Lovely Runner Review: Shall We Start Again?

After Queen of Tears, tvN kept its grasp on Korean (and worldwide) audiences with the massive success of Lovely Runner, a time-travel romance that finally brought Byeon Woo-seok into the spotlight where he belongs.

Loosely based on The Best of Tomorrow, a web novel by Kim Bbang, Lovely Runner aired its final episode on May 28th, reaching a rating of 5.3% (compared to 3.6% from the finale of Wedding Impossible, the show that previously occupied the same slot). If you open its MDL page, you’ll see over 40.000 comments. Every week, thousands of fans around the world gathered online to cry and despair over Im Sol and Ryu Sun-jae’s fate.

And I get it: they are one of the most adorable couples to ever bless Korean television. However, behind its sweet and romantic facade, the plot sends the viewer into a Groundhog Day-esque tale riddled with threads that never fully get tied up.

With a script by True Beauty‘s Lee Shi-eun and direction by Kim Tae-yub and Flower of Evil‘s Yoon Jong-ho, Lovely Runner tells the story of Im Sol (Kim Hye-yoon), a 34-year-old woman who dreamed of becoming a film director. After an incident when she was a teenager leaves her wheelchair-bound, she finds solace in the songs of the pop band Eclipse. Their lead singer, Ryu Sun-jae (Byeon Woo-seok), is the one who gives her purpose in life once again. Unfortunately, behind the shiny facade of stardom, Ryu Sun-jae suffers from depression and ends up committing suicide. Determined to save the life of the person who’d saved hers, Im Sol ends up travelling in time. Now in her 19-year-old body, Im Sol has a miraculous chance to save Sun-jae and change her own fate.

This review is full of spoilers. Read it at your own risk! You can also pin our (spoiler-free) summary at the bottom!

Why Everyone Fell in Love with Lovely Runner

It’s easy to see why the show became such a beloved story: Byeon Woo-seok embodies an incredibly handsome, fairly goofy, and unbelievably sweet male lead while Kim Hye-yoon proves once again to be a skilful actress who can handle both drama and comedy with ease. Together, they are unstoppable. Their chemistry is immense, and the energy they radiate is something that even the strictest critics have to give in to.

Lovely Runner starts off strong. And by strong, I mean ferociously so. The first episode is of such heart and intrigue that it was almost impossible not to fall in love with it. During its first hour, the show presents us with everything we need to get hooked: Im Sol and her current life, her love towards Sun-jae, the inciting incident and her first travel back.

How exciting is this? Im Sol can change Sun-jae’s, and her own, future! Hye-yoon naturally gives charm to Im Sol, and you can’t help but root for her from the very beginning. However, characterisation isn’t that consistent, and Im Sol doesn’t grow or develop throughout Lovely Runner‘s 16 episodes. That’s where the problems start: the way that she behaves in the very first episode is exactly the same way she behaves in all other 15. What raises an even bigger question is why, as a 34-year-old woman, Im Sol acts like a teenager all the time. All the conflict that arises from the story comes from the fact that Sol, immaturely, believes that she can solve all the problems herself.

The Rule of Three

Have you ever heard of the “rule of three”? When devising a story, we tend to use threes: a three-act structure, three degrees of conflict, three main characters. From medieval times, “three” is considered to represent a “perfection” of sorts, and, to this day, in storytelling, three is still a key number. Three is enough repetition to ignite change, but not enough to bore the audience.

Lovely Runner decided to scrap this whole “three” idea and invest in a repetitive plot that gets rid of any storytelling structure halfway through the show.

Going Back #1: Getting This Show on The Road

We start with a strong first episode in which Sol goes back to 2009 for the first time. Even though she does behave like a teenager when she actually has the soul of a grown and experienced woman, her antics and determination drive the plot of the first three episodes. Other character dynamics also enrich these episodes: Sun-jae and his dad, and their swimming dream, for instance. Played by the super Kim Won-hae, Sun-jae’s dad gets a glimpse of a subplot here that ends up never being truly developed.

Tae-sung (played wonderfully by Song Geon-hee), the second lead, is an interesting character who catches another glimpse of a subplot with his tricky relationship with his dad, the detective Kim Won-chul (Park Yoon-hee). As Im Sol tries to convince him to change his ways, his background and his own story are also never developed. The dynamic between Tae-sun and Detective Won-chul goes through a 180-degree change that comes out of nowhere by the end of the show.

The first few episodes also propose a few interesting points that were later forgotten: the prejudice that Sol suffers because of her wheelchair (there’s a very symbolic shot in the very first episode when Sol, after being rejected by the production company she’d applied to purely because they can’t accommodate her wheelchair, stands outside, defeated, right next to an accessible parking bay) or how there’s an invisible, yet very real, connection between a fan and an idol — and that connection can very well save one’s life.

Going Back #2: Putting Things in Their Right Place

Im Sol goes back to the present at the end of episode three, and, once she realises that nothing has changed, she goes back again. This second attempt proves to be a lot more successful and, even though the characters’ decisions aren’t completely sound, everything works out, and you get a satisfying episode 7. In episode 7, you fully understand why Sun-jae is depressed in the main storyline. Fate connects the two of them even further as the audience realises that one single change in the past can affect both Sol and Sun-jae in the future. As Sol succeeds, she goes back to the present for the second time, and she and Sun-jae reconnect.

“Okay, wonderful,” you think. Their relationship blossoms, and you tell yourself, “Time to focus on the villain and the other aspects of the story, right?“

Nope. Even though Sun-jae doesn’t die, an attack on his life prompts Im Sol to go back to the past a third time since she’s now convinced that she’s the one to blame for his tragic fate. This is episode 9, and they are now university students.

Going Back #3: Okay… Now Things are Going to Change For Real!

The following episodes are cute, but you start to get tired of Sol’s stubbornness and immaturity. She keeps repeating the same actions, over and over again, expecting different results. This pattern doesn’t bring anything new to the storyline or any change to any of the characters. As her attitude starts to irritate you, Sun-jae is just so innocently sweet and unbelievably smitten with her that you forgive them. They love each other, after all.

The end of episode 10 is indeed a work of art. The angle, the lightning, the performance. It is beautiful. Here, the plot finally takes a different turn: Sun-jae now knows that she’s from the future and that she’s trying to save him from an unfortunate destiny.

Once again, you think, “Okay, great! Now they’re going to work together!“

Wrong again. Im Sol continues to believe that she’s both the villain and the superhero of the story. Her decision to stay behind at the end of episode 12 just brings everything back to the same pattern of the last 10 episodes. Sol fails to communicate with others and to understand that, alone, she won’t manage to solve anything. Is this arrogance? Stubbornness? Immaturity? At this point, it’s difficult to understand why this woman in her 30s, having been through what she’s been through, would behave in such a way.

Going Back #4: Are We Really Doing This Again, my dear Lovely Runner?

Episode 13 has the most ridiculous sequence of events, which leads to Sun-jae’s demise (in the most absurd scene). Desperate, Sol goes back in time a fourth time and decides to never meet Sun-jae in the first place. So, after 13 episodes, does the main character show some growth? Not at all. Instead of solving the problem, she decides to avoid it altogether as she makes the ultimate sacrifice of living a life without her one true love.

This fourth and final trip back in time bears no explanation. Apparently, she convinces her family to somehow move to a different… house? Neighbourhood? Who knows. She still meets and develops a strong friendship with the second lead, but successfully avoids the lead during her teens. How? Not sure.

Does she just relive her life? Does she live for a few years and then go back straight to the present? That’s not very clear either.

“But, wait, how does this time-travelling thing work? Does she control the time she spends in the past? Can she choose when and where? Does she have a TARDIS?” If you’re asking yourself these questions, I warn you: don’t. Time travel here doesn’t have clear rules, and the script never bothers to explain any of it, so… you have no alternative but to just go along with it.

This fourth timeline brings us to episodes 14 and 15. The main goal of these two episodes is to prove that Sol and Sun-jae are destined to be together and that Sol holds an immense, indescribable love towards Sun-jae by showing her suffering. That’s it.

But… What Happened to the Bad Guy?

The main villain, the one that barely has a name, the one that has managed to escape the police for years on end, the one that seems to be fated to destroy the leads’ lives (who knows why), is killed off three minutes into episode 16.

Three. Minutes.

With a single truck, problem solved! The same elusive, mysterious, devilish villain that Sol spent 13 episodes trying to avoid, catch, and defeat. Talk about an anti-climactic ending.

Characterisation that is fairly weak throughout reaches rock bottom with the antagonist. Incredibly one-dimensional, there’s not much point to his presence in the story. Why does he exist here? What’s his purpose? Just to keep Sol and Sun-jae apart? Who knows.

Even after the villain is dead, Sol still resists Sun-jae’s advances until he finally tells her that he remembers the other timelines. And from there, you get one hour of fan service. Happy ending.

What Went Wrong and the Themes that Lovely Runner Could’ve Explored

At first, the show followed a natural rhythm and, despite a one-dimensional antagonist, it had some sort of consistency that could have very well made Lovely Runner one of the best K-dramas I’d ever watched. However, as the story goes on, this rhythm gets lost, and it seems that the whole series hangs on the romance between Sol and Sun-jae. Even though the script seems to prioritise their relationship, we still have an annoying serial killer to get rid of, and, therefore, you can’t focus on one or the other.

The first few episodes are just so endearing. Lovely Runner, then, seemed to be a story about paying attention to the present and how we fail to notice things that are right in front of us. Or how our teenage years can be full of misconceptions and lost chances — but that’s an intrinsic part of youth. How some things might be destined to happen, but we still have the power to create our own path. Or even how love, both romantic and platonic, can save one’s life.

The premise was so full of potential, and these themes, beating behind those first episodes, really made Lovely Runner worth a watch. It would’ve been nice to see these ideas broken down and explored alongside Sol’s wheelchair experience and both Sun-jae and Tae-sung’s relationships with their respective fathers. Unfortunately, the script didn’t go in that direction. Instead, it focused on repeating the same patterns over and over again, with the casual sprinkle of super romantic scenes between a couple full of chemistry.

Final Notes on Cast, Cinematography, and Soundtrack

Even though the supporting group of characters isn’t that memorable, Byeon Woo-seok, Kim Hye-yoon, and Song Geon-hee prove to be an infallible main trio. You can see their dedication to the script, and their performances shine throughout the entire show. A special shout-out also goes to Sol’s grandma, Mal-ja (Sung Byung-sook), who has some special scenes with both Sol and Sun-jae. My mom especially enjoyed the scenes with Mal-ja, as she gave a mystical yet humane flair to the show.

When it comes to cinematography, there are lots of beautiful profile shots of our main couple, creating parallels throughout its 16 episodes and establishing their fated connection. The camerawork here also renders itself well to comedy, which happens aplenty in Lovely Runner.

The soundtrack is one of the most beautiful ones to come out this year: 10CM’s Spring Snow is one marvellous tune, and MINNIE’s Like a Dream just fits some scenes like a glove. Not to mention ECLIPSE’s diegetic songs — Sudden Shower and Run Run are two proper K-pop songs.

Maybe I reacted so strongly to how the story develops exactly because Sol and Sun-jae did enchant me, and I wanted them to have the tale they really deserved. Nevertheless, despite a strong start and two extraordinary lead actors, Lovely Runner failed to focus on worldbuilding, characterisation, and plot. A recommended watch if you’re looking for a funny, yet a tad melodramatic, romantic show, and you don’t mind not having a proper script to hang on to. You can catch it on:

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What did you think of Lovely Runner? I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments!