Although it is likely this review will probably be swept under the radar in preference of reviews giving this drama ‘’10/10’’ , it is important nevertheless to give a honest verdict as a watcher and critic towards this drama. Written by screenwriter Choi Yoon Kyo, ‘’ Angel’s The Last Mission: Love’’ was a fairly sweet and hard-hitting romance tale starring a fairly talented cast consisting of Shin Hye Sun, L, Gil Eun Hye and Lee Dong Gun. Nevertheless whilst an enjoyable watch, the drama was not flawed from imperfections either.

Before critiquing some of the show’s more prominent flaws, it is important to clarify that the majority of the cast were brilliant in their performances. In particular, Shin Hye Sun ( who played our female lead, the cynical ballerina Lee Yeon Seo) has always been a versatile actresses within her performances ( The Legend Of The Blue Sea, Stranger and Mr. Queen), however, she truly seemed to capture the the emotions and depth of her character in nearly every scene. ( In addition to this, her months of training in ballet did help to add towards her genuine performance.) Likewise whilst fellow actress Gil Eun Hye’s character Geum Ru Na and Lee Dong Gun’s character Ji Kang Woo could equally be infuriating at times , Eun Hye and Dong Gun certainly gave talented performances onscreen.

Admittedly, Kim Myungsoo ( otherwise known by his stage name ‘’ L’’ for the K-Pop boyband INFINITE) has always had a fairly mixed-reputation as an actor by critics. Nevertheless, he seemed to be en par with his costar Hye Sun within his genuinely heartfelt, delivered performance as our kind-hearted angel Dan who gradually helps our female lead to be uplifted from her own pain and suffering.

However, this does naturally moves us onto the more critical issue of the storyline, cliches and characters. The storyline seems to initiate a fairly coherent plot ; the angel Dan is sent to earth as a human after disobeying initial orders, enters Lee Yeon Seo’s life as ”a human”, begins to become her pillar of support, naturally begins to fall in love with her as challenges are evidently raised.

Undeniably, Lee Yeon Seo was an intriguing female lead and character. Initially starting off the series as a ballerina who has fallen from grace after being blinded in an accident, Yeon Seo’s reasons for being often sardonic and austere around the associated individuals within her life were realistically more complicated than simply being one-dimensional. Refreshingly, this did not victimise Yeon Seo as being entirely ‘’ weak’’ or a ‘’ damsel in distress’’, with private revelations of Yeon Seo’s multi-layered feelings of guilt or remorse often after lashing out in earlier scenes . On the other hand, there is the evident plot point early on regarding Yeon Seo ( without spoilers).

Admittedly this is a fantasy series where logic isn’t always a necessity, however, considering the extent of this development for the character, it was oddly thrown-in without explanations. Despite this, Yeon Seo’s greatest development comes in the form of her romantic relationship with Dan as both someone to lean on as well as learn to open-up towards over the course of the series. Whilst undeniably pivotal to characterisation, it never truly made sense towards the entire bond between Yeon Seo and the second male lead Kang Woo in the same intimate way ( although admittedly always more platonic for Yeon Seo) as her relationship and growth with Dan. (Apart from a ‘’ challenge to the plot by adding in cliches’’.)

Before moving onto our main male lead, it is probably important on a side note to address the second leads Kang Woo and Ru Na. Whilst Kang Woo was given the primary purpose as the ‘’ obstacle’’ for Dan’s affections, his revealed backstory did help to break his initial mould with more complicated reasons for being intrigued with the female lead. Meanwhile Ru Na was a fairly unlikeable character in the beginning of the series by her initial enmity against Yeon Seo as a lead ballerina as well as later schemes against the female lead also. Whilst there was slight brought towards Ru Na as a character, her rushed ending alongside Kang Woo felt half-baked and incomplete.

Moving onto our main lead, Dan is a character who could have easily fallen down the trap of rarely breaking from the ‘’ nice male lead ’’ archetype. Thankfully just as viewers got insight into Yeon Seo’s complicated life, Dan was also given some insight behind his seemingly benign and benevolent traits as an angel .However, Dan’s biggest fault as a character came through the implausibilities surrounding his backstory at times, as well as his stunted character growth in parts. Nevertheless similar to Yeon Seo, Dan’s focal point as a character in the series was ensued by his relationship with the respected female lead by equivocally helping to nurture one another’s past wounds .

The ending of the series was undeniably bittersweet with fairly profound moral messages, yet it did feel slightly abridged in parts during the penultimate episode and finale. Overall, the drama was surprisingly heartfelt by most of the characters being able to break out of typical cliches, a surprisingly eclectic OST playlist as well as well-performed performances by the cast who helped to bring these characters to life onscreen. It was not a flawless drama with noticeable inconsistencies of storyline and cliches , but it was an oddly compelling fantasy romance story and definitely worth watching if you’re a fan of romance dramas.