This review may contain spoilers
Procrastinated Watching For A Reason
I procrastinated watching this show for a very long time. I visited Korea and was shocked by seeing Byun Woo Seok on every cafe, product, and store sign. I even got his photocard as a freebie way before knowing his name. It really hyped the show up for me and I knew it would end with me being disappointed. Boy was I entirely correct.I want to start by saying that I already have a hard time with shows about idols/singers/celebrities (Record of Youth was fine at this, but most are not great) AND with shows about time travel. Twinkling Watermelon is the only drama I’ve ever seen be able to combine two of my least favorite genres/tropes and make something amazing.
Despite all of these issues, I tried to go into Lovely Runner with an open mind. It clearly had to go viral and get amazing ratings for a reason, right? I like Byun Woo Seok as an actor, I loved being on a swim team as a kid, and mostly I really needed something to watch.
My efforts to enjoy the show were in vain.
Definitely not a show for watchers that struggle with cringe humor/secondhand embarrassment. Reminds me of classic Kdramas in the worst ways. Characters doing embarrassing things all the time, misunderstanding each other, and even potty humor….it just ends up being hard to watch and not funny at all. If this show came out a decade ago I’d give some of the writing a pass, but it’s really not what I want to see.
SPOILERS
Over half of the story makes no sense, and I’m not talking about the fact that time travel exists. It feels like the writers forgot about certain things that happened/were set up and forced their way back in later.
FLs choices don’t make any sense, even considering she’s sacrificing herself for the ML, half the time she didn’t have to. Only time I felt connected to her emotionally was realizing she had to watch the guy she loves die 3 times and never got to mourn him. Watching her get out of bed after he got stabbed, and immediately having to take care of a baby broke my heart.
The entire plot line of the kidnapping is unnecessary to the story and only resurfaces when convenient. She gets kidnapped multiple times, her legs get paralyzed for 15 years, and multiple people die, but the only way it impacts her emotionally (post stanning eclipse) is the next few times she crosses the road she has to take some deep breaths?? Plus she nearly stepped into traffic from not paying attention every single one of those times. Just look at the road babe. After a couple of times that’s entirely forgotten too.
ML getting stabbed could have been the perfect set up for him finally getting a chance at time travel and them making things work together, but no somehow the FL just gets extra bonus tries??? Like the 3 she got at the start meant nothing. Not to mention, she doesn’t go back again after that.
Not a fan of the way the FL only got a chance at happiness because she saved herself from becoming disabled. I really would have loved to see her become happy and in love in the wheelchair. I understand that was a point of frustration and limiting for her but it sends the message that disabled people can’t be happy/fall in love. They also don’t do anything else with the MLs anxiety/depression after the first death. It’s very lightly hinted at in the second (?) timeline but again it’s like the time travel cured him instead of him going to therapy, doing anything else to get better. I guess as long as you have a girlfriend you can’t be depressed??? Not great.
Side characters were impossible to watch. I liked the trope of best friend’s brother but every scene with them was so over the top cringe. And toilet humor? Juvenile.
The second male lead definitely grew on me after a couple of episodes, but I also feel like they could have done more with him. I liked that he was fine with her “multiple personalities” and that he became a cop later on. That was pretty cool. However, I would have loved to see him get memories of the past timelines back as he solved the case. I think that could have been a cool addition. Also I swear in the beginning they mention he’s in eclipse (inhyuk knows him somehow) but he never was. Could have just been another thing that didn’t make any sense to me.
I do want to say Byun Woo Seok doesn’t deserve all the hate he’s getting right now for his acting. He was the only thing I liked about the drama. Even without his visuals his acting was well done.
This is the longest review I’ve ever written and it’s because of just how frustrated I was watching it. Maybe if I watched it when it came out or if it was my first kdrama then I’d have enjoyed it more. I’m happy other people like it.
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