Nothing's perfect, but this is close

So I've never written a review before, and I posted this in the comments section, then was suggested by a commenter to put this in the review section hahaha. So here I am, with some editing done to this review I originally wrote. The only 'spoiler' is whether it has a happy or sad ending for this drama, but I wouldn't categorise the rest as spoilers.

First off, let's just say nothing's perfect, but if there's something close to perfection, I think this one is close to it for its genre. I'd 100% rewatch it. In fact, I just can't find another mystery, crime and romance drama quite like this one right now and am currently in a slump, watching random dramas that just doesn't give me the same feeling as this one, and even contemplating rewatching if I can't find any others (and probably will rewatch it soon).

Some say the ending is rather rushed, and while I agree somewhat, I think it's still a great ending. The balance between mystery, suspense, humour and romance was great. I can't say it was excellent, but I'd give it a 9.5/10 for this show over all, particularly for its fast-pace that really made every moment interesting. Kudos to the scriptwriters because the script and plot were amazing! (I mean, I heard that apparently one of the scriptwriters was the writer of the novel this was based on. But the drama is actually better than the novel, and you can consider the novel as a draft and the drama as something that was based on that draft. That's what I heard anyways).

I love all the characters (the actors did a great job portraying them! The really deserve more credit than they are and I wish them al the best in their future dramas!) The story doesn't follow the bad cliches, and is honestly a hidden gem. They resolved everything, tied everything up, mysteries and details were consistent and made sense, no annoying cliches between females, honestly didn't drag at all, and it had a very happy ending. The romance definitely wasn't the focus, but it was definitely there, and I say it's GOOD romance. Respectful male lead and mature female lead with a cute face (and personality), but ACTUALLY USEFUL and NOT annoying. The mystery is all linked together and it's interesting until the end, at least in my opinion.

Honestly, for those who are looking for something with a bit of everything, but most importantly, wonderful characterisations, no cringy humour, great side-plot romance (for those who avoid romance because it's usually bad, well, there is absolutely NO NEED to worry about that here AT ALL!) with a focus on mystery, then this would be your cup of tea. I personally like stories with romance, but I will avoid anything that has bad romance. This had a great plot and a great mystery, but if it had bad romance, I wouldn't watch it. If it had no romance, then I can consider it - in short, I avoid any drama with typical, annoying depictions of romance.

But seriously, it's a series that shows that a plot can be INTERESTING and CAPTIVATING without all the useless and stupid relationship drama or other cliches that are sometimes used to drive the plot. With well-packed mysteries and fun dialogue, avoiding most cliches (and leaving the good ones) it's honestly praiseworthy. I looked at the recommendations list for this drama and none of the shows on the list is quite like this one.

Special note: THE MUSIC. There was one episode where it the ost was just PERFECTLY times and used. There's also a song called 此生来了 (This Life is Not Over) in the drama and I'm in love with it. Unlike perhaps most others who have perhaps hundreds, or thousands of songs on their playlist, my current playlist only has 9 songs HAHA. I've had dozens of songs before, but then I cut it down to 21 specific songs. Then I cut it down to around 8 this year, and now it has 9 because I added this song HAHA. I do have my personal reasons for being this picky with songs, but either way, it managed to be picked by me and I've been listening to it on repeat ever since XD I only gave 'music' a 9.5 because it wasn't perfect all the time in the drama, and same with the acting. But honestly, the plot is the tightest plot I've been exposed to with really not a moment of boredom, though there is one moment I could think of that made me actually go UGH but that was just a very, very brief few minutes and can be over looked. I'm perfectly fine with rewatching the scene when I rewatch the drama again.

The reason I gave it an overall 10 is because it is close to perfection in my heart. Like I said, I believe nothing is perfect, so a 10 is my way of saying it's the closest to perfection.

My one biggest wish was to see a bit more kissing scenes because there's really not a lot, but their romance is wonderful without it still.

Anyways, give it a try at least. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but you never know until you try.

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Amazing power couple leads in a self-contained world with morally grey characters.

I watched for the amazing main leads, they were absolutely awesome, an absolute power couple! Sure, the actions of many of the other characters seemed stupid, but in such a high-pressure environment, it's inevitable. I was really sad about some deaths, especially when some really didn't deserve it, that made me say, but perhaps that's just how life is.

It felt like this apartment complex in lockdown was like its own self-contained world, each character reflecting the different types of people and choices that would realistically happen in the larger world, but on a smaller scale. Meanwhile, at least our leads weren't stupid, and I loved them for being calm, rational, intelligent, and an awesome pair! Honestly, MVP goes to Han Tae Sook, his character was seriously awesome in my opinion. In a sense, without his decisions and his intelligence, maybe things wouldn't have turned out as well as he did.

No one's ever black and white in this story, and I love how this show doesn't push ethics in our faces. I think there's definitely a lot of ethical issues with the way people handled things, the obvious and not-so-obvious issues, but each character was never either black nor white, even our leads, because they were willing to see the world burn for each other lol (well, not really, kinda towards the end, but even if they did just want to watch the world burn happily and do nothing about it, I'd be on their side HAHA). And honestly, it made me truly think about this world as a whole - we can blame people all we want for making certain potentially bad decisions, but we never know what drives them to do what they do, and sometimes, that could simply be love for your wife. Selfish as it may be, I honestly can understand these motives.

Then there are the absolute devils that deserve to literally burn with no way of redemption. >.> No pity for them. Sometimes the 'normal' humans are the monsters, not the zombies. No surprise there.

Then again, there's also no need to think too deeply imo, just like how it doesn't push ethics in our faces, it can make us viewers think about issues, but it's really not THAT heavy. I've watched others with much heavier exploration of humanity, although I can't remember any off the top of my head.

Anyways. I don't think it's perfect, but scores are always subjective. I'm giving it a 10/10 because I highly enjoyed it. Romance definitely wasn't the focus, at least, it wasn't pushed in your face, but with the way the two leads cared for and thought of each other, it was just as romantic as kisses. Romance was more prevalent in the last two episodes for sure, but it was there throughout, and I genuinely love such a tacit, understanding pair that would protect each other so naturally. Anymore romance drama in this sort of show would've ruined it. Sure, maybe I'd have liked a bit more romantic moments, but I prefer this than those where the writer ruins a romance by causing unnecessary conflicts between the two leads - that ALWAYS ruins it for me, ESPECIALLY when they're meant to be intelligent, calm, and reasonable ADULTS.

Give it a watch if you enjoy some zombies, mystery, a virus, contemplating human nature (although, really, it wasn't overly heavy), and a speck of romance that's obviously there through their mutual understanding and friendship with each other and the last two eps. It was enjoyable and honestly, if you can just focus on the two leads and be happy with them being the logical and intelligent ones (and the adorable kid Seo-Yoon) most of the other characters' stupid/misinformed/interest-fueled actions isn't that big of a deal. I enjoyed watching the complexity of human nature in them actually.

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It's good but there are much better ones...

Let me just preface saying: I absolutely don't watch amnesia dramas. Even if the amnesia happened before the start of the drama. Obviously this was an exception. And I do admit that I think the amnesia aspect was handled better than in most other dramas, so that's a bonus. So in a way it helped this drama gain an extra star from a 6 to a 7.

Anyways.

As much as I want to like this highly recommended Memory Lost drama, not to mention the original source, the novel, is written from the same author as 'When a Snail Falls in Love' and 'Love Me If You Dare', and 'Glamorous Time', but it was a slight disappointment. I had higher hopes because the WASFIL and LMIYD are one of my favourites in the psychology-crime-romance genre (I ESPECIALLY liked the novel versions of the two stories way more than the drama versions. Although WASFIN's drama adaptation was actually pretty good imo, at least it didn't change anything major... if memory serves me right. I read it a while ago) and I enjoyed Glamorous Time drama too (haven't read the novel yet).

There were a few reasons for the disappointment in this drama, but I think the main reason is because the FL just wasn't quite the FL type I like. I can ignore certain plot holes in dramas, I can even ignore bad acting (although the acting was ok in general in this one) but the FL herself was... a little annoying, childish in her actions, and her character just wasn't mature enough, except for maybe her IQ when it comes to psychology and I do like how she's actually physically strong too and isn't a damsel in distress. But otherwise... the way she gets heated up over the smallest things (childish)... Although it didn't lead to any major consequences, but still, it was a bit annoying. She seems to overreact a lot too. Having said that, I didn't dislike how she always complimented herself, nor her confidence etc. She wasn't entirely overconfident to ignore others' suggestions too. I guess her good side did outweigh her faults because now I'm going on to watch season 2... (side note: all three seasons should just be one season, I have no idea why they split into 3, each season is just a direct continuation of the previous) Although I can say that she isn't as annoying as the FLs of other dramas and she has her redeeming points, hence I kept watching.

About the ML, he's the typical cool male lead. Tbh I was more or less fine with him but I think there were a few times where I went 'why the heck did you say that???' or 'why did you act that way???' But overall, more bearable than the FL tbh. Considering I don't remember anything specific, he definitely left a better impression on me than the FL hahaha.

I think the FL really dragged my ratings down from a potential 8/9 to a 7. My 8 or 9 rating would've disregarded some plotholes etc. but everything considered, I brought it to a 7. It could just be me since I seem to see a lot of people liking the FL and I would to if she just wasn't so... immature. It could be the directing. Maybe the novel version of her is better - I'll only know when I read it, if I'm not turned off from reading it because of this drama adaptation.

As for the crime and mystery aspect, the moment I saw the office set, I knew immediatly not to take the crime aspect of this drama seriously. Sometimes, I feel, you can just tell by the set what sort of drama it would be. In this case, the set for the police offices and rooms just weren't realistic enough. Too... fantasised maybe? Well I was right not to nitpick things, like the FL wearing heals is a big one. Kudos to the actress running in them... Also, there does seem to be some plot holes that existed that I chose to ignore.

I don't know how it compares to the novel. However, novels aside, this drama... maybe it's the directing, maybe it's how it was adapted, but it just didn't seem to be anywhere close to WASFIL, LMIYD and even GT dramas. I'm still in the process of watching season 2 and if it passes my vibe, maybe I'll continue onto season 3 and see.

Oh, I don't usually rewatch dramas unless it's really right up my ally, plus the plot of this drama is something I generally wouldn't watch to begin with, so that's why the re-watch value is only 1 for me. I don't feel like I need to go through it again.

But the above is just my two cents. :)

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