This is a great drama with a great initial and unique plot line but it kinda falls apart at some parts. The story idea is quite unique to me. Dan Oh finds out that she is just an extra in someone else's story that is used as a pillar for the leads' relationship, but her own character has a cruel fate that she wants to change and live independently from the writer and the story. However, it falls apart halfway as there isn't much progress in their goal, and she shifts her priorities from changing her fate and protecting herself to protecting Haru. I read some reviews that were annoyed by her change of passion, but it made sense to me since she realized the risks of her plans.
The development of the leading characters was very unbalanced, mostly because of Haru. Dan Oh and Baek Kyung both have their own spotlight, stories, and independence, but there wasn't much depth to Haru's character. He was like the disney prince that shows up at the end to give the princess her happily ever after, but he was present for the majority of the drama. It seemed like his character's sole purpose was to help Dan Oh and become her love interest, and he wasn't independent from her. He did have a back story in trumpet creeper, which was great and gave him a little bit more development, but it wasn't enough. All he thought about was Dan Oh and he didn't have his own spotlight or his own purposes like a kdrama male lead should. I understand that the point of his character was to be the mysterious guy that can move independently from the writer but I think he should have gradually developed himself. I did really like Rowoon's acting especially in trumpet creeper. Baek Kyung's character had more potential as he had his own story, reasons, and he was flawed and had realistic emotions, but he was a very unlikeable character. He only dropped his rude personality towards the end. He was supposed to be rude and unlikeable in the beginning but I wish that he gradually became nicer and more likable so that I could sympathize with him more. I also really love Lee Jae Wook as an actor and I'm really amazed at the duality of the different characters in the two shows I watched him in (dodosolsollalasol being the other one) Dan Oh was a great character and I don't have much to say about her. She was the true main character of the series.
I did like the side characters Lee Do Hwa and Yeo Ju Da a lot. Lee Do Hwa was probably the most likable character of the series and I really liked his friendship with Haru. Yeo Ju Da was a very cliche, helpless, dependent "Cinderella" type character that couldn't do anything for herself other than wait for her Prince Charming to come save her, but then she became self aware halfway through and started taking control of her own life. She stood up to her bullies, Oh Nam Ju's mother, and became less dependent of Oh Nam Ju, even if it was just in the shadow. She grew out of her helpless disney princess character and showed a better, more independent side of her. I was really rooting for her and Do Hwa because it seemed like she actually liked him a lot more and Do Hwa's feelings for Ju Da were much more genuine than Nam Ju's. Since Oh Nam Ju never became self aware, he never got any depth to his character, as all he did was make "official announcements" that he liked Ju Da, gave her expensive gifts, saved her from bullies, and admired her from afar. He was a really boring character, but I think that was the point. Regardless, I wished Ju Da picked Do Hwa, even just in the shadow.
I didn't like the ending because it seemed like a filler in order to have a happily ever after. I was expecting to see Dan Oh die but instead Haru disappeared and the whole world closed up and then in another world they met up again. The last ten minutes was quite unfulfilling and kinda boring. Idk what else to say bat it other than I didn't like it.
There were also a lot of unanswered questions about this drama, but this review is getting long so I don't want to get into it too much.