only stayed for byeon wooseok
gonna be honest, i did not feed into the hype that this kdrama had. just from the clips i saw online, it didn’t look all that interesting to me. just your run of the mill cheesy drama. and i was right.it was funny for sure and if not for byeon wooseok i never wouldve watched this. my main issue is with im sol’s character. she lacks depth and personality throughout the whole series, which is a fault many many kdramas are guilty of. they dedicate so much character development and realness to the male lead that the female lead is always overshadowed and unliked. her character was unnecessarily clueless, slow and overall, just stupid. literally in any scenario this girl was in, she chose to make the stupidest decision that negatively affects the people around her. made no sense and just left me resenting her character. also this immature/childish “personality” that theyre always giving to the female lead- get over it already. this 30 year old woman jumping around like a preschooler? really?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Very disappointing
I had really high hopes for this show because of all the hype that was going on around it. I have one more episode left but so far I'm very disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it has some really sweet moments and their chemistry is really good. There are also lots of funny moments and the humor is very good too. The story really had a great potential but I just feel like they had no idea what to do with it.First episode really had me hooked and the plot was portrayed as very unique and deep with FL being disabled and also talking about ML who is a famous celebrity with depression problems. After that the show became very shallow and predictable. I don't even understand why they portrayed them like that, because that was never mentioned again for the rest of the show.
For me it got good again around 8th episode, when they meet as adults, but that lasted only for that one episode and after that it became progressively worse. I was expecting the story to develop around their adult life but she went back in time once again. I don't understand why tho because they showed him being hurt but they never said anything about him dying. At that point I was very tired of all the time travel because it made no sense.
Talking about time travel, I don't understand how was she able to change the fate and prevent her home from burning but wasn't able to save ML, not even once and it happened three times.
The more I watched the more I realised that her only goal was to save ML and nothing else was important. All other characters weren't important at all and they never got the chance to develop. At some point, during her time travel, she found out her mom was in a hospital because she was sick but they never explained what was going on and they never mentioned that again.
Also, in the first half of the series they never really explained how she became disabled and it was obvious we would find out during the show. Then they decided to make the second half all about that and her kidnapper and also her saving ML form the kidnapper. It gave a feeling as if they didn't know what to do with the story so they just decided to put that there.
Was this review helpful to you?
Because maybe, before that, there was a more interesting drama.
I don't know, I've only watched dramas with the same story. Even more feelings and sadness can be felt. I watched it just because of the actor and it went viral.So, in my opinion, the story is easy to predict, because it is the same as the drama from the neighboring country which was previously released. Even the drama made me cry, but when I watched this I felt normal. Except my heart is happy to see the actor.
Apart from that, most people watch it just because of the actors, it would be too much if this was the best drama. I'm surprised that even the previous drama was much better. This story is too common, come on, really
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
if you don't want some draggy confusing drama plot with cliché leads, don't watch
the ost and acting for this drama is actually a banger. all of these actors really doing great with their characters. but im so sad the plot didn't doing greati think there's just too much unnecessary plot. there's a lot of plot hole where watchers didn't get much proper explanation of the story. like when im sol jumping from one to another timeline, there must be some explanation where im sol got every memories from each timeline. when im sol time traveling for the last time, why suddenly im sol traveling using sunjae's watch instead of the one in her hand, and why she can traveling in traveling time mode(?) when she's not even ended her time travel era first before traveling again??? and it seems like there's no end to her last traveling era? is she living in the past?? and by calculation im sol's soul's age must be around 47 years old by the time she met sunjae again?? isn't it weird?? idk there's just too much weird things and didn't make sense even if you called this fantasy genre.
and there's scenes where it repeated heavily, draggy, and the female lead character getting more annoying as the time goes by (no hate to kim hyeyoon. ik she's just doing amazing acting, im criticizing the writer).
maybe if the writer cut some unnecessary plot and make this drama into 10 or 12 episodes only, the drama would be less draggy and less depressing.
overall i just want to take back all the time I've spent watching this drama... im here just for byeon wooseok 😒😒
Was this review helpful to you?
Lovely Runner: Almost there to the finish line
The cast of Lovely Runner shines brightly. The main leads deliver strong performances, and the seasoned actors hold their own, creating engaging dynamics. The supporting cast does a good job of...well, supporting the leads. However, the show stumbles in its writing.Clichéd Cupid: The romance between the leads, while well-acted, drowns in a sea of overused tropes. What starts as cute quickly becomes repetitive, leaving viewers yearning for something more original.
Time Travel Troubles: The central plot device, the time-slip, is a missed opportunity. The show fails to explain its core mechanic, leaving a gaping hole in the narrative logic. This lack of explanation is frustrating, hindering the audience's ability to fully invest in the story.
Conveniently Ever After: The ending feels rushed and predictable, opting for a simple "happily ever after" conclusion that ignores the complexities established throughout the show. It leaves viewers wanting more depth and a more satisfying resolution... and explanation.
Overall: While the cast is commendable, Lovely Runner banked more on the cutesy romantic feels and that's it. Clichéd romance, unexplained plot points, and a predictable ending prevent the show from reaching its full potential.
Was this review helpful to you?
The curse of the 16 episode Kdrama strikes again
For me, this show was a solid 8.5 when I first started it. I have to say, I had no interest in this show. Then I heard about the plot and how it's about a girl going back in time to save her favorite idol...I thought the plot was so pitiful and sad! I started this out of pity! I just feel like it's sad when you have regrets about people you can't save. And the show didn't disappoint. The start of this show was exhilarating. It was relatable and emotional and so sincere. Then after the sad start, there was the humor, and the love interest developed into one of the more endearing male leads of Dramaland as he wore his heart on his sleeve and was just dorky and handsome at the same time. Not many can pull that off so kudos to Byeon Woo Seok for that. In addition, our leading lady is a tried and guaranteed good actress. The chemistry was sizzling, the plot was engaging, the humor was delightful, and the second male lead was not too annoying...it was all too good to be true. And it was, in fact, too good to be true.It is a truth, universally understood but everyone is too chicken to acknowledge it, that all kdramas have the potential to end on episode 12 but get dragged on for four more episodes until the show loses all its unique charm and rots away in the cesspool of cliched stereotypes. My only wish while watching a kdrama is either for it to end with 12 episodes or if it has to go on, at least go with grace. Very few shows do that.
I was really rooting for this show. I really was. But sadly, the show started to stutter around episode 10/11 and by episode 12, the plot was lost, dead, and buried.
Here's the thing, you need to let your MacGuffin macguffin! You need to let your plot device be a device to drive the plot ahead. Not for the plot to run after the plot device on a bicycle! What I'm trying to say is that a lot of Korean rom-coms add murder mysteries or thriller subplots to their shows both to make them longer and to spice up the plot. And I'm gonna assume at some point this worked but lately, these subplots are becoming so intense, convoluted, and clunky that they totally derail the show and ruin its final arc. Here it was no exception as the plot began to fall into a repetitive cycle, the female lead lost all her brain cells, misunderstandings and miscommunications ensued, and characters actively made choices to sabotage the progress of the story.
Girl, you're traveling back in time. Putting aside the ludicrous shock of such an event, after figuring out the rules (which the show took as guidelines, instead of rules as they frequently and shamelessly broke them for plot convenience) why do you keep repeating the same pattern of behavior, hoping to get different results?!
The plot really fell in a loop. It became exhausting. Then the murderer plot became too big and it was like the villain had extra superpowers because why was he absolutely undefeatable for 16 bloody episodes?!
It was just too much and then episode 15 rushed to close the plotlines while most of episode 16 was fan service. The pace of the show was a mess. They should've established better rules for their universe and stuck to them at least in important plot moments. Unfortunately, logic and narrative were sacrificed for melodramatic effect, ultimately ruining the second half of the show beyond repair.
Now the actors were okay. I would especially say just the mains stood out as good. The side actors were so-so. The subplot of the brother and best friend was really bad. It was boring and wasted time more than anything else. Every other character was written only as background decoration or comic relief, making them too caricaturish to be taken seriously.
Production was minimal but it worked. Music was tolerable I guess. But I was still tired of the ballad by the end.
I won't rewatch this. The second half ruined it for me but the first half will always remain an exceptional "One that got away" for me.
I wish they had done better by the show. It deserved better. It could've been so much better. I still think if you really wanna watch it, it's a good rom-com and the leads' dynamic is worth enjoying. Just maybe prepare to clench your teeth in the second half.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A drag to watch
As you can tell by the number of episodes watched(13/16 at time of writing), I'm having a hard time finishing this show, with about 3~ hours worth of content that I still need to get through to mark it off my list.The same occurred for me with the shows 'Destined with You' and 'What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, and it's not because I don't like romantic drama series or that those two shows are bad by any means, it's just that all these shows have one thing in common, and that's that their stories are non-existent or shallow.
What baffles me is that this show seems to be highly favored on MDL and I still have to find what is so great about it. The majority of people seem to adore the couple, which isn't strange, but aside from that... if you take away that couple and replace them by literally anybody else, what does this show have to offer? It's a highly forgettable show that has the couple carrying it's entire existence, which is telling as a great show overall doesn't need actors carrying it, as great storytelling and great acting ride the boat together down the stream.
The story is shallow and while it starts off interesting, it becomes more and more frustrating to watch..... At the start she has a disability, after 3 episodes it seems that never occurred or existed, they never talk about it again. There is no backstory on the serial killer, nor is there any information on previous killings, nor is there any reasoning given up till episode 13 on WHY exactly he's so hard focusing on this couple, transcending time and space seemingly to get to them at all costs. The serial killer is 1-dimensional, there is nothing else to the character besides being a serial killer.
Personally I think you can remove the serial killer and the time travel and the series would be better for it, as you would have removed two of the weakest elements of the show.
If I had to give an apt description of this show I would say it's similar to eating a single bland cracker, while it may quench hunger for a moment, it leaves a lot to be desired.
If we're going to compare this to other shows with time travel and/or romance elements my personal opinion is as followed:
Time travel romance better done in:
Mr. Queen
Twinkling Watermelon
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
My Perfect Stranger
Chicago Typewriter (Not exactly time travel but timeskips)
Mystery/Crime better done in:
My Perfect Stranger
(Don't recall other shows at the moment, would have to scour through my list of watched shows for that)
Romance/Chemistry better done in:
Gyeongseong Creature
My Dearest
Our Blues (Multiple couples but I'd say this couple the most - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_xuO7s06Tc)
Chicago Typewriter
Tell Me That You Love Me
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A very ordinary time travel story
I had high expectations or maybe because the drama created such a hype, I was hoping for something phenomenal like something hilarious, some healing and a love story to remember but nevermind.it was an average rom com story with time travel twist which become very obvious and boring towards the end.I like the male lead but that isn't enough to be attached with a character or show. I couldn't feel connected to the main characters. I like sun jae at the beginning but his character became unimpressive towards the middle of the show. And I got out of his charms very quickly.
I felt the same for Sol, as someone representing a disable women, I had high hopes for her character but it felt like she didn't cared enough for herself. That was a let down. Both Sol and Sun jae lacked depth in their characters. And there was no relevance of the 2nd leads
Apart from characters, there was no extraordinary plot either. I was Hella bored in between the show. It got super slow. Nothing that amazing happened in the show as I expected. .
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Criminally overrated
The fact that this drama has a 9.1 rating over here has made me lose faith in this website's rating system and the current generation of drama raters.Firstly, apart from the semi-interesting but not original premise of going back in time to save someone, there is not much in this drama, once again, but fluff. Fluff and the usual new-gen formula -- make them fall in love as soon as possible (with hardly any sexual tension). Just make them fall head over heels in love with each other with hardly any conflict at all. And then make it all be cute and fluffy couple scenes. Then when we hit episode 10, insert a totally artificial conflict about a serial killer that the couple must vanquish. What a sad state kdramas are in these days. Except for those, of course, who want nothing but cuteness and fluff, which seems to make up the majority of the new drama viewers, as evidenced by the totally undeserved 9.1 rating.
The drama actually gets off to a relatively good start, but it actually is a bait-and-switch. At first, you think you're getting into a complex drama about time travel, depression, suicide, disability, fan culture -- but all of that seem to exist only in the first episode and are hardly given a second look by the writers for the rest of the drama. Instead, what we actually get is a failed attempt at various disparate genres -- slice of life, teen romance, sci-fi, crime/thriller, comedy. All of these are thrown in the mix but none of them are done well. The slice of life is shallow. The characters that make up the family and neighborhood are just not written well enough to rise above their flatness, and to make you care or feel any real warmth. The teen romance, as I had already mentioned, has no tension at all. It is just there almost from the very start that they are equally smitten with each other. No sexual tension. No conflict. No push/pull. It is romance wrung dry of all negativity, so that what we are left with is a squeaky-clean perfect vision of sunshine and rainbows and heart-eyes and fluff fluff flufffffff that is so perfect that it is utterly boring. We all know that romance and all matters of the heart are fraught with a lot of stormy emotions -- doubt, fear, jealousy, anger. Hardly any of these are portrayed with any conviction. It is just a perfect teen daydrem, utterly bland and uninteresting. But cute!! Don't forget cute because that is what netted the 9.1 rating, that attempt at cuteness. That trying to be as cute as possible. Because apparently the modern drama watcher will go a single awwww and run here and rate it a 10. In my honest opinion, the leads actually lack enough chemistry to elicit any kind of real awwww from me. But maybe that's just me. I never felt any real spark between them. They have the chemistry of siblings, IMO.
As for the sci-fi, which is the time travel element, it is so hollow and thin that it is practically not there. It is obviously used as just a device to create the "interesting premise," but the writers couldn't be bothered to create a clear explanation or rhyme or reason to it. Apparently, the grandmother developed dementia-related superpowers and am able to go beyond time. How or why, no one knows. The comedy is just dismal and does not deserve even a single sentence. The thriller aspect is totally predictable and uninteresting. The killer is just some rando person out to get the couple, again just to serve as a plot device to sub for the missing conflict in the story.
The drama does not even delve into the very real issue of kpop idol depression and suicide, which it selfishly again trivializes and uses as a mere plot device. It does not even go 1-inch deep into this matter. In fact, it is unclear whether the ML actually did commit suicide or was just offed by the killer. The drama does not show whether he truly was depressed. Depression and idol culture are totally shoved under the rug, discarded and forgotten. So is disability. It is used as, again, another plot device to make the drama seem interesting but is magically done away with within the second or third episode and is totally forgotten for the rest of the drama. The drama writers just could not be bothered to insert any depth or substance into their story. Apparently this is the new in thing -- squeaky clean, sanitized fluff that is bleached of all negativity or conflict and of all sexual tension, which it seems is considered by the new generation as "toxic." Romance is apparently toxic nowadays, apart from fluff. Fluff is the only thing that is safe and will not draw the ire of the new woke public.
This drama was actually the final death knell that marked the end of my love affair with Kdrama. After seeing this, I have decided it is high time to stop. There are other, better alternatives, such as Jdorama, which is not as woke, not as sanitized and still has the courage to delve into very real human concerns that at least make you feel something.
As a postscript, I do want to add that this drama has one shining light -- the second male lead! How I wish he would have been the ML instead, but alas. He is, of course, relegated to the sidelines, just like everything else in this drama that could have been good if given better focus and treatment. But again, we are left walking away with nothing but air and fluff. No substance. No depth. No real drama. Just fluff.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Very cheesy drama with plotholes
Started off as one of my fav drama but after ep 12 the story felt dragging and many points were missing from the drama like the story of the taxi driver , the grandmother, how the watch helped Sol to travel back in the past and why did she get another chance to save Sun jae and I felt that there wasn't any personality of Sun Jae other than being a loser for Sol..I wish that it was a drama where Sun Jae actually committed suicide without the taxi driver plot and in the end Sol had to become disable as it is an inevitable fate like they did in Twinkling watermelon and Sol and Sunjae would help each other to overcome their depression...I thought that the drama will be like this but then I was like no it's again that same serial killer plot...my fav character is Tae Sung ...he had the most significant role in the drama because without him Sunjae and Sol wouldn't have a happy endingWas this review helpful to you?
Didn't live up to the set up AT ALL
[We have to acknowledge Sudden Shower being the best OST of 2024. That song carries soo much emotion]PLOT - The synopsis def caught my eye. As much as I typically avoid shows that use time travel but I wanted to see this play out. The set up was too good: a young talented idol gives hope to a girl who seemingly has nothing to live for. She becomes a die-hard fan and attempts to attend his concert one night, but to no avail–That same night he dies tragically after giving one of the most touching performances I've seen in a kdrama. Soon after the FL is magically transported into the past and ends up back in high school with her beloved idol. She uses this strange situation as a chance to save him from the dreadful fate she knows is coming in the future. The pilot is one of the best in a while. It's Oshi No Ko pilot good. After that I expected an uphill trajectory...except that didn't happen. None of the emotional story elements were addressed, and the show had no interest in finishing what it started. Instead the heavier topics were sidelined and character development went out the window to make way for a cop-out happily ever after. Real ones know it was a disservice to all the good this had going for itself. The time travel aspect got more inconsistent the longer this played out. The show also had tone issues at times.
CHARACTERS - I agree about the mains being well acted. BWS IS Ryu Sunjae. Tho she was grating at times, you could tell KHY immersed herself in this role. But even with all the great chemistry neither character progresses. They became devices for fan service and boy was that fan service pushed. Ofc they were cute asf but I couldn't help but feel the shallowness of the relationship. I believe it was a mistake for Sunjae to fall in love with Sol. His first arc was written so well and we lost that so he could become a simp. Once we went from platonic love to romantic, my investment collapsed. I would've been fine with SJ not surviving in the end. That seemed like the natural course of events and would've made this show truly impactful. Had that been the case I'd prob be writing a different review... The SL seemed pointless and only existed as plot device for unnecessary conflict. Seeing more of SJ's dad and his relationship with him would've been nice. In Hyuk served his purpose ok as comedic relief. This show def needed it with all the crying scenes.
The screenwriter here is the same one for True Beauty. Both works mirror each other in the sense of setting up rootable characters and launching difficult subjects only to abandon everything for superficial romance that doesn't feel earned. What a missed oppurtunity to discuss depression and how it affects both regular people and celebrites. Where's the social commentary? Where is the payoff?
In conclusion, this ended up being a big ball of wasted potential. I'd be lying if I said parts of the show didn't still linger. The essence was good and I enjoyed the feels but this didn't live up to what was promised. This had the makings to be one of the best dramas of the year but ended up being just ok. Now back to those OSTs
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Run away from this drama
The story is promising until it becomes unbearable, beginning with some interesting facets, highlighting issues of the wheelchair bound people, parasocial fan culture, mental health struggles, time travel and the rules of this particular version. Once Sol and Seon Jae meet, there is no chemistry though the engaging mystery of the lead figuring out her situation and how it works kept the pace going, but soon there is clearly not enough plot to to sustain 9 episodes, let alone 16 episodes of hour+ runtime because it just relies on tropes to pad out the runtime with all of the interesting set up just abruptly ending, unexplored and unaddressed. What the drama became was like the writer is actually desperate to write a comedy and is also really bad at it. There are so many shouty scenes of endless misunderstood moments, withholding information and intentions, stupid testosterone contests, side characters bickering that go on forever.The acting of the leads aren't good enough to elevate anything either. The second lead Tae Sung is comparatively better than the rest and the character is the only one that has growth and change throughout the story which helps to make his quirky scenes that don't involve the inane one upmanship with Seon Jae, actually funny. Sol has always acted immature even as a 34 year old adult and her entire focus just revolves around Seon Jae when she goes back in time. She doesn't get to have an substantial moments to develop her bond with other people like her family who were also facing some serious problems like her mom's health, her grandma's eventual mental decline, or even her friend and future sister in law. Everyone is just a comedy bit. Even Tae Sung with his father when he rushes to the hospital after his dad was nearly killed by the escaped serial killer, the show just leaves it at a comedy bit. Seon Jae is actually even more immature as a 34 year old in all iterations of his life and also doesn't have a single serious moment with his father. The leads have no dimension in addition to no chemistry, so their relationship has no weight. Truck sama wiping out the serial killer is the ultimate lazy conclusion. They should have had Sol behind the wheel at least. The show hates depth and characterization. The sky high mdl rating as of this writing confounds me, there are dramas that are way better that don't have anywhere as near high ratings.
I do not recommend this drama. If you want a well done time travel back to high school plot to save a guy, watch Love for Love's Sake.
Was this review helpful to you?
