MistyMaid
United States
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I really didn't want to watch this drama and judged the quality of the drama by its' cover, quite literally. I looked at the cover art for the show and immediately swiped left. There is no denying the veteran experience Kang Ji Hwan holds. He's one of the few actors who survived and endured the changing times of Dramaland during the early romantic comedy age in the early 2000s. I noticed that it's hard for actors who held male leads and popular during the early 2000s to hold onto their household celebrity notoriety and continue to be relevant and recognized in the industry today. One such actor that endured and managed to continue to stay relevant is Gong Yoo (at least more or less). Does anybody remember Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy (really weird drama name by the way)? That was the drama that launched Gong Yoo's fame to stardom. Or Lee Byung Hun? Although, he's reached far beyond Korean Drama stardom now and exploded into global stardom.
Anyways, my point is, Kang Ji Hwan has struggled a bit trying to keep his name relevant in the eyes of the audience. One of my reasons for not wanting to watch this drama is because of Kang Ji Hwan. And when judging the drama by its cover art, I thought it was going to be another stupid-romantic-comedy-antic-trope-type of show. Just full of cliches and typical stereotype situations and characters. But I was very bored one day and gave this show a chance and see what it was all about. And, I'm glad I did!
STORY: It's not unusual now to see dramas with some element of the fantasy/supernatural. It creates for a more interesting story, setting, and development of characters, but only when utilized in the right way at the right time. One example is, Black Knight. It had a good set up in it's world building when it came to its fantasy element but the writer seemed to have a hard time meshing the two worlds together (or maybe didn't want to) and continue to keep them separated almost the entire drama until the very end (really annoying). Feel Good To Die had a nice little supernatural element to it where it wasn't too much or too little. It was just the right amount of supernatural shenanigans to create fun chaos and a little push for our characters to spring into action with overdoing it.
While watching the first few episodes, I was worried that the show would turn out be without ANY romance it and be a slice-of-life, comedy, etc. focused drama, for example, Miseang, Angry Mom, Memory, etc. Granted, those dramas did have romance in it but it was more like a splash of romantic antics and was more like a side dish than the main one. I'm a sucker for romance and enjoy a few angsty scenes, haha, but was worried I would be wasting my time. Luckily, I was not disappointed in my desire for romance. It's not the main genre but it co-eds with another genre to create a lovely mix of rom-com life slice. As the drama goes on, you will see a good mix and weaving of comedic scenes, slice of life moments, and romantic pauses. The story definitely develops nicely towards the end but the ending itself probably could've used a little more nuanced touch, but nothings perfect.
CHARACTERS: One complaint I had was that some of the main/side antagonist characters were a little overdone or completely unnecessary and simply existed for a momentary arc that didn't really push the story forward. But the little gem factor of this drama are the progression of the characters and how they develop and change over time. Especially the main male lead. At first, he's someone who has no regards for others with carries a ridiculously high expectations for others as he does with himself. But what I'm most happy to find out is that his personality is not because of some sad sob story from his past to explain his own flaws. Sometimes, people just grow up a particular way and not because of some traumatic history/past. It was refreshing to see a main character just be who they are because that's how they ended up becoming in life.
Jin Sang is just a man, who has high standards for himself and those around him and views those who do not meet his expectations as simply lazy or incapable. This is not a cruel or mean trait but just his acute perspective of the world. It's neither wrong nor right. He believes that if he works as hard as he does and is able to make it in the world as he has, others should follow suit if they want to be happy and successful, instead of complaining about their problems in life. He considers complaining and defenses as excuses for their own lack of will and determination. And to a degree, he might be right but because of his starkly black and white perspective of the world, he neglects to see the grey parts and, therefore, struggles to understand more complicated emotions and situations.
ACTING/CAST: The cast did a good job bringing their characters to life and creating a fun synergy among one another. Baek Jin Hee really brought a helpful and optimistic Lee Roo Da to the table, but without being overly cheerful and peppy, if you know what I mean. You have no idea how many times I've seen a super happy, smile and grit, endure through the pain kind of female characters I've seen, only to cringe through it all. Baek Jin Hee's Lee Roo Da is a good example of a strong female lead. And by strong female lead, I don't mean willfully strong 'I-can-endure-and-bear-through-anything', I mean someone who thinks for themselves and takes matters into their own hands no matter what the male lead character or any character does or says. Doesn't just endure through it but does something about it.
Kang Ji Hwan: As mentioned before, he's one of the male actors from the early 2000s drama-times that has survived through all the changes that Dramaland has been through and still stay relevant. Unfortunately, one of the reasons why I didn't want to watch this drama was because of Kang Ji Hwan. If you've watched his previous dramas, you may notice that Ji Hwan had this acting tick that consistently showed through in almost every one of his dramas. He had this head jerk-swaying motion that he always did through intense and/or poignant scenes. I think this is just something that came naturally to him while acting, but it eventually becomes off putting (at least for me) when you see it all the time. He also wasn't the greatest with being nuanced and subtle in scenes that called for it to create a particular kind of moment. He can sometimes over exaggerate his acting as well so when watching this, I was expecting to see some of that when it came to Kang Ji Hwan's character Baek Jin Sang. I am happy to say though that I'm pleasantly surprised by Ji Hwan's efforts in keeping his head jerk-swaying motions at a minimum to portray Baek Jin Sang the way he wanted to. It still comes out every now and then but he's made great strides in controlling it compared to the past. His portrayal of Baek Jin Sang is also very refreshing. Ji Hwan has showed his hard work in delivering a character we never knew he could play and with such subtlety and dynamic nuances as Baek Jin Sang goes on this moral and social transformation. It wasn't perfect but definitely a great first step in improvement. I'm so happy for him!
MUSIC: No complaints. I'm not someone to pick on music unless it's really horrible or amazing.
OVERALL: This drama is about a two people's unlikely partnership to become better people in their own respective ways. Because of the mysterious time loops, they are thrown in some funny and silly situations but as time goes on, they also learn more about the people around them and, more importantly, learn more about themselves and who they want to become. The weird antics of time loops push Lee Roo Da and Baek Jin Sang into weird, wacky, vulnerable and heartwarming moments of life and what they decide to do in those moments.
WHO SHOULD WATCH THIS? This is a drama that mixes several genres together to create a nice blended, feel-good-about-humanity drama with a nice layer of dusted romance on top. Not super gushy but has it's cute moments. :)
Anyways, my point is, Kang Ji Hwan has struggled a bit trying to keep his name relevant in the eyes of the audience. One of my reasons for not wanting to watch this drama is because of Kang Ji Hwan. And when judging the drama by its cover art, I thought it was going to be another stupid-romantic-comedy-antic-trope-type of show. Just full of cliches and typical stereotype situations and characters. But I was very bored one day and gave this show a chance and see what it was all about. And, I'm glad I did!
STORY: It's not unusual now to see dramas with some element of the fantasy/supernatural. It creates for a more interesting story, setting, and development of characters, but only when utilized in the right way at the right time. One example is, Black Knight. It had a good set up in it's world building when it came to its fantasy element but the writer seemed to have a hard time meshing the two worlds together (or maybe didn't want to) and continue to keep them separated almost the entire drama until the very end (really annoying). Feel Good To Die had a nice little supernatural element to it where it wasn't too much or too little. It was just the right amount of supernatural shenanigans to create fun chaos and a little push for our characters to spring into action with overdoing it.
While watching the first few episodes, I was worried that the show would turn out be without ANY romance it and be a slice-of-life, comedy, etc. focused drama, for example, Miseang, Angry Mom, Memory, etc. Granted, those dramas did have romance in it but it was more like a splash of romantic antics and was more like a side dish than the main one. I'm a sucker for romance and enjoy a few angsty scenes, haha, but was worried I would be wasting my time. Luckily, I was not disappointed in my desire for romance. It's not the main genre but it co-eds with another genre to create a lovely mix of rom-com life slice. As the drama goes on, you will see a good mix and weaving of comedic scenes, slice of life moments, and romantic pauses. The story definitely develops nicely towards the end but the ending itself probably could've used a little more nuanced touch, but nothings perfect.
CHARACTERS: One complaint I had was that some of the main/side antagonist characters were a little overdone or completely unnecessary and simply existed for a momentary arc that didn't really push the story forward. But the little gem factor of this drama are the progression of the characters and how they develop and change over time. Especially the main male lead. At first, he's someone who has no regards for others with carries a ridiculously high expectations for others as he does with himself. But what I'm most happy to find out is that his personality is not because of some sad sob story from his past to explain his own flaws. Sometimes, people just grow up a particular way and not because of some traumatic history/past. It was refreshing to see a main character just be who they are because that's how they ended up becoming in life.
Jin Sang is just a man, who has high standards for himself and those around him and views those who do not meet his expectations as simply lazy or incapable. This is not a cruel or mean trait but just his acute perspective of the world. It's neither wrong nor right. He believes that if he works as hard as he does and is able to make it in the world as he has, others should follow suit if they want to be happy and successful, instead of complaining about their problems in life. He considers complaining and defenses as excuses for their own lack of will and determination. And to a degree, he might be right but because of his starkly black and white perspective of the world, he neglects to see the grey parts and, therefore, struggles to understand more complicated emotions and situations.
ACTING/CAST: The cast did a good job bringing their characters to life and creating a fun synergy among one another. Baek Jin Hee really brought a helpful and optimistic Lee Roo Da to the table, but without being overly cheerful and peppy, if you know what I mean. You have no idea how many times I've seen a super happy, smile and grit, endure through the pain kind of female characters I've seen, only to cringe through it all. Baek Jin Hee's Lee Roo Da is a good example of a strong female lead. And by strong female lead, I don't mean willfully strong 'I-can-endure-and-bear-through-anything', I mean someone who thinks for themselves and takes matters into their own hands no matter what the male lead character or any character does or says. Doesn't just endure through it but does something about it.
Kang Ji Hwan: As mentioned before, he's one of the male actors from the early 2000s drama-times that has survived through all the changes that Dramaland has been through and still stay relevant. Unfortunately, one of the reasons why I didn't want to watch this drama was because of Kang Ji Hwan. If you've watched his previous dramas, you may notice that Ji Hwan had this acting tick that consistently showed through in almost every one of his dramas. He had this head jerk-swaying motion that he always did through intense and/or poignant scenes. I think this is just something that came naturally to him while acting, but it eventually becomes off putting (at least for me) when you see it all the time. He also wasn't the greatest with being nuanced and subtle in scenes that called for it to create a particular kind of moment. He can sometimes over exaggerate his acting as well so when watching this, I was expecting to see some of that when it came to Kang Ji Hwan's character Baek Jin Sang. I am happy to say though that I'm pleasantly surprised by Ji Hwan's efforts in keeping his head jerk-swaying motions at a minimum to portray Baek Jin Sang the way he wanted to. It still comes out every now and then but he's made great strides in controlling it compared to the past. His portrayal of Baek Jin Sang is also very refreshing. Ji Hwan has showed his hard work in delivering a character we never knew he could play and with such subtlety and dynamic nuances as Baek Jin Sang goes on this moral and social transformation. It wasn't perfect but definitely a great first step in improvement. I'm so happy for him!
MUSIC: No complaints. I'm not someone to pick on music unless it's really horrible or amazing.
OVERALL: This drama is about a two people's unlikely partnership to become better people in their own respective ways. Because of the mysterious time loops, they are thrown in some funny and silly situations but as time goes on, they also learn more about the people around them and, more importantly, learn more about themselves and who they want to become. The weird antics of time loops push Lee Roo Da and Baek Jin Sang into weird, wacky, vulnerable and heartwarming moments of life and what they decide to do in those moments.
WHO SHOULD WATCH THIS? This is a drama that mixes several genres together to create a nice blended, feel-good-about-humanity drama with a nice layer of dusted romance on top. Not super gushy but has it's cute moments. :)
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