neo
England, UK
I admit that I went in expecting a darker drama (given the background of the original source material and how it ended, from what I'd read up on), even if it was stated to only be a loose adaptation. About halfway into the drama, I figured that wasn't going to be the case but the possibility still remained for them to incorporate a more sinister twist towards the end. Again, that proved to be quickly debunked too, but it would've perhaps been for the worse if they'd tried to angle it that way, given the quality of the writing and directing on the whole.
It was neither a good or bad thing as such but I wasn't sure what to think for most of the drama. There was definitely a lot of potential, but poor execution on the whole. The editing was very notably sloppy and the way the scenes transitioned from one to another felt very jarring and distracting on numerous occasions, detracting from whatever mood they intended to convey at the time. I don't think I've ever witnessed such messy editing in a long time.
On the whole, it felt very backwards and forwards both in terms of the plot going around in circles both in terms of the background/side plot with the parents, but they still succeeded in keeping me somewhat interested, so kudos for that I guess? Another thing to note was that I got frustrated a lot while watching this drama (which is again both a good and bad thing) likely due to a combination of the poor writing/editing and the execution, in addition to some of the characters - I honestly don't think I can say there's a single character in this drama who I haven't gotten annoyed at during some point in this drama and not wanted to yell at while watching this, haha. (I think only Hye Jung and her boyfriend are safe). But that goes to show that the actors delivered for the most part - Moon Ga Young stood out to me in particular, as did Woo Do Hwan and Kim Min Jae. The main trio really did shine in their roles, and really made you feel a whole range of... emotions aimed at their characters, depending on the point in the plot or the scene. Kim Min Jae in particular really took me by surprise.
Regarding the main actors, people are definitely too quick to hate on Joy and the majority are being overly critical. I don't have very high expectations of idol actors in general and this was the first drama I've seen her in, and while her acting was definitely not outstanding or particularly great, I'd at least say it was passable and didn't detract from the drama in the slightest. I agree the drama was a mess, but she's definitely not the main culprit for it and not solely the one who should be dragged down for it - blame the writers and production team too, not only the actors.
The chemistry between the main couple was a bit hit and miss for me. In certain scenes, I felt it was pretty solid, but in others not so much - however, I think a lot of that has to do with the way it was added in, for example, when it was fluffy romance that didn't really contribute much to the plot, I could feel myself getting a little bored. I can see what they were trying to go for, but I don't think it worked as well in some scenes than others.
Music: The music added a nice touch but didn't really stand out to me too much, save for maybe one or two tracks, though I appreciated the cello music tying in with Soo Ji as a character and also giving a kind of classy touch that suited our rich main characters well enough.
Ending: I won't spoil, but I definitely felt the ending was rushed and unrealistic, had too many loose plot points that didn't wrap up properly and weren't addressed. The writing and tone of the drama overall continued to be messy and that unfortunately meant that they left themselves with too much to work with for the ending, so it felt rather lazy and poorly constructed on the whole. I guess they at least remained consistent with that one.
Overall verdict? This is by no means a masterpiece, but if you're willing to let yourself be entertained, frustrated and see Woo Do Hwan on screen, then maybe, just maybe give this a chance. I've definitely seen a lot of better dramas, but this isn't as bad as many people are making it out to be.
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The Good:
The originality of the plot was what drew me in initially and convinced me to give this drama a chance, and I still stand by the fact that it holds its own uniqueness and merit in how ambitious the premise was from the beginning. It's been a while since the initial episodes of a drama have captured my interest so quickly; the only issue was how it progressed as the episodes went on. I'll elaborate more on this later on in this review.
The soundtrack is among one of the best ones I've heard in a long time (in fact, I'm listening to the OST as I write this), and I particularly like the tracks by Eddy Kim, Henry and Monogram. I find the songs to be very well-suited to the overall mood of the drama, and excel at providing a soothing, dream-like atmosphere. The cinematography does a great job at this too, and WYWS is a very visually appealing drama as a whole. I liked how a lot of the dream sequences were executed, the use of colour and the use of changes in how the screen appears to viewers as the drama switches from a dream to reality and vice versa. There were few instances where they felt a little out of place (some of which I feel they may have revealed a little too much information, which detracted slightly from the suspense factor of some events), and it was a tad confusing to wrap my head around to begin with, but I'd still agree that the flow of these scenes were generally good.
I admit that I wasn't really sold on a lot of the workplace bickering and humour towards the start of the drama, but I really found myself warming to the side characters and secondary leads as the drama progressed, particularly Woo Tak, Seung Won, Prosecutor Lee, Chief Choi and Prosecutor Sohn. Personally, I would've liked to have seen more done with Woo Tak's character, and I have to admit that I felt as though he and Hong Joo had more chemistry in some of their shared scenes (I'm really feeling the second lead syndrome here, guys). It'd be lovely to have seen him end up happy with someone too, though I did enjoy his friendship with Kyung Han, his sunbae. It was also a delight to watch the brotherly relationship and believable bickering between Jae Chan and Seung Won. Additional props go to Lee Sang Yeob, who really impressed me with his portrayal of the drama's main antagonist, Yoo Beom - you know that the actor's doing a great job when it aggravates you every time you see them on screen. I'd like to see more from both him and Jung Hae In, as this is the first time seeing their works.
The Okay:
The main couple were lacking... something. I don't know if it was lack of chemistry, the execution of some of the scenes or the way the actors portrayed the romance, but I'd gone through the episodes feeling as though something was missing. I wasn't entirely convinced by it, since the basis of the romance relied a fair amount on random insertions of cute and comical scenes, which whilst endearing and adorable at times, felt a little too oddly-timed and a tad cringey or overdone on some occasions. Whilst I think it was a little too oversaturated in parts in terms of romance, I wouldn't say it was flat out unconvincing or difficult to watch (I appreciated the more sentimental/deep scenes in parts) but I wouldn't say it was particularly great either. Just okay.
The Not-So-Good:
My main gripe with WYWS is that the direction and pacing were pretty much all over the place; the initial episodes were strong, well-paced and left me with high hopes (perhaps too high, in hindsight). I was intrigued as to how it would all unfold as more events took place and how changes being made to one event would lead to another happening in its place. I enjoyed that unpredictability in the first few weeks and anticipated explanation behind how the dreams occurred in the first place, but in the middle episodes, it really started to grow predictable and repetitive.
I appreciate that some of the ways the cases were wrapped up were well done (and some of them were emotionally impactful, such as the case where Prosecutor Sohn's chronically ill son was directly affected by the outcome), but the fact that you're aware that somehow, our main leads will find a solution, often seemingly out of nowhere, takes away a little of the anticipation. In some cases, the way they wrapped up seemed too neat, too good to be true for my liking.
Towards the latter episodes, I really felt as though the plot lagged for so long that they left themselves with too much to cram in at the end. The ending itself was satisfying enough, but only just about. It could've really done with being more well-timed, with sufficient suspense to hold the viewer's attention, but as previously mentioned, the fact that some dreams gave a little too much about some situations away detracted from this. A lot of the past/present connections between characters should've been tied up and resolved earlier on to allow for more time to build up to the final case, and then wrap up neatly for the finale. Personally, I found this to be the most disappointing part, especially considering that the drama was entirely pre-produced.
Overall verdict:
I won't dissuade anyone from watching, and would still recommend that you try it out if the genres, actors, tropes or premise appeal to you in any way. If you're undecided, I still think you should give this drama a chance, as despite its flaws, I did complete it having enjoyed it as a whole. If you're here for a fast-paced, unpredictable plot and strong chemistry between the main leads... I don't think this is the drama for you.
Thanks for reading : )
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