This review contains spoilers.
I think the two romantic relationships had great chemestry, but the main couple had some things that made me less excited to root for them. I hated that she took advantadge of his illness, it was a really shitty move that a good person would never do, specially a person who has a blind brother and knows how difficult life is for him. And specially a person who knows he has trust issues because somebody betrayed him and he can't even trust his family. I also didn't like the whole in love with fake Veronica and in love with the secretary, beause the way he came to the conclusion he was in love with the secretary felt forced. And I also think the forgiveness after he finds out about what she did was very rushed. I think the main couple had good chemestry, and their kisses weren't awkward, but that I wish their storyline would've been different.
Regarding the other pairing, I really loved them. Veronica Park easily stole the show, I loved how she was hurt by others but that didn't make her mean even if she pretended she was. She always tried to help and was honest and vulnerable.
I don't think I'll rewatch this drama, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't original or very special. I think the only scene it burned on my brain was how the male main character reacted to knowing his secretary lied to him, about how his illness affects him on is daily life. And how our facial expressions are part of human interactions and you can feel isolated when you can't see them anymore.

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It could've been better.

What was refreshing about this story is that the main couple communicated what made them worry and shared their struggles with each other, so a lot of misscommunication and missunderstanding tropes that you see used for cheap angs all the time were avoided. I really enjoyed them working on themselves as people and learning to put boundaries and the idea that for yourself to be on a relationship and for it to be healthy, you have to speak your mind and also think of yourself. And that there should be a balance in between loving yourself but not thinking only about yourself to the point you ignore or walk on other people's feelings.
I thought that was nice, but the story dragged at some points because some of the things did become repetitive, like the father trying to cause drama for his own benefit, the art student chasing after the CEO, the main couple being... really vainilla? Like I don't expect heavy stuff but the way they acted regarding intimacy was in a way something I wouldn't think people on their almost thirties would do. In the whole drama they've must kissed 3 times, and those were mostly pecks on the lips, and a lot of the times they acted as polite friends instead of a couple in love.
The romance between the art student and the CEO started cute but I feel there wasn't that much depth to it.
The only character I ended up actually bonding with and wanting to see more off was that secondary character who was male mc's friend. The one who always came first on track.
Overall, I don't think it was a bad drama, is just a drama to watch when you're tired and just want to lay on your bed or sofa and have a quiet momment for yourself.

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Just ok

I think that one of the problems of this drama is that it didn't have much material or that said material wasn't well developed to make it worth your while. With this I'm trying to say is that they basically tried to recycle a lot of old kdramas clichés and trying to act like they were -modern- about it by picking fun at them while also using them themselves. Which isn't bad, but they just took them and dropped them unfinished, or pulled back and it was lackluster in the delivery instead of shocking or hilariously ridiculous, which was the point of those old kdramas. So the story felt like a mix of every middle class hardworking secretary/rich boss with a sad past that you've seen, crushed all together, and not as charming. They also based the male character's style and manerisms way too much in the male character of "What's wrong with secretary Kim?", so it felt at some points that it was trying to borrow from that kdrama and a tiny bit from "The secret life of my secretary".
The characters weren't charming or alluring, I got bored by them pretty quickly. The first two chapters were good enough to make me consider keep watching to see a light romcom drama, but there's so much you can do when the stakes aren't that high and you don't develop your characters. The acting wasn't good, tbh, I do like the male mc actor, but he's done a better job in other dramas. The female mc actress made me cringe at times by how bad the acting was, and the two second leads characters were way 2D to actually bother. I think a big part is because this drama kept putting things that could've lead to more interesting or profound aproaches, and just used them to move forward the story and acted like it didn't happen. Like the weird stalker, it could've been a good thing to focus on the female characters but was mostly used so the second lead couple would make up and the female mc was impressed by Tae Mo helping capture the creep.
The music was just ok, I think thet overused some of the lyrics so instead of making you feel more into a scene it was like, oh,this for the fifth time in the same episode...
I think this is a good drama if you want something fun and easy to watch without having to invest much of yourself on it. Like if you're having a tiring week and want to relax and watch something that'll distract you.

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I can't believe they made us wait two years for a sequel that was so bland and boring.

I can't believe they made us wait two years for a sequel that was so bland and boring. The dialogue felt forced a lot of the time, and while there were cheesy scenes on season 1, season 2 was... something else... The scene on the canteen made me cringe so hard.
I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of the 3 characters. Hye Young is boring and his personality is basically "I like Jojo". Jo Jo is supposed to be more of an adult and focuses so much on that app when having hurt her ex s.o's feelings and her own shoul've made her already realize that she doesn't have to rely on an app. The scenes between Hye Young and Jo Jo bored me to death. Sun Oh never learned that he should stop screaming and throwing tantrums, even though I guess I can give him a pass because I, too, would be frustrated by not understanding why Jo Jo acted the way she did in their past and now.

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It's good.

There are some aspects that I'm not a fan off, for example that she didn't discover that he was Do Hyun Soo herself and only found out when he was coming off the anesthesia. I also felt the amnesia was a little unnecessary, I understand what they tried to do with that: a new beginning in which they can choose each other freely. But for that we'd need more scenes of them instead of the angst being dragged until we only had seven minutes to make us believe they found their way to each other and everything worked.
I felt it was unnecessary and it took time away from other scenes between them that could've been more meaningful, a good example of them choosing each other again could be marrying once again, this time with his own name, and with his family (his sister and his friend, and also Eun Ha and his mother in law, of course) present.
I didn't hate it because the angst of them brushing fingers with the rings on and him not taking it off was *cheff kiss* but after all the previous drama I wanted more fluff of them "after the storm" for the final episode.
The story overall was interesting, it was a little predictable at times and I think they could've made some of the characters more complex, but I liked what they did with the main couple and some of the secondary characters.

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I don't know why, but I was bored. And from what I've seen and heard, this drama should'd been exactly my cup of tea. But I was bored, watching each new episode felt like a chore, and I didn't want to keep watching. I didn't realize until now that the male lead was that character from Shut up! flower boy band. I realized about the other one, but was really, really surprised with the male leadleadslkkk. I also started watching Strange hero after this and the female lead played a character from Shut up!flower boy band as well. Which makes me want to rewatch that drama now.

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Good just to pass the time.

If you want to watch something that doesn't really have a lot of dramatic scenes or high impact scenes, this is your drama.
The story wasn't that complicated and the issues they could've explored to give the story more dept were just brushed aside. With this I mean that they mention or give sidecharacters certain struggles and instead of exploring the impact of that or using it to show light on the issue, they just use it as "sad story folder" for male mc. With this I mean the living conditions of SOME children in Africa (and the stereotype of Africa), his mother's Alzheimer, his best friend's suicide. I know they can't make the whole show about it but how quick they were to use it as "aw, pooor sad mc" felt insensitive.
I also feel that because they glossed over this stuff, they didn't have a lot going on, so the story felt like it dragged and repetitive at times, they would've benefitted if it was a 12 episodes drama.
Regarding the couples:
Main couple I was more into them when they used to bicker but also care for each other, when they got together and their relationship turned to just" AWWWWW, MY PARTNER IS SO CUTEEEEEEEE!!!!" it became a little boring.
The two managers couple bored me. I actually shipped him with the actress he got to join the company, the fangirl of male mc. I actually love the actor (Yoon Jong Hoon, especially in Come and hug me) that plays the manager so I liked him on his scenes with other characters, the female manager just bored me, but I don't blame the actress about that.
The celebrity journalist and the lawyer were actually my fav couple, and the female journalist my fav character. It's a shame that they're the ones that had the less screening time as a couple (i understand that the mcs had more, but I would've prefered more of this couple rather than the managers couple). Another couple that I really like was the one of Yoo Na and Jae Hyun.
I sound like I didn't like this drama, but I did, it's a good one if you want to watch something lighthearted but decent. I adored the PR team, the fangirl/actress, the companionship between the people at the company.
Cameos I loved: my otp from Find me in your memory, and also lawyer's older sibling.

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I liked the drama but I think the ending felt rushed. I think the writers spent too much time developing Man Wol's past and too little developing the resolution of it. Her meeting with the captain was supposed to move me as much as the flashbacks did, and instead it felt shallow. And the "princess and Yeon Woo are getting married" seem too much like a rushed way to say "this part of the plot is closed, MOVING ON"...
I was a little bit bored by the ending, tbh. I don't think it was a bad ending, but it wasn't a ending that made me fangirl or be like "woah, this is amazing". I really liked, however, the talk between Choi Seo Hee and the pregnant lady about how that baby is her baby before anything else and it's going to carry her last name. I also liked how the five characters of the hotel are found family tm. And I must admit that, in a way, I see Man Wol and Chang Sung more as sister and brother or really good friends than romantic partners. I'm sorry, but I didn't feel any chemestry between them (and I'm watching Moon lovers right now, and let me tell you, Iu and Lee Joon Gi is wow), and while I appreciatte the way their relationship was written, I was left feeling meh about their romantic scenes most of the time. Which kills me because GENDERSWAP BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Like, I did like the development of their friendship and I do understand how they came to be a couple but Man Wol and Chang Sung romantic scenes didn't move me as much as Man Wol and the captain, tbh.
Which brinsg me to people saying Chang Sung was boring and, let me tell you, I don't think he was. I think is really good to see a male character being the nurturing one, the one who choses to be kind and give second chances and believe the best of everybody else. And I don't think he was naive, I think he understood people but wanted to give them a chance to prove him right in making the "right" choice. I think he's cunning, kind and interesting. I do wish the story focused a little bit more of him outside Hotel del luna, though. Like I would've liked to see him arriving to New York and see a little of what he was doing, and so on. Again, I don't think the ending was bad, but I wanted to see a little bit more of the people left behind and the ending felt rushed.
I liked the acting. I think the ones I liked the most were IU's, Bae Ha Seon's, Lee Do Hyun's and Kim Mi Eun (who played the ghost bride).
The music was really good, I think it fit the kdrama really well.
The filming was amazing and I know people talk about it a lot, but the aesthetics were goals. And yes, I'm one more in the line of "God, I wish I had a lot of Man Wol's wardroble"

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Things I disliked:
The ending, it felt so rushed and convenient. Characters acted out of character and things were waaaay too “clean”.
I didn’t appreciate the “cancer storyline” regarding Jung so the “good mentor” disappeared and they’d put one whose personality and values made possible the whole “we’re using this, we’re using that” mess regarding the hacker’s statement.
I also didn’t buy kwo character. Like, at first I thought he’d be the typical coworker that is wary and a jerk but he ends up recognizing and even warms up to the mc. But with him the drama went too far, he did really shitty stuff and even the writers knew this, they made angel even say it out loud, as if by acknowledging this it’d erase that… they were really lazy in his redemption. It felt like too little too late and super forced, which ruined his character. Like the short conversation of him being the person that brings money home would just… make everything ok. And actually, before they made him way too two-faced, I shipped him with , but as the show progressed and his character did worse and worse things, I said to myself “nah, I don’t want her to end up to a selfish jerk like him”.
JunHo, eeehhh. I liked his relationship with Woo Young and the actor did an amazing work, but I wish the writers gave him more material regarding his own character backstory or interests. Like he felt a lot like Woo Young’s cheerleader rather than his own character.
I also got tired that apparently the only person that had good ideas and the cases were solved by was Woo Young. I understand the writers wanting to show that she is as capable or more than others without “autism” to do a proper work, but it did feel like the rest of the characters just… were there as background. I think they could’ve just let some of the cases be won by the other attorneys.
The two CEOs of the law firms seemed a little cartoonish to me. They had a few moments that could’ve given depth to them but were erased by “ahaha I’m so evil ad power hungry” scenes.
Regarding Woo Young Woo, I liked her character. I can’t talk myself about how the representation of autism is, since I’m not autistic myself and I don’t know a lot of people who are. But I found her character interesting and she made me smile in her relationships with others, like when she tried to find the chef of the meat noodles or said to that she was like a warm sun angel. I liked that she had boundaries but tried to navigate them regarding what she wanted or needed as she grew. I also think that this drama is good to start conversations of autism or pick people’s interest on it, for those that aren’t as knowledgeable (like myself) about it.
Her dad was so interesting, the love and frustration and him feeling powerless. And the inner fight between wanting to still protect his daughter and opening opportunities for her, but acknowledging she is her own person and becoming an adult and understanding that he has to make decitions with her or respect hers instead of the instinct of making them by himself thinking he is protecting her.

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At first it started as a cute, fluffly concept. Nothing too complicated or complex or deep, just a good palatte cleanser for my mind to drift off real life and just consume something silly. However, as chapters went on the story dragged, the actress only had one or two facial expressions, and the actor was ok. Also, the female mc couldn't make up her mind and was whiny and annoying. And I couldn't understand why or how the male mc fell for her at all 3 years ago and kept to do so. I wouldn't rewatch this drama, it had potential to be somewhat entertaining and fun, but it just became boring.

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I just finished watching this drama, and it's become one of my favorite dramas ever. It had a few flaws, I would've liked some characters, like Ye Na, to have more development, or at least not appear only when it was conveniant to move things along.
I loved the plot. Sometimes you find some things predictable, but this drama really managed to surprise me with every episode. I'd also like to say that Seo Kang Joon COMPLETELY stole the show. I really loved to watch his acting, all of his expressions, I think he did an amazing job portraying both characters and making you relate to both. Even the vulnerability, pettiness and jealousy of human Nam Shin. I haven't seen him in other dramas before this one, but I'll watch anything he appears on, from now on.
I also really liked the main couple. They didn't have a lot of skinship momments, but I thought the chemestry between both actors was amazing (to the point that I even shipped her a little bit with human Nam Shin at times). I also loved how their relationship was slow burn and natural and built on trust.
I would've liked a little more development between him "dying" and the time-jump, to see human Nam Shin cope with his mother's day and gain redemption. I also would've liked more flashbacks between him and Yeong Hoon, or Ye Na. I totally bought his bond with Yeong Hoon (and I think Yeong Hoon is in love with human Shin,tbh, they're endgame on my mind), but with Ye Na, not so much. He treated her like a lackey most of the time, was condescending to her, and even threatened to harm her to manipulate her father. I just simply couldn't understand what made her stick by him, because we never had any scene, flashback or current time, in which we saw Shin actually care about her.
I think the writing of this drama was amazing, and the question of what makes us human was nicely shown in each characters flaws and vulnerabilities. How we lash out when we can't process the pain, how we run away when things get to be too much, how we come back and try to do better and have to make an active choice to be kinder, to be better.
I really loved this show, to the point I didn't even want to finish watching it. And now I did, and I feel that warm, aching space left when a story you love finishes, and you stay lingering, hoping to see a little bit more.

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I don't think that the two main actors did a bad job, but I don't think they did an amazing job, either. Suzy has the same expression when she cries, and Lee Jon Suck is always doing that weird smile thing that's supposed to be endearing but it's just awkward. I did like his scenes with his brother, though, and the inspector and Woo Tak. Regarding their acting as a romantic couple, it felt forced and awkward and they barely touched and it felt so weird to watch.
I think Jung Hae In as Won Tak and Lee Sang Yeob as Yu Beom were the ones who stole the show for me. I think they completely stole your attention from everybody else when they were on the screen, and did a better job of showing different emotions and sometimes even make you empathize a little with them (in Yu Beom's case, because at first I thought they'd just leave it at "he's a jerk who told Jae Chan to fake his notes and would've blamed Hong Ju" and then show him becoming a better person, and while I respect their decition to not redeem him, I kinda hoped he would, at some point, because the actor did such a good job of showing his own internal conflict).
The music was sort of meh for me.

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This drama could've been so much better,
As others reviewers have said, I blame most of it's failure in the screenwriter and the director. There were times that made you think they didn't even know what they were doing with their characters, and it translates in the acting. For example, Moon Ga Young was really good, but they made her character act the same way again and again and again and it became tiresome to watch. The same can be said for Woo Do and Kim Min Jae characters. Regarding Joy's, well, is a mix of her not having the acting skills and the poor writing of her character. Also, I didn't feel Woo Do and Joy had much chemestry, Woo Do and Moon Ga Young did.
The drama dragged, and even the parts that are supposed to move you, when they reveal things, never have the emotional pay off you want them to. Joy's character inmediately forgives him everything, so there's no big surprise that she also forgives his last betrayal. Also, the 5 year time jump with the time heals everything is crap and lazy writing. If you've hurt someone and they can't trust you anymore, you don't earn that trust back by staying again. You do it by being there for them without any pretentions or expectations, just because you care.
I wouldn't rewatch this at all, and I only started watching because I liked Kim Min Jae in Goblin, and kept watching because I was curious of Woo Do and Moon Ga Young's acting.

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It was almost perfect

My thoughts about this drama: “what a valiant roar, what a bland goodbye”

I loved the first episodes, how complex their dynamic was and how well Soohyun and Jiwon brought them to life with their micro expressions. The way the pacing felt realistic, since a lot of things have passed between them and they're relearning each other. For me the drama took a bad turn when they lost focus of the main characters and expanded so much on the Queen’s drama. Especially the villains, they had so much screen time and were not really nuanced. Or the aunt, like yes, she was a nice character, but ???? why would they think I wanted so much screen time with her and that bland guy? At first it was cute, but when they gave them so much screen time the last episodes it turned out really annoying for me.

I feel like the car crash was unnecessary and something the writer included because she felt like the audience had not forgiven Hyun Woo enough for the way he acted at the beginning of the drama. That we needed to see him have this big gesture and go rescue her as proof of his love, but it was unnecessary and redundant by this point. We’ve already seen how much he loves her ever since the reality of losing her was on the table and he realized it (when she gets lost on his hometown and she admits it and he hugs her and cries).

In episode 1 and 2 we see how distant and resentful they’ve grown of each other, how they’ve built walls between each other (like when she says he is acting out of character by siding with her and taking her hand) but the moment she is honest and vulnerable (probably it’s been years since that) it dawns on him that she is sick and loosing herself. And it breaks him, because it turns real, that maybe she won’t be saved, that they’ve lost years of companionship they took for granted and both of them could’ve done something to fix things (their talk outside of the supermarket). Him recognizing he forgot that love (while she didn’t) and that scene in episode 6 in Germany was top notch, and staying by her side with Queen’s take over and also recognizing his own mistakes (like how Haein tells him she never wanted to be alone, and both understand she is talking about their baby; or him saying that he wishes he would’ve asked her about her day back then instead of acting as strangers) for me was enough. Him egging her on to have a reaction out of her, bringing her family to his hometown, being vulnerable with her and recognizing his faults, listening to her and caring, were reasons enough to forgive him.

I was also not a fan of her losing her memory. I think they chose way too many conflicts and they overlapped and we didn’t have enough scenes of them being happy without the threat of her disease. I would’ve either picked the Queen’s take over or her amnesia, both was too much. Especially when the pacing by the end was so bad and they chose to keep her amnesia instead of her remembering. We didn’t have scenes of “them” but of HyunWoo and a HaeIn that didn’t feel like HaeIn at times and did not know their past. Like, yes, their past wasn’t perfect, but it was what gave their relationship depth. And then they chose to skip her falling in love with him or any life milestones between them!!! Like them finding out about her being pregnant again and this time supporting each other and facing the uncertainty together. Their child’s first birthday! We got like a few seconds of them on the steps and then were clubbed with old HyunWoo facing her death and meeting each other again as “souls”. I think it would’ve been a little less shocking if we’d had at least more scenes of them spending their life together before that scene. Especially after most of the drama they made us bawl our eyes out.

One of the worst things they chose to do was that the reason they both grew distant and started to resent the other was not addressed with the depth and care that it should’ve been. They both hurt each other. HyunWoo felt that his feelings were not taken into consideration by HaeIn and that she did not care as much as him (shown by his surprise by the date being her passcode) and that he was not given space to grief. Like he grew up in a family in which they talk things together and support each other, that’s the way he is able to bear sadness, and HaeIn closing off emotionally and being defensive made him feel isolated. Meanwhile, HaeIn has already suffered the loss of a family member and she was blamed and resented by her mother for it, so it makes sense that because of that experience and the guilt and trauma of the miscarriage she was going through she thought HyunWoo would do the same, especially after seeing that he moved his things out of their bedroom. He did it because he felt hurt by her breaking down the nursery and not giving him space to grief, but it was how she was taught to grief: walk around it, pretend it did not happen and don’t talk about it (like how her father was going to turn the page of the family album when there was a photo of her older brother). I feel like the way they started to approach it was on track: HyunWoo seeing the birthdate being her passcode, HaeIn admitting she never wanted to be alone and HyunWoo understanding she is talking about the miscarriage and realizing he misinterpreted her back then and the look of regret when he apologizes and hugs her. But I think they should’ve talked about it sooner (like when they’re in his apartment, when she sees the birthdate being his passcode as well) instead of the gloss over they did on the final episode when she still does not remember a lot of what they went through.

The drama started out great but I feel like the writers didn’t understand the characters enough and thought we needed big action scenes to be impressed and hooked. Instead, it would’ve been better if it stayed as more of a character study on how for love to be kept alive it needs to be nourished, it needs work and communication and respect between each other. Jiwon and Soohyun are amazing actors and have the range to bring those scenes to life, so it’s a shame that the writers chose to sideline them (like I think the villains have almost more screen time than HaeIn in the final episodes...). Tbh, Soohyun and Jiwon were the reason I kept watching, especially by the end, I can say that the last two episodes are some of the worst episodes of the drama.

I love HyunWoo and HaeIn, and it’s been a while since I’ve been so hooked with a drama and the actors had the ability to make me care so deeply about their characters. “Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new” by Ursula K. LeGuin reminds me of their relationship.

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I've been struggling this entire year to get hooked on a kdrama, most of the ones I've started seemed promising but when I gave them a chance dissapointed me. I began watching Castaway Diva without really having a lot of expectations, but it quickly grabbed my attention and I devoured it in 3 days.

The acting of the child actors on the first episode was amazing, and really sold me on this show. I liked their future selves, and thought that the reasons they were kept apart were reasonable, instead of just an excuse. I found all of the characters interesting and complex, they felt like actual people. They were not steryotipes or just tropes. There have been some dramas (coughKing the Landcough) in which the characters feel like caricatures and you get tired of seeing them, but I felt the opposite with the characters of Castaway Diva.

The only complaints I have are:

I wish we knew more about what happens with Ran Joo. Like, it seems like she's become the producer of the entertainment firm, but she chose to stay with somebody that she had a romantic relationship with and screwed her over multiple times? I did ship them at the beginning, because I loved the angst of it and there were scenes in which he was considerate towards her, but he went way too far, so I'm a little yikes that she chose to stay on the company that treated her like shit instead of building her own. Or at least have her get part of the ownership of the place so they could co-direct it, something that gave her more power of choice.

I wish we had more of the romance. We only had ONE kiss between the main couple, and not really a lot of scenes in which they're happy or like go on a date together. We've seen A LOT of them supporting each other, which is good to make the relationship believable, but I wish we'd had a few more scenes of them happily together after all the suffering and time apart they went through.

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