While You Were Sleeping (2017)

I really enjoyed the plot line of this drama - I was hooked just from the first 2 episodes and ended up trying to finish it as soon as possible while also roping my friends into watching it with me. I haven't watched a legal drama before this one and it was still very interesting and the cases definitely kept me watching, as well as the relationships between the characters. The characters were quite well written and while there were definitely some I wasn't extremely fond of, I appreciate the good writing and acting as the characters all made me feel something. A lot of the minor characters were still fleshed out quite well and I found myself really growing to like the whole prosecutor team and other side characters. 

I liked the mix of comedic and serious moments in each episode and the music definitely contributed to the atmosphere. There was one time that I thought the song choice was odd but most of the time it was good and helped add to the scene. I really like how the dreams relate and connect the past with the present, and how they bring the characters together. I do feel like the dreams were a bit of a too-convenient plot device at some points though, and in one of the later episodes I felt like someone's dream kinda killed the suspense for the next episode. The pacing was fairly good and the events in each episode kept me yearning for the next.

There are some questions that I would've liked to see explained to wrap up the story nicely. Like how did Hongjoo (Suzy) start having these dreams?  Overall, I would definitely recommend this drama. Although there were some weak points, I thoroughly enjoyed the show.

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Better off Asleep

I went into this show with high hopes—it’s from the creators of Pinocchio, so I expected the same magic. But, let’s just say it didn't even meet half of my expectations.

First off, the female lead (don’t even remember her name),I was kind of hoping for someone who’d hit me with that Park Shin Hye-level charm, whom I missed dearly. This was my first time seeing this actress, she’s good, I don’t think she’ll make it to my favorites. The chemistry with the male lead was so-so too.

And the narration? Oh, the excessive, endless narration. Each episode is loaded with monologues and POVs from male lead, female lead, side characters, probably even the neighbor’s cat. trying to explain every little thing. Imagine having a thrilling crime drama pause every five minutes to give a detailed commentary on everyone’s psychology. I’m not here for a lecture—I’m here for the drama!


The mom character had me laughing until she went off the rails after finding out about the leads’ shared past. She decides to hide a ring that the male lead gave to the female lead. Like, okay? Was this supposed to change anything? Because I’m pretty sure he could just buy another ring.




Then there's the whole future-vision power fiasco. These characters can literally foresee life-or-death situations, yet they repeatedly walk right into them. If I saw a vision of myself getting hurt in a certain place, I’d be making plans far away from there. But they seem determined to test fate at every turn. It’s like they have a superpower but refuse to read the manual.


Oh, and randomly, a side character suddenly becomes fully color-blind. Talk about bizarre! Add to that some uninspired wardrobe choices.

Overall this was the type of drama which will force you to revisit your life choices.

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Well, I remember when this drama was first announced, and how excited I felt. With Lee Jong Suk being one of my favourite actors and me watching pretty much all of his works, there wasn't a question of me watching this drama. The plot seemed interesting and fresh, the cast seemed promising and I have watched a few other works by the writer so I was quite excited. When the first trailer came out I got even more excited, seeing the beautiful cinematography and the plot I was waiting for come to life. Then the drama actually started.

The first 6 episodes were good and kept me engaged, wanting to watch the next episodes and find out what would happen next. Then the rest of the episodes followed and I slowly lost my attention for this drama. I'm usually pretty good with keeping up with dramas on air, only falling a maximum of 2-4 episodes behind if I'm busy or whatnot but with this drama at one point I think I was 14 episodes behind and felt no pull to catch up. I know a drama keeps me interested when an episode ends and I physically cannot wait for the next; this was not the case with wyws. Yes, the plot had some good parts, with some of the cases being quite interesting and the story making sense chronologically and narrative wise with some good twists, yet I still wasn't grabbed. I think part of this was also due to the fact that a similar drama with prosecutors and lawyers aired recently which I loved a lot (Suspicious Partner) where the characterisation was a lot better and the plot felt more solid and really drew me in.

Maybe it was the fact that I hardly saw any chemistry between our main couple, and if I don't feel that spark I'm just not interested. Why should I care about the story's progression if a big part of it is a relationship I don't feel for. I love LJS as I've said and I honestly think he's had way more chemistry with almost every other female lead he's been with. I've only watched Suzy in Uncontrollably Fond (which I know many people didn't care for) but I think she had way more chemistry with KWB than LJS. Yes Hong Joo and Jae Chan had some sweet moments and times when I did feel for them but it was only minimal and I had just hoped for much more. I'm not sure if it was due to the writing or the actors who I actually think did very well but either way I had hoped for more.

The acting in this drama however compared to the main romance was a saving grace. Everyone showed the right emotions at the right times and they didn't feel forced or underwhelming in the circumstances. A special mention would be Jung Hae In as Han Woo Tak. I really loved his acting and character and I can't wait to see him in more dramas.

The OST was good. It wasn't particularly memorable but I did find myself liking some of the tracks. It was nice to hear Suzy's pieces in the background and a lovely surprise when I found out LJS would be releasing his first OST for this drama, which with bias is probably my favourite.

I doubt I'd watch this drama again, maybe a few select scenes here and there but I think the one viewing was enough for me. This drama was really hard for me to get through but because I refuse to drop any drama I had to push myself through it.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this drama but if you're willing to look past some of its flaws maybe you'll like it more than me.
 

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One Time Watch

While You Were Sleeping
Korean Drama
Romance, Comedy & mystery
2017
Viki & Hulu
TV14 (Pg13)

People that have visions of the future through dreams and they try to stop them from coming true. This is just the surface synopsis there is so much more.
It takes me usually two - three episodes to determine rather I like a show. I was hooked by the first 20 minutes. Also first drama where I enjoyed all the plots and side charcters.

PROS:
🌜The acting range was just amazing especially in the second half! All of them from our leads to the flash back kid/teen actors. Just lovely to see such talent!

🌜The story is very orginal and new to me. I haven't seen a show or movie with this concept before. The twist, turns and layers were just wounderful.

🌜Cute, sweet and wholesome moments were just adorable! The selflessness of the characters towards eachother just beautiful! The friendship and love was so believable and I'm a sucker for friendship stories.

🌜The tough themes I think were done carefully and gracefully. This is something that is hard to do in stories, which I give a lot of credit to the writers and actors.

CONS:
🌜The bathroom/potty jokes!🙄 They really took me out of the story and were just so immature. Mostly found in the first half (episodes 2-7). I have been told this is common in Kdrama. The 2nd half gets more serious and the stakes are high and jokes drop.

🌜Some editing choices the flashbacks and dreams were hard to till apart at first. Then they fix it and make it more noticeable.

Rewatch? Yes

#kdrama #kpop #kdramas #korean #familyfriendly #dramaland #romamnce #newfandom #hobby #

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"While You were Sleeping" a very awaited drama since the cast was first confirmed back in the beginning of the year or so. With some tears still left in my face, I write a review of this drama, that left some emptyness in my heart.

The first impression that a had from the drama was that it was very confuse, mainly because I watched the first two episodes together, and each episode has the point of view of a different character (hard to explain). But even a bit confuse about the story line, I got hooked up and I needed to watch more.

The plot it self wasn't complex if we take out the dreams factor, because that was what made the drama different from any other romcom / thriller. We follow the lifes of Hong Joo a reporter that wasn't working and a rookie prosecutor who just started working in a new office. Easy right? Well untill you add the dreams and all the mess they turned the plot into, and by that I mean a mess in the good way, because that make the things different, they could change what happens in the future. Apart from the dreams themself, I also really like the other cases that were shown, and all the thriller involved, even if in the end was a bit urealistic, but we are talking about a drama afterall, we can't expect too much.

Theres a couple of characters that I really like besides the main couple, that was definitely Woo Tak (because everyone fell a bit for him, he was just too cute), also Inspector Choi (that adjusshi was just amazing), and the other prosecutors that worked with Jae-Chan, they all have an amazing storyline.

Lee Yu Beom, I need a whole other review just to talk about how much I hated this charater. I was so upset with him that I just wanted to puch him in the face and break that precious face of his. Why, Yu Beom? Why use all that genius for the bad things?

Now let's talk about what you've been waiting for, romance. I think that this drama was never really focus on it, because we do have romantic scenes, but something was missing. I shipped Jae-Chan with Hong-Joo, but I didn't have that click, that heart racing that I usually have when the couple has a lot of chemistry. They did indeed have some kind of chemistry even if it was with the help of some romantic music and good cinematography, but I was expecting more I guess, I was expecting the kinda of chemistry I've seen in dramas like "Decendants of the Sun" or "It's Okay That's Love", but it just wasn't there, now that I look back. But don't worry, you that want to watch the drama, there's romance, there's kisses and there's a lot of love quotes. And you always can have the Second Lead Sydrome if you want!

Cast / Acting: I love all the people envolve in the drama, every single of them were brilliant in their character. Lee Jong Suk did a great job, but this character was just like any other character that he had already play, maybe just a bit different but not to much, but that doesn't mean he didn't act well, it just that I've already seen him playing this kind of character and I would like that in the future he tried something different just to see how he does. I got really surprised by Suzy acting, I think she improved a lot at least from her last drama where I didn't like her character neither her acting, but I really got impressed by her acting this time. Now let's take a moment to apreciate Jung Hae In, this man completly stole my heart and soul with his character, making him one of my favorite characters, God bless this guy! Lee Sang Yeob made a outstanding job portraying Lee Yu Beom, I don't have words to describe all the feelings I had about his character, and that just means that he did a great job with it, from the face expressions to the way he talked and acted. Congrats!

I really liked the OST of this drama, in special "I Love You Boy" and "It's You". I also liked the suspense kinda of dramatic's orchestra melody that played in the more tense moments. Over all liked the audio part of the drama.

The picture in this drama was pretty, not really outstanding, but good as well as the edition.

Will I watch this drama again? Probably in a future, when I forget the plot. We are talking about a drama which relies on plot twists and impredictable moments, and when you already have watched the whole drama it never feels the same again. I do recommend this drama if you like thriller with some romance and comedy. But its rewatch value it's pretty low. Overall was a pretty decent drama, I've seen better, but I also have seen far more horrible ones. Even with some bumps in the way it was good, interesting and in someway, different.

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I’m a little bit late on this one. But I finished it and decided to share my thoughts. It would be lie if I said that I wasn’t cautious before starting this. To be honest Suzy is not necessarily my favourite actress. I’m ok with Lee Jong Suk and since people around me were praising this drama so much I decided to give this a try.

Story:
I liked the idea of the story. It’s not particularly new since I watched a few movies and dramas with a similar idea, but “While You Were Sleeping” told the story in a really nice way. I liked the fact, that Hong Ju gave up on saving people after all those horrifying years just to learn how to use her ability in order to save people. With help of people around her obviously. However, in the middle of the drama it was less about that dreaming of the future part which I found a little bit sad. Even though Lawyer Lee was the villain here, he never really strikes me as one and I was desperately waiting for some villain I can passionately hate. Not that Lawyer Lee was not hateable, but he was rather dull as the main villain. And there were some plot holes that got me confused but then again there is no drama with no plot holes, right?  – of course opinions differ so please don’t feel offended :)

Acting/Cast:
I was pleasantly surprised by Suzys improvements and though I wouldn’t call her an awesome actress yet, she did definitely better than in Uncontrollably Fond. The cast overall was well picked with my favourites Jung Hae In (as the adorable and charming Woo Tak who won my heart in a matter of minutes) and Kim Won Hae who did an superb job as Detective Choi! I loved the people in the prosecutor office – how they bicker and fight and stand with each other when it’s needed! Hong Joo’s mom war likable and also Jae Chans brother and his girlfriend – those two seriously need their own drama apart from Page Turner – are enjoyable characters. What I always liked about Lee Jong Suk – and I’m not even a fan – is that he is really good at delivering comical moments! You just laugh about him or feel second-hand embarrassment! Lee Sang Yeob was also convincing (and I like this actor in general) but I wished the script gave us more of him. Maybe a little bit more background story.

Music:
Was good. I like the soundtrack. Funny enough I never realised that Suzy was a decent singer – although I knew she was an idol. I liked almost all the songs. The arrangement of music and scenes was also well made. The music helped a lot in getting the viewer in the right emotion.

Rewatch value:
I’d probably watch a few scenes again. But I don’t think I would watch the whole drama again. Not because it was not good but for me it was an enjoyable ride but it’s okay that it’s over. Maybe it’s only because I just finished it a days ago. But as of now I’m good with what I saw and focus on other stories to see :)

Overall:
It’s a well-made drama with a lot of romance. But funny enough at some point the romance was not even what I was mainly interested in. I mean I liked Hong Ju and Jae Chan together and I had never a doubt that those two were meant to be – but maybe that’s exactly why I enjoyed their scenes, but I was even more happy to see all of our side characters having their moments. The chemistry of all those people in their own circle – Woo Tak & his adorable Sunbae / the prosecutors and their teams! Detective Choi just with everyone!! – was so amazing that I was basically smiling as soon as they appeared on my screen in all their adorableness. I think rather than the main romance and all those cases in that drama the chemistry of the cast did the most to me! I fondly remember them and those were probably the moments I would rewatch. I just loved how much they cared for each other, how they joked with each other and fought for what they thought was right. There were also some episodes that addressed social issues in Korea which was also really nice. So, I can say, if you want to watch an adorable cast with great chemistry, a story that maybe could give you more but did still a decent job and a lot of hilarious as well as some heart-wrenching moments, I’d recommend “While You Were Sleeping”.

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What a wonderful ride this drama was !

First I love the mix of genres, from sci-fi to romance, thriller and especially comedy.  It was well balanced and kept me on my toes.

The main couple were cute and sweet. Lee Jongsuk never deceives me. And  I personally liked Suzy in this role (although her acting wasn't as good as in Controllably Fond), they made a really good couple.

The supporting cast, especially the prosecutors with their support and humour,  brought a breath of fresh air to all the kind of dark stories around the criminels they face.

The "I've seen it happen in my dreams" was really interesting especially with how they tried to work around it to avoid bad bad situations.

I would definitely recomend this drama ! It's a good watch!

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It was ok-ish

At first I only wanted to watch this drama because of the scene with the girl in the bathroom and because of Lee Jong Suk,but as I watched the story unfold I have to say the plot is amazing.
The bad part is that,even though I really like dramas that involve law,investigation and criminals, I love in equally measure, romance dramas. In this drama I couldn't see the love between the main leads. For me they didn't really have chimistry and it felt forced. I don't know if it's the writer's fault or the actor's one but that is why I lost interest in this drama.
I am not saying that is a bad one because the plot and the story is really unique. BUT this great story was delivered well only in the first couple of episodes. I can't really recall when but somehow the action became repetitive and that is really sad for such a good plot.. (I know I am repeating myself with praising the plot,but honestly I really loved the premise of this drama)
Anyway, thanks to this drama I have found my love for the police guy(Jung Hae In) so I haven't wasted my time that much
Maybe I will give it another go somewhere in the future and thank you for listening to my ted talk.

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Let’s just say that for me, at least, the title was prophetic. I found the dynamics between the two leads to be soporific and I started skipping around and fast forwarding before deciding that life (and time to watch dramas) is too short. Maybe Suzy is a bad actor after all. I kept picturing thought bubbles above her head whenever she tried to express an emotion: "Now I will widen my eyes to look surprised," "Now I will narrow my eyes to express Deep Thought." argh. I could not get into the story because all I could see was her acting, which leaned self-conscious and unnatural.

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After hearing so much about it, I really tried to enjoy this show! I dropped it several times but kept coming back and trying to push through... It didn't work.

Although the cast was cute, I was confused as to why the two leads even liked each other. They seemed like they were just mashed together and decided to go with it. The story was really up and down as well. Things kept happening that I thought would case major shifts or have longterm effects, but the next episode it was almost forgotten.

Maybe I'll come back to it eventually but not any time soon.

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