about visuals and audio, also about acting, often directing. Unfortunately, that cannot always be said about scriptwriting, and here lies the major problem with K-dramas, that are often not pre-produced but written along the way and under time pressure. If you want to get a glimpse into that crazy drama-producing world, you could watch 'The King of Dramas'. I am not saying that pre-produced dramas are always better than ones that don't have a pre-written script, but unfortunately many times the writers get stuck along the way, or are influenced by the public opinion, or-- well, actually I don't know why but very often the first4 or 5 episodes of a show are the bomb, and then suddenly it goes downhill from there, until often it becomes nonsense, cliché, everyone acts out of character and by the end you're wondering what you've wasted your time on.
So, seeing the potential of the set-up, the cast, the director and everyone involved in the production go down the drain, is simply upsetting for drama-fans like us. While I don't think I constantly complain, I am sure I've at some point vented my frustrations because of a similar matter. Of course, there is a difference between constructive criticism and mean comments out of malice.
Anyway, maybe it would be better for you to stay away from the comment section of MDL, I can totally understand that it can be upsetting. I often wonder myself how there can be so much bickering and shaming over something that should just bring joy and excitement.
On a final note I would like to recommend you the drama 'It's okay that's love', my favorite drama up to date, and one where you can happily read all the comments because it is just too amazing to deserve anything but praise :) I hope you'll enjoy it with your wife and forget about the bad blood circulating around here!

I agree, 'Hello monster' makes it somehow sound like a romantic comedy or parody, which by no means it is. 'I remember You' is a beautiful and very fitting title that links with the drama. I wish they would change it back on MDL :(

Thanks a lot for your detailed comment, it makes perfectly sense and you convey your thoughts well, no worries :) I might pick it up again after some time when I'm in the right mood.

I don't think it's a coming of age movie, and I also think it's not possible to grasp the contents and lessons within it if you skip some parts. Rather than coming of age, I think it's a movie about feelings between people and how even little, seemingly insignificant wrongs to others can cause a catastrophe when accumulated. Actually, nobody in this movie committed any big sins or crimes, everyone just lived their lives to their best ability, but those fragile words of hurt or selfishness eventually destroyed someone's hope. I think it is beautifully done in that sense. Unfortunately the version I watched had very bad subtitles, so most of the beauty within the dialogue got lost along the way...

Dang, your comment made me doubt a little. I dropped this as early as episode 8 because I thought it was becoming boring and I really disliked some of the characters. But now you throw in 'It's Okay, That's love', and that's just about the most beautiful drama EVER, and now I am thinking I should give this another chance. So many people say it's boring and dull, though. Ahhhhh....

She also wrote 'Doctors' and 'High Society'. The latter was acceptable but somewhat dull, I had to drop the first one due to varying reasons, one would be the writing. It's too bad... :(

I know this comment is old but I just stumbled over it. His best drama up to date in my opinion is Queen In Hyun's man, and the romance and chemistry are just off the charts. So much kissing! So much cuteness! No wonder they dated after the drama for some time, honestly. One of my favorite dramas :)

Also, I wonder if I am the only one that didn't really dig SPLASH SPLASH LOVE. I mean, it was cute and the quality of production is quite high , but the drama and romance are average at best.

Never felt the urge to rewatch any of those except for Marriage Not Dating, which is the bomb. Love that drama! My favorite re-watch dramas are 'It's Okay, That's Love', 'Oh my Venus' and 'Queen In Hyun's man'. Watched each of those plenty of times and could not love them more.

A new one to be added to the list: Go back Couple :D Loved that one to pieces!

They don't actually travel in time there, though.

I think it's because even though it's a time travel drama, it's not... uh... like a character goes from the past to the far future or a different decade of from future to goryeo or something like that. But I agree, it's a great drama.