If I could summarize this drama in one word it would be this: painful.
This drama is SUPER sad so prepare a box of tissues or you'll end up getting tears everywhere. If you're looking for a drama that is realistic and sad to watch then I wholeheartedly recommend this, but if you don't like watching realistic dramas, this one's not for you. That being said, lets get to the review!Story: This story is very well written even though it does have some typical kdrama elements in it but I really appreciate how there are no plot holes and the pace is quick. A lot of people don't like the love story in this but I think it's refreshing. I don't think I could make it through this drama without some refreshing breaks LOL. I really like the character developments and I don't think In Ha is unnecessary in the drama. It's nice to see the main character have someone to rely on (thats a girl ofc lol). One thing though, the ending could have been tweaked a little better.. well I wanted some magical cure for Alzheimers but its okay I understand lol.
Acting/Cast: Min Young, as always, was great and she did a really good job portraying In Ha as Jin Woo's supporter and noona. Seung Ho as Jin Woo was amazing, I'm in love with his acting. Everytime he cried I cried and everytime he smiled I smiled. His acting is splendid and I'd like to see him as a main role in more dramas :) (happy dramas lol). P.S. he's super handsome so thats a bonus haha. Nam Goong Min as Nam Kyu Man (wow so close... a coincidence I don't think so? haha) was AMAZING as a villain. He really portrayed all sides of the villain. Kyu Man spends his whole life pleasing his father and you can really see that and his anger issues are extreme. I'd have to say he definitely did an awesome job at giving this character dimension. Kyu Man's sister was okay, nothing special about her & lastly Park Dong Ho's character was amazing. His Busan accent and his acting was very good.
Music: what? there was music? lol srry I was too busy crying...
Rewatch Value: yes. definitely. a gem. but I won't watch this when I'm depressed LOL
Overall: overall I definitely wholeheartedly recommend this drama to anyone who wants a sad, realistic drama. This drama is very realistic because in reality the rich really do overpower the poor. I watched this drama for the cast and I was not disappointed. Awesome cast and great storyline.
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Story: Is there a love story in this? Yes, but it's not the main focus of the story. I thought a love story was unnecessary, because the main focus was Jin Woo fighting against a hugely corrupted company / judicial system that falsely accused his dad, which I thought was 10x better.
This story is depressing, melodramatic, and I experienced a lot of moments where I was frustrated with the writers for making the story so sadistic and sad. But this frustration did not prevent me from enjoying the show; every episode was thrilling, intense, and played with my emotions wholeheartedly. There is so much satisfaction when you see injustice turn into justice and how the downfall of the villain is executed. There is always something happening in every episode, and I thought the story was well paced for a show with 20 episodes
Acting: I feel like in this case everyone's perspective on each character will be different based on your own morals, preferences, etc, but I found the cast to be amazing, but a little frustrating to watch as I questioned some of the characters and their significance to the story
Major props to Nam Goong MIn as the evil guy, he really knows how to make the audience's blood boil. I enjoyed Park Sung Woong as Dong Ho, not only did I love his Busan accent, but he is a very rational character that knows what's right and what's wrong, regardless of how the show/audience portrays him. To be honest, I found Seung Ho's character kind of annoying due to his stubbornness, but he is very passionate and ambitious. Park Min Young's character is very civil and determined, and at the same time she also was Seung Ho's emotional support. I felt the chemistry between Seung Ho and Min Young was amazing, but not in a romantic way at all.
Music/Overall: I haven't really payed attention to the music cause the opening theme song kind of overpowered the rest of the tracks and it constantly plays in my head (LOL), but pretty decent OST collection.
I am giving this a 9 for minor reasons (love story, over usage of flashbacks, frustration of characters, etc.), but If you like thrillers, want to take a rest from all those romance dramas, and cry from sadness you should definitely give this a chance.
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STORY
The base idea of the story is the constant struggle of average everyday people, against the higher, powerful, rich people who think they can get away with anything. We have a kind, average man who is being framed for a crime he didn't commit. Of course, he gets convicted as he is up against those people who have consealed their crimes with their wealth. In this story, his son decides to take action and seek revenge on behalf of his parent's innocence. Hence we get the base concept of the story which is revenge. The base concept isn't anything groundbreaking imo, i mean, how many revenge dramas are out there, but the idea behind it of the rich people and the power of truth was unique indeed and flawlessly delivered!
I found the first 4 episodes really amazing and thrilling. Sadly the pace of story, even if it was always interesting, it felt rather slow, and this is the main reason i cannot give this a higher score than 8.5 even if it actually deserves it. We get several law cases, that are linked somehow to the base story, but serve little to no purpose most of the time, and they could have been avoided. At the same time, the constant struggle of the main character who has all the right in the world, but still is treated like a germ, and was constantly the losing party of the story can make anyone angry and frustrated at what is happening. However, the writters took a realistic decision here, i mean it is public knowledge that rich and powerful run this world, and this was perfectly depicted here. The drama was a perfect reflection of our fucked up society and gave a great life lessons like 'The truth will shine in the end if you fight hard enough'.
Whenever i was watching the drama i had the same though circling around my head 'MONEY vs CONSCIENCE', which one is more important to you? Which one will win? What type of person are you? Can you be bought? Is money really worth it?
I saw people asking if this involved any romance, i don't understand the question, there is no 'romance' tab added in the main page, but anyway. Yes, there is romance but it is way in the back, insignificant really, and that was a good thing because sadly, the main actors, even if they did a wonderful job acting-wise, they had no romantic chemistry.
ACTING
The acting was, most-definately, the best part of the drama, by far!
I came here originally for Yoo Seung Ho, and he was as amazing as expected. I think his crying is the best crying i've seen in kdramaland, he looks great while crying, it comes naturally to him, effortless really. His strong scenes were really something, his emotional scenes were even better, and he delivered every time! He was an exquisite leading actor, he did justice to his character, and lived up to all the expectations. I am looking forward to seeing him the future.
However, even if i came for YSH, Man Gung Min stole my heart completely. He exceeded my expectations, his character was the most essential and important one for the story to make sense and not be ridiculous. He blew me away many times. His acting sent shivers down my spine. He was a complete lunatic, amazing facial expressions, to the point of overacting but still a person this crazy tend to over-do everything! His body expressions were also flawless. Luscious performance, heavenly acting! Really, my words aren't enough to express how great he was, best actor in this! The drama is basically worth watching to watch him. Amazing performance in every way.
Another surprise was Park Sung Woong. I am not sure why i was surprised by him, i didn't know him before this, his performance was amazing, sensuous, emotional. I don't know Korean, but i was taken away because of his rather peculiar pronnounciation, or the way he spoke, i don't know how to explain it, maybe it was just me. His acting felt rather unique to me. An overall great performance, and another actor i will follow from now on.
Park Mi Young. I read a lot of people had problems with her performance, i didn't. She wasn't amazing, but her character was so insignificant, she felt like the groupie of the main hero character. She was there just to support, nothing else. The story could have worked without her. I understand the importance and power of support in situations like this, but still. I guess every story needs a female lead, and for the purpose she was placed in the story, she did great!
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
I've seen many people dropping this, i don't understand the reason. I mean, this is a melo, what do you expect? Happy people running in corn fields with their hair untagled...? o.O This is a revenge melo, frustration and anger are a given. If you are a melo fan i think you will appreciate this a lot. It wasn't the excessive tear-jerker i was expecting it to be. I get sentimental with dramas very easily and i didn't shed a tear here. Borderline, this is definately recommended to melo fans, and definately worth a watch.
I wouldn't rewatch it though, the fact that it was infuriating combined with the fact that it was slow, doesn't make this essential for re-watching, at least not to me. Definately worth a watch though.
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From episode 1 up until the very end of this drama, i was an emotional wreck. I've honestly never cried as much while watching dramas, or in my life, as i did while watching this.
Watching this drama felt like being on a rollercoaster of emotions, you go from sad, to happy, to pissed in less than 10 seconds. And when i was done watching this drama, i didn't watch a new drama for about a week or two, because i felt almost emotionally tired.
I was just so emotionally empty after watching this drama, i was like a dry sponge and i just needed some time to collect myself so my body could produce tears again.
Story: If you like melodramas, then this is melodrama at its finest. If you want to watch something light, with a bit of romance and comedy, then this is probably not for you. (but i'd say give it a shot anyway because it's one of the best dramas i have ever seen)
This drama is a very emotionally heavy drama. There's always something happening in this drama and because of that i wasn't able to watch episode after episode of this drama in one day, but that doesn't mean i didn't like it. It's just that, once you're done with one episode you almost need a bit of time to collect yourself again. Everything that happens in the drama is almost to much to take in. To some people, the storyline of this drama WILL BE to much and almost seem unrealistic and overdone, but to me this was done in the most perfect way. I didn't feel like it was unrealistic at all. Similar things to what we see in remember has happened in real life, of course here it is done to the more extreme to make it more interesting to watch, but things like what we see in Remember, has happened in real life.
I also really liked how it ended. It was not the ending i was hoping for, but it was what felt the most realistic to me. What i also really liked about the ending, was that it didn't feel rushed.
In a lot of dramas, the drama is really good for the most part and then the closer it gets to ending, there's suddenly a lot happening at once. It's almost like the scriptwriters just realised that there's not much time left to finish writing the script and they need to come to a conclusion quickly and that usually leads to ending that are rushed or unrealistic, or both.
In Remember, they took their time with the ending, everything seemed planned out and was just really well done and well written.
If you want that bit of romance there is some in this drama, but it's not the main focus of this drama, which i actually like because that makes it a bit different from most melodramas.
This drama focuses more on the relationship between the main character and his father, and everything he is willing to do and sacrifice to prove his fathers innocence.
Acting: The actors did an amazing job in this drama. I really love Yoo Seung-ho because i could really just feel his acting. When he cried, i cried. When he smiled, i smiled. When he was mad, i was pissed. He just did an amazing job.
Park Min-young did great as well. I loved her character, i didn't feel like she was that needy and annoying girlfriend that we often see in dramas. She just wanted what was best for him, even if that meant her not seeing him again.
But one of the people that left me with the biggest impression was Nam Gung-min. If you really hate ( i didn't just dislike, i flat out hated) a character, then that usually means that the actor is really good at acting. I hated his character so much, he was just a cruel, giant dickhead that i at the end of the drama felt really bad for. Out of all the bad guys i've seen in dramas, he's "my favourite" i guess you could say. I hated him for about 85% of the series, but you do understand after some time why he is the way he is, and the ending, i can't even talk about it, i'll cry.
Music: Wasn't bad, but nothing that phased me.
Rewatch value: 5. Going through the pain you feel emotionally while watching this drama is something you only need to do once.
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Seung Ho has beautifully expressive eyes and he has a lot of talent but he really over did it in this one. His crying scenes were cringe. Park Min Young excelled at being the classic support role heroine who was just an acessory to the plot. The romance was non existent but what was there was pretty stiff.
I mean, everybody promised me that the show will make me cry and that it was just oh so sad but tbh the writing was so awful and overdramatic that I felt nothing. The ending wasn't even tragic bro. Or maybe, I failed to see it?
So why did I finish it till the end? Because of Nam Goong Min. What phenomenal acting. He has to be one of the best k-drama villains I have ever seen. So fleshed out. He was a horrible disgusting monster of a person and unfortunately, the only person that made me stick with the show. Because I wanted to see him pay and also because he was so entertaining and brilliant in every scene. Makes me want to check out all of his dramas now. It's even funny how out of all the characters, it was the villain who got nominated for the Daesang (grand prize) at award shows. Lol
Other than him, Park Dong Ho, played by one of my most favorite ahjussi actors was the only good guy in the show that was somewhat well rounded. Other than these two, the rest of the characters were cookie cutter and pretty one dimensional.
I don't reccomend this unless you want to watch for Nam Goong Min and his acting.
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I've been avoiding this drama for a long time, because of many many reasons. But mostly because of the fact that it's a melodrama. And not just a simple melodrama, but also a tragedy, it reminded me of the movie A Moment to Remember. I didn't want to suffer once again because of the Alzheimer's Disease. But anyway, I ended up watching it.
So, "Remember - War of the Son'' was truly heartbreaking. I can't believe I suffered twenty hours straight (like, literally, from the first minute to the very last) and I didn't ever think of dropping it. It was very intense, very sadistic, it made my blood boil million times. Unexpecedly, I even cried a lot.
The first half (okay, the first twelve eps) was very painful to watch. All the injustice and corruption that was shown was very severe. So many bad things were happening to our main lead, the life was too cruel to him. In every episode we had a new person who betrayed him. He and his dad were having a very pitiful life, but they didn't deserve it. I was looking forward to the day when Jin Woo will be able to take his revenge.
But when he finally decided to do it, to put Nam Gyu Man and all of those jerks who hurt his father in jail, the drama lost a bit of its spark. The intense was still there, don't get me wrong, but it became a bit makjang-ish. The characters' actions were a complete nonsense from time to time, they were supposed to be smart but at the same time, they were making stupid mistakes. It was a bit disappointing, I wasn't completely satisfied with how the things turned out.
If you are wondering - yes, there is romance. I don't know why it's not one of the genres, really. Maybe because it's not a big part of the story and i see that many people didn't like it, but personally, I didn't mind it.
Truthfully, at first I thought In Ah and Dong Ho's characters were completely useless, having in mind that they were supposed to be one of the mains. But after the first half, they became really important for the development of the plot. In Ah was the person who was always beside Jin Woo, she helped him a lot. Park Sung Woong's presence never fails to amaze me and his character became my favourite one in the end.
I didn't like the evil guy, he was just ridiculous. He was supposed to be cruel, psycho, but no, I didn't feel him. He reminded me of Tae Ho in Missing Nine - a completely lost soul. Maybe Nam Goong Min was the problem, I couldn't get into him playing the evil guy. His acting was also not that good, I think he suits rom-coms way more.
As for the others actors - Yoo Seung Ho was brilliant! I added him in my favourite actors list. The way he portrayed Seo Jin Woo, the way he showed his pain can't be put into words. I think it was even hard for him to play such a tragic character as Jin Woo. His fate was tragic, I felt so bad for him, trluly. Park Min Young was gorgeous, i think this is my favourite role of hers.
I wouldn't rewatch this, never. Why would I want to suffer again?
I'm not sure if I recommend this. It is good and I particularly enjoyed it, but it's just too much suffering. It is a tragedy with a reason. Watch for yourself.
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Story: I've always had a thing for lawyers dramas, I don't know why. Maybe because everyone seems so confident and determined? I don't even know for sure. But "Remember" is something different. I love how the main character is portaited in a more realistic way than the others. He may look confident, but inside he is just as frightened as any normal human being would be in his position. But even so, he won't ever give up on his purpose; he won't ever give up on being brave.
Acting/Cast: The cast is amazing, the actors are really talented indeed. But as I was watching this wonderful drama, the one who caught my eye was the villain. He kept suprising me until the very end; he is one of the best villains ever!
Music: I don't really pay attention to the music, but sometimes there are some songs that get stuck in my head even if I want or not. In this drama the music was kind of meh. I mean it was okay, but not so awesome that I will always remember it.
Rewatch Value: YES YES YES! I would rewatch it anytime! The whole drama was like an emotional roller coaster for me, and I am 100% sure it will be like that for you too.
Overall: I really think you should try watching this drama now! Almost every detail was realistic, there weren't any cliches (in my opinion).
Give it a try and tell me what you think :)
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There is not a single moment where you could believe what is happening might be realistic, as the drama continuously resorts to all the possible cliches to develop both the characters ( the perfect and pure poor family, the evil Ceo, the righteous but naive heroine, ...) and the plot ( typical blackmailings, betrayals, last minute confessions, sudden repentances). All with the usual liter of tears.
There is no need to say that the court setting is not treated as a specific field worth of investigation and capable of generating interest per se ( as should be in any good drama or movie dealing with a specific professional environment), but rests as the background for a revenge story that would have worked the same way in any other context.
What you get in the end is a collection of stereotipical scenes drawn up only to have an emotional impact on the viewer based on very simple patterns, without any ambition to induce an intelluctual reflection.
You could argue that this is what most dramas do, and in this respect Remember is not worse than many.
The music is the icing on the cake of the aforementioned scenes, overly dramatic, repetitive and annoying.
The only bright note is Nam Gung Min acting, wich I find quite compelling in his portrayal of the evil antagonist, similar to what has done Yoo Ah In in the movie Veteran.
The general quality of the production is on par with what you can see on 2015 Korean television, so in the end if you are not particularly picky you can whatch this show without particular problems, but not if you are fed up with the ordinary and you are looking for something more.
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I think this is more suited for those who tend to prefer the romcom or melo genre but wants something a little different. I'm quite into crime or thriller type of dramas which was what I expected this to be since it was supposedly similar to Confessions.
Overall I thought this was clichéd, cheesy and just too dramatic. I'm ok with plot holes and can overlook gaps in logic but the court scenes were pretty painful to watch. The characters were so 2D and I felt like 70% of the dialogue in the show was basically trash talking.
Anyway, to each their own but if you're into dramas like Signal, Tunnel, Voice, Return, I'd probably give this a miss.
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I just won't give it a 10 because haters gon' hate (nah, jk. XD). As I stated on my profile, I rate a show basically by how entertaining it was and by entertaining I mean how it touched me.
As I complained here many times, Seungho's dramatic skills are lacking in my opinion and only once did he manage to really pierce right through me and if you watched the show you know exactly which moment I mean - I won't spoil anything here. There are many minor plot holes but those are everywhere. There is no perfect plot but here's for trying. The ending wrapped it up according to my expectations and even better so that's what defined my score alright.
Story:
It was nothing new. I feel like the writers threw in hyperthymesia to make it look fresh but it's just another story about the rich and powerful outweighting the poor and weak by obstruction of the law and what not. What's the problem? None. I don't see why there would be one. Remember brings out the true face of things because that's how it usually goes on the real world - there are no heroes. Bummer. Whoever signs the check rules it all. Whatever brings me a good fight against that reality is worth watching, I'd say. Then again we have unnecessary clichés and a pseudo romance that just doesn't go down my throat - it's wrong all over. No matter how I love those two - the actors - the lack of chemistry is HUGE and unbreakable and only made me scrunch my face.
Acting:
Apart from Seungho's puppy behavior that didn't sell me the drama and that talking mannequin they picked to play Gyu Man's sister, everyone else did a great job and I have no complaints about them. But let me just... how does a character that goes on the poster be represented by a worthless actress that almost, ALMOST, spent the entire drama being worse than useless? If she had any more screentime I would've puked because damn... a hedgehog can do a better job. I'm sitting here wondering why the heck she's on the poster. How the heck did she make it in the cast to begin with! At least a dozen other characters had more relevancy to the main plot than she did, c'mon!
Music:
Perfect choices made. I barely pay attention to music unless it's exceptional and the OST had me completely involved.
Rewatch Value:
I'm biased about the theme, I fell in love for Dong Ho (and PSW), I love NGM's acting... I just have no reasons NOT to rewatch it someday soon.
I could go on and on and on about all the little plot holes I previously complained about while watching but I don't want to repeat myself. Remember is going to my fave list in the end and is a great drama to watch that will not make you sigh and squeal (this isn't a rom com so get out) but will touch a series of other emotions and I highly recommend you leave your comfort zone for this. The writters sinned here and there but it's all easy to overlook when you see the greater picture. I can never understand some people acting like snob cinema experts anyway...
On a side note: This is the first airing drama I followed up close from beginning to end and I feel odd now that it's over. I was so present here, discussing with other members about it and I shall remember (no pun intended) this forever. Now I really need a drink...
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So when I finished all 20 episodes and even waited for some episodes to get subbed and come out. Was really a surprise for me. I can say the this one is a tear jerker and has a great plot and story. It was really beautiful. So if you decided to check it out I highly recommend it and to try to watch till the end. You won't regret it I surly didnt .
I never really seen much of the main actor in other kdramas but I can say his a acting was terrific to watch him act never seen such wonderful acting before. I mean there was a lot of great actors before but his is the first one that had such a great impact.
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The story isn't very typical; in fact, it's pretty unique. I really enjoyed the Jin Woo's journey to avenge his Father's wrong accusation, and although it tugged on my heartstrings so many times, it's what really got me attached to it. Tbh, I didn't see/feel any romance in this drama, at all. In fact, I thought it was actually awkward between Minha/Jinwoo when it became obvious that there was more than friendship in their relationship. The thriller aspect of this drama will make up for it, though.
As I said before, I had decided to start watching this because of YSH. However, as the drama progressed, I found myself more stuck with NGM. The character of Nam Gyuman is so well portrayed, and in my opinion, he out-shined YSH. You can't help but feel nothing but complete anger towards Gyuman, but also at the end, I felt sort of bad. Lol. Nonetheless, YSH still flawlessly portrayed the whole 'cool & heartless' lawyer persona. I couldn't help but feel bad for the unfortunate fate that Dongho/Jinwoo were subject to, but I've been a fan of PSW for a while now, and never doubted that he would be great in playing Dongho, also.
I shed so many tears throughout the 2 months that I was following this drama, both sad/happy. Would recommend this drama for anyone looking for the not so typical lovey-dovey type of k-drama. Definitely going on my favorites list.
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