Sep 2023
First off; whenever a story has been successfully told once and is then remade, those who LOVED the original shouldn't watch other versions... they'll never compete. Those willing to watch as a drama in its own right, view on. After all, if subsequent productions are only to be carbon copies of an original, what's the point? So, moving on...

I watched this over 2 days and absolutely loved it.
Time travel, fantasy, mystery and a well thought out, gripping story, will make me putty in that drama's hands!

I read a lot of stories where the central theme is often transmigration (souls awakening in another body, which can be years apart from the last life).
This drama is a mix of that and time travel; the latter not being an easy subject to write well, mainly because it can be easy to lose the thread when trying to end the story. I've watched a few dramas where the plot's gone askew, but not this time!

However, this drama does need concentration and watching very closely. It isn't one to have on whilst doing something else and the FFWD button should be taped over. So much can happen in different scenarios, where subtle repetition of words and actions are actually so important.

It can be a little odd in feel, to start with, until the way the story is presented becomes familiar and comfortable ~ but please bear with it, as it really does make sense and come together.

Time can alter at each scene change and initially that threw me. I watched ep 1 & 2 twice! It was worth it though, as I quickly learned the difference in the characters that shared faces.

It is a complicated, but fascinating plot, full of intrigue, questions, frustration and very gripping. It is also so romantic, in the best way; a true love story, yet not at all saccharine. There's wit, angst and tragedy as well.

The cast were bloody perfect ~ all of them.
However, I have to credit Jeon Yeo-been, as how she was able to play 2 characters that looked identical, and managed to portray their totally different personalities, so that they became identifiable as 2 different people, was SO good!
Ahn Hyo-seop was the same ~ he, in effect, played 3 (almost 4 ~ one much more briefly), different roles and, again, brought a noticeable difference to each.
All the characters were such an interesting mix, the story, whilst complicated, did make sense and what an ending! I was so surprised by the whole thing.

The consequences that love has on characters who are so desperate to be together, they're willing to move through lifetimes, is such a surprise and also comes with a couple of shocks.

The soundtrack is mostly great (there was some instrumental background music I wasn't keen on). The main song that repeats through and is an important part of the story, has a sad background though.

The artist is Seo Ji-won, who tragically took his own life in 1996, just over a month before his 20th birthday, due to the pressures of having had such a successful debut album. I loved the songs and learning what I did from Googling the artist, felt the tracks chosen were made even more poignant.

I loved almost every second of this drama.