While You Were Sleeping

Been quite into Korean dramas recently, thanks to my friends egging me on non-stop. One person recommending me something is one thing but when multiple people recommend the same show… of course I gotta check it out 😀

The last K-drama I finished was While You Were Sleeping. I was told to just watch the opening and I wouldn’t be able to stop, and geez I really didn’t stop until I finished all 16 episodes in a week. So here’s me unloading all my feels.

It has all the usual elements of a successful K-drama (e.g. good-looking cast, gorgeous setting, bomb soundtrack etc) and I like that it’s very fast-paced since the beginning.

Another reason why I enjoyed this show so much is because the female lead (Suzy) is a journalist and the male lead (Lee Jong-suk) is a prosecutor so romance aside, there are a lot of crime elements and courtroom drama scenes. They also touch on the whole law vs. press vs. public opinion debate which is super intriguing and satisfying to watch.

I know it’s sensationalised and there’s suspension of disbelief because it’s fiction, but still… makes me wonder what I’m doing at work. There was a scene where Suzy fought so hard to have a story told even though her supervisor didn’t want to cover it because it would make the news station look bad. She got her way, of course. Can’t say the same about here 🤪

“When you go the wrong way, the GPS reroutes the directions. Can you drive with a GPS that keeps saying the wrong way is the right way? If we were wrong, we must correct it. Who would believe the news that keeps arguing it’s right when it’s wrong?”

I also like how they didn’t make Suzy’s character overly-pretty to fit a conventional standard (if that makes sense because she’s SUZY and already beautiful to begin with). Loved her with her glasses and short hair and I wish they didn’t get rid of her glasses after the first few episodes. Luckily there was no makeover scene like those Hollywood nonsense 🙄

Hello how do you perf?!?!?! She looks pretty even when she cries 🥺 And I need to control myself or this will end up being a spam post of Suzy gifs.

One of my favourite scenes was when she was nervous about returning to work after a long hiatus and just standing at the traffic light in front of the news station, afraid to walk in.

I could already predict what was going to happen next (standard K-drama cliche) but that didn’t stop me from swooning when he suddenly appeared and took her hand in his and reassured her 🥺🥺🥺 Damn feels. It‘s such an underrated scene but I love it.

I also love how she’s always using his tie to wipe her tears or smudged makeup HAHA.

Funnily I don’t feel like they have sizzling chemistry (maybe just lukewarm?) like the couples in other shows (e.g. Crash Landing On You, Descendants Of The Sun). Still very cute though!!!

The only thing I found annoying was when Suzy’s character was wishy-washy and unsure about the relationship. It’s just very frustrating when one person is so sure of the other, but the other person isn’t for very dumb reasons. Thankfully it didn’t last long.

But I love how this show does not have any evil third party or ‘extra’ female character to hate. That’s why I say it’s fast-paced without unnecessary drama. There is only one villain and he’s hot too 😂

I wish the show had developed his character more because he’s such a complex villain. Like he’s a defence lawyer for criminals but in actual fact he despises them. And they keep showing scenes of him disgustedly washing his own hands (the whole ‘blood on your hands’ trope) but they never really explored it. His ending was so… lame for such a complicated character.

Anyway, I was naively thinking, eh for once there’s no second male lead syndrome in a Korean drama. Until it came full force in the last two episodes wtf. Stop messing with my feels!!!

Another cliche: Everyone knows the second male lead is in love with the female lead except the female lead 🤦 Loveee his arc though, it was super well done.

I haven’t watched that many K-dramas but I realised the format is usually the same. And there’s always the same cliche scenes which we know are cliches but love anyway. I think I’ve seen these in Boys Over Flowers / Crash Landing On You / While you Were Sleeping / Goblin:

• When female lead is in trouble and male lead comes to the rescue in time despite not knowing her location, but it’s ok because they are so ~connected~ 🤣 (see video below)

• When female lead is sad and crying alone but insists she isn’t, though male lead knows better and magically appears right in front of her

• Male lead and female lead have actually met before years ago but don’t remember it yet

• They will always find each other, no matter what. It is pretty much a rule.

On a whole, I enjoyed the show very much. It was hard to stop watching especially when most episodes ended with a cliffhanger. The plot is very solid because the characters deal with a new crime every few episodes, each one more intriguing and clever than the last.

My favourite storyline was when they had to decide between 1) doing an autopsy on a brain-dead victim to identify the cause of death and therefore bring the murderer to justice, or 2) to not do the autopsy so that the victim can donate his organs, thus giving 7 other people a new life but letting his murder get away scot-free. I’m not revealing what happened!!

The ending was very satisfying too with no loose ends and I loved how everything came full circle 😌

I would rate it 7/10 (Crash Landing is a 9/10 for me hehehe I think that’s still one of the best shows I’ve ever seen this year). Thanks for the tears and laughs and 5am nights!!! 💖

Currently watching Goblin which has rave reviews everywhere and is highly recommended by everyone but it’s moving so slowly that my attention span is screaming.