Someday or One Day (2023)

CLOSE YOUR EYES – NOW FEEL ⏯️

DISCLAIMER: I completed this a week ago and had time to collect / sit with my thoughts so please take my opinion / review with a grain of salt as I’m not here to argue with anyone.

I also have not watched the Taiwanese version yet (but I will do so soon) It will be interesting to see if my opinion on the show will been alter / change. Anyways, this is just a my summary of the drama. I watched it completely blind with no preconceived notions.

The emotions you will experience while watching this drama cannot be replicated by reading a plot synopsis or watching a summary video on YouTube. I recommend that you watch it without looking at the spoilers or hating / comparing it to versions you've seen before. Just pretend it's a whole new drama.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Romance, Fantasy

Tropes: Time travel, time loop, doppelgängers, friends to lovers, second chance romance ,found family, friendship, transmigration (body / soul switching), soulmates.

Likes:

This drama was interesting to say the least. The cinematography was beautiful and it felt very nostalgic because it takes you back to the 90s and 2000s. The time travel plot was very well done. I thought it would be confusing but it wasn't. It was easy to understand and found myself figuring out the plot half way through. I figured the scarred man was in fact Nam Si Heon and came up with reasons how this could be possible etc. My guesses were close enough lol. Every episode had me on the edge of my seat, thinking I had it all figured out, only to be surprised by unexpected twists and turns. I had to pay close attention because of the back-and-forth storytelling, but it was worth it.

Jeon Yeo Been's performance was outstanding, especially in how she portrayed the two different characters – she was convincing in showing us (the audience) that it was in fact two different people. The especially how she shifted her personality between the characters. The way she looked at Si Heon / Yeon Jun, laughed, walked, smiled and talked – all changed with the person and the timeline.

Ahn Hyo Seop gave me butterflies and made my heart skip whenever he was on screen, he really is very handsome and I think I developed a crush while watching. Si Heon / Yeon Jun was soooo boyfriend and just the greenest flag ever, across every single timeline. I mean he did such an amazing and convincing job as he portrayed the Si Heon / Yeon Jun who longed for his love (Jun Hee) across time and space. I thought the way he could immediately tell the difference between Min Ju and Jun Hee was precious and endearing. Min Ju could not fool him and unfortunately he would never be able to return her (or anyone else’s) affections becasue Jun Hee was his one true love.

Kang Hoon proved that even without a lot of lines, one's screen presence can be pretty impactful. Also, the way he emotes with his eyes is at another level altogether.

Rowoon's guest appearance was a pleasant surprise and I enjoyed seeing him on screen even thought it was short lived.

Min Jin Woong was a very compelling villain. He nailed the psychopathic murderer / serial killer role so well. I was definitely creeped out and on the edge of my seat watching and waiting to see what his character would do next.

Dislikes:

Some aspects of the time travel phenomenon weren't entirely explained, like why there were two people with the exact same face? I also found it puzzling how Chan Yeong looked exactly like his older brother. That resemblance was truly a mystery for me but I guess it made the storytelling easier from the writers perspective. It seems like that's just how the world of 'A Time Called You' works. I did not have a problem with Si Heon / Yeon Jun and Min Ju / Jun Hee existing in the same timeline like other people. It was very understandable and if you pay close attention you won’t be confused.

What triggered me was Min-Ju’s suicide. It captured a suicidal persons thoughts perfectly but reinforced the fact that no matter what you say / do to help a suicidal person, it won’t change the fact that if someone wants to die… they will kill themselves. They have to want to live for themselves and want to heal / get better and have something to live for. I’m not saying this to be cold/heartless because I just knew a girl like Min Ju. The only difference is she'd always threaten suicide for attention (unlike Min Ju) but in actuality, being her friend was exhausting. Safe to say we're not friends anymore and she still has her depressive episodes but I’m glad I’m not around for her to trauma dump on me or act like her issues are for more important / greater than anyone else's. She used to claim other's do not understand her and that she doesn’t have the mental capacity to care about anyone but herself (at least she was self aware, but imo she was also self centered and mean spirited most of all!). I don't think it was for a lack of love or attention, because it seemed she received both, but like Min Ju she was bullied a lot in her formative years and then kept attempting to transform herself indefinitely. Unfortunately she did not realize (and still hasn't to this day) that by doing all that she was killing the person she used to be, leaving her feeling empty and full of self-hatred (much like when Min Ju claimed to be Jun Hee lol!)

Anyway, it's ironic because thorough everything I was deemed selfish and told that I just don’t understand even though I always was encouraging, reassuring and supportive much like In Gyu. Seeing such a similar occurrence in this drama brought up a flood of emotions for me, which is why I think I felt overwhelmed then slightly irked while watching it. It was insane, especially when they showed inside Min Ju’s mind, Jun Hee trying to stop her, In Gyu pouring his heart out and trying to comfort her by lending caring / supportive worlds to then hearing Min Ju claim nobody cared about her. It was even more shocking to then see her catapult / launch herself off the building, thus killing herself (bleeding to death) and In Gyu taking the blame. I had so many mixed emotions but that very intense scene left me feeling sad and disheartened most of all. I could feel the same sense of hopelessness much like how Jun Hee felt, just being a mere bystander/watcher from that cave – not being able to do anything to help or convince Min Ju her life was worth living.

Moral of the story is choose your friends wisely, try your best and be kind always. If it’s not good enough (especially to the other person) and they don’t see the value in their life then know it’s not your fault / on you. Don’t blame yourself and go to prison for someone else’s choice or twisted wishes to be fulfilled like In Gyu. As Jun Hee said it was Min Ju's own expectations of people that made her miserable and she needed to take time for herself and take care of her wellbeing.

I wish the show explained the alternate ending better, I would’ve liked to find out exactly how In Gyu saves Min Ju on time. It would also have been nice for them to tell how Min Ju gets stuck in a cave where she see through the eyes of Jun Hee and vice versa plus how they escape from it and become the main host of the body.

I’m a very emotional / sentimental person so I did tear up while watching. If you’re the same (or worse) be sure to bring some tissues.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, each of their stories was beautiful as was the ending. Even though it’s an open and some what bittersweet ending I think it gives the viewer hope and promise of what is to come between the two main characters. While watching I felt warm seeing the kind of love that was portrayed throughout the drama. It made me feel the butterflies of a first love, the comfort of a mature love, the pain of separation and the overwhelming relief of their reunion.

The ending made me hopeful and happy, but it also made my heart hurt. I think it’s more so because of the realization that so many precious memories and relationships formed across various timelines would be lost forever, as if they never existed.

This was the kind of drama that stays with you long after you finish watching it. I still feel an ache in my heart when I think about it or listen to the OST (which by the way is just as amazing!) I think everyone who enjoyed this had that moment where they played "Gather My Tears" and tried to close our eyes and dissociate pretending we were going back in time like Jun Hee.

If this drama was a quote it would be: "In a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality – I'd find you and I'd always choose you."

It truly deserves an 8.5/10 and I will definitely be sure to rewatch it in the future, whenever "a time calls me."

If you read all this ILY! 🥹


Thanks for reading & happy watching!

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

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Enjoyable but Original is Superior

Don't get me wrong... A Time Called You is well-made and visually wonderful but there are several ways in which it cannot beat the original despite a great effort. I suppose fans of the original, like me, can be happy that they didn't ruin it which is very common with remakes. So that's always a plus. Hopefully everyone will also go and watch the original drama - Someday Or One Day.

One of the strongest points of SOOD was the OST. Both the theme song and the main song - Last Dance by Wu Bai, are magical and memorable. Unfortunately, Gather My Tears can be described as nice at best but not worthy of being THE song that makes magic happen. It doesn't give me goosebumps the way Last Dance did. It's unforgettable. And it was the highlight of the original. However, I didn't get the same feeling from Gather My Tears. Last Dance was also meaningful to the story and elicited nostalgia. 'A Time Called You' made it seem like a song that happened to be liked by MinJoo and it wasn't the highlight of the scenes. Or at least it didn't come across that way to me. That itself took away the essence of the drama.

The main plot is essentially the same so I won't spoil that but there are a few other differences that I'd like to highlight from memory which count as spoilers. This review might be more appreciated by those who have watched both versions.
- One of the basics, they changed from the original is how the FL discovers the photo of the 3 friends. That was unique in SOOD and tied a bit more into the destiny theme perhaps.

- One big moment that stood out was when the FL, Han Jun Hee first arrives in the body of Kwon Min Joo, she is so shocked to see Koo Yeon Jun. That was supposed to be an impactful scene but it didn't feel that way. It was one of the FL's weakest scenes in my opinion.

- A memorable FL's dialogue from the original is her highlighting the age gap between her and the school boys which also added to her awkwardness at seeing her fiance's face. every time Something this show glossed over.

- They changed the way the ML meets the child FL of the past. The original encounter was far more memorable from the perspective of a child. I wish they hadn't changed it.

- There were times when I didn't see much difference between Jun Hee and Min Joo when it should have been more blatant. Alice Ke, in the Taiwanese drama, was masterful in that way. But Yeo Been's final scenes with her counterpart matched the emotions of the original's actress very well. I appreciated that a lot.

- Comparing the male actors, Ahn Hyeo Seop did a good job and there were moments when he really shined but Greg Hsu had bowled me over (considering I didn't think I would like him initially). He was far more charming and cheeky and one could see why he was popular. AHS's character didn't stand out as much to be a popular guy. I also felt his hairstyle wasn't great. However both male and female leads fit the ages they were portraying well.

- The lame jokes scene was just immensely better in the original. It felt terribly flat in this Korean version and lacked soul considering how important it actually was.

- One of the reasons I was keen to watch the Korean version was for Kang Hoon. Although I feel his character was given more importance here than the original which I liked, the original had a bit more heart. His hearing disability was inconspicuous and forgettable for the most part. The original depicted his liking for the FL far better. You could also understand his pain better in SOOD.

- The ML's accident was quite different from the original though I wasn't really upset with the change.

- Koo Yeon Jun and Tae Ha (Rowoon)'s moments together was an interesting take on the original story.

- The show failed to highlight Min Joo's attacker and his obsession the way the original did. It was a bit muted.

- The weakest points of the original was the ending so it was good to see A Time Called You address that which required SOOD to release an additional clip. Though it would have been nice to have a little bit more.

It's been over a year that I watched Someday Or One Day and I'm glad I could not recall all the details especially towards the end so I could enjoy A Time Called You a lot more rather than just comparing scene for scene. But I would always recommend the original before this one and it will always be one of my most favourite dramas. Watching the remake just made me want to rewatch the original again because that's how impressive it is.

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