Well, if this isn’t the womp womp this drama desperately needed for the OTP segment to actually have mature depth. See You in My 19th Life has set up the leads as he’s still nursing his dead first love who was her 18th incarnation and she’s back in this 19th life to basically keep living her 18th life as his partner/girlfriend/muse/therapist etc. That Ahn Bo Hyun‘s Seo Ha is basically a man/boy frozen in emotional stasis doesn’t help the romance because Shin Hye Sun is proactive and he’s just reactive to whatever she’s saying/doing. The second leads budding romance has actually been the only romantic aspect of this drama that’s working, but I loved watching Ji Eum bond with her 17th life niece and her 18th life little sister.
So the twist at the end of episode 7 had me jaw dropped and suddenly totally invested in the OTP, not to mention Ahn Bo Hyun who is miscast as Seo Ha suddenly seems so smoking intense in his past life. Basically Ji Eum and her countless reincarnations and memories of all her lives was set into motion by something in her 1st life and she has to recall that full memory (it’s the only life where she sees fragments) in order to break this curse. And it turns out she’s probably a princess in her 1st life, and he is likely the warrior general that killed her, and we don’t know the hows/whys but at least now we know those two have been tangling through lives more than just her meeting this lonely kid in her 18th life and suddenly adopting him like a life project.
I wish Seo Kang Joon was playing Seo-Ha. Willowy, haunted by the past and his eyes speaking volumes. The big disconnect is really Ahn Bo Hyun here. He should stick to action roles or unserious ones. His eye acting is really bad. Vacant, listless. Technically he is doing everything right and acting on point for sad, happy, angry scenes but his eyes are emotionless. Hence chemistry with SHS is also flat. Agree that 2nd leads have more chemistry and ep 7 we have dollps of those sparks despite a very bad episode script (drunk & drunk *smh*). Lee Chae Min is also a weird casting decision. I get that hes popular now because of his idol like looks and big fanbase of puberscent school girls. But professor of archeology???!!? SHS’s probable ex-lover? His acting is so stiff also. The casting director is this production’s biggest anti. He completely butchered the interesting source material with all the wrong actors.
I disagree with you, Since I really love Ahn Bo Hyun acting here. But Seo Kang Joon wouldn’t fit this roles. He would be abit stiff, won’t as concvincing as Bo Hyun convey sincere vulnerability. SKJ can but won’t be as nuance. SKJ slay more towards intense roles with vulnerable combined.
You are joking on vulnerability acting right? Ahn bo hyun over skj???? Nevermind lets agree to disagree. I cannot with ABH’s soulless acting. I see nothing there in the eyes which is how vulnerability is usually conveyed…
I went into this drama with no expectation of ABH as SHS is the sole reason for my watching it. I even joked that he and Lee Junho should switch the two hotel heir dramas because SYIM19L is demanding more acting prowess.
However, he surprised me episode by episode with a lukewarm start bordering ordinary and ok acting – but seven episodes afterward, he’s nailing the role with nuanced vulnerability and sensuality on display. Good on him!
The Ep 7 ending is great in lifting the whole narrative and making sense of the drama set up. Let’s hope it delivers the dramatic promise.
Ahn Bo Hyun is conveying well the vulnerability of his character . It was the same in Yumi’s cells in which he nuanced well his role. He slayed in Itaewon class and i just love him in Military prosecutor . For me he isn’t miscast . There is no chemistry between him and Shin Hye Sun . Seo Kang Joon delivers good performances thanks to his stare but the language of his body stills stiff .
Like any great actor, SKJ’s body language reflects the characters he plays. In Cheese in the Trap, his language was jittery and streetwise. In Are You Human, it was robotic as the robot, tough and swaggering as the human. In When the Weather Was Fine, it was restrained and hesitant to fit his shy character. In Entourage, it was cool and cocky. In Watcher, he was a tough-seeming cop dealing with a tragic past, and his body language was tense, trying to contain his anger and vulnerabity. With his eyes,he conveys layers of emotional nuance without saying a word. Very few actors can become the character the way he does. He is considered one of the best actors of his generation, so to say he is stiff and lacks nuance it’s like, huh? Maybe you haven’t seen enough of his work?
@AMYJANEBROWN 👏👏👏 You captured that perfectly. Looking fwd to what SKJ will pick up as his return project. Few do eye acting well. I can only think of him, kim nam gil, shs, park min young, son ye jin, park hyung sik, kim sejeong who has good eye acting. I am still watching 19th Life for SHS but even Im surprised at the end of episode 8 how miscasted is the show as not just Ahn Bo Hyun but SHS as well. Its getting grating how she keeps cooing while talking to him and how desperate both women are at wooing at these stiff men that no romance can be built under such measures. Script is getting really bad and its no wonder the ratings are going downwards
I respect your opinion, but i said that his eyes convey well various emotions but that his body stills stiff, less than a decade ago . And I said , he delivers good performances . I have seen a lot of his works, Did you see his photoshoot for High Cut in 2014 with Yoon Eun Hye . Back then , i saw it , and i noticed his eyes and all his potential . But sometimes he doesn’t let his body act freely . I’m waiting to watch his future project .
I adore this drama
Yep, that last scene when he turned around and his past life come to surface shows that this current role is not fitted for this leading man. He is so boring/stiff that leads to literally no chemistry between him and the leading lady. When a drama live and die based on the romance and then it failed to build any chemistry, there’s nothing to hold on. For example, At lease, AOS2 has 2 beautiful lead and their chemistry is really one of the best in recent years.
I do like LD’s chemistry w/ her sister and niece though and agreed secondary couple’s chemistry is way better.
Honestly I liked these episodes way more than the earlier eps… Now I absolutely have to find out what happened in her first life! I do love her scenes with her ‘niece’ and the second leads. (Spoiler) It’s so twisted to be reborn as the daughter of the man who caused her death. I’m invested in this drama from this week onwards!
I accidentally came across this drama on a streaming site and watched a few eps without knowing any cast. It unexpectedly piques my interest to watch more episodes. I’m specifically drawn to the FL’s acting. She has a unique acting style and very recognizable. I call that art. I have this drama in my to-watch list for now. I’m too busy to follow more than one dram at the same time. I’ll definitely come back to watch again after finishing The Longest Promise.