kentv

Gag. Couldn't finish it fast enough

Some series are so bad I just stop watching them. Because this one was only 8 episodes I convinced myself to blaze through it in the hope that something good would happen. Nope. Train wreck. The uncensored sex scene didn't add anything cuz if I wanted that I know where to find it. The timeline bouncing around was a distraction. I feel like the writer has had a difficult life and this series represented some kind of catharsis. No likeable characters. Few happy moments. I guess there is an audience for this kind of show but it ain't me. Someone commented that it should have been a movie. I guess the powers that be recognized it sucked so it was limited to 8 episodes. One episode would have been plenty.

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I booed out loud at the end

As others have mentioned, the series started off with an interesting premise and I enjoyed the first 4-5 episodes. Then, it became clear that the story was really about her first life, which wasn't particularly interesting. The same poorly lit/shot/designed scenes from her first life were repeated over and over again.

Spoilers follow: While one must throw logic and reason out the window when considering the premise of many kdramas, I had to question what the likelihood was that most all of the leads in the show were also in her first life. And they were also all at the same ages as they are in their current life. Which leads me to the biggest headscratcher of the series: When she finally unties herself from her past life and subsequently forgets about them, how is it that she also forgets about the relationships that she has built in her current life? Yet everyone else can remember them. She eats kimchi as Kim Ae-Gyeong's restaurant--where she supposedly had lived throughout her teens--and can't remember it? However, she ended up being the same senior engineer? Huge plot hole.

I'm guessing that the writer(s) was willing to overlook this due to their desire to set up the finally scene at the hotel swimming pool. As if none of the people who knew about her prior lives are not going to tell her about them anyway?

Still scratching my head.

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More Hopes Dashed!

I started watching Kdramas several years ago after my brother mentioned he enjoyed them...and generally I have too, over the 100 or so series I have seen all or part of. About 6 months ago he told me that he had started watching the last part of a final episode first to help determine if he was going to spend 16+ hours on the series. After the last couple of series that I have watched I have arrived at the same point. (Just before Interest of Love I watched Misty and Record of Youth.)

As is common for me (and apparently many others), I started to get weary of the premise / storyline after the first 4-8 episodes. In this case it felt like they were just circling back (as explained in one of the episodes) back to the beginning, without much of interest (pun intended) being added after each lap. The slow pace was getting to me so I bumped the playback to 1.5 and made frequent use of the 10 seconds ahead feature. I binged the first 12 episodes over a couple of days before hitting the wall at the end of episode 12. Maybe I was just tired, but I didn't want to watch anymore, excepting part of episode 16 to see how this train wreck ended.

The memories collage in the finale lacked any joy for me as I felt cheated out a positive ending. True, most of the individual scenes were the best of what had transpired along the way and those segments AT THE TIME were satisfying to watch. I kept watching the remaining time display thinking "There is still enough time to salvage a good ending. Come on!" Alas, their last steamy-stares were left to be interpreted. Were they still in love? If so, what a couple of losers. I get that these Kdramas present what many Americans (or at least my Boomer cohort) would consider dysfunctional, immature, sloooooow-developing romantic relationships. Six or more episodes before a confession of liking someone or maybe agreeing to drop the honorifics or hold hands. Then almost immediately into a committed maybe-gonna-get-married relationship. Heck, back in my day we dated for FUN. I have to believe that these Kdramas do not represent real life in South Korea.

Yes, I'm rambling a bit, an early morning rant about yet another waste of my time on a series that COULD have been so much more enjoyable. As it was, one of the highlights was trying to figure out the product placements. (Is Volvo really happy to have their EV shown as needing a longer-than-a-gas-fillup recharge?) From now on I am following in my brother's footsteps and watching the ending first. If I wanted to see tragic relationships I could always just watch French films. (Or maybe just checking the reviews here, as clearly I am not the only to dislike this show's path and ending.)

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Watched because Somin was in it

Somin is the reason I decided to finally watch this series and I enjoyed her role, which to me was that of the main/central character. I would imagine that when this series ended in 2022 that the last few scenes, especially the one where Mu Deok / Naksu is seemingly being lifted up from the depths of the lake, offered the hope of a continued role for Somin. How disappointing it must of been (and is to me now, having just finished Episode 20 a few minutes ago) to learn that Somin wasn't going to be a main character in Part 2. While Part 1 of the series was entertaining, I doubt I'll be watching Part 2.

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Hit The Spot

I wouldn't put this series in my top 10 or even top 20, but it did deliver a couple of episodes of what I'm looking for in a Kdrama. I've suffered through too many "real life" type of endings and enjoyed this one where the ML and FL end up together. As is now my norm I watch all episodes at 1.5 speed and managed to watch the last 9 episodes in one lazy day. While I know on one level that I'm watching actors, I still experience joyful emotions when the leads are in love and things are going well. In my 44th year of marriage I'll admit that my wife and I rarely share the kind of looks and emotions that are presented in this new made-for-tv relationships. So to relive those emotions vicariously is very enjoyable and the main reason I liked this series. I liked the symmetry of having the roles reversed at the end and the FL seeking to convince the ML to be in a relationship for a change. There were plenty of things I could complain about, not the least of which was the 3 year gap in the action while the FL was in Europe. It's like everyone goes into suspended animation and then we pick up the story again. I can't imagine many couples in the USA agreeing to try a remote relationship for a couple of years. Overall, this series just made me happy at the end.

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Three Cheers for Team 2!

I just finished binging this series and my overall reaction is reflected in the 8/10 rating that I gave it. It had been a while since I had watched season 1 and I didn't remember most of the story arcs for that series, but I did remember the members of the police team. I like the interaction between the cops and could see them in an American style series with a new story line each episode. I got bogged down in the middle of this series, and based on the audience numbers I saw, mine was a common reaction. I'm glad that I stayed with it, not so much for the reveals, but there were some very good moments in each of the later episodes that I enjoyed. With so many portrayals of conniving characters, it was refreshing to see the good behavior of the Mr. Jung character. As much as I don't want to believe that South Korea (or the US) is full of despicable people like those depicted in this series, I want to believe that there are many more who are like Mr. Jung.

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What a Mess!

I've learned to suspend reality when watching certain Kdramas and so I just went with most of the super-confusing timeline crossovers and issues. Yeah, so what if it didn't make a whole lot of sense until the end. I didn't know it was a remake until I got here to write a review and found out from other reviewers. I somewhat regret slogging through this series so I'm certainly not going to watch the original. And the main reason I'm bothering to make this comment is that I'm wondering what happened on the bus at the very end of episode 12. We hear the magical music and and ML asks FL if she is Min-ju and based on the subtitles and her reaction she seems to acknowledge as much. If I got that right--and I went back to watch it a 2nd time--then why didn't she recognize the ML as her former classmate and friend? They were on the same timeline and he remembered enough to ask her name. Why didn't they say like "Hey, haven't seen you in years! How are you?" or whatever folks in South Korea say when they bump into a former friend? It would have made a lot more sense if he had suddenly remembered and asked if she was Jun-Hee. Then she could say "Yes" and he'd have a reason to follow up to figure out how he remembered her. After all, it was to Jun-Hee that he promised he would find her one day. Also, and while it made for good optics to have all of Jun-Hee's and Yeon-Jun's stuff disappear before her eyes--since that timeline wouldn't have occurred--it didn't make sense to me to have her disappear too, unless Jun-Hee was never real to begin with. Which would mean there wasn't a promise to meet again, no great last scene--unless the last scene is just a meeting of two former acquaintances with no other meaning.

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Girl Power Done Well

Normally I am turned off by girl power scripts where the women are all winners and the men are all losers. Had I watched the finale first I might not have watched the series in the first place, as the girl power underpinnings (and gay rights) are finally laid bare in the last minutes of the series. Yet, having binged through the episodes, with frequent fast forwarding, I felt that these women had earned their results and weren't just given them capriciously. It was only after reading some reviews that I bothered to look up the director and writer and saw they were both female. There were a few hints along the way that it was a feminine hand on the tiller, but not those hands were not as heavy as I might find in an American production.

Sure, the male characters were killers, adulterers, and generally inept human beings. But I didn't feel that the women in charge of the production were bent on indicting ALL men, merely highlighting the foibles of THESE particular men. There really wasn't much to applaud in regards to the male characters. The Young Master was let off the hook a bit and given a participation trophy for rising above the barriers of tradition in order to date and marry a maid whom he barely knew and who certainly didn't seem as much fun as his arranged fiance. (Or maybe the writer was dissing him for his unwise decision. Hmm)

And I'm not sure I would have watched the series if Lee Bo-young wasn't so darn attractive. I guess that's why they cast pretty people. I enjoyed the over-the-top presentation of Grandma and can't remember another series where they purposely allowed a main character to have food on their face while eating or showing an open mouth full of food. My own mother was quite dramatic and given to outbursts at times, but the cultural behavioral expectations of Americans and Koreans are much different. How would a Korean view Grandma's (or her daughter's) bombastic episodes?

Fortunately the ending of this series broke the string of unsatisfactory ones that I've experienced recently. Though I wouldn't categorize the ending as great or romantic. I would have enjoyed an epilogue set several years in the future instead of just 6 months. Let's see how well the young couple is doing. Bring in some new romantic interests. Alas, not enough there for a second season, so I'll just have to make up my own story lines.

And as always, the product placements were blatant, which I find a bit humorous.

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I Threw in the Towel after Episode 7

OK, well I did watch parts of episode 16 to see how they resolved things. I recently watched the FL in My Man Is Cupid and enjoyed her role, yet didn't like her character in this drama. I didn't see much chemistry between the leads and I guess I just got bored. Or, as I'm also watching episodes of When Life Gives You Tangerines and Potato Lab, it might be that this drama was just overshadowed by those. I didn't mind when the ML disappeared as by that time I had mostly disappeared myself. Normally I don't like these type of endings, but I was OK with it as IRL there are many folks who deeply love someone but due to circumstances are not able to live with them for years and years. When that relationship ends while both participants still love one another it can remain in one's memory as a beautiful chapter in life. Maybe that was the message that the writer was hoping to convey.

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Would have been better with only 10 Episodes

I felt that the whole revenge angle took up too much of the series, in that I find it hard to believe that two people so determined to serve justice wouldn't end up being worse people for the effort. It had a syrupy sweet ending, which was ok by me, although it went longer into the future than I felt it needed to go. Though I get why as they had to get to 2023 to wrap it up. The chemistry between the leads was just so-so in my opinion, perhaps due to the intended stoic role of the ML. (In this show he somehow reminded me of Tim Robbins.) I probably wouldn't put this series on a list of recommended shows to a newcomer to the genre, but it wouldn't go on a do-not-watch list either.

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Redemption is slow in coming but does eventually arrive

It finally made sense in the last 10 minutes of the 16th episode, even if it meant enduring some slooooow moments. I would venture that this story was reverse-engineered from the ending. I thought the majority of the last episode was over the top and made me wonder if the writer had personal experience they were drawing upon. I didn't see much chemistry between the ML and FL, and the ML's uncle was particularly annoying. But not as hateable as the ML's ex or her mother. The priest might have been the most likeable person in the show. And the bad guy cries way too much. Regardless, there were enough entertaining moments to justify watching it...once.

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What about Alice?

I'm sure that there are many folks that loved Season 2 of this series. I liked it and was mostly entertained. It had been a while since I watched season 1 and I likely missed some of the tie-ins from that series, but generally the show delivered what I expected. I felt it bogged down a bit in the last couple of episodes as it seemed to move away from what I felt was the more satisfying aspect of the show, that is, finding the bodies. And then there was poor Alice, and a bunch of other unanswered questions that would normally indicate a 3rd season was planned. I would have preferred things to be tidied up nicely. If I want reality I'll watch a documentary.

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I Enjoyed Being Fooled

It's been a while since I watched a kdrama movie and it was a nice respite from the 16-20 hour time investment for a series. Without even realizing who the FL lead was, other than "she looks familiar, hmm", I thought "what a pleasant, attractive character." Imagine my surprise when figuring out that she was the FL in When The Phone Rings, a series where she had basically two facial expressions, neither of which was smiling. Her nurse character, especially as she interacts and develops a relationship with her jaundiced patient (ML), made for a positive, good vibe. He certainly seemed out of her league and the fact that their relationship bloomed just added to the depth of her character. She saw something in him that maybe others had missed.

He was so inspired by his good fortune to be in a relationship with her that he decided to lose the weight, becoming more attractive and interesting in the process. That he was being depicted by a different actor at this point was just one of those things one comes to expect. He starts working long hours and still has feelings for the FL, but the relationship is challenged when she finds out she is pregnant.

At this point in the movie I felt that the SML (second actor playing the fit male lead) was sincere about wanting to stay in the relationship, but torn because he wanted to succeed in his demanding job. His attractive co-worker (SFL) was more interested in him than he was in her and in a moment of weariness he made what I took to be an honest mistake and called the FL by the SFL's name. FL wasn't too happy and was fully aware of how difficult it had become for SML to commute to visit with her and pressed the issue, to which the SML admitted that he felt sorry for her, indicating that there was some "duty" involved as his motivation for staying in the relationship. She gives him an out and he does something dumb and more or less succumbs to the advances of the SFL. I believed that he still had feelings, albeit confused, for the FL and the SFL was merely a rebound relationship. He finally realizes that he wants to try to mend things with the FL and dashes off to the airport to join her on a trip they had planned to Jeju.

MAJOR SPOILER FOLLOWS!!
Which is when the gotcha occurs. I was totally suckered in by the illusion that the ML had worked hard enough to transition into great shape as portrayed by the SML. In that moment of realization that in fact the SML wasn't the same character as the ML, merely shared a name and occupation, and as it turned out had a similar hospital experience where FL was the nurse, only on a different timeline, I had a great appreciation for a twist well done. The rewind segment helped fill in the blanks and also explained the strange "Sneakers" segments. That the SML tried to comfort his bruised ego by returning to pursue the SFL was a bit pathetic, although that relationship likely had a better chance of succeeding that the one with the FL and the ML. The look on the FL's face in the last scene seemed to me to say that she still had feelings for the SML and that the ML was just a convenient temporary substitution. Not a bad deal under the circumstances for the ML but I doubt their relationship would last very long. Too much water under the bridge for the original duo (FL/SML) to return to their relationship, but the FL's looks and personality were so attractive that I doubt she would have any problem finding other men who are interested in her.

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