lilili

Gwiju has PTSD. In fact I think it's the most literal depiction of PTSD I've ever seen, he keep can't stop himself from reliving the past over and over again. So after his wife dies he has an emotional breakdown and falls into depression. That's why he neglected Ina. It's terrible for her but he's not a bad person, he's an ill person.

Then Dahae shows up and she's the first person he's ever been able to interact with in the past plus the entire family starts to slowly regain their powers when she enters their lives. Of course he's intrigued by her. And he sees that Ina likes her and she encourages him to try and repair his relationship with her, that's another reason for him to draw closer.

Finally he finds out that she was the one in the fire and he becomes obsessed with the idea that he can finally save someone and he thinks it's the key to healing from his trauma. He's wrong about that I think. But I actually find him an extraordinarily sympathetic character. I pretty much sympathize with everyone in the story.

Scary mommy has killed people so I'm going to say she's the one straight up evil person in the story. I agree that the uncle seems pretty kind, at least to DDH

Ina with Dahae is so much more interesting than anything Ina does with her school friends

I'm fascinated that the viewing lens for a lot of people is so heavily influenced by tropes that they struggle to see what's going on when tropes are subverted or tweaked. This feels like a litmus test drama in terms of the reactions.

Atypical Family is in the Netflix global top 10 again. It dropped two places to #8. But The 8 Show is at #7 which means two Chun Woo Hee dramas are global hits so congrats to her. https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10/tv-non-english

The same for the male lead, I saw some people on Twitter dragging Gwiju for chasing Dahae and ignoring Ina. But they aren't accounting for the fact that Dahae is the only person he can interact with in the past, of course she's going to grab his attention for that alone. And he didn't want to marry her until he found out she was at the school fire and he thinks he's going to save her. Am I justifying his treatment of Ina? No of course not, it's terrible, but saying he's chasing a pretty woman and ignoring his daughter is a wild simplification of what's going on with the character.

In my opinion she's just a typical teenage girl and not evil or good but immature

Thank you! I went to Wiki and found stuff and then a friend shared a lot of links with me:

"Lovely Runner" Remains No. 1 In Ratings https://www.soompi.com/article/1662840wpp/lovely-runner-remains-no-1-in-ratings-crash-earns-its-highest-ratings-yet

May Drama Actor Brand Reputation Rankings Announced https://www.soompi.com/article/1660083wpp/may-drama-actor-brand-reputation-rankings-announced-5

Korea Times article on ratings https://www.instagram.com/p/C6sDzCJS7t_/?hl=en

Lovely Runner Tops Viki Viewership Ratings in Over 130 Regions https://www.comingsoon.net/k-drama/news/1667276-lovely-runner-tops-viki-viewership-ratings-in-over-130-regions

'Lovely Runner' episode 13 surpasses expectations with increased streaming numbers https://www.allkpop.com/article/2024/05/lovely-runner-episode-13-surpasses-expectations-with-increased-streaming-numbers

"The drama continues to dominate in terms of topicality, securing the top spot in the TV-OTT drama topicality survey for the second consecutive week with 58.37%. Byun Woo Seok, Kim Hye Yoon, and Song Geon Hee also ranked first, second, and third, respectively, in the TV-OTT cast comprehensive topicality survey. Additionally, it has maintained the highest viewership ratings for both men and women aged 20-49 for six consecutive weeks and achieved the highest viewership rating among women in their 20s among weekday dramas aired this year."

“Lovely Runner”, a real success despite its low audience ratings and its absence on Netflix https://altselection.com/en/lovely-runner-un-vrai-succes-malgre-ses-faibles-taux-daudience-et-son-absence-sur-netflix/

We're planning a podcast on Lovely Runner and I have a question: how did LR do in the ratings compared with other Monday-Tuesday shows on TVN? Also, how has the OST performed relative to OSTs from other dramas? I know this show has been an unexpected hit but I'd like to illustrate with some numbers if possible. Thanks in advance for your help!

Seonjae was wearing a shoulder sling when they moved, I don't remember what year it was when he had his shoulder rehab but it was before the redevelopment because they were in college living in the same neighborhood.

Moving from the house didn't make sense to me because it was Sol's paralysis in the first timeline that led the family to move because she couldn't use the stairs. We weren't given a reason for them to move in the current timeline

In an upcoming episode there's a scene where she's vomiting behind closed doors

Yes but it's very different in tone than LR. Most of the characters are morally gray and a lot of people don't like the FL. But it's incredibly creative with great writing, great performances and a very interesting OST.

I think because he is so handsome he was cast in roles that didn't suit him. For example I saw him in Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency and his character was a slick player who hung out at a gisaeng house and slept with a lot of women. It didn't tap into his sincerity which really comes through in his role as Seonjae.

That's interesting! Can you explain why?

The reason Moon Young put me off is because she kept touching the ML's body without his permission and emotionally manipulating him so it felt very personal (made even more so by the childhood connection). Dahae by contrast is never gratuitously mean even when she's in full con mode, she's just doing what's necessary to finish the job. It's definitely not good behavior but I didn't have a visceral negative reaction to it the way I did with Moon Young.

I'm seeing people saying they dislike the FL but liked the lead in It's Okay to Not Be Okay but I felt the opposite because even though Dahae is a literal criminal, she's not emotionally abusive and I guess I have a worse reaction to the latter. What do you guys think?

Same, I don't hate the storyline but it's also the least interesting part of the drama imo. It would be great to see a plot twist that upends expectations the way we've seen with the other characters and the way we saw with Ina blackmailing Dahae.

I watch every episode once on my TV so I get the full impact of the visuals and then I watch on my laptop so I can listen to the score and get screenshots and video captures. I agree that the electronic sounds in the background music are really interesting and add a lot to the tone of the story

Up to this point I don't find the romance very interesting though who knows what will happen given Ina's powers.

Re: the age difference, the show very deliberately cast actors who are three years older than the actress who plays Ina in order to emphasize how vulnerable she looks. Of course we eventually find out Ina is strong enough to blackmail Dahae and not someone to mess with so I actually enjoy that contrast, it's supposed to make you uncomfortable on purpose

It's not for everybody. If you're not enjoying it by episode 3 I'd say drop it. The tone and execution don't substantially change.