"Lovely Runner" has finally ended. But I can't seem to shake off the lingering feelings it left behind. The drama has ended, yet I keep watching the behind-the-scenes footage and feel the urge to rewatch it from the first episode. I've analyzed why the drama "Lovely Runner" is being so deeply loved.
Romantic Comedy + Pure Love
When it comes to romance dramas that include elements such as pure love, fateful love, and love willing to face death, the tone and atmosphere can often become heavy. Perhaps such a serious tone is fitting when talking about such sublime love. However, "Lovely Runner" mixes pure love into the genre of romantic comedy. Could this work? Surprisingly, it worked incredibly well!
After the drama ended, I found myself wanting to applaud even more for the writer Lee Si-eun's skill in adapting the story. The drama is sweet yet poignant, funny yet tear-jerking. By incorporating pure love into the somewhat light-hearted genre of romantic comedy, it created a romance that is both light and heavy, with high-quality execution.
In fact, I felt like I learned a lot while watching this drama. It's not easy to experience such feelings from watching a romantic comedy drama. I was amazed that a story about fateful love could be depicted so refreshingly, sweetly, and beautifully.
A Drama Filled with Diverse Romances!
The recent trend in dramas is to produce 8, 10, or 12-episode series. This is because 16-episode dramas are often criticized for becoming dull. Despite being a 16-episode series, why did "Lovely Runner" manage to make the romance between the two main characters exciting, sweet, and happy each time?
With the concept of time slip, this drama features the same male and female protagonists acting through their teenage years, twenties, and thirties, showcasing romance at each age. This allowed the drama to present a very diverse range of romances within a single series, enriching the romantic narrative even more.
Even though it is the same drama with the same protagonists, the romance they depict is always new, exciting, sad, poignant, and tender... It feels like it showcased every aspect of romance, making it the ultimate portrayal of love.
The Different Charms of the Male Protagonist
The female protagonist, Im Sol, who actively engages in time slips, deepens the poignancy of the story with her desperate desire to save her loved one. In contrast, the male protagonist sometimes loses his memory or has his memories altered, which allows him to showcase slightly different charms each time.
He displayed the diverse charms that a man can have in his teens, twenties, and thirties. Depending on the memories he held when interacting with the female protagonist, his personality, tone, and character subtly changed. Despite these variations, the story's portrayal of his fateful love for Im Sol heightened the viewers' immersion and engagement with his character.
A Love Story That Transcends Life and Death
Such love is practically a fantasy, almost impossible to find in reality. Nowadays, even in romance dramas, it's rare to see stories of love so poignant that they transcend life and death.
However, this drama captivated viewers by unfolding a truly poignant love story under the guise of a romantic comedy.
In interviews with the actors, they mentioned that the love depicted in this drama transcends simple romance. The love shown is so intense that it involves a willingness to face death for each other, almost reaching a sublime level.
Perhaps we all yearn deep down for such a fantastical love. The desperate love that could transcend even death made viewers root for these characters.
A Romance That Viewers Can Cheer For
While most dramas focus on the romance of the present moment, "Lovely Runner" generously showcases the romance of the characters from their teens, twenties, and thirties.
In a typical drama, the teenage years might be shown briefly in an epilogue or a couple of episodes with past scenes. However, "Lovely Runner" dedicated substantial episodes to their teenage years. Then it jumps to the intense romance of their thirties in a short but powerful narrative before returning to the fresh and youthful romance of their twenties.
By following the romance of the same male and female protagonists from their teens to their thirties within a single drama, viewers shared those times with them, making their love story feel like that of close friends or well-known younger siblings. This created a connection where viewers found themselves rooting for their love. Even in the final episode, viewers hoped they would marry and live happily ever after.
Though "Lovely Runner" has ended, many viewers are still talking about the drama. It left a lasting impression, making people want to explore its charms even more. Above all, I applaud the writing skills of Lee Si-eun once again.
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