Nam Joo-hyuk is a favorite actor of mine (one of many hahaha) whose career I have been avidly watching. When I saw he decided to star in this very serious melodrama I was intrigued. Netzins have accused him of poor acting which I disagree with. Koreans are also very fascinated with twisty time travel which Radiant explores!

I'm not really a fan of actress Han Ji-min so I was quite worried to watch Radiant. I needn't have because we spend a lot more time on screen with her elderly counterpart Kim Hye-ja who is a wonderful elderly actress (not to be confused with their character with the same name!) Yes, there is a bit of a supernatural twist involved. Of course, Hye-ja's family and friends are greatly effected by this change in her. And we explore this effect alongside her estranged relationship with Lee Joon-ha who she is forced to emotionally abandon even though they fall in love.

Radiant is a very odd story. We assume from the first couple episodes that it will be a supernatural romantic comedy... and it surely has all of those elements, but it is more of a melodrama than anything. The twists start coming hot and heavy in the last handful of episodes and it totally changes how you view that beginning. Yes, there is a roller coaster of emotions that we go through with Hye-ja and Joon-ha, and the end is rather poignant rather than strictly happy, but the journey makes Radiant worth the watch.

Kim Hye-ja and Lee Joon-ha sell me. I was totally on board with this couple. They connected on a visceral level in those first episodes that I really related to and wanted to see play out to the end. Alas a family tragedy totally derails their love affair and we watch Radiant with bated breathe wondering at the promise in that beginning. It's quite heart breaking and Hye-ja works hard to stay close to Joon-ha even as his life spirals out of control. All is not as it seems.

I thought it was quite fascinating how her family and friends play into Hye-ja's story with Joon-ha. Even though we don't learn much until the end, I was fascinated by Hye-ja's parents relationship. There was history there we don't learn about but can feel the effect of. And Hye-ja's own relationship with her father was quite pregnant with emotion boiling under the surface. It was the later episodes though that put all of these moments in perspective. Like I said all is not as it seems but the reality is just as authentic once we know the truth.

Radiant is a true melodrama that wrings your heart out! Romance lovers and non-romance lovers will enjoy this as its authenticity to real life touches your heart despite the supernatural elements that allow us to explore Hye-ja's life. The twists and turns make the journey worth the watch as the truths inherit in Radiant give you a vehicle to ponder your own life.