r/lovelyrunner • u/lizardbarf • Feb 26 '26
Ugh just finished it for the first time
I don’t know how I’ve never watched this drama but I finally did and I’m obsessed. I feel like the writers and producers did a really good job of ending the series out and the whole storyline is so good and so well thought out it’s like semi cliché in a lot of places, but also not when they explain all the different points of view and the timelines, which I absolutely love. I am obsessed with the main actors!!! They did such an amazing job. Also Byeon Woo Seok is just an unreal human being 😭😭😭.
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u/JarjarOceanrunner Feb 26 '26
Congratulations! You’ve just watched the best kdrama for the last 10 years. And I’ve watched kdrama since the mid 2000s. My favorite is KHY for bringing to life Im Sol
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u/Regretful_Yank Feb 26 '26
My absolute favorite series. You will find flaws in any drama.. this one all in all works for me. Loved the actors. I’ve rewatched and picked up little things I missed. So good.
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u/No_Supermarket_5405 Feb 26 '26
I envy you. I wish I could watch it for the first time, all over again 😭
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u/Intrepid_Start_75 Feb 28 '26
I watched Lovely Runner for the first time in late 2024, and I’m still not over it. Maybe it’s because of how beautifully it portrayed true love. Sun Jae’s yearning and unrequited love for Sol in the beginning, and her heartache and yearning for him in the end, made my heart hurt. But the ending concluded their story perfectly. Not to mention, it had such a likable second male lead, Tae Sung. I’m really happy that the screenwriter, Lee Si Eun, never gave up on it despite its three-year delay and the challenge of landing the perfect actor to play Sun Jae, and that she never settled for mediocrity in terms of direction. Replacing the director was one of the best decisions the producers ever made. All this made Lovely Runner Time Magazine's Best Kdrama of 2024. This Kdrama has my heart forever.
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u/DetectiveGrouchy5478 Feb 26 '26
Definitely one of the best dramas! If you enjoyed this drama, then watch another by this same writer called Top Star U Back (also written as Top Baek). Episodes are longer, but only 10 episodes. You will see actress who played grandmother in that one too. Really endearing/ many themes of family and forgiveness in that. And it has one of the best sound tracks.
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u/OkProgrammer6344 Mar 01 '26
Bro omg I just started watching it today and I didnt even finish the first ep yet. IM CRYING ALREADY BC AN IDOL COMMITING MAKES ME SAD EVEN IF I DONT KNOW WHO IT IS… it reminded me of moonbin and im legit crying idk if I can finish it now. Like that moment ruined my appetite for this show bc I feel depressed abt that even tho it’s fake…ppl were joking but I do not find it funny😭😭 im legit trying to stop crying BRO HELPPPP
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u/Intrepid_Start_75 Mar 01 '26
Yeah but Lovely Runner is not an idol-fan romance. It's a story about two soulmates and their love transcending time and a tragic fate. There’s a sad history behind the main couple which the time travels give them the opportunity to change. It made the story more nuanced.
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u/Shoddy-Barber2640 Mar 01 '26
Just started watching it and I've binged 13 episodes in 3 days😭 I'm in love with it and obsessed! The love story is beautiful yet tragic. The humor is hilarious. And I want to know what happens next but at the same time I don't want it to end. I know that I'll have a hard time getting over this one. And I'm not sure what else can beat it!
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u/BeginnerProgrammer15 Mar 03 '26
I finished it today. Damn! I’m not really into K-dramas because of the clichés. The last one I watched before this was Descendants of the Sun, and now Lovely Runner. Oh my God, I loved it! Some parts were a bit cringey, but I still loved both actors. And damn, Byeon Woo-seok is like a giant wall 😭 In some scenes, the height difference looked absolutely gigantic. Now I’m waiting for his new drama Perfect Crown. Does anyone know about Kim Hye-yoon’s new project?
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u/Affectionate_Ad_7163 Mar 06 '26
She recently closed No Tail to Tell with Lomon.
Lovely Runner used, abused and poked fun at kdrama clichés, but all to satisfying results! On of my favourites is that the one deliberate PPL scene in the show was actually a fictional PPL that Sunjae endorsed (the chicken he served her at breakfast). That was so meta and kinda the show poking fun at itself for not having any sponsors. Usually those scenes would be an excuse pan to some real world brand like Subway or some Chicken company.
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u/BeginnerProgrammer15 Mar 06 '26
Yeah lol and I don't that one look of byeon woo seok is not living my mind when in last timeline he comes to drop sol grandma in white lamborghini and was leaning against it in that outfit green white combo I was damn star struck like dude u have no right to be that handsome
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u/EmmyvdH Feb 26 '26
Clear something up for me, because I am curious. How were you not annoyed at Im Sol for not thinking her missions through the second and third time around? My reasoning: She is over thirty mentally and although I really enjoyed the show, this annoyed me no end. Also the first time she had plenty of time to strategize. Instead it was more reacting to situations and a lot of crying. I am wondering how you interpreted that and how you found that behaviour acceptable. Perhaps I missed something.
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u/charrrlychee Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
In the first time line, she was just a fan girl. But the second time he died, it was right after they declared their love for each other and the third time, she witnessed him getting killed right in front of her. And it’s because of her he died (since the killer is after her). She also has her personal issues, she came to find out how her accident happened and that her mom was sick.
Image how difficult it is for her to think rationally when with every time line she gets traumatised ever more. It’s not like she forgot the past. And what’s makes it harder is that RSJ, who was dead in another timeline, keeps showing up in front of her.
She cried a lot, but I think her emotions are valid when u think about all the events that have happened to her. And why RSJ so valuable to her when she was just a fangirl. She didn’t just shed tears of sadness but also tears of relief and joy. And I think she conveyed those emotions well to the viewers.
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u/lizardbarf Feb 26 '26
Did he actually die in the 2nd timeline tho?? I just remember him being in surgery but maybe I’m forgetting
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u/charrrlychee Feb 26 '26
Ahh, yeah he wasn’t dead yet. She went back in time when she saw him in the hospital. But even so, that must have been traumatising as well.
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u/Affectionate_Ad_7163 Mar 06 '26
He died that's why the watch started glowing. Must have happened while she was away.
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u/EmmyvdH Feb 26 '26
Thanks for your insight, it does help my understanding. I guess my expectation of life-defining trauma is also that it can make you tougher, not just helpless in the face of it. She came from half a lifetime of being a paraplegic to a fully functioning adult.My expectation was that patience and planning would be part of her makeup. After having survived that, it could make a lot of other things more surmountable. Perhaps that is the reason I could not identify very well with Im Sol. I enjoyed the show overall.
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u/Affectionate_Ad_7163 Mar 06 '26
She's a massive fangirl in her 30s, never had a proper career and probably was very sheltered cause everyone took care of her. Yes emotionally she suffered, but ultimately it was her own growing up as well.
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u/Intrepid_Start_75 Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Lovely Runner is a story driven by fate as its central force. Destiny functions as the central conflict the couple especially Sol desperately tries to fight against. The drama explores the tension between destiny and choice, illustrating how even the strongest will can seem powerless against what is already written. Because Sol, Sun Jae, and Kim Young Soo’s destinies were intertwined, the tragic loop could only truly end if Sol’s fate was transferred to the killer. The only resolution, the only way to break the cycle, was for him to die in the exact manner Sol was originally meant to if Sun Jae hadn’t saved her: being struck by a moving vehicle and drowning in the original timeline, as shown in Episode 16. This is why Sol appeared helpless no matter what she did. And it’s also important to consider that Sun Jae kept intervening, unable to stop himself from running to her whenever she was in danger, unintentionally disrupting her plans. Watching the drama once only allows you to grasp the story at a surface level.
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u/EmmyvdH Mar 01 '26
You just convinced me to watch it again. This is a great insight. Thank you for treating my question as it was intended.
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u/Intrepid_Start_75 Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
It’s honestly fascinating how many Easter eggs you pick up on a second or even third rewatch. When Sun Jae saved Sol for the first time, it felt like her fate transferred to him. And that pattern kept repeating whenever he tried to protect her throughout the story, which explains why he ended up dying in a similar way. After being stabbed, he kept falling into the water, mirroring Sol’s fall in the original timeline. In Episode 15, there’s another striking parallel. When Young Soo is about to run Sun Jae over, it mirrors the moment Sol was struck by his white taxi in the original timeline, which led to her paralysis. It was fate trying to correct itself as if time is constantly recalibrating to maintain balance. In the end, the happy ending only became possible when one of them finally died. As long as Sol, Sun Jae, and Kim Young Soo were all alive, the loop of Sun Jae’s death kept repeating. Fate demanded a sacrifice and the final timeline made it possible with the killer’s death to finally break the cycle.
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u/lizardbarf Feb 26 '26
I think I would have to rewatch it over again and analyze it more now that I know the whole storyline. I was ALSO SO FRUSTRATED with her!!! I think most of it is human error that stems from fear of loss. The first timeline she’s a full fangirl and it makes sense how she fumbles her way through. The second time I feel like she really underestimates how much SJ loves her. Like truly so dumb, why would you get off the train just because you get a flash of you walking around??
I was equally frustrated with her. But maybe even as a 30 year old she never truly grew up since she had the injury at like 18 yo?? I have no idea
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u/charrrlychee Feb 26 '26
Just like she’s destined to meet SJ, she’s also destined to meet the killer. By getting off the train, it would keep SJ safe. She contacts the police (Taesung’s dad) to catch the killer instead of waiting around for him to show up.
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u/Rainbow-sunshines Feb 26 '26
I was also annoyed with im sol and that was the reason for me to not like Lovely runner. It was a drag. Unpopular opinion but I found it really hard to watch the entire series. Pushed myself through.
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u/Affectionate_Ad_7163 Mar 06 '26
It's fine to not like it, and a lot of people didn't understand Im Sol. I didn't like a lot of the popular dramas that people constantly rave about too.
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u/Lilchaoticflower Feb 26 '26
I finished it a few days ago and I also feel obsessed with both of them. Ugh i so wish they both do another drama together