I loved watching Bae Suzy, especially her shower singing scene (I've rewatched that scene at least 10 times since finishing the drama). The banter between Lee Jong Suk's character and Bae Suzy's character was so fun to watch and definitely kept the drama much lighter in tone, which I was thankful for. This was my first Lee Jong Suk drama and since then, I willingly and happily watch anything he's in because he's just that good of an actor (and I find him funny). He's also SUPER tall which I always forget until he's standing next to another character and they appear so much shorter. Haha! Anyways, I appreciated that the drama didn't get dark or serious, even though it definitely dealt with some serious topics. Humor was used in such a natural and perfect way throughout the drama, which really helped to keep me watching. The ending was very satisfying and complete.
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First off, with every other markers that differentiate the two shows removed, I do find the pacing of Stranger a bit slow and draggy especially in the middle parts. Stranger is understandably a show written that is more focused around character development rather than the plot (it's quite a slow burner), so the writer of that show goes around many circling episodes trying to shade every character in the proximity of the main protagonist as the main culprit in order to confuse us. This kind of screenwriting works really well if you are not too much of a stickler for a show well-paced and one that centres itself largely on the actual development of the story. I wrote a full review on Stranger here.
https://mydramalist.com/profile/7596411/review/58045
While You Were Sleeping, on the other hand, I found to have successfully blended the complexity of being character-driven and plot-driven at the same time incredibly well. Trust me, the brilliance of the screenwriting and directing in this drama really blew me away! This is the reason I am utterly baffled at some other reviewers who thought this show was boring in any shape or form. I am not even sure if we watched the same show at this point.
While You Were Sleeping started off strong, and needless to say they actually managed to keep the show on high for the rest of the episodes till its conclusion which is admittedly a very tough feat. In fact, I do not find a single moment in this show that was boring and skippable. I even dare to say that every single scene is important and adds a very important dynamic to the overall impression of the story. When I first began this show, I was afraid that the execution is going to be messy or confusing, since they are playing with dreams/future back and forth. Nevertheless to my surprise, the writers and directors are incredibly skilled in telling a very interesting story in a compelling way.
The main trio as the protagonist of this show works incredibly well together. I dearly appreciate how there's no love triangle in this, although there is a one-sided love. Jae Chan's character is incredibly sweet and funny and Hong Joo is just so fun to watch, being the quirky and intelligent reporter that she is. Woo Tak is literally a heart stealer in every scene, with his incredibly charming smile and warm personality. Even all the supporting characters are important from the assistant investigators at the prosecutor office, the other three prosecutors and the Chief, Woo Tak's sunbaenim police officer and Hong Joo's mother. Every character is so loveable and brings to your heart a lot of warmth. I am also amazingly in awe of Nam Da Reum who delivers brilliantly all the nuances of Jae Chan's younger self as the troublemaker kid but also one who went through really difficult times. I am usually not a fan of any villain character but seriously hats off to the writers for giving the antagonist in this show an incredibly well-written backstory, which is greatly complemented by the immaculate acting of Lee Sang Yeob. He's utterly detestable from beginning to end, and ironically it worked great!
The acting by all the casts are on point as well, in particular Lee Jong Suk and Bae Suzy did incredibly well in their crying scenes. I am sure you will agree when you arrive at those particular scenes. This show also has a really incredible plot twist at the later episode, thus I think you'll really find the whole experience very enthralling.
Many of the OST in this drama are truly exceptional and adds incredible feels to the viewing experience, especially during the sad and romantic scenes. My favourites are the songs by Suzy, Davichi, Eddy Kim, Roy Kim and Henry.
The rewatch value for this drama is exceptionally high. This is actually one of the shows I have watched in kdramaland that I hold very dearly in my heart, and found that the perfect score doesn't do the show justice since it's value to me can't be expressed in any numeric forms. It's really so special to me, and the reason it's so special is that it's been executed incredibly well in all aspects that I consider very important to make a kdrama successful and utterly memorable.
Enjoy the watch!
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AbztractIsight
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Had Potential, But was Just Okay
The one standout for acting (he was awesome) and made me finish the series, was Kim Won Hae, as Mr. Choi. The music throughout was appropriate for the scenes and it was quieted when the actors/actresses spoke (as it should be).The story concept isn't new, but it had potential to be a great drama based on first two episodes, but it failed as if the writer got bored and that can make the viewer bored too. They failed with the attempt at a love triangle between the 3 dreamers; ML, FL and Woo Tak (actor Jung Hae In). Maybe it was because there was a lack of chemistry between the ML & FL or because the writing of the romantic moments sucked. During action sequences the camera was super shaky and same on closeups. It's a huge peeve of mine, because all they have to do is use a film/video stabilizer. The worst was in the beginning of Episode 13! So Production for me was a fail. The character development was barely there for the ML and the rest it was non-existant.
Overall other dramas with similar story concept have done better, but the ending of While You Were Sleeping was satisfactory. I wont watch it again and forced myself to finish it. Barely got to 5/10 for me overall, and mostly that was because of Kim Won Hae's acting!
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PapayaSammy on twitch
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Unique/interesting plot with a great supporting cast, addicting suspense, and a good OST.
OVERVIEW: While this drama didn't fully meet my expectations, I still recommend it to anyone who's looking for a good suspense/thriller/legal/rom-com-ish drama with a great supporting cast to watch. Though I did have some issues with the main characters/casting, and therefore felt like the drama didn't live up to its full potential as a result; all in all, it's a refreshingly unique and well-thought out drama with a good mix of suspense, romance, and comedy, and an interesting plot that will immediately hook you and make you want to binge-watch the whole thing as quickly as possible so that you can see how everything turns out in the end. For anyone who is on the fence as to whether or not they should watch it, I think this drama definitely deserves a chance.STORY: I feel like the story is very clever and well-written. The plot is really unique and creative: a woman has dreams about bad things that happen to other people, and then other people magically develop the same ability and work together with her to help save each other and other people, and solve crimes. I initially thought the plot would be really dark and depressing and scary before I watched it, but it does a good job of keeping viewers on the edge of their seats while also having plenty of funny/heartwarming/light moments to balance out the dark and suspenseful moments in it.
I also love how everything in the story seems to come full circle by the end, which shows how clever the writing is. Almost nothing happens unnecessarily in this drama, everything has a purpose and happens for a reason, which is how story plots should be, but oftentimes aren't. Also, unlike a lot of other K-dramas, the writer for this drama did a good job of tying up most of the loose ends by the end of the show and giving viewers an ending that makes sense and that they can be satisfied with. While there were a few changes I wish the writer had made/minor things I wish had been clarified more by the end that could have improved the ending of the story, overall I feel like the story and dialogue were very smartly written.
ACTING/CAST: One of the main reasons I wanted to watch this drama was because of the cast and, sadly but ironically, one major drawbacks of this drama for me ended up being some of the characters/cast. Unlike some people, I actually think Suzy is a really great actress--her performances as Go Hye Mi in "Dream High" and No Eul in "Uncontrollably Fond" were incredibly strong and moving and are the reasons why she's my favorite idol-actress. And, it's because of her that I decided to watch this drama. However, for some reason, I found her performance in this drama to be somewhat lacking. It's hard to say how much of it's her fault or the writer's fault, but her acting just didn't engage me or convince me as much as her previous acting performances have, which detracted from the drama somewhat.
Not only that, but (and this is on the writer, not Suzy), I also hated how her character went from seeming like a strong, relatable, goofy, average woman to suddenly being seen as a sexy goddess once she decided to stop wearing glasses (that old cliche) and started wearing makeup and more feminine clothes. This is just such a old, tired, and annoying female character trope, and it was disappointing to see Suzy acting out such a character since I feel like she does strong-but-flawed/relatable female characters really well usually. I really liked the way her character (Hong Joo) started out in the drama: tomboyish, goofy, candid, (somewhat delusional), and not caring what other people think of her. That was the beauty of her character, and I felt like Suzy was able to portray a more realistic, relatable, and nuanced character in the beginning of the series when her character was like that.
However, once her character suddenly decides to care what society/the guy she likes thinks and becomes all girly/feminine and everyone magically goes from thinking she's ugly to thinking she's beautiful overnight, I felt like her character became less realistic/interesting/likable, and Suzy's performance also seemed less convincing/relatable as a result. Maybe the sudden change in Hong Joo's character made the character hard for Suzy to relate to, or maybe the fantasy aspect of the drama threw her off--who knows. Either way, though, it kind of ruined the drama a little bit for me, especially since I was expecting a much better performance from Suzy.
Moreover, I also had issues with the lack of chemistry between the main leads. I liked Lee Jong Suk's character and Suzy's character better when they weren't together than when they were together. Like, not just as a couple, but in general. In the beginning of the series, before they had feelings for one other, I enjoyed their interactions a lot. I enjoyed the witty/goofy dialogue and funny misunderstandings between them and how they sincerely wanted to help one another despite not really knowing each other. However, as soon as they started to develop serious feelings for one another, I felt like their characters became kind of annoying to watch whenever they were together and I didn't enjoy any of the "romantic" scenes between them. I just feel like they completely lacked chemistry and it was hard to relate to their feelings at all, which made watching the romantic scenes feel awkward/forced, rather than heartwarming and enjoyable. I feel like if a different actor had been chosen to play the role of Jung Jae Chan rather than LJS, the chemistry between the main leads may have been better and the drama overall may have been more convincing/realistic seeing as LJS wasn't a very good fit for the role of JJC in my opinion.
Lastly, maybe I'm the only one who felt this way, but I thought the two stand-out acting performances in this drama came from Jung Hae In (as Han Woo Tak) and Kim Won Hae (as Choi Dam Dong). Both of them did a PHENOMENAL job in this drama and by the end I was really wishing that THEY had been the main characters/actors because their performances/characters were just so heartwarming and moving. In general, I felt like I enjoyed the supporting characters and watching their performances more than I did watching the main characters/actors. I feel like too many dramas suffer from having poorly written supporting characters/an inadequate supporting cast, but this is a drama that has plenty of likeable, well-written, nuanced, funny, and relatable supporting characters that you may end up liking more than the main cast by the end.
MUSIC: I thought the music was pretty good in this drama. It definitely had some of the better K-drama OSTs out there.
REWATCH VALUE: I haven't rewatched this K-drama so far, but there are definitely parts--especially ones from the first few episodes--that I would like to rewatch again. Since the plot for this drama is really good, though, I feel like it's a drama that a lot of people would most likely rewatch at some point.
OVERALL: Despite my issues with the main cast/characters, I still enjoyed this drama overall, especially the plot. I think that this is still one of the better dramas out there and that it deserves a chance. If anything, just being able to watch Jung Hae In and Kim Won Hae's performances in this drama is more than enough reason to watch it.
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Supporting Characters > Leads (minor spoilers)
Story: The drama was executed spectacularly in this series, with great choice of cases. Sometimes, the transitions between cases were smooth and other times, there were bumps in the road so to speak. The comedic elements most of the time were a complete flop (except for maybe Prosecutor Jeong practicing his interrogation; I almost LOLed really hard!). For the amount of themes covered in the series, I felt that it was not terribly confusing (maybe a little bit though or perhaps just some loose ends).Acting: The ML chemistry was ok... was certainly not the worst, but definitely wasn't the best either. Personally, I liked the chemistry between Hong Joo and Officer Han, so I got a little SLS. But the supporting cast was superb and really carried the story!
Music: The dramatic music was spot on, but some of the romantic music was overplayed in the series, especially Suzy's "I Love You, Boy" (I like the song. It was just overused).
Overall, I would recommend this series to anyone that likes law/detective-like drama that can withstand awkward comedic scenes.
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Un drama stratosferico!!!
Un drama stratosferico!!! Non ci sono altre parole per descriverlo.La trama è particolare e intrigante.; c’è la parte legal, la parte romance e la parte fantasy (che riguarda i sogni premonitori). Durante le puntate ci troviamo di fronte a scene commoventi, drammatiche, romantiche e comiche.
Gli attori sono tutti bravissimi e la storia ne guadagna. Ho amato il rapporto tra i tre protagonisti Leo Jong-suk, Bea Suzy e Jung Hae-in. Ci fa capire che la vera amicizia esiste e cosa vuol dire tenere veramente ad una persona. Mi sono piaciuti tantissimo anche i personaggi di contorno che rendono il drama corale.
La storia d’amore c’è ed è dolcissima me mi è piaciuta tanto anche la parte legal che mi ha tenuta sempre con il fiato sospeso.
Un drama da guardare ASSOLUTAMENTE!
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ilovedoramas2k20
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because for me, it's one of Bae Susy's best dramas. I think she did a really good job and had improved her acting skills quite a lot. And the drama itself is on my top 10 easily compared to other dramas i have watched recently. It holds a very good place and memory in my heart.
The story is nothing out of the woods, its good and refreshing in some aspects and i enjoyed it very much. The lead couple worked very good on the chemistry, i loved them, they looked very good together and they did tell the story in a very plausible and emotional way.
The chemistry between all the actors was natural and i personally didn't felt any strange vibes or awkward moments, at least nothing serious that would ruin the fun of watching the drama until the end.
Kudos to the actor who played the vilain because i never wanted to virtually slap someone so hard and so bad as i did when i watched this drama XD (sorry but it's true). I cringed so much every time i saw him come on the screen hahaha But that only shows that he did a terrific job at his part and made the show even better!
For me this drama is a must watch, it's a beautiful story and every actor played their part really well and made the whole thing a very good piece of art.
Good cinematography too, those scenes and shots were carefully planned and made such a huge difference.
Oh and can i just say that the OST in this drama is just FABULOUS!!! I LOVED IT!
I mean, i got chills of how good it was, it gave this drama a mood you can't get rid of!
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Rewatch Review : Amazing even after 8 years!
Maybe it was a youtube edit video I saw or maybe a comment I read here on MyDramalist, I am not sure how but somehow I thought of this show on a long weekend in 2024 & I wanted to Rewatch it (even though I've a long unending list of currently watching drama & plan to watch list). I just had to watch this show again and I did.One word: Amazing
Story is the ace for this show. The idea and its execution is what made it so enjoyable. The OSTs rocked, I still have few of them downloaded in my old phone. Actors, too, did an amazing job. Now that I am watching it again, I am able to recognise so many of them from their later works. They really have an Avengers worthy cast here.
The Screenwriter has my respect. I'll be on lookout for her future works. She really blends the fantasy elements well in contemporary tales.
I still remember when I saw this first time around when it was airing. I've been a huge fan of LJS & Suzy is cool too. But this time, it hit me even more, maybe because I binged watched it in 1&1/2 days. Jung Hae In as a second lead was chef's kiss. I am personally not a fan of love triangles. And this show has such clever writing, it handled the cliche well. I was surprised that I forgot details about the cases in the show and it was positive point for the re-watch. I was wondering maybe I'll be fast forwarding too much but that didn't happen. Thoroughly enjoyed this show even more at rewatch.
I know there must be a very small percentage of kdrama watchers, who might not have had a chance to get to know this gem yet. If you are one, please go ahead and give this a chance. Enjoy watching ~~
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Overall: One of my fav.
Rewatch: yes.
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