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Kiss Sixth Sense – Full Review
Welcome to Kiss Sixth Sense – Full Review. An ad executive with the power to see the future suddenly sees a destiny for herself that she never imagined. If you haven’t watched this drama yet, I recommend checking out my unspoiled review here.
Kiss Sixth Sense
♥ Aired: May 25 – June 29, 2022
♥# of Episodes: 12
♥Where to Watch: Hulu
♥Genre: Supernatural Rom-Com
♥Starring: Yoon Kye Sang and Seo Ji Hye
The Story
A successful account executive for an advertising firm works tirelessly in the hopes of getting a promotion. But her personal life is troubled by a secret power that allows her to see into someone’s future if her lips touch them. When an unfortunate fall causes her to accidentally kiss her prickly and difficult boss, she is shocked to see them involved in a romantic relationship. As she explores her own beliefs about destiny, she finds they share a connection that goes back farther than she could have ever imagined. And as she gets to know him, she is surprised to find that he has a secret power of his own.
The Leads
Yoon Kye Sang as Cha Min Hoo
Cha Min Hoo suffers from an extreme case of sensory overload disorder caused by a childhood trauma. He hides his condition from others because he doesn’t want to make those around him uncomfortable. But with his senses heightened to the level of a superpower, even the most casual contact can cause him extreme physical pain and illness. So he is shocked when an accidental kiss from Hong Ye Sul has almost no negative effects. But Ye Sul is not just a random co-worker. The two share a strong bond from their past that Ye Sul has blocked from her memory. When she suggests that they date, Min Hoo hopes the extra time together will finally jar her memories and allow him to reclaim his childhood first love.
Cha Min Hoo appears prickly and arrogant to those who work with him. He is a demanding boss who does not tolerate laziness or mistakes. The only ones who know about his secret condition are his doctor and his two closest friends. But when Ye Sul shares her ability to see the future, he finally finds someone who can understand the struggles he has faced. Yoon Kye Sang is a great actor and I loved his chemistry with Seo Ji Hye. But I found the abrupt change in his character during the course of this drama to be too sudden and not very believable. He seemed uncomfortable playing the smiley, light-hearted character in the second half of this series.
Seo Ji Hye as Hong Ye Sul
Hong Ye Sul is an advertising executive who is mentored by her boss, Cha Min Hoo. She has lost her memories of when she was young, but just before her father’s death, she mysteriously gained the power to see someone’s future by touching any part of them with her lips. When she trips on the job and lands on top of Min Hoo, her lips accidentally touch his and she sees their future together as a couple. Eager to see where this could be leading, she suggests that they start to date. But just when her life is starting to look up, her ex-boyfriend shows up, and he shows her that her gift is not as accurate as she assumes and that maybe destiny is more complicated than she had believed.
Hong Ye Sul has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps as an advertising agent. And when Pil Yo broke her heart, she threw herself whole-heartedly into her work. Now, with her dream job around the corner, her life is really starting to look up. I liked Seo Ji Hye in this role, and it was fun to watch her grow and mature through her ability. This role didn’t seem like much of a stretch for her as an actress, but she sat comfortably in the character and played the part quite naturally.
Supporting Characters
Kim Ji Suk as Lee Pil Yo
Lee Pil Yo is Ye Sul’s first love. They met in college and were in a serious relationship, until Ye Sul saw Pil Yo’s future with another woman. Broken hearted, she breaks up with him without ever telling him why. Pil Yo went away, but after achieving his goal, he is back to try to win Ye Sul’s heart again. But he soon finds out that he may be too late.
Lee Joo Yeon as Oh Ji Young
Oh Ji Young is the daughter of Min Hoo’s doctor. She has known him since they were young, and she has always loved him. Unfortunately for her, Min Hoo thinks of her as a younger sister and has no romantic interest in her. He has always been honest with her about his feelings, but Ji Young refuses to believe him. Now she is a famous actress who is starring in the car advertisement being produced by Min Hoo and Se Yul.
Tae In Ho as Oh Seung Taek
Oh Seung Taek is Min Hoo’s best friend. He is a doctor at a nearby hospital who tends to Min Hoo’s medication and any side effects he suffers from. He meets Ye Sul’s cousin, Ho Woo, by coincidence. The pair agree to date for one week at Ho Woo’s suggestion. But when a week is over, Seung Taek isn’t ready to let her go, but she cuts ties with him anyway. So he is shocked when she shows up as a new intern at his hospital.
Things I Liked
♥ Super Power Concept
I found the idea of two children who developed unexplainable powers as a result of a shared trauma to be interesting and original. Having them both be particularly susceptible to kissing added an extra layer of depth, as if maybe the CPR created some kind of cosmic bond between the two. I was sad to see them lose these abilities in the end of the series, and I wish the magic had been used more in the plot, but the small bit that we got was sure fun while it lasted.
♥ Ban Ho Woo
I loved the spunky enthusiasm of Ban Ho Woo. And the misdirection about why she was living on limited time was clever. Here I was thinking that maybe she had a terminal illness or had been soured on the idea of love after watching Se Yul suffer for years. But it turns out, she was just entering medical school. And her push and pull relationship with Seung Taek was fun to watch. She definitely made him work for it, but it kept things interesting.
♥ Interpretations of Visions
This storyline dives into some deep philosophical waters with the question of what makes fate and whether it is unchangeable. I thought they did a nice job of showing how Ye Sul saw a vision that she thought she understood from her perspective. But when the event actually takes place, we see that things can be very different from what they seem. And we are left questioning whether Ye Sul and Pil Yo could have shared a destiny, if she hadn’t pushed him away for a simple misunderstanding on her part.
Things I Didn’t Like
Final Episodes
I was really disappointed in the final couple of episodes. I hardly know where to start with this one. First of all, we didn’t just sit through endless flashbacks and cosmic connections to have the lead couple end up in a toxic bickering relationship just because Ye Sul can no longer see the future. I wanted to finally see them matured and happy together. Second, why squeeze 2 mystery stories into the series, and then just rush through their conclusions. And lastly, if the leads were not each other’s destiny, then why did they have those powers in the first place. I just felt like they ripped apart every element of the plots they had so carefully constructed. Also, Pil Yo and Ji Young?
Flashbacks
I often hear people complain about kdramas wasting too much time with flashbacks. And to be honest, I usually don’t mind. I can sometimes use a reminder of some small detail that happened episodes before. But this drama spent a lot of time showing us the same event again and again, often without any new information to hold our interest. I know that it was supposed to show how the character is remembering it each time, but they could at least abbreviate it to show just the new parts that are revealed. I think that the scenes lost some of their meaning from being shown so many times.
Mystery Storyline
As this concept of mixing genre into one drama is becoming more popular, I kind of feel like a broken record. Here’s the deal. The writers want to add some elements of a thriller to these dramas. But they also understand that in the end, people come to a rom-com for the romance. The way they just suddenly solve the whole mystery and then move on with no effect to the character’s lives is frustrating. Also, the office politics and espionage story was a non-starter that didn’t flow with the rest of the story. It’s not that I don’t want these elements added, I just wish they would give the villains and plots they set up the respect they deserve in the context of the overall story.
The Ending
So, I have already said that I didn’t love this ending, so I’ll keep this short and simple. Hae Jin is finally exposed as a stalker of Ye Sul and her mother. Ye Sul and Min Hoo both get injured before the police show up. And when it is all over, they have both lost their special abilities. Now that things have changed for them, there relationship becomes rocky and volatile as they fight and break up constantly. This makes work a tense environment. It finally comes out that Kyung Seok is the one releasing company secrets and trying to make trouble for Ye Sul and Min Hoo. Seung Taek and Ho Woo announce that they are getting married since Ho Woo is expecting a baby. And Ji Young confesses to Pil Yo that she likes him in the middle of a press conference for their new film. He is shocked but obviously pleased. In the final scene, we see Ye Sul and Min Hoo fighting. Ye Sul runs off and he chases after her. And after some minor cajoling, they make up and decide to forget about what might happen in the future and just love each other in the present, living for today.
Should I Watch
“Kiss Sixth Sense” is a fantasy rom-com with some mystery thriller thrown in on the side. This drama starts out pretty strong. For me there were a lot of pluses, like great lead chemistry, fun office setting, and an interesting “magic powers” meets fate concept. But as it goes, it seems to lose its focus. The mystery plot gets a rushed ending and the theme of destiny suddenly seems to lose all meaning. If you’re looking for a mature supernatural romance drama, this one isn’t all bad. I just wish they would have ended as strongly as they started out. I give “Kiss Sixth Sense” a 7 out of 10 ramen.
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