Wow! I started watching this because of the Witch's Love a K Drama that I heard was going to be a remake. I wanted to see the original before the remake, and I'm so glad I did. This was just excellent! There was nothing original about the storyline, but it demonstrated that even familiar tropes can have a powerful impact when well executed.
If I were to list the top 10 things I liked about this Drama, the first eight would read 1. Ethan/Cheryl 2.Ethan/Cheryl 3.Ethan/Cheryl 4.Ethan/Cheryl 5.Ethan/Cheryl 6.Ethan/Cheryl 7.Ethan/Cheryl 8.Ethan/Cheryl
Their chemistry was superb and totally sold the very familiar storyline. I feel that the Drama was one episode too long, and would have been even closer to getting a ten if it had only been 20 episodes, but the way the final episode moved me was testament to how well the leads made me REALLY care about their characters. In that first 20 minutes of the final episode I was crying so much and so loudly I woke my wife sleeping in the next room, EVEN THOUGH I was certain it was not going to end badly for them. That twenty minutes was a cliché but it was executed with such conviction by actors who'd made sure their characters were so real that I quite literally couldn't help myself from being devastated at what I was watching.
The other two points in my top ten would go to the music. I am totally unmusical and have zero Chinese - I couldn't tell MSM from Hokkien if there were flashing neon signs labelling each one, but I simply loved the music in this Drama. Every song seemed to fit the mood, and I actively looked forward to hearing the familiar songs as the Drama progressed.
My original goal in watching this was to be able to compare Witch's Love when it came out. As I write this, Witch's Love hasn't started, but already I doubt that it can come close to the near-perfection of the sweet, touching gem. Sweet and bittersweet, happy and sad, joy and despair, all were so well balanced that even though the destination may have been predictable, the ride was exhilarating and touching. I will DEFINITELY be watching this again, probably more than once.
Was this review helpful to you?