Go Back Couple (2017)

It was so good!

Oh boy here we go, this is actually my first review on here but I felt like I had to put down my thoughts about this show in writing.

This was recommended to me out of the blue by someone close to me whos taste I trust so I dove head first into the show and was not dissapointed. It ends just as strong as it starts, it has a very coherent and well thought out story especially considering It's 12 episodes long only. The pacing was good and the ending satisfying.

I really like Jang Na Ra's performance and shes found a new fan in me after seeing this. Any scene with her and Kim Mi Kyung (the mother) is like watching a master class in acting unfold on the screen.

There's quite a few scenes that are really great but I don't want to get into specifics to keep this review spoiler free. Enough to say that the story is fantastic and highly rewatchable. Had no filler content at all and a very good balance of funny, fluffy and serious/sad moments.

If I really want to nitpick it felt like the show suffered just a little bit from second male lead syndrome in the form of Jang Ki-yong but it didn't bother me enough to not give this show a 10/10 that it deserves. I'd highly recommend it to almost anyone so do yourself a favor and check it out if you haven't already!

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i wanted you to know, that baby, you the best!

I just finish this the drama in one day lmao
like think abt how good this drama is, they were made u can't stop watching it like the world or life u have before was not necessary again because of this drama.

In the second paragraph, I make this because I just wanted u to know before watching this
u should prepare some of ur mental and a lot of tissue lol, I watch this drama without preparing abt anything and I have realized after I finished this drama my shirt was so wet because I kept crying while watching this drama lmaoaao

and abt the story or the cast, I think they chose the perfect cast I mean Jang Na Ra was so gooood in here and Son Ho Jun was so perfect it might be my first time seeing him but the acting was SO PERFECT.
and the story was perfect I mean the other couple was so cute too, and the perfect second male lead make this drama so perfect.

[ so sorry if i use the wrong grammar, English is not my first language ]

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the beauty of youth

im not really old enough to be reminiscing about the youth yet, im not even the age of the characters in 1999, however i have my perspective on it.

this drama had such a new storyline that i hadn’t seen before and it had really taught me a lot,
the need to treasure this moment in time. (as a carat i have to reference the song ‘ima - if the world ends tomorrow’)

its very realistic (minus the time travelling), just a middle aged couple going through what many have to go through in life. and such a beautiful reconnection.

now i don’t think i have the right to comment on how tearful it is either as i cry at even the least emotional parts of dramas, but this will definitely make you shed a few tears. the relationship between jin joo and her mother made me cry waterfalls. it really made me reflect on how i should treat and carry on treating my parents now, and even after i get married as nothing lasts forever.

time to talk about the casting. long story short, it was perfect. from the main couple to the second lead, even to the support characters, it was amazing.

nam gil was just so perfectly casted but also written. one of the biggest second lead syndromes ever. he wasn’t snobby, wasn’t rude and was always there for jin joo that sometimes u will wish they get together.

i 100% recommend this drama. its refreshing, makes you think a lot, makes you cry a lot but most importantly makes you smile at how incredible it is.

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I laughed, I teared up, I bawled and bawled and then I smiled. This drama has so much feels. The story, the values of family and their importance are beautifully written, crafted and potrayed to perfection by Jang Na Ra and Son Ho Jun.
I connected with the story.. it potrayed the very human side of every layman. It potrayed the changes of a relationship.. from first spark, dating, wedding, the marriage to parenthood. There's the beautiful memories and then there's the ugly fights. What we choose to remember is influenced by things we perceive. Sometimes what we perceive are also assumptions which could be wrong. I enjoy how the writer and pd takes the time to slowly unfold what happened in between until the otp reaches their breaking point.
After watching this, it reminds me to value the now. Value the good of my partner. Value my parents. Value every moment spent with my child. But mostly is the importance of communication. By the time i finish the drama i felt like I walked away with a lot. It's rare a drama makes me both pensive and appreciative. And that's why while it isnt perfect, i've decided to change the score from 9.5 to 10.

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Where is Marty McFly?

When I read the synopsis for this show, I was looking forward to a fun time travel. But the result was more than disappointing. In fact, given the high score for this show, I wonder if swarm intelligence has any real validity. Apparently, no one noticed the similarity at the end to "Back to the Future" either.
Having appreciated Kwon Hye Joo's work on Hi Bye, Mama! (2020), I was looking forward to Go Back Couple. However, the sensitivity he showed in Hi Bye, Mama! was completely absent in Go Back Couple. There was no explanation for the time travel and the character development of the protagonists was also poor. Even the secondary characters were template-like and superficial.
The message that money alone is the only option to be happy together is also debatable. Other couples manage to get by with little money. But Ma Jin Joo and Choi Ban Do lack depth of character, their problems, misunderstandings and anger at each other could have been solved without time travel.
But obviously this show is not about emotional depth, but about superficial and skechy scenes that are supposed to be funny. So the protagonists don't go through any development either, but simply throw their intentions from the first half out the window and suddenly behave completely opposite. Yet the initial situation offered a lot of new paths and developments.
Go Back Couple is just teeming with logic flaws and awkward twists. The characters were flat and lacked appeal. The cast was no help there either - except for Kim Mi Kyung.
From the beginning everything was predictable, there was no surprise in the plot except that everything was put forward so naively. However, the show seems to have found its audience.
After watching quite a few Korean series, I notice that often the female characters in particular are portrayed as very strong and independent in the first half of a season - only to suddenly buckle and submit from the second half on. As if one would want to send the message to a woman: Hey, this is how you are, strong, brave, independent - but that's wrong, you have to be a man's wife, cuddly, polite and demure, obedient, to be happy. What kind of message is that? Of course, there are some shows that don't adhere to this conservative thinking. Park Hae Young did not let her Lee Ji An in My Mister fall into this trap.
Strong Characters whose actions are justified and understandable should not be expected on Go Back Couple. The characters in this show remain jokes without depth. Like this whole show, you can quickly forget - no, you have to quickly forget!

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The drama was funny and cute. I like the main actress, one of the first k-dramas I ever watched was "Bright Girl" so I have a soft spot for her. Yes, the storyline is as cliche as it gets but the characters make up for it. My biggest pet peeve with this story is the same I have with most dramas that include a love triangle, they focus so much time on the second male lead that you hardly care for the main couple. Plus, considering they're supposed to be older the male lean acts more like a child an anyone else. Honestly, they would've been better off alone, in my humble opinion.
I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a light, short drama to turn their brains off for a while and escape.
Happy watching :)

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Go Back Couple is the best drama of 2017 for me. I went in with low expectations on this one, since I've read (part of) the webtoon it is based on and I thought it was awful. However, the drama manage to elevate what I consider an extremely mediocre source material into a masterpiece, and I'll have to credit both the director and the writer for producing such a wonderful piece of work. Also, all the actors did extremely well in this drama, with our two main leads putting in absolutely heart-breaking performances. Unfortunately, compared to the hype it received in South Korea, the drama didn't have exceptional ratings. It is also a little underrated in the international community.

Go Back Couple is not a drama about romance. I know that there is fervent shipping going on, but that is not the focus of the drama. Through the (unintentional) mistakes made by Jin-ju and Ban-do and their consequent regrets, the drama relays messages and lessons to us viewers about the importance of relationships and communication. It was never about whom Jin-ju will end up with, but about how they went back and became better and more understanding persons. More so than the romance, the part which tugged at my heartstrings the most was the recurring theme of parental love. The relationship between Jin-ju and her mother is extraordinary. I cannot remember the last time I cried watching a drama, not to mention the last time I cried so much watching a drama. Kim Mi-kyung and Jang Nara have exceptional mother-and-daughter chemistry. Of course, their brilliant acting also played a part.

On to acting, I must first applaud Son Ho-jun for his breakout performance. Haitai was my favourite character in Reply 94 (which I did not finish), but Son Ho-jun didn't have great luck with his subsequent projects. His character in Blow Breeze was so bland and his acting so stoic that my first reaction to his casting was "oh no". Alas, I was absolutely wrong. He was fabulous as Choi Ban-do. Many Korean netizens have commented that this character would have been ruined if it was portrayed by another actor and I do agree. I think he has the right blend of comedy and melancholy in him, especially with his soulful eyes. Next up is Jang Nara. I'm a huge fan of Jang Nara, so I'm accustomed to her acting style already. She really impressed as Ma Jin-ju though. She's well-known for being the romcom queen, but I feel she excels the most when it comes to emotional acting (still great in comedy though). Besides, the two of them have excellent chemistry (Jang Nara seems to have sparks with everyone she's act with). The two of them (and Kim Mi-kyung) made me bawl my eyes out at their scenes together. The actor who gained the most from his appearance though, is Jang Gi-yong. I think he was great as a greenhorn, and he managed his expressions really well. I'm only slightly disappointed at the scene where he's supposed to stare at Jang Nara's character lovingly, because I really didn't feel the love. Nonetheless, he had a "perfect" character to work with and I think his stock is rising fast.

I don't see big flaws with the production at all. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out on future dramas from the director and the writer. I know that some may have issues with how a certain trope was employed towards the end, but I felt that since the plot point wasn't exactly emphasised on, it didn't negatively affect the quality of the drama as a whole. I'm slightly disappointed with the ending, because I do not believe in second chances and I'm not so sure about the decision that was made on what should be retained from this "vacation". There is a fantastic (the adjective here means fantasy-like, it's not a synonym of awesome) explanation for their trip to the past, which was cute, but it takes away slightly from the realism the drama is all about.

In conclusion, this drama is an outstanding piece of work. It was slickly executed, with awesome directing, writing, and acting. I didn't give it a 10, but my heart is telling me to. I'm still torn about the rating, because there are only two 10s on my list - one is because of nostalgia, and the other because I loved the writing so much. Perhaps in the future I'll change my mind, since dramas on MDL are almost always overrated anyways.

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Where do I start? This drama defies genre-- it's funny, endearing, heartbreaking, and usually all in the same episode. This was a small, cozy masterpiece.

The entire cast was great-- the second couple and the side characters were people you actually wanted to watch and root for-- I especially found Lee Yi Kyung's Go Dok Jae endearing, believably innocent and lovable. And don't get me started on the male second lead-- I had second lead syndrome forJang Ki Yong the majority of this series (shout out to the writer and director for one of the swooniest scenes of all time-- high heels and steep slope), won over in the end by Son Ho Jun who was flawed and frustrating at times but not to the point of wanting to give up on him.

Now, to the real gems of this drama: Jang Na Ra and Kim Mi Kyung were pitch perfect in every scene. They really took the drama from a good to one of my all time favorites. Their mother/daughter relationship made me miss my mom and want to give her a call-- their scenes were good reminders for not taking your loved ones for granted, and again both of these characters were just so easily likable, it was always a treat when one or the two were on screen. Jang Na Ra does heartbreak like few others, when she cried, I cried-- maybe because I'm a mother myself and close to my own mother, but all of her feelings, I believed, none of that typically bad kdrama crying that can really take you out of the moment, just heartfelt heartbreak you felt in the center of your chest. I think her character of Ma Jin Joo will go down in history of one of the all time best female leads, and she's definitely my favorite so far.

The music didn't grab me off the bat; however, it was unobtrusive and not all that noticeable, and I found myself humming it throughout the week as the series went on.

This is definitely the kind of show you rewatch-- every heart skipping, tear-jerking moment.  

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This plot may sound cliche or just plain,y overused but trust me everything played out well.
There will be times where you’ll, be like wtf but then at the end of the episodes it explains why.
It has many realistic points that happens in people lives like we’re all not perfect and that not everything we do can please other p, even though we wanted to.
Loved how their time traveling ,add things better for the main’s couple themself, friends, and family.
It’s also nice how the show wanted you to cherish whatever you have rather than complain and want more.
Overall nice plot, pretty funny, hot second lead, funny supports. 10/10

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Go Back Couple is a cute drama that will bring your teen years back, or at least it did for me because I was 10 in 1999. Despite the time slip has been used a lot in kdrama, the story managed to feel new and cute, with lots of different characters who will make you laugh and cry with their stories and situations I'm sure everyone has lived once in her/his life. The brownie point is that the drama is 12 episodes long, so the story doesn't drag and is resolved in reasonable ways.

A reason why I started this drama was Jang Na Ra, who is one of my favorite actresses. She can do happy, sad, angry and other emotions very well without exaggerating. In this drama she plays a 38 year old woman but also her 20 year old self and it was cute to see how she was both mature and young at the same time. I loved her chemistry with all the cast members but of course, I liked how she seemed comfortable with the male lead Son Ho Jun, who was a revelation for me because I didn't know him. I hope he'll get more male lead roles in the future because he has talent. The supporting cast was also super likeable, because they portrayed such different personalities who blended well together, and their stories were interesting like the one of the main leads. This is another reason to watch, because you won't feel bored by anyone on this show.

The music was good and I'll listen to the tunes in the future. They also included some 90's Korean songs (which I don't know, but it was nice they put them to create the 99' feel).

It's a must watch. It's a light drama with moments that will make you think, not the usual romantic comedy but more of a "dramedy". You'll shed tears of joy and sadness, but in the end it will be worth it.

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HIDDEN GEM! A MUST WATCH DRAMA <3

What a hidden gem and treat this show was. I started it expecting it to be your typical cliche time travel show where they go back to the past and STILL fall in love again blah blah blah. But this show honestly was so much more. The storyline was so good. Especially the scenes with the female lead and her mum, which made me cry rivers. I also loved the jealousy from both leads when the other was talking to their potential love interests in the past. Overall, I laughed, I cried. I binged it in two days and now there's a void in my heart. I really want to rewatch this show again because it honestly meant so much to me. Aside from the good storyline, the CHEMISTRY between the leads was electric. The ending of episode 11/beginning of 12 LIVES IN MY MIND RENT FREE. Just watch this drama !!!<3 <3

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