This review may contain spoilers
Misses a lot of major marks, but hits all the smaller ones.
What worked well:
- They somehow got the detailing right. Humans taking human time to heal; the confusion of Dal Yi after she gains her memories and how she remains Dal Yi and doesn't transform into Yeon Wol all of a sudden; The tender or emotionally intense moments (backed by breathtaking music, of course); the moral blindness that comes with being consumed by revenge; wrapping all loose ends neatly.
- The chemistry between the leads. This is undeniable. It was so natural that I felt I was watching a real couple sometimes. You begin to root for them right from the start.
- It was a basic storyline, but they added the human nuace to it. People don't change easily, some don't change at all. The story was compelling in the way when life kept dealing them bad hands and they had to figure it out all over again. Great portrayal of "Where there is a will, there is a way"
What did not work well:
- The major fantasy element of fate was so over the head, it started out strong, but then just kept getting tangled up and it became harder to go along with. I get why they must have thought of the final twist the way they did but surely there could have been a better way.
- In the same vein, the writing was off here and there. It felt more obvious after the 10-11th episode mark.
- I really wanted to like Se Jeong's acting and there are moments when she shined, but I couldn't connect with it. She did well with the soul swap surely. But the goofy became too goofy, the happy became too happy.. If that makes sense. This is just my personal opinion though.
Overall:
This was a well acted, well executed but poorly written story. The saving grace came in the form of the acting, the visuals, and the music. Actors like Tae Oh, Jin Goo command the screen as soon as they enter the frame and it was great watching them. Se Jeong portrayed the sorrow, the pain and the somber moments beautifully. All the supporting cast did a good enough job as well. The writing would have taken this to another level surely, but this was a good watch nonetheless. Would I ever rewatch it? Probably not.
- They somehow got the detailing right. Humans taking human time to heal; the confusion of Dal Yi after she gains her memories and how she remains Dal Yi and doesn't transform into Yeon Wol all of a sudden; The tender or emotionally intense moments (backed by breathtaking music, of course); the moral blindness that comes with being consumed by revenge; wrapping all loose ends neatly.
- The chemistry between the leads. This is undeniable. It was so natural that I felt I was watching a real couple sometimes. You begin to root for them right from the start.
- It was a basic storyline, but they added the human nuace to it. People don't change easily, some don't change at all. The story was compelling in the way when life kept dealing them bad hands and they had to figure it out all over again. Great portrayal of "Where there is a will, there is a way"
What did not work well:
- The major fantasy element of fate was so over the head, it started out strong, but then just kept getting tangled up and it became harder to go along with. I get why they must have thought of the final twist the way they did but surely there could have been a better way.
- In the same vein, the writing was off here and there. It felt more obvious after the 10-11th episode mark.
- I really wanted to like Se Jeong's acting and there are moments when she shined, but I couldn't connect with it. She did well with the soul swap surely. But the goofy became too goofy, the happy became too happy.. If that makes sense. This is just my personal opinion though.
Overall:
This was a well acted, well executed but poorly written story. The saving grace came in the form of the acting, the visuals, and the music. Actors like Tae Oh, Jin Goo command the screen as soon as they enter the frame and it was great watching them. Se Jeong portrayed the sorrow, the pain and the somber moments beautifully. All the supporting cast did a good enough job as well. The writing would have taken this to another level surely, but this was a good watch nonetheless. Would I ever rewatch it? Probably not.
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