If you have read the webtoon and liked it, STAY AWAY, but if you haven't then here is my review:

Tried too hard
And got so far
But it didn't even matter in the end!

Except for the stellar cast, one or two good twists, cinematography and few heart wrenching moments, nothing made sense or converged into a satisfactory end (although we get happy ending for all the characters)

My recommendation: 5/10. Someone in earlier recaps or in some other thread mentioned that the story was B grade and did not deserve this cast and now, I concur with it.

This is my First Ever Beanie Review, offered as an alternate take. I did not read the webtoon, so I enjoyed this drama on its own merits. I found this drama to be a great watching experience. Yep, there were some plot holes, just like any other fantasy drama you care to name. But it had a stellar cast, lovely cinematography, and assured directing. The intertwined past lives trope is one of my favorites, and was done in an interesting way here (with much vividness thanks to Shin Hye Sun and the excellent child actors). The themes of enduring love and memory grounded the plot and lent emotional heft. The narrative comes full circle in the conclusion in a way that I appreciated. To anyone still on the fence about trying it: if you like fantasy and aren't too attached to the accuracy of adaptations, it's a well-done fantasy romance with deeper themes.

As a fantasy romance, the romance seemed forced because Ji-eum was pushing her past life crush on a grown man in the present. Shin Hye-Sun gives a memorable performance as the reincarnated person who is forward, clever and amusing but at the same time naive to the fantasy rules (which are inconsistent and confusing). The story gets sidetracked by her Curse arc. Many commenters put this show in "it could have been better" category because of the plot holes and ending. It was an interesting premise that got derailed by the plot execution.

An age old tale of boy meets girl and 19 lives later girl chases down boy when they meet again. Beautiful cinematography, excellent acting and a great story. Some aspects of the storytelling were a bit frustrating. If you want to enjoy this fantasy mystery romance spoiler free only read the weecaps and avoid the comments section. There are frequent references to the webtoon some of which is relevant to the drama but most isn’t, as the script and direction took very few references from the original material.

Please note if you dislike or get triggered by stunt crew PPL; there are frequent unexpected flashbacks to one of their set ups from multiple angles, at least once in every episode for the first half of the show.

7/10

I would emphatically NOT recommend this to anyone who read the webcomic, unless perhaps you read the webcomic and wished that the comic had focused more on Ji-eum's past lives and the impact they've had on her.

If you have not read the webcomic, I would recommend this drama only for the gorgeous visuals and some stellar performances, if you are someone who is able to turn off your brain and ignore plot holes. Otherwise, I would just listen to the OST and look at screenshots.

I worry about the actor Ahn Bo-hyun. It seems up-and-coming male actors take a harder hit with failed series than woman actors. I recall the actor Jang Ki-yong had the whole world ahead of him, then he did the series 'Now We Are Breaking Up'.

I honestly thought I would be a rare case of someone not liking this kdrama but turns out a lot of other people felt the same..🫣 Agreeing with the opinions that the acting, cinematography, and story (As a whole) were superb but the plot holes & lack of real conflict made the show nonsensical for me. They gave Min Gi a villain & 2nd ML vibes who could seemingly mess up Ji Eum's life but he turned out to be [SPOILER]. [SPOILER] so easily after Seo Ha told him to, Ji Eum looking happy even after [SPOILER] (Does she still live with her awful family in the 19th life or did she move out?), and [SPOILER] who just happened to reincarnate in that same timeline? It just seemed like they wanted a sinister feel to contrast the bright & cheerful personalities of Ji Eum, Cho Won, etc but it just fell forced😅

Even the ending where [SPOILER] wasn't really a big deal because Seo Ha and alike can just make her fall in love with them again🤭 If you're looking for a feel good romcom where you don't want to think too much, then this is a kdrama for you. But if you're going to be swept away with the story & fantasy of Ji Eum's past lives + Seo Ha's tragic childhood, just skip this!

This drama had exiting main characters (especially Ji-um), great actors, surprises ... and even the little cracks into past lives were filled with meaning.
The only thing lacking was MORE. 12 episodes was not enough! There was clearly enough story to fill 16 or 20 episodes, (where many other dramas end up filling vast spaces ... with ... repetition o r ... s l o m o ... s p e e c h ... ,
- and we were left with gaping plot holes. I still loved this drama

Fantasy romance is my genre. On a story level, it’s
nowhere near Goblin, which is my measuring stick for any fantasy romance. Also, acting-wise, bromance, supporting cast, still nowhere near Goblin. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. Binge watching it made it better, I think. I gave it a 9/10, which is generous, but only because I really liked the second leads and Ahn Bo Hyun is just “my style” in this. 😍

For me, this was an instance of 12 episodes not being quite enough.

There were lots of good and interesting and beautiful things about this drama. The reflections on the past lives were poignant, the scenes from the 18th life were by turns sweet and then tragic, and the whole color palette of the show was just gorgeous. I really enjoyed all the main characters and there were so many instances where the dialogue shone.

I wish we’d had a little more time to build up the central romance - it’s such an important part but I didn’t find myself quite as invested as I wanted to be. A few more episodes would have let it breathe a little more. Also, our ML is justifiably traumatized from childhood events he’s never really dealt with, and I would have loved to see more of his journey out of that past and into a more stable present. I found the second couple incredibly endearing, but it would have been great to have more time to see the barriers that had been stopping them from being together and which of them changed and which didn’t. My complaint is always the same - if they’d just had a few more episodes I think they could have fleshed things out nicely.

Maybe this is an odd review, but I think I feel oddly about this drama. I didn’t really dislike most of what it did (apart from the plot holes at the end), but I usually wanted more from it. More time, more examination, more buildup, more backstory. I think that’s what would have taken it from just fine to really great for me.