This has got to be one of the nicest dramas I've watched. Definitely up there with Master's Sun for me. I have near zero negative things to say for it (just a couple of alternative thoughts I had). It kept me laughing, crying, and in awe throughout all the 21 episodes. An hour felt just like a minute.
First up: impeccable casting. There was no one lagging behind with everyone rising up to their roles and more. No other words needs to be said for Kim Soohyun and Jun Jihyun, they're just great. Jun Jihyun with her 4D acting cracked me up more than a few times, and I have to point this out because it always struck me: I love how natural her crying looks. No forced eye openings, she just naturally let the tears fall while blinking just as how it would be in real life. Kim Soohyun too, his stoic acting was done to perfection and that ending scene when he cried to the camera hits you so hard with his pain.
Apart from the mains, serious props have to be given to the rest of the cast. Park Haejin absolutely rose to the occasion towards the end with his passionate acting, and others like Yoonjae was perfect. I initially thought he'll just be another annoying flower boy character, stoic to girls and the rebel in the show, but he turned out to be an absolute chocolate-milk-loving astronomy heartthrob which was adorable. I liked we could really follow through the antagonist's train of thoughts; how his initial greed let to more killings to cover up just that first mistake. I personally really enjoyed Semi's character as well, the kind of non-antagonist who can't really be hated for anything else other than her insecurity and jealousy. A trait common in our everyday society, she was just a girl green-eyed for her best friend's success. While there wasn't too much character development with her even till the end, I enjoyed her complexity and how she stayed with her initial character to the end. Even random characters like Bokja and the two random dudes, the manager and the stylist I enjoyed.
I really enjoyed the plot as well. I absolutely loved all the various parodies and references: the kid version of The Heirs cracked me up, the cast and all the GagCon's catchphrases, historical references like that of The Tales of Hong Gildong being inspired by Do Minjun, and even that of Suzy and Soohyun in Dream High. There were so many hilarious plot lines, like Do Minjun's netizen moment, Lawyer Jang and his overacting as the father, Yoonjae's obsession with ET and all of drunk Cheon Sungyi, sealed my love for it.
The scriptwriter also really had the knack of making its viewer's heart flutter: the sudden kiss after her '15 second fairy' moment, the touching narratives and the bittersweet moments especially towards the departure.
I'm not gonna lie, halfway through the last episode all I could think about is how it was going to be wrapped up. A large part of me wanted either a non-ending or a sad one, just because I couldn't see an overly romanticised ending after 20 episodes of brilliant writing. I just wondered if they extended the show without proper material and drag the entire last two episode. While I can't say too much about it, I guess I'm alright with it. I'm glad that while it was a happy ending, it wasn't entirely unrealistic. While I did have quite a few questions, I decided, for my sake, to not probe too much into it. Many issues were resolved and that's good enough for me.
Personally I didn't invest as much emotions as I expected to in their love line. I can't exactly pin point it, perhaps it was the very sudden jump from strangers to lovers, or perhaps it was the brilliance of everything else that tempered with it. I still did - just not that much.
Also a huge shoutout to the great OST and all the appropriately timed entrance of them (maybe with the slight exception of the overuse of "You aaaare my destiny"). Nonetheless it's definitely a drama I've been enjoying a lot and has definitely ruined the bar for a lot of the rom-coms to come. I can see this being a massive contestant against all the 2014 dramas to come.
P.S. I can totally see The Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane suddenly rising in sales in Korea. Heck, I'm gonna give it a read as well.
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