Lovely Runner (2024)

An unexpected storyline

When I first started this show I expected a storyline where the FL would go back in time to save the ML and help him deal with this mental health problems. However it quickly moved in another direction with numerous time jumps as main storylines, as someone that usually doesn't like this type of drama, I really liked it in this instance.

The only thing I found lacking was that the ML felt a bit one dimensional at times with not a lot of character, besides his shoulder injury there are not really other storylines about him (that don't involve FL or her kidnapping/time jumping)

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Perfect example of a series being carried by a good looking Male lead. Please beware.

I feel so bad. I've reviewed some titles lately and many of them were terrible. The crazy thing is that I've seen some incredible shows lately, yet I've never had the time to review them. The Atypical Family, King the Land, Queen of Tears, and Perfect Marriage Revenge, These are some of the best K-dramas I've ever seen and my personal list for best shows of the past two years. And the reason why I've never written a review for them is cause I'm immediately rewatching my favorite scenes over and over. I go back to reddit and watch the episode recaps and usually I get to see people share the same love and excitement I had for the series.

But when shows don't respect your time and they can be a complete miss, that's when I feel the need to write. Lovely Runner is one of those examples. Despite all the love for the shows above, I could not get away from people recommending Runner or at least including it on a "must watch" list. So let me keep this sort. My verdict is this, it's a poorly written show. It tackles extremely sensitive subjects with juvenile intelligence that doesn't make any sense, given the plot.

The Fl is extremely dim-witted and childish. Which makes no sense given that she's supposed to be approaching her mid 30's. She gets the chance to save a friend but makes it a completely linear goal, void of intelligent thought. With how sensitive suicide has become for it to be a subject in a drama, the approach from this show baffles me. Our FL gets the chance to save her friend, but she can't openly state what the future will be. That's fine. She's actually 30, so she could comfort her friend. Become his friend. Openly talk to him, allow him to express his feelings and learn whatever darkness he has, right? Well, she doesn't do that. Instead, she becomes a 15 year old high school girl with a one way track of thought. She forces the ML to avoid anything to do with his future career. Becomes overprotective with no communication as to why. No character buildup to demonstrate how or why she cares. No chemistry. Do you understand how confusing irritating that can be? So I go online to reddit and I'm relieved to see so many others agreeing with how annoying she is, but also her intelligence. Why do they love each other? There's no clear answer, no writing to explain, no chemistry to show. It's just... bad. If you have ever watch Run On, you'll remember how strange and dimwitted the ML was. This show has the FL equivalent perfectly.

There really isn't much to say beyond that. I mean, the writer does throw in a serial killer and why not? Let's just throw in another trope when the others don't even make sense or help. As for the ML. Well, I'm a straight man, but even I can admit when another man has won the genetic lottery. He is handsome, there's no other way to put it. Has everything. But I've watched many of his past shows, there's a reason he's been playing support for the past decade. He's not a bad actor, I just strongly believe you need something more than a baby face to be a lead. And this guy just doesn't have it.

Suicide is nothing to balk at. It's a tough subject that demands slow caution and careful writing. I'm not suggest the show doesn't respect the subject itself, it just shows that the writer doesn't understand it. Never use it as a plot device when you don't know how to properly approach it, especially in 2024. Along with that, I just can't recommend this show. Dropped.

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Solid typical K-drama with a time travel twist

If anyone were to recommend a k-drama to get into k-dramas, this would be a good one.

It has the modern day green flag male falling for oblivious distsy female, with a sprinkle of second lead. And can't forgot a random thriller twist that all Korean romance dramas need to have! In this one, we have a psychopath who is out to kill the male lead.

If you watched Someday or One Day, the Taiwanese drama, the time traveling kind of reminds me of that. But they were able to incorporate their own flair to time traveling to make it so clever and binge-worthy.

It's crazy this one psychopath serial killer affected their lives so much. A little too draggy for me. And as a result, there was way too much filler for me towards the end. I couldn't even watch the last episode cause I know it'll be filler. It's not a romance k-drama without a random cute date of visiting stores and winning plushies! I also couldn't stand the female lead and her siloed decisions. She is literally the (lovely) runner.

The music, is phenomenal.

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lighthearted stretched out romance

the show is lighthearted. even at the most 'thrilling' moments, the show doesn't really take itself seriously that way. those moments are a shock value at best.
watch if you want a feel good but mildly complicated mildly funny show. the romance is like high school romance x idol-fan romance. fluffy puppy love?.
plot:
it's nothing new. but some elements in the first episode drew me in. like a fl in a wheelchair. i liked her acting. but this angle wasn't explored much, to my disappointment. All other serious topics like suicide, suicide prevention etc are also conveniently wrapped up, and discarded. TBH, if the first ep wasnt so serious-like i wouldnt have watched the show.
romance is the center in this drama. literally, the side characters' arcs are all over the place. There are many 'twists', that seem very unnecessary. They drag the show on and make it very tiring. i feel like the show could've been a lot more crisp.
similarity with extraordinary you:
KHY's character, IS is the heavy lifter of the show. she's running around and doing all of the 'stuff'. others just exist or show up in the nick of time. The tunnel focus on the romance is also similar in nature. There's also no villain per say.
that is why I feel like the target audience of the show must be younger people. like middle schoolers. the pining nature of the romance, the stretched out length, slight sprinkle of danger, whiny dialogue delivery (much to my chagrin). yaah.
nature of romance:
since romance is the centre point, i feel like it deserves a section. Both fl and ml are really into each other. They have good chemistry. I didnt find any glaring problematic sequences of mistreatment or abuse. The ml is green flag. The poor chap is clueless all the time, yet he figures what the fl is upto just by observing her. He's into her that much. They both put the other before themselves, so it checks out. The theme / flavour of romance changes according to the setting. idol x fan, next door neighbor, school sweethearts, longtime flame. Highlights a 'against all odds approach' . "No matter what the situation or stakes, my choice shall be the same". It was heartwarming to watch.
honorable mentions:
Tae song, his arc changes quite a bit. not explored much
In Hyuk, ultimate wingman.
Grandma, attempt of writers to make sense the 'twists'.

If you liked extraordinary you i think you will like this too. Dont go in expecting something serious. Its all just very lighthearted. not serious at all.

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Form your own opinion of the show/ igonre the reviews

If you are having doubts about watching this cause of the bad reviews, don't listen to them. Form your own opinion on this show cause honestly, it's not that bad.


My thoughts on the show:

-Episode 1: This is so good why are people hating on it?

-Episode 3: I almost dropped it cause I was not too fond of her returning to the future and her past self not knowing what she knows.

-Episode 4: The brother & best friend contribute nothing, just a waste of screen time.

-Episode 5: I like it so far but why tf are we adding murder and kidnapping to this?

-Episode 8: I like that there was no time travel in this episode and it is just their new lives in 2023.

-Episode 9: so I'm guessing time doesn't stop if she says she's from the future, only if she says details from the future?

-Episode 10: okay so now we are changing the future again which I like. Also, why tf was this negatively reviewed bombed? Like it's not gonna be my favorite drama but it's better than average.

-Episode 11: The ML is so adorable, his love for the FL is so cute. So far this was my favorite episode.

-Episode 12: Sol is kinda dumb... I agree with someone else's comment "Wouldn't it change the future if you went with them instead of staying in the same town you saw getting yourself hurt?!?? "

-Episode 13: how can she give her brother numbers to win prize money in the future? Why didn't time stop? Is that allowed now? Isn't that telling her brother about the future? I guess there are more loopholes to telling someone about the future, as long as it's not super detailed about others' lives or their own. I also think if they figure it out themselves then it's also okay.
-Well, at least he's not dead. It's sad though because in the first timeline, he loved her, and she didn't know, In the second timeline she knew he loved her and they loved each other later on. In the third timeline only she knows that they love each other and she loves him from afar.

-Episode 14: I like how they turned down the craziness for this episode.

-Episode 15: honestly this show isn't bad, it just feels like the writer didn't know where to go with the plotline and went in all directions. It's funny how this is a sci-fi show, a cop show, a romance show, a slice of life. I don't mind it but I can see how others didn't like how it didn't just pick one genre and stuck with it.

-Episode 16- The FL can be dumb at times but honestly she's not annoying idk why the reviews say that.

----->Final Thoughts:
I saw a review saying that the ending was unsatisfying, I don't agree. I do believe logic is thrown out the window in this show and it can drag towards the end but overall the show itself was good. It won't be one of my top Kdramas but I do believe it deserves a higher rating then what the reviews are giving it. I also saw someone saying that this Kdrama is overrated, I don't think it's highly rated enough. So many of the reviews that I first saw when I thought about watching this show were the lowest of the low. They were all saying stuff about the show. I don't think this is a 10-star show in my opinion but I don't agree with most reviews rating this drama less than 4 stars. I should sometimes stop listening to reviews because Goblin is one of the most praised and popular Kdramas ever and yet I hated the main characters and couldn't even finish it.

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emotional rollercoaster

firstly, I rlly liked how they capture the moment very well. I could experience how the characters felt, in certain heartfelt moments. this drama felt like I could just turn off my brain and just absorb all the emotions. there were a few loopholes, but I don't rlly care too much about them as it is to be expected. their explanation on the concept about time travel felt a little ambiguous, I think they purposely did so , so that they would be able to make certain scenes happen. the story felt long winded and sometimes predictable. I hated how at the end of like ep 3 ( I can't remember whether is it 2 3 or 4) they used time travel as the excused to Im sol not hearing seon jae's confession on the recording. couldn't u at least make up a better excuse? it was quite frustrating. the chemistry between the leads... um I am a sucker for romance so my opinion is very biased. the acting to the create the different characters was done well. what do y'all think?

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I'm in love with the main couple and I will sure as hell be watching their other projects. I'm a big fan of them both. It was super cute, engaging and well-paced but the plot was at some point too frustating and took the easy path. It was always the same sh*t happening... Ending was really simple in the end so not very satisfying imo. That being said, Lovely Runner has one of the best last episode but not because of how things wrapped up plot-wise (with the Villain) but because we finally had our MLs happy without worrying about anything or breaking up or whatever !!! Liked it overall

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Good but not great

First off, I really love all the actors. Byeon Woo Soek has solidified his place as an A list actor in Korea. I first saw him in Record of Youth but this role is where he really shined. He has come a long way.

I have to say, I did not like the script. I hated the back and forth so many times and just couldn’t keep up.

The music was fantastic. “Rain Shower” is so beautiful. And!!!!! “A Day” by my favorite group (Ateez) member Jongo!! So great!

Also, it was funny how the “bromance” reminded me of True Beauty. I really liked the other guy and also her brother and family!

It took me forever to get through this series but I’m glad I did. As for time travel though, I prefer Twinkling Watermelon.

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Personal Feedback

I'll start with the actors — The actors did a really great job portraying their characters. It's like it was made especially for them to act. From the female lead crying and acting tough and the male lead acting like an idol, swimmer, etc.., to the antagonists annoying the hell out of me. Bonus point to that is the chemistry of everyone.

For the plot — I have seen other K-Drama with the same "time-traveling" plot, but this one added some twist & turns on it. It kept me on edge until the end. Usually, when I watch K-Drama, I skip 1/4 of its scenes as there are of course awkward and cringey scenes but this one, if you're into sweet, kind-of childish couple, you would find yourself watching almost every part of it without skipping.

Finally, for the storyline — Of course, this isn't a perfect one. You would still find holes in the story such as "why is the grandma like this" or "why is the watch the "portal"" but I guess that might get answered by the Season 2.

Overall, it's not a new concept of K-Drama, but it does deserve the hype.

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I watched about half of this drama, spurred on by glowing reviews, but even that much felt like a forced march. From the ML instantly falling so hard for the FL that his love endured through years of separation to the way that the FL’s crush on her idol became a reality because they’d known each other before, the romance struck me as kind of tweenies, and immature tweenies at that. I also kept wanting to shout, “WAIT, THINK!,” whenever the FL’s poor self-preservation skills made her do questionable things. Plus, once again South Korea seems to be the serial killer capital of the world. Because it can’t be true love unless someone wants to kill you.

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