A young, independent nobelwoman’s life changes radically when her whole family is murdered and she is accused of poisoning them.  She goes into hiding, hoping to find out the truth behind their deaths.  Based on her father’s final words to her, she seeks out the Crown Prince who was her father’s student.  Vowing to keep her safe for the sake of his dead mentor, the Crown Prince allows her to disguise herself as a Eunuch in the service of the Prince.  Now together, the pair are working to find the true killers and clear her name.

Jeon So Nee as Min Jae Yi

Min Jae Yi was engaged and very happy at the prospect of her new role and her handsome future husband.  But when her family is all suddenly poisoned by a dinner she served them, she finds herself alone and wanted for murder. Her father’s final words to her were to save the Crown Prince, so she sets out to find him.  But even after meeting him, he isn’t sure she can be trusted and she can’t just waltz into the palace as a wanted noblewoman.  So she disguises herself as a eunuch for the Crown Prince.  While he still isn’t sure about her, her determination wins the Crown Prince’s approval.  As she spends time working with him, both as his eunuch and as his friend, they find that the case of the Prince’s mysterious curse and the death of her family are definitely connected.  

Min Jae Yi is independent and strong willed.  She spent her youth posing as her brother, while she investigated dead bodies and suspicious deaths for her father.  When she meets Hwan, she is confident enough to be direct and honest with him.  This outspokenness is the thing that helps her win his trust and eventually his love.  Jeon So Nee does well in this role, but I wish they had continued to show her strong, independent side.  Her ability to fight and defend herself and her interest in examining dead bodies gives her a quirky, unique personality that gets left by the wayside as this drama progresses.  I would like to have seen her helping Myung Jin do more investigations.  

Lee Tae Sun as Kim Myung Jin 

Kim Myung Jin is the youngest son of the Chief State Minister.  But much to his mother’s disappointment, Myung Jin isn’t interested in political position or power.  He spends his time running his own business as a private investigator and herbologist.  The locals know him as a jack of all trades who solves problems like pest infestations and minor health issues.  Ga Ram comes to him as an assistant, but when he finds out her true identity, his feelings for her become something more than friendly colleagues.  

 ♥ Quick Reveal

I kind of liked the fact that Hwan finds out who Jae Yi is immediately.  There is no unnecessary build up to the idea that she is a woman disguised as a eunuch.  He knows she is his mentor’s daughter and his best friend’s intended bride.  While everyone else is kept in the dark as to her true identity, it was nice that Hwan knew from the beginning.  I think this also helped establish their trust in each other, as they had to protect her secret.  

♥ Twin

While I picked up on the idea that there must be 2 Tae Gang’s right away, and I was sad that they killed off his brother as soon as they were reunited, I loved the idea that many of the scenes we saw with the Warrior Guardian were actually Tae Gang’s brother.  Before his death, he tells Tae Gang that he was happy when he lived as him.  It brought me some joy to know that he didn’t have to spend his whole life as an unhappy rebel.  Also, I think the fact that he couldn’t help but like Hwan and in the end give his life to defend him, had a lot to do with the affection he was able to see and feel during his time posing as his brother.  

Prince Myung An

By the end of this drama, I really felt bad for Prince Myung An.  First he finds out he was a pawn used by his own ‘grandfather” to kill his brother, who he loved.  Then he loses his other siblings when it is revealed that he isn’t the King’s son at all.  And once his mother goes crazy, he is left all alone and sent to live outside the comfort and luxury of the palace as a commoner.  And to top it all off, the poor kid has grey hair.  It seems like it might have been better for Hwan to keep him close at hand, in case someone tries to dispute his parentage and use him to create political strife.  It just would have been nice for the kid to catch a break somewhere along the way.

Han So Eun

As the young lady who almost became the Crown Princess, I wish we had gotten to know a little more about Han So Eun.  Obviously she was never going to become the true Crown Princess, with Jae Yi waiting in the wings.  But it would have been nice if we knew a little about her, so we could at least feel bad when she is murdered.  That whole engagement process and death felt like a waste of plot line that didn’t have enough story to make us care.  

“Our Blooming Youth” delivers a nice happy ending complete with the death and destruction of our evil villains.  The Right State Councillor and his cousin are both sentenced to death for their roles in the Byeokcheon Rebellion and their many other crimes.  And the rest of their supporters are sent quietly into exile.  The Queen is finally overcome with guilt and eats the magic fish eggs that make her crazy.  The people of Byeokcheon are finally able to return home and start rebuilding their town.  And Sung On is appointed as their Governor.  Jae Yi and Ga Ram move into the house that Hwan set up for them.  After the truth comes out about the Queen, the King decides to nurse his broken heart by stepping down from the throne and putting Hwan in his place.  One year later, Myung Jin and Ga Ram have publicly declared their feelings for each other, so their marriage seems to be imminent, even if Myung Jin’s parents have to pretend not to approve and disown him so they can be together.  Jae Yi is teaching as she has always dreamed, but she is waiting for Hwan to come to her so they can be together.  After the royal physicians and servants all declare that Hwan is hopelessly lovesick, he finally shows up at Jae Yi’s door to confess his feelings and propose to her.  And with that, we finally get our happily ever after kiss.  And all is well in the Kingdom!

A high school student from a poor family buys a golden spoon that will allow him to switch lives with anyone his own age.  Although the thought of turning his back on his family troubles him, in the end he chooses to trade lives with his richest classmate.  But he soon discovers that money does not always make your life easier and his new life comes with a whole new set of worries.  But now he has a whole new set of goals that he hopes to achieve in this new life that can help those he loves from his old life.  

Jung Chae Yeon as Na Joo Hee

Na Joo Hee grew up as the only daughter of a rich father.  But despite her position of privilege, she is generous and hard working. She meets Seung Chun while working part-time at a convenience store, because she likes how it feels to earn money herself.  She falls for him instantly, and the couple begin dating just before Seung Chun decides to use the golden spoon.  At that time, Joo Hee’s father is murdered and she is left alone and broke, after her brother’s take all of her inheritance. Joo Hee is able to make her own way in the world, but she never stops looking for the person responsible for her father’s death.  While Joo Hee and “Seung Chun” (who is really Tae Yong now) remain close friends, she lost any romantic attraction to him once he was not the real Seung Chun anymore.  

Na Joo Hee is cheerful and optimistic.  She is also unfailingly loyal, even when she doesn’t know it.  She is the only character in this drama who proves that happiness is possible whether you are rich or poor, and I kind of love her for that.  Unfortunately this unchanging maturity doesn’t give the character much room for development.  And that is too bad, because I feel like Jung Chae Yeon could have handled a bit more complexity in her role.  She ended up more like an object for the lead actors to fight over than a character with her own story to tell.

Yeonwoo as Oh Yu Jin

Oh Yu Jin, like Seung Chun, was originally born into a poor family, where she had an abusive father and a fatal illness.  When she is offered a golden spoon, she takes the opportunity without ever looking back.  Now her only goal in life is to hold on to the power and privilege she worked so hard to get in the first place.  Part of that includes marrying Tae Yong for his family’s status.  She starts to have feelings for Seung Chun when he is still himself, but she is overjoyed when he becomes Tae Yong.  

 ♥ Tae Yong’s Story

While I love Yook Sung Jae and his role as Seung Chun, I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I loved Tae Yong’s story.  He had found ways to cope with his life as Tae Yong, but his family’s money and prestige never brought him any kind of happiness, the way it did for Seung Chun.  But with the love and companionship of Seung Chun’s parents, we see Tae Yong blossom into a happy, healthy person. And I was thrilled to see that in the end his happiness brought him a measure of success that would be enough to chase away the financial struggles of his family.  When all is said and done, as far as we know, he is the only one who was given a spoon and decided not to use it.  And for that, he is the only lead who gets a straight-forward happy ending.

♥ Ending

There is so much that can be said about this ending.  But I was surprised to see the number of people complaining about it online.  I just want to go on the record saying I loved it.  Most importantly, they needed a creative way to make is so Seung Chun isn’t dead, and I would say that was definitely achieved.  I didn’t see that coming!!  Second, so much had happened between Seung Chun and Tae Yong, and Seung Chun had become jaded by his wealth.  In my opinion, he needed a fresh start.  I loved this new version of Seung Chun who feels rich just by watching the sunset.  One detail that I missed the first time around is that when Seung Chun left the house as the gardener, he had the spoon in his back pocket.  And now he is reading Tae Yong’s book and has Joo Hee’s guidance.  Which means if he hasn’t already, he will soon be able to recover his memories by eating with the golden spoon.  

Yu Jin’s Ending

So, I really despised Yu Jin’s character, and I didn’t expect or even want her to get a happy ending, but I kind of liked her together with Jang Goon.  That part of the ending made sense.  But why would she ever let her abusive father back into her life?  Even if she was sending him money this whole time, there is a big difference between financial support and letting someone be a part of your life.  And even more disturbing, what is his plan?  Is he just planning on kidnapping the baby for a ransom? Or is he actually going to sell the baby, so that Yu Jin loses her forever?  Not knowing the outcome of this really bothered me.  

Joo Hee in Europe

I’m not sure why they even brought up Joo Hee being expelled in Europe if it wasn’t going to factor into the story at all.  Sure, they use it to show that Joo Hee is brave enough to defend those in need.  But we see this piece of her character in other examples throughout the drama.  At first I thought the experiences of Tae Yong and Joo Hee both facing some kind of trauma while studying abroad might factor into the story.  But the whole story proved to be totally irrelevant.  

“The Golden Spoon” gives us their own twist on a happy ending.   Jung Tae kills himself, and  as revenge, Young Shin helps Sueng Chun get Hyun Do arrested.  From prison, Hyun Do hires one of the staff to poison Seung Chun. Later we see a dead body carried away by EMTs.  Three years later, Yu Jin has married Jang Goon and they have a daughter.  But the final scene of their story shows Yu Jin’s real dad taking the baby as a way to pay back the money he owes.  Tae Yong has become a successful web artist and writer.  He has used his wealth to finally give his mom and sister the home they always wanted.  And Min Ki is there as well, as Seung Ah’s husband.  Hyun Do is out of prison, but Young Shin keeps him drugged and confined to a wheel chair while she takes advantage of his privileged life style.  And lastly, Joo Hee goes to write a story about a famous gardener.  When she meets him, she immediately feels in her heart that he is Seung Chun.  We find out it was actually the gardener who died that night after using his own spoon.  As Seung Chun and Joo Hee enjoy a beautiful sunset, Seung Chun talks about how he understands the hero of Tae Yong’s book, “The Golden Spoon” and wishes that those who loved the hero would recognize him, regardless of his appearance.  It seems that fate has once again brought these two together.

A woman with the ability to remember all of her past lives decides to spend her 19th life searching for her first love from her past life.  They were both just children when she was tragically killed in a car accident.  Now they have both grown into adults, and while she remembers everything about the time they shared together, he doesn’t recognize the quirky woman who keeps showing up in his life to be the girl he still pines for. But she is determined to prove to him that she is someone he has loved in the past as Joo Won and can love again now as Ji Eum.  

Ahn Bo Hyun as Moon Seo Ha

Moon Seo Ha lost his mother to an illness while he was still a boy.  His best friend and first love, Joo Won, helped him through his loss.  So when Seo Ha and Joo Won were involved in a car accident shortly after, that left Joo Won dead and Seo Ha hard of hearing, the boy was completely devastated.  Even years later, he still carries around the pain of losing the two most important people in his life.  But when a strange woman starts showing up in front of him, he is puzzled as to why she makes him think of Joo Won, regardless of the fact that they look nothing alke.  And by the time he learns that Ji Eum really is the reincarnated Joo Won, he has already fallen in love with her again in her current form.  

Moon Seo Ha had a rough childhood that left him emotionally sensitive and cautious.  With the exception of his close friend, Do Yoon who also serves as his private secretary, he doesn’t really have any friends.  His dream is to take over the hotel that his mother managed while she was alive and return it to its former glory.  I liked Ahn Bo Hyun in this role.  He plays this kind of quiet mannered character well and I found his thoughtful introspection to be genuine and relatable. 

Ahn Dong Goo as Ha Do Yoon

Ha Do Yoon has known Seo Ha since  they were students.  The pair have been friends ever since.  But what Seo Ha doesn’t know is that Do Yoon’s father was the one driving the car the day that Joo Won died, or that his dad was also a victim of the accident.  Do Yoon is in love with Cho Won, but he refuses to date her because he knows that people will say he loves her because of her rich family.  

 ♥ Diverse Past Lives

I really loved the fact that instead of just using the same actress in different costumes, Ji Eum’s past lives included all different appearances with both genders.  I’ve never seen another show about past lives use this approach and I really like the scope it gave the drama.  Especially since one of her most lasting relationships occurred while she was living as the man who was Ae Kyung’s uncle.  Also, a shout out to the actress that played the young Ji Eum.  She was fabulous!

 ♥ Second Lead Couple

The second lead couple of Do Joon and Cho Won were a fun match to watch.  Personally I would like to have seen more scenes of them together, but what we did see was cute, and I thought they had great chemistry.  They had a good push and pull that was never one-sided and the depth of their feelings was always apparent.  

Holes and Questions

There are so many loose ends in this drama that I can barely list them all.  What exactly was Min Ki’s motivation in all of this?  Was he also released from the curse once Ji Eum broke it?  Did Do Yoon ever tell off those bully jerks?  Why did we need to see the whole loan shark saga with Ji Eun’s dad and brother? If Seo Ho’s mom knew that Seo Ha already knew about Ji Eum’s past life, why didn’t she tell him who she was so they could have a proper reunion before she forgot him forever?  I just felt like this drama tried to do too much, and it led to a lot of frustrating plot holes and underdeveloped characters.  I also found the excessive amount of flashbacks over and over again to get old.

Hotel Story

With all of the characters and sub-plots in this drama, I felt like the excessive amount of time on the hotel story was a waste of time and pretty irrelevant to the big picture.  I have no idea what the point of Yeon Ok and her son was.  Maybe if they had shown at least a couple of scenes of Seo Ha’s mom working at the hotel, we could have understood his attachment to it.  But as it was, it seemed totally disconnected to the story.  

“See You in My 19th Life” has a confusing but mostly happy ending.  I have to hand it to them.  In all the dramas I have seen, I have never seen this approach to the past life story.  Ji Eum finally remembers everything from her first life, including the fact that it was Min Ki and not Seo Ha who actually killed her.  Once Ji Eum knows everything, she realizes she has to let go of her past and forget all of them.  Seo Ha assures her that he will find her this time, so all she needs to do is wait.  Cho Won decides the only way to quit hurting Do Yoon is to let him go.  But luckily, Do Yoon finally gets his act together and admits his feelings. A slight time jump after Ye Eum has undone the curse shows that everyone else still remembers her.  Ae Kyung is healthy again, Do Yoon and Cho Won are doing well as a couple, and Seo Ha has been patiently waiting for Ji Eum to come to him naturally.  But he becomes impatient and takes matters into his own hands.  He meets Ji Eum casually at Ae Kyung’s restaurant and later at the hotel, they meet by the pool. Seo Ha proposes the same deal Ji Eum used on him in the beginning, saying he will ask her to date three times.  And it is pretty obvious that, like Ji Eum before, he will be successful in winning her heart.  

A high school student falls in love with a new transfer student.  But their romance is cut short when he is tragically killed in car accident one night.  Although the girl carries on with her life, she never stops missing her first love.  Ten years later, as a successful architect, she shows up to work with a new company on a project renovating a ski resort, and is shocked to find that her new boss looks exactly like the boy she had loved so deeply.  But he swears he is not the sweet young man she had known.  As the couple are drawn together in the present, they begin to unlock shocking secrets from both of their pasts.  

Choi Ji Woo as Jung Yu Jin

Jung Yu Jin grew up in a small town surrounded by friends she had known since childhood.  But when she meets a handsome young man on the bus one morning, she never dreams that he will be her new classmate.  She is immediately drawn to his quiet temprement and mysterious charm.  When he is killed in a car accident, she is broken hearted and refuses to forget him.  10 years later, while she still carries her memories of Joon Sang, she has moved on with her life and is engaged to her childhood family friend, Sang Hyuk.  When she walks into a new job site, she is shocked to find her new boss looks exactly like Joon Sang.  But Min Hyung assures her that he has never lived in this town and has never met her.  Regardless of his assertations, Yu Jin is irresistable attracted to Min Hyung.  And when she finds out he really is Joon Sang, her heart feels complete for the first time in years.  

Jung Yu Jin loves passionately and without hesitation.  And whether he is Joon Sang or Min Hyung, all she really knows is that she loves this man exactly as he is.  But the burden of breaking Sang Hyuk’s heart again weighs heavily on her.  I didn’t love the character of Yu Jin, but I felt lke Choi Ji Woo played her well as she was written.  There were times when her histrionics got a bit old but what is a melodrama without excessive amounts of angst and tears?

Park Sol Mi as Oh Che Lin

Oh Che Lin also grew up with Yu Jin and Sang Hyuk.  But she is spoiled and selfish.  She also falls in love with Joon Sang, but Joon Sang is never interested in her. Years later, she meets Min Hyung in France and begins dating him.  She brings him back to meet her friends, knowing how much his appearance will shock them all.  But unfortunately for her, her plan backfires and history repeats itself, when Min Hyung starts to show an interest in Yu Jin.  

 ♥ Classic Style

Both the story and visuals of this drama are true, classic kdrama.  There is a touch of elegance to this drama that I really enjoyed.  I feel like we don’t see this kind of style in current melodramas.  The OST and the beautiful snowy landscape gave a depth to the story itself that drew me in and made me feel emotionally invested in the characters.  And it seems like I’m not the only one to fall in love with Nami Island.  

♥ Controlled Tailspin

After finishing “Autumn in My Heart” I really wasn’t sure I wanted to put myself through the second installment of this series.  But while “Autumn in My Heart” manages to wring any joy out of the story or its ending, this drama keeps the happy and sad emotions in a nice balance that allows you to feel the highs and lows without feeling emotionally gutted.  I much prefer this more balanced approach to my emotional roller coasters.  

Kang Mi Hee

The amount of delusional behavior from Mi Hee was mind-boggling.  As if erasing your son’s memories so he can act like the doting child she always wanted wasn’t bad enough, she really convinced herself that Yu Jin’s dad was Joon Sang’s father because she couldn’t get over her obsessioin.  And even if I could understand that, since her denial is only hurting herself anyway, I can’t believe that she insisted it was true when she knew it would be devastating for Yu Jin and Joon Sang.  Personally, I kind of wish Min Hyung would have broken ties with her entirely, but I’m glad he is a kinder person than me.  

Brothers

Even at the height of their rivalry over Yu Jin, Joon Sang and Sang Hyuk have a grudging respect for each other that I really enjoyed.  It’s obvious that if Yu Jin were not involved, the two would have been real friends.  So I was disappointed that after finding out that they were brothers, Min Hyung didn’t seem to keep in contact with Sang Hyuk after going to the states.  A few more brother-like moments between the two would have been very welcome.  

It’s a hard fight to a happy ending with this one.  Min Hyung decides to keep the truth about his father a secret from Yu Jin and go to the states for surgery. Yu Jin makes plans to go study alone in France.  3 years later, we see Yu Jin and Sang Hyuk with a toddler.  Luckily it is Jin Sook and Yong Gook’s.  Yu Jin is just back from her study abroad and goes to Polaris to take care of some business.  Jeong Ah shows her that someone actually built the house Yu Jin had designed years ago.  Yu Jin immediately knows it must be Min Hyung and she rushes to see him.  Min Hyung is shown feeling his way along his new home to show us that he is blind now.  He goes out to run an errand.  Yu Jin wanders in while he is out and sees the puzzle hanging on the wall.  Min Hyung comes back and finds her there.  The final scene shows the couple in silhouette, sitting on the balcony.  They share a kiss as Min Hyung gently touches her face.  The end!

The secretary of a cranky, genius math instructor goes to his house to get revenge.  So later when her boss suffers a serious accident and loses his memory, she becomes the top suspect.  In desperation, she lies and says they are secretly engaged.  But as she stays at his side, nursing him back to health, she finds he is not the monster she once believed he was.  And as she begins helping him try to find out who the real culprit is, she finds herself wishing their relationship wasn’t fake after all.  

Krystal Jung as Lee Shin A

Lee Shin A has always dreamed of being a teacher.  But when she fails her teaching demonstration, they move her into the position as Go Jin’s secretary.  Although he is demanding and rude, Shin A suffers through it all to achieve her dream.  But as she celebrates her year anniversary in that position, she finds out that she is dying of cancer.  Blaming her harsh work environment, she vows revenge on Go Jin.  That night, when she goes to his house to confront him, he runs after her and is hit by a car.  According to police, she is the number one suspect.  So when she hears Go Jin has no memory, she pretends they are engaged.  But as she takes care of him and works closely with him, she begins to see that he is not the person she had always thought.  And as she falls in love with him, she is determined to find out who tried to hurt him.  

Lee Shin A is hard working and generous.  She is known by friends and family as someone who doesn’t know how to say no.  But she has been pushed around by Go Jin and her other co-workers to the point that she is truly sick of it.  And her cancer diagnosis is the last straw!  Krystal Jung has made the transition from idol to actress pretty well, and I thought she did a nice job in this role.  She played the part with an honest and straightforward  attitude that fit the character well.  

Yoo In Younas Baek Soo Young

Baek Soo Young is Go Jin’s first love and the one who broke his heart when he was young.  Now she is back and in charge of one of GOTOP’s biggest competitors.  But she is more interested in winning back Go Jin’s heart than stealing his company.  Unfortunately for her, even without his memory, Go Jin seems completely uninterested in her, no matter how hard she pushes.  

 ♥ Shin A’s Father

The relationship between Shin A and her family was a fun element of this drama.  I especially liked it when Go Jin started interacting with them.  Soo Ho’s quick acceptance of him as an older brother was sweet and fun to watch.  But it was Shin A’s father who really stole the show in this department.  His good natured urging that Shin A should be having her fiance stay over was fun and unexpected.  And the way he immediately felt a genuine affection for Go Jin was very heartwarming, especially when we have seen how much Go Jin has missed having a family of his own.  

 ♥ Web of “Villains”

I have complained before about the ladder of villains, that just when it seems like the mystery is solved, we find out there is another more evil villain still to come.  But in this drama, there is a complex web of villains who each have a part to play in what happened to Go Jin.  It was interesting the way they weaved each of the strings in to complete the full picture.  While the ex-secretary breaking the security camera isn’t a big deal in itself, it played a pivotal part in allowing the true villains to stay hidden.  Each character has some impact, no matter how small, in the big picture of  Go Jin’s accident and injury.  

Soo Young

I usually don’t like the “ex is back” trope, and this one really irritated me.  Soo Young’s character seemed unrealistic and egotistical.  The idea that she could just blame her actions on her dad and waltz back in as if nothing happened doesn’t seem logical to me.  Also, in one breath, she says that maybe if Go Jin can’t remember the past, he will fall in love with her again.  And in the next breath, she is angry that she is the only one who remembers their time together. You can’t have it both ways!  

Park Yang Tae

I’m not sure I understand the point of Park Yang Tae’s character.  If Soo Young’s company was going to be the one to come in and challenge GOTOP, then why did we even need Yang Tae.  He gives some insight into Go Jin’s past, but Soo Young could have easily done that on her own.  There are a couple funny scenes between Yang Tae and Go Jin early on and we do see Ms. Ma working with him, but in the end the character and his company have little bearing on the overall plot.  With so many sub-plots going on, his screen time could have been better used with some of the other, more pivotal characters.  

“Crazy Love” ends on a happy note for pretty much everyone.  We find out the Jong Ho is the real villain mastermind.  He was dating Se Gi’s sister, and her suicide had more to do with guilt over stealing Go Jin’s teaching material than Go Jin’s cruel words.  Refusing to accept his own part in her death, Jong Ho chose to blame Go Jin.  And he tampered with a voice recording to convince Se Gi that it was Go Jin who was responsible.  With all of this out in the open, Go Jin realizes how much he has inflicted pain on those around him.  And with Shin A’s encouragement, he begins to apologize to everyone he has hurt along the way.  And with his apologies, all the bad feelings magically melt away.  Go Jin hires back most everyone who was fired or had quit.  Shin A decides to take her future into her own hands by becoming the masked instructor online. And this leads to her being hired by Soo Young.  On her first day of lecture, Go Jin meets Shin A after work and finally proposes for real.  The final montage shows the happy couple, married and living a crazy life together.  

Doldham Hospital is opening a brand new, state-of-the-art Trauma Center.  But specialty hospitals like this come with their own complications.  From working with self-serving politicians to raise financial backing to finding the right person to act as the center’s Director, Master Kim will try to manage it all, while still treating the ER patients who flood into the hospital.  But beyond just opening the center, Master Kim dreams of creating a super team of doctors, surgeons, and staff from those he has spent his career mentoring.  

Lee Sung Kyung as Cha Eun Jae

Cha Eun Jae has come a long way from the delicate doctor who fainted at the sight of blood.  Under Master Kim’s wing, she has grown and become an amazing surgeon.  But when her father takes the job as the new Director of the Trauma Center, she will be caught between his severe approach to medicine and the empathetic skills she has learned under Master Kim.  She will also need to learn how to navigate her romantic relationship with Woo Jin under the watchful eye of her judgmental parents.  Luckily, the skills she has learned over the past few years as a doctor will help her learn to advocate for her own happiness.

Kim Min Jae as Park Eun Tak

Park Eun Tak is a nurse practioner.  He has worked hard to become a nurse, often doing double duty with work and his studies.  He is quiet and dependable, and because of this, many of the doctors at Doldham turn to him for assistance during stressful emergency situations.  But unfortunately, his reserved manners make him a better nurse than a boyfriend, and Eun Tak is brokenhearted to find that he is losing Ah Reum and he has no idea how to stop it from happening.  

 ♥ Established Characters

I have grown to love these characters over 3 seasons. The writers do such a nice job of creating complex characters.  I enjoy watching them develop from season to season, while also still feeling like they are old friends that I know and understand.  The continuity in casting for this series is one of the things that I think make it so well done.  I think it also makes it possible to have lots of characters who have at least some backstory, like the short story arc this season with In Soo and his wife and daughter.

 ♥ Proposal

So, I’m kind of a stickler for overly-dramatic proposals.  The more fanfare, the better in my book.  And usually the couple has earned it after overcoming numerous dramatic obstacles by the end of the series.  But Woo Jin’s subtle proposal to Eun Jae was absolutely perfect for their characters.  It was sweet and understated, just like their relationship.  And the way he just left her to chase after him had me giggling like a crazy fan!  Big points for the creative team on this one!

Sun Woong Development

I really enjoyed both of the new doctors this season.  But while I thought they did a great job developing Dong Hwa’s character, Sun Woong is another story.  He started off strong, having come to the hospital as a military doctor who seemed to always be suspiciously lurking close by.  But then the only real back story he got was a short scene where we find out he is colorblind.  Not to underplay the challenges he had to overcome, but the story itself fell pretty flat.  And that was his whole development.  Other than that, he was just there to support Dong Hwa instead of getting his own storyline.  

Cafe

I love Nam Da Il’s quiet, steady personality.  He is a constant support to both Nurse Oh and Master Kim.  And I love the idea that he is a completely average cook who runs his own cafe.  I always look forward to the quiet gatherings after shift in the cafe and I missed them this season.  There were a couple mentions of the cafe, but there were no after work parties there, like we had in previous seasons.  I guess I just like the fact that the cafe scenes give us a chance to see Da Il out from behind all that medical equipment.  It makes him feel more accessible, and I like that.  

“Dr. Romantic 3” ends with one last natural disaster as a forest fire blazes out of control just a few miles from the hospital.  Things are tense and patients are evacuated before a miracle rain shower ends the threat.  Eun Tak and Ah Reum finally clear up their misunderstanding.  Eun Tak promises to do better, and later we see the couple timidly start to talk about their hopes and dreams for the future, hopefully together.  Dong Hwa announces that he plans to stay on at the hospital for another rotation.  And Woo Jin finally takes out the engagement ring he bought Eun Jae and slips it on her finger while she is asleep.  She wakes up and chases after him for a sweet kiss.  Obviously she accepts.  The letter announcing the trauma center’s grant money finally arrives, in their favor.  And with that hope for the future, the final scene shows a mysterious woman arriving outside the hospital with her luggage.  A quick flash on her luggage tag reveals the name Yoon Seo Jung.  Now everyone is home!  The door is open for a season 4, but with such a large cast to schedule around now and Kim Min Jae off to the military, we will have to see.  For now, the producers are keeping it vague.  

A gambler and conman pretends to be the long-lost brother of a rich heiress in order to get the money to repay his gambling debt.  But his plans begin to falter when he finds himself falling in love with the innocent young lady who has lived a lonely and frustrating life.  At some point along the way, he finds that he is more concerned about protecting her than paying back the dangerous loan sharks threatening his life.  And when he learns that she is facing a life or death health crisis, he vows to save her at all costs.  But will she ever be able to trust him again, once she finds out that their whole relationship has been based on lies?

Song Hye Kyo as Oh Young

Oh Young was extremely close to her brother growing up, so when her parents divorced and her mother chose to take her brother and leave Young with her father, she was understandably devastated.  Shortly after, Young lost her eye sight.  Since that time, she has spent most of her life locked at home, lonely and angry at the world around her.  After the recent death of her father, Young is determined to finally find her brother and bring him home.  And she is thrilled when Jang Sung tells her he has found him.  Young insists on having her brother move back home.  But Soo tells her he can only stay for 3 months.  Wanting to make up for all the time they have lost, the two begin an intense relationship where they are seldom apart.  But Young is hiding the fact that the brain tumor she had removed as a child seems to be back and she is afraid to face the painful treatment she remembers from her childhood.  

Oh Young is naive and quick tempered.  Because of her blindness, her friends and family have always sheltered and caudled her.  But when Soo comes home, he challenges her to finally grow up.  He teaches her to fight for what she wants but also how to ask for help when she needs it. And most importantly, he helps her learn how to be honest with herself about her feelings.  This was not an easy role, and I felt like Song Hye Kyo channeled Young’s complex emotions admirably.  You could feel the internal conflict and it made the character realistic and genuine.  

Jung Eun Ji as Moon Hee Sun

Moon Hee Sun is the little sister of Soo’s first love.  But after her sister is killed in a motorcycle accident after having a fight with Soo, Hee Sun holds Soo responsible for her death.  Hee Sun acts tough and unfeeling, but she really loves Soo.  And even though she tries to hold on to her anger, they both know that she would protect him at all costs.  Hee Sun helps Soo get information about Young to make everyone believe he is really her brother.  

 ♥ Side Kick

This drama has some great side characters and my favorites are those closest to the leads.  Jin Sung and Hee Sun are a great couple.  Kim Bum really shone in this role and I enjoyed his story.  His constant quest to win Hee Sun’s heart was cute and I was happy to see him finally succeed.  On the other side, I really appreciated Lawyer Jang for his constant love and support of Young.  Even though he had romantic feelings for Secretary Wang, his first responsiblity and loyalty was always for Young.  He followed her wishes without question and I loved that about him.  

 ♥ The “Real” Oh Soo

I’m glad that this drama gave us a brief chance to see and get to know Young’s real brother, Oh Soo, before his death.  The few scenes we see of him shows his warm and loving personaltiy.  And it made it easy to see how Young must have missed him over the years.  Also, seeing his sincere friendship with Soo and Jin Sung made Soo’s posing as him feel less callous.  He wasn’t just using his friend’s identity to take their family money.  There was a part of Soo, even from the beginning, that wanted to protect the sister his friend had treasured so much.  

So Ra and Myung Ho

I don’t really think we need these extra love interests.  Neither character was very interesting.  In fact, they were both downright irritating.  And the leads were never interested in either one of them, so there wasn’t any romantic tension.  While each one does tie back to the lead’s pasts, these elements could have easily been introduced without them.  Actualy I would have loved more screen time for Moo Chul and his story with his sister.  

Secret Room

With Secretary Wang watching Young’s every move, how exactly did a blind person discover and set up her own secret room without her finding out?  And even if it was possible, what is the purpose of a blind person having a collection of photos she can’t see.  The movies make sense, since she can at least listen to them.  But the pictures were obviously chosen by Young.  I guess Lawyer Yang could have helped her get the pictures, but it doesn’t make the room itself any more believable for me.  

“That Winter, the Wind Blows” has one of those messy, open-ended endings that leaves fans to interpret on their own.  What we see is pretty straightforward.   Moon Chul collapses on the street after getting into a fight with one of his boss’ thugs.  Jin Sung finds him and carries him to the hospital, but he dies on the way.  We see Young going in for surgery on her tumor. ​And the Big Boss blackmails Jin Sung into killing Soo to save his own family.  We see Jin Sung stab Soo, and then Soo is lying on the ground bleeding.  One year later, we find Jin Sung and Hee Sun together in the country.  Hee Sun is flirting with some random guy, but Jin Sung jumps in to stake his claim.  And the couple talk about taking flowers to Soo.  Next, we see Young, who still carries a cane, but later walks cofidently on her own proving at least some of her eyesight has returned.  She sees Soo on a bicycle, but while he stops momentarily, he eventually keeps going.  Young arrives at a restaurant and the cook there is Soo.  There is some back and forth before Soo realizes that she knows who he is and she is here to see him.  The 2 kiss and then we see them walking hand in hand through the cherry blossoms.  The final scene shows them sharing a kiss.  So, here are the 2 camps.  First is the face value theory.  Soo survived and after staying away for a year, presumably for Young’s safety, she finally goes to him. The blurry frames represent what the picture looks like to Young, who still can’t see clearly. The other side says that one or both of them are dead, which is why the frames are blurry and why Jin Sung was taking flowers to Soo. So there it is.  You be the judge.  I think I will cling to the first idea, that Soo magically survived and they will finally get to be together. 

Two seemingly random strangers somehow get transported back to the year 1987 together.  But as the stories from their own pasts begin to intersect and crossover, they realize that maybe their relationship is not as random as it first seems.  They will have to work as a team is they hope to solve a decades-old serial killer case.  And catching the killer in 1987 will save two important lives from their present-time.  But finding a serial killer isn’t the only thing that will preoccupy their time, as they each meet and gain new understanding of the younger versions of their parents and grandparents.  

Jin Ki Joo as Baek Yoon Young

Baek Yoon Young is a personal assistant to the famous author, Go Mi Sook.  Although she isn’t crazy about her boss, she loves reading and anything to do with books.  One day Yoon Young’s mother kills herself by wading into the river.  In complete shock, Yoon Young visits the river and on her way back, along a dark deserted road, she is almost run over by a speeding car.  Still in a daze, she continues walking, only to find herself back in the year 1987.  And one of the first people she sees is the younger version of her mother.  The crazy driver, Hae Joon, catches up to her and explains everything that has happened.  Including the fact that, for the time being, they can’t go back to the present.  But Yoon Young has already made plans for her time in the past.  She believes her mother would have been much happier if she had never married Yoon Young’s father, so she decides to keep them from meeting, in the hopes it might be enough to keep her mother from taking such drastic measures in the present.  

Baek Yoon Young is driven and thoughtful.  She is willing to keep her mom from meeting her dad,  even if it means she would never be born.  Her persistance keeps their murder investigation going, even when Hae Joon feels like giving up.  The fact that they made Yoon Young dress like a high school student made the age gap between her and Hae Joon feel more exagerrated than it needed to be.  Sometimes she really did seem more like a younger neice than a love interest, but that wasn’t really her fault.  For her part, I like Jin Ki Joo in this role, and her youthfulness gave her great chemistry with the younger actors who played her parents.  

Lee Won Jung as Baek Hee Seop [1987]

Baek Hee Seop is a new student who comes to town to live with his uncle, a local detective.  Hee Seop fall in love with Soon Ae immediately, but Yoon Young is determined to keep them apart because of the future father she knows him to be.  But as the trio gets sucked into the murder cases and spend time together, Yoon Young gets to know her father’s innocent, youthful side and she can’t deny his charm.

 ♥ Hee Seop

Every once in a while I find a character that I just look forward to seeing every time they show up onscreen.  For me, Hee Seop was this kind of character.  I don’t know exactly what it was, but his bashful charm and caring personality made a really delightful character.  And the tension of knowing that this lighthearted, kind boy could have turned into the angry, drunk we saw in the present gave him a bittersweet appeal.  I was rooting for Yoon Young to somehow save the young man he was, to give them all a happy future.  

 ♥ Parents are People Too

We can all be accused at some time of holding our parents to some ridiculous standard.  It’s easy to forget that they were once young people with hopes and dreams that may or may not have gone as they wanted.  I love how we see Yoon Young come into this drama with lots of misunderstanding and unrealistic expectations.  But all of that changes when she gets to know her parents not as they are in her present, but as regular high schoolers.  It’s unfortunate we all can’t have such a life-changing opportunity.  But this drama is enough to at least remind us, that our parents were once just people like us, doing their best through the ups and downs of everyday life.  

Yoon Young’s Ignorance

I was particularly baffled as to how Yoon Young could know so little about her family history.  I understand that bringing up a murdered sister would be difficult for her mom, but by the time Yoon Young was an adult it seems like someone could have mentioned it.  Also, she seemed totally in the dark as to how her father injured his leg.  Again, his injury is a huge focus for why her mom’s life was so difficult.  Don’t you think she would have wanted to know how it all happened?  And when Yoon Young first shows up in the past, she doesn’t seem to know anything about her parent’s hometown.  For someone as bright and inquisitive as Yoon Young, her lack of family history felt silly.  

Motive

Easily the weakest part of this drama, in my opinion, is the arrest of Hae Joon’s dad and the revelation of the motive.  The whole idea that he killed all of those people because he has mommy issues is just not that interesting.  Plus I question why a university teacher would leave the job where he is surrounded by women who read, to come home to his small town, to search out victims.  None of it really works that well.  And once the truth is out, he is captured with no real resistance.  I can’t believe he didn’t at least try to steal the time machine.  Wouldn’t that be his first thought?  And did he actually kill Yoon Young’s mom?  Soon Ae had given up on reading a long time ago, so that couldn’t have been the reason. Or was that the adult Mi Sook, who showed up with blood and mud on her clothes?  And no one, including Hae Joon, get a satisfactory answer as to why he would try to kill his own son.  That hardly seems fair!

“My Perfect Stranger” gives us all the happy endings.  The murderer is arrested, which saves Hae Gyeong and any future victims.  After Hae Joon’s son shows up to fix the time machine he made, Hae Joon suggests they keep his identity a secret from Yoon Young.  Hae Joon bridges the gap in his relationship with his grandfather by taking him fishing.  And just like that, the years of fear and walls disappear.  He also sits down for a heart to heart with his mother before she leaves town.  Yoon Young spends some quality time with Soon Ae and Hee Seop.  And then the couple is ready to return to the present.  They find their new reality in the present to be all they had hoped for.  The changes in the past all translated to positive outcomes in the future, with no serious implications.  Soon Ae is now a successful author and Hee Seop has become a musician with no visible limp.  A year later, our love birds meet to hold hands and walk along the beach.  But in a nod to a possible season 2, they decide to go back to 1987, just briefly, to check on their old friends back there.  

A middleschool student loses her loving parents and the big brother she adores when they discover that she and another baby were accidentally switched at the hospital just after the babies were born.  She is returned to her biological mother while the family that raised her take their “real” daughter and move to the US.  Although she makes the best of her situation, she never stops missing the family who raised her.  Years later, she and her brother are reunited.  And they realize that the feelings they share have nothing to do with being siblings.  But their ill-fated relationship will be met with opposition on every side.  

Song Hye Kyo as Yoon Eun Suh / Choi Eun Suh

Yoon Eun Suh was a happy, well adjusted middle school student from a wealthy family until they discover that she isn’t actually their real daughter.  When her parents find out she was switched at the hospital shortly after she was born, they decide to return her to her biological mother.  Now she has a struggling single mother and an abusive brother.  But she does her best to live a good life, despite the many hardships.  So when she suddenly runs into Joon Suh after so many years, she is ashamed to let him see who she has become.  But eventually, her joy of seeing him again outweighs any hesitation.  She has always understood that her big brother was her first love.  But as Tae Suk, Yoo Mi, and her family get involved, she feels like she has to hide her own feelings for everyone else’s sake.  Even when she finds out she is dying, she begs Tae Suk not to let Joon Suh know.  But in the end, Joon Suh’s love for her wins out over everything else.   

Yoon Eun Suh is optimistic and cheerful, despite her difficult life.  She refuses to dwell on the negative aspects of life.  She works tirelessly and loves without question.  She also has an uncanny ability to find good in everyone, even when they don’t deserve it.  Song Hye Kyo has had a great year, and there is no question that she has talent, but I really enjoyed this tender, youthful side of her.  Her vulnerability was well portrayed and I felt a huge amount of sympathy for the character she created.  

Han Na Na as Shin Yoo Mi

Shin Yoo Mi grew up as a sheltered child before becoming an art student in college.  While at university, she met Tae Suk who introduced her to Joon Suh.  After dating through school, she and Joon Suh are now engaged.  But she immediately senses the danger in having Joon Suh spend time with Eun Suh.  Over time, Yoo Mi becomes more desperate to keep Joon Suh at her side, no matter what she has to do to make it happen.  

 ♥ Pacing

I really appreciated that this drama hit the ground running with it’s “switched at birth” plot.  There isn’t a lot of wasted set up time.  We see the switch early in the first episode, and the story takes off from there.  While the mood and dialogues of this drama are slow and subtle, the plot itself moves along at a steady pace that speeds toward the tragic conclusion.  Much like the characters themselves, we seldom get a chance to stop and take in the small moments of joy before having it be overwhelmed with life’s dramatic circumstance.  

 ♥ Tae Suk

Tae Suk is a wonderful character.  Sure, he starts as a real jerk, and there are times when he is tempted to let his own selfishness dominate his actions.  But at every turn, in the end, he protects Eun Suh’s happiness, even when it is painful for him.  I enjoyed his abiding friendship with Joon Suh and his ability to be honest and transparent about his thoughts and feelings throughout the drama.  And Won Bin did a great job of showing his constantly conflicted emotions.  This is not your average love triangle, and I loved the intricacies of Tae Suk’s character.  

Yoo Mi

While I loved Tae Suk, Yoo Mi’s character was the exact opposite.  She is greedy, obsessive, and spoiled.  I’m not sure she ever really loved Joon Suh at all.  She just wanted him and the security of a relationship.  If she had cared even an ounce about his feelings, she would have let him go the first time she saw him look at Eun Suh.  The way she continued to live in total denial was frustrating.  And it seemed obvious that Joon Suh never really cared for her beyond a close friendship.  His heart was always reserved for Eun Suh.  Tae Suk saw that quickly because he knew how to be honest with himself.  Yoo Mi on the otherhand, refused to accept what was obvious to everyone.  

Sibling Story

Okay, so let’s just get this out of the way.  There is something a little creepy about the fact that Joon Suh and Eun Suh first fell in love while they still thought they were siblings.  Sure, it didn’t end up being true, but still.  It’s a bit strange.  I would have liked it better if they fell in love after meeting as adults.  But maybe that’s just me.  Also, it seemed weird how their relationship lacked any real romantic passion.  I really feel like they act more like close siblings than lovers through most of the drama.  They do finally share one kiss, but even that lacked any real fire.  Their love was deep, pure and platonic, and that is beautiful, but I’m not convinced they felt more than that.  It just felt like their forced separation added an intensity to their relationship that made their feelings confusing.  And this theme of compounding emotional suffering over time is featured throughout this whole drama.  

Well, if you thought that you were finally going to get a happy ending to make all this emotional angst worthwhile, you will be sadly disappointed.  “Autumn in My Heart” ends on one of the saddest, most bittersweet moments I have ever seen.  But we do have a few moments of happiness along the way.  Joon Suh brings Eun Suh home to stay with him for the short amount of time she has left.  The pair have their own makeshift wedding ceremony and pledge their undying love.  We see the other characters react to Eun Suh’s impending death, but honestly none of their individual stories are really important, so I will skip a recap.  Joon Suh takes Eun Suh to the beach where they went as teenagers and she passes away quietly while Joon Suh carries her on his back and talks to her comfortingly.  Eun Suh made Joon Suh promise that he wouldn’t kill himself after she was gone, so he is left in a haze of trauma.  He leaves the funeral to say goodbye to Eun Suh in his own way.  Going back to their old neighborhood, he stops at the intersection where Eun Suh had her accident.  As Tae Suk spreads Eun Suh’s ashes in the sea, we see Joon Suh get hit by the “truck of death” (Only not white this time, surprisingly!!) and as he flies through the air, pressumably dying, we see his memories of his life with Eun Suh pass before his eyes.  And then we see two shadow sillouettes make their way happily together through the tunnel of light. The end.  Strangely, it somehow made me less sad to know that he was able to die with her without having to break his promise to her.  And that is the very essence of tragic and bittersweet.