Lovely Runner Is Maybe The K-Drama Of The Year

After quiet some time I finally had time again to sit down and watch a weekly drama, Lovely Runner was the drama of my choice and I really enjoyed it.

OMG guys I can’t believe I actually watched a drama while it was airing and finished it? It felt like it was such a breath of fresh at to me like there is something about Kim Hyeyoon dramas that just draw me to her and I also have a friend who loves her a lot and we always tend to watch these dramas together reacting to each other and that just feels super nice to share something like that with someone. Funny story, I at first wasn’t going to watch Lovely Runner because of the subject matter and it being a bit too close to home but my friend told me to give it a shot and so I did and I ended up absolutely loving the drama so let’s get into the review.

Lovely Runner synopsis via MDL: In the glitzy realm of stardom, Ryu Seon Jae shines as a top-tier celebrity, captivating the spotlight since his debut. Despite the facade of a perfect life, the demanding nature of the entertainment industry has left him utterly exhausted. Im Sol, an ardent admirer, holds an affectionate love for Ryu Seon Jae. A childhood accident derailed her dreams, yet the solace found in Ryu Seon Jae’s music on the radio transformed her into an unwavering fan. The narrative takes a poignant turn when Im Sol, reeling from the breaking news of Ryu Seon Jae’s tragic demise, experiences a miraculous twist of fate. Transported back 15 years into the past, she confronts Ryu Seon Jae in his 19-year-old high school self. Im Sol grapples with the formidable challenge of altering the trajectory of his future, driven by an unyielding determination to avert the impending tragedy.

To be quite honest Lovely Runner starts off pretty dark I mean suicide is never a nice subject to deal with but I loved seeing some disabled rep with our girl Im Sol in a wheelchair. I feel like we never see this in K-Dramas and it was nice to have our female main lead not being like every other female lead. Anyway, I immediately liked the main cast and their chemistry and couldn’t wait to see what the story would develop into. As soon as the time traveling aspect came into the picture I was absolutely hooked. I am a sucker for High School centered dramas as you might have noticed and Lovely Runner gave me that pulls college and adulthood. In terms of time frames and settings the drama delivered on all fronts! Hyeyoon and Wooseok looked great together and acted the heck out of this script, especially their chemistry together was so good and as soon as we get to find out about one of the biggest plot twists and trope reveals regarding Sunjae Lovely Runner could do nothing wrong in my eyes.

Okay you can already tell how much I really enjoyed this drama and I have to say it was not only the cast this time but I found the story really engaging and it had a lot of twists and turns to it that I hadn’t completely anticipated Geonhee as Kim Teasung absolutely outdid himself as the second lead and quite frankly stole my heart a couple of times, even if he is there to test our main couple a few times he makes up for it with his charm and comic relief moments. The cast in general just had amazing chemistry and Im Sol’s brother and best friend were really here to make my day a couple of times. I overall really liked how family the dynamics of it was a big factor in this drama as it really brought a lot to the show and the main story. A special shoutout goes to Im Sol’s grandma she had me tear up so many times.

Well I think that’s enough regarding the cast let me focus on the story a bit. Lovely Runner might waver sometimes but it never loses track of what it is meant to do and that’s Im Sol saving Sunjae’s life. We get sidetracked here and there, some random but relevant mystery is added but the time travel always has one singular goal and that’s changing the future. I really loved how Im Sol’s actions affected the future and there were proper consequences. It was also a unique factor that once Im Sol goes back in time her old self takes back over. I am not sure how that really works as if you go back to your old self shouldn’t everything happen as intended in the first timeline? That part always confused me but in the end Im Sol always stayed herself. The drama is very emotional and keeps you guessing a bit despite being the K-Drama level of predictable.

As a slight spoiler I can maybe say that I had no clue how I wanted this to end and while I am satisfied it is also pretty cheesy but to be honest that’s all I want from K-Dramas sometimes. Give me the kitsch give me the cheese I will eat it up and enjoy every second of it. Overall, I loved the acting, the setting and the plot of the drama and some of the rep it had obviously mental health isn’t really address even if it was the main cause that started this story off but oh well we can’t have it all. I’d say Lovely Runner is probably going to be one of my favorite if not my favorite drama of the year! So give it a watch if you like romance and time travel dramas that has lovable characters and some good humor then this is your drama!

P.S: I love seeing how much Wooseok blew up through this but when is it Hyeyoon’s turn?!