While You Were Sleeping (2017)

I really liked the idea of the show, and the first few episodes were interesting enough to keep many hooked. However, the remaining episodes were mostly predictable and boring.

The standout actors for me are Jung Hae In and Lee Sang Yeob, who I think played their respective characters very well. The entire drama I haven't shed a single tear until the after court scene between Jung Hae In and his senior in the final episode. Unfortunately, I don't really dig Lee Jong Suk's acting at all and Suzy's performance was also just average for me. Also, I think there is a lack of chemistry between the leads and I just couldn't feel the love & romance.

However, the drama did provide some very good OST and I'm a sucker for dramas with good OST. High marks there!

Overall, the drama feels boring and lackluster for me. For me, I strictly believed that one should watch the entire drama without fast forwarding to get the full emotion and experience. However, I just couldn't stand it and found myself fast forwarding. I'm sure I am the small minority that feels this way, seeing how high the rating of this drama is.

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Not memorable

I vividly remember watching this drama when it was ongoing but I can’t recall any significant moment. It was not memorable at all which is pretty sad considering how cool the plot sounds. It shouldn’t have been this boring. The acting was good and the cast did not lack when it came to tense moments, but it simply was not captivating enough for me to deem it good, which is probably why a lot of people don’t like it. There’s not much of a love triangle here as one might expect, it was more of a they’re all friends (kinda) and the two male characters liked her but she obviously chooses the main.

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STORY: Wow! I love the story to be honest, the thought that you can see the future through your dreams! There are some plotholes but I didn't mind them to be honest, the show was just that good.
ACTING/CAST: TBH, I hesitated watching this after I knew Suzy was acting opposite Lee Jong Suk and honestly no matter how I loved LJS I hated Suzy... but I folded and decided to watch this, and I am glad I did! their chemistry was amazing, the story was brought to life because of them not to mention I love Jung Hae In too (I first saw him from Blood, but I did't realize until later it was him, hahaha) but the cast was amazing and I could say that Suzy's acting did improve a little bit from when I saw her from Dream High and Gu Family Book and the kissing scene was soo good too! as well as the funny scenes were epic! hahaha
MUSIC: the BGM were fantastic, I love Henry's It's you and Eddy Kim's When NIght falls, aside from that I greatly appreciate Suzy's voice honestly I never loved her voice before but boy I love the song I love you Boy from her!!!
REWATCH VALUE: I would def watch this agian!!!
OVERALL: Rated as 10/10 because this show deserves it.

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Started for Lee Jong Suk, Stayed for the Drama

It's been awhile since I've watched this, but if I'm not mistaken I think this was my first drama with Suzy, and I always hear people raving about her so I had high hopes.

As the title states, I started it because Lee Jong Suk is one of those actors I like so much I will watch anything they're in. I don't even think I read the synopsis before starting this drama, which is rare for me.

I did wind up really loving the story because I hadn't seen any other drama with this type of story line. I also like how the story connected the characters and their storylines and their purpose in the show. I usually opt for romcoms as it's my guilty pleasure but this is one of those thriller type romance shows that is also funny at times and it turns out I REALLY enjoy those!

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I really enjoyed the plot line of this drama - I was hooked just from the first 2 episodes and ended up trying to finish it as soon as possible while also roping my friends into watching it with me. I haven't watched a legal drama before this one and it was still very interesting and the cases definitely kept me watching, as well as the relationships between the characters. The characters were quite well written and while there were definitely some I wasn't extremely fond of, I appreciate the good writing and acting as the characters all made me feel something. A lot of the minor characters were still fleshed out quite well and I found myself really growing to like the whole prosecutor team and other side characters. 

I liked the mix of comedic and serious moments in each episode and the music definitely contributed to the atmosphere. There was one time that I thought the song choice was odd but most of the time it was good and helped add to the scene. I really like how the dreams relate and connect the past with the present, and how they bring the characters together. I do feel like the dreams were a bit of a too-convenient plot device at some points though, and in one of the later episodes I felt like someone's dream kinda killed the suspense for the next episode. The pacing was fairly good and the events in each episode kept me yearning for the next.

There are some questions that I would've liked to see explained to wrap up the story nicely. Like how did Hongjoo (Suzy) start having these dreams?  Overall, I would definitely recommend this drama. Although there were some weak points, I thoroughly enjoyed the show.

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Well, I remember when this drama was first announced, and how excited I felt. With Lee Jong Suk being one of my favourite actors and me watching pretty much all of his works, there wasn't a question of me watching this drama. The plot seemed interesting and fresh, the cast seemed promising and I have watched a few other works by the writer so I was quite excited. When the first trailer came out I got even more excited, seeing the beautiful cinematography and the plot I was waiting for come to life. Then the drama actually started.

The first 6 episodes were good and kept me engaged, wanting to watch the next episodes and find out what would happen next. Then the rest of the episodes followed and I slowly lost my attention for this drama. I'm usually pretty good with keeping up with dramas on air, only falling a maximum of 2-4 episodes behind if I'm busy or whatnot but with this drama at one point I think I was 14 episodes behind and felt no pull to catch up. I know a drama keeps me interested when an episode ends and I physically cannot wait for the next; this was not the case with wyws. Yes, the plot had some good parts, with some of the cases being quite interesting and the story making sense chronologically and narrative wise with some good twists, yet I still wasn't grabbed. I think part of this was also due to the fact that a similar drama with prosecutors and lawyers aired recently which I loved a lot (Suspicious Partner) where the characterisation was a lot better and the plot felt more solid and really drew me in.

Maybe it was the fact that I hardly saw any chemistry between our main couple, and if I don't feel that spark I'm just not interested. Why should I care about the story's progression if a big part of it is a relationship I don't feel for. I love LJS as I've said and I honestly think he's had way more chemistry with almost every other female lead he's been with. I've only watched Suzy in Uncontrollably Fond (which I know many people didn't care for) but I think she had way more chemistry with KWB than LJS. Yes Hong Joo and Jae Chan had some sweet moments and times when I did feel for them but it was only minimal and I had just hoped for much more. I'm not sure if it was due to the writing or the actors who I actually think did very well but either way I had hoped for more.

The acting in this drama however compared to the main romance was a saving grace. Everyone showed the right emotions at the right times and they didn't feel forced or underwhelming in the circumstances. A special mention would be Jung Hae In as Han Woo Tak. I really loved his acting and character and I can't wait to see him in more dramas.

The OST was good. It wasn't particularly memorable but I did find myself liking some of the tracks. It was nice to hear Suzy's pieces in the background and a lovely surprise when I found out LJS would be releasing his first OST for this drama, which with bias is probably my favourite.

I doubt I'd watch this drama again, maybe a few select scenes here and there but I think the one viewing was enough for me. This drama was really hard for me to get through but because I refuse to drop any drama I had to push myself through it.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this drama but if you're willing to look past some of its flaws maybe you'll like it more than me.
 

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One Time Watch

While You Were Sleeping
Korean Drama
Romance, Comedy & mystery
2017
Viki & Hulu
TV14 (Pg13)

People that have visions of the future through dreams and they try to stop them from coming true. This is just the surface synopsis there is so much more.
It takes me usually two - three episodes to determine rather I like a show. I was hooked by the first 20 minutes. Also first drama where I enjoyed all the plots and side charcters.

PROS:
🌜The acting range was just amazing especially in the second half! All of them from our leads to the flash back kid/teen actors. Just lovely to see such talent!

🌜The story is very orginal and new to me. I haven't seen a show or movie with this concept before. The twist, turns and layers were just wounderful.

🌜Cute, sweet and wholesome moments were just adorable! The selflessness of the characters towards eachother just beautiful! The friendship and love was so believable and I'm a sucker for friendship stories.

🌜The tough themes I think were done carefully and gracefully. This is something that is hard to do in stories, which I give a lot of credit to the writers and actors.

CONS:
🌜The bathroom/potty jokes!🙄 They really took me out of the story and were just so immature. Mostly found in the first half (episodes 2-7). I have been told this is common in Kdrama. The 2nd half gets more serious and the stakes are high and jokes drop.

🌜Some editing choices the flashbacks and dreams were hard to till apart at first. Then they fix it and make it more noticeable.

Rewatch? Yes

#kdrama #kpop #kdramas #korean #familyfriendly #dramaland #romamnce #newfandom #hobby #

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"While You were Sleeping" a very awaited drama since the cast was first confirmed back in the beginning of the year or so. With some tears still left in my face, I write a review of this drama, that left some emptyness in my heart.

The first impression that a had from the drama was that it was very confuse, mainly because I watched the first two episodes together, and each episode has the point of view of a different character (hard to explain). But even a bit confuse about the story line, I got hooked up and I needed to watch more.

The plot it self wasn't complex if we take out the dreams factor, because that was what made the drama different from any other romcom / thriller. We follow the lifes of Hong Joo a reporter that wasn't working and a rookie prosecutor who just started working in a new office. Easy right? Well untill you add the dreams and all the mess they turned the plot into, and by that I mean a mess in the good way, because that make the things different, they could change what happens in the future. Apart from the dreams themself, I also really like the other cases that were shown, and all the thriller involved, even if in the end was a bit urealistic, but we are talking about a drama afterall, we can't expect too much.

Theres a couple of characters that I really like besides the main couple, that was definitely Woo Tak (because everyone fell a bit for him, he was just too cute), also Inspector Choi (that adjusshi was just amazing), and the other prosecutors that worked with Jae-Chan, they all have an amazing storyline.

Lee Yu Beom, I need a whole other review just to talk about how much I hated this charater. I was so upset with him that I just wanted to puch him in the face and break that precious face of his. Why, Yu Beom? Why use all that genius for the bad things?

Now let's talk about what you've been waiting for, romance. I think that this drama was never really focus on it, because we do have romantic scenes, but something was missing. I shipped Jae-Chan with Hong-Joo, but I didn't have that click, that heart racing that I usually have when the couple has a lot of chemistry. They did indeed have some kind of chemistry even if it was with the help of some romantic music and good cinematography, but I was expecting more I guess, I was expecting the kinda of chemistry I've seen in dramas like "Decendants of the Sun" or "It's Okay That's Love", but it just wasn't there, now that I look back. But don't worry, you that want to watch the drama, there's romance, there's kisses and there's a lot of love quotes. And you always can have the Second Lead Sydrome if you want!

Cast / Acting: I love all the people envolve in the drama, every single of them were brilliant in their character. Lee Jong Suk did a great job, but this character was just like any other character that he had already play, maybe just a bit different but not to much, but that doesn't mean he didn't act well, it just that I've already seen him playing this kind of character and I would like that in the future he tried something different just to see how he does. I got really surprised by Suzy acting, I think she improved a lot at least from her last drama where I didn't like her character neither her acting, but I really got impressed by her acting this time. Now let's take a moment to apreciate Jung Hae In, this man completly stole my heart and soul with his character, making him one of my favorite characters, God bless this guy! Lee Sang Yeob made a outstanding job portraying Lee Yu Beom, I don't have words to describe all the feelings I had about his character, and that just means that he did a great job with it, from the face expressions to the way he talked and acted. Congrats!

I really liked the OST of this drama, in special "I Love You Boy" and "It's You". I also liked the suspense kinda of dramatic's orchestra melody that played in the more tense moments. Over all liked the audio part of the drama.

The picture in this drama was pretty, not really outstanding, but good as well as the edition.

Will I watch this drama again? Probably in a future, when I forget the plot. We are talking about a drama which relies on plot twists and impredictable moments, and when you already have watched the whole drama it never feels the same again. I do recommend this drama if you like thriller with some romance and comedy. But its rewatch value it's pretty low. Overall was a pretty decent drama, I've seen better, but I also have seen far more horrible ones. Even with some bumps in the way it was good, interesting and in someway, different.

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I’m a little bit late on this one. But I finished it and decided to share my thoughts. It would be lie if I said that I wasn’t cautious before starting this. To be honest Suzy is not necessarily my favourite actress. I’m ok with Lee Jong Suk and since people around me were praising this drama so much I decided to give this a try.

Story:
I liked the idea of the story. It’s not particularly new since I watched a few movies and dramas with a similar idea, but “While You Were Sleeping” told the story in a really nice way. I liked the fact, that Hong Ju gave up on saving people after all those horrifying years just to learn how to use her ability in order to save people. With help of people around her obviously. However, in the middle of the drama it was less about that dreaming of the future part which I found a little bit sad. Even though Lawyer Lee was the villain here, he never really strikes me as one and I was desperately waiting for some villain I can passionately hate. Not that Lawyer Lee was not hateable, but he was rather dull as the main villain. And there were some plot holes that got me confused but then again there is no drama with no plot holes, right?  – of course opinions differ so please don’t feel offended :)

Acting/Cast:
I was pleasantly surprised by Suzys improvements and though I wouldn’t call her an awesome actress yet, she did definitely better than in Uncontrollably Fond. The cast overall was well picked with my favourites Jung Hae In (as the adorable and charming Woo Tak who won my heart in a matter of minutes) and Kim Won Hae who did an superb job as Detective Choi! I loved the people in the prosecutor office – how they bicker and fight and stand with each other when it’s needed! Hong Joo’s mom war likable and also Jae Chans brother and his girlfriend – those two seriously need their own drama apart from Page Turner – are enjoyable characters. What I always liked about Lee Jong Suk – and I’m not even a fan – is that he is really good at delivering comical moments! You just laugh about him or feel second-hand embarrassment! Lee Sang Yeob was also convincing (and I like this actor in general) but I wished the script gave us more of him. Maybe a little bit more background story.

Music:
Was good. I like the soundtrack. Funny enough I never realised that Suzy was a decent singer – although I knew she was an idol. I liked almost all the songs. The arrangement of music and scenes was also well made. The music helped a lot in getting the viewer in the right emotion.

Rewatch value:
I’d probably watch a few scenes again. But I don’t think I would watch the whole drama again. Not because it was not good but for me it was an enjoyable ride but it’s okay that it’s over. Maybe it’s only because I just finished it a days ago. But as of now I’m good with what I saw and focus on other stories to see :)

Overall:
It’s a well-made drama with a lot of romance. But funny enough at some point the romance was not even what I was mainly interested in. I mean I liked Hong Ju and Jae Chan together and I had never a doubt that those two were meant to be – but maybe that’s exactly why I enjoyed their scenes, but I was even more happy to see all of our side characters having their moments. The chemistry of all those people in their own circle – Woo Tak & his adorable Sunbae / the prosecutors and their teams! Detective Choi just with everyone!! – was so amazing that I was basically smiling as soon as they appeared on my screen in all their adorableness. I think rather than the main romance and all those cases in that drama the chemistry of the cast did the most to me! I fondly remember them and those were probably the moments I would rewatch. I just loved how much they cared for each other, how they joked with each other and fought for what they thought was right. There were also some episodes that addressed social issues in Korea which was also really nice. So, I can say, if you want to watch an adorable cast with great chemistry, a story that maybe could give you more but did still a decent job and a lot of hilarious as well as some heart-wrenching moments, I’d recommend “While You Were Sleeping”.

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What a wonderful ride this drama was !

First I love the mix of genres, from sci-fi to romance, thriller and especially comedy.  It was well balanced and kept me on my toes.

The main couple were cute and sweet. Lee Jongsuk never deceives me. And  I personally liked Suzy in this role (although her acting wasn't as good as in Controllably Fond), they made a really good couple.

The supporting cast, especially the prosecutors with their support and humour,  brought a breath of fresh air to all the kind of dark stories around the criminels they face.

The "I've seen it happen in my dreams" was really interesting especially with how they tried to work around it to avoid bad bad situations.

I would definitely recomend this drama ! It's a good watch!

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