Niki Chu

While I firmly believe that everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, the amount of bashing I’m witnessing here is beyond unreasonable. It’s a niche genre about research on reproduction in space with a romance sub-plot which I think is not going to be the focal point. But people are finding so much fault with it when obviously, it’s not their preferred genre to begin with. When ‘When the Phone Rings’ started, the ratings hovered around 8.8-8.9. That’s so high considering that it’s a tropey wattpad coded show with the most blandly written female protagonist, drawing attention mainly for a male lead thirsting after a mediocre woman and its steamy scenes. What I’m seeing here is especially disheartening because these days, there are so very few dramas attempting to come up with something new. This one is trying and I think that’s laudable. Yet, all that productions companies are going to take away from this kind of negative response is that new, innovative ideas are not worth investing in. All I’m trying to say is: give this drama a couple of episodes before judging and rating it. It was incredibly expensive and hard to shoot, the least it deserves is to be given a bit of time.

I actually do like slice-of-life shows like Misaeng, but this one lacks realism and the inspiring effect that this genre, if handled well, usually has. That’s why it doesn’t really resonate with me.

There must be more to it, right? I feel that if all he had done was making her feel lonely, she wouldn’t be as cold-hearted after all those years.

Cute, but slow and boring with not much going on. Would have worked as a movie. A forgettable, but mostly light-hearted watch.

Soooo from what I've heard, this drama went through several edits until it could be aired. Apparently, they had to change up the plot, to the extent that the story unfolding between the second lead couple was entirely altered. I'm reaaally curious about the original script but I don't speak Chinese, so there's no way I can get my hands on any information. If someone happens to know what was the original story, I'd love to know!!

Yeah I think Gilchae was 15-16. Jang Hyeon was much older. At least 30, I’d say? The Crown Prince returned and died 9 years later and 2-3 more years pass until JH and GC are reunited. So I reckon GC is around 30 at the end and JH is in his 40s. But then again, we don’t know how many years have passed since JH almost died. If you consider Ryang Eum’s timeline and GC and JH meet again around the time RE is in the mental house, all aged and grey, we’d be talking 1659, 23 years later. GC would be 38, JH would be 53. The drama was kind of lazy not to make it more clear how many years have gone by. I mean, GC and JH haven’t visibly changed that much and I can’t imagine GC searching for him for a decade. It’s confusing :S

Too bad the second season couldn’t keep up with the first. It lost the narrative focus and dealt way too much with side characters like the Makjang princess, as a user accurately named her. Or the captives which would have been alright, had they been fleshed out characters with their own stories and contribution to the drama plot. Instead, they were all staged as a background against which Jang Hyeon could be the big hero to save them all. Whereas the first season was about the Quing invasion and and was pretty much centered around the love story, the second part suddenly becomes a series about the hardships of Joseon captives in Quing. It’s fine, but it turns into a very different show with a different vibe overall. It lacks the angst and anguish of star-crossed lovers and and I somehow lost my attachment to the main characters with every further episode filled to the brim with darkness, hopelessness and bizarre reasons forcing our couple to separate again and again and again and again… I’m left quite unsatisfied, wishing they would’ve wrapped the series up sooner and in a more poignant way…

I agree, there’s no real link between the two personalities and I also preferred her 18th life personality. Them changing that kind of makes it hard to believe that the guy would fall in love with her 19th life version cause she’s just too different in this one.

It’s not a 8,5 drama even in its genre. The same plot wouldn’t be nearly as successful with unknown actors in it. I get that every show and genre has its own target audience and that’s just how it’s supposed to be. But any rating system should at least get close to giving a feedback. MDL could start by showing ratings after a show has finished airing. But at this rate, every drama here hovers somewhere between 8-9.

Agreed, different tastes, different opinions. But still, I think ratings should help others to know what to expect from a drama. Not that I choose the shows I watch based on ratings, but sometimes they’re helpful. I wasn’t saying people liking this have a bad taste. Only pointing out that the rating is too high for a show that everyone seems to be agreeing, is entertaining and fluffy but not the drama of the year, which 8,5 kind of implies.

Lol why so offended though? It’s objectively a predictable show that’s been done 10000 times. I think ratings should reflect the quality at least a little?

Why are the ratings so high :S it’s such a bland drama…

As someone not having read the webtoon, I feel that she is reborn as a new person each time, but her personality is always affected when she remembers her past lives. juwon’s mom said that she changed overnight (after remembering, as we know) and matured. She also picks up the skills she used to have in other lives. When she goes to find her niece from her 17th life, she easily switches into the uncle she used to be, with the dialect and all. But let’s say that doesn’t make her 1000 years old, just a tad bit peculiar. What about seo ha made her spend so much effort on finding him when all they had were some summer memories as a 9 and 12 year old? Because she had promised to protect him? What about the niece then whom she had promised the same thing in her 17th life? Like, she’d had a living family member whom she had raised like an own child and all she thinks about is this boy? It’s not about logic at this point, if the show could capture the emotions well and bring some depth into the character. Some wisdom too.

Not really liking it so far. It’s very “written” in every sense. What’s with the old-school ‘reviving struggling hotel business’ plot these days? And how did they manage to turn a really interesting premise into another cliche drama? I realize it’s based on a Webtoon, but still. Feels like a two decades old drama plot, only in high resolution and up-to date fashion / cars. I’m not sold on the female lead being over 1000 years old and never feeling the urge to go and find people important to her during those lives, only to fall in love with a 9 year old and devote her 19th life to finding a way to be close to him. It’s a drama after all, the writers could have come up with a way to have them meet again by accident and then it would’ve been alright for her to get curious about this guy whom she realizes she had a special friendship with or whatever in her previous life. And then there’s the female lead whom I kind of find extremely annoying and not endearing at all? I love Shin Hye Sun, but I prefer that mysterious aura that the actress playing her in her 18th life gives to the character. Why is she suddenly a creepy woman in her 19th life who kind of seems dumb? And what’s up with those random flamenco outbursts? It’s supposed to be funny, but it’s just too stupid. And about her remembering all those lives, I wish she would rather have glimpses of her past lives instead of remembering all of them. I know a show like this is not about logic, but the human brain can’t save that many memories and even if it could, her brain in each new body would be different in its neural structures, so she would not have the same talents and skills and linguistic knowledge (she speaks Arabic cause she spoke it 1000 years ago?!! I forget my third language if I don’t practice for, like, a year). That’s my rant after these two episodes, let’s see if it gets any better.

An incident with a girl being severely bullied by a group of students who, among other things, did “temperature checks” on her with a curling iron actually happened around 2006. It was even worse than what the show depicted and the people involved didn’t really face big consequences. As minors, they were protected and their identities were concealed.

Sooo I just read about the fan theory that a lot of people say makes sense to them: Dong Eun is going to turn into Park Yeon Jin, taking on her identity and face thanks to Do Hyun‘s superb skills as a plastic surgeon and basically take everything that is hers. I hope the show doesn’t turn out that makjang-y though :S

Oh no never, she’s definitely going to take her revenge. The screenwriter said it’s going to be satisfying. She’ll execute her plan, the question is, at what price.

There’s only going to be a second part which is going to be released on March 10

Finished if and I still can’t solve the biggest plot hole in the drama: why did Jiwoo‘s dad have to stay in a drug ring for 16-17 years just to catch the leader? All those years were not enough? They even say he was one of the founders. There’s no undercover mission like that, you don’t found a crime ring and then spend 17 years leaking their doings to the police? It just doesn’t make sense. Jiwoo didn’t even know her dad had another identity, she knew him as a gang member all her life. Or did he join the police later? And if so, why doesn't the show ever address the reason? I know I shouldn’t expect logic from a show like this but it frankly takes a lot from the initial appeal and thrill.

He’s definitely creepy as hell and I expect him to play a very annoying role. Where did you see a red number tag by the way? Was the inmate who killed Yeo Jung’s father wearing it?