A new favorite in the making

Original review (first 2 episodes):
It's been quite a while since a drama had me hooked in the first five minutes. But from the opening scene of My Perfect Stranger I loved the music, the atmosphere, the cinematography, everything, and by the end of episode 2 I was not let down. The pace so far has been fantastic and there hasn't been a single moment I was bored. The acting from our main leads is stellar, be it in emotional scenes or quieter moments. They make these wild circumstances feel plausible simply by the realism of their reactions. As far as the story, this drama had me at time travel. I've often wished for more Korean dramas with this premise because it's a theme I've loved ever since I can remember and I'm really enjoying the execution here.

The overall tone is lighter than I expected and it's great. It sets it apart from quite a few other dramas I've seen involving crime/murder and makes for what is, in my opinion, an easier and more pleasant watch. The humor is clever and genuinely funny without being flat out comedy. Honestly, I would find it a little difficult to name the exact genre of this drama because it truly has its own unique feel, which I personally love. I can't wait to see how the plot develops, as well as the relationship between Yoon Young and Hae Joon. I already sense some chemistry there and I hope that if there is in fact romance in this show that it's not rushed or forced. I would totally dig a low key slow burn between them. The OST is the cherry on top, both with the instrumental soundtrack and the 80s songs interspersed. All in all, if the drama keeps this up, I may have a new favorite on my hands.

Update (completed):
Let me start by saying that most of my feelings from my original review remained true until the end of My Perfect Stranger. The family relationships remained strong and beautiful throughout and my love for the main couple only grew. It's been a while since I was graced with a such a subtle, unproblematic, and yet adorable romance in a drama, and my only complaint is that I wanted more of them. For the most part, the drama managed to maintain the pace and feelings of suspense for me. That being said, after a while I began to realize that no matter who the culprit was, I probably would not feel shocked when their identity was revealed. Why? Because I had already spent hours considering every single person in the entire cast. Any one of them could be the culprit, it seemed, and I started to feel that none of them would surprise me. Sadly, I think that turned out to be true. The reveal simply did not pack the punch I was expecting from such an intense drama, and that was possibly the most disappointing part for me. I couldn't fully appreciate the climax because I was waiting for a second identity reveal that would REALLY shock me and prove the first one just a fakeout. Needless to say, that didn't come.

I've heard some mixed things about this drama and I know some people felt it became too contrived or went downhill. Personally, I don't know how contrived it was, but I enjoyed it beginning to end largely because I could almost always follow the plot. It felt like the writer prized the story more than shock value, and the same cannot be said of many in its genre. It is worth mentioning that I don't usually watch dramas as they air and it's possible I couldn't appreciate some of its flaws simply because I couldn't remember them lol. I do think it took a bit of a plunge into darkness later in the drama and that grew a little tiresome for me, but it did manage to bring back some of the humor and heartwarming elements again.

I have a few other gripes here and there, but in the end, I let them go because I think that overall, the drama did what it set out to do. It told a nostalgic time travel story that was both emotionally intense and heartwarming, and is ultimately about second chances. It wasn't afraid to delve into deep tragedy and heartbreak, which made the victories and happy moments that much sweeter. We got rare focus on family relationships and friendships, beautiful arcs both in the characters and relationships, and an extremely satisfying ending that left me smiling and feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside. I definitely recommend this one, flaws and all.

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Solid start, colossally disappointing conclusion

This was my entry into the world of J-Dramas and it was promising to be an excellent first impression. The first 6 episodes were full of fluff and fun cliches and just the perfect touch of angst. You didn't have to use your brain too much, just sit back and enjoy a simple and entertaining story. There was genuinely funny humor, some solid acting moments, and the best part: fire chemistry between the leads. They absolutely carried the drama, as a couple and individuals. Ayaka, our FL, had an unexpected feisty side that helped balance the kawaii vibes, and Togo, our ML, had an endearing awkward side that softened his cold-hearted jerk exterior. I couldn't leave a review without praising what started out as a really cute drama that could have easily gone on my top favorites list. Now for the bad news.

(BE WARNED, LOTS OF SPOILERS AHEAD)
Unfortunately, starting in episode 7, everything went downhill at a mind-blowing rate. Out of nowhere the drama took a step into some very dodgy (and surprisingly dark) territory. I don't mind dramas tackling unfaithfulness, misunderstandings, or sexual assault, as long as it's done sensitively and intelligently. But this drama did none of those things. We ended up with a situation in which, mysteriously, our FL doesn't know for sure if she's been sexually assaulted by an old flame, and instead of exploring the trauma of such an incident, the drama puts all the responsibility on her for possibly being unfaithful to ML. The situation concludes with ML essentially "forgiving" FL and choosing magnanimously to trust her when she says nothing happened between her and her old flame. The worst part to me? The subject of assault was not mentioned ONCE.

I'll also give a very brief mention to the intimacy issue. After our lead couple decides to become a real couple, we see ML coming on strong, clearly ready to go all the way with FL, and her shying away/flinching each time. It's often played for humor but I actually found it uncomfortable to watch, and it gave off very unfortunate vibes of experienced adult man chasing after innocent, doe-eyed little girl. It's not romantic and it doesn't portray a healthy, mutual transition into intimacy.

Even more unfortunately, that wasn't the end of this drama's troubles. The next episode put our lead couple back together without even once talking the whole issue through like adults. ML kicks her out for a bit and then eventually relents and accepts her back with no real conversation between them. Then comes episode 9. I get it, ML was afraid his mother would hurt FL, that's why he rejected her, broke her heart, and divorced her before planning a wedding with someone else. Here we get the classic time jump and separation cliches and more disturbingly, both ML and FL being besties with the guy who took her to a hotel (and presumably undressed her) in order to make ML believe they had slept together and therefore sabotage the relationship. But he apologized, so I guess it's all okay (this is sarcasm, by the way).

After all of this contrived, over-the-top angst, we conclude with a happy ending that's a result of the FL finally being told that ML had a really good reason for cutting her out of his life. She fights for him, he gives in, all's well that ends well, no harm done. They get remarried (but without the fussy piece of paper they had for their fake marriage, because who needs that?). I usually try to find a more intelligent way of expressing my feelings on dramas I disliked, but there's really no other way to put it: it felt like a child wrote the latter portion of this drama. I have read fan fictions on Wattpad that were written with more maturity and intelligence than this. It's hard to remember the last time I was this disappointed with a drama I started out liking so much.

In the end I'm rating it a generous 4 because of how thoroughly I enjoyed the first half. I will remember how I felt at the beginning fondly, and try desperately to forget how I felt at the end. It's safe to say I will not be rewatching this one. Try it at your own risk.

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The first time I ever finished a daytime drama, and that's saying something

My goodness, over 50 hours later, I'm genuinely sad to be leaving this sweet drama behind. While it definitely had its flaws, it never quite managed to descend into some of the most bothersome tropes that have driven me away from the majority of daytime dramas. Endless scenes of conniving in-laws or boring secondary characters that contribute less than nothing to the main plot and ridiculously overblown, over-the-top villain plots that exist purely for shock value aren't really present here.

In fact, the melodrama was shockingly low in this drama in general imho. Every time this character found out about that character's secret and I expected it to be the end of the episode freeze frame with a dramatic love ballad blaring, it usually just kind of...happened...instead. And while this could be called anticlimactic, I found it strangely refreshing when things which could have easily been squeezed for the melodrama progressed in a much more natural, realistic way.

The drama has its plateaus, moments where it become redundant and frustrating, but for the most part, it usually left me wanting more. The pace was really fantastic, not necessarily of the overall plot (because, ya know, 100 episodes) but of individual scenes, which kept things moving even when the plot was a bit slow. I could've done without all of the lying/keeping secrets from loved ones "so they won't worry" and I wasn't a fan of some of the development of the secondary romances (sometimes things got a little toxic for me, or I felt that enough attention was not given to developing those relationships individually). But tbh the lead couple probably would've been enough to keep me watching.

The most fire chemistry in the world? No. The most romantic story arc ever? No. But personally, I couldn't care less. Chemistry is good, scenes are adorable, development was paced well, and my favorite thing of all ~ they were a solid, healthy relationship. Mature and pretty realistic. Yes, they had their ups and downs and just one breakup fakeout (sort of) but it actually felt like it made a lot of sense. The most important thing is that, for the most part, we have two people leaning on each other, talking things through, becoming close friends, being honest with each other, staying true to each other, being steady. This couple rarely let me down and it was extremely refreshing to see the writers prioritize a healthy relationship over drama.

I can't conclude this post without mentioning the family relationships. I'm a huge fan of found family stories and that alone made this drama a delight to watch. Another extremely refreshing thing was seeing the platonic relationships get as much (if not more, at times) attention as the romantic ones. Siblings, parents, friends, so many nice dynamics to enjoy besides the couples, and a lot of touching, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes heartwarming moments along the way. (Helped along by the *gorgeous* OST, I must say)

Honorable mentions: As I said, fantastic OST. A few songs will be staying in my music library forever after this drama. And ACTING. I cannot say enough about the acting, it was literally better than some of the 16-episode dramas I've seen. I partly watched this drama for Jin Ki Joo and she did not disappoint me. The rest of the cast was wonderful as well. Many actors I'd seen and loved in other things, and some I'd seen and *not* loved in other things, yet they won me over completely here. They brought their characters to life, nuances were there, tears always seemed so real and heart-wrenching. A+ for the acting. (Hwang Shin Hye, I'm so sorry for believing you weren't an awesome actress after only seeing you in Legend of the Blue Sea, you are awesome and made your character so relatable and likable, I'm so sorry ~ ).

So. The first daytime drama I actually finished! What an accomplishment, woohoo!! And it's not like I've never tried before, LOL. If that doesn't speak for this drama on its own, I don't know what will.

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