“Find Me In Your Memory” has ended its run and I’ve been wanting to talk about it, at first, I was going to publish an 8-episode review but I became busy and forgot about it, so I’ve decided to do the complete drama review instead.

“Find Me In Your Memory” is the type of romantic kdrama that is becoming rarer as time goes by, mainly because people are tired of the same format, the same plot points, and the same stereotypes and cliché scenes.

“Find Me In Your Memory” isn’t grand or anything big, in fact, there is nothing special about the script or anything unique enough to validate a 16-episode drama and as time goes by, you could clearly tell it didn’t need to be this long.

If you’re asking ‘why on earth are you watching it then?’ Well, it’s my job to review dramas plus I love the actors who are easily the best part of the series and the reason I held on, I was also curious to see how they planned to wrap it up and its as anti-climactic as I thought it would be.

The good start but terrible finish [the script]

“Find Me In Your Memory” is an okay script, it’s about a man who can’t forget and the struggles he goes through. I’ve actually seen a documentary about a case of a real young man who can remember every single detail in his daily life, I thought it was fascinating.

But is this topic good enough to warrant 16 episodes? With the script direction, I highly doubted it. The topic picked for this specific peculiar case is also a disservice because it’s nothing too special, its just an anchor and he leads a very boring life otherwise. This one quality is what makes him interesting but aside from that, as a character he needed to be more intense or subject for us to get more invested.  

“Find Me In Your Memory” started out well, it had some cliché repetitive scenes that we love to hate but for the most part I thought the characters were palatable and many were nice. It was easy to root for them and get attached to them. The actors have really done the best they can with the material they had and you could tell.

At first, anchor Lee felt like another stereotypical male lead who just shits on everything the female lead does but as time went by, they ditched that approach and they ditched it quickly which made me happy because I can’t stand these types of characters anymore.

It might be because I am not as young and naïve, but I don’t fancy a male lead who continuously treats the lead girl like shit until he falls for her and miraculously changes.

I also found the plot device of the ‘forced’ relationship to be weak since we’re in 2020 but I didn’t hate it. I would’ve loved for the main leads to have had a better reason to be forced to be together, they don’t have much in common so I understand the approach from a writer perspective but I didn’t like it. I expect better from the writer behind “Dual.”

At first, it felt that despite some repetitive themes across the episodes, there was a purpose for this drama, Ha Jin has a serious stalker who’s after her and the process of figuring him out was fun and intense at times.

When the search and capture of the perpetrator happened, it felt like the series needed only two more episodes to wrap it up and end it peacefully, but it goes on for longer than that and the writer begins creating odd scenarios that are difficult to believe and drags on the plot for wayyy too long when everything has been resolved.

The writer used the older stalker who killed his former girlfriend, then the obsessed doctor who ruins his life and then the reporter, it feels like mundane things that didn’t need to happen and didn’t need to be included in the plot. How come everyone who’s involved with these characters is a mad vengeful stalker for some reason?

“Find Me In Your Memory” didn’t do well in ratings, I would’ve loved if it was planned for only 10 episodes, it would’ve been so much more memorable and a bit more intense. It would’ve left a good impression on everybody but the way the writer crafted the second half of the drama was just lazy.

Last but not least, I found it pretty annoying that the writer just had to use the ‘leaving overseas’ card and that back and forth between the couple as they decide whether they should stay together or not. I just felt that there was no need to put a halt on their relationship considering just how much they loved each other. I understand that she needs to go to the US but I don’t understand why she had to break up with him.

The last episodes felt like the standard romantic kdrama ending and I found that disappointing.

The characters

As I said before, the characters are okay. They’re your stereotypical characters but still very lovable. Ha Jin was a breath of fresh air; Moon Ga Young really did a good job with her. I just liked how she played the character that would’ve been otherwise pretty ordinary.

Anchor Lee is okay as a character, like I said before, aside from the fact that he can’t forget anything, there isn’t anything that’s special about him and it’s kinda sad. He has a very boring life to onlookers and this specific detail about his memory could’ve been easily removed and no one would’ve noticed the difference.

If you’re going to utilize hyperthymesia, at least make it an integral part of the plot. He goes through a lot of difficult times, including his abusive father and the death of his girlfriend. Even for a normal human being, this is too much and something that they can never shake off.

What I mean is that even without hyperthymesia, Anchor Lee would’ve still led the same life and dealt with his struggles the same way. What’s the use of this anyways? hyperthymesia should’ve been integrated better to the plot aside from just being there to be used whenever necessary.

They go on and on about how he can’t forget, but seriously, any other normal human wouldn’t also be able to forget such things unless they develop some sort of mental illness as a result.

The rest of the characters were fun to watch and I liked that there were justifications behind their actions aside from that stalker. I realize he has a fixation on anchor Lee deceased girlfriend but I couldn’t understand why he had to be so present in the present time. He killed the woman he wanted and I didn’t find that there was enough logical justification behind why he had to still harass anchor Lee. It felt that his character should’ve just been left in the past.  But again, I know that was done to give the plot a couple of more episodes to fill.

The Performances And Chemistry

I am one of the people who didn’t like the pairing of Moon Ga Young and Kim Dong Wook. I just found them to be too old for each other and didn’t understand why they hired both of them despite their enormous age gap. There are many older actresses who still would’ve suited Kim Dong Wook and the same goes for Moon Ga Young.

Despite my initial preservations going in, I ended up liking the pair more than I ever thought I would. I think it’s the way the script was constructed, there was no discussion of the age gap but you could tell there was one, they didn’t highlight it but again, didn’t really dismiss it, they just eased us in and I found myself rooting for the couple in no time.

Moon Ga Young and Kim Dong Wook are the main reason I stayed. I just love them as actors and loved their performance here, you could tell they had passion and took it very seriously even at times when I myself, struggled.

Kim Seul Gi was again, amazing. I don’t understand why she’s not leading her own drama yet. I liked how protective her character was and how easily she got along with Moon Ga Young.

This brings us to my only issue with actors’ performances in this drama, Lee Jin Hyuk.

For an idol with no experience at all in acting, the fact that he got the second lead role just irks me. To top that, he got progressively more screentime despite his lacking performance.

I don’t mind it [that much] when idols take on big roles in dramas they obviously didn’t earn but the least they could do is be good at their job. If you’re gonna cut the queue, at least be good.

At first, he was very cringy and looked awkward on screen, as time went by, he did get better but I still think he’s miles away from being taken seriously as an actor. He has potential but he really really needs to take acting lessons.

I understand his agency will try to insert him everywhere after his appearance on the Produce series but they could’ve at least made sure he took acting lessons. He was acting opposite some of the best in the industry; he was going to look bad… why do this to him?

Also, when did idol-actors boost a drama if they were lacking? Despite the industry practice to insert idols in dramas when they obviously have no training, I’ve rarely seen an idol help a kdrama explode in popularity no matter how famous they were, if their acting was bad and the plot wasn’t good, the drama wasn’t going to do well.

This is coming from someone who’s been watching kdramas for over 8 years, I’ve seen a lot and I mean a lot and rarely stumbled upon a drama that was elevated by an idol unless they were good at their jobs or their fellow cast members just did so well.

BTS V appeared on “Hwarang” and the drama did terribly in ratings, the same goes for Baekhyun in “Scarlet Heart.” When will PDs realize people stick for the plot these days?

Conclusion

“Find Me In Your Memory” is okay, it was enjoyable especially during the first half but things went downhill during the second half. It’s a typical romantic kdrama and if that’s what you’re looking for, then you’ll love it.

If you love the actors, you’ll probably have a great time as well. Aside from that, I don’t think people who have no attachment to such kind of plots or the actors will have fun watching this and in comparison to other similar projects that aired around the same time, “Find Me In Your Memory” is not as memorable.