Lovely, touching, and memorable
What a lovely, touching, and memorable series!---
I. Story
a. Episode stories: Some of the episode stories were good but there were those which were great. Out of the total 16 episodes, there are 5 anyone would watch repeatedly. The "legal" aspect were good, the comedy were very funny, and the relationship between characters were what anyone can relate to.
b. Series story: The overall story of the show was neatly written and realistic. It isn't your typical boy-meets-girl-and-they-lived-happily-ever-after which are usually boring and only for the "giggles" factor. While You Were Sleeping have the dynamics and challenges usually experienced by two strangers, turned friends, and started falling for each other yet there were some things holding them back.
II. Acting
Overall, the acting were amazing. They easily portrayed the personality of the characters they were playing. However in the latter part of the series where there were more kissing scenes, the two lead actors weren't into it. I am assuming those scenes were filmed near the beginning of the project and they weren't at ease with each other yet, if so, it was not a good decision. In those particular kissing scenes both actors were lacking emotions, it was "platonic", they were just "acting".
The supporting actors did well too and made their characters memorable especially when it comes to comedy, they delivered the scenes perfectly. Great job!
III. Music
For the whole series, there were only 5 songs which made an impact out of 14 included in the OST. These songs were played in the correct scenes and hopefully were used also in more scenes, or at least an instrumental instead of the other music they used.
IV. Rewatch value
I've watched this twice already. The first time was the Filipino-dub version and recently the original Korean-dub. Anyone can watch While You Were Sleeping anytime and everytime they want, it is a light drama and very romantic.
V. Suzy Bae
Suzy Bae did well in portraying a lovable and pretty character who anyone would fall into at first sight.
Hooray Suzy! Keep it up!
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as expected, such an amazing drama
the amount of bad reviews this got was SHOCKING. when i originally found this drama i knew it was going to be great considering the casting. bae suzy AND lee jong suk in the same kdrama had me in a chokehold. the acting was incredible and the story line was so good.i feel like not many dramas can pull of this supernatural/fantasy genre but in this drama it was pulled of amazingly. not only was there such a cute dynamic between the main leads but the main storyline was so captivating and the plot twists were so good. i also liked the fact that the two main leads had a backstory and they were all connected.
1000000% recommend and will definitely rewatch.
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Inconsistent and disappointing
If you haven't watched Pinocchio, you really should instead of watching this drama. It's written by the same writer and executed in the same style and feel, but without the messy acting and plot holes.I was expecting a lot more from this, considering the top quality writer and a cast that includes Lee Jong Suk and Jung Hae In. However, the directing and acting was really off, especially from Bae Suzy. Her performance does get better after the first few episodes, but I don't care enough about her character to get invested in it or the storyline.
One performance I really liked was by Kim Won Hae, who plays the investigator in a way that is truthful to what he knows. He was fantastic. On the other hand, our villain Yu Beom falls pretty flat. I don't fault Lee Sang Yeob for his performance. I believe it's weak writing that contributes to this issue. There are also a ton of plot holes and side stories that don't contribute like they should to the development of the characters and the plot.
Overall, it was disappointing.
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Pros:
Child Story: Personally, I love the child story more than the adult story lol. This and Queen for Seven Days rocked their child stories, and if the whole story was the children, I'd be okay with that, prefer actually lol. The child actors had great chemistry, and I loved their story, and especially how it parallels when they're older. Da Reum Nam (Jae Chan younger version), especially did well, and I look forward to his future projects.
Music: You can give this drama a 1 star, but the music was on point. I haven't seen such an amazing ost from a drama, in such a long time. Eddy Kim's ost was especially amazing.
Transitions: this drama does it's transitions quite well. They made the moments much more emotional, and I really applaud their style. There was one transition/parallel scene in the last episode that nearly had me in tears (which is good for me)
Acting: I won't say it's amazing, but it was certainly good. Especially the last episode, there were some emotional scenes with Jong Suk that were really done well. Also as regard to Suzy's acting, I'll probably get hate for this, but I feel like most of korea's actresses aren't amazing. They're good, but there are very few who I would actually genuinely compliment and call great. I feel like Suzy did an average job. I didn't cringe, and she delivered her character well, so I'd qualify her as average. That's just me though.
Cons:
Predictability: this drama is hella predictable. Oh. My. Gosh. And if it focused more on character development instead, then that would be fine. But it doesn't. Frankly, our two main leads aren't that interesting, character wise, and on top of it, the plot is predictable. Now some may say, I should've known it would be predictable. But Signal wasn't predictable. They could've just been like "oh we have walkie-talkies and can fix all past crimes, so every episode is a win" but it wasn't. Signal definitely had moments where their characters failed, and where their characters succeeded. Causing real suspense. There was no real character development, and there wasn't even suspense, resulting in boredom.
Side Characters: I love our side characters. Woo Tak, lil bro, dae gu, and inspector choi. They all have interesting characters. Woo Tak and his internal debate of what it is to be a police officer, and if he has the right. Lil bro and his school problems, and learning that being a good friend is more important than popularity. Dae Gu with his father, and the struggles that comes with, and how he finds a friend in lil bro. Finally Inspector Choi, and how he needs to forgive himself. Honestly, I thought all of their stories were much more interesting character wise, yet they got hardly any screen time. Definitely a star off for me.
Kim Soo Hyun: why? She has an arc, a romance, a sismance, great chemistry with cast, and a great story. Yet, they just cut her off. Why put her there to begin with? Honestly, everyone wanted her to stay. For a guest role, she had such a great presence on screen, and it just left me disappointed that she didn't stay.
Main Characters: I mentioned this in side characters. They just are too perfect for me. I know they're always going to succeed. While I liked their characters, they certainly weren't memorable.
Overall, this drama was good. It just isn't something I'll draw back on. The writer missed out on a lot of opportunities with suspense and side characters. It felt too safe for me, and no chances were taken. Hopefully, next time the writer can make a better drama, as I know he is capable of.
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If I could give this drama 0 stars, I’d do that.
This is one drama that started off really well. I had a lot of hopes from this one but it failed to deliver.The plot was all over the place. They tried to focus on dreams, law that too prosecutor’s as well as lawyer’s side of the case, police intervention and media (reporters). Unfortunately for them, too many cooks spoil the broth. They tried to incorporate storylines that we’ve seen in full length dramas like Pinocchio, I hear your voice, etc. in one drama. What were the writers even thinking? They couldn’t even focus properly on one aspect of the story.
Acting wise Bae Suzy or rather her character was selfish, bratty and not likable. The actress was trying tho. I’ve seen Lee Jong Suk in about 4 dramas and never really had any complains about his acting. But in this one he was terrible. I especially remember a scene where he gets stabbed in a dream sequence. In that dream sequence a guy appears to bump shoulders with LJS and passes by. LJS looks really puzzled like he’s unaware of what just happened. He turns back and watches the guy walk away. Finally he turns his head, facing forward with the same puzzled expression and suddenly he decides to look down and Guess what he realizes he’s been stabbed!! He makes a lazy expression and drops to the ground. I don’t have anything against him but that ☝️ is some terrible acting skills.
About this drama the less said the better it is. There was a point after I think 12 episodes, when it got so boring to watch that I finally decided to put it on hold at episode 20. Jung hae-In has done a good job and the Miniso plushie is super cute.
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Keep your eyes open because earlier details will foreshadow later events. Everything is introduced to the audience for a reason that has to do with plot/character development later. This is my favorite type of script because the detective in me loves finding clues and remember them when a later plot twist results.
Ironically, I didn't get much sleep during the weekend I binged "While You Were Sleeping"...
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This drama had great character and potential, but somewhere along the way the storyline became obvious in indirect ways and it started to become boring to me. However, I watched to the very end (as a fan of the scriptwriter and actors).
Though I give this drama more of an in-between, I recommend watching this for yourself because it's not a drama any k-drama fan would regret watching! It has action, fan-service, parts where you would laugh your head off, parts you would cry, and parts where you would just fall in love with not only the main actors, but all of the characters (well maybe not all - it depends on you).
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This drama had potential, but I don't know what went wrong with it. It dragged on for more than I had anticipated, maybe it would have worked if it had fewer number of episodes? Don't know. You can easily miss it if need be.
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I wanted to enjoy this one
This is not a terrible drama by any means. The effects, cinematography and music place you in an almost magical, ethereal visual experience. But when I thought about it more, if you remove all that, you're left with an average story that turns out to be incredibly predictable from episode 2. I will say the first episode is one of the best first episodes I've watched for a drama but I found myself predicting everything afterwards down to the last twist.There are a few things in this drama that became repetitive and episodic, mainly the cases and the dream part. At times things felt a bit too convenient and the lack of tension died because you knew things were going to be okay and they always were. When a MC got hurt I knew they'd recover, I knew they'd catch the bad guy of the week/episode and move on to the next one. Overall it did not feel like there was an overarching plot throughout the drama until the very end. I'm not counting the backstory because you can tell that one in one episode of flashbacks and as soon as we saw the boy in the baseball cap I knew it was the FL. It's not very well disguised and the drama underestimates their audience by making it feel like a surprise when the reveal happens when it was a bit obvious.
The chemistry for the main couple... this is hard for me because I absolutely love Lee Jong Suk, he's probably one of the most lovable actors for me. But I just didn't feel his chemistry with Suzy and honestly I think this is because I have seen LJS with much better female leads and I buy their relationship a 100%, whereas in this one I was constantly feeling the acting between the 2 whenever they shared screentime. I do not think this is entirely his fault, he did what he could with the character and his FL.
There is something defenitely off about Suzy's acting. It felt forced and not entirely honest during the entire thing. Like that one girl that tries to be quirky and funny on purpose and it comes out as dishonest and try-hard. I'm sorry if I'm being too harsh on her, but I just think she didn't do much with her character and that affected her on screen relationship with ML. That being said both characters are a little one-dimensional and maybe that's why I couldn't relate to her in particular. Her character is represented as flawless most of the time. His as well, but hers even more so.
I think this is because they both have these second hand embarrasment moments throughout the whole drama. (It got old and broke the mood on a lot of scenes.) But while LJS's character had them and the side-characters acknowledged it was cringe and unprofessional and it was something LJS's character seemed to improve on and learn from - one example is when he used his cringe to interview the child witness - for Suzy's characters it is represented as endearing and quirky and lovable from day 1 and it never serves a purpose other than to show she's cute and not like other girls.
The drama was afraid to paint her in any sort of negative light and it was counterproductive. Let her be human too. Let her be cringe and weird in the other characters eyes as well. I could not fathom why everyone saw this human disaster as a femme fatale when in fact she's just as a perfect match for her one brain cell idiot boyfriend. That would have been incredibly lovable. But the drama is afraid to go all the way. If you introduce this weird girl as a weird girl (literally in caps), don't make her cool at the same time in the eyes of everyone else. She's cringe my dudes, and that is perfectely okay. He's cringe, she's cringe, they will be cringe forever and have little cringe children. Embrase it. A perfect moment for this would have been when everyone was describing her character in the elevator as a femme fatale and this sexy badass lady, but then have her defy all expectations by making her ridiculous in front of everyone and they going like... yes this is definitely Jae Chan's girlfriend.
That's my take on her, but I might be a minority here. It's fine if you disagree.
The writing is okay. I enjoyed the backstory the best rather than the episodic current events. But like I said before, the main plot line got repetitive. The villain was one dimensional while trying too hard to be protrayed as a more interesting character, the drama just scratched the surface with him. He had some interesting quirks like the paper thing and the hand washing thing, but we never explore him as a character nor his motivations. Instead of spending 95% of screen time on the couple, spend 85% on the main couple and give me more backstory with this villain. He has tons of potential with his relantionship with ML and the inspector. But the one with the inspector just got shoved as a last minute thing and I never quite grasped why he was so nasty towards ML when they were younger. Maybe explore something like jealously between them, maybe he was envious ML had a better life with his Chief of Police dad while he had to work in order to be able to pay for school or something. Just so much wasted potential.
All in all this drama is not the worst thing I have seen. I know it can sound like that in this review. But it's just so incredibly disappointing maybe because my expectations were so high after watching Pinocchio and I Hear your Voice. Both of these are miles better than this one in terms of story and acting. The one thing I will give this drama is that it is pretty to look at. A beautiful cake on the outside that is bland in flavour.
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Lee song juk
This is a beautiful story. It is just like a dream. If you love to watch dreams or if you love fantasy you will definitely love it. The story started with a dream and ended with a reality. As we all know that time flows in it's own direction, this drama has the same message. I highly recommend this drama to everyone. And ofcourse you will fall in love with LEE JONG SUK for sure after watching this one. This drama has everything. It is a fine mixture of dream and reality. It has a happy ending. The songs of this drama are so good that you surely will fall in love with them.Was this review helpful to you?
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Starts with a bang, ends with a fart
Don't be fooled by the drama's clever start - fantasy/crime thriller with a splash of romance. The first few episodes are interesting with a promise of a compelling story and characters. The dream plotline is very easy to follow, which I liked. But, then the plot devolves into a series of comedic tropes, filler characters, overused flashbacks, workplace gossip, and a very boring romance. Instead of developing interesting crime story arcs, the writers proceed to bore us with immature behavior by the main characters and recurring childhood flashbacks.One of the biggest issues is the writers being unable to pick a genre. The plot randomly changes between drama and comedy and makes the characters act differently in every scene. One moment, Jung Jae Chan is a serious prosecutor trying to solve a murder, the next, he is a clumsy, blubbering idiot. Because of this inconsistency, it is very hard to take any of the characters seriously. Jae Chan is completely unconvincing as a prosecutor looking more like a young guy playing dress-up with his father's suit. And, the best way to describe Nam Hong Ju is "annoying". She is argumentative and full of herself while doing close to nothing as a reporter. Working at her mom's restaurant would've been more appropriate for her characterization. But, she is a professional reporter with no class and self-restraint, and, similarly to Jae Chan, looks like someone playing dress-up.
Another issue is there being no character development. All of the characters are bland and one-dimensional. Being able to see the future through dreams is the one interesting thing about them. The investigator is the only character who has any depth. Choi Dam Dong is thoughtful, meticulous, and takes his job seriously. He is very convincing at what he does, while the rest are goofy caricatures larping as professionals.
The pacing slows down around episode 7-8 when the plot starts to flip flop between romance and a crime drama. Jae Chan and Nam Hong have no chemistry making their romance as exciting as watching the paint dry. Most of their scenes are very bland and worth skipping. Because the writers do such a half-assed job with the plot and characters, the story fizzles out into a snooze fest very quickly. Hooray to the fast-forward button.
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I am always skeptic when I start a drama because I have dropped tons of dramas which I was really excited to watch but in the end, all they did was disappoint me. However, this wasn't the case with WYWS. The idea was interesting, the characters were convincing, the plot was keeping me on the edge of my seat most of the time.
Jae Chan was the typical good guy, someone every girl can't help but fall in love with and, let's face it, we cannot resist him! He's good looking, he's charming, funny, smart and even his innocent side, the side which wants to believe everyone has some good in them, even though it makes him look like a dummy sometimes is charming.
Hong Ju was ok. I am one of those people that does agree with the fact that Suzy has to step her acting game up, but I hope this experience helped her with that.
Woo Tak managed to make me fall in love! He was absolutely amazing, I think Jung Hae In did a really good job with the character.
Lee Sang Yeob managed to play the perfect villain! His evil smirks were out of this world!
All in all, it was a really great drama and I'm glad I decided to watch it!
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