This review may contain spoilers
Surprisingly, They Stuck the Landing
Spoilers - I can't bang on freely without sharing some secrets.
Firstly, the actors were appropriately beautiful and handsome.
Im Ji Yeon has this ability to be quite disarmingly normal looking when needed and then stunning for modeling scenes. Also, her character has an amazing maniacal laugh & smile - most notable when drinking. So fun.
Heo Nam Jun initially presents as very cool and classy but has some very cute facial expressions as his character starts to let his feelings out.
Props to how menacing they made the villain Choi mun Do. I mean, he had a great smile and was handsome enough but there was just something off about him. was it make-up? Or was his teeth slightly grey? i don't know but he definitely had a sinister aura about him.
This show really started off well. It was very fun to watch. The characters have great personas and interacted so well together.
The comedy of their meeting and early interactions was on point. I enjoyed Sin Seo-Ri's attitude and how she was presented early on as this fun, larger-than-life personality - getting memed and becoming an influencer.
I like how Cha Se-Gye Was locked in and focused on perusing her quite early. Then she initially came around pretty quick too. I did have an issue with Sin Seo-Ri being hot and cold towards him, even after she knew her feelings but this is a K-Drama staple.
I would've liked to see more fighting from her as she initially pitched herself as this anti-assassination savant, Joseon baddie but then ended up being quite reactive and ultimately getting caught herself.
The scene where she was keeping him distant but then had an instant meltdown when she found him in cardiac arrest on the plane was really well done and entertaining. I laughed out loud. I must say, they really leaned into the slapping in this show and I'm here for it. It's like their love language. The fact she got electrocuted too was perfect.
I loved how the music was used in the show. The delicate lighthearted piano intro of Losing My Heart playing throughout the episodes as they slowly got to know each other was used diabolically, building to crescendo as the white truck of death plowed into the restaurant. So good. So devastating. Props to the writers for making it a white truck. Classic K Drama. Everyone knows it; everyone respects it.
The latter episodes we're a bit hard to get through when Seo-Ri was always gloomy with her anticipated departure. Having said that, when she did go back, I liked how it played out very much. Point's for Cha Se-Gye who in hindsight recognised her depressed lack of response to his enthusiasm and treated it with compassion instead of recrimination.
Also in the latter episodes, it wasn't clear to me what was happening with the 'soul shifting' and had to go to the comments section and then watch the episodes again to understand it. Ultimately it was cleared up with the scene in the water where the souls are swapped but before then, I was scratching my head.
Endings like this always feel a bit deus ex machina to me - like Alchemy of Souls where the happy ending was nothing to do with the leads agency and entirely up to Jin Seol-Ran's decision to depart etc. but in this case, even though Seo-Ri was in limbo, I could get into the idea that Cha Se Gye remembered her coming back to save him in his past life and called her back. That was a great way of handling it. Then what I always like to see - the leads working together to solve that dramatic tension - in this case, the Choi Mun Do arc. I almost feel sorry for him.
As an aside, I really enjoyed seeing Lee Se Hee again after Young Lady and Gentleman, a show in which I really enjoyed her acting & character but thought overall it wasn't great. I'm looking forward to seeking out more of her past and future works. She really nailed it here.
In summary, A++. I always judge a show by how much I am enjoying myself while watching. A happy ending isn't very satisfying if you have to grind through 8 episodes of unhappy trauma to get there. In this case, I enjoyed watching at least 90% of it.
A simple trope handled in a fun and clever manner.
Firstly, the actors were appropriately beautiful and handsome.
Im Ji Yeon has this ability to be quite disarmingly normal looking when needed and then stunning for modeling scenes. Also, her character has an amazing maniacal laugh & smile - most notable when drinking. So fun.
Heo Nam Jun initially presents as very cool and classy but has some very cute facial expressions as his character starts to let his feelings out.
Props to how menacing they made the villain Choi mun Do. I mean, he had a great smile and was handsome enough but there was just something off about him. was it make-up? Or was his teeth slightly grey? i don't know but he definitely had a sinister aura about him.
This show really started off well. It was very fun to watch. The characters have great personas and interacted so well together.
The comedy of their meeting and early interactions was on point. I enjoyed Sin Seo-Ri's attitude and how she was presented early on as this fun, larger-than-life personality - getting memed and becoming an influencer.
I like how Cha Se-Gye Was locked in and focused on perusing her quite early. Then she initially came around pretty quick too. I did have an issue with Sin Seo-Ri being hot and cold towards him, even after she knew her feelings but this is a K-Drama staple.
I would've liked to see more fighting from her as she initially pitched herself as this anti-assassination savant, Joseon baddie but then ended up being quite reactive and ultimately getting caught herself.
The scene where she was keeping him distant but then had an instant meltdown when she found him in cardiac arrest on the plane was really well done and entertaining. I laughed out loud. I must say, they really leaned into the slapping in this show and I'm here for it. It's like their love language. The fact she got electrocuted too was perfect.
I loved how the music was used in the show. The delicate lighthearted piano intro of Losing My Heart playing throughout the episodes as they slowly got to know each other was used diabolically, building to crescendo as the white truck of death plowed into the restaurant. So good. So devastating. Props to the writers for making it a white truck. Classic K Drama. Everyone knows it; everyone respects it.
The latter episodes we're a bit hard to get through when Seo-Ri was always gloomy with her anticipated departure. Having said that, when she did go back, I liked how it played out very much. Point's for Cha Se-Gye who in hindsight recognised her depressed lack of response to his enthusiasm and treated it with compassion instead of recrimination.
Also in the latter episodes, it wasn't clear to me what was happening with the 'soul shifting' and had to go to the comments section and then watch the episodes again to understand it. Ultimately it was cleared up with the scene in the water where the souls are swapped but before then, I was scratching my head.
Endings like this always feel a bit deus ex machina to me - like Alchemy of Souls where the happy ending was nothing to do with the leads agency and entirely up to Jin Seol-Ran's decision to depart etc. but in this case, even though Seo-Ri was in limbo, I could get into the idea that Cha Se Gye remembered her coming back to save him in his past life and called her back. That was a great way of handling it. Then what I always like to see - the leads working together to solve that dramatic tension - in this case, the Choi Mun Do arc. I almost feel sorry for him.
As an aside, I really enjoyed seeing Lee Se Hee again after Young Lady and Gentleman, a show in which I really enjoyed her acting & character but thought overall it wasn't great. I'm looking forward to seeking out more of her past and future works. She really nailed it here.
In summary, A++. I always judge a show by how much I am enjoying myself while watching. A happy ending isn't very satisfying if you have to grind through 8 episodes of unhappy trauma to get there. In this case, I enjoyed watching at least 90% of it.
A simple trope handled in a fun and clever manner.
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