Best Drama of 2022 So Far

The drama was one heck of a roller coaster ride. I watched this while it was ongoing and having to guess the real backstory every week was so much fun. One of the things that made my weekends exciting. It really kept me hooked till the finale.

I really loved everything in the drama. The actors and actresses really suit their roles. The chemistry between Jinwook and Nara is fire! The charge of these enemies to lovers is so exciting to see. My pillows are my victims every time these two would just stare at each other, or even be at each other's throats, choking, stabbing, fixing each other up, telling each other how they could not live without each other. Gahhh, they had me dying inside. This is the real enemies to lovers, people!. Too bad there was not one love scene for such an epic tragic love story as theirs.

The cinematography is the best. What a feast for the eyes, even the bloody gory scenes are made to look aesthetic. With such a complicated story in different lifetimes, the pacing was just right. Some people say that the story was being dragged and repetitive in the middle. But that's exactly how karma and retribution works. Unless the characters learn their lessons and make better choices, history will keep repeating itself. And the story showed it so beautifully and seamlessly apt for the particular timeline it was told. I'm super satisfied with how it all unfolded and the ending. They were able to properly close the main story which was that of Dan Hwal and Min Sang-Un at the finale. And them meeting again in their next life 50 years after, when we thought was impossible, was so beautiful.

Although there were some lose ends, but that did not take away from the main essence of the story which is redemption. Those lose ends only kept the door open for another season or a spin-off movie or prequel or sequel or something. To which I truly hope would happen because I would 100% watch and replay the heck out of it.

My only complaint are the 10+ minutes that were cut out or edited out starting from Episode 9 onwards. I hope Netflix or TVing would show the full 70+ minutes of every episode. Or maybe release a blu ray uncut version.

Rewatch value, a BIG FAT YES. I watched this series while it was ongoing and I've watch it at least 4 times while it was ongoing. 1st while live via TVN without subtitles, 2nd with english subtitles the next day, 3rd during weekdays while waiting for the behind the scenes etc and discussing theories online with others, 4th fast forwarding towards the scenes that I love mostly of the OTP, or during those scenes which had crumbs of new plot reveals.

Then when it was finished and we finally knew of the whole backstory, I watched the series all over again this time with new appreciation for how and why the characters behaved the way they did. Especially during that mountain scene in Episode 1 where Nara or the Red Bulgasal Lady looked at the human Dan Hwal with such sad eyes, and then gutted the heck out of him. It was such an Aha moment. So that was why.

And yes the OST is the best. It's been months and the 39 tracks are still on repeat on my playlist. Minseo's Can't Forget You is my favorite. The song really captured all of Min Sang-Un's feelings for her foolish Dan Hwal. The best drama in 2022 I've seen so far ?

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