Eleison

The ML deeply wants news of his mother (who he can't remember for sure if he's ever known her), and I think he feels bad deep down for his fellow "siblings" (and himself) who got experimented on as they (and he) are all experiencing increasing side effects from their powers due to the experimentation) so at one point after he seems to be warming up to the FL and her friends, he decides to turn her over to the doctor who's been doing the experimentation so she can be used to find a cure for them and because he knows the doctor wants her heart/blood for his experiments (knowing there's a good chance she'll die (that's another spoiler which I don't think needs to be said here, but it has to do with the FL's connection to another friend of his (unbeknownst to her) who was experimented on in the past as well who the ML is looking for)).

He is presented as a morally gray character from the beginning, so, while it was shocking and awful, it wasn't necessarily out of character, and the show does a good job of making where he's coming from pretty clear. He DOES redeem himself, but some people found it unforgivable despite his actions afterwards. I thought it worked because of how they'd presented him all along, and because of some of the spoiler-y details about the FL that gives him hope she'll come out alright that I'm loathe to ruin, and because he does eventually come to his senses and make it right.

I thought the romance was just the right amount. Subtle and light, without overshadowing the plot and character's arcs but enhancing it and making the connection between the FL and ML more meaningful.

Very slight, but I thought it was tastefully done, and pretty cute.

Though, there is a hiccup that has turned some off from the ML, and I will put it as a spoiler below (it's a big plot twist, so read at your own risk).

In his tank top and muscular arms, haha. I think that's what they were going for. 😅

It finally jumped to 8.5 😍

I'm not sure (I don't think the show explained her motivations clearly/well), but that sounds plausible! I'd like to think she didn't really know exactly what he was doing in great detail.

It got offset by the smoking that network Kdramas almost never feature despite being a rampant past time in real Korea. 😅

I think the FL had always been sickly. Grandma had funded the wunderkinder project when she was a child (for somewhat unclear reasons, I think? Han Do accused her of acting selfishly but she said it was "to ease the suffering of the children"--though maybe it was also to explore a cure for Chae Ni as she might be "one of the children" (without knowing how bad the experiments actually were)? It's still unclear to me how much she was aware of what was actually going down--had she ever been in that lab? She couldn't have been there and also thought that was happening was "for the children").

After the explosion caused by the ML, Grandma helped find the surviving children without powers new homes, but the Child Of Eternity, while having an eternal heart, had experienced irreversible brain damage so they decided to give his heart to Chae Ni, who was essentially dying due to her heart.

It seems the heart kept her alive but did not reverse the effects of her disease and illness (somehow) or her body never accepted the heart until she died. Then it seemed to imply that the heart after resurrecting kind of restarted her whole body (alongside the chemical in the dump that gave her powers), and she got a new lease on life because the eternal heart was reactivated. That's kind of how my brain interpreted what happened. 😅

Oh yes, I completely agree. I think this is an absolute gem, so incredibly underrated. I can't believe the ratings for it!

Pingjing is also my favorite. He has such a great character arc, and is so humble. But the whole Changlin clan is just fabulous. Such a great family of humans!

Lots of fun! Very funny, with a unique sense of humor (kind of has some dark humor at points), and the tone gives you whiplash constantly, but such a fun romp with lovable characters.

All four of the characters with powers since childhood (Pal Ho, Ju Ran, Ho Ran and Un Jeong) are kind of equally powerful in their own way. The characters who get their powers in the show as adults will get there eventually but are new to it so they're not as practiced or experienced.

I liked Lovely Runner, but this is the better drama.

I finally finished this with my sister and we LOVED it.

It is certainly unique as far as Kdramas go; the pacing and plot does not feel particularly tropey or cliche in the typical Kdrama way, with a really unique main character setup since the the ML and his dad (who I guess is technically the 2ML) are basically equal parts the ML. We see more of the internal world of Eun Gyeol (the ML), but it's Ha Lee Chan that this story revolves around, and he is ultimately the main focal point.

It was SUCH an endearing premise and so beautifully executed. My sister and I loved how the ML basically acted as the parent his parents never had, and his presence (and the love he shows them) in their past changes all of their futures in such cool ways.

Eun Gyeol helped deepen his parents' connection to those around them and build lasting community built on found family, compassion, thoughtfulness, self-sacrifice and love. He opened up a new world for both of them out of the fullness of love they had given him that he got to give back to them when they needed it most.

I also love the theme of a child learning compassion and empathy for their parents' story. After traveling to his parents' past, Eun Gyeol has such a different perspective of the parents he already loved to pieces, and I just loved how much he cried over them and their hardships, struggles, and pain. (It was refreshing to see the ML cry so often, and over things completely unrelated to romance. He now might be one of my favorite MLs of all time.) And, ironically, while Eun Gyeol parents his parents, haha, he also gets to have a second childhood, learning how to let go, let loose, have fun and do what he loves and allow himself to play and goof and be a kid. (And he gets to do that with his very own dad who is the same age as him; Eun Gyeol's such a precious mother hen! 😅).

It's also nostalgic in a variety of ways because of when it takes place; the 90's setting gives it a slight flavor of Reply 1988 which had such a deeply aching, nostalgic quality to it (the last episode of that drama tore me into little pieces and left me a puddle on the ground). Both dramas do such a great job capturing the lovely, fleeting beauty of youth, and the hope, dreams and joy that accompany it with the beautiful memories forged in that time of life.

I kind of wish Episode 16 wasn't so darn emotional (it packs a punch), but it's a beautiful ending, and I think they wrapped up everything very well. The way they filmed some of the last scenes reminded me of the way they retroactively brought Hayden Christensen to be Anakin Skywalker's ghost in Return of the Jedi instead of the old dude that originally played Darth Vader (and don't worry, I'm not saying anyone dies). You'll know what I mean when you see the end.

The cast was awesome, but Choi Hyun Wook was so darn stinkin' cute. He was hilarious and fit the role to a T. He just steals your heart. This is also by far my favorite drama with Ryeoun, too. He acted his heart out, and I love his deep, soft, velvety voice.

Such a heartfelt, poignant, powerful, and beautiful watch. Highly recommend!

Well, he's certainly had a lot of opportunities to practice!

Dae Hoon was great. I've only seen him play jerks so it was refreshing to see him play someone goodhearted (but at the same time, still kind of a jerk 😅).

Where was the Matrix reference?

I think he also knew by that point that she could he used to save his fellow "siblings" (and himself) from the effects of the experimentation, and that, paired with his hunt for his mom, made him willing to give her up. I thought it was pretty awful, too, and while he obviously had some tricks up his sleeve that showed he wasn't completely heartless (i.e. gave her the coffee, didn't tell Han Do about the effects caffeine had on her, etc.) and he knew the FL was... hard to kill. On and off you can see him fighting his devil may care attitude and the growing warmth towards the three "fools." I thought they made it work, but it was definitely hard to watch. 😟

I liked the romance. It was so slight that it worked for me. And a great little summary/review, btw.:)

I was dying during the beach scene. Surely they wouldn't show them try AGAIN? But they did, and had so many iterations that instead of getting old it just got funnier. 😅

It did get more unhinged by the end but I thought it was just a silly, fun romp! 😅 They just went for crazy and somehow it worked, haha.

It seems like we'll have to agree to disagree, haha. I rewatched True Beauty recently and I really felt less impressed than my first watch after seeing a lot more actors in Kdramas. Like I said, he's passable, and by no means dreadful, he's just not stellar (imo).

I want to forget that the actor is there and get immersed in a character, and I can never forget that the actor Cha Eun Woo is on screen. I've never seen him become someone that's still not a decent amount of what seems to be his normal, real-life self (not necessarily in choices or morals or things like that, but in carriage and demeanor and expression--this is always some variation on the real Eun Woo).

For instance, when the ML hands the FL over to Han Do, we know he's feeling pretty awful about it, but Eun Woo just struggles to really convey the nuance of what's required in those scenes to really give a sense for how bothered he is by himself and what he's done. I was like, "Emote, Eun Woo! Emote!" 😅