I feel like my reviews are starting to all sound the same, maybe it's just the dramas I feel in the mood to review just happen to have a lot in common. Here goes... Story - (7 of 10): I feel that SO many dramas start off strong and instantly capture my interest, but fail to keep up that intensity at any other point. This is one of those titles that is packed with drama, but the intensity of it is quite hit or miss for me. The setup is done very well, I am instantly in love with Miss Yoo Jung Hwa and her little ones! The first few episodes setting up the rest of the drama is done so well, and it's why I found myself sobbing like a baby when tragedy inevitably struck! Even when we're taken into the future years down the road, I was really looking forward to the characters coming together again after so much happened. How did they grow? Were they still the same, or was their spirit broken? I had questions I couldn't wait to find the answers for. But sadly, as with many dramas, the tropes seem to water things down. As the mystery surrounding the set up begin to unfold, it's turns into a whole lot of "wtf, really?" and cringing and sometimes both at the same time. I'm not a fan of time lapses unless they are truly meaningful. The show does it well in the beginning, not so much towards the end. People were out of character, and the few last episodes felt drawn out. I feel like this series could've easily been 16 instead of 20 episodes and probably been a lot better for it. I think it's above average if even just for the beginning. Having said all of that, I truly did like most of the characters and the actors are unquestionably great. Which segues nicely... Acting/Cast (7.5 out of 10): Gu Hye Seon as Yoon Soo Wan - I'm sure I'm not the only one who saw her first in "Boys Over Flowers" (2009), and I felt she fit the part very well. I then saw her in "The Musical" (2011) which I found very hard to get through, likely it was the writing, I don't know, but her acting was pretty awful in that. She was also in the Taiwanese version of "Absolute Boyfriend" (2012), but it's hard to judge her in that since she was dubbed over and I don't feel like the physical acting was likely very difficult. Then I heard how awful "Blood" (2015) was (though I still may give it a chance), so I was pretty hesitant when I first started this drama. However, I feel she did a great job in this one, and while her character had me face palming quite a bit towards the end, I fault the writing more so than her acting. (Lee Sang Yoon as Dylan Park / Park Dong Joo) - While I may have been hesitant to watch this because of GHS's performance in The Musical, " I fell for Lee Sang Yoon as Prince Gwang Hae in "Goddess Of Fire, Jeongi" (2013)! He plays the soft spoken yet stoic characters very well it would seem. I never doubted for a moment that Dong Joo was anything but completely in love with Soo Wan (though I can't quite say the same for her - he DEFINITELY loved her more if ever there was a couple you could say one love more than the other). I thoroughly enjoyed his acting in both dramas, so I'm looking forward to seeing more! Kim Ji Suk as Kang Ji Woon - I'm not going to go through all the actors, but I feel I HAVE to mention KJS because I've seen him in SO many dramas, and I just want to SCREAM that he hasn't nabbed a Male Lead Role and gotten the girl (at least as far as I've seen thus far), he always get that awful second lead role. If ever there was an actor that gets my second lead syndrome senses tingling, it's this guy! For his main roles, I have seen him in: Personal Taste (2010), I Need Romance 2 (2012), and Cheongdamdong Alice (2012). I've also seen him in The Vinyard Man (2006) and Sassy Go Go (2015), but those, at least to me, were more supporting roles. He was a real jerk in Personal Taste, so he wasn't really on my radar then, however, OH.MY.GAAAWD....I Need Romance 2... In love with him since! If you enjoy him as an actor, see him in that, I had second lead syndrome so damn bad (I'm usually completely unaffected since I've been watching dramas for the better part of 15 years now). I was hoping for much more from him in Cheondamdong Alice too, but he could only do so much with that character. Now that I've digressed beyond what's reasonable (lol), this is my second favorite of his dramas. Ji Woon was a bit too much of a pushover for my liking, I know there's only so much he could've done, but I don't know. I definitely felt his character Ji Woon really loved Soo Wan, but I felt like the character just didn't bring the passion! Kim Yeo Jin as Yoo Jung Hwa [Dong Joo's mom] - I would be remiss if I didn't mention her because oh my god did she have my heart and tugged at its strings SO hard. I feel like KYJ was made for this role, I just can't imagine another actress filling her shoes! Even though I've seen her mostly play motherly roles, she just fits them so perfectly I can't even complain! I think I first saw her in "Can You Hear My Heart?" (2010), then Trot Lovers (2014), and more recently in Sassy Go Go (2015). She really was, for me at least, the heart of this show, omg, Miss Yoo Jung HWAAAAAAA! ;_; The rest of the cast was very well rounded, though I felt Kang Ji Woon's mother could've been played by any decent "betchy mom" type actress lol I wish that age differences weren't so taboo in Korea, I mean MAAAAYBE if it's like a girl or guy wants to date someone that is old enough to be there grandparent that's one thing... but I don't think 12 or even 15 years is THAT bad. I won't say anything else, but there was a side love triangle that I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the camaraderie between not only the 911 staff, but Hyun Jyu Ni as Police officer Cha Min Soo and Kwon Hae Hyo as Kim Woo Chul (I love this man in just about all of his roles - emphasis on Kim Sam Soon (2005). Music (6.0 out of 10): I think it had a nice soundtrack, it went really well with the tone and mood of the show. Nothing compelled me to spend money, but made for pleasant sound to my ear holes. Rewatch (1 out of 10): I almost feel like I shouldn't bother adding this piece to my reviews as a low score (for me) doesn't mean it was a bad drama. I'm not sure if it's that I'm picky, or I have a short attention span or what, but there are very few dramas I rewatch (or as I like to call it abridge ie watching all my favorite parts again). Perhaps I'd rewatch the first few episodes, maybe, if I was to rewatch any part of it, but very likely no. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from watching this series, I just don't feel it's rewatchable (though to be fair, most melos aren't). Overall (6.5 out of 10): Again, VERY strong beginning, but it started to lose me with all of the contrived coincidences towards the latter half. Some people were just a little TOO connected. That's why despite some really strong performances, the drama was just a little over average for me. At times I had difficulty not skipping parts that felt like they dragged and my eyes spent more time rolling back in my head than watching the screen.