egg thief
Run On: The Elliott to my E.T. drama heart
I'm still relatively new to dramas, and I'm picky about romance plots with too much drama, so this was the perfect watch for me.
Story:
Never before has the dialogue of any TV/show I've seen been so intentional. No cringe jokes stuck in for the sake of humor, just friendly banter between friends. There aren't any 2-D characters that only ever seem to have one personality trait: characters that may seem headstrong at first are shown recognizing and apologizing for their mistakes, while characters that may seem soft-spoken or mild in character soon show resilience of their own. All in all, I really felt that the characters' personalities and wit really shown through all of their interactions. There were times I would rewatch a certain scene over and over because i expected a character to have acted one way, and almost thought I had understood the plot wrong. However, I would then realize that this was a learning moment for them (or simply just a representation of their mentality towards a certain subject matter), and it was surprising but also pleasing to see growth. And there were other times I would rewatch a scene because I thought the banter was just perfect, to the point where I would've missed some of the cleverness in the dialogue had I not rewatched it. Most of all, there were moments that gave the drama its own charm, such as the E.T. references or hilariously peculiar situations such as the moments before Dan Ah's birthday party (or Mi Joo and Seon Gyeom's first encounters).
Run On also addressed some major societal issues. The topic of bullying and whistleblowing in the athletic community, the reality of working on film sets, parental pressure when it comes to academics, family dynamics and having a work-life balance, the difficulties of being an idol, and so much more are all addressed. There was also LGBTQ+ representation in the form of both gay and ace characters, as well as some important messages about respecting the difficulties of coming out. Most importantly, the drama addresses the idea of respecting yourself and respecting others. We first see the idea of self-love and communication early on through the portrayal of Seon Gyeom, who is learning to respect himself instead of selflessly sacrificing for others who wouldn't do the same, and is in turn also learning to communicate his thoughts so others around him can help him on his journey. Soon, we see that this progression applies to every single character, as everyone learns to grow in some way. And in turn, the side plots contribute nicely to the overall message of the story - instead of leaving us feeling like "_______ couple" got more screentime than "_______ couple", we are left with a complete picture of characters whose lives and journeys are intertwined.
On the topic of Mi Joo and Seon Gyeom, I've seen some comments about how the chemistry wasn't really felt between Im Shi Wan and Shin Se Kyung (although of course I'm generalizing here). But I think that more has to do with how their characters are written. Neither of them really carries the extravagance of Dan Ah, or Young Hwa's overly romantic view of first love - which makes the second leads' dynamic so much fun to watch. They simply exist in each other's space. Mi Joo learns to break down her naturally strong, independent exterior and learns to open her heart up instead of turning away with difficulties in their relationship. Seon Gyeom learns to better understand both his emotions and others' emotions, no longer keeping things to himself and sharing how he feels. There are funny moments in between their moments of wit/banter, especially in their first few encounters with one another; there are awkward moments at times, when they don't have much to say; there are angsty moments when they break up or Mi Joo becomes frustrated and Seon Gyeom doesn't understand why; and there are cute moments when they show affection towards one another. It's enviable how peaceful their existence is with one another, and it makes me feel warm.
However, the reason I gave this plot a 9 and not a 10/10 is because there were some road bumps toward the middle and end of the story - I felt that some plots did not get as resolved as well as I had hoped, especially in the last episode. However, given that this is only 16 episodes, I think the drama did a good job.
Acting/Cast:
I don't have any complaints about the acting. This is a seasoned cast that did a great job.
Choi Soo Young's portrayal of Dan Ah is honestly my favorite. Soo Young brought out the qualities of Dan Ah as a badass character, and I totally admired how blunt she was with everyone around her. Her expression was often unreadable/she was quite cold to the people around her, but you could see Dan Ah slowly letting go of her pride to admit her wrongdoings in moments of vulnerability later on, which I thought was wonderful.
I also thought the rest of the main cast did a great job embodying their characters. Although at first it seemed that Se Kyung wasn't showing a lot of emotion in her portrayal of Mi Joo, now that I better understand the character of Mi Joo, I think she did a great job. Like I said before, Mi Joo doesn't have any striking personality traits like some of the other cast; all we see at the beginning is her as strong and independent character that doesn't take anyone's sh*t. However, we slowly see the development of her character through her interactions with everyone else: movie references, her perspectives on being a translator, her backstory (family, past relationships) and how it affects her today, being nocturnal, her relationship with blenders, drunk Mi Joo, etc. And she definitely has her funny/endearing moments, such as (like I said before) her first encounter with Seon Gyeom, her conversations with Dan Ah and Mae-Yi, as well as incidents involving a brick and the f-word, lol. All by way of saying that Se Kyung brought out all of these qualities about Mi Joo that we love so much, even if she didn't seem particularly expressive in the way that she portrayed Mi Joo - there was humor when there needed to be, moments of vulnerability amidst a really headstrong personality, and quiet moments with Seon Gyeom that were brought out really well.
Im Shi Wan, despite not doing a lot of romcoms, also served as a great portrayal of Seon Gyeom. Seon Gyeom seemed really level-headed (and often out of the loop, lol), and Shi Wan's eyes were especially expressive when Seon Gyeom didn't express his thoughts with his words (or they matched how he was feeling in the moment). There was a characteristic expression of blankness that indicated Seon Gyeom's confusion which Shi Wan brought out really well, such as when he didn't understand Mi Joo's movie references. Kang Tae Oh also did a great job as Young Hwa, and we could definitely see the transition from his idea of puppy love to a more mature view of Dan Ah.
Lastly, I thought Park Young Gyu really succeeded at embodying the villain role he was given. And Choi Jae Hyun and Yeon Je Wook as Tae Woong and Ji Hyun were hilarious to watch.
Music:
The OST was definitely catchy, and it fit well with the idea of recurring themes across different characters. However, given that this drama tries to be real in its portrayal of love and relationships, we didn't always need the overly melodramatic music and slo-mo shots when there was something touching going on. I don't necessarily have a problem with the songs themselves; rather, I thought the placement of the songs didn't fit with the overall message of the script.
Edit: Changing the music rating from a 6.5/10 to a 8.5/10 because even though it doesn't fit the series that well in my opinion, it's SO GOOD on its own. I've been listening to "Where Are You?" by Kim Na Young on repeat for the past few hours.
Rewatch Value:
Lastly, I would definitely watch this again. It's only been a few hours since i finished the last episode, but wow, I don't think I'm getting over this drama for a while. Every single character was so endearing. I understand why others may think that the plot dragged because there wasn't a lot of action or outright drama happening (and the ending being unreliable), but for me, it had enough suspense at times to keep me going while still maintaining the feel of the mundanity of life.
Conclusion:
Standing ovation to Park Shi Hyun. Definitely going to be watching more of Choi Soo Young's work. I want a roommate like Mae-Yi and a brother like Tae Woong. I also badly want to try japchae now.
Story:
Never before has the dialogue of any TV/show I've seen been so intentional. No cringe jokes stuck in for the sake of humor, just friendly banter between friends. There aren't any 2-D characters that only ever seem to have one personality trait: characters that may seem headstrong at first are shown recognizing and apologizing for their mistakes, while characters that may seem soft-spoken or mild in character soon show resilience of their own. All in all, I really felt that the characters' personalities and wit really shown through all of their interactions. There were times I would rewatch a certain scene over and over because i expected a character to have acted one way, and almost thought I had understood the plot wrong. However, I would then realize that this was a learning moment for them (or simply just a representation of their mentality towards a certain subject matter), and it was surprising but also pleasing to see growth. And there were other times I would rewatch a scene because I thought the banter was just perfect, to the point where I would've missed some of the cleverness in the dialogue had I not rewatched it. Most of all, there were moments that gave the drama its own charm, such as the E.T. references or hilariously peculiar situations such as the moments before Dan Ah's birthday party (or Mi Joo and Seon Gyeom's first encounters).
Run On also addressed some major societal issues. The topic of bullying and whistleblowing in the athletic community, the reality of working on film sets, parental pressure when it comes to academics, family dynamics and having a work-life balance, the difficulties of being an idol, and so much more are all addressed. There was also LGBTQ+ representation in the form of both gay and ace characters, as well as some important messages about respecting the difficulties of coming out. Most importantly, the drama addresses the idea of respecting yourself and respecting others. We first see the idea of self-love and communication early on through the portrayal of Seon Gyeom, who is learning to respect himself instead of selflessly sacrificing for others who wouldn't do the same, and is in turn also learning to communicate his thoughts so others around him can help him on his journey. Soon, we see that this progression applies to every single character, as everyone learns to grow in some way. And in turn, the side plots contribute nicely to the overall message of the story - instead of leaving us feeling like "_______ couple" got more screentime than "_______ couple", we are left with a complete picture of characters whose lives and journeys are intertwined.
On the topic of Mi Joo and Seon Gyeom, I've seen some comments about how the chemistry wasn't really felt between Im Shi Wan and Shin Se Kyung (although of course I'm generalizing here). But I think that more has to do with how their characters are written. Neither of them really carries the extravagance of Dan Ah, or Young Hwa's overly romantic view of first love - which makes the second leads' dynamic so much fun to watch. They simply exist in each other's space. Mi Joo learns to break down her naturally strong, independent exterior and learns to open her heart up instead of turning away with difficulties in their relationship. Seon Gyeom learns to better understand both his emotions and others' emotions, no longer keeping things to himself and sharing how he feels. There are funny moments in between their moments of wit/banter, especially in their first few encounters with one another; there are awkward moments at times, when they don't have much to say; there are angsty moments when they break up or Mi Joo becomes frustrated and Seon Gyeom doesn't understand why; and there are cute moments when they show affection towards one another. It's enviable how peaceful their existence is with one another, and it makes me feel warm.
However, the reason I gave this plot a 9 and not a 10/10 is because there were some road bumps toward the middle and end of the story - I felt that some plots did not get as resolved as well as I had hoped, especially in the last episode. However, given that this is only 16 episodes, I think the drama did a good job.
Acting/Cast:
I don't have any complaints about the acting. This is a seasoned cast that did a great job.
Choi Soo Young's portrayal of Dan Ah is honestly my favorite. Soo Young brought out the qualities of Dan Ah as a badass character, and I totally admired how blunt she was with everyone around her. Her expression was often unreadable/she was quite cold to the people around her, but you could see Dan Ah slowly letting go of her pride to admit her wrongdoings in moments of vulnerability later on, which I thought was wonderful.
I also thought the rest of the main cast did a great job embodying their characters. Although at first it seemed that Se Kyung wasn't showing a lot of emotion in her portrayal of Mi Joo, now that I better understand the character of Mi Joo, I think she did a great job. Like I said before, Mi Joo doesn't have any striking personality traits like some of the other cast; all we see at the beginning is her as strong and independent character that doesn't take anyone's sh*t. However, we slowly see the development of her character through her interactions with everyone else: movie references, her perspectives on being a translator, her backstory (family, past relationships) and how it affects her today, being nocturnal, her relationship with blenders, drunk Mi Joo, etc. And she definitely has her funny/endearing moments, such as (like I said before) her first encounter with Seon Gyeom, her conversations with Dan Ah and Mae-Yi, as well as incidents involving a brick and the f-word, lol. All by way of saying that Se Kyung brought out all of these qualities about Mi Joo that we love so much, even if she didn't seem particularly expressive in the way that she portrayed Mi Joo - there was humor when there needed to be, moments of vulnerability amidst a really headstrong personality, and quiet moments with Seon Gyeom that were brought out really well.
Im Shi Wan, despite not doing a lot of romcoms, also served as a great portrayal of Seon Gyeom. Seon Gyeom seemed really level-headed (and often out of the loop, lol), and Shi Wan's eyes were especially expressive when Seon Gyeom didn't express his thoughts with his words (or they matched how he was feeling in the moment). There was a characteristic expression of blankness that indicated Seon Gyeom's confusion which Shi Wan brought out really well, such as when he didn't understand Mi Joo's movie references. Kang Tae Oh also did a great job as Young Hwa, and we could definitely see the transition from his idea of puppy love to a more mature view of Dan Ah.
Lastly, I thought Park Young Gyu really succeeded at embodying the villain role he was given. And Choi Jae Hyun and Yeon Je Wook as Tae Woong and Ji Hyun were hilarious to watch.
Music:
The OST was definitely catchy, and it fit well with the idea of recurring themes across different characters. However, given that this drama tries to be real in its portrayal of love and relationships, we didn't always need the overly melodramatic music and slo-mo shots when there was something touching going on. I don't necessarily have a problem with the songs themselves; rather, I thought the placement of the songs didn't fit with the overall message of the script.
Edit: Changing the music rating from a 6.5/10 to a 8.5/10 because even though it doesn't fit the series that well in my opinion, it's SO GOOD on its own. I've been listening to "Where Are You?" by Kim Na Young on repeat for the past few hours.
Rewatch Value:
Lastly, I would definitely watch this again. It's only been a few hours since i finished the last episode, but wow, I don't think I'm getting over this drama for a while. Every single character was so endearing. I understand why others may think that the plot dragged because there wasn't a lot of action or outright drama happening (and the ending being unreliable), but for me, it had enough suspense at times to keep me going while still maintaining the feel of the mundanity of life.
Conclusion:
Standing ovation to Park Shi Hyun. Definitely going to be watching more of Choi Soo Young's work. I want a roommate like Mae-Yi and a brother like Tae Woong. I also badly want to try japchae now.
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