Love comes most cruelly to those who do not believe in it
The premise of this series is that an alien from another planet has been quietly living as a Korean with minimal social connections for 400 years. Three months before his return to his planet, he is working as a young college professor in Seoul, when the hottest TV star in Korea moves into the luxury apartment next door. She is arrogant, ignorant, and vain, but (perhaps because he has no idea who she is) she also shows her vulnerable side to him. Further, with his super sensitive ears he clearly hears her talk of her unhappy life and then he has premonitions that she is in danger and in need of protection. By the third episode, despite his best efforts to maintain his solitude, she has taken over his life.
If I haven't lost you by this point, you will probably enjoy this show. There is a sci-fi component here, but much of that is seen through the eyes of a kdrama diva, often to comedic effect. Mainly the ML character (Do Min Joon) hops onto the FL character's (Cheon Song Yi) roller coaster, and we get to watch the ride. The writer has built a character in Song Yi -- lonely and vulnerable, but with an inexhaustible reservoir of ego and self-confidence -- that makes the romance with a reluctant super powered alien seem downright logical.
The series occasionally brought out my inner Roger Ebert to ding it in a review, but it is too much fun to be harsh. The many iconic moments -- the ending on the red carpet, the kissing problems, him literally sweeping her off her feet, his rigid lifestyle giving way to whatever she needs, the "You are my destiny" anthem -- make the story epic no matter its smaller faults.
Beyond the romance that leads the story, we have a memorable psychotic character who murders anyone who even thinks about getting in his way. We also have a handsome rich guy who desperately tries to ward off our male lead, but so good-natured that Min Joon enlists his help to care for Song Yi. There's also some social commentary about Korea's unhealthy habits with regard to celebrities and status.
So, yes, the writing at times seems to be filling-out a 16 episode story into 21 episodes with overdoses of flashbacks and double scenes, and the acting and staging occasionally feel dated, I guess? I also had questions about what actually is happening, especially between Min Joon and the girl he met 400 years before. But if you know what you're getting into, you'll likely enjoy the story.
For the sake of reference, this show was written by the same person who wrote Crash Landing on You. There are some obvious similarities between this series and CLOY. If you are looking for something like CLOY, then MLFAS is a kind of CLOY precursor that you might enjoy.
If I haven't lost you by this point, you will probably enjoy this show. There is a sci-fi component here, but much of that is seen through the eyes of a kdrama diva, often to comedic effect. Mainly the ML character (Do Min Joon) hops onto the FL character's (Cheon Song Yi) roller coaster, and we get to watch the ride. The writer has built a character in Song Yi -- lonely and vulnerable, but with an inexhaustible reservoir of ego and self-confidence -- that makes the romance with a reluctant super powered alien seem downright logical.
The series occasionally brought out my inner Roger Ebert to ding it in a review, but it is too much fun to be harsh. The many iconic moments -- the ending on the red carpet, the kissing problems, him literally sweeping her off her feet, his rigid lifestyle giving way to whatever she needs, the "You are my destiny" anthem -- make the story epic no matter its smaller faults.
Beyond the romance that leads the story, we have a memorable psychotic character who murders anyone who even thinks about getting in his way. We also have a handsome rich guy who desperately tries to ward off our male lead, but so good-natured that Min Joon enlists his help to care for Song Yi. There's also some social commentary about Korea's unhealthy habits with regard to celebrities and status.
So, yes, the writing at times seems to be filling-out a 16 episode story into 21 episodes with overdoses of flashbacks and double scenes, and the acting and staging occasionally feel dated, I guess? I also had questions about what actually is happening, especially between Min Joon and the girl he met 400 years before. But if you know what you're getting into, you'll likely enjoy the story.
For the sake of reference, this show was written by the same person who wrote Crash Landing on You. There are some obvious similarities between this series and CLOY. If you are looking for something like CLOY, then MLFAS is a kind of CLOY precursor that you might enjoy.
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