Reviews

Weird story but I liked it!

I really enjoyed a good day to be a dog overall. The premise was fun, the Romans was enjoyable, and I genuinely was invested in the characters. There was enough comedy, romance, supernatural, mystery, and emotional drama, to keep me interested throughout most of the show. I also really liked the main couple and wanted to see them get their happy ending.

The biggest problem for me was the way the story handled it central curse, and the person responsible for it. The whole situation with the mountain God and the centuries old misunderstanding frustrated me because the punishment felt so extreme compared to what actually happened. An entire bloodline was essentially being punished across generations, because of a misunderstanding that could have been clarified much earlier. I wanted the truth to come out but more importantly, I wanted accountability afterward, and for him apologize for the suffering that I’ve been inflicted on innocent people who weren’t responsible for what happened centuries earlier. Instead, his storyline didn’t give me enough emotional resolution, and his disappearance made it felt like he got to leave without really confronting the consequences of his actions. That was a major reason the ending didn’t work for me.

There are also several side story resolution that felt extremely rushed. The uncle situation, for example, was something I wanted to see properly repaired and developed. Instead, some of that resolution seems to happen almost at the last possible moment. I didn’t want important emotional problems to be fixed in the final few minutes – I wanted to actually see the characters work through them. I didn’t necessarily need some huge, dramatic finale. I wanted the characters I have time to breathe after everything they’ve been through. I wanted to see relationships repaired, the misunderstandings address, the family issues, properly, resolved, and the main couple actually being able to enjoy being together. Instead, it felt like the drama was trying to wrap up multiple storylines at once and that made the ending feel unsatisfying compared with everything that came before it.
I didn’t necessarily need some huge, dramatic finale. I wanted the characters to have time to breathe after everything they’ve been through. I wanted to see relationships prepared, the misunderstandings address, the family issues, properly, resolved, and the main couple, actually being able to enjoy being together. Instead, it felt like the drama was trying to wrap up multiple storylines at once and that made the ending feel unsatisfying compared with everything that came before it.

Despite all of that, I did genuinely like the drama. That’s important. I wasn’t sitting there the entire show thinking it was terrible. Most of my frustration came from knowing how much better the ending could have been. The Romans works for me, the characters were enjoyable, and I was emotionally invested enough to have strong opinion about what happened. If I didn’t care about the story, I wouldn’t have been nearly as angry about the lack of accountability and rushed resolutions. I really loved/liked this drama but I’m still mad about how it was finished. 8.5 out of 10 for me.

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One word- anticlimactic

I’m so furious- things were going so well. Rarely has a series finale disappointed me this much, especially given how highly I rated the show right up until the very end. It feels like a waste of time to even write a review. It takes a special kind of talent to ruin such a good drama with the final episodes. The only things saving the show's rating are the male lead aka Xu Kai acting and the OST, which I really liked. Logically, the climax should have been in the final episodes, but it actually happened during the wedding scene; after that, things just went downhill. Wasted potential and boring final episodes.

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Don't have high expectations

This drama is definitely a good time pass, but honestly, I don’t think it’s something worth investing yourself too deeply in.

The story felt very average to me. There were moments where I expected to feel more emotionally connected to the characters or the situation, but it never really got there. I didn’t find many genuinely heartfelt scenes, and even the redemption arc, which could have been one of the strongest parts of the story, felt quite underwhelming.

As for the FL, I know she is a good actress, but her acting felt strangely inconsistent in this drama. There were scenes where she was really good and completely believable, but then in other scenes her expressions and emotions felt disconnected from what was happening. It made it difficult for me to stay emotionally invested in her character.

Xu Kai was enjoyable to watch, as always, but even he couldn’t completely make up for the weaknesses in the writing.

Overall, I’d say SOTB is something you can watch when you want an easy drama to pass the time, but I wouldn’t go into it expecting a story with great emotional depth, memorable romance, or a particularly satisfying redemption arc. It’s watchable, but for me, it’s definitely not one I’ll be thinking about after it ends.

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Original and Cherubic

It begins in a very creative and smart fashion that becomes amusing and lighthearted. Easy to watch and simply fun. Unfortunately, it is not sustainable throughout, however. The story catches your attention in the beginning and then begins to bend and twist and finally by the end starts to become untenable. While it may have lost its creativity, the narrative certainly maintained its entertainment value. I thought the cinematography was surprisingly good for this series but needed to be more consistently intense. There were times when we did not see the connections that we needed to. I also did not enjoy the swarth where he lost his ability to ‘see’ connections. I thought that was a cheap shot and completely unnecessary. The threads added surprisingly greater dimension to the story and WAS the story; to take that away, diminished the story.
The last special episode makes these two so relatable in a completely ordinary way. They begin to see themselves together as a ‘couple’, having to face challenges that partners who are together needed to face with the one constant being that they must talk about it with each other. It was just a breath of fresh air in a BL series that made a relationship feel ordinary.
Overall, the series is a very entertaining and fun ride. So, I think this series has a little bit of everything for everyone.

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Great Chemistry & Male Lead, But FL's Frustrating Choices Hold It Back

The concept—two leads driven by revenge for their family members' murders, aiming to dismantle corruption and establish policies for the common people—is compelling. However, baffling writing choices, especially regarding the female lead's character arc, keep it from reaching greatness.

Character Breakdowns
1. Xie Qingyuan / Chen Yun Ya (Female Lead) —
The writer clearly wanted to portray Yun Ya as a sensible, confident, cold-hearted strategist who stays calm and doesn't panic under pressure. Unfortunately, execution missed the mark completely:

Overconfidence vs. True Competence: Her "confidence" often reads as reckless overconfidence. Her plans constantly backfire, resulting in public humiliation, physical beatings, and life-threatening situations where she needs to be rescued every single time.

The Jade Pendant Incident: This was the most frustrating moment in the show. When Shen Run gives her a powerful jade pendant—and remember, this is a man who has saved her multiple times and constantly protects her—she casually gives it away to someone else, stating, "I want to throw away the thing given to me by force, so giving it to someone else is the same thing." For a character meant to be smart, sensible, and guarded, this comes across as ungrateful, irrational, and completely lacking basic humanity or gratefulness toward her protector.

Poor Deductive Skills: When Shen Run tells her he can't explain why she must hold off on going after her father (due to higher imperial orders and connections to his own family's murder), instead of using her smarts to figure out there's a vital hidden reason, she jumps to emotional ultimatums. She claims their paths are different and decides to marry Chun Zhi instead.

2. Yan Rui / Shen Run (Male Lead) —
Shen Run easily carries the show and is the anchor of the drama.

The Ultimate Green Flag: He is smart, incredibly patient, and unbothered by people badmouthing him to his face.

Emotional Resilience: Even when Yun Ya acts cold or tries to push him away, he takes it in stride. The few moments where he actually gets angry because her actions genuinely hurt his feelings feel earned and human. He is a deeply sympathetic and well-written character.

3. Chun Zhi (Second Male Lead / Son of the Marquis) —
While Chun Zhi is a supportive character who genuinely loves Yun Ya, he lacks any real substance when the stakes are high.

Despite being the son of a marquis, he completely lacks the guts, courage, or backbone to stand against opposition and truly protect Yun Ya. Seeing her lean on someone so spineless when she could have trusted Shen Run is deeply frustrating.

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All the Right Ingredients, None of the Right Cooking

Spring of the Blade is one of those dramas that makes me think, “This could have been so much better.” The cast, premise, visual presentation, romance, revenge, family politics, corruption and mystery were all there. The opening episodes especially gave me the impression that I was watching the beginning of a genuinely clever historical revenge drama. Unfortunately, the further the story progressed, the more I felt that the drama was unable to develop the potential it had established.

The grain fraud arc was probably the strongest part of the drama for me. The investigation into the stolen relief grain, the corrupt officials, the Xie family's involvement and the mysterious forces operating behind everything created a solid foundation. I expected the story to gradually reveal a complicated network of corruption and eventually lead Qing Yuan and Shen Run toward a satisfying revenge against the people responsible for destroying their families. Instead, the political corruption became increasingly simplified. Shen Run risked his life, protected Qing Yuan's father, faked his own death, fought against powerful enemies and even became involved in battles involving refugees and soldiers, only for the resolution to eventually feel much smaller than the scale of everything that came before it. After all that buildup, the corrupt officials were essentially punished, and the story moved toward its ending.

The biggest weakness for me was the writing of the characters. Qing Yuan and Shen Run had fascinating foundations, but the drama did not give us enough of their histories, motivations and emotional development. We knew Qing Yuan had lost her mother and that Shen Run had survived the destruction of his family, but knowing these facts is not the same as feeling their pain. I wanted to understand why revenge had become such an essential part of their identities. Instead, many of their tragedies were presented as information rather than experiences that shaped them emotionally. Their intelligence was also sometimes asserted rather than demonstrated. The drama repeatedly relied on the idea that they understood each other's intentions, but it did not always give us enough material to understand why that mutual understanding was so absolute.

Qing Yuan herself was another missed opportunity. She was introduced as intelligent, calm, resilient and capable of manipulating the people around her. I enjoyed her moments of sharpness, especially when she silently watched the ridiculous behaviour inside the Xie household with that “Are you people serious?” expression. But later she was repeatedly placed in situations where Shen Run had to rescue her. That gradually weakened the formidable image the story had initially created for her. I also had mixed feelings about Zhou Ye's performance. There were scenes where her restraint worked beautifully, but sometimes her expressions felt more like someone performing coldness than someone naturally living through years of grief and revenge.

Xu Kai, however, worked much better for me as Shen Run. I particularly enjoyed the contrast between Yan Rui and Shen Run. Yan Rui's flirtatious, mischievous and slightly irritating persona feels completely different from Shen Run's controlled, righteous and dependable presence. Even his expressions and manner of speaking change. The romance was easily the part that kept me invested. The chemistry between the leads was strong, especially in their early interactions, where so much was communicated through eye contact, teasing, coded dialogue and physical proximity. Their relationship had a wonderful push and pull, and I genuinely enjoyed watching their feelings gradually become impossible to hide. Their proposal and wedding should have been one of the emotional peaks of the entire drama, but even those moments felt strangely underdeveloped because the surrounding story had not earned enough emotional weight.

The Xie family storyline also had potential, particularly the secrets surrounding Qing Yuan's mother and the different women within the household. But the family politics often became exaggerated rather than genuinely intelligent. People behaved suspiciously in ways that should have immediately exposed them, while characters repeatedly stood around in the same hall discussing things that could have been handled much more naturally. There were also too many moments where the logic of the setting disappeared completely. Characters appeared exactly when the plot needed them, injuries seemed to disappear overnight, and certain boundaries between unmarried men and women were conveniently ignored.

Then there is the final stretch, which was probably my biggest disappointment. The drama spent so many episodes building powerful villains and complicated conspiracies, yet the final five or six episodes rushed through their downfall. Commissioner Hu was presented as an important mastermind, but his threat ultimately felt surprisingly easy to neutralise. Xie Shu suffered an even worse fate as a character. His final behaviour became so exaggerated that I found myself laughing instead of feeling the satisfaction of revenge. The story wanted his downfall to feel tragic and frightening, but it had not properly built the psychological progression needed to make that transformation convincing.

The Emperor was another convenient element in the ending. His authority repeatedly appeared whenever Shen Run needed a solution, making some of the political conflicts feel less like strategic battles and more like waiting for the next imperial decree to solve everything. After watching Shen Run struggle for so long, I wanted him and Qing Yuan to defeat their enemies through their own intelligence and planning. Instead, too many problems were resolved through convenient circumstances.

The production itself had both strengths and weaknesses. The costumes were beautiful, especially Qing Yuan's wardrobe, and the overall visual design initially created a dark historical atmosphere that suited the story. But the increasingly repetitive colour grading and heavy reliance on the Xie family hall made the drama feel visually confined. The post-production was even more distracting. At times, the background music was so loud that it competed with the dialogue, which is particularly frustrating in a drama that depends so heavily on clues, conversations and hidden meanings. The editing also occasionally felt awkward, with transitions that did not match the emotional rhythm of the scene.

In the end, Spring of the Blade felt like a compelling romance trapped inside a revenge drama that gradually forgot how to develop its own revenge story. I just wish the drama had trusted its premise, its characters and its audience enough to slow down, build the world properly, and give its biggest conflicts the resolution they deserved.

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Absolute disappointment

A huge disappointment. Spring of the Blade had all the ingredients to be a solid revenge drama, but its execution ends up being extremely uneven and, especially in the final stretch, deeply frustrating.

The plot becomes very repetitive: too many family intrigues, endless conversations, and conflicts that drag on without adding anything new. The story keeps going around in circles, and the revenge storyline gradually loses its impact.
The ending of Xie Shu, the grandmother, and the entire scheme behind everything feels rushed and quite disappointing. And, personally, I wasn't convinced by the female lead either. I really like this actress, but here I found her performance overly stiff and solemn: she remains almost completely expressionless, even during the action scenes, and keeps the same serious expression for much of the series, which takes a lot of the emotion out of many scenes. On top of that, there was practically no chemistry with her male lead, which also made it difficult for me to enjoy their relationship.

And what I found most infuriating was Li Cong Xin's fate. After giving everything for Qingyuan, even being willing to give up his position as heir for her, he ends up being deceived and married to Qingru as a result of the switch. But the truly absurd part comes afterwards: the series expects us to accept that this relationship can somehow become a happy ending. From the very beginning, Qingru has been portrayed as manipulative, malicious, and deeply toxic, and everything she has done is fundamentally incompatible with the level of trust a relationship would need to work. Having the final episodes suddenly soften her character with a rushed redemption arc and then pair her happily with Li Cong Xin is not only unbelievable, but deeply unsatisfying. They are insulting the intelligence of the viewers.

In the end, this was a story with an appealing premise and a good setting that, for me, gets lost in repetitive plotlines, unconvincing decisions, and an overly rushed resolution. It had the potential to be so much more.

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A Creative Idea Trapped in an Average Story

I had mixed feelings about this drama, which is why I’m giving it 6/10. The body-swap concept was definitely interesting, and the combination of romance, comedy, mystery, and marketing made the story different from a typical office romance. However, the execution wasn't consistent enough for me to become fully invested.

The biggest highlight for me was the chemistry between the two leads. Seeing them switch bodies and then trying to understand each other's lives created some genuinely funny and enjoyable moments. Their performances during the body-swap scenes were especially good, because both actors managed to capture each other's personalities convincingly.

I also liked the mystery surrounding the attack and some of the twists. The drama keeps adding small problems and conflicts, which helps maintain interest, especially in the earlier episodes.

However, the marketing and workplace storyline sometimes felt repetitive to me. Some of the office conflicts relied on familiar K-drama workplace clichés, and I felt that the interesting body-swap concept could have been explored much more deeply.

The pacing was generally fast because of the short episodes, but that also meant that some characters and emotional developments didn't receive enough depth. There were good moments, but I often felt that the drama had the potential to be much better than what it actually delivered.

Overall, 6/10.

A fun concept with good chemistry, some entertaining comedy, and an interesting mystery, but the uneven execution and repetitive workplace storyline kept it from becoming something truly memorable.

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Patriarchal and Misogynistic

It had the potential of being a pretty good and empowering feminist drama, but the last 2 episodes completely ruined it for me. This drama is so patriarchal and misogynistic.

Like the title says itself, this drama is about a camouflage marriage between a ‘kindhearted’ naive woman and a total a**hole who had already a main girlfriend long before and during their marriage. The marriage was pre-arranged by the cheating couple, because the mistress is a ‘career woman’ who disliked the idea of getting married, while the husband did it to get promoted in his career. How pathetic.

The female lead Aiko is portrayed as a perfect wife material that every man would wish for. She is a kindhearted innocent woman who puts everyone else before herself and even hadn’t experienced love before getting married to her husband. She quit her job to be a stay-at-home wife to support her husband as the guy wanted. Not only that, she was also perfect at doing chores and gently took care of her husband without any complaints. The husband was completely comfortable at home, while his ‘main girlfriend’ was someone else. How convenient was that, wasn’t it? I can’t believe there would be someone else who’s even more perfect than Oshin as a wife material. I mean, what makes Aiko more perfect is that Aiko is loved and adored by her in-law family, and she’s completely naive, while Oshin was strong, smart, stubborn and definitely not naive, and she wasn’t liked by her in-laws. This character doesn’t sound realistic to me, but let’s say women like Aiko do exist. That would be the typical type of woman to easily get ignored and mistreated by their patriarchal husbands, from what I have seen in both fictional works and real life.

On the other hand, the second female lead Ayaka is portrayed as a ‘career woman’ who puts herself and her career above everything else. I think Ayaka would be a great and powerful female character if she weren’t a cheater who tried to ruin Aiko’s life and looked down on other women who had different values with her. I feel like the screenwriters were trying to downplay and devalue those women who love themselves and value their career through this character. That’s why I said it is a misogynistic drama.

Throughout this drama, I thought it was about the divorce journey between this ‘kindhearted’ naive wife and her cheating husband. Although it wouldn’t be a great drama, it had potential to be pretty okay. I agree with the divorce lawyer that divorce is not a negative phase as people usually think. Instead, it’s a rebirth phase in one’s life. A winning divorce case is when the person becomes happy and the cheaters get what they deserve. After all of that potential, what the f*ck with that ending, my dearest screenwriters? Are you kidding me?? You really think that it's a happy ending? It was so ridiculous that I couldn't even laugh. When they cried and hugged each other, all I wanted to do was to slap both of them in their faces. What is the actual f*ck?

The most unrealistic part is that Aiko didn’t feel bitter at all or develop any trust issues after her divorce. Even the cheating husband’s mother in this drama couldn’t genuinely forgive his son for what he had done. I swear that you would never find any woman on this planet and probably even on other planets who goes through the same situation as Aiko would be able to not hate her cheating husband and his mistress. Perhaps she might not spend her whole life continuing hating them, but there’s no way she would be able to genuinely forgive them. It is not called ‘kindness and stubbornness’ as they tried to describe Aiko. It’s the highest level of dumbness and stupidity. Aiko is literally a doormat! This kind of stupid behavior in female characters should not be normalized anymore, now that we are in this 21st century.

I have met at least 10 women of different ages in real life who had cheating partners. Whether they chose to divorce or stay in their marriage because of different reasons, none of them genuinely forgave their husbands or boyfriends, and some of them can’t even stand hearing their names afterwards. Most of them were so disgusted that they didn’t want their partners to touch them right after they found out about the affairs, even if they might choose to stay in their relationships after that. Those who chose to stay said that all of their feelings and trust towards their husbands are dead. There's no such reasons as ‘he was the first man I ever loved so I can’t bring myself to hate him’, or ‘although my married life was tough, I had loads of happy memories with Seiichi-san too’. Men, please wake up and stop fooling yourself with this type of stupid scenario, because there’s no way in any universe it would ever happen.

For any woman who has watched this drama and is reading what I’m writing, please don’t be fooled. A cheater will always be a cheater. If he deceives you once and he succeeds, there’s a high chance that he will do it the second time or even more times. Please don’t ever think you can fix him and make him a better person. Maybe he would show you that he has changed for the better at first to win you back, just like what the cheating ex-husband did in the last two episodes, but he would return to the same person as before once you’ve changed your mind and forgiven him. I have seen too many of these scenarios. It is not that easy for a person to change their mindset and their personality that has shaped who they are for a very long time. Within just one year, do you really think such a patriarchal cheating jerk can completely change himself into a loving and caring husband?

Another ridiculous part of this drama was that there was no bad karma at all for those cheaters. Both of them had their own happy endings. Nothing bad ever happened to them. The guy got back to his doormat after just one year, while the mistress was about to marry someone else so briefly, when she disliked the idea of getting married in the first place. Eventually, they met again and even gently smiled at each other in the last episode. Give me a break! It was definitely not a funny joke. I absolutely despise this kind of ending for terrible characters who have tortured the main characters for a long time.

If I were the screenwriter of this drama, I would let Aiko watch those cheating rats ruin their own lives and careers after the divorce, and let their affair be revealed, while living on her own as a single mother. I might let Aiko end up with the divorce lawyer, or an even better ending for me would be there’s no more husband for Aiko through her whole life. Like Aiko’s ex mother-in-law said, I also don’t think Aiko would be able to remarry after what her ex-husband did to her. Trust issues exist for a reason. Trauma exists for a reason. “Memories build on one another, and our memories change along with them” is total bullshit in this situation. Dear men, no good memories can make a woman forget about their husband’s cheating behavior for 6 years.

For all the things I have mentioned, this drama deserves 1 out of 10 from me. I feel bad for the cast for starring in this. Although there were a few things I liked in the middle of the drama, I genuinely can’t accept its disgusting ending and can’t rate it higher. Please stop making this type of drama already.

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A Thrilling Superhero Experience That Ended Too Soon

This was my first Japanese superhero-style series, and honestly, I had a great time watching it. The story is fast-paced, exciting, and packed with action, and the world it creates makes you want more.

The biggest problem for me is that five episodes simply weren't enough. The story moves so quickly that some characters, relationships, and plot points could have been explored in much more detail. Just when I was getting fully invested, it was already over. The ending also felt a little too sudden, and I really wish we had gotten a longer continuation.

The action sequences were one of the biggest highlights for me. The fights felt intense, energetic, and well choreographed, while the supernatural elements added another layer of excitement. The characters also had enough personality to make me care about what happened to them, even though there wasn't enough time to explore everyone properly.

The VFX were really impressive, especially during the supernatural fights and larger action sequences. They looked much better than I expected from a live-action adaptation. The editing was also sharp and well handled, keeping the fights fast and engaging without making them too difficult to follow.

I also liked the overall dark atmosphere and the way the series balanced action with emotional moments. It never felt completely empty or focused only on spectacle. There was enough character emotion underneath the fights to make the story more engaging.

Overall, 8.5/10.

A very entertaining, stylish, and action-packed Japanese series with impressive VFX, great editing, and memorable fight scenes. My only major complaint is that five episodes were nowhere near enough. It ended just when I wanted to see more, and I would definitely have watched a longer season.

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A Long Watch That Felt Even Longer

I really wanted to like this series more, but unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. The biggest reason for my 4.5/10 rating is the pacing. I found it extremely slow, and there were many moments when I ended up watching at 2x speed, getting bored, and eventually putting it on hold. Even though there are some good ideas here, the overall watch felt more like a waste of my time than an enjoyable experience.

The concept of the immersive mystery game was actually interesting, and I can understand why many viewers enjoyed it. The chemistry between the leads was also decent, and there were a few genuinely funny scenes that made me smile. The characters were relatively mature, and I liked that the romance didn't depend too much on unnecessary misunderstandings or excessive drama.

However, for me, those positives weren't enough to keep me engaged. The story moves too slowly, and many scenes felt longer than they needed to be. Instead of making me curious about what would happen next, the pacing often made me lose interest. Even when something interesting was happening, I didn't always feel invested enough to care.

I also felt that the mystery and romance could have been balanced better. There was potential for a much more engaging storyline, but the execution didn't always hold my attention. Some emotional moments worked, while others simply didn't have the impact the drama seemed to be aiming for.

I know this series has many fans who appreciate its mature relationship, chemistry, atmosphere, and slower style, and I can see why it works for them. But personally, slow-burn romances are only enjoyable for me when the story keeps me emotionally invested, and that wasn't the case here.

Overall, 4.5/10.

A few good comedy scenes, an interesting concept, and decent chemistry, but overall too slow and not engaging enough for my taste. I had to watch parts in 2x speed and even put it on hold for a while, which says a lot about how little the story was holding my attention.

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A Refreshing Superhero Drama That Deserves to Be Seen

One of the best superhero dramas I've seen. Unique concept here: ordinary guy gets super strength. Catch is, using his power costs him money. Every single time. That's it. That simple rule makes the action matter because heroism has an actual price tag attached.

What got me was how human the main character felt. Not your typical superhero at all. Just a regular person trying to build something, a future, whatever. But he keeps helping people anyway. Even when it drains his bank account. Bus rescue scene stuck with me most. Showed exactly why he's a hero.

Lee Jun-ho nailed the lead. Chemistry between the main characters worked really well. Supporting cast brought something too, their weird abilities made the whole thing more interesting.

VFX looked sharp. Worked with the action sequences perfectly. Superpowers felt real without going overboard with it. Editing kept pace too, especially during fights. Tension stayed high, excitement never dropped.

Pacing stumbles in spots. Some characters deserved more screen time. Didn't bother me much though. Overall enjoyment stayed solid.

I rated it 9.5/10. Seriously, go watch this! It’s absolutely worth your time. I only deducted 0.5 points for a few pacing issues and some underdeveloped supporting characters. Overall Highly recommended! ❤️.

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Vastly Overrated Series about a Bipolar Woman and How She Abuses The "Love" of her Life!

This is easily one of the most overrated dramas I’ve seen in a while. Perhaps not since King’s Landing have I been so disappointed in what was supposed to be a promising series. “Lovely Runner” is riddled with silly cliches and formulaic writing with characters that really aren’t very intriguing or even likable. Now, that’s a formula for a bad series!

To be fair, the first eight episodes were promising, for the most part. But as soon as Episode 9 hit, everything dropped off the proverbial “cliff” as far as story and plot goes.

The sad part about this story is that it sets teh age-old premise that happiness can only be found in the past or in the future. None of our protagonists realize that it can only be found in the present. They spend so much time trying to "fix" things that they learn nothing from the experiences.

The other problem is that it doesn't address the true nature of all relationships. They're all finite. They don't last, either because of a break-up or because of death.


We also get the typical cliches of a "the poor girl falling for the popular and rich boy, "the girl plays hard to get, batting her eyelashes one minute and than brusquely pushing him away in the next." It's sad that this is the type of immature mindgames that actually DON'T lead to a healhty relationship but an insecure one.

We start out with an interesting premise. Im Sol is an insufferable young woman who is stuck in a hospital bed, paralyzed from the waist down. She ends up accidentally on a radio show, and talking with one of Korea’s most popular artists, Ryu Seon Jae. He listens to her pathetic rant of anger and frustration, and after she’s stopped, he encourages her to live and be well with herself. These mere words seem to cause Im Sol to start living rather than feel sorry for herself. However, not long after the call, she learns that Rye Seon Jae appears to have committed suicide.

Im Sol comes across a mysterious digital watch that suddenly transports her 15 years back into the past. She finds out that Ryu Seon Jae lived across the street from her, and that she now has an opportunity to change things. However, she can’t tell people anything from the future, as the “watch” gods won’t let her. Whenever she tries, there’s a quick “blackout” or a deletion of anything she tries to say.

The story is about a girl who keeps going back into the past, trying desperately to change things because the love of her life, Ryu Seon Jae, keep dying. Now, on the surface, this might seem incredibly selfless and romantic, especially when Im Sol believes that she is the cause, and does her best to distance herself from Ryu Seon Jae, even to the point of deliberately spurning him.

Kobe Bryant was once asked if he ever had an opportunity to go back to his past to change something, what would he change? He said, “Nothing. Even if I had that power, I would never use it because it would completely undermine and destroy everything I learned from those experiences.” There is true wisdom in accepting and learning from what is. Im Sol doesn’t have the maturity or even the selflessness to understand that.
Im Sol keeps claiming that she ignores Ryu Seon Jae and changes the past in order for him to “live a long and happy life.” Since when did longevity of life equal happiness? And since when did helping someone be happy mean deliberately mistreating them? Im Sol is too immature to see the hypocrisy of her own desires. Since when did hurting someone provide them happiness?

Im Sol is a rather pathetic and extremely immature young woman who seems to only fluctuate between whining and crying and brief moments of warmth. For a while, I began to wonder if this girl was bipolar! It became so ingrained in her character during the last half of the series, that I thought, “What in the world does Seon Jae see in this girl?!” She behaves like a conceited and insufferable 13-year-old girl. There really isn’t much that’s appealing about her.

While Ryu Seon Jae is far more mature than the girl he falls in love with, I just couldn’t figure out why someone like him would be interested in someone like her. It made no sense at all to me. Im Sol flip-flops emotions faster than a fly on a hotplate!

Kim Hye Yoon’s performance is almost cringeworthy, with her whiny, little-girl voice to her constant lashing out like woman on drugs. She’s unable to really tap into the complexity of her character which really hurts her performance. They should have gone with a much more seasoned actress.

It also didn’t help that everyone is surrounded by idiots. Nobody is competent in anything that they do. Im Sol’s best friend, Lee Hyeon Ju is even worse with the stupid baby-voice as well as the terrible hairstyles! Im Sol’s brother is just as bad. Then, we have Ryu Seon Jae’s friends who couldn’t read a room to save themselves. Finally, we have inept cops trying to capture a serial killer. They’re dumb enough to handcuff the killer with his hands in front, in one time frame, and in another, they fail to guard the only exit from the cab company.

What it all boils down to is very poor writing. The plot is simplistic, and too often, she dumbed down the characters in order to make the plot work. This is always a mistake in writing. It was sloppy and written by a real amateur.

By the time the series ended, it was like getting over a bad cold. There was relief that it was finally over. That was the only good thing about it. The series would have been better served by a better writer and also cut it down to 8 episodes.

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