I’m not gonna lie, I hyped myself quite a lot while watching. I heard how complicated and mindblowing of a ride the show is, and how hard it is to predict the twists, I thought of it as a challenge. And a challenge it was - frustrating in the best way possible.

The issue with mystery shows is, they are either painfully predictable, or unpredictable to the point of randomness, when there is no point in trying to figure things out yourself, because the writers never give enough hints to make it happen. Someday or One Day is a hidden gem that was able to both deliver enough information I could somehow puzzle the pieces together and form my own theories, while keeping the mystery alive. A miracle most shows are unable to achieve.

It’s truly a masterfully crafted time travel, and I always have some issues with time travel stories. Me saying it’s good is a statement I never thought I would make about a time related story. With all the time lines, all the crossed paths and changes to the events, nothing was lost, nothing was contradicting, nothing felt out of place.

What is even more surprising, the plot itself is truly not that complex if you strip all the time travel aspects away. It’s a tale of loneliness, friendship, sacrifice and love. It was like a labyrinth that had an entrance and exit point right next to each other. Simple story presented in a complex and enticing way. While the core of the show were the characters and their relationships, I do believe it was more plot than character driven overall.

Was everything about the plot perfect? No. I do believe the psychiatrist's time traveling was one time travel too much and that arc was borderline makjang material. At the same time I accept that without it, it would be impossible to deliver the same conclusion to the story, which, after I slept on it, I found actually fitting and strangely beautiful.

Since it was not simply time travel, but actually body migration, I was disappointed how it was never truly a topic of conversation. How the characters never stopped to truly think about how morally questionable it is to live in someone else’s body. It was briefly mention at the end after Yun Ru’s suicide, but it was not enough for me.

I do believe some sequences are unnecessarily put in incorrect, non linear order, just to make the viewer more confused, when I felt the story was confusing enough without it. Yes, it all came together at the end, it is still a fact that at times I felt like I needed to start writing notes to make sure I can keep up with the story.

The last 3 episodes are something that is hard for me to make a judgment on. While I was not thrilled watching them, since the tone shifted from tight mystery to personal drama, after some consideration, they were necessary to give the show closure. As much as it was a love story, it was also a journey to acceptance of the loss.

Huang Yu Xuan was a character desperate to find her lost lover, to go back to the blissful days they shared. She was not able to heal from her loss, so when the opportunity arose to fix the future she could not accept - she took it. And yet, all that was futile and by the end, she had to accept she cannot produce the future she wants without hurting other people. I found her decision to destroy the tape brave and selfless. Not only did she give up reuniting with the love of her life (as she could not truly be sure they will be able to find each other in the future), she also gave up all the precious memories she had with him - all to keep the people she learned to care about alive.

It is true that she had faith that they would find each other, but she could not be sure about it. She took a chance, gave up the control over the events and put her trust in the connection they had, that was able to overcome countless setbacks.

Then we have Li Zi Wei. While I did find him adorable, dedicated, dreamy and perfect in all boyfriend type of ways, I did think he as an individual character did not have much to offer. Someday or One Day is his love story, but he does not really exist outside of it like the rest of the characters. And it makes it hard for me to truly talk about him, because there is not that much to address. He survived years of pain with the hope of reuniting with Yu Xuan. His love for her was deep. And yet, somehow I craved any scenes that were not connected with Yu Xuan, for example his friendship with Jun Jie. Things that would make him more than just Yu Xuan soulmate, lover, 2nd half.

The 3rd of the trio friends - Jun Jie. The character that was the hardest to read and one that left the most space for viewers interpretation. Was his love for Yun Ru based on his desire to save her? Or was he interested in her because he thought they were similar, could potentially understand each other? Personally, I found him to be one of the more heartbreaking characters. He made so much effort and yet it was inevitable he would be hurt by the end. All the tweaks to the timelines, all the changes and attempts to make things better, and yet he was always the one to suffer the consequences. I’m honestly happy that by the end of the show his life got back to normal and it was no longer affected by the two main characters trying to find each other and create the future they desperately wanted.

Talking about the characters, I cannot ignore both Chen Yun Ru and Wang Quan Sheng. First of all, justice for the boy. He got nothing from it. He suffered alive, got his body used by a lovesick guy after his death, and by the end of it all, his future was not affected in any positive way, he still ended up taking his own life. How much he was used in this scenario is honestly quite sad.

Chen Yun Ru had a little bit more agency. We get to know her more, understand her struggles on more than a surface level. She gets her 2nd chance and hopefully learns how to heal. Sadly, I find her story to be both hopeful and questionable with the presentation.

I am not sure how I feel about her change of heart at the end. Someone with such deep psychological issues getting better after hearing “manage your expectations” seems just silly. The vague message makes sense, don’t get me wrong. Many people are unhappy with their lives as they don’t see and don’t appreciate the things they have, fixating on things they want, but cannot achieve. And when their expectations are not met, they become even more unsure of themselves and unsatisfied with their lives. The issue is, Yun Ru was not just a gloomy and pessimistic girl who had issues making friends. Depression is not something you can easily change by fixing your mindset, and she was depressed. She tried to kill herself, and asked to be killed. So the idea that the few lines from Yu Xuan made such a huge difference felt flat.

I also feel like the message was quite conflicting. On one hand we were told her suicide was the result of the judgmental society who tried to changed her to match their expectations, the idea that whatever she did, it was never enough, because people did not accept her for who she was. But then they end her arc with the idea that it’s her who had to fix her expectations, not the society's approach towards people who do not meet the “norm”. So which one is it?

Time to talk about the glorious performances. Ko Chia Yen amazed me. Being able to deliver a believable portrayal of not only 2 characters, but in different stages of their life, making sure the small changes of approach and personalities make sense, making sure Yun Ru and Yu Xuan truly feel like two different people - she achieved it all.

Greg Hsu Li Zi Wei was painfully beautiful. The striking difference between his take on the teenage boy with cheerful demeanor and the adult version who suffered both physically and psychologically was perfect.

As for the production - I will never ever listen to Last Dance EVER again. This song goes right next to The Heirs “Moment” as the song used so much in a drama I’m actually sick of it. It’s a beautiful song, but I think I heard it enough for the lifetime.

Visually speaking it was low key beautiful. It felt like all these stunning moments we can actually encounter in our lives if we pay enough attention.

All that said, at the end of the day it’s a simple story about love and loneliness, presented in the most complex and convoluted, yet best way possible. It’s not a perfect drama, it’s not a perfect story and it’s not a perfect presentation of it, and yet I was invested from beginning till the end. I made wild theories and tried to uncover the truth as I watched every episode, and for that I am grateful. It made me rethink many issues and consider various situations from different angles. It invited me to explore various takes on the same problem and how, depending on one’s personality, preferences, expectations and past experiences, other people might see them in their own distinct way.