See You In My 19th Life (2023)

Enjoyable But... I Wish They Gave Us More!

***Disclaimer: This is just my opinion. We don't have to agree and I'm not here to argue with anyone***

(This review is entirely based on the show, I did not read the webtoon and went into this completely blind)

I really loved this drama... I thought the story was interesting, the acting was phenomenal and the OSTs touched my heart. I wish I could rewatch it for the first time and be able to experience and feel all the things I did all over again.

The way this drama had me in a chokehold for weeks needs to be studied! I honestly don't know if this drama would've had the same effect on me had I just binge watched it in one go. From beginning to end you can see the care / effort the writers put into bringing this story to life on screen. I thought the cast was beautifully chosen as the actors captured the essence of their characters so well. The emotions through the drama were raw / real and it was almost palpable through the screen. I heard the webtoon and the drama are different and that writers changed some stuff but idk I think that's the whole point of an adaption it gives the writers creative license and room to explore what the original story didn't have / lacked. Ahn Bo Hyun and Shin Hye Sun were so amazing. I need to see Bo Hyun in more leading roles... perhaps a historical drama next.

Overall, this drama was enjoyable. My only problem with it was that it was too short (12 episodes) and the last couple episodes seemed rushed and like they were trying to tie everything together at the last minute. They could've used the middle episodes to develop the plot further or have Seo Ha find out that Ji Eum was Ju Won's reincarnation earlier as well as her memories from her 1st life and how to break the curse. I found the shaman guy (Min Ki) so annoying. Especially the fact that they let his identity remain a mystery until the last two episodes, it was very underwhelming. They made it seem like he was a lover but as it turns out he was the reason why Ji Eum was cursed to be reborn each time she died. I found the ending of her forgetting everyone while they lived on remembering her very strange / not well thought out but I'm glad everything all worked out in the end and the drama ended on a happy note. I was initially so scared that it would end badly but then again I'm a lover of angst and pain. Either way I think I would've loved this drama bc the storytelling, acting and sequence of events was so entertaining.

I definitely would rewatch this drama sometime in the future. I think the key to enjoying this drama is just to go in blindly without any preconceived notions from the webtoon or constantly comparing it to it. As a reader myself it's just a fact that no adaptation can ever really live up to what you imagined in your head.

With that said I give this drama an 8/10.

Thanks for reading & happy watching!

❤️

Citeste mai mult

A mixed up jigsaw puzzle that didn’t quite make a beautiful picture

I had reasonably high hopes of this one after the first episode. The characters were intriguing, the scenario showed promise, the acting was good, the cinematography on point. But all that promise was gradually gambled away by a plot that was so clunky you could hear it grinding.

This was a scenario that could have been so good in better hands but unfortunately there was zero finesse to the unfurling of the mystery. It relied totally on incredible coincidences, cringeworthy conveniences, inexplicable premises and unrealistic actions.

The unfolding of a plot is not about what happens, but how it happens and therein lies the skill. How information is revealed in such a way that characters can discover it credibly/naturally and the viewer can gradually see the bigger picture unfolding. But here, it was like the writer didn’t have the patience (or attention to detail) to complete the jigsaw properly, so cut random pieces to fit the gaps and rammed them home. Leaving characters clinging onto the edges like loose pieces that didn’t quite fit anywhere and blue sky questions sitting in the middle of muddy field explanations. It had all the hallmarks of seat-of-your-pants writing rather than well structured and planned writing.

Too much of it relied on inexplicable premises that I continued to hope would be explained, but never were. The hotel plot in the present was not really tied to the plot in the past or maybe I just missed the point. All this increasingly became the focus of my frustration leaving me very little energy to appreciate the good things, which is a shame because there were some really good things.

One thing the writer did get right (ably assisted by the director and the actors) was a cast of interesting and engaging characters. Both the leads played their parts well and created a believable chemistry. I really liked Ahn Dong Gu as the tsundere Ha Do Yoon. This type is always difficult to make sympathetic and he did very well in revealing the emotional undertow of the character. Also an honourable mention for the child actors, particularly Kim Shi Ah who totally captured the enigmatic aura of the 18th incarnation.

I really enjoyed the cinematography in this show. The clever use of angular sets and monochrome environments was notable and there were some stunning set shots throughout.

So overall, if I hadn’t been so distracted by the plot I would have really liked this show and given it a much better rating. If you’re not going to be affected by that, then go ahead and watch, there’s plenty to enjoy.

What my rating means: 6+ Some aspects of it were OK but it had serious flaws. It will pass the time but you can find something better.

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Charming hanger, to tell the same old story about Cupid's arrow in a refreshing crisp new way

"See you in my 19th Life" is first and foremost a love story. However, there is this particular, dramaturgically appealing impulse, since the protagonist has been incarnating on this planet again and again since 980 AND is actually able of recalling all of her 19 multifaceted lives so far quite well. So the protagonist is neither ghost nor demon, but a human being like you and me – only with more knowledge and experience from her previous lives with different gender. She brought all she has ever learned and known along with her.

A nice hanger, I think. A great (not necessarily brand new, though,) idea to tell the same old story about Cupid's arrow in a refreshing crisp new way. The idea goes back to a web toon. As tvN-KDrama it comes along in 12 episodes. Here Shin Hye-sun once more took the chance to break down female stereotypes, as she had already successfully stirred up gender-specific behavior patterns with her acting in "Mr Queen". Wonderful.

I think the concept overall works very well. The KDrama presents a Rom+Com in a light-footed pace. However, the protagonists certainly have their bags to carry. So the story doesn't just sail along on the surface. And then, of course, there are also mischievous characters, e.g. in the Jaebeol milieu, adding some extra excitement. In addition, the subplots are quite elaborated in a charming manner, too.

So: If you're in the mood for Rom+Com, you'll be well taken care of with this KDrama. The story draws with pleasure from the large pot of possibilities that arise from the idea of ​​awareness in reincarnation, thus lovingly spicing up a solid love story. Predictable it may still be, yet it is fun, heartwarming and including some surprising twists, too.

Citeste mai mult

A waste of a potentially great adaptation

I know with adaptations from well-beloved sources, there is more of a general tendency to recommend seeing them as separate entities, but I think there's a legitimate argument for feeling upset when an adaptation fails to such a degree as this has to me to meet expectations.

I didn't start out with many; I'll admit that I had never heard of the story before this drama came out. I'm not well versed in Webtoons, nor comics in general (Pyramid Game and See You In My 19th Life being the two that I have readat the time of writing this) – but I fell so deeply in love with the concept of somebody remembering all of their past lives, and going back to re-enter into the lives of the people they had left behind – using all of her previous knowledge and confidence to equip her in this endeavour, I found Ban Ji-Eum to be a magnetic protagonist, masterfully portrayed by Shin Hye Sun (whom I'd seen previously in Still 17, and was already a fan of). The ending to the third episode made me weep buckets, and by then – my mind was made: I would read this comic, as a way of tiding me over until the next episodes came along.

I engorged myself on it, binging it easily within the span of a week. I fell even deeper.

Coming back to the drama from the Webtoon was a bit of a shock to the system, but I felt – if anything – even more on-board than before. There were a few pacing issues I noticed; some scenes where it felt like it didn't linger enough for me to feel connected to them, scenes where the ML, Seo-Ha would just... be in the pool. A lot of gruesome (and quite badly triggering to the two people I was watching with, who had both been in serious vehicular accidents – which is something to keep in mind if you're sensitive to crashes even in the slightest) flashbacks. All the same, I was excited for where the story was leading.

Then came the murder plot.

I'll admit, the revelations, and the resolutions of it in the Webtoon didn't feel jaw-dropping to me – but it acted there more like a periphery, and a way to keep the characters together and motivated for long enough to stay close to each other. To me, I didn't feel like the resolution to the murder plot in the Webtoon needed to be stunning – because it lead to everything else I loved about it.

But the drama's version was something else, truly. It felt like, rather than lending itself to the romance plot, leading to answers that were good enough, and that made sense – I feel like it took over, and that the answers didn't give me nearly enough for me to believe in its motivations.

Seo-Ha's mother getting more of the spotlight as another reincarnation who remembers, I feel like was another change that added absolutely nothing to the story. The actress has her own charisma, but I didn't feel like she portrayed a character who had life experience enough to have been married with a kid, and the story behind why she was there was another addition that didn't make a lot of sense to me.

All in all, it felt like a definite downturn at this point. And for me, it didn't pick itself back up – it just kept digging itself into a grave.

One of my favorite plotlines in the entire Webtoon involved a plot turn that came in towards the end, involving Ji-Eum's first life. A lot of pieces that had already been lain down beforehand suddenly fell into place, and made it so that it didn't matter to me I'd already (accidentally) read spoilers, and knew what was coming. I really felt the deep tragedy, and the heartbreak of her past, and it changed the rest of the story in an interesting way for me, that flipped expectations for the reincarnation fantasy romance story-type, and made me love the characters even more.

I should have felt surprised when they dropped that storyline, exchanging it for something so much worse, but at this point, it felt like it was just another disappointment. By connecting the characters in such a flimsy way, it felt like it was leaning right back into the exact anticipated, tired cliches that the Webtoon was trying to avoid. I think the saddest thing is that this was the point of no return for my opinion of the drama – I feel like if they had set it up well, and nailed this one part of the plot – I might have come around to the drama as not being great, but not being so terrible either. Instead, it felt like I was served a kick in the teeth.

I don't normally feel so bad when I feel like a story's gone bad, or it disappoints me somehow. As a writer, I know how hard it is to write – I know there can be a million different expectations to live up to, and how impossible it can feel to live up to every single one – especially when it comes to adaptation, where there are people who will love the original more, no matter what.

But I also feel like it failing at being an adaptation is its own valid critique. When there's already a fully fleshed out story, and there are many people who are just looking for a faithfulness to the essence of the story; the most familiar story beats – I feel like there's less leeway there I'll give to an adaptation that changes it so much, and ends up making a huge mess of it in the process over an original story that makes a mess of itself.

On what I did like: most of all was its potential, but second of all was the strength of the OST. Standouts to me being (from the top of my head): Star by Colde, I'll Embrace Your Past by the lead actor Ahn Bo Hyun, and DOWN (Juicy Juicy) by JO YURI. This side of production, I loved.

I feel like the Seo-Ha that Ahn Bo Hyun played was almost a different character entirely from his more expressive, grumpy shut-in Webtoon counterpart – but I did love to watch the moments where he was completely bewildered and rendered speechless by Ji-Eum's shamelessness, and while I don't feel like he was perhaps the right casting choice for the Webtoon, I feel like he had enough of his own endearing charm he brought to the role to largely not be included in my other, weightier and more substantial grumblings.

The child actors were all outstanding, and they all (I felt) brought something very special and unique to the drama; I've seen a lot of their other projects, too, and there's a lot of incredible skill there already. A lot of the supporting cast, in fact, were very very good. Cha Chung Hwa is always phenomenal, no matter where I see her – and I have my eyes on Ha Yoon Kyung (having already noticed her in Extraordinary Attorney Woo) and Ahn Dong Goo, as the second leads. I feel like they both brought a lot of depth and warmth to their roles while still feeling like their Webtoon characters.

If I were to revise this story myself and offer constructive feedback as a writer, I would've focused more on what the main characters want, and what they might lose. I would've had less accident flashbacks or pool scenes, and focused more on the development of relationships. I would've gotten rid of the "consequences" to knowing, and simplified where it didn't need to be that complicated. The scenes which fleshed out the relationships that Ji-Eum had with people like her niece, her mother, and her sister from a previous life were beautiful additions, and I would have leant a lot more into that.

While I don't feel very encouraged to pick up the future dramas of these writers – I do genuinely hope that they will improve from here. There was something almost magic to me about this drama, and it's always the "almost" that gets me.

Citeste mai mult

Great start and potential that was sadly absolutely squandered in the 2nd half

(Info: I don't know anything about the webtoon it's based on, so I'm just judging the show overall)

It started out as a fun and cute story with very charismatic characters and great romantic and platonic relationships, with the potential to have some of the best main 4 character group. The FL was quirky and great, with many heartbreaking and heartwarming moments. The ML also carried a lot of emotional moments due to his experiences and losses. The relationship of FL/ML was a highlight, no matter if it was the present day or the flashbacks to the FLs 18th life. The 2ML and 2FL were also good characters with a lot of potential, with a nice relationship setup and great and interesting relationships to the ML and FL.

But all of this was squandered in the 2nd half. As the wtiting became a giant mess of clichés, drama and mystery boxes without rhyme or reason. It even managed to remove much of the charisma of and chemistry between the characters.

The 2FL and 2FL and their relationship got incredible shafted and was basically the same scene or argument over and over again like a freespinning wheel.

The 'antagonistic' character of Mingi was not his own character but a plot device for a poorly thought out 1st life and an overdramatic cliché mystery.

The sudden focus to the boring 1st life mystery also negatively impacted the FL/ML relationship, as the development of their relationship took a giant step back and their moments became very lackluster after the reveal of her reincarnation.

The whole storyline of the abusive father/mistress/reincarnated mother was very messy and just a distraction and stealing screentime from the 4 main characters. The acting of the reincarnated mother was also not very good, as she never seemed to have the presence of a person remembering their former lives.

The acting, cinamatography and OST were very good, but they all couldn't save the very messy writing. What was a slamdunk 8 stars (with the potential for 8.5 or 9 stars), just crashed into a 6 star rating. What a disappointment :(

Citeste mai mult

I booed out loud at the end

As others have mentioned, the series started off with an interesting premise and I enjoyed the first 4-5 episodes. Then, it became clear that the story was really about her first life, which wasn't particularly interesting. The same poorly lit/shot/designed scenes from her first life were repeated over and over again.

Spoilers follow: While one must throw logic and reason out the window when considering the premise of many kdramas, I had to question what the likelihood was that most all of the leads in the show were also in her first life. And they were also all at the same ages as they are in their current life. Which leads me to the biggest headscratcher of the series: When she finally unties herself from her past life and subsequently forgets about them, how is it that she also forgets about the relationships that she has built in her current life? Yet everyone else can remember them. She eats kimchi as Kim Ae-Gyeong's restaurant--where she supposedly had lived throughout her teens--and can't remember it? However, she ended up being the same senior engineer? Huge plot hole.

I'm guessing that the writer(s) was willing to overlook this due to their desire to set up the finally scene at the hotel swimming pool. As if none of the people who knew about her prior lives are not going to tell her about them anyway?

Still scratching my head.

Citeste mai mult

I Better Watch This in All of My Future Lives

“I was reborn this time solely to meet you.” I think I was reborn this time solely to WATCH. THIS. because I have not been this enthralled by a drama in a long while.

I have been obsessed with the concept of sonder (even if its meaning has been obscured or redefined online) since its appearance on social media in late 2020. For those that don’t know, its “definition” is the following: the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. In other words, everyone has a story (thanks dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com). This drama encapsulates sonder wonderfully.

The story follows Ban Ji Eum (aka Yoon Joo Won, and aka her other 17 personas). She is currently on her 19th life and she has dedicated it to finding one very important person from her 18th: Moon Seo Ha. Many things about this drama first stuck out to me: the incredible acting, the beautiful setting and visuals, and of course, the captivating plot. But interwinning all of these aspects is one core thing, the thing that makes this drama so special and gives me confidence that I will rate it somewhere in the 7.5-10 range even though I am only 2 episodes in: the depth of the characters.

“‘Character’s have depth?’ Okay…doesn’t every character with a backstory have depth?” is what you may be questioning me for. I suppose you can associate depth to the viewer's knowledge of a character’s history, but I see it differently. If I do not know the upbringing of a character, that’s fine; but if their actions give way for me to question what has shaped them to be who they are, that is depth to me. Why do they act distant? Why are they clingy? Why is this their love language? Depth, to me, is being able to attach attributes to a character, making sense of their past, which overall allows yourself to be immersed into the narrative and become invested in a character’s outcome. A poor example of character depth is from the drama Love in the Air. I was not attached to the plot or the couples for one second because the characters had absolutely no depth. Sky, possibly (a bit problematic). But the other 3?? Nothing. I had no clue what made these character’s act so…desiring, and that would have been an interesting conversation on today’s intimacy-obsessed young adults. And it got to a point where I just didn’t care to know anymore. But, this drama is different.

Ji Eum is resilient (“Pursue rather than wait,” being her motto). She is strong-headed, thick-skinned—the characteristics one would need to adopt to survive 18 lives. She is humorous thanks to her flamenco-dancing days. Introspective thanks to being the sole survivor of a Japanese invasion. And mature thanks to all of these life lessons combined. But she is more than this supernatural phenomena. She is caring, protective, a bit brazen, and these are some things that Seo Ha brings out in her.
But he is not only a means of characterizing Ji Eum. Seo Ha had to experience his mother passing away at a young age, only for a little while later, Ji Eum’s previous life to end in his arms. Surviving two deaths, and with no support from an aloof and abusive father, Seo Ha is deep because he is letting these events and people impact him, but lift him up rather than bury him. This is when I am reminded of a quote from the show, Shadow and Bone: “You are not who you are because of them, but in spite of them.” Depth, I tell you! And now that Ji Eum is back in his life, things are better. Just as Seo Ha brought out the child of a 100+ year old (Joo Won), Ji Eum is now bringing out the lost childhood of Seo Ha. Seo Ha’s character is not only interesting because of what happened to him, but because of how he is reacting to it and surviving in spite of it. This is when the script really shines: “You’re alive. Seo Ha, thank you for being alive” (ep 1).

And what’s better to compliment a script than fantastic acting. I am completely not joking, the acting of Park So Yi (young Ji Eum) is phenomenal. She is wonderful in her role and really takes on the “old soul in young body” dilemma. She is vibrant and full of hope when she sees Seo Ha is alive, but her tears reveal she is also struggling with the guilt of leaving him behind. Her line delivery is amazing—a mix of playful/childish and mature and wise. I cannot wait for her future main roles.

Back to the plot, in addition to the idea of reincarnation being troubling in itself thanks to trauma of past lives and loss of a will to live (why Ji Eum always said a prayer to forget her current life and for that to be her last until she met Seo Ha), this drama is so unique because Ji Eum is interacting with people from her 18th life, allowing her to see their grief of her last life’s death firsthand but from a distance: “In all the lives I’ve lived, I could only feel my own pain. But not this life. The people I’ve left behind…I’m witnessing their sadness for the first time” (ep 2).

Quick final note: I hate age gaps. I hate it with such a passion. Whether in a drama or irl, it icks me out. HOWEVER, it doesn’t bother me with this drama, and here’s why: Ji Eum is likely a couple hundred years old and she met Seo Ha when they were ~8. She died, and he continued living. They then met again when he was in high school and Ji Eum was 9. For me, although you can see it as weird because a 100+ year old fell in love with an 8-year-old (like a vampire lmao), or a high schooler fell in love with someone 9 years younger, in “reality” that 9 year old is 100+ years old, so the ages of falling in love cancel out and my brain is somehow fine. Nevertheless, I get it if this turns some viewers away.

Once again, I have overstayed my review-welcome and perhaps discussed a bit too much. Nevertheless, I will update my review when I see fit and I’ll leave you with these parting words: If I was granted to watch one last drama before this life of mine ends, right now, I would pick this one!!

Happy watching, lovelies <3

Edit: 8/12 episodes in. IT GETS EVEN BETTER. If my initial review did not convince you, please please please let this edit!
Edit 2: I finished, and wow. The acting got better, the story got sadder, the characters got more interesting, the plot, she THICKENED. Certainly recommend and I think it is one of the best kdramas that will come out of this year xx

Pinterest plug: https://www.pinterest.com/ed3nelle/drama-see-you-in-my-19th-life/

Citeste mai mult

Started strong ended weak

I'm going to have to come out of 'review retirement' to share my opinion of this drama. The trailers made me believe this was going to be the next "blockbuster" drama that I've been waiting for - the next masterpiece. Sadly, this show did not live up to the hype for me. The first few episodes were interesting and fun. But it gradually became a little boring and ended with plot holes for days.

The actors did a decent job. Shin Hye Sun is one of my favorite actresses but she did not nail this role. Especially in the flashback scenes to her first life (and where she was 'seeing' her first life from the present). I know she's a wonderful actress, but these scenes were heavily overacted and grating. She is so much better than this that it made me think it was a directorial choice rather than her own. Ahn Bo Hyun was a bit wooden, but I found him to be somewhat similar in Yumi's Cells. I found myself much more interested in the second lead's romance (Ha Yoon Kyung as Cho Won and Ahn Dong Goo as Do Yoon). But we got a lot less of them than I would have liked.

Due to the condensed number of episodes - only twelve, a tighter storyline was really necessary. There were a lot of unnecessary things they could have cut out that didn't advance the plot at all. There were so many flashbacks that could have been cut down. The side plots could have been cut out as well - things that added nothing to the main storyline. And the plot just completely fell apart once the shaman - Min Gi was introduced. I realize that they were working off an established webtoon, but I've never seen the source material so I don't know how closely they stuck to the original story. I thought that the solution to the issues was very weak and ended up with a lot of plot holes in the end. So many things about the ending made no sense at all. Like where did she think she lived? Why was she back at her old job? Wouldn't there be OTHER people that knew her that would have asked about why she was there again? Did she just get complete amnesia? How does she forget also meeting these people in her childhood as Ji Eum? Wouldn't they have photos of them together? Why is she still wearing the couple ring and has no idea how she got it? Seo Ha approaching her like he did in the end probably would have made most women run away thinking he was some sort of stalker or crazy in some way. None of the ending made any sense to me at all. I thought she was just going to forget how she knew them before - and that could have worked. I was just extremely disappointed in how this drama played out.

The one redeeming thing from this show was the song "Star" by Colde - loved this song and I've added it to my Drama OST playlist!

Would not rewatch this and I don't think I would recommend it to anyone either. This one is a pass!

Citeste mai mult

So good but yet so cringe... and badly paced

This is a fun drama with a whole lot of good (mostly Shin Hye Sun) and a whole lot of cringe... and some of dramalands oddest/worst pacing.

The drama starts off all fun and sweet with some darn good acting and what one could say as a gender fluid theme... While one could think there would be a lot of second hand embarrassment the writers of this drama managed to dodge most of these and built up a really bad ass lead. With a whole lot of interesting lives and people around them.

Our lead has had several ethnicities and genders throughout their lives, learned a whole lot of interesting traits and grown up to be a seemingly care free person with a slightly one track mind... Making way for som pretty good humour... Having a gambling addict as a father our lead knew that life number 19 was not going to be easy...

Our male lead, is ok, nothing mind-blowing about him but a nice mix of sweet and cold... The friends and found family around the two are lovely in every single way not at all annoying as some may be. And I especially loved the dramas take on biological family... Saying some times a former anamy becomes ones parent in the next life in those cases it is better to cut them off...

I also really liked the mysterious guy with bells, however his character got way to little screen time and felt cut short in a lot of ways.

The OST is amazing, cinematography lovely and there are a lot of fun lines.

All things that could have made me give this drama a high score as it was also an easy binge and entertaining most of time... Had it not been for what I have to say next this drama could easily have gotten a 9 or a 9,5.

HOWEVER

Pacing- At times so fast you do not understand what just happened other times so slow you wonder if you are watching the drama in slow motion.

Cringe- The characters are often seen side by side with other versions of them selves...

Anticlimactic-The feeling of "was that really all there was to it " took over me several times while watching this drama. So much build up for nothing.

So all in all an ok drama that could have been a lot better but is still entertaining to watch.

Citeste mai mult

A Never-Ending Inconsistency

Short Review :
"See You in My 19th Life" promised an intriguing and potentially captivating premise with its incorporation of the reincarnation trope. The drama's plot suffered from convoluted storytelling, as it attempted to juggle multiple timelines and reincarnated identities without proper clarity. Flashbacks and time jumps were frequent and often poorly executed, leaving viewers confused and struggling to keep track of the narrative's progression.

The romance aspect, which could have been a redeeming factor, also fell victim to the drama's flawed execution. The relationships between characters felt superficial and underdeveloped, lacking the depth and emotional resonance that a well-crafted love story requires. The drama ultimately stumbled and failed to execute its own logic coherently, resulting in a muddled mess that left viewers scratching their heads.

Positive :
- Aegyeong existence
- The first life backstory is good
- The premise is intriguing
- The OST is really good
- Some of the scene has a really good composition

Negative :
- The plot point resolved in anticlimactic way
- The main couple don’t have good chemistry
- The plot doesn’t make sense in its own universe
- The editing is just for a shock factors
- The background music doesn’t match the scene
- The never ending flashback ever episode
- Second Couple has no screen time (despite having chemistry)


Long Review with Spoiler
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My main gripe with this drama is that it’s not engaging and every episode just negates the previous episode points like the writer make up the plot along the way and forgetting what they’ve been established. The writer will open plot points and forgot about it the next episode.
The audience never get to see what the characters motivations to feel emotionally invested. As example, why is Jieum liking Seoha in the 19th life so much? She doesn’t know him and does that means she likes the 18th life Seoha or it because of “destiny?” The chemistry between the two leads is barely there, you can’t even tell if they supposed to fall in love, it would have improved if they had them working together on revitalizing the hotel but they barely work.
Regarding the 1st life, for a curse to be this powerful , you would expect the backstory must be crafted well and hard hitting but instead the curse feels like random gacha that solved by accepting your fate because “It’s been 1000 years”.
Not to mention, Jieum backstory become tragedy because of herself and why she doesn’t remember the first life until the bells ? What was the dream in ep 1-6 supposed to mean then? What kind of curse makes you forget the very reason your curse origin, it’s also the curse you made for yourself. Aren’t the moment you are forgetting it almost the same as you technically get over it?
The 1st life doctor guy said that the medicine stored for the royals could help and Su/Jieum so she stole lead but on her way to escape, Su said the priest/shaman shouldn’t be too hard on her since the bells could be made again so Su is the stupid one?
Why is that the backstory makes me doesn’t want to root for Su/Jieum. Is the shaman bells both valuable and invaluable?
How’s the forget your memory works? Jieum entire 19th life consist of everything from her previous life? She lives with her 17th life cousin, she works because seoha’s works there, she got high score because of her previous work skills? It doesn’t make any sense.

There is so many question when you finished the show.
- The show spent more time on the murder plot and hotel plot, both get solved in a 10 minutes scene. The car accident that got repeated at least once an episode as flashback was because the uncle want to see the dad looks sad?
It was solved by a sudden confession. Then the stepmother and her son disappeared , what was their relevance in the story again?
- It’s like no one is “actually” bad guy in this drama but the reason is illogical.
- Juwon’s mother forgives the accident because it’s a planned accident that doesn’t means to kill people? Manslaughter is a thing.
- Seoha father acts like he did to shield his son but he has done nothing to his son either way? He is not nice to his son and acts so demeaning all the time until the last episode and we supposed to forgive him?
- Second couple barely get any screen time in the last half of the drama despite having chemistry. Why?
- Why is minki always pop up here and there with no dialogue? He always say some weird stuff like a reference to stuff we know nothing about.
- What about the disease? It's not explained enough.

The acting doesn’t feel coherent between characters. Shin Hye Sun is brilliant when portrayed in the 1st life but awkward at the 19th life. Her tone sound like she is babying seoha’s, like a kindergarten teacher knows it all. She is good at tragic scene but bad at happy scenes, idk how, she is a great actress.
Ahn Bo Hyun is sad expression all the time and just a slight happy at the end but don’t play well with SHS acting, they have bad chemistry.

Now talk about the controversial, liking a child when you were 1000 years old memories.
- This is so problematic because for half of the episode, the audience is bombarded with the idea that 18th life Seoha is just everything in Juwon/Jiem’s life but Seoha was 8 years old and she is mature 12th years old with understanding of an adult. What’s interesting about an 8 years old? At the end they reveal that Seoha was in the 1st life so what was the point in the beginning 18th life obsession then? Does your life is all about predestined relationship? So it's fine if you love and obsess towards an 8 years old because it must be predestined? Even when you act like adult , understanding of an adult and have memories of being adult?

All in all, the lack of consistent rules, muddled character development, and convoluted storytelling resulted in a disappointing drama that left viewers more frustrated than entertained. Unfortunately, "See You in My 19th Life " missed the mark, leaving us with a forgettable and unsatisfying viewing experience.

Note : I can write more but this is already long enough.

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A heartwarming drama with a fresh story

"See You in My 19th Life", as the name suggests, we will be immersed in the world of a human being that is being reincarnated over and over, and remembers ALL her past lives.

The drama follows the journey of a young woman who mysteriously remembers all her past lives, and attempts to change the course of events that led to her tragic fate while embracing her past love.

One of the most vital aspects of this drama is its narrative. The reincarnation aspect is handled with care; keeping viewers engaged as they unravel the mysteries surrounding events that shaped her life.

Shin Hye Sun delivers a remarkable performance, effortlessly portraying both the vulnerable and determined sides of her characters. Her chemistry with the rest of the cast, including her love interest Bo Hyun Ahn, adds another layer of emotional depth to the series. The supporting cast also shines, bringing their respective characters to life and enhancing the overall viewing experience, especially the second leads. They were very lovely.

The production value of "See You in My 19th Life" is quite eye-catching, with visually stunning cinematography and colors. The drama effectively utilizes its soundtrack to evoke a range of emotions, enhancing the storytelling and immersing viewers in the world created by the show.

While the drama explores themes of love, revenge, and past lives, it also delves into deeper topics such as the consequences of one's choices and a curse made in between. It beautifully portrays the complexities of human relationships and how deep feelings can go in our lives.

However, this drama does have a few flaws. At times, the pacing feels slightly uneven, particularly during certain episodes. Yet again, the plot got way too complicated at some point, with too many villains and loopholes; making it a bit confusing. The story is very intriguing, however, 12 episodes seemed to be a bit short to fully depict the story, and the ending was rather rushed.

Overall, this drama is a must-watch Korean drama that successfully combines romance and fantasy elements to create a captivating and emotionally resonant viewing experience. With performances, engaging storylines, and beautiful themes, Kdrama fans won't be disappointed.

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And the life goes on....

I'm pretty disappointed... it wasn't that bad but maybe I was expecting more. I adore Shin Hye Sun she always brings her best and lives her character but she couldn't save the show for me.

The main problems would be scriptwriting, characterization, and timing. For me the story wasn't engaging enough, so many things happened at the wrong time which didn't leave you any time to digest it. I didn't like the characterization of the leads at all... it almost felt like they had no depth especially considering Ban Ji Eum's character who supposedly lived 19 lives. Still, you see the no ounce of maturity that she should have from the get-go her character was so unlikable, clingy, and even unbearable at a time I was legit feeling second embarrassment through the screen. For Seo-Ha he was just uninteresting, there's literally nothing that stood out to me from 12 episodes, and don't bring why there should be something? coz after all it is drama so I expect that I should feel emotionally connected at least to the leads.... and with this duo romance was boring as heck... the chemistry was missing. I didn't even feel that anticipation of them getting together.

On the other hand, I quite adored the relationship Ji Eum had with the sister and niece it was heartwarming. Their interactions gave that warmth and depth to relationships that have. I think the overall romance was quite bland and the second couple was the worst of all times. I couldn't find a single reason why these two people like each other, seemed like the writer wanted to have a secondary couple and was left with no options apart from these two? so let's just force it upon us without any context and build up and expect us viewers to accept it coz we are dumb, right?

I would have appreciated it if her past lives were shown often rather than just some snippets here and there. They seemed way more interesting than the present. After watching the whole thing I still don't get why Seo-Ha was special to her apparently, the writer left that upon us to imagine and speculate.

I really hate when the first half is lousy and then we reach the rushed second half same thing happened here, there were so many things thrown in the last episodes and just too much going on... basically, the story lacked consistency.

Being tvN and Netflix production the cinematography, music, and sets were top notch just what you expect from such dramas... so there's nothing to be impressed of.

Shin Hye Sun did a great job, and Ahn Bo Hyun acted decently too, there was nothing wrong with the actors' performances just writing failed to give them that charm. And just my opinion and I didn't like them as a couple maybe visually (but that comes down to my preference).

At the end of the day... I'm not left with anything special to share about this drama. Everything was to say about what I thought could have been better... that's why it was just okayish drama... definitely not a must-watch or anything remarkable just another fantasy among dozens of the same genre.

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