Yes, it is different from any other prior dramas but it doesn't end here...If you have a thing for the thin line between fiction and reality or a thing for plotting a story, you should just go and watch this.
Telling about it will not do..
I was afraid of the ending and from time to time I got really impatient because of the narration and retros\realizations but then again this is not that important after all.
Both leads looked like they indeed were characters from a manhwa/cartoon and the writer Oh song mun, though he made me furious from time to time he knocked his role, So I give it to the ajusshi who played this role.
Be ready for ups and downs between the 2 worlds..;)
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Ambitious and Cool, But Ultimately Fumbled The Bag
The premise for this drama was very cool and unique. I was so excited when I first heard about it and doubly so when they casted Lee Jong Suk and Hyan Hyo Joo as the leads as they were one of my favorite actors in SK. The drama started out well, the plot moved at a fast pace and immediately got you hooked into the story. The first half was a marvel to watch thanks to the deft handling of the manga world VS the real world and the plot moved smoothly at a rapid pace making viewers sat on edge and gaped at their screen by the end of the episodes, dying to know what will happen next.The drama was ambitious with their vision, perhaps too ambitious, in my opinion. Unfortunately, the writers ultimately fumbled the bag on the second half which was what prevent W from becoming what could have been a GREAT drama. It was obvious they had a grand vision but no resolution in mind as to how they are supposed to resolve all the plot points that they themselves had set up. A lot of hints and plot holes were probably dropped into the storyline on the fly. The ending felt rushed too and was poorly done.
This drama was still original, sleekly shot, fast pace, with cute and likable actors as the lead so it still earn a watch in my book. Han Hyo Joo was likable and so beautiful here. I really appreciate the fact that the writer didn't made her out as a "geeeeniiusssss" doctor but instead just a young & inexperienced doctor with average skill. That was very refreshing to watch. Lee Jong Suk was serviceable and typical as always; he's playing himself just in a different setting and story. However that was not necessarily a bad thing, he emotes decently and he has charisma in spades, hence making him to be a decent leading actor. Plus he has an eye for picking good projects which is why I am a fan of his lol. Interestingly enough, I liked Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo's acting when I first watched this drama but on my recent rewatch I find their acting cringy lol I'm not sure why.
Do I recommend this drama? 100% Yes. It is still miles better than your average k-drama.
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Bad Points: It irritated me that when other characters are talking to the female lead she would just stand/sit there staring at them and not say a word for a long time. I mean the other characters are talking for a long time and the female does not feel like replying even in between the other characters talking? It was awkward, irritating and made her seem slow and being scared to speak up. Also in the scenes where the leads had a do over and he came back, the female kept staring at him in an annoying way. I understand 1 scene of staring at him because she didn't believe it but constant staring is just creepy and not romantic. If they were going for romantic it failed on me. He doesn't remember you girl, get a grip, I felt like yelling to the screen. Stop staring, it is creepy. LOL. Also why does the female lead act all shy and innocent for a 30 year old in one scene and then decide to " flash naked" the male lead in another scene. I know she wanted to go for that shock effect but her basic character in those scenes gave me whiplash.
The storyline would have been much better if they did the first half of the episode in the real world and the second half in the other world. They also made the love feelings a lot more on the female side, in my opinion. She was obsessed with the male lead. He never told her he liked her and only at the end he said I love you, once. They didn't have him talk enough about liking/loving her. Did he fall for her because she showed up and is was part of his world? Who knows. They dropped the ball on his side of the romance.
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Don't come for me
As I am sure this review will have possible spoilers and will definitely contain unpopular thoughts, be wary.I wish I could be one of those that are so head over heels in love with this drama but I honestly feel like one of the rare ones that only finished it out for Jong-Suk. I hate I didn't love this show. It makes me feel weird. Haha But, I have to show support to one of my favorite actors, right?
Don't get me wrong, it started out pretty promising. But as it went on, it was like: stop. go. stop. go. stop. go. stop. go. It went from making me curious and keeping my attention to down right just pissing me off. I feel like I know how a cat feels now when you dangle a toy in front of them and snatch it back before they can get it.
I admit I already am not a big fan of time jumping things and I feel like this was kinda similar since they are bouncing between 2 worlds they give me headaches. But I had seen so many people talking about how amazing this show was and when people found out it was on my TBW list for soooo long, they tend to stay on me for it to be the next show I watch. Lol (I can't say anything, I do the same. Haha) but sadly this show just wasn't for me.
All of the actors were really amazing, I just feel like the storyline was a mess. Which is probably how it was meant to be but I just can't stand a messy storyline that seems like it has no idea where it wants to go so the writer makes a ton of unnecessary things happen instead of taking a break and figuring out where they want it to go. Lol
While the ending was cute, I felt like I was losing my damn mind so I couldn't enjoy it. Honestly. I haven't enjoyed a episode since maybe episode 8 or 9. Even though I felt zero connections through the whole thing. over 16 hours of screen-time and you'd think I'd feel even a slight connection to the characters. But sadly, nope. and if I had to pick a favorite character, it would probably be Do-Yoon. Weird right? Don't ask. He is the only character I could tolerate.
But also because I felt nothing; that means the parts that should have ripped my heart out either left me annoyed or "here we go again". It sucks feeling that way. There was even a part where he was dying and asking her to come get him and she was more worried as to why he didn't pick up his phone sooner... Are you kidding me? What should he say "I'm sorry I was busy getting shot and dying." Just stupid stuff like that though the show just made me want to put a fist through my screen.
Please don't come for me, I know there are a lot of people that love this show and I know how fans can get when someone talks bad about what you love. Lol This is just how I feel and I know not everyone will agree with me.
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That being said, there were some parts where it was definitely lacking: An unfinished story line being the one to drive me insane. While the story was unique and creative, and it was interesting to jump between this manhwa world and the real world and see how they meshed and the certain factors that would draw certain people into each of the two worlds, the drama ended with me having more questions than I had answered, ultimately. I was hoping we'd touch base on so many things, but we never did! And so, in the end, because certain backstories weren't explored and certain questions weren't answered and had no intentions of being answered, the drama for the second half became quite slow and predictable; lacking its initial bang.
Of course, I still gave it such decently high ratings because I did really enjoy the unique twist, especially for a drama, and the unique story and array of characters. It didn't follow your typical action, fantasy, or romance dramas. It was a nice mix of it all.
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I don't usually read synopses so I was completely taken aback by the events in this drama and it has a way to have us on the edge of our seats, biting off our fingernails in anticipation for what comes next. It has a huge start and carries on hectically leaving us breathless until around halfway through.
By that time things start getting really messy with several plot twists that aren't well explained enough and the gaps begin to surface one after another. I didn't care much though because it was still succeeding to make my feels skyrocket but they are there and there's no point in denying.
As for the acting, Han Hyo Joo was lacking in the emotional scenes imo. They didn't feel natural for most part and the editing didn't help much with their constant come and go and - whoops - where are those tears you just had on? Where are those tears anyway. Her character was super cool at first but gets way annoying and passive past the second half as well.
I got a strange feeling from the ending that I can't shake though... no explanations on how the heck things turned out that way, too much going on and, as per usual, everything's left to the be solved in the final episode, which is tiring and ineffective. What about the loose ends? What about the other characters? How? Why? What the frick frack is going on here?
I couldn't care less about the happy ending, I just want it to feel final. And that didn't happen with W. Wish they had it extended to work around those gaps because it felt damned rushed and confusing now that I look back.
NONETHELESS...
W is an amazing and unique piece of work completely worth watching. It's very unpredictable and exciting, the romance chemistry is satisfactory, the story is singular, the acting is great and the entertainment is ensured!
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The Story: As someone who is constantly updated with upcoming dramas, the premise of the story already had me hooked immediately. I'm a total fan of anything supernatural like time travel, superpowers, ghosts (in their most fun sense), etc so this drama is an addition to my list of must-watch dramas. I can very much say that I live most of life in the dramas and books that I watched and read. So having W portray what happens to my favorite hero when he actually came to life felt like a fangirl's dream coming true. I will not dwell much on how the plot unfolds because, surely, there are no words to describe what happens in the drama. You just have to see things for yourself. Just be sure to be ready for a roller coaster ride. This is unpredictable and way beyond words that I am capable of using to describe it.
Really, the drama is well executed despite having the complicated premise and scenes in both the real and manhwa world. I admire the director and staff for being able to realize a convoluted two worlds in this drama. It's really a stretch to shoot scenes with this kind of setup and they were able to do a good job.
The only fault I think there is in W is that it was soooo good in almost all episodes that the expectations have climbed sky high. Everything has been laid out and no new tricks were played so it became a bit flat towards the end. Despite that, I treat those times as the calm before the storm.
The Cast: Well. Well. Well. I can't believe just how amazing Lee Jong-suk is in his role as Kang Chul. I don't find him handsome, handsome but everytime he winks, smiles, and stares, I just die and fan myself just like Yeo-joo. I can surely say that being a cool manhwa character suits him well.
I love Han Hyo-joo in almost everything so there's not much to say. Most of the time, I can feel her acting the way I would in case I met Kang Chul. Her character, Oh Yeon-joo, is the perfect example of a fangirl who loves her idol through and through. I feel happy and sad with her with whatever she's going through.
Yeon-joo's father is so good as a loving father and a creator who wants to kill off his main character for going against him. He played such intense emotions for the drama and I want to credit him for making W a more suspenseful drama.
What's difficult with the set up in W is that we have two worlds that needs our attention. So the supporting characters in each of the worlds felt limited. When we are in the real world, I miss the manhwa characters and vice versa. Kang Chul and Yeo-joo takes most of the screentime, though I don't really mind. Really.
Ps. I love Soo Bong. He's hilarious!
The Music: I'm not good in this aspect but what I love about W is that they don't use that much background music during the scenes. There's no really need for W to rely with background music to pull emotions from the viewers. The intensity of the scenes unfolding is already enough to take the emotions out of me.
Rewatch Value: I watched through previous episodes while waiting for the next episode so there's no fault in its rewatch value. I was at the point where I thought that I should hold the drama until it was finished. I'll just rewatch everything now that it's complete.
Overall: The drama is amazing. Indescribable. Heart-stopping. Intense. (Off to the dictionary for more adjectives to describe the show!). And despite the craziness, I am unconditionally in love, hooked, and invested. It was a tough ride and there were a lot of ups, downs, and flats but that's just how love is, no?
Why did I rate it 9.5? That's the payment for breaking my heart countless times then forcing it to be fixed. Haha. Honestly, maybe it's because I was expecting something before the show leave me but didn't get it. I still love the show nevertheless. A drama like this is hard to come by
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First of all I want to APPLAUSE the Writer. It is really hoooking to not know what will happen in next episodes and that gave big positive points for me. Most of K-dramas are really predictable starting from first 1-3 episodeds. In almost ALL Koreand Dramas the beginning is strong and the ending is not. I don't know if this is the lack of money, ideas or shooting time.
I also want to APPLAUSE the actor who played the Father of main female lead. He deserves a lot of prizes and for sure he SAVED the show from bigger downfall.
Also, W inspired me to begin drawing on my digital tablet.
Scenario/ Writing;
The story for two worlds is great. I always dreamed to draw manga or live in another world. It was great to see this FRESH idea released in K-drama that wasn't mainly focused on Romance and Cinderella stories. The writing is great because I didn't know what happen in next episodes and I was enthusiastic about this drama every week. Really, I loved all the plot twists. Gleat story and ideas, not so good developed in the end.
Story Progression:
First 10 episodes were really Great and I loved them all, after that it was downfall for me. I loved the dynamic in stories, the intense and the unpredictable stories. The clear goals and limits that characters had. The story progression had no unexplained holes until the end. It was captivating and interesting to watch time traveling and different things happened for a time.
Music:
Good music I can say.
Acting:
The acting wasn't good, really. I didn't feel the characters and it seems the actors didn't go deep in the roles.
The expresiion of Main Lead Character always is like cold manga character, it didnt show any emotions even in most intimate moments. . Proboably this was meant to be based on writers. The main lead is really handsome, but looks like a statue in some points of the show.
The main female was a bit better then the role - more emotions and expressions, but it seemed really FAKE. But the main female is beautiful lady of course.
The BEST acting was from the actor who plays the Father of Main female lead. -Kim Eui Seong. He deserves really a prize for his acting. It was splenidid and he really felt his characters. He lived really in his role. I admire him and his attitude toward the acting.
Relationships Development:
It wasn't sincere development of Romance relationships, it seemed FORCED and unreal as it should stayed I think... The best relatonship development was betweem the father and the daughter. This moved my heart and really touched me. I even cried of some scenes between the Father and Ddughter. This seemed real and was emotionally powerful.
Charracters:
Kang Chul - Standard rich boy, but the good was he had High Willt. He has strong feeliing for Justice and that made him a bit out of ordinary rich boy and playeer in Kdramas characters.
Oh Yeon Joo - in the beginning she seemed strong and out of ordinary stupidly daydreaming girls. In the end I am not sure how to call her - egoist or a person who want to pleasure all around her and to not sacrifice anything.But all in all she was way better than Standard stupidly smiling and waiting girls for their Man to call them. She at least was a great as doctor and succeed on her own.
Supporting characters are really great and I love almost them all. Especially Yoon Joo's boss
Start:
Strong Start that blowed my mind for first 10 episodes. I thought it will be like this till the end but I was wrong. I didn't know what will happen next nad I waited with big enthusiasm for the next episode.
End:
I can say I met a loosy end with this Drama - really boring and predictable end for me. Too much false tears and awaitings. Far away from first purposes of character's live and even the change wasn't sincere developed, also Fake - in relationships and in lie.
Chemistry
Well, the main leads have really great chemistry, but they didn't play it well within the characters they played - they seemed forced to do some things and didn't enjoy them.
Life lessons:
Doing the best you can and let go the things when you need to let them go. Also, there are different worlds in everyone's eyes and lives, you should respect and try to understand and see them well..
All in all it was enjoyable drama, different from standard and known KDrama scenarios I watched till now. But in the end a lot of things stood unexplained - how come Yeon Soo's mother didn't ever bothered to know more? and a lot of questions about that. In the end they were a lot of story holes that we can just imagine to understand better.
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