After bringing up My Mister I suddenly felt so very nostalgic with a desire to see it all again and so..here I am..with one episode to go…how did I feel the second time round?? Exactly as amazed as the first and feeling the same dread upon reaching the end as before!!! I don’t want to let these characters go..I really don’t. The benefit of watching the second time round of course was that I knew where I could easily fast forward..and there were really very few scenes where I actually did..but for instance..I didn’t feel the need to watch the monk again..I never did like him to begin with actually..lol..the drama was just as excellent without him and I really resented the screen time that he took away from the rest of the characters!!

I also really enjoyed reading the huge amount of discussions and thoughts on this drama – opinions were totally different..depending on viewpoints but there was always total agreement on the excellence. I just adore dramas which give so much to the viewers and get them feeling and thinking long after an episode is over..the kind that stay with you for a very very long time..I can’t wait to watch it again one day. I just know that I’m going to enjoy it all over again..for the third time!!

I don’t know how I keep getting myself into watching these kinds of dramas but it seems like I am a magnet for them..lol..actually I think I do know why..I try not to read any information about  a drama before I start..I like to go in with a fresh canvas and (hopefully) no spoilers. OF course this means that I find myself watching dramas that I might not have really chosen..had I known more about them..this is the case here. I knew that it was about a woman who returns from the dead (that sounds so weird…lol) but given the other outlandish plotlines in other dramas (body switching, reincarnation, ghost possession etc) it didn’t really give me pause. What does take me aback is finding myself in a continuous valley of tears..I swear that these actors must have felt so drained..not to mention dehydrated..at the end of many scenes. Having said that..I enjoyed watching a new actor (Lee Kyu-Hyung) as the grieving husband..I was really impressed with his ability to use his facial expressions so effectively to show us what he was feeling..he played the guilt ridden and damaged man really really well…this drama had no villains of course..but there was another woman and I felt myself really falling in love with her as well..there’s just something to be said about decent human characters that just pull at your heartstrings..but the main theme in this drama is not necessarily about reincarnation but rather the definition and power of motherhood..and the writer gives us more than enough to confirm that a mother’s love will drive her to almost anything..Kim Tae Hee did a great job as well and fit really well in a sense since this is her first drama since she had her two little girls. Speaking of children..a perfect example of why I try not to read spoilers..lol..and this isn’t about the drama itself but I accidentally read that the child who plays the little daughter was actually a little boy..and it really threw me..every time I saw her I instantly kept remembering that this was a little boy in a beautiful frilly dress and I kept wondering why on earth they would do that..they could have made the child into a little boy and it wouldn’t have made any difference to the plotline..it’s those small things sometimes…

Anyway..a cautious thumbs up when you are in the mood but be warned…

On the whole I did enjoy it..though for me it wasn’t without it’s hiccups..it stars Gong Hyo Jin as the single mother who runs the bar called Camellia and Kang Ha-Neul..an almost childlike man/cop who falls in love and keeps trying to wear her down to accept him. The background is the typical (I assume) small town filled with critical neighbours who have yet to accept her into the fold even after having lived there for years. She is forever an outsider of dubious character and they let her know it.

To tell you the truth I started up on it and dropped it for a while but then decided to give it another chance. One main reason for me was that I truly dislike dramas where the love story is at the beginning and there is no journey I can take along with them as normally would be the case. It was almost love at first sight for him and seconds later a public declaration..so where does one go from there? It had none of that delicious tension that I so love..the only difference is that it was all on his side!!  I think Kang Ha neul did a great job with this because at times his character bordered on an over the top innocence that would have been hard to take. Perhaps this is why I had a bit of issue with seeing them as a couple..at times she appeared almost maternal and I couldn’t see them together at all.

Also sometimes I really disliked her character and her attitude about things (for instance..being righteously indignant towards her child’s father because he wasn’t there for his son..when all along she NEVER told him about him in the first place!!)..it was her choice to be a single mother in a society that didn’t take it lightly but she seemed to not understand that her decision had consequences for herself and all around her.

And what is it about those poor orphans in Korea???? THis fact shaped her whole persona and resulted in her terrible lack of confidence..one of the pleasures was seeing her journey into a strong woman..I could have done without the serial killer plotline since I don’t think it added that much to the drama at all…in summary..while there were things I didn’t like..as a whole it had pretty strong, interesting and human characters..the secondary characters were more than fillers and..while I didn’t get to see the growth of romantic love..there was an abundance of love of other kinds…

Just finished this drama and on the whole I enjoyed it. It stars Yoon Kye-sang and  Ha Ji Won as the main couple. I have to also put a word for the secondary lead actor Jang Seung-jo who I really liked as well.

THe basic story is that these two characters met at different times in their lives and totally impacted each other and, in true kdrama fashion, realize that fate does have the upper hand at the end of the day.  After a few twists and turns, both find themselves working at a hospice where people live the end of their lives and the drama does a great job of showing each case in a very sensitive way. I won’t lie..it’s very sad to get fond of them knowing that they will soon be gone but I tried to focus on the positive and brightness they brought…as the heroine said: They are not here to die but rather to live the final days of their lives..emphasis on “live”. I loved the reminder that at the end of the day making a person happy can be as simple as making someone a special dish..it’s the little things.

I really loved the way there was so much healing in this drama..if not physically then emotionally ..and these people really need it. They carry alot of scars. Even more than the main couple I loved the up and down relationship between the two men (who were cousins taught to hate each other)..love how they slowly realize that what they’ve been taught to do is not what they want to do at the end of the day. Even her annoying brother was given character growth..lol..though there were a few that were left intact..and that’s life too..some people are beyond repair.

Some might consider it slow..maybe even depressing at times.. and I had a bit of quibble about the ending but overall I’m not sorry that I watched it. I felt a certain comfort in watching the heroine approach life and  realize the reason why and the beautiful scenes in Greece were the icing on the cake!!

I totally enjoyed and appreciated all these characters (with obvious exceptions of course!)

I have so many favourite scenes, but the obvious highlights are any between Team 3 and our four newbies. One thing I found a bit jarring though was the change of location during the last episode — it just didn’t seem to fit this drama and I didn’t really see the necessity. I would have ended it at another appropriate scene, but that’s just a minor thing and didn’t detract at all from my enjoyment.

I’m so grateful that this drama was 20 episodes. I started to get sad when I approached the 16th episode and was delighted to learn that I had a few more ahead of me. And I finally got to see our dear boy with an actual forehead! 😂 Okay, I do have one complaint — I hated with a passion the helmet hairstyles we were forced to endure for the whole drama — is there no PERFECT drama?? 😂