You're Closer Than I Think

You’re Closer Than I Think

6/10

You're Closer Than I Think

Genre:                                     Episodes: 1                         Year: 2017

Romance

Mystery

Synopsis:

After his bride leaves him at the altar, Choi Woo Jin sets out to discover where their relationship went wrong.

Cast:

Lee Sang Yeob (Choi Woo Jin)

Kim So Eun (Lee Seo Yeon)

Lim Hwa Young (Lee Seo Young)

Kwak Hee Sung (Ha So Young)

Dongha (Jung Soon Taek)

General Thoughts:

Well this KBS drama special was much better than the first one I watched. The show delivers exactly what it promised- an interesting mystery about a runaway bride.

Getting ditched instead of hitched

The characters were all quite linkable, which is a pretty good achievement in a mystery show that only goes for one hour. Despite asking questions about the characters actions and intentions, none of the characters become too unlikable- not the spurned book-worm boyfriend, not the lying bride, and not the ghostwriter.

Not even the liar who made the whole mess was that dislikable

It was nice that a show that centred so much around character obscurity managed to evoke a sense that no matter how things turned out in the end, these characters were all good people who have just made a few mistakes. The writing was pretty fluid and gave us a tight plot that raced along for its full hour. I found the camera angles and lighting much better than ‘If We Were a Season’, and didn’t feel like the camera director was trying to shove his camera up the actors’ noses. The show as a whole had a wistful, nostalgic vibe that I really enjoyed having alongside the mystery. I think it was this almost dreamlike quality to the series that made it so assuring that things would work out in the end. It never got bogged down in too much angst, and the comedy that was added by Soon Taek in our lead’s moodier moments was much appreciated. The actors themselves are all pretty good. Lee Sang Yeob can do sweet and broken-hearted mixed with mild obliviousness so well, and made our lead a truly likeable character. He had just the right amount of sadness that he was pitiable, and just the right amount of curiosity about why his bride disappeared that he becomes a character we can root for.

What a cute combo

Kim So Eun has always been an actress I’ve liked, even if she’s never completely dazzled me. She always delivers likeable and sweet characters, and this was no exception, despite the mystery surrounding her character. Lim Hwa Young and Kwak Hee Sung were great as the second leads- particularly Lim Hwa Young in showing her character’s conflicting sides. Dongha was a hit of a scene stealer, and I came to easily love his character in the short moments he was given.

Dongha- stealer of scenes, stealer of hearts

Dongha could be both empathetic and humorous at the same time and made his character really pop. The music added a nice dose of mystery to the series, particularly in scenes that may not have been as intense otherwise. 

What Was Great:

Twists:

The show actually managed to come up with a few good little twists considering that it’s only an hour long. Right when I thought I’d figured the show out and got on top of it, the show had a way of changing up the situation in a way I wasn’t expecting.

Another Lee Seo Yeon

I cottoned on pretty quickly that the two girls had pulled a switcheroo, but I was happily surprised when we learned that it had been Kim So Eun’s character that fell for our hero first. As soon as it was brought up that the shy girl was writing the letters I immediately assumed that she was the one who had feelings for Woo Jin first and was just too embarrassed to meet him- ah la Hwang Jung Eum in ‘She Was Pretty’. It’s not an uncommon set-up so that’s instantly where I thought the drama was going. It was a nice reveal to see that it had been Kim So Eun’s character that had liked him first and that she had gotten her friend to write on her behalf because she didn’t think she could write as well. It’s a similar situation but with a nice twist. I also liked how the handsome photographer had been interested in the shy girl all along. The drama dropped little hints that he was interested in the girl dating our hero, and I happily accepted those hints as the truth.

Two boys, two girls- the numbers add up

It was a little unexpected, and kind of sweet how it was the quiet girl he’d been crushing on all along, and I especially loved his cute collection of her blurry photos at his gallery. The twists weren’t overly dramatic or mind-boggling, but made the show seem smarter than I initially gave it credit for.

What Wasn’t:

Quick Resolution:

My only real gripe is how quickly and easily the two girls made up. But you know, the show only went for an hour so that’s kind of to be expected.

Yeaahhh...sorry about nearly ruining your relationship with your one true love. We good?

The nerdy friend really had acted quite nasty in sabotaging her friend’s relationship just because she came to find out that she liked the dude as well.

I'm content to let it slide cuz I lovez a happy ending

It was also super b*tchy to write her own name down when asked as it really cornered her friend and made her into a liar. Sure, she was getting a friend to write emails to this guy because she didn’t sound as good on paper, but that’s much easier to accept and forgive than lying about you’re identity- which is how our heroine was forced to act. It really should have been the end of that friendship right there, but I guess because Seo Young admitted her mistakes and took all the blame that kind of made the friendship redeemable. The quick repair to the relationship was a tad unbelievable, but I understand why it was necessary to give us the cute, happy ending we were wanting.

Recommend?

Yeah- it’s a quick little show to get through with an interesting mystery and intriguing characters. 

A fun way to spend an hour