michelleoc

Time I'll never get back

Same female lead as the first season, which is good, because she is just precious. I like her acting, and I like her character. She's very spunky. She's down on her luck but she's no one's door mat. I always enjoy watching strong female leads that are likeable.

Different actor for ML this time, and I wasn't buying him as the ML. Expressionless and he seemed very uncomfortable. I didn't find his acting totally believable, but that may be partially due to the script.

However, the rest of the actors (other than his secretary) were really overacting. It is really hard to take people seriously when they scream and stomp and act like babies.

I watched this because I felt like I needed to finish both of them, but I can't recommend either.

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I wished they'd tightened up the writing and made it one season

I was frustrated with the way season one ended and I think that may have somewhat colored my response to this season. Sadly, it felt like more of the same, with nothing new. The village "family" was pretty much the same, but granny redeemed herself for me in episode 10. The rest of the time she was overacting.

WHAT I LIKED:
The main couple were so cute together! I got extremely tired of the 10 minutes of being together and then the rest of the episode being apart. It seemed like they took turns being noble. "I'll leave to save you." "No, I'll leave to save YOU!" It got to the point where I was just thinking, here we go again.

But the scenes where they were together were wonderful. A couple of excellent kisses, some hand holding, and an absolute plethora of longing looks. The chemistry was wonderful. Let's be honest, Kim Min Jae is gorgeous and he's got that wide-eyed, stunned look down to a science. He also cries beautifully. There was one scene where he came back to the village by himself, someone tried to talk to him, and he looked devastated. A couple of tears coursed down his cheeks and he just walked away without a single word. That was so powerful.

The last episode was cohesive and very enjoyable. I think that's the main reason my score is as high as it is (I realize I'm in the minority on this one. Remember, this is just my personal opinion.)

Cameo appearance by Woo Do Hwan. I loved him in Tempted and was thrilled so see him here, even if his scene was so brief.

WHAT I DIDN'T CARE FOR:
The gay storyline.
The princess - poorly written and cast. She looked SO young and she was just so immature, all I could think of was a teenager trying to get her own way. Thankfully, she didn't hang around long.
The 2ML. I know, I wasn't supposed to like him, but I felt that the writers waited until too late in day to explain his motivations.

I'm glad I watched this show, if only to get closure from the open ended first season. It seems like the newest trend is having multiple seasons, which makes no sense to me, because so many of the shows are draggy in just ONE season, so now they are just extending that feeling of watching paint dry.

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What is with the music!?!?!

The biggest problem with this drama was the overbearing music, dubbing, and English translation.

Music - it started out when they were playing a Christmas song and the scenes had nothing to do with Christmas. The music didn't fit the story at all and there were so many times that the music was so loud you couldn't hear the people talking. The loud music that they kept playing reminded me of circus music, it was very jarring. I don't care for the voices that they use when they dub Chinese dramas, and this had the added problem of the words not synching with the speaking. This wasn't in all the episodes, but did happen during a few episodes in the middle. Then the English translation had issues, some of the translated words didn't make any sense at all, added to the multiple times that "him" should have been "her".

The story had potential as far as I was concerned. I love me a good destiny story. I couldn't quite decide if I liked his memory loss story line, maybe it just went on too long.

This drama had a very sweet and detailed ending. I appreciated that the story lines were wrapped up nicely and not rushed.

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Never answers the question, is magic real or not?

The music and the singing were very good. That, for me, was the highlight of the whole show. I felt as if they wrote the songs and then thought, "wait, now I have to write a story around the music" and didn't actually know where to take it.

Watch this in a dark room, because it is filmed in a very dark way. Actually, the whole story, as well, was a lot darker and more disturbing than I thought it would be, especially just basing it off watching the trailer. There's quite a bit of sadness and evil in this.

I had a difficult time believing Choe Sung-eun and Hwang In-Youp as high schoolers (of course, I'll always suspend disbelief for him!), and really, neither of their characters were very likeable. Ji Chang Wook as the magician - I'll admit I was glad to see him again, especially since I haven't cared for his last couple of dramas. He did what he could with the role, but I didn't find it well-written. He wasn't mysterious as much as we never knew what his deal actually was.

I'm glad it didn't have any more episodes, because I was glad when it was over. I'd suggest giving it a try though, because most people seemed to like it a lot more than me.

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Easy to watch

If you're looking for an enjoyable watch that doesn't take too much thought, this might be for you. I didn't love it, but I also didn't feel that it was a complete waste of my time. I appreciated that the FL was not a typical doormat and that she spoke up for herself. The ML was a tortured soul, reflecting on a tragedy in his past and unable to move forward. They were cute together. I certainly wouldn't say that their chemistry was off the charts, but I could somewhat believe in them as a couple. I do have to say I was bothered by his constant referring to her as "idiot", and that she was willing to put up with it. The whole thing was pretty "fluffy", without angst, and the fact that it was only nine short episodes was a bonus as well.

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I'm apparently in the minority, not liking this one

I didn't feel an emotional connection with the characters. He was flat throughout most of the show, he felt robotic to me. His personality was the same, no matter who he was dealing with. I didn't care for the side stories much, I watch K-dramas to get away from all the sex/language that is found in American/British shows, so between one couple living together and the other girl talking about all the guys she's had sex with, that was a turn off for me.

Lack of communication really frustrates me. The breakups because they don't talk to each other (mostly her fault) were maddening. I could, to a certain degree, relate to the progression of their relationship, but unfortunately by the time that happened I really didn't care for him at all.

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Watch this now!

I LOVED THIS DRAMA!! I loved that it was short, without all the unnecessary filler that most K-dramas have. The storyline was so complete and well fleshed out that I didn't feel that there was anything missing (other than more episodes to watch the two of them together!)So romantic. The leads were WONDERFUL together!! Their chemistry was amazing. I smiled through most of the show.
The two main actors worked so well together, and both of their characters grew from knowing the other. It was sad for me to think about living his whole life never seeing her again, fathering tons of children for the monarchy, etc., but I guess there was no other way they could have resolved the time gap. I would have liked just a few more minutes of them together at the end, but there is literally nothing not to like about this drama. I think this is my new "palate cleansing" drama to watch after I've watched a drama that was unsatisfying. Watch it, you'll be glad you did!

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One of my absolute favorites

This was an exceptional show. This is the only show that, while I was watching it, kept telling myself it was practically perfect in every way. I don't rate very many shows a '10' and one of the criteria for a 10 is my ability to re-watch the show. This is the one I keep going back to, especially after I've watch a disappointing drama that's full of all the Asian cliches. I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed with the ending, but even that couldn't lower my overall rating for this show.

Story/writing: This show was unbelievably well-written, with a unique storyline. My emotions ran the gamut throughout the series, one minute I'd be laughing, the next I was in tears. This had SO MANY of those wonderful lines that made me think, "Boy, if a man said that to me, I'd totally fall for him!" I loved the nod to Secretly/Greatly and the cameo of Kim Soo Hyun - so clever! The director/writer must have some kind of mind meld going on, because this show was so well-executed, one scene flowed wonderfully into the next. I loved how they had the extra, different scenes at the end of each episode. My favorite was in Ep 1 when he saw her in a tree and was listening to her talk. That small smile, you could tell he was already smitten. The scenery was spectacular (especially in Switzerland) and I loved how the destiny aspect of their relationship kept being revealed, a little bit at a time

Acting/Cast: Everyone owned their role. I could not imagine any actor doing a better job in any of the roles. Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin - their chemistry was palpable! Their chemistry was so good, it's going to be hard for me to see them in shows with someone else! Hyun Bin - At the beginning, he was all about being a soldier and I liked the softening of his character once she came into the picture. Son Ye Jin - her character could have been someone completely unlikeable, but the way she played it, I could see how her family background/dynamics had colored her life and it was such a treat to watch her become more human and playful. Seo Ji Hye as Seo Dan was beautiful to watch. So cold and unapproachable, but there was something that you just had to like about her. Kim Jun Hyun did an excellent job as Alberto, another person that redeems himself as the story goes along. The soldiers in the platoon - what a treat! They each had their own personality trait and they melded so well together. I think the majority of the comic relief came from these guys and they were a hoot. The North Korean ladies - wow, between the script and their acting, they moved from being ancillary secondary characters to being pivotal to the story. Their communications with each other, their strength in adversity and their growing in closeness with each other as the show progressed was a joy to watch. I MUST give a special shout out to Jang Hye Jin, who played Seo Dan's mother - she was spectacular and brought so much humor and heart to the part.

The OST was perfect. The piano music, the songs that sometimes were just the music, sometimes with words. I've always known that music connects with our emotions, but never more so than in this show. I think we have to give a lot of credit to the music for drawing out our emotions, because without it, I don't think I would have cried nearly as much!

My only complaint about this show was that they made such a big deal about their couple rings and never taking them off, then when they found each other at the end of the show, they weren't wearing them. I realize that those scenes were shot first, but with CGI the way it is, you could have just added the rings.

I think the biggest testament to how much I liked this show, other than how many times I've watched it, is the number of times I've recommended it to others. Everyone I know is always looking for something decent to watch, and I tell them, if they are willing to read subtitles, they absolutely cannot go wrong by watching this show.

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Just my personal opinion

I really disliked this drama, on so many levels.
- The acting was bad, especially the two leads. It felt like they were just reciting the lines. I didn't believe in them or in their relationship. It even came down to the walking - it didn't seem natural at all. The FL actually demonstrated scary fan behavior, unable to separate fantasy from reality. And she had this weird smiling/laughing thing that she did that was irritating. The ML tried to look cool, but it was all too forced. I felt like I was watching a high school drama production.
-Bad kisses. There is no excuse for this.
-No chemistry.
-Her best friends were strange and played in an over-the-top way.
-Time skip - I am so tired of this trope.

It had a happy ending, but for me, I was just happy it was over.

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What a surprise!

I'm having a difficult time putting into words how I felt about this show. First, my life as I know it was put on hold so I could binge this in two days.

So much to love:
-the cast. If you have been watching K-dramas for a while, you will recognize many, many of the people in this. I enjoy seeing actors that I've seen in other works. The ML was wonderful, very understated. You could feel how lost he was, and how he didn't believe in himself. Watching him step up, open up, and change his priorities was lovely.
-the story. It was pretty original. For anyone that plays games online, you'll love this.
-the comedy. Sometimes it was just silly, but it worked.
-the music. The music served perfectly to draw emotions from you.
-the emotions. I'm not ashamed to admit I cried on multiple occasions.
-the friendships. This, to me, was all about the friendships. Pay attention at the beginning and notice how disjointed all the soldiers are. Misfits, miserable, not caring about each other. By the end of the show, there were numerous beautiful friendships formed.

My only slight complaint is, and this is true of most shows, that it's very obvious who the villain/s is/are in this. It's very rare to watch something where the villain is a surprise.

I started watching this because I haven't been able to find a decent romance. This was to fill my time, and ended up being so much more!

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I blame the writer.

The best thing about this was the bad guy. Namkoong Min was chilling and brilliant in this role.

I also liked the humor of the cops, sometimes they weren't very bright, but ultimately, they worked well together and solved the crime.

This drama felt very drawn out to me.
-It took forever for the crime to finally be solved (he was caught, he escaped, his body wasn't found, they closed the case, what?!)
-If the characters would just talk to each other, things would have been figured out much sooner.
-She knows that someone is after her, yet she's wandering around on her own.
-Her sense of smell is thwarted by rain. They were close to finding an entrance, and didn't bother to look around, just stood around trying to come up with a solution.
-She knew someone was after her but never bothered to lock her front door.
-They are getting married and she still called him Detective Choi.

As for the actors. I really liked the ML.
The FL, she cried in almost every scene. She had mannerisms quite often like she was blind. Blank stares, not looking at who she's talking to, etc.
Some of the actors with smaller parts were overacting.

So, overall, I guess it was okay, but the most positive thing I can say is I finally get to remove it from my "to be watched" list.

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