Didn’t Love It

Spoilers

Perhaps I am an anomaly, but I’m not in love with this.

Like Lee Joon Gi’s masterful acting job in Moon Lovers, this is certainly a tour de force performance by Lee Junho, who is incredibly impressive in this role. However, like ML, I don’t like this show.

(Side note: It’s rather mind boggling that Korea continues to turn out fabulous actors who were K-poppers! 🤯)

With all that said, I wasn’t in love with the actress. She was good but not on par with Junho and the script made me want to spit nails, at times.

Yes, it did have some pretty humorous, laugh out loud moments and had a well paced beginning, but in the middle it began to get bogged down. Around Episodes 9-14, I fast forwarded a lot of running around, fighting etc. with no dialogue, just to get through it.

Disclosure: I hate stories with multiple wives.

That the ML would go to another woman BEFORE going to the woman he has just discovered is carrying his child, the very woman he so desperately loves and has pursued for YEARS, whom he has FINALLY won was unfathomable and quite frankly disgusting to me.

Knowing of her reservations to marry him and WHY, which she had clearly stated several times including right before she agreed to become his wife, that was simply irreconcilable in my mind.

I started watching this because so many people were chattering about it online and talking about what “a great show” it was, “wonderful, wonderful, wonderful” - and not one single person mentioned that it did not have a HEA.

I realize it’s a true story. However, I choose not to watch stories with sad endings, ie the death of one of the main characters, so I was very unhappy when I put in 16+ hours only to discover not too far into episode 17 that she dies. Yes, it did end on a somewhat more positive note than Moon Lovers in that it implies an eternity together, but that didn’t minimize the sourness of it including the FL’s death.

I am just not a person who wants a “good cry“ or wants to watch something tragic. There’s enough tragedy in the world that I want to put my watching time in watching something that gives your heart and mind a boost and leaves the end of the show feeling uplifted, not depressed.

This wasn’t it.

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Underwhelming

Due to Kim Soo Hyun’s three year absence from the small screen, there was much hype and anticipation when his role in QoT was announced. Sadly, QoT didn’t live up to the hype.

The story had potential, but got dragged down and lost. It was greatly overshadowed by the two villains, who had more weight in the story than the two leads.

There are plenty of romance KDramas that include a stalker or killer that don’t lose the power of the romance, such as Kim Soo Hyun’s last KDrama, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, or Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, W:Two Worlds, Extraordinary You, While You Were Sleeping, etc., even QoT’s competition from this year, Lovely Runner. All had pretty nasty villains, yet the romance never got buried or overpowered by the evil.

If anyone got a bonus out of this show, it was Kim Ji Won who more than proved that she has the talent and acting chops to deliver any role in which she is cast.

There is a sweet romance lost in the villainy.

Too bad it wasn’t given preeminence.

Positive: It has a happy ending.

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Movie length KDrama with fabulous OST

Cute show clean for teens with a sweet romance, normal teenage angst over whether their crush likes them back makes for a short watch and pleasant entertainment.
A transfer student from an arts school with exceptional piano skills is approached to join the reforming school band. He agrees when he realizes that the girl he fell for at first sight is part of the band. Included is the KDrama requisite meddling between the ML and FL becoming a couple from the one-sided crush SL’s lies.
The story switches back-and-forth between the high school aged first crushes, and later adulthood as the crushes never died, amidst yet more delays in confessing, to ultimate fruition.
It’s worth watching for the OST alone, which is jam-packed with fabulous songs.

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I couldn’t figure out why the low ratings

I couldn’t figure out why the low ratings when I started watching this because the show is cute, the music is obviously going to be great - and is - with two SF9 members as the male leads. I held this opinion until the last five minutes of the show when I realized that either this show was cut short for some bizarre reason or something odd was going on. Why? Because the main focus of the show is not resolved. We are given no closure on how things turn out for the female lead on her newly reestablished path nor which of the two male leads she chose.
If you want to see a show with wonderful music, a cute storyline that may or may not have a second season, this is a good one. But if you want to see one that ties all the ends up at the end of the show, this isn’t it.

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Lovely Runner - #1 out of 417 KDramas

Contains Spoilers!!

Lovely Runner Review and why it has become my #1 KDrama out of 417 seen (so far).

This will contain a review of Lovely Runner (LR), giving a few spoilers as possible, but will also provide data showing the uniqueness of this show, and its bombshell effect on the global audience which resulted in a first leading role catapulting ML Byeon Woo Seok (BWS) into a global superstar.

Other than seeing posts of excited fans on KDrama pages, I had no information on Lovely Runner (LR) when I started watching.

It still had several weeks of airing when I “thought” I would just pop in and check out Episode 1 to see what all the stir was about and then wait for it to finish to see straight through.

Ah…NO!

From the concert to the scene on the bridge, I was HOOKED

https://youtu.be/T_uVy8v9-S8?si=onMuDs1mn1vgy039

When we got to the time-travel back to 2008 and her run to “Sun Jae-ah!!”, I was enthralled.

The story is fascinating and fabulously executed by the cast and directors who all went far beyond the norm to make this 3 years in-the-making-story come to life.

https://youtu.be/76CbAftjgRQ?si=_1FDZmxSW5-8p0L4

Due to a challenged to her perspective in the darkest time of her life, Im Sol is Eclipse lead singer Ryu Sun Jae’s longest and most dedicated fan. Through a series of events. when devastating news about him hits, she is transported from 2023 to 2008 where she attempts to change his path to avoid the catastrophe.

This leads to a hilarious intersection of 30-year-old Sol with teenage Sol’s life, much of which she doesn’t remember, as she acts bizarrely for the teenage Sol in order to save Sun Jae.

What is done differently in 2008 has an effect on 2023, some unforeseen.

Since it involves multiple trips, as she goes back-and-forth, she begins to understand the patterns of what is transferring between 2008 and 2023, and make adjustments accordingly, with her eye on the goal of saving Sun Jae.

However, Sun Jae has his own thoughts on the new Sol in each timeline.

This brings us laughter, joy, frustration, deep concern for their safety, desperately wishing for things to work out for the future, and ultimately a fabulous romance.

I am a retired professional singer and actress, so music with theater is my bag. Anytime those two are put together with excellence, I’m in, and that was certainly the case for this show with BWS actually singing the lead for the five Eclipse songs, the majority of which ended up on real life, professional music charts, one of which so resonated with the global audience that it broke and set records.

Hearing the behind the scenes footage between the actors and main director lets us appreciate the beauty of KDramas in building depth in a relationship through a directorial fine hand to make the romance heart-grabbing while specifically avoiding pushing it into being explicit.

https://youtu.be/IuF53Sw21UQ?si=zQmSpPiGr21qkkys

Result:

https://youtu.be/vY7AEc7OljY?si=dwM6cp7pPDCqA10q

I applaud that the villain propelled the story forward without overpowering the leads’ story and romance. Even as a very real threat, he was written as the impetus behind their story vs the leading couple’s story being back-burnered as disappointingly happened in the much anticipated KDrama Queen of Tears earlier this year.

I love a story that is intriguing, that makes you stay glued to the screen to keep up with the events happening to put the puzzle pieces in place instead of spelling everything out as it goes, one that requires some effort from the viewer and this one DOES - though in case you missed the clues, everything is put in place for you by the end.

We have comedy, time-travel with multiple trips back and forth, sports, music/idols - and a romance for the ages.

(Spoilers):

https://youtu.be/G273OX8r-bQ?si=FNrP06eer5G7GqAe

Sun Jae’s faithful and sacrificial love for Sol and her faithful and sacrificial love for “Sun Jae-ah” are exemplary of what true love should be. Each repeatedly put their lives and happiness on the line to protect the other.

https://youtu.be/Eh-ImBhwg7E?si=fOzOlHVzzb2Zvf-A

All KDrama fans quickly learn that S. Korea has some pretty phenomenal actors, even with K-Poppers turned actors.

Kim Hye Yoon (Im Sol) is well established as a FL and known for several roles including Extraordinary You which is set in high school (as is part of LR) where she had an even taller ML than BWS.

However for a first lead role, LR was a very ambitious and risky undertaking for novice ML Byeon Woo Seok. LR made Ryu Sun Jae a sink or swim career role for BWS’s first lead, which was a risky “make it or break it” move. The role covers swimming, singing, acting - and portraying the ML from ages 19 to 34, and he made the transitions beautifully.

In many scenes, his emotions are pouring out of his eyes, if you look. I refer you to the scene in Episode 8 right after he dumps his best friend in the bathtub and walks out to see Sol holding what he wanted to remain hidden.

As a retired actress and former university faculty in Theater, I have to say that I pegged BWS for global stardom some time back from his appearance in another show

I am very impressed with him - not just his acting ability and talent, but also his tenacity and dedication to his craft.

Not only did he tackle a difficult and complex role as his first lead role and bear the responsibility of carrying the weight of the show as the ML, but he also had to learned to swim (he said he previously could only dog-paddle!) well enough to portray an Olympic level swimmer AND swim credibly against South Korea’s own real-life Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming Park Tae Hwan, which he DID.

Additionally, BWS mastered singing five songs to play an idol, with the majority of his songs placing on real life professional music charts, especially Sudden Shower (Sonagi).

Additionally, we have a wonderful second lead in Sun Jae’s rival for Im Sol, 2nd ML Kim Tae Sung (played by Song Geon Hee), who honorably steps aside when he realizes that it is not himself, but Sun Jae who holds Sol’s heart.

Sol’s goofy brother and her best friend provide many instances of comedic relief (as do the rest of the cast), as their awareness of each other and romance plays out.

We also have other great supporting characters in Sun Jae’s best friend played by real life S. Korean band N. Flying's Lee Seung Hyun, Sol’s not-so-out-of-it G’ma (Sung Byung Sook), Sol’s Mom played by veteran actress Jung Young Joo, Sun Jae’s Dad played by veteran character actor Kim Won Hae.

I shared LR with both of my adult daughters who are also KDrama fans, and for them it has also become the #1 KDrama they have seen, and we have all seen MANY.

A great script including a love for all time, incredibly talented actors, excellent direction, a fabulous OST, much of which was sung by the ML, award winning cinematography, comedy, pathos, intrigue, celebrity, off-beat families and a happy ending - what’s not to love?

_____________

Some of the awards and global response:

The Eclipse band (in the show not a real life band) has won numerous real life awards!

(To hear their #1 song, Sudden Shower’s Official Music Video - no English my subtitles):

https://youtu.be/fBB4MaBybyg?si=id6uGjBiKJaburq7

With English (no video):

https://youtu.be/Rx-R_qIYAiA?si=VCDuztOf02t5vkFL


The complete Lovely Runner OST is so well done it’s worth purchasing as well as being one-of-a-kind with the addition of fictitious band Eclipse’s songs sung by non-professional singer, ML Byeon Woo Seok as Idol Ryu Sun Jae. The OST has released Eclipse’s songs as a Bonus album to the show’s OST.

One of the unique qualities of Lovely Runner among 2024 KDramas showing it’s global fandom is that it brings a compilation of record-breaking and record making accolades including:

• LR script book becoming a #1 best seller BEFORE it hit the market

• LR OST recorded the all-time highest pre-release sales of any KDrama OST

• Sudden Shower sung by Byeon Woo Seok placed on the U.S. Billboard chart which has never before happened for a Korean actor

• Being the #1 show in over 130 countries on its original streaming platform Rakuten Viki

• Being Netflix’s highest rated KDrama to air in 2024 - even though it only aired for NF after the show ended airing on Viki and only aired on NF in limited parts of the world

• Its Fundex/Gooddata numbers showing that even not being originally aired on NF (for which NF viewers gave them major grief), tvN‘s OTT platform’s airing of LR beat NF in streaming viewership for the first time and LR (95,789,84) even beat NF’s Queen of Tears (71,412,39), which had just beaten the record held by Crash Landing on You a month before

• BWS and KHY won many unique awards including multiple fan voted popularity awards for their roles in LR

• And several more, listed below.

• Sudden Shower/Sonagi reached #3 on S. Korea’s professional music chart (Melon) AND placed on the US Billboard professional music chart at #199, ultimately reaching #167 where it beat Taylor Swift and even BTS. Currently, Sudden Shower has over 100 million plays on Spotify, alone.

Now add in the astounding number of awards Byeon Woo Seok and LR have racked up.

We’ve seen K-Pop singers turn into actors plenty of times, but BWS is the first actor to become a real-life professional music Idol - through a KDrama.

He is the first actor who by playing an Idol received:

.• A real life Global Music Award at the professional MAMA Music Awards (which upon winning, he acknowledged his Eclipse band members by their LR names).

• The first actor to sing at MAMA before 55,000 people - LIVE

• AND BWS’s Sudden Shower/Sonagi (소나기) just won S. Korea’s Melon professional music award for Best OST song

- All of which has never happened before.

And believe it or not, LR and its beloved leading couple have received even more awards, attention, applause, mentions and imitations than I have listed here, with even S. Korean celebrities taking selfies with BWS’s life-sized ad cutouts as the industry clamors to cast him or hire him for endorsements.

Obviously, LR hit a record breaking home run with S. Korean and the global audience.

Hats off to Byeon Woo Seok and Lovely Runner for giving us a great show with a love story for all time, fabulous music and for climbing new mountains in the industry and with the global KDrama fandom. 🫡

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