I had this drama on my watch list for literally years, and was really very conflicted about whether to watch it at all. I dislike horror, finding most of it fake, and many of the manifestations of spirits very cliched and boring. It is also too often depressingly predictable.
When I did decide to watch, I had massive reservations about the premise, but also quite strongly disliked the female lead - an excellent actress, but I have too often seen her play the same long-suffering, passive, devoted, courageous but self-effacing female who has to be abused for too long before she is eventually considered worthy of the attention of a self-aggrandising narcissistic male. That's neither good writing nor a model for good relationships, and frankly it worries me what people think is a good example for minds and emotions to learn from
Because of this, I struggled with this drama in the first few episodes. I simply could not understand Tae Yang, as she whined and simpered, yet she seemed also to find it mindlessly funny. It was annoying, and I would have happily slapped her upside the head to see if we could drill a bit of sense into her. It wasn't that I could not see the situation she was in, or the fear she was battling, but her antics in relation to Jun Won were just awful, and not particularly believable. Believability though is pretty redundant here.
As we trickled through the episodes even her annoying mannerisms and glitches gathered a little charm, and Jung Won's arrogance was tempered. The innocent double-entendres of her need for his body were a small and quiet joy, as were their discussions of her seduction later on. I started to enjoy their company as each of them became more the person they were supposed to be. All the other characters and cast were well rounded and well realised too. I really feel that writers did a good job, painting characters and plot by means of excellent dialog, which was (once people stopped whinging) a delight.
The acting was excellent - from everyone involved. I've tried to think critically and pick a hole somewhere, in any performance, but I can't. When I watch something and find an actor's performance weak or jarring I often have to stand back and consider how well the role was written or directed, because that is often the real weakness. I really enjoy that I never had to even think about that here.
Ghosts do nothing for me - too often under-written and cliched - but it was nice that here the ghosts were in themselves characters, with motivation and pain and tasks they had to finish, and that many of them actually developed and were ready to move on. Those wee sub-plots and stories for the ghosts were all pretty enjoyable and satisfying. I was also very impressed by how this series actually touches on a number of serious issues which in Korean society are taboo, and love that it is done quietly, with little actual drama, but great kindness and acceptance.
The weakest ghost story for me was certainly the main device, that of trying to resolve the mystery of the kidnap and the whereabouts of the ransom. When that was finally settled it was something of a damp squib. The drama needed something a bit more meaty that we could actually care about - by the time this resolution came around it was completely irrelevant and did not change anything for any of the characters, except "Hana" - though that was a bit satisfying - self-satisfied smirk removed from that face at last!
Pacing was good - 17 episodes is an odd length, and thankfully they didn't try to pad it out to make 20 boring or repetitive episodes! 17 good episodes is excellent!
Music plays a massive role - often it gets on my nerves. Here the music wasn't always the awful soupy strings which sometimes make me feel slightly sick and dizzy, imagining all those violinists' elbows working back and forth as if they're stirring a massive bowl of porridge, and some of it was quite pleasant. It even seemed as if some of the songs carried the story of someone's inner processing, but since Netflix doesn't translate lyrics, that is really anybody's guess, and for me they were pretty irrelevant. Might have made 16 episodes without all that. That said, the music was often far too prominent - so that on those occasions when a conversation wasn't set against a "soundtrack" it offered an oasis of clarity and light - what a relief. The soundtrack was at times oppressive - like musac. Sorry. Could have done without most of it.
This became a much better drama than I at first expected, and I did massively enjoy myself, had a great time with all the major and minor characters.