Heartbeat

I am enjoying this absolutely fresh take on Vampires led by Ok Taecyeon. He is such a treat to watch as he plays the role of a hapless vampire out if his time and comfort zone.

I must say it keeps me entertained each episode with none of the cringy scenes I see in some other dramas. I also see many theories popping up by viewers which means it's making us think and imagine what's gonna happen next. The chemistry between the 2 leads is very natural and improves with each episode. Won Jian is new to me but I am enjoying her acting a lot too.

Recommend anyone who wants a light hearted fun ride to check this out on Amazon Prime or HiTV.

Such a wild mix of refreshing ideas (the idea of the weak vampire/male lead, which has no problem with being the cleaning lady), great actors, great female lead and terrible terrible conclusion, cheap scenery and anticlimactic last few episodes. To put viewers through that and than give them such an unsatisfying ending, that really has no justification in the story, because the whole thing is fantastic and implausible to begin with, so why not see it through until the end...?

And why force a hardcore comedy to become a drama in the last episodes?

Really bad writing.

Tacyeon has a great talent for the comical and the female lead is super straight and not comical for a second, which works really nicely together.

I love Taecyeon acting since Bring it on Ghost, so I really wanted to like this one!

The first half of the series held so much potential, drawing viewers in with its intriguing premise and captivating characters. However, the second half turned into a disaster.

The initial episodes were great and the characters were engaging, and their dynamics seemed to be setting the stage for a compelling narrative. Wasn't a huge fan of the female lead though, too much screaming for my taste.

But then, the drama took an inexplicable nosedive into chaos. The plot became convoluted, and the once-promising characters started making choices that were completely out of character and illogical. It felt as though the writers had lost their way, throwing in random twists and turns without any regard for consistency or coherence.

The pacing, which had been steady in the beginning, became jarring and uneven. Key plot points were rushed through, while other scenes dragged on endlessly, leaving viewers both confused and frustrated.

The ending also felt like a slap in the face to anyone who had invested time and emotion into the drama and was so unsatisfying that it left a bitter taste in the mouths of viewers who had been hoping for a rewarding payoff.

In the end, Heartbeat is a perfect example of how a promising start can be utterly squandered by poor execution. The dramatic decline from an intriguing beginning to a messy and disappointing mess makes it a prime example of what happens when a drama loses its direction and fails to deliver on its potential.

I view this series quite differently that a lot of the other reviewers. While OK, I felt the first half of the series was rather slow and plodding. The acting, story and comedy were fine....just not very engaging. It was good enough that I kept watching but I didn't feel the urge to binge onto the next episode like I do with Kdramas that I fall in love with.

That changed as the series progressed into the second half. The romance thread finally started and while the FL isn't as expressive as some FL's of other series, I felt Won Ji-an nailed the character perfectly considering the circumstances and her character's backstory. I also really enjoyed the suspense/thriller plot-line as it picked up. The main villain was excellent. Seo Hoo Baek's acting made it so easy to hate the character and to cheer his ultimate downfall.

I also loved the three friend characters. Park Dong-seop, Yoon Byung-hee and Seung You played them brilliantly. Those roles could easily have been overplayed into caricatures but these 3 played them with finesse that greatly added to my enjoyment of the series.

I really liked how the series broke away from the standard tropes of reincarnation and happily-ever-after. I can understand why so many people hated the ending. I made the mistake of reading those reviews while still in the middle of the series and almost stopped watching as I was expecting the worst. BUT DON'T let that deter you. While very bittersweet, I felt the ending was perfect for this series. It showed a version of true love that is often ignored in romantic dramas.

For some reason I don't get the sparks that the main leads should be showing, so overall it seemed flat to me. And the acting of the main lead actress somehow fell short to me.

Overall I'd give a low 6. Kudos to Taecyon to deliver a great performance in this series, will wait for your next project. And good job for Won JiAn considering it's her first main lead experience.

I read one of the reviews and couldn't agree more about the first half of the series showing potential, but the second half felt a drag and story plot just falling, I remember about skimming through so much just to get the end of it.