I get it. Folks love the lead actors and actress. And I will admit, they are amazing. I like them too. But loving the leads is no reason to rate this show so high. No way does it deserve an 8.5/10 average on IMDB.
8/10 - BEGINNING - The premise and starting episodes. Not entirely unique, as there are plenty of split across time communication stories out there. But this one has some grit to it, and the challenges the leads face cause a cohesive and very likable team to form. You're thinking, "This may be real good."
4/10 - MIDDLE - And that team dynamic becomes why the choices the characters make time and again just so difficult to fathom towards the middle of the show. It's like a standard Korean Crime Drama show trope: "We have to make sure that our characters stop communicating with each other, start acting alone and erratically, and avoid easy and obvious choices that would make their jobs so much easier!". And I've said it before, this is simply because Korean writers have a VERY hard time closing out stories once they get going. They rely on random chance encounters, overly bad (or good) luck, and the aforementioned unexplainable behavior of the main characters to move the plot along from point A to point B. This show takes these weaknesses to the extreme. To the point you're groaning and rolling your eyes at the screen.
ENDING - 1/10 - Very VERY dissatisfying. Almost like the writers either a) Wanted an artsy stylistic ending that doesn't fit the rest of the show, or b) They were 100% sure they would get a second season...that never came. Unfulfilling to say the least.
8/10 - BEGINNING - The premise and starting episodes. Not entirely unique, as there are plenty of split across time communication stories out there. But this one has some grit to it, and the challenges the leads face cause a cohesive and very likable team to form. You're thinking, "This may be real good."
4/10 - MIDDLE - And that team dynamic becomes why the choices the characters make time and again just so difficult to fathom towards the middle of the show. It's like a standard Korean Crime Drama show trope: "We have to make sure that our characters stop communicating with each other, start acting alone and erratically, and avoid easy and obvious choices that would make their jobs so much easier!". And I've said it before, this is simply because Korean writers have a VERY hard time closing out stories once they get going. They rely on random chance encounters, overly bad (or good) luck, and the aforementioned unexplainable behavior of the main characters to move the plot along from point A to point B. This show takes these weaknesses to the extreme. To the point you're groaning and rolling your eyes at the screen.
ENDING - 1/10 - Very VERY dissatisfying. Almost like the writers either a) Wanted an artsy stylistic ending that doesn't fit the rest of the show, or b) They were 100% sure they would get a second season...that never came. Unfulfilling to say the least.