The Kdrama “Lovely Runner” aired recently, and this calls for a review, lets talk about its premiere episodes!
Note: this article is a first-impression review, it doesn’t mean this is the writer’s final thoughts on the drama. This is a spoiler review.
There have been some talks about the drama for various reasons including the premise which became the center of controversy because some people thought it resembled the story of the late SHINee member Jonghyun. However, since then, the drama’s side said its not related what so ever.
I was surprised by the amount of backlash it received because of it. Not that I didn’t expect people to make a connection, but I didn’t expect them to talk about it so much so that the drama’s side would respond.
I have been watching kdramas for a very long time, over 10 years. So, I have seen it all. The idea of an idol singer’s suicide is not new. I have seen it many times before in kdramas and k-movies. Often than not, it’s a sub-plot in kdramas or k-movies but I have seen it before, a singer or an idol who commits suicide and the people around them deal with that.
This aside, I have seen the drama’s premiere, so let us talk about it!
I love Hye-Yoon’s acting, she’s so immersed in her roles and it’s a treat watching her. Despite how cartoonish her character comes off, she’s more than capable of giving her dimensions beyond what’s basic with her dedication and acting style.
You feel for her character and her struggle as she tries to protect Sun-Jae.
From a basic plot POV, its pretty standard, and it has many beats of regular high school or romance kdramas, sometimes these scenes play exactly like every other one before them. Not to say it was bad, but it was expected. It reminded me of “True Beauty” and it turns out both kdramas are penned by the same screenwriter.
I found myself loving their interactions, and the chemistry between Hye-Yoon and Woo-Seok is also there. Their height difference is adorable and Woo-Seok is just so tall, he’s like 190 cm, I think.
I expect this drama to be mostly typical in the way it handles every topic it will. Meaning, I don’t expect any surprises or massive plot twists.
This drama will be 16 episodes…. which is not great. I expected them to be 12 but I am surprised they greenlit 16.
Generally speaking, idol-centered kdramas or high school centered kdramas rarely do well in ratings in South Korea, not unless they tackle very heavy subjects, but if its lighthearted, more often than not, they won’t make much noise.
So, knowing this, I am surprised tvN went with 16 episodes. Maybe because they had international audiences in mind. We tend to have different taste and such types of kdramas tend to always do well internationally.
On one final note, I am surprised they went 15 years back in time. Not only is that a huge time jump but also unnecessarily long. I’d understand if the time jump some time in the present or about 5 years apart, but 15 years is toooo much.
Even if she was to hold on to him for so long, many relationships don’t last 15 years, even if we assume they’d be married. Also, if he is, kpop idols who are married rarely get rave reactions, so it makes even less sense.
Just so you know, in the original work, she goes back in time 6 years in the past which makes wayyyyy more sense. In regards to this the production company said, “The setting of six years prior from the original work did not accurately reflect the temporal differences, so we decided to set it in 2008 to clearly demonstrate the contrast with 2023.”
I don’t understand why they need such a stark contrast, but.. ok… maybe, it also has to do with their plans to lengthen the plot enough to fit 16 episodes.
Regardless, I think this change could backfire easily.
Having said these things, I enjoyed the premiere episodes a lot. They were cute, balanced lighthearted topics with heavy ones and generally gave enough to evoke interest in those who enjoy such types of kdramas.
So, what about you guys? what did you think of the drama? did you like it?
