While You Were Sleeping 당신이 잠든 사이에 - Review

Title: While You Were Sleeping 당신이 잠든 사이에

Genre: Mystery, Romance, Fantasy

Release: 2017

Starring (Main Cast): 

Bae Suzy as Nam Hong Ju

Lee Jong Suk as Jung Jae Chan

Jung Hae In as Han Woo Tak

Lee Sang Yeob as Lee Yu Beom

Director: Oh Choong Hwan, Park Soo Jin

Writer: Park Hye Ryun

Rakuten Viki Rating: 9.6/10

IMDb Rating: 8.4/10

Audience Rating: 4.9/5

MyDramaList Rating: 8.7/10

Rakuten Viki Synopsis: Click Here

Watch with VIKIPass Standard on Rakuten VIKI: While You Were Sleeping 

Episodes: Aired as 32 Episodes (30 min each), but on Rakuten VIKI as 16 episodes (1 hr. each)

Content Rating: PG-13

Violence/blood: Moderate - hitting, yelling, stabbing, shooting, accidents, blood

Sexual Content: Hugging, kissing

Language: Mild - Minimal language use in the translation I watched

Ending: Happy, Satisfying

My Synopsis

Nam Hong Ju has the unique "gift" of viewing the future through her dreams. However, the down side is that it seems there is nothing she can do to change them, and they most often depict rather grim events. Up until now, she has been the only one she has ever known to have this ability, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, that begins to change. When they start to see the traumatic events of each others lives, will they be able to find the power to change the future? 

Trailer

My Review: 7/10

This drama has been on my radar for a very long time. It has had some incredible rankings and reviews and so I was excited to finally start this one. However, I found myself shocked by how much I felt this drama was lacking. At the risk of getting myself killed by the massive amounts of fans of this drama, I am going to give my honest review. To do that, I must break it down and will start with the plot and go into my character/acting/romance reviews as I address them individually farther below.

Starting with plot, I believe that the premise for this drama is very intriguing. What would you do with the ability to see the future? There was so much potential for this plot. Unfortunately, its actual execution was poorly done. So much was left unexplained and even as the writer forced some explanation into the drama with some second-rate dialog, it actually served to make it more confusing as the rules they agreed upon for their "gift" acquirement, seemed to be only loosely followed. In addition, often times I felt the writer came up with a "brilliant" idea part way through and then quickly stuffed in some backstory to make it fit in the present moment. There was an underlying plot that carried through, but mostly that plot was ignored and various small ones added in for filler. But, the basis of all those little plots were the same. Same good-guy prosecutor goes up against same bad-guy attorney. Attorney seems like he will win (having tampered with evidence and such) but, surprise, the prosecutor does. That mixed in with, I save your life, you save my life, we save his life, on repeat... (though don't worry, each of the main three good-guys get their hospital time as well). To be honest, how these people survived prior to meeting each other (in the present), I have no idea. And lastly, in an attempt to draw it all together they put in the overused "we-are-all connected-by-our-past" scenario.

Now, as much as I disliked the plot, and many other various things I will address as I go, it wasn't stressful to watch. Some of it I quite enjoyed, but overall I find myself surprised at the high ratings this drama was given, and I have been thoroughly searching my brain for a reason. Actor/Actress visuals?? Actor/Actress popularity?? If this is in your top favorites, please feel free to tell me what put it there for you. 

Main Characters

Nam Hong Ju

Bae Suzy played the main character of Nam Hong Ju. She is the original bearer of the "gift". Suzy is a hugely popular actress/singer and one of the reasons I think that this drama has such good reviews. It appears to me that many dramas have been saved by who they cast. I truly think that must be the case here. Her character starts out seeming very weird and odd, but seems to move away from this portrayal a little as the drama progresses. To be honest there isn't a lot of depth to her character. She suffered the loss of her father when she was young, and she has the special gift of dreaming about the future. But, other than statements of her psychological struggles, the behavior she exhibits seems to indicate she has come through everything fine. She handles things with strength, and has a child-like bouncy exuberance. As for the acting itself, Bae Suzy was believable some times, and sometimes the acting felt forced. I did not find it consistent and I sadly did not find it anything special. Again, after all the hype, I really was surprised by how I actually felt as I watched it.

Jung Jae Chan

Lee Jong Suk is one of the hottest names in Korean dramas. He played the main male character of Jung Jae Chan. He is the second character to develop the gift of futuristic dreams but, unlike Hong Ju, he does have the ability to change the future. His character also (surprise surprise) suffered the loss of his father (at the hands of the same man as our leading lady's father). Both as young teens. Though, they shared some pretty intense moments at that time, they somehow do not recognize each other at all when they meet again. Jae Chan struggled a lot growing up, and had the misfortune of being friends with (surprise surprise) the bad-guy attorney who apparently has not changed a lick since he was a teen. However, again, Jae Chan's confidence and slight narcissistic attitude seems to indicate that he did just fine. He smiles often, has no trouble trusting people, nothing that indicates a childhood trauma to me. It was so hard for me to believe that the Jae Chan in the multiple flashback scenes was the same person as this future version. And just to note, the actor who played his younger version (Nam Da Reum) knocked it out of the park. His acting was top notch, and he far outshone his sunbaes. As for the acting of Lee Jong Suk... I was sadly disappointed. I found his believability just as variable as Suzy's. After all I have heard about him, I really was not expecting to write this kind of review, and I do so hope that if I do decide to watch another drama with him, I will at that time be pleasantly surprised.

Han Woo Tak

Jung Hae In played the character of Han Woo Tak. His character is probably the flattest of the four main characters as we really know very little about him. He is the only one that is not connected by the past. Still, they needed him and so they created a scenario, fit him in, and had the characters give an explanation in a scene of dialogue where they are trying to figure out the rules of their connection. There is no backstory given on Woo Tak. He is just a police officer who also, following an incident, gains the ability to dream the future. I thought for a short moment we were going to get something when they alluded to a "big" secret in his life. However, the revelation of this secret was a little anti-climatic for me. His personality seems to be another version of the other two. Smiles easy, trusts easy, jokes easy. Nothing new, and no new dynamic. As far as his acting, here I feel he faired better than our leading couple. I don't know that he really was pushed over much, but he did have a few scenes that stretched him a little. His acting, even though he didn't have me wowing over his insane ability, he at least kept me in the story, where as the other two above had me frequently stepping back every time their acting grew stiff or awkward.

Lee Yu Beom

Lee Sang Yeob played the villainous Lee Yu Beom. This character is responsible for one of my biggest unanswered questions. Why is this guy the way he is? There has to be a story there, and in my opinion, they missed a great opportunity. Though, he is connected in the past, again, we really know nothing about him. He was Jae Chan's tutor in school, and in the flashbacks we find that he is the exact same person in the present. Yet, still, no explanation as to why he is the way he is. No family history, no nothing. He just is a bad-guy and that is what he is. Despite all this, I felt that his character was the most dynamic and multi-dimensional of the main characters. We see his behavior as being down right despicable, and yet following something dirty he does we see him in the bathroom scrubbing his hands sometimes until they bleed. He does apparently have a conscience that is bothered, but yet his tendency to lie seemed habitual. What is the story here? Along with the character's dynamic, I also thought that Lee Sang Yeob was the best actor of the four main characters. He was very believable and he really did make this character stand out. 

Jung Jae Chan and Nam Hong Ju

Jae Chan and Hong Ju are connected by the past, though they don't remember each other right away. When Jae Chan moves next door they end up both dreaming about the other. And, because of this we are made aware of their future relationship early on, as are they so there really isn't that much of a build up. Hong Ju is quicker to accept it, but it really doesn't take Jae Chan long before his eyes can't stop following her. 

Though, I didn't get to feel quite the same anticipation that I like from watching a relationship develop, these two did have good chemistry at most times. Sometimes the acting got in the way, but it seemed that their scenes together were probably the highlight. And, I have a feeling that their kissing scenes are one reason this scores higher for most people. 

Support Characters

Jung Seung Won

Shin Jae Ha played the younger brother of Jae Chan. He stood out to me as one of the better actors. His character was struggling through high school, bullies, first loves, and friendships and I felt that his kind heart was a nice addition to the drama. I also got to see him in A Poem a Day, where he played a very lovable support character. He did a great job and I will look forward to seeing him in other works.

Choi Dam Dong

Choi Dam Dong was played by Kim Won Hae (older version) and Lee Jae Kyoon (younger version). In this case here I will focus more on the portrayal by Kim Won Hae. This is an actor that I have seen in multiple dramas, and his list of works is insanely impressive. He has been in 51 dramas, 34 movies, 8 specials, a guest on 6 TV shows and a regular member of 3 seasons of Saturday Night Live Korea. I am always happy to see him show up in something I am watching. However, I don't think his acting here was one of his best. It too felt a little awkward, especially during his emotional scenes. Still, it was nice to see him in a more serious role since the majority of roles I have seen him play have been comedic in nature.

Conclusion

To sum up, I really was disappointed in this drama after all the hype it received. I wish I could see it the way others have, but between the writing and the mediocre acting, I just didn't think this lived up. That being said, I don't want to discourage people from watching. I am in the minority with the way I feel and someone else will surely find it to be a gem. I honestly don't feel as if I wasted my time with it. There really wasn't any stress in watching it (unlike my experience with The Heirs). So, if you want to give it a try.. do it! And, if you feel different from me, I would love to hear it and why! I am always interested in differing opinions.

Awards Won

While You Were Sleeping - 2018 - Drama Category (Korea First Brand Awards), Top Excellence Award for Korean Drama (13th Seoul International Drama Awards)

Bae Suzy - 2017 - Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama (25th SBS Drama Awards) - 2018 - Most Popular Actress (54th Baeksang Arts Awards)

Lee Jong Suk - 2017 - Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama (25th SBS Drama Awards)

Lee Jong Suk & Bae Suzy - 2017 - Best Couple (25th SBS Drama Awards)

Lee Sang Yeob - 2017 - Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama (25th SBS Drama Awards)

Kim Won Hae - 2017 - Best Supporting Actor (25th SBS Drama Awards)

OST

The soundtrack was actually our favorite part of the drama. Some amazing pieces came out of this!

Lee Jong Suk and Bae Suzy both sang two songs for this Drama's OST. One of them is in our favorite three from this drama. I will first list our three favorites and then follow up with the remainder of the OSTs by these two actor/singers.

Favorite OSTs

I Love You Boy - Suzy

When Night Falls - Eddy Kim

It's You - Henry

Other OSTs by Suzy and Lee Jong Suk

Come To Me - Lee Jong Suk

Do You Know - Lee Jong Suk

The Words I Want To Hear - Suzy

안녕! - 줄스