Kate

"a ragged disheveled playboy that loves "beauty" and hates hard work" gosh I had a soft spot for him. I disliked him at first, but as the drama progressed I just could not stop myself from loving him so much.

oof... this is like one of my top dramas hahaha Even after few rewatches it's still 10/10 for me haha
past Yoo Ah In's hair! DAMN you right! His look the "the past" is to die for. It took me a while to accept the style they gave him in the present.
I wasn't that much of the romance too tbh. The present one. I love everything about the past story tho. I "kind of" excused Jeon Seol obsession and giving Se Joo all the 2nd chances simply coz of the "reincarnation" past connection bit. I rationalized it in my head I guess hahaha

i'm just slowly checking reviews of people on my friends list.
It's fun to read other people's opinions + I'm trying to improve my review writing "skills" so I'm checking out how others do it :D

For sure Man Weol was THE STAR and the center of the show. She was one of the few things I actually really liked about it :)

"a movie or 4 eps would've been enough" I thing it would feel rushed tbh. I loved to see how slowly Jong Woo starts to lose it and was waiting for that final "snap". If the drama was shorter, the ending would feel a bit anticlimactic for me.
But I do agree on some side characters and them not bringing that much to the overall plot...

"basically this was a great slice of life"! Probably one of the best slice of life. I think not casting any huge names for this was such a wise and good choice! And the sismance was A+!
I finally found a drama we agree on 100% hahaha

I honestly hope there's no s3 < AGREED! Honestly even 2nd season should not exist. I felt like they didn't exactly have any solid idea for the plot, seeing as the main conflict is more or less the same as first one.

One of the biggest pros of the dramas was how amazingly shot it was and all the aesthetics (costumes, set design etc.). Like, damn it was for sure beautiful to look at. And I agree that IU aced the role! She is amazing actress.

"like I didn't focus on the older cast" SAME! I think the biggest "flaws" of this drama was the fact they started to focus more on the parents/adults and less on the kids as the drama progressed. I loved all the plot lines where the teens were the center of the story, but the moment they started to bring all the adults into the picture, it was just another crime/politics driven drama...

this was perfect drama to watch as a mdl community with everyone coming up with random theories each week. While I didn't enjoy the drama as much as you, the process of watching it was extremely entertaining. And I really liked the ending! :D

Yeah... last 3 parts of episode 4 are like "introduction and interviews of the cast".
When I finished part 2 of episode 4, and opened part 3 but so no continuation of the plot but the interviews I was honestly confused...

I loved the relationship between the mains! I know many people didn't like Xu Xu, but I myself loved her. She made many mistakes, that's true, but she was excellent in her area of expertise!

As you said, it's good they didn't go full romance. I think what this drama aced was keeping a good balance between the genres it introduced.
And the chemistry and dynamics between all the characters was out of this world! :D

Agree on the Jung being the most interesting. That's why I was so disappointed in the 2nd half when they moved away from him and focused more on In Ho, since his story "sell well" and the audience liked him better.

Having a gray character like Jung was so refreshing, and I get he was not easily marketable, but I still believe the production team should have stick with the original story and not make these few changes...

100% agree on the "age gap" not being a problem. They did not do anything when the dynamics were still teacher-student, so I'm fine with it. The chemistry was there is the "present times" so I had no problems enjoying the romance :)

"THIS NEEDS A SEASON 2"... and we've got it... and it was not as good as the first one.
But hey, I agree: best action drama. The the bad guys were awesome.
Gosh, now I feel like rewatching hahaha

The thing I loved the most about this movie: people were smart. They didn't make typical dumb decisions, they were trying to use whatever they had to survive: the movie was entertaining but not frustrating. :)
Honestly cannot wait for the second one :)

I would honestly LOVE to see a whole new drama showing in greater detail the past story. I was i love with it and always wished to see more. And for sure it was visual masterpiece. Same with soundtrack: so many iconic songs.

This drama is harsh: damn right you are. It was so hard to watch at times, because of how realistic it was. No typical: "I'm so poor but still have the newest phone and new clothes every day" female lead. It truly showed the ugly side of life.
I think most people agree this was the turning point in IU's acting career. When she took the role many people doubt she can ace it, but she did. I cannot imagine any other actress in the role of Ji An...

I actually loved the show and both In Wook and Soon Ho hahaha
For In Wook... I liked they didn't do much "improvement" with his character. I appreciate when not everything is perfect and falls into place as the show ends. Some people don't change, don't improve. I see it the same as I see "everyone ends up in a relationship by the end of rom-coms"... I rather not have that. But that's 100% personal preference. His whole character was about keeping everything inside and not letting anyone in. Made sense for me that out of all the characters, he would be the one struggling the most with the change.

As for Soon Ho... I think her development was really subtle, few pieces here and there. She went from someone who does not want to listen to other people's troubles and living in a happy bubble, not to get hurt, to willingly getting involved in someone else's life, knowing it will hurt her, just coz she wanted to help, and make them suffer less. It's a huge character development, just shown in a delicate way.

That said, it was nice reading your review. It's always fun to see the other side of the coin, as there are ni perfect dramas anyway :)
And I agree, Seo Woo was extremely noisy and had this: I know better what you need, mentality.

"Sarawat was hot as f*ck. Boyfriend material 100/10" true. Like... damn. I fell for that hot ass hard! but then ep 12 happen and gosh... I don't even want to think about it, it was so bad hahaha
I'm just happy Win got the role, now he is popular and we will see more of him.