Heartbeat (2023)

It will make your Heart BREAK and not BEAT!

Warning: For those thinking to watch Heartbeat now - Do it At Your Own Risk.

This is me as the drama was announced: ❤️_❤️
This is me as the drama progressed and now ended: 😭😭😭😭😭

For the first time in my K-Drama watching history, I have not been so disappointed as today. Cause I honestly had high hopes for this drama, given the cast and premise. Even recommended to few friends and MDL-ers as I completed the initial 2-3 episodes (please forgive me). But the magnitude of disappointment is making me rant here so please bear with me 😭

I chose to watch an airing drama (big feat in itself) that continued to dip low as the series progressed. But I still thought - No, I have dropped too many dramas and I judge dramas too early - so let's keep watching and hope that it will get better. But it doesn't, week on week it got worse and I was watching this on 2x speed and then just fast-forwarding all together.

But man, that ending - worse than Bella Swan's character and acting in Twilight (and that's saying something).

> Story: 0 (wish I could mark the same in MDL)
> Acting: 7 - cannot blame the actors, they all did a good job - just that the script was terrible, hence the result was terrible.
But no fault of the skills of actor, I would still look forward to their other projects so that I can erase this terrible memory.
> Music/OST: didn't make any difference, cause with such bad writing even when it was good, it all lost meaning.

> Overall: 4/10 - and this 4 is just for the sake of actors.
> Verdict for Heartbeat: Skip it or you'll be filled with regrets like me.

The premise was so good which made me have great expectations as they could have done so much with the romance, comedy, fantasy and mystery elements. They had a decent cast and music as well - but nothing could save it because the writing/script is one of the worst ones I have come across. Like what were the writers eating/drinking that made them act like this??

I feel bad for Taec Yeon as I like him as an idol from 2PM days, and this was my first proper drama of his that I wanted to see. Also, Kim In Kwon - cause he is an exemplary actor! He is one of my favorite support actors, I means see that guy in Mr Queen (what a fine senior actor).

Personally, this drama is making me rethink that I need to continue staying away from airing dramas, and watch them only when it finishes. Binge-watching is better for my sanity and drama viewing. I am just so angry/sad/disappointed. Dramas are after all supposed to bring joy and not make me pull-my hair. Hence, anyone reading this - hope you have a fair idea what could be expected, please tread carefully in case you are planning to watch this drama. Better, don't and watch something else.

Life is too short and our schedules too busy otherwise - to waste time on bad dramas! Read More

I liked it but the ending was trash...

***Disclaimer: This is just my opinion, please don't take anything I say personally. We don't have to agree and I'm not here to argue with anyone.***

Tropes: Reincarnation, Vampire / Human, Grumpy / Sunshine, Forced Proximity, Roommates / Business Partners to Lovers.

I really enjoyed this drama. Watching it weekly was refreshing and I felt like every episode kept me wanting to know more.

I thought this drama was hilarious and light hearted in the beginning. I love Woo Hyeol and In Hae. They are soulmates and deserved to have a happy ending. It’s sad because it seems like they had more hard times because of the second leads interfering in their relationship / love. So in a way I feel like they were robbed of quality time. I’m saddened that it ended that way but then again I’m an angst lover and just eat up longing / yearning.

It’s funny because some people were initially criticizing the female lead for not matching her character description but I think she portrayed In Hae perfectly. She has a cold / standoffish demeanor. And when she smiles even when she’s happy there’s this sadness to her face a bit bc even though she wants to be happy she can’t fully be knowing that Woo Hyeol is giving up his life to save / protect her. I think Ji An captures that perfectly. It’s ironic how Woo Hyeol was dead (a vampire) and taught In Hae (a living / breathing human) how to live. They truly understood each other and supported / stood by each other through many difficult times. Their love story is both touching and heartbreaking.

The very last episode was so sentimental I almost cried. I think that the supporting actors (the butlers — Dong Seop and Sang Hae) were soooo good, I could literally feel all their emotions especially the heartbreak, betrayal and confusion when they realized Woo Hyeol was going to die. I really liked Rose since she was the actual rose of the bunch. She was hilarious, but don't underestimate her because roses have thorns. I especially admired their dedication and how they all came through for one another when they were in need or danger. I'm sure they'll miss Woo Hyeol for the rest of their lives, and things won't be the same without him. I'm delighted Dong Seop finally got a haircut (he no longer looks like Dora haha).

I'm glad Man Hwi died, but I'm curious why Woo Hyeol didn't also combust into dust when he stabbed himself with the Hawthorne Wood and silver knife. Perhaps because Woo Hyeol had a pure heart and mind?? Or that he was willing to die and sacrifice himself to save someone else? Or maybe because he was half vampire / half human. I wish the show had explained and expounded on that part more thoroughly. I'm disappointed that insufferable man lived because Woo Hyeol willingly gave Do Sik his blood. Everything about that is icky, especially when you consider In Hae was crying over his bleeding body and Sik most likely drank the blood... I'm not sure what the details are, but I'm slightly grossed out either way. Worse, his guilt drives him to donate money to all these charities and foundations for children with heart problems, but would he have done so if Woo Hyeol hadn't saved his life? No, I don't think so. I know I'm being harsh, but I never liked him and still don't! I wish he had died. In my humble opinion, Woo Hyeol deserved so much better than to die sacrificing himself for that cunning man.

I don't want to get too emotional, but this drama is sad... you go in thinking that it will be just a humorous little drama and that they're going to get a happy ending, but they don't. But I suppose it's also true to life, because not everyone has a happy ending – sometimes things don't go as planned, and you have to live with the consequences of your actions. But I go forward with the knowledge that they loved each other to the end, that everything happened for a reason, and that they will meet again in another life. This drama has touched my heart, and both Taecyeon and Ji An have impressed me. Job well done!

I gave this drama a 7.5 rounded up to an 8/10 because I enjoyed watching this despite the ending leaving me somewhat empty and dissatisfied. I wish there was a way for Woo Hyeol to live longer, like a few drops of In Hae's blood every day, or that the fact that he sacrificed his life for a human finally made him complete his transition and become human, or something. He was far too selfless and kind for a vampire... far more compassionate and caring than other humans, in fact. But, I guess he knew, and everyone knew, that his time on Earth as a vampire was coming to an end. I liked how it happened because if In Hae hadn't opened his coffin one day early, they would never have met and had this amazing and painful love story.

It's literally just a silly supernatural drama so nobody should go into this with very high expectations or judge it too harshly. It served it's purpose and kept me entertained me for weeks. It truly felt like a hidden gem, especially considering how less persons watched it in comparison to more mainstream dramas like KTL, SYIM19L and Revenant.

I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a whimsical drama with comedy, romance, fantasy and a touch of mystery.

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Not world-shaking at all, though it can be quite witty at times

It's about a vampire who wants to become human. However, fans of vampire stories alert! "Heartbeat" is at best Vampire-'light'. First and foremost, this is ´Rom´ with double ´Com´. It is casual entertainment, its topping made of tried and tested patterns, and clichés, too.

Essentially, "Heartbeat" thrives on the special relationship dynamics between the two protagonists, with a rather intractable young woman crashing into an old vampire, who has been robbed of his supernatural powers/resources and who, due to a mishap, is now neither really vampire nor human. The humor and charm of the story lies in this somewhat awkward constellation. Determined female protagonist meets bewildered, somehow lost within identities male protagonist. The whole story is embedded in a stylish, handsome ambience as well as this and that (four-dimensionally knitted) subplot. Romantic vibes are guaranteed and on top of that a bit of suspense, too.

"Heartbeat" isn't world-shaking at all, though it can be quite witty at times. It's fun when you're in the mood for it. With a down-to-earth female protagonist whose everyday life (for a pleasing change) is not predominantly structured by wardrobe and make-up.

Here and there, however, production obviously chose the striking to the logical: No money but the large property always in festive lighting? The protagonist's gothic chambers always bathed in the candlelight of countless candles, regardless of whether he is there or not? (And who would be in charge of this? He never has to light it up, nor blow it out when he leaves... they are always burning.) Well. Ok, let´s not nit-pick…

"Heartbeat" obviously doesn't take itself too seriously when it comes to such details. If you can overlook this and that, then it´s fun@work... as fun and light entertainment are clearly the goal. So, don´t expect more than that.

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A >BIG< disappointment

Changing my review here since the Kdrama just finished this week and my opinion changed with its ending. So... I was in love from the very first moment I started watching it, I absolutely loved the beginning of the whole story and I got very high expectations to the story, BUT... Somewhere in the story it starts to get way too boring, the FL that I loved started to piss me of. And there's a lot of "white spaces", I mean, things they didn't mind to explain to us. Like... Why does that vampire (the villain) hates Seon Woo? What are their past? Why does Do Sik have that illness? And why the FL is Hye from the past with different face? And why is there someone who has exactly the face of his past love but she's not the Hye won he loved? I mean, did I lost something? ahhaah idk, I got confused. And the ending... A totally disappointed. Is he dead? Is he alive? We simply DON'T KNOW hahaha. I think they needed more episodes to explain the past to allow us to understand the present. Anyway, I'm 100% disappointed and I don't recommend anyone to watch it. I think they rushed everything and messed up with the whole story.
All this thing about the past reminded me of "Bulgasal" But the difference is that in Bulgasal they explained everything to us so we could understand the story, but in Heartbeat they ignored the past of the characters and they didn't explain important stuff to us, so we were left with an empty feeling, like... "Did I miss something?" Basically, it was a generic story with a main villain without a depth background, a girl who's supposed to have some importance to the story but in the end she was just a useless character (Hye Won) A random character that, for some reason they don't explain to us with more depth, helps the ML (The cat man) I mean... I think the story had more potencial, but they just transformed it in a weak, generic and boring romance. I mean, even "Twilight" is a better vampire story than this. And one last thing, the ML friends are always showed in the story with highly importance, but... How did they meet? Why do they have this strong friendship? ... *Sigh* anyway... I'm disappointed, I was hoping for more than we got.

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Great concept, ultimately poor execution

At the outset this drama is a hilarious anti-TWILIGHT but halfway through the writers drop anything funny and past episode 12 they are phoning it in. I think if this had been a 10-12 episode drama they would have had less opportunity to muddle around and get lost. They would have executed on some of their concepts better too.

Joo In-hae being the reincarnation of Seon Woo-hyeol’s first love (and thus being able to open his coffin, having eyes that reflected him, etc.) while Na Hae-won is a dead ringer for his first love but ultimately a red herring was actually a great concept but was not fully elaborated on or sufficiently explored. Many of the other people I was watching with didn’t pick up on it.

Hae-won, Do-sik, and Man-hwi competing with each other because of their conflicting desires and goals with regards to In-hae and Woo-hyeol could have been done in a much more thoughtful and interesting way too. Instead it was rushed at the end.

And why couldn’t a smart woman like In-hae have defused her neighbors’ complaints about a vampire in the mansion by just saying “come on now, we all know that vampires aren’t real, what’s with you people?” I guess that would have required the writers to remember that their show was supposed to be funny.

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Disappointing ending

I am so disappointed with this ending. I mean she could have at least given him some blood and Surprise!!! he becomes human after a couple of years and comes back. There was very little character development, which left holes in the story line. What was the relationship between Woohyeol and ManWhi? If the FL is the reincarnation of his past love then, why didn't she have some memories through out her lifetime? What was their connection, that allowed FL to open coffin? Did Doshik take his heart and end the curse? The Gold that could have saved them from many predicaments appeared at the last minute. UGGGHHH!! Just frustrating and then the mediocre ending of seeing ML image as if he was alive. Waste of time .

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Laughably poor excuse of a (Vampire) K-Drama

Alternative Title: Vampires that don’t vampire: Disappointing & Lackluster romcom - a chaotic Rant Review.

You could literally take out the words vampire and replace it with time travel, reincarnated one or terminally ill and the drama would be the same.

It drowned all potential vampire aspect in typical kdrama comedy in the worst way possible. (More on that later) In the end it’s a kdrama with watered down vampires, not a vampire kdrama.

It’s like they wrote a basic script for a romcom, added cookie cutter roles and were like hmmm what should we sprinkle on top… vampires!
Instead of actually being creative and writing a vampire kdrama. It ended at up being a kdrama with (boring excuses of) vampires.

I mean the vampire male lead doesn’t even sleep in a coffin, which is like the most basic vampire 101.
Rather he has a room lit with candles and sleeps on a couch. Like what?

Lee manwhi - the only somewhat real vampire (don’t get me wrong he’s still hella watered down) and villain / evil vampire is drinking blood from criminals and drug addicts.
- Which is supposed to be a bad thing apparently (in other shows this is how the "good" vampires drink blood where as the bad ones use normal humans).

Plus there is zero struggle of the vampires going out during the day and there is maybe 1-2 scenes of them sleeping.
The Vampires ain’t Vamp-iring.

I should have known when I saw the cast list and who played the supporting characters, that the vampire part would be mostly silly. Reminded me a lot of "Vincenzo". The supporting actors aren’t bad and they have been in some good dramas but they always play the same type of characters, that always serve the same kind of purpose and dictate the surrounding vibe of the show. In this case that’s a major flaw.

All the interesting vampire arc happened in the past and a little bit in the later part of the drama thanks to the anti-hero but overall very disappointing in terms of "vampires".
By episode 9/10, they used almost an entire episode on babysitting and being at an amusement park, at this point I knew this drama would be 95% romcom and 5% actual vampire plot.

But even apart from the vampire plot being a major disappointment… let’s talk about the guesthouse. I thought okay maybe this will be the main set up. Nope, they had like 1 guest the entire time and she disappeared when her stalker appeared.
So what really was the plot or reason of this drama?
The male lead actor maybe? The comedy? The romance? Dunno.

As a romcom I think it’s fine in the first half, nothing new or special at all but also not horrible. But the second half was beyond boring and I could not feel any chemistry nor did the actors portray a believable love story.

Additionally I really disliked the female character. It’s rare that I dislike someone’s style of acting (in addition with poor character writing) but in this case it’s a big no for me, as I kept on watching.

Another rant point:
Her dad. Major plot decive clearly, no character depth at all.
Gets freed from over a decade of being locked in a dark basement. And is fine??
No anxiety, no trauma, no nothing.
He gets a haircut and re connects with his daughter quite easily, that’s it?! Honestly this is lazy writing at it’s peak.

Watching the last 4 episodes at 2x speed definitely made me laugh because it just shows you how ridiculously bad and unoriginal it actually is if you take out long pauses and looks characters give each other.

I was already in a kdrama slump before but this certainly only heightened the threshold to start another kdrama in the future.

One last thing: as much as I love Ok Taecyeon, he was not right for this drama because he is too popular. If kdramas really want to venture into the vampire genre, they need to start with a drama about a serious vampire, with an actor that is not well known, hyped or an idol. Because only then will it be believable that he/she is an actual vampire.

Btw: this review are notes written down as I was watching the drama, the ending didn’t have an affect on this rant or the rating.
I mean it’s bad but at this point I could not have cared less if everyone was dead or got a happy ending.

- end of rant -

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The story.

Even if the end was as it was. The writers taught us a lesson: love conquers everything even the time and death. They gave us an open end, and I thank them for this. While watching the last episode I went through all possible emotions. I understand people who are disappointed, I was too, but I thought over and over again, and this ending even if it wasn't All cherish and blossom it was still good. The drama is good, funny, serious,... and I liked it.,🫶
A quote from the drama : ,, ...but you'll eventually learn...that things don't always go your way. And that it's better that way."

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THRASH OF 2023

Writer: Producer-nim we have an interesting concept to make the drama on .

Producer : Okay Ms. Writer, let's proceed .

Writer after 2 months: Sir , I forgot to write the ending or any explanation regarding vampires plus the ML dies in the last episode.

Producer: Somebody bring me my shotgun.

Writer :Sir , before you shoot me , how about adding some thrash side characters , they would keep the gag in check ?

Producer: Good idea, now someone bring me a katana . 😡

WHAT A JOKE This drama was .
I skipped it post-episode 10 .
The worst drama of 2023 so far.
Zero chemistry b/w the leads.
Zero character development.

Wasting the talent of great actors like Ok Tec Yeon, Amazon should be ashamed of producing such dramas.

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Is it the script writing or the actress?

Like most of the dramas Taecyeon stars in I started watching this one solely because of him. In the first few episodes I was happy thinking it's an entertaining drama, brushing aside the constant screaming by the FL because at least it made her look somewhat fierce and independent (I know it's not really by choice but still) But once she starts falling for him that attitude changes to a submissive one where she constantly has the same -for lack of a better word- pouty/resigned look on her face.
Suddenly, this woman that used to scream and make a vampire dance to her tune, ends up completely emotionally dependent. While she managed to live on her own before, in the course of the drama it seems like the the ml becomes the only one she is living for. Her saying "He's not the one who needs me. I need him" just doesn't sit right with me
I know it's not so far from the truth to have people with past trauma or depression have these unhealthy relationships and emotional attachments, but it's not a healthy way to cope so why romanticize it?
This drama is full of characters obsessing over each other in a very toxic way.
I just finished episode 13, so who knows what turn this might take, but I couldn't help but be bothered by the only two ways I have seen the FL lead express emotions. Like it says in the title I can't really tell if the script writing is at fault, because they wrote her to be either screaming or resigned or if it's the actress being unable to portray emotions differently. What I do know tho, is that the script writing is at fault for writing the FL to end up entirely depending her will to live on the ML.

Some of you might not be bothered by this, which is fine, since Kdramas aren't supposed to be taken too seriously anyways but I really needed to speak my mind and see if there are like-minded people.

I'm still planning to finish this drama just because there are only 3 episodes left and also, let's be honest here, because I just love Taecyeon.

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Worst drama of the year!!!

Bear with me before firing up your defense because let me tell you one thing. This drama had the potential of becoming the next goblin but the writer decides to go and shit all over it.
You have an amazing cast, but even a talented actor like Taecyon can't save this disaster. The story starts with amazing potential, great characters and it is introduced in a beautiful way. But eventually they make it into a sappy melodrama with love triangles that make no sense and a plot that raises your expectations but then crashes you.
The main leads are the only thing barely watchable but it's still not worth wasting a day of my life (I'm so glad i didn'tbinge watch this).
The story flow is extremely erratic and they somehow destroy the whole plot on the pretext of building the climax. (There is no climax)

Will i watch it again? Hell no.
Will i recommend it to anyone? I'm going to antirecommend (;aggressively advice you not to watch it)

I feel so bad for Ok Taecyon for ruining days of his life shooting this nonsense...

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Started well but became a disaster/ Wrong choice of FL

NO SPOILERS!!

What throw me off the most in this drama is acting and script.

Acting:
1. FL: I don’t see many comments on her performance here but everyone comments about it on imdb. I think The lead role is too big for the actress to handle. She needs to learn acting and do more supporting roles for another 4,5 years before she can handle a lead role. Her emotion and facial expression stay the same throughout the drama. When she’s sad, happy, angry, love or being loved- SAME EXPRESSION! I almost think that any other female supporting role in the drama can do this role better than her. They are also more visually attractive. Lead roles have a lot of screen time and character development, therefore, the actress needs to be skillful enough to show the development in character and emotion. Won Ji An failed miserably. Another unpopular opinion is that I personally think she looks better when she doesn’t smile. It gives me a very uneasy and unsettling feeling whenever she smiles. Maybe because it’s fake? IDK.

2. ML: Taecyeon is charming and can definitely act but he couldn’t save the drama

3. All supporting roles: I thought they all did a good job. I’ve never seen the 2nd FL and ML before but the 2nd ML can act quite well. The 2nd FL is not too bad either.

Script: Sometimes i thought the script was written by a 5 years old. No logic or explanation whatsoever. All happened because of this cat man said it is what it is. The drama started very well and showed a lot of potential but then due to bad script and bad acting of FL the show became a disaster. Ep 1-9: worth watching. Ep 10 onwards: just skip.

Ending: Oh yes it’s not a happy ending. So if you’re opt for happy ending only this is not for you. I personally think it’s ok. Some dramas/movies have happy ending, some don’t. But this sad ending doesn’t make me feel sad at all cus it was poorly executed and poor acting. I can feel Taecyoen pain but I can’t feel the FL pain.

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