Review: Way Back Love – The Fangirl Verdict

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A poignant, thoughtful, bittersweet-yet-heartfelt little show that has way more meat on its bones than one might first imagine.

The writing and handling is deft and assured, the music is lovely and atmospheric, and our leads, Kim Min Ha and Gong Myung, are very good in this, both individually and together.

This one is lingering with me, long after the closing credits.

Very good, and very underrated.

THE LONG VERDICT:

If this little show flew under your radar because of how little it is, I’m here to tell you that this little 6-episoder is well worth your time; perhaps even more so than some of Dramaland’s longer offerings.

Written and directed by an all-women team with no big names, except maybe Kim Hye Young, who also directed Be Melodramatic (review here!), this truly feels like the little show that could. 🥲

In this review, I’ll do my best to break it all down, and explain why I think this little drama punches above its weight.

Suffice to say, though, that I think this one is worth making time for.

OST ALBUM: FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE

Here’s the OST album in case you’d like to listen to it while reading the review.

I really, really liked the music in this little show, you guys. It just all felt very breezy and organic to this drama world, and it was just bonus that I found everything so melodious and enjoyable. 🥰

The track that stands out most to me is “If you,” which strikes me as being quite ethereal. And of course, if you’ve been around for a while, you might have already guessed that I’m just a sucker for the song’s 6/8 rhythm, which I find very appealing. 🥲

Here it is on its own as well, in case you’d prefer to listen to it on repeat. Just right-click on the video and select “Loop.”

HOW I’M APPROACHING THIS REVIEW

First I’ll talk about how to manage your expectations going into this one, and what viewing lens would be most helpful.

After that, I talk about stuff I liked on a more macro level, before I give the spotlight to selected characters and relationships, in a separate section. Finally, I spend some time talking about my thoughts on the finale episodes.

If you’re interested in my blow-by-blow reactions, &/or all the various Patreon members’ comments during the course of our watch, you might like to check out my episode notes on Patreon here.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are some things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, to maximize your enjoyment of your watch:

1. I would recommend going in blind.

If you haven’t seen Show’s trailers, that’s great, because I feel that that would give you a more impactful viewing experience.

The way that the story is told, things only really click into place at the end of episode 1, and if you haven’t seen the trailers or read the spoilery synopsis, then you’d be able to enjoy the full impact of that.

However, if you’ve already seen the trailers &/or read the synopsis, then you wouldn’t enjoy the full impact of the reveal.

That said, it doesn’t mean that the show’s not worth watching, just because you already understand the premise, going in.

I’d read the synopsis and watched the trailers before starting my watch of this show, and I still found a lot to enjoy.

2. Give Show a bit of time to settle

It might take a little while for our story to settle, and for you to grow fond of our characters.

I found myself really taking to our characters more in episode 2 compared to episode 1, and I think knowing that upfront might be helpful.

3. This story is on the more poignant side of things.

Although I’ve said that going in blind is best, I do think that keeping that poignant lens in place would be helpful in terms of at least managing your expectations around the flavor of story that you’re getting.

Now, if you haven’t watched the show, or the trailers, or read the synopsis, I’d suggest that you look away now; go check out the show and then come back.

[SPOILERS HENCEFORTH!]

STUFF I LIKED

General writing and handling

It feels like our story is being told by deft hands; it feels to me like both writer-nim and PD-nim know what they’re doing, in telling this story, and I like that a lot.

The reason I say that, is because it feels like our story beats and scenes have been carefully and deliberately chosen, and so, nothing actually feels like filler.

That feels necessary, given that we only have 6 episodes to work with, and the episodes are only 45 minutes each.

Very compact, and I’d say, overall, very effective.

Specifically, I like how Show managed the switches between the present and past timelines.

It often feels organic, like we’re going off on a related tangent, with a certain event or place in the present, triggering a flashback to the past, before taking us back to the present.

I thought this was nicely done. 🥲

The way Show handles reveals

Generally speaking, I thought that Show’s got a nice way of handling its various reveals.

For example, I actually thought it was a nicely done reveal, at the end of episode 1, where, in response to Ram Woo’s remark that they have so much to talk about, since they haven’t seen each other in four years, she says that it’s because he’d died – four years ago.

Boom.

That’s a great twist – provided you didn’t already know this, coming into the show, yes?

The beginning of episode 2 is similarly a great twist, where Ram Woo informs Hee Wan that she has a week left to live, and will die in 176 hours, 12 minutes and 35 seconds – again, provided you didn’t already know the premise of the story.

The way Show packs a punch

I like that Show manages to serve up a good amount of emotional heft and the accompanying feels, despite the mostly light tone that it takes.

With this show, I feel like I’ve invested my heart in a big way, when I wasn’t really looking, in the best way possible. 🥲

At the same time, I feel like Show has quite a good amount of meat on its bones, like it has meaningful things to say, about life, and choices, and regrets, and trauma, as well as its aftermath, so much so that it often feels like I have various wisps of important ideas floating around on the edges of my mind – if only I could capture them all.

Really nicely done, in my opinion.

When Show brings up thought-provoking ideas

For a tiny little drama, Show manages to bring up a healthy sprinkling of ideas that I personally found thought-provoking, over and on top of the main story that it needs to tell.

I thought this was really quite impressive.

The sprinkling of ideas

E3-4. At the top of episode 4, in that outburst between Hee Wan and her sister, Hee Ju (Jeon Chae Eun) it feels like Show’s shining a light on the question of how we need to find a balance between being careful to stay safe, and living a full life.

As Hee Ju points out, there are so many ways that people could die while going about their daily lives. At the same time, does that mean that we shouldn’t take risks to heart?

I thought that was a relevant and thought-provoking question for Show to raise.

E3-4. Another area of thought that I felt was very relevant and thought-provoking, is around trauma and how people deal with it, which we see in the interaction between Hee Wan and Hong Seok (Jung Gun Joo).

There is so much truth in the various corners of this situation, that I find it a little challenging to unpack it all.

There’s how we often only see our own pain, especially when that pain is very great, like what happened with Hee Wan, and how she didn’t even realize how much Hong Seok was hurting.

Hee Wan couldn’t help but sink into her pain, but that has led her nowhere, since her wounds are as raw in the present, as they’d been, four years ago, when Ram Woo had died.

Her instinctive response to that ambulance siren, which is to go into a full-blown hyperventilating panic, was really sobering to witness; it felt like such a raw representation of just how real and present her pain is, even though the original event was four whole years ago. 💔

Hong Seok had tried to pretend that he wasn’t in pain, and had tried to lean on distractions, to help him cope, but that also proved to be fruitless; instead, it feels like his pain has festered, and grown bigger, which is, I think, why he’s so uncomfortable and awkward around Hee Wan, in the first half of the scene.

And then there’s how Hong Seok and Hee Wan had dated, thinking that it might help them to heal from the pain of losing Ram Woo, but that hadn’t worked out either, because, I think, Hee Wan’s heart was never in it, but also, her guilt towards Ram Woo was just too great.

I don’t know how effective Hong Seok’s current plan is, to deal with his fear of sirens by becoming a firefighter, but I appreciate the sentiment, that he’s still working through his pain, and he’s choosing an avenue that would honor Ram Woo, and allow him to save others, even if he hadn’t been able to save Ram Woo.

I find that quite touching, really. 🥲

And I’m glad that, in his own way, Ram Woo lets Hong Seok know that he’s there, by arranging the game board to the exact game that they’d once said they would complete, because that will definitely contribute to Hong Seok’s healing in a positive way.

The way Show handles potential misunderstandings

Maybe what I’m trying to say, is that Show isn’t tropey.

In most dramas, the writers lean into misunderstandings in order to create narrative tension, but I didn’t feel like that was the case, in this show.

For example, when it became clear that both Hong Seok and Ram Woo like Hee Wan, I’d imagined that this would negatively affect their friendship, and I was kind of bracing myself for that to happen.

But, that doesn’t happen at all.

Instead, Hong Seok basically outs Ram Woo’s feelings for Hee Wan, and then, in his nonchalant, casual sort of way, makes it ok for Ram Woo to act on his feelings.

I thought that was really refreshing, and such a testament to the boys’ strong friendship. 🥰

STUFF THAT WAS OK

The limited screen time with our supporting characters

I know it’s kind of a given, that Show would have to choose very wisely, where to spend its screen time, but I did feel like it would have been nice to spend more time with our supporting characters.

I’m thinking of Tae Gyeong and Hong Seok, as the respective besties of our central pair, but I’m also thinking of Ram Woo’s mom (Seo Young Hee) and Hee Wan’s dad (Ko Chang Seok). I would have really liked to have been able to spend more time with them.

But, like I said, I do understand Show’s inherent limitations, which is why this is in my neutral zone.

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

The fact that we don’t get the version with monologues

I learned that apparently, there are two versions of this show out there; one with inner monologues included (on TVING), and one without (on Viki and VIU).

I’m a little bemused and bummed about this, because I do love this little show, and I do wish that there was more for me to enjoy.

The idea that I could’ve had a little more from this show, if only they’d just released the one version on all platforms instead of differentiating between platforms, most likely to give TVING the competitive edge, makes me kinda shortchanged, not gonna lie. 😭

SPOTLIGHT ON CHARACTERS / RELATIONSHIPS

Kim Min Ha as Hee Wan

Having enjoyed Kim Min Ha in both Pachinko and Light Shop (reviews here and here!), I’d had no doubt that she would be excellent in this too.

In fact, I sometimes low-key felt like she was carrying most of the acting weight, in selling this story and its emotion, to me.

In the present day, her character, Hee Wan, is drawn, wan and lifeless, and she makes me believe that that’s exactly how she feels; it feels like it’s such an effort for her to even say a single word.

Yet, in the high school timeline, Hee Wan is a bundle of chaotic sunshine, so full of energy and quirky ideas, and so full of chutzpah to put said quirky ideas into motion.

And I fully, 100% believe that they are the same person, and not just because they have the same face.

That’s just how good Kim Min Ha is, at expressing Hee Wan as a character. 🤩

Over the course of our story, Hee Wan definitely goes through a transformative journey, and Kim Min Ha does a fantastic job of delivering all the highs and lows that come with it. 🥲

Gong Myung as Ram Woo

To be brutally honest with you guys, up to this show, I’d mostly found Gong Myung to be on the bland side, as an actor, in the various dramas that I’d seen him in (those would be Be Melodramatic and Lovers of the Red Sky – reviews here and here!).

Because of that, his casting in this was a bit of a question mark for me, as in, I’d wondered whether his casting would be a downer on my watch.

I’m happy to say that his casting was not a downer on my watch at all.

In fact, I find him well cast as Kim Ram Woo, our earnest, hapless, slightly goofy male lead, who mostly doesn’t quite know what to do with our feisty female lead, in our high school timeline.

And, I’m also very pleased to report that Gong Myung does deliver some great depth of emotion, in some of his more difficult scenes. 🥲

Hee Wan and Ram Woo

Even though I feel like Kim Min Ha is the more skilled and experienced actor between the two of them, I was pleasantly surprised to find that their screen presence was nicely balanced.

And, I also felt like their chemistry was warm, natural and on-point, for what their connection was supposed to be.

Over the course of our story, the connection between Ram Woo and Hee Wan evolves quite a bit, and I felt thoroughly engaged and invested alongside.

Here are my unfolding thoughts and reactions, while I watched. 🥲

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. High school Hee Wan is a lot to deal with – which is why it’s perfect that High school Ram Woo is pretty much always hapless and bewildered, in response. 😁

I have to confess that through a chunk of episode 1, I had found Hee Wan a little bit much, but by episode 2, I found that I’d gotten more used to her, and also, felt a sense of affection for her and her boisterous ways.

As for why I found her a bit much in episode 1, I think a lot of it had to do with how she insisted on swapping names with Ram Woo – and then proceeded to get into all sorts of scrapes, while chirpily giving her name as Ram Woo, which then gets Ram Woo implicated in a whole host of things.

I’d hate to be in Ram Woo’s position, and I think that’s why I found it more difficult to embrace Hee Wan as a character.

However, by episode 2, it becomes clear that Ram Woo doesn’t actually dislike Hee Wan, and is even low-key rather amused by her, and so I started to not mind her so much, alongside. 😁

E1-2. I thought the high school scenes in episode 2 were cuter than in episode 1, because this time, it’s clearer that Hee Wan’s actually got a crush on Ram Woo.

That definitely puts a new spin on the events of episode 1.

Like, no wonder she was so insistent on swapping names with him; this now looks like her looking for an excuse to get closer to him, yes?

All that angst, when that other girl engages Hee Wan’s letter-writing services in order to confess her feelings to Ram Woo, was quite ruefully amusing.

As for that whole misunderstanding around Ram Woo’s letter-writing request, where Hee Wan thinks that he’s giving a love letter to his new girlfriend, when he’s really giving his mom an appreciation letter on her birthday, I found it all quite mortifying yet cute, if that makes sense? 😅

In the present, I like the fact that Ram Woo is so friendly and warm towards Hee Wan, even though she keeps telling him to leave her alone – and even though we see in flashback, that there had been chatter that the whole reason Ram Woo had died, was because of Hee Wan.

I feel that it’s goodhearted of him, to basically badger Hee Wan into using her remaining time on interesting activities, rather than just go home to sleep the time away, like she’d wanted.

The way Hee Wan does it all so grudgingly, while complaining that Ram Woo’s taste is so obvious, while he smiles in response, takes on a whole new spin, with that final flashback that we get, where we see that this entire list of things had once come tumbling out of Hee Wan’s own mouth, back in high school – and Ram Woo had attentively written it all down.

AUGH. How sweet is that???

Ram Woo’s earnestness and sweetness is really blowing me away, because not only had he paid attention then, he’s remembered her bucket list, even in death, and he’s now making sure that she checks off the items on that bucket list, while she still can. 😭🥲

E3-4. It’s really nice to see Ram Woo and Hee Wan spending more time together, in flashback, in episode 3, with Hee Wan learning art from Ram Woo’s mom.

It’s such a sweet touch, that when it comes time to fill up that form again, and Ram Woo’s faced with that section where he gets to name his best friends, his instinct is to look over at Hee Wan.

Aw. These two have grown really close in the last several months, haven’t they?

I like that Show manages to give us that sense of them bonding over a period of time, even though we have so little screen time to work with. 🥲

The moments of awkward hyperawareness and accompanying self-consciousness, is very universally relatable, and endearing, like when they both look up at the stars, and Ram Woo remarks, in an unguarded moment, that it would be romantic to watch a meteor shower together, just the two of them.

It’s quite the thrilling moment, because this is such a rare instance of us – and Hee Wan – getting a glimpse of Ram Woo’s unfiltered feelings, but of course, nothing comes of the moment, because of, well, clumsy, bumbling, awkward youth and the overwhelming self-consciousness that goes with.

E3-4. What an unexpected spanner in the works, when Ram Woo realizes that his best friend Hong Seok also likes Hee Wan. Eep.

It might sound like a very ordinary sort of situation from a third-party perspective, but for Ram Woo, who’s so young and shy, and still figuring out himself as a person, this is a huge deal.

He’s developing feelings for a girl for the first time in his life, and just as he’s perhaps-maybe-sorta gathering the courage to perhaps-maybe-sorta do something about it, he learns that his best friend likes the same girl.

What’s a guy to do, right?

Poor Ram Woo; I can feel his stuck-ness through my screen. 🥲

I’m not surprised at all, that Ram Woo chooses to focus on his friendship with Hong Seok, while ignoring the situation with Hee Wan; I think I would have likely made the same choice, in his place.

The thing that gets me in the heart, though, is that I can’t detect any sense that Ram Woo feels put upon; his manner towards Hong Seok remains as calm and good-natured as ever, and I just can’t help concluding that Ram Woo’s a really good egg. 🥲

It’s not that he doesn’t feel anything, though; Ram Woo clearly does feel something, as we see from the wistfulness in his eyes, as he watched Hong Seok, Hee Wan and Tae Gyeong play with sparklers together.

And then, later on, there’s the thing with the matching coats, where everyone starts teasing Ram Woo and Hee Wan, that they must be a couple.

Ack. I felt really bad for Ram Woo, because, even though he would logically welcome these rumors because of how he feels about Hee Wan, he clearly feels all the pressure, to stop the rumors, out of consideration for Hong Seok’s feelings for Hee Wan.

I felt bad for both him and Hee Wan, as he insists, louder and with more conviction each time, that it’s not like that at all, because it feels like he’s crushing both of their hopes, as he does so. 💔

In the present timeline, the way Ram Woo asks Hee Wan what’s happened to her, that she’s not done a single one of the things that she’d so often talked about doing, once she’d gotten into university, feels like a very relatable thing as well.

I think many of us would probably be able to relate to the dynamic of having certain expectations of our lives, but then not living anything like those lives that we’d once imagined, when we actually got to the age that we’d imagined.

Honestly, the way Hee Wan starts to come alive again, while interacting with fellow students during the festival, is really heartwarming to see.

It’s also very poignant, that this also triggers memories for her, of happy times with Ram Woo, Hong Seok and Tae Gyeong, because it’s the same sense of togetherness and belonging. 🥲

Finally, it feels like we’re getting to see slivers of her past happy self, but then it all comes crashing down, once she realizes with a start, that Ram Woo isn’t actually alive and well, like she’d unconsciously allowed herself to believe.

That scene at the end of episode 3 is so full of tearful, poignant emotion.

Hee Wan’s jaded irritation gives way to her true feelings, as her words come tumbling out in a burst of anger, which then takes on shades of sadness, regret and then culminates in that crushing guilt, as she confesses, her voice trembling, that she hasn’t been able to forgive herself since the night he’d died.

It’s so clear to see that Hee Wan’s not actually upset that Ram Woo’s there before her, which leads her to think of him as being alive and well, like she says; it’s that she can’t take the fact that he’s being so nice to her, even though she believes that he’d died because of her. 😭

She’s essentially so crushed by guilt, that she can’t even breathe in front of Ram Woo, in the moment.

She’s barely keeping it together, as she asks Ram Woo to just say her name, and get her death over with, but gosh, Ram Woo’s response as he says her name, not to administer her death, but to tell her that he’d liked her too, and still likes her, and misses her, and could never hate her, is the thing that breaks open the dam. 😭😭😭

When crushing, crippling guilt is met by acceptance and love, what else can you do, but weep, right? 😭

AUGH. My heart.

This moment feels so, SO full, as they both cry, while looking at each other, with Ram Woo holding Hee Wan’s hand. 🥹🥲

E3-4. In the high school timeline, I like that we get to see Ram Woo opening up to Hee Wan about his family situation; that feels very personal, and I think it says a lot, that he feels able to talk to her about it, and entrust her with this information. 🥲

We finally get to see what had happened the day that Ram Woo had died, and it’s just as heartbreaking as I’d imagined; maybe more.

To think that everything had started out so sweetly and so innocently, with Hee Wan winning a ticket to the observatory event, and then giving it to Ram Woo as a gift, along with her confession letter, because she’d wanted him to be happy.

And he is happy, getting to enter the observatory, and read Hee Wan’s confession letter, under the stars; it’s absolutely a very special moment.

BUT THEN. That gas explosion leads to the collapse of the entire building, and I can only imagine the horror and panic in Hee Wan’s heart and mind, as she screams for Ram Woo, but in vain. 😭😭

Oooof. How shocking, horrifying and heartbreaking, all in one. 😭

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

E5-6. Augh. This ending leaves me with so many feels, that I really need a moment to gather my heart together, to write about it all. 🥲

I think the thing that gets me in the heart the most, is getting to see just how pure Ram Woo’s heart is.

From the top of episode 5, where he has that conversation with his own grim reaper (cameo by Krystal Jung), we can infer that the whole reason he’d decided to become a grim reaper, was so that he’d be able to come and go, between this world and the afterlife.

It’s not said in so many words, but it’s not hard to tell that the whole reason Ram Woo had wanted to be able to visit the land of the living on a regular basis, was in the hope that he would get to see Hee Wan again.

Not that he doesn’t want to see his mom; we see from episode 5 that he does miss his mom.

I think the reason he kept procrastinating on seeing her, was because of how hard he knew it would be. 🥲

On that note, I just wanted to say that in the scene where Mom takes out his old coat, the subs say that Ram Woo says, “Bye, Mom,” while Mom says goodbye to the coat, but the actual dialogue uses the word “Annyeong,” which can be both hello and goodbye.

And so, that double layer of meaning, where Ram Woo is saying both hello and goodbye to his mother in this scene, makes it extra poignant, I feel. 🥲

I thought it was so loving and gracious of Mom, the way she set Hee Wan from her guilt like that; telling her it wasn’t her fault, and even giving her Ram Woo’s old coat, telling her that Ram Woo would be happy if she’d wear it for him.

That’s so gracious and generous of her, isn’t it? 🥹

I found that scene at the end of episode 5 so affecting, when Hee Wan tearfully tells Ram Woo that she finally feels like time is starting to flow for her again, and asks him if everything will really come to an end the next day.

There’s just so much raw emotion in her face and her voice; so much gratitude and wistfulness, at the same time.

Ram Woo holds her as she cries, and then sits with her until sunrise, when he tells her that the stars haven’t disappeared, just because she can’t see them; they’re still right there.

Gulp.

It’s round about this time, that I start to realize, with the various snippets of context that Show gives us, that the whole reason Ram Woo’s able to spend this week with Hee Wan, is because he’s broken the rules.

Which means that he will end up disappearing forever, just like those other reapers had said, about the reaper who’d broken the rules to be with his sick daughter.

That’s very likely why Ram Woo’s doing his best to impress on Hee Wan the idea that just because you can’t see something – or someone – doesn’t mean they’re not there. 😭

Like in that scene at the airport, where the two of them guess at what that other couple is saying to each other, as they say goodbye.

The thing that Ram Woo says – “Remember. Even if you don’t see me, we’ll always be together” – feels like he’s reinforcing that idea, to prepare Hee Wan for the inevitable outcome, of her having to carry on without him. 😭

That goodbye scene at sunset, where Hee Wan tearfully refuses Ram Woo’s request, that she tell him she’ll live well, only to have him disappear, was just so heartrending. 💔😭

I totally understand Hee Wan, though. It’s not that she doesn’t want to agree to Ram Woo’s request; it’s that she doesn’t want to lose him all over again. 😭

Oof. It’s really a hit in the gut, to realize that Hee Wan, who hadn’t even thought to beg Ram Woo to spare her life, is now pleading with him for real, but not for her own life; she’s pleading with him not to leave her again.

You could say that, in a manner of speaking, Ram Woo means more to Hee Wan than her own life. 🥹

Which is why it makes so much sense to me, that Ram Woo disappearing, would cause Hee Wan to sink right back into her depression; it just hurts that much, for her to lose Ram Woo again. 😭

I can understand how this would feel like it’s just too much to bear, and I don’t find it all that surprising, that Hee Wan would consider taking her life, to end it all.

After all, from her point of view, this is also the fastest way to see Ram Woo again too, right?

Thankfully, Sunbae gets there in time to stop her.

Which, on that note, I feel like I should say a little about Sunbae, since I’ve seen some questions being asked by other viewers, about why Sunbae had the ability to see Ram Woo.

From that scene where Ram Woo tells Sunbae that he feels that she can empathize with how it feels to be left behind, I’d concluded at first, that Ram Woo chose Sunbae to be Hee Wan’s friend, and he’d then allowed her not only to see him, but to dream about Hee Wan’s suicide plan.

However, MC then shared over on Patreon, that fans theorize that Sunbae could be the daughter of the other grim reaper who’d gone AWOL, and perhaps that’s why she could see Ram Woo.

I’m so glad, though, that Ram Woo appears again, and next to Hee Wan, so that they can watch the fireworks together.

I honestly believe that no one else but Ram Woo could have talked Hee Wan down from that ledge.

It’s so touching, the way he reminds her, that she is Ram Woo as much as she is Hee Wan, and that saving herself, is saving him. 🥹

I very much want to believe Ram Woo’s assurance, that after she’s lived a long life, they’ll eventually meet again, but I honestly don’t know; he’s definitely broken the rules as a grim reaper, and I don’t see how he could not disappear, like that Mr. Park had done?

However, the fact that he could reappear next to Hee Wan, after disappearing, does give me a strand of irrational hope; that Hee Wan and he would eventually be reunited. 🥲

In the meantime, it is poignant yet comforting, to see that Hee Wan keeps her promise and lives a full life, even while keeping Ram Woo’s memories near.

I find it very fitting, that Hee Wan would choose to feature Ram Woo’s handwriting as part of her graduation exhibition, and then, be able to see that image of them together, in the words themselves.

It feels like Hee Wan’s come so far, that she’s able to now say, in voiceover, that she no longer wishes that she could change anything; because everything had happened to them both, that would always be true, as long as she remembers.

That she’ll remember him, and keep on living, because, to them, loving herself, means loving him.

Augh. It’s just so beautiful, so poignant and so touching. 🥲

It still hurts to think of what Ram Woo had to give up in order to save Hee Wan, but I am forever moved by his sacrifice, which he made so freely and so lovingly 😭, and I am comforted to remember that he lives on, in their memories, and in her heart. 🥹🥹🥹

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Poignant, warm and quite affecting. An underrated gem.

FINAL GRADE: A-

TRAILER:

MV:

PATREON UPDATE!

The next drama I’m covering on Patreon, in place of  Way Back Love is Doubt [Korea].

You can check out my episode 1-2 notes on Doubt on Patreon here.

Here’s an overview of what I’m covering on Patreon right now (Tier benefits are cumulative)!

Foundation Tier (US$1): Entertainment Drop (Sundays) + the first set notes of all shows covered on Patreon (that’s 2 episodes for kdramas and 4 episodes for cdramas)

Early Access (US$5): +The Haunted Palace [Korea]

Early Access Plus (US$10): +Doubt [Korea]

VIP (US$15): +Heavenly Ever After [Korea]

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