Review: I Remember You (2015) ~ My Feeling Heart

Criminally underrated.

If there's something I have to say about I Remember You as it ended, it's how criminally underrated the show is. Makes me wonder how rating systems in Korea work when a show this good doesn't even get the ratings it deserve.

Image via Saram Entertainment.

Genius young boy Lee Hyun (Seo In Guk) lost his family a few years back to criminal Lee Joon Young whom his father was instigating then for confession of the crimes Joon Young has committed. Carrying in him the ghost of his tragic past, Hyun then went to the States and made name for himself as a noted criminal professor with books published all over the world. However, sometime in 2015, he receives a mysterious email from an anonymous person. This pushed him to finally go back to Korea to confront his past, look for Joon Young, and put an end to the ugly, decade long thread that tied them to each other.

Image via OhmyNews.

Shady plot? I thought so too. I Remember You originally started as something not anywhere near my cup of tea, to be honest. I thought it was too heavy and psychological for my liking, but alas, curiosity won me over... because of Jang Nara. I peeked once, marathoned three weeks' worth of the show in just one day, and decided to follow through until the end.

And yes, that I did not regret.

I Remember You was a pleasant 'comeback' drama for me who had been in a watching-hiatus for almost a year now (my last I think was Joseon Gunman which I haven't finished yet until this day); and I'm so glad I picked it up over its competitors.

❀ RAVES ❀ »•»

1) Seo In Guk. Watching I Remember You has opened a door to someone really dear to me now — Seo In Guk. He was a keeper I learned about through this show, and if it wasn't for I Remember You, I probably wouldn't have known of this wonderful gem. Seo In Guk did great as Lee Hyun: his performance of a genius profiler devoid of much emotion was so spot-on I find it hard to imagine Lee Jin-Wook (whom the crew originally recruited) doing the lead. Don't get me wrong, I love Lee Jin-Wook. He was awesome as Sun Woo in Nine, but I don't think he'd be as awesome if he was the one who did Lee Hyun. I just couldn't imagine, probably because Seo In Guk nailed that portrayal compellingly well: be it the noted stoic expression of Hyun, the restraint from smiling and showing so much emotion down to the calculating genius profiler that he is, Seo In Guk was definitely perfect as Hyun.

2) Other notable performances. Park Bo Gum was another pleasant surprise I've come across because of this drama. Much as I loved the bromance between him and Seo In Guk, I loved more how complex his role was and how he was able to bring justice to it. He can be cute and innocent one minute, then be totally cold and scary the next. So much potential, this man has. And Choi Won Young! Ooohhh Choi Won Young!

3) Romance. Contrary to what the show initially marketed itself to be, the romance does not take center stage anywhere in this drama. Romance isn't its focus, and rather than a framework basis for the show, the romance serves only as a plot device to get the story moving. Yet it works, and the romance-not-romance there is between our leads was something I absolutely love. Seo In Guk and Jang Nara's chemistry is hilarious but at the same time endearing, limited but at the same time swoon worthy... and I was totally sold.

4) Brain. Aside from Seo In Guk and the roster of notable characters, what I love most about I Remember You was the way it kept me on the edge of my seat thinking... and thinking... and thinking. It is not your usual drama where everything gets thrown at you for you to eat. Rather, it engages its viewers to be part of the show by weaving clues and forming their own conclusions. I actually had fun myself identifying who Joon Young really was and analyzing how Min was connected through all of this. The symbolism is also pretty much heavy on this drama, which I love.

❀ RANTS ❀ »•»

1) Open-Ended Ending. How I Remember You decided to wrap itself up wasn't as emotionally satisfying as the previous rides were, in that ~~Joon Young didn't really get caught~~ and Min didn't get fully redeemed.

❀ RULING ❀ »•»

Yet all in all, I Remember You was definitely worth the 16 hours I've spent watching. Sure there may have been some lapses here and there, but other than that, everything else was good. I love how tightly woven the plot was and how it continued to surprise its viewers up until the end. Truth be told, I was ready to give up on it come episode 15 as we were already near the end but a lot of questions still remain unanswered. I was afraid I Remember You would turn into another God's Gift experience which I loved first but got disappointed at in the end, and I'm so glad it didn't. Partially, at least.

RATING: 15 points plus alpha. Nuff said. 😉

PS. I found it amusing how Seo In Guk plays a super neat and clean man in the drama and how shocked he was to find Cha Ji An's house so un-lady like with all the mess when he's a lot messier than her in real life. Haha! Ji An's house was nothing compared to his house in I Live Alone! 😂