I was surprised to see so much reviews that disliked this series so I made an account just to support my (current) favorite kdrama.

First of all, I admit there is a bias here. I love Kim Hye-yoon, and she was the reason I started watching this. From the first scene, I was hooked. She was crying, and I was crying with her. I was satisfied with her as always but I held back my judgement because I don't know how the ML would act and how good their chemistry would be. I also wasn't too fond of the plot because I feel icky about idol and fan romances and also because I thought it was another run-of-the-mill romance trope with an aloof guy and a sweet cheerful girl. That was my impression throughout the first episode up until the second, except the viewers were hit with that plot twist at the ending. And my first thought was I shouldn't have doubted Kim Hye-yoon at all. The second thought was how the hell am I going to have to wait for another week to see the next episode? And from that, the rest of my Mondays and Tuesdays of the following weeks are filled with a rollercoaster of emotions. Whenever there are happy moments of the main leads, I am also happy. When they are sad, I'm also sad. This drama just hooked me like that up until the end.

It's not a perfect drama by all means but it was definitely one for me. I love the characterizations and I understand the decisions they made, no matter how frustrating it is. I like how the writer ultimately treated all the characters with love. Everyone got their happy ending in the end, and the antagonist was also dealt with quickly. (This drama's last episode is the best last episode period). Another feature I like is how many parallel scenes they have and spotting them was like finding an easter egg to me.

I guess I'm just a sucker for mutual redemption tropes. The love they have for each other is so pure and selfless, it makes me want to love wholeheartedly like that too. And also the fated lovers trope, if I may add, which is the cherry on top.

I'm also happy that the plot didn't steer to a dark story with a fan saving her idol from depression and ultimately committing suicide. There were concerns from other people at the start because of that so it was good that it didn't become that story. Because if I wanted to watch a genre like that, I wouldn't want romance mixed in it because that should not be in the romance category at all. It is too heavy and serious of a topic to do.

But I think the magic of this series is the community it made of people gushing over this drama. I watched this from the moment it aired and the moment ep 2 ended I immediately went to the kdrama thread of this at reddit (which I have never done before). I wanted to see the shock other people had as I did and their anticipation for the next week too. And on the following weeks, I had fun reading the different theories they have for the time travel. And I think the way the writer handled the time travel was their message on how the viewers should treat this drama. Don't overcomplicate it, love wins all. And sometimes, that's just what we need. No complex time travel rules, no big misunderstandings, no frustrating push and pull of love, just two people getting together despite everything.

I also want to add that the strength of this drama was the romance of the main leads. Their chemistry is undeniable. There were so many sweet moments of them, I am just so so happy seeing them be happy. They were not stingy with their kiss scenes too, which I'm totally satisfied about too.

Ultimately, I get why this became a popular drama and I'm happy that it did because I think it deserves it. I laughed, swooned, cringed, and cried all throughout the series. I am not a romantic by all means but it made me feel long-lost feelings of love and happiness again. So for the ones who take the chance by reading this too-long of a review (more of a rant from me), I hope you would be happy too. And for those who don't, that's totally okay because everyone has different tastes and it's understandable to have feelings of dislike for whatever reasons you have.

(Speacial mention for the ost because all songs were great, with one from 10cm which is one of my favorites. You know it's a hit when you see 10cm in it 😌)