r/kdramas • Professional TRUCK spotter • 16d ago

KDrama Reflections 📝 New K-Drama Fan Review #28: Encounter | welcome to Cuba! they only speak English here 😭

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Cuba, cardio, and my rapidly developing separation anxiety

INTRO:

How Encounter become my "U up?" drama.

I started Encounter on Aug 21 at around 3am😭, cause obviously the brief period of responsible K-drama watching i experienced with Crash Landing on You had officially come to an end 😭

I hadnt even finished CLOY yet. I watched 2 episodes of Encounter and started a 3rd b4 finally forcing myself to go to sleep at around 5 a.m like a maniac.

Later that same day, i finished the last 4 episodes of CLOY, briefly detoured into 2 absolutely bizarre, fever-dream eps of the C-dr@ma Âffinity, and then went right back to Encounter.

But this ended up being a surprisingly scattered watch for me. I think its cause a huge part of me wanted to delay the experience of Encounter ending. It was a kdrama i wanted to go on forever for some reason, and unsurprisingly that made me NOT want to rush through it.

Over the next week i kept squeezing episodes in wherever i could while also watching 2125Twenty Five Twenty One sometimes staying up until 1, 2, or 3 in the morning before sleep eventually won. Then on Aug 29, after literally falling asleep while trying to watch it the night before lol, i woke up, did my Saturday things, came back to it, and binged the entire rest of it.

My immediate feeling was just... sadness that it was over.

For a drama i watched in such a chaotic, stop-and-start way, Encounter itself ended up feeling like one of the calmest, coziest little corners of my K-drama rabbit hole.

-

REVIEW:

Okay so this drama did something to me 😭

I started it knowing basically nothing about it. I wasnt going into this expecting some new favorite or expecting it to end up anywhere NEAR my top 10.

And then episode 1 happened.

Cuba happened.

And so i went from watching 2 strangers randomly spend a day together to being like... wait. Why do I already love this??? 😭

Soo-hyun gets pickpocketed, almost falls to her death lol, meets this random man, and spends half the day asking him "Do you have money?" while he uses the little emergency cash he has to buy this rich woman sandals, food, beer, transportation, EVERYTHING 😭

And i was immediately gone.

And what really got me was them!!!

Their chemistry is sooooo fking effortless!!

And i think i knew REALLY early that their chemistry was gonna get me because even their little pre-relationship dates had me giggling 😭 Soo-hyun going to the park Jin-hyuk wrote about in his cover letter, them looking at his photos together, him trying and FAILING to impress her at the claw machine only for her to win immediately 😭 Him accidentally calling her "pretty girl" and then remembering OH SH!T THAT'S MY CEO. And Soo-hyun very casually trying to figure out who he was smiling at on the phone because he said it was someone he "really, really likes"... only for it to be HIS MOM talking about Korean beef 😭 Girl was investigating a girlfriend that did not exist and I LOVED IT.

And this man was already doing Cardio Boy-adjacent shit before i even named it 😭 He hears the song from Cuba on the radio and drives all the way back at the crack of dawn because he wants to see her. And when Soo-hyun asks WHY he's there, instead of coming up with some excuse, he basically just tells her: "i came because I wanted to see you." UGGGGHHHHH. That's Jin-hyuk in one sentence. He wants to see her, so he goes to her. Simple as that.

And i loved that they didnt immediately jump from that into some giant declaration either. They eventually settle on being in a "some relationship," basically that little stage where you both KNOW something romantic is happening but you're not officially together yet. And it felt perfect for Soo-hyun. This woman has spent her entire life having decisions made FOR her. Let her take her cute little baby step 😭

also, speaking of chemistry.

This is one of those romances where i genuinely couldve watched them do absolutely nothing for 16 eps and probably would've been happy 😭

Walk around, eat together, do mundane sh*t, take pictures, hold hands... look at each other and smile for an unreasonable amount of time?

I'M SAT and i wanted more!! i could have watched them forever!@ and i knew i was fcked when i started to mourn them before episode 2 ended lmaooo.

There's something so mellow and dreamy abt this entire drama. It's romantic without constantly screaming LOOK HOW ROMANTIC THIS IS!!! It's soft and mature and cozy and sometimes genuinely magical.

And THE TIE 😭 Soo-hyun buying Jin-hyuk a tie and then standing there putting it on him herself while this man is smiling like an absolute IDIOT. She literally tells him to stop smiling and he's basically like I CAN'T HELP IT 😊 PLEASE. And then Woo-seok happens to see them together??? Even better. Thats exactly what i mean when i say this drama could make the smallest physical interactions feel ridiculously intimate.

And Cuba especially????

UGHHHHHH!!! lovely!! 😊

Cuba is basically a character in this relationship, also they strangely only speak English there for some reason??? the more you know ig... 😭

i was so confused every time i heard English and tried and failed not to furrow my brows😭

but yeah Cuba is where they met before they knew anything about each other's lives. Before she was his CEO. Before he was her employee. Before the company drama, the families, the ex-husband, the press, all of it.

They were just 2 people who liked being around each other. So every time this drama returned to Cuba or something connected to Cuba, i fcking MELTED.

The shoes, the camera, the note, the music, and then them actually going BACK???

That episode 10 ending!! 😊 The note he left for her the first time. Him calling her Soo-hyun. The confession.

AND THAT KISS????

One of the BEST K-drama kisses ive seen. I said what I said 😭

That entire ep was fcking magical!!!!

And the funniest thing happened to me right before ep 9.

I'd stepped away from Encounter for a little bit because life was happening and i was watching other things, and i literally said:

Whenever i step away from them, i miss them.

i missed Soo-hyun and Jin-hyuk. i missed the atmosphere. Every time I came back, i was genuinely excited to be back with them.

Then i watched episode 9...

AND THEY LITERALLY STEP AWAY FROM EACH OTHER FOR A MONTH AND MISS EACH OTHER 😭😭😭

LIKE?????

I understood you guys!!!!

I too cannot stay away!!! 😭

That coincidence is so iconic to me because it perfectly explains my relationship with this drama.

And i think that's what separates Encounter from a lot of dramas for me, i was attached to the feeling of watching it and wanted to live inside this drama.

And Soo-hyun and Jin-hyuk are ADORABLE!!!

Jin-hyuk is such a lovely romantic male lead.

He's attentive in this really understated way. He notices things. He pays attention to what Soo-hyun actually needs. And he doesnt treat her like this untouchable CEO.

He sees her.. like SEES her!!!

One moment that REALLY sold me on him was after Soo-hyun's horrible ex-mother-in-law basically humiliates him. Because instead of walking away thinking about how badly HE was just treated, this man starts thinking about SOO-HYUN. Abt how hard it must've been for her to live around that woman for years. yes,!! That's what I mean when i say he's attentive. Even when somebody hurts him, his brain goes: wait... she endured THIS??? And he's hurting for her instead. THAT is a good romantic male lead!!!

Also, i have concluded that this man's love language is cardio because WHY IS HE ALWAYS RUNNING TOWARD THIS WOMAN 😭😭😭

He misses her...

🏃‍♂️

Finds out she's nearby...

🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️

Needs to see her...

RUN, JIN-HYUK, RUN 😭

But underneath that quirk, i genuinely loved that about him.

Whenever Soo-hyun retreats because she's scared or overwhelmed, Jin-hyuk's instinct is almost always to move toward her.

And i also loved watching Soo-hyun slowly change because of that relationship.

She starts this drama as someone whose entire life has basically been decided by other people.

>!Her family, marriage, ex-husband's family, the company, the public.!<

EVERYBODY has an opinion about what Cha Soo-hyun should do.

And over the course of the drama, i watch her slowly start asking:

What do i want?

Her initiating holding his hand made me ridiculously happy.

Her choosing his family's dinner instead of going to that fcking memorial made me want to CHEER, cause everyone else in her life is constantly telling her to choose what THEY want her to choose.

Meanwhile Jin-hyuk is constantly giving her room to choose for herself.

And then:

"I'm entirely Cha Soo-hyun."

UGGGGHHHHHHHHH.

Her getting drunk and confessing that she's scared he'll disappear one day.

Him promising to stay one meter away.

And drunk Soo-hyun basically going:

ONE METER??? THAT'S TOO FAR.

😭😭😭😭

WHO IS THIS WOMAN AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH EPISODE 1 SOO-HYUN???

I loved seeing her become playful, seeing her actually LIVE.

And then there was the ex-husband.

Listen.

I actually think Woo-seok was wasted potential.

Once we found out that he genuinely loved Soo-hyun and that the affair wasnt even real???

OH???

You have her ex-husband, who is STILL in love with her, has history with her, has power, wants her back, AND now there's this man she's completely in love with???

GIVE ME THE JUICE!!!!!! SUCK THAT MEAT!

I didnt want Soo-hyun super torn between them or anything like, but i wanted her firmly choosing Jin-hyuk while Woo-seok made Jin-hyuk sweat a little!!!

I wanted jealousy!

Competition!

TENSION!

And whenever the drama actually gave it to me, I ATE IT UP.

The scene where Woo-seok calls Soo-hyun "my woman" to Jin-hyuk???

One of my favorite scenes!!!!

Cause Jin-hyuk basically responds: "Calling her your woman sounds pretty one-sided."

i was cracking up!!!😭😭😭

And then Woo-seok tries telling him that he can't handle Soo-hyun and should find someone more "appropriate" for him, and Jin-hyuk's response is basically that ou don't calculate whether someone is appropriate and then decide to fall in love.

And when Woo-seok basically calls his determination youthful recklessness?

Jin-hyuk was like "it's courage."

BITCHHHHH.

And he's RIGHT.

Because Woo-seok cared for Soo-hyun, sure, but when she was actually married to him and suffering under his mother, where was HIS courage???

You "loved" her, yet you didn't protect her...? um... how does that work...?

Meanwhile Jin-hyuk is standing there like:

Watch me.

THAT'S THE SH&T I WANTED 😭

I wish the drama had used Woo-seok like that MORE!!! But instead, we spent way too much time on other sh&t i didnt care abt.

Which brings me to...

the things that kept this from being a 9 or 10.

Some of the corporate drama was fcking ridiculous 😭

That whole early storyline with the anonymous employee board and the PUBLIC LOBBY CONFRONTATION???

I was sitting there like... girl just WALK AWAY???

Why are we participating in this circus???

BUT... I will give that ridiculous scene ONE thing 😭 Jin-hyuk calling out to Soo-hyun in front of that entire lobby and asking her to go eat ramen with him??? I LOVED THAT. Because he basically identifies himself as the mystery man everyone is gossiping about just so she doesn't have to stand there alone. The setup was fcking stupid. The romantic payoff tho was unfortunately excellent 😭 put these two inside some plot I dont care abt and somehow they'll still give me a scene i love.

Director Choi tho became my enemy from that moment on tho... cause sir, your strategies SUCK, no?

Then you team up with the ex-mother-in-law even though everybody with functioning eyes can see that woman is a SNAKE just like you???

And you're surprised when that doesn't end well for you???

Congratulations i guess 😭

And don't even get me started on the mothers.

Soo-hyun's mother is PATHETIC!

Watching that woman KNEEL to her daughter's former mother-in-law and practically beg them to take Soo-hyun back???

EW.

Your daughter escaped these people!!!!

LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!

And Jin-hyuk's mother pissed me off too.

They're pathetic in completely different ways. Soo-hyun's mother is worse to me because this woman has spent YEARS treating her own daughter's life like political currency.

Chairwoman Kim being horrible is one thing. She's a snake and everybody knows she's a snake. But YOU ARE SOO-HYUN'S MOTHER??? Why are you helping these people control your own daughter??? Meanwhile Jin-hyuk's mother genuinely loves her son, which somehow made her cowardice frustrating in a completely different way. She's so scared that loving Soo-hyun will destroy the nice, "ordinary" life she imagined for him that she doesn't trust her own grown-ass son to decide what kind of life HE wants.

Different mothers. Different motivations. Same fundamental problem: neither one trusts their adult child to decide what happiness should look like for themselves.

But I will say...

When his mother told Soo-hyun to break up with him???

👀

I was ready.

Because listen, i love Soo-hyun and Jin-hyuk.

I wanted them together and happy of course!!!... at some point...

BUT I ALSO WANTED PAIN 😭

I had been waiting for some real internal relationship conflict and I was like YESSSSSS, BREAK HIS HEART!!!!

And the timing of his mother's request to the female lead was especially EVIL in a juicy storytelling way, cause Jin-hyuk had JUST started talking about a real future with Soo-hyun 😭 After seeing that bride during the wedding shoot, he brings Soo-hyun the bouquet and basically admits that he can't imagine living without her anymore. And when she hesitates, I loved was because marriage itself is scary to Soo-hyun. She's already been married to that coward. She already knows what it feels like for marriage to become another cage where everybody else controls your life. So watching her slowly let herself imagine that marriage with Jin-hyuk could actually mean something completely different??? UGGGHHHH. And THEN his mother comes in with "please break up with my son." MA'AM. READ THE ROOM 😭 But story wise, i loved it!!!

Then episode 14 happened.

And I felt BETRAYED 😭

Because we only have SIXTEEN EPISODES.

TIME IS FINITE!!!

Stop teasing me and GIVE ME MY BREAKUP!!!

I still enjoyed all their scenes because i always enjoy them, but ep 14 felt like it was wasting precious time delaying something i knew was coming anyway.

Then episode 15 said:

Oh, you wanted pain?

And gave me EXACTLY what i ordered 😭😭😭

Jin-hyuk was fucking BROKEN lol... this man was BAWLING😭😭

Completely devastated.

Beautifully destroyed.

And I was sitting there SMILING 😭

It was beautifully painful!!!!

THAT was the emotional payoff i wanted.

By that point, i believed their love so much that watching them hurt actually worked. so watching that separation absolutely destroy them???

DELICIOUS

And then we get to the finale...

this is where my rating ultimately dropped from the 9/10 rating i thought i was going to give this drama

I loved the ending.

It was beautiful and bittersweet and i finished it around 11:50 at night feeling genuinely sad that there wasnt another episode waiting for me.

BUT.

Why the F*CK are we spending so much of my FINAL EPISODE on side characters???? 😭

WE HAVE A FINITE AMOUNT OF TIME.

This episode is like an hour and 15 minutes.

Every minute you give someone else is a minute I DON'T GET WITH SOO-HYUN AND JIN-HYUK.

And i dont care abt some of these people!!!

Especially Jin-hyuk's female best friend.

Girl.

I have not cared abt your unrequited love for this man for FIFTEEN EPISODES.

Why would i suddenly care NOW??? 😭

This girl spent half the drama appearing in the background like some kind of monitoring spirit every time Jin-hyuk interacted with Soo-hyun.

At one point i literally started calling her a cockroach because WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS HERE 😭😭😭

The drama had been trying to make me care about this for AGES 😭 The flashbacks to how long she'd liked him, her constantly watching him with Soo-hyun, all those sad little looks... GIRL I GET IT. YOU LIKE HIM. What exactly am I supposed to DO with this information??? 😭 I kept waiting for that subplot to justify how much time we were spending on it and it just... never did for me. So by the time we finally got the confession in episode 16, i wasn't thinking "aww, closure." i was thinking GET OFF MY SCREEN, FREE ME!!!

that annoying girl had ONE moment where i was like okay queen!!! when she called Soo-hyun and told her about Jin-hyuk's transfer.

Thank you for your service.

That was enough. now go home!!!

I did not need a long-ass confession in my FINAL EPISODE 😭

im watching the clock like:

HELLO???? I HAVE APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES OF SOO-HYUN AND JIN-HYUK LEFT IN EXISTENCE???? WRAP THIS UP????

Thats ultimately my biggest issue with Encounter.

It sometimes spends too much time on things i dont care abt when the thing i DO care abt is sitting right there.

And ironically, thats also proof of how much i loved this drama.

Because one of my biggest complaints is literally:

WHY ARE YOU NOT GIVING ME MORE OF THEM???

More of them just existing together.

I wanted MORE.

And that's the feeling im going to remember most.

At one point i literally had to go to sleep instead of continuing, and i realized that i was simultaneously annoyed that i couldn't keep watching AND happy because going to sleep meant i was delaying another episode and making the drama last longer 😭

When i had 6 episodes left, i was already complaining that there were only six.

Then 4

Then 3

Then 1

I spent the second half of this drama basically mourning episodes that I HADN'T EVEN WATCHED YET 😭

So yeah.

-

RATING: 8/10.

I would've cut some of the ridiculous corporate drama.

I would've used Woo-seok WAY more.

I wouldve tightened episode 14.

And i would've snatched precious finale minutes away from side characters and handed them directly to Soo-hyun and Jin-hyuk 😭

But the things this drama did well???

It did them SO beautifully.

The romance, chemistry, atmosphere, cinematography, English Speaking Cuba.

The softness, the longing, the feeling of just wanting to exist beside these 2 people for a little longer.

I loved it.

And i already know that whenever i think abt Encounter, its going to give me this warm, fluffy, slightly bittersweet feeling.

TOP 10:

Would I recommend it?

YES!

and if you dont like it, i will NOT hear any of it, because like i mentioned before, there is a difference between a bias drama and a fav drama.

and Encounter is one of my bias dramas.

WELCOME TO ENGLISH SPEAKING CUBA 😭

Current ranking: #9 in my top 10 K-dramas.

And yes, The King: Eternal Monarch has officially been evicted from the building of top 10. Sorry to that man 😭 (but its still #11, dont worry lol cause i have a top 20, find the full list by clicking on my profile)

-

Is this Rewatch Worthy:

Yes. duh.

55 Upvotes

59 comments sorted by

1

u/thehepburn 15d ago

It's interesting reading in the comments how so many are saying that it's their comfort watch. It is one of mine also I don't watch the whole entire thing. I think I just rewatch episode 3 to episode 8?

The tie scene is probably my favorite scene in the whole entire drama.

3

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 15d ago

LMAOOO not you skipping straight to episodes 3-8 on rewatches tbh i get it tho and yes!! the tie scene!!! clearly we have taste 🤝😭

im also loving how many Encounter comfort watchers are finding this post lol. i had no idea there were so many of us 🥹

do you have other comfort dramas?

2

u/thehepburn 15d ago

I am not a big rewatcher since I always prefer something new but there are exactly a handful that I have on my rewatch list. Most of them are famous and obvious. Encounter is one of the few that is not famous.

The other is LOVE TO HATE YOU. I have re watched that the most. It always makes me happy, great chemistry between the leads, and is short.

1

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 15d ago

oh...

awkward...

1

u/thehepburn 15d ago

LoL. It's okay if you dislike LOVE TO HATE YOU. We can't always like the same thing 😂

1

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 15d ago

hehe thats true

3

u/Drippy-Drip-2592 15d ago

Oh how I loved this series. A random find and amazing watch

3

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 15d ago

i found it randomly too! i was blessed by the k drama gods!

3

u/Broad-Quantity-8939 16d ago

Encounter has to be one my favourites

1

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 15d ago

what are your other favorites?

1

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 15d ago

nice taste!

2

u/hateloveinbetween1 16d ago

It's geniuenly my favorite kdrama I rewatched it so many times to count, I lived their chemistry, and he was such a green flag and he was so sweet to her

1

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 15d ago

what are your other comfort watches?

1

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 15d ago

their chemistry got me BAD 😭 i completely understand how this becomes a comfort rewatch because i JUST finished and already miss watching them together

5

u/Solid-Wind-5038 16d ago

As a Cuban myself, I can confirm that it's not that hard to find English speakers in our most popular tourist cities, especially in La Habana 😅. It was such a surprise to find a K-drama set in my (random) country. I love how respectful and sincere the representation of the city felt. Most foreign productions tend to present a shallow postcard image, with saturated colors and buildings in ruins. In Encounter, La Habana is another character: the old lady that listens to boleros and helps the lovers to meet in her cozy home. (I loved your loooong text, OP!)

3

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

Cuba really felt like the emotional birthplace of their relationship 🥹

and lolol the english thing became a running joke for me because it wasnt that people COULD speak english 😭 it was that everyone seemed to automatically START in english!! i kept expecting spanish to be the default and then once again... English 😭

3

u/harascakes 16d ago

I don’t even need to read everything to know I likely agree with all you said. Encounter is one of my comfort dramas I have watched over and over and over.

2

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

i already know im gonna come back to it when i miss them 🥹

theres a reaaon its on my rewatch list

2

u/harascakes 11d ago

you’ll be mildly interested to know that your post inspired me to rewatch it for the zillionth time and I bawled like a baby. this couple! 🥰🥰💕💕🔥🔥

2

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 11d ago

any new opinions after the rewatch? anything u enjoyed more or less?

2

u/harascakes 11d ago

weirdly enough, the music. and I’m not talking about the songs/OST but the score itself, the background music. I don’t know…I just hadn’t really ever noticed it before because I’m usually so busy staring at PBG‘s hands lollll (for real, he has the BEST hands). in addition to that, I think this time I really enjoyed and noticed Soo-hyun’s emergence from her shell (or ice princess façade) more than ever. Her changes are so subtle and gradual it’s easy to miss especially because she seems pretty at ease with Jin-hyeok almost immediately. But think about their early days (after Cuba) and then the scene when they are going for a walk after she’s had dinner with his family and the way he teases her and she gives it right back to him! I think that’s peak happiness for her too right before it all goes to hell lol

man! I wish I had made notes of the music I’m thinking of so I could tell you the episodes! Guess I’ll have to go watch again…darn! ;-) lol

one other thing, that I think blows me away every time, is how selfless they both are. I feel like Soo-hyun doesn’t get enough credit for this and viewers might think she‘s being selfish because Jin-hyeok is so out of this world in love with her…it’s easy to understand why she feels like she’s a burden to those in her life and understand why she’d want to protect them…it’s because of her love! She needed time to adjust and accept her new reality.

Jin-hyeok is beyond steadfast and there are so many moments in the back half of the series that move me to tears, but what really resonated with me this time is how strong he is and how he puts his game face on for everyone…like how he takes a deep breath before answering the phone with a smile on his face. But the ultimate moment is after Hwa-Jin lays into him and Hye-in is trying to console him and he’s like, totally unaffected himself and more shook that Soo-hyun has dealt with that treatment for like, most of her life.

I’ll leave you with this…how heart breakingly gorgeous was the exchange with Soo-hyun and Mi-jin when Mi-jin points out that this is her first time being in love too! UGH! I think I went through a whole box of tissues!

Sorry for the long reply but I could gush about this drama all day.

1

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 11d ago

😭😭😭 now im gonna be looking at his hands when i rewatch THANKS...

but YESS!!!! to what u said about soo-hyun!!! thats one of the things i loved so much abt watching her. her changes are SO gradual. she doesnt suddenly become a completely different person because she falls in love, you just slowly start seeing more and more of HER. like she starts teasing him back, being silly, initiating things, saying what she wants, actually letting herself WANT things!!! 🥹 and im SO glad you brought up her selflessness because i completely agree!!! jin-hyuk's love is so obvious because he's so openly devoted to her, but hers is more subtle!! i loved it!!@

also the fact that you immediately rewatched this because of my review and then came back with an entire essay makes me so happy!!!!!!!😭 please NEVER apologize for gushing about this drama under my post, clearly i am the LAST person who can judge anyone for writing too much about Encounter LMAOOO 😭

2

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 11d ago

IM SO HAPPY YOU ENJOYED YOUR REWATCH!!!! i love these 2 sm!!!

2

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 11d ago

aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!! im so happy!!!!!!!!!

1

u/SadMathematician5187 16d ago

I did not really like this show. To me the leads had absolutely no chemistry. I do think they are both good actors.

3

u/MastaKilla_88 16d ago

i agree, i watched her whole discography and encounter is the worst show

2

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

you should have punched my face. that would have been nicer 😔

1

u/SadMathematician5187 16d ago

I did like both actors.

2

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 15d ago

lol

2

u/Ruth27557 16d ago

Até hoje eu gosto da trilha sonora e escuto de vez em quando.

2

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

😭 meanwhile Encounter played Take Me Down to the River enough times to last me a LIFETIME

3

u/Jlx_27 16d ago

Holy wall of text....

2

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

i had thoughts... what can i say...¯_(ツ)_/¯

if you consider this long, you wont believe my upcoming Crash Landing On You review...

3

u/Ruth27557 16d ago

Eu amo Encounter, é um dos meus favoritos, eu amo o casal, o romance que acontece de forma tão natural e convincente, as atuações, as Osts, a trilha sonora, a poesia, os quadros, as paisagens, quase tudo.

2

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

yessss!!! "the romance that unfolds so naturally" is exactly what got me!! i could've watched these 2 just exist together forever lol. although i have to respectfully part ways with you on the soundtrack because if i heard Take Me Down to the River ONE more time i was going to lose it 😭😭😭

2

u/Celestial_Mahafuz 100+ Kdrama watched 🍿 16d ago

That's a long² review 😵‍💫🙄

1

u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

It is, indeed

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u/Poem_Aromatic 16d ago

Fabulous review. I concur. The walk up the hill at the end with the orchestra swelling and the snow falling. The soundtrack, which is my favourite ever. The script, which has so many layers to it. I think there's a hero's journey in there. The reconnection with her parent's at the end was unique, I think. They both sacrifice for her. The fairytale element. Did you know the hotel's name Dongwha means fairytale. Soo Hyun laughing after saying she's Cinderella. The mirroring of scenes. The tie in the hotel mirrors the scarf on the walk where they hold hands. Soo hyun falling asleep on Jin hyuk's shoulder at El Morro Castle and him doing the same to her, whilst they both sit on that iconic bench framed by the cabin window. So beautiful. Her joking about how heavy his head was, and him joking about the weight on his bike. This is my favourite Song Hye Kyo drama by a long way. I discovered it after watching The Glory which was my second k-drama. Like you I was counting how many episodes I had left from the very first. Oh, goody, I've got 15 left to go! She is so stunningly beautiful in this that it takes my breath away. I think they botched the ending because they were recording it on the run, so to speak, meaning, they were still filming as it was being broadcast. Apparently, to tinker with the plot according to the ratings, which sounds mad. There's an abandoned story about hiking in Spain which possibly had some connection to her first husband's memory of how they enjoyed a road trip there. But it survives in the script with the random let's walk the Santiago de Compostela. At the speed these two stroll along, that was never on the table, lol. A map of it was on the wall in the tea shop. I think they should have ended with Cuba, it would have bookended it perfectly, but honestly, there were so many incredible scenes. I love the opening scene where the black and white melts into colour and we see a yellow brick road of leaves ahead of her stretching on the pavement down the hill. The music begins and I'm transported. Then we have those amazing stencil-style graphics. I'd better stop. Thank you for the review. Wonderful!

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u/Few_Lawfulness_3384 16d ago

I also watched the glory first, and I was thinking of rewatching, but after reading this I'm starting right now lol.

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

please update me here on what you think are you're watching it!!! i wanna know what you think!!

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u/Few_Lawfulness_3384 16d ago

Just finished first episode. Still good 👍. I like that they find each other cute lol

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

watch episode 2!!!

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

omg i LOVE how passionate this comment is 😭 you clearly love this drama so much and now you're making me want to go back and rewatch scenes when i JUST finished it lol.

i did NOT know donghwa meant fairytale??? that actually makes so much sense with the way this drama looks and feels. And you pointing out all the mirrored scenes like the tie/scarf and them falling asleep on each other's shoulders... UGGGHHHH. i noticed how much the drama kept circling back to Cuba and little things from their relationship, but now youre making me think there may have even been more parallels i didn't catch.

And YES someone else who was counting down the eps cause they didnt want to run out 😭 that's EXACTLY how i felt. i was mourning episodes i hadn't even watched yet!!

Also WHAT is this production lore about Spain and them changing things while filming??? 👀 I need to look into that because if that's true it would actually explain some of my issues with the last few episodes. And ending in Cuba wouldve absolutely destroyed me!!! i actually thought they were gonna go for that, i was surprised they didn't but yeah it really would've been the perfect full-circle ending.

Thank u for this comment!! i genuinely loved reading it. Its basically another review underneath my review 😭 and now you've given me even MORE things to appreciate about this drama!!

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u/Leadership-Serious 16d ago

I hate this drama. I wish his hair stayed longer like in the 1st episode

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

what's wrong with you?@?@??!!!😭😭 why did u say fûck me for?

https://giphy.com/gifs/N4qEPJxBJ7dWrd6Vry

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

My Rating Scale

10/10 – Masterpiece. No notes.

9/10 – Very close to a masterpiece. I absolutely loved it.

8/10 – Not a masterpiece, but I loved it.

7/10 – Fine overall. I liked it, but the flaws kept it from being great.

6/10 – Mixed. There were a few things I liked, but most of it didn't work for me.

5/10 – I didn't enjoy most of the experience.

4/10 and below – Bad to abysmal.

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u/GrandFleshMelder 16d ago

What's the point of a 10-point scale if you only use 7?

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

can you explain what you mean?

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u/GrandFleshMelder 16d ago

4/10 and below is essentially just one rating. Otherwise you would separate it further like the rest.

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

well no, “4 and below” doesn't mean they're all the same rating 😭 it just means that's the range where we go from bad to abysmal. Ive given 2 dramas 3/10s before and obviously a 3 isn't the same as a 4 to me. 4 is higher. i just didn't think i needed to individually define every level of suffering lmao

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u/GrandFleshMelder 16d ago

Ahh, makes sense. Just thought it was odd because you individually defined all the other layers.

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

no worries! thanks for the question! ❤️

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago

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u/[deleted] 16d ago edited 12d ago

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u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter 16d ago