Review: 365: Repeat the Year (2020)

Is fate pre-determined or can it be changed? Given the chance to alter your life by going back a year, does your future change along with it, or does it end up the same?

These are the questions that ten different people seek answers for as they undergo a chance to 'reset' their lives a year back in MBC's comeback drama for its Monday-Tuesday time slot, 365: Repeat the Year.

Image via MBC.

Smart and tightly written. This is how I'd like to sum up the ride that was 365: Repeat the Year. It's been quite long time since I have felt this engaged and intrigued (as well as impatient) in a drama, to the point that it'd make me watch a livestream of its episode even if I hardly understand a thing that is being said in it. Indeed, this show proved to be an intensely thrilling watch from Day 1 to 12, and will surely sit on the list of my most favorite dramas for a long, long, time.

❀ RAVES ❀ »•»

1) Suspenseful, Carefully Thought of Plot. Truth be told, this drama's premise isn't something that's easy to handle. One mistake in the plot can make all of the show's efforts go down the drain in just a snap. That being said, I really appreciate how carefully thought of 365: Repeat the Year was. Despite the roller-coaster ride and the plot twists here and there, writer-nim had a clear plan as to where he wants the show to head. This makes the show's plot development amazingly orchestrated, and will leave you nothing but awed in the end.

2) Plot Twists and Brain. I love how smart 365: Repeat the Year posed itself to be. It's an intricately woven story that doesn't only intrigue its viewers, but at the same time tricks us into believing whatever it is that's being laid right before our very eyes. It drops shocking and unexpected plot twists each episode which makes us scream what?! all while hanging dumbfounded on a cliff. And yep, I meant that as a compliment. No matter the plot twists or how complex the story may seem, the show never felt rushed nor convoluted. Instead it felt carefully planned, where every little thing in the drama is actually connected to one another. It's as if you're laying puzzle pieces together, something that feels sort of satisfying as everything finally comes full circle in the end.

3) Pacing. Although the pacing was sort of fast in this drama, it isn't the type that rushes or crams everything in an hour without minding how confusing it would be for the viewers (except for the very few times it actually got confusing 😅). This is why I loved 365: Repeat the Year a lot. Never did it feel too slow in laying out the backstory nor the mechanics of the time travel. Rather than drag, what the show does is suck you right off the bat and draw you so dang deep you'll end up not just entirely curious but would make you want to watch more, more, more!

4) Subtle Romance. Romance does not take center stage anywhere in this drama. Given the thick plot and the resetters' dire need to stay alive until the end, romance would definitely be the last thing they'd even try to think about, yet it works. Even if it was very subtle, how the show has hinted at the possibility of romance between fanboy detective Hyeong Ju and witty webtoon writer Ga Hyeon just works. It provided a breather for intensely heavy situations we are being fed on, and I couldn't believe how a simple fist-bump would work wonders in making viewers swoon like crazy.

Despite the romance being super subtle in this show, the fact that Lee Joon Hyuk and Nam Ji Hyun had amazing chemistry cannot be denied. This was probably the reason why Hyeong Ju and Ga Hyeon's romance worked really well. Apart from this, their characters were written to fit the romance bill quite well too, despite the dark theme of the show. I love how Hyeong Ju and Ga Hyeon started from being strangers to being friends who'd risk their own lives just to save one another, but I love most how the show has emphasized that no matter the timeline, these two were always meant to be with each other. Swoon. ❤️

5) Female Lead.  At first I didn't like Shin Ga Hyeon. I thought she would just be another addition to K-Dramaland's vast list of damsels in distress, but was I glad to be proven wrong. Ga Hyeon was more than just a helpless webtoon writer, she was brave and smart and was extremely analytical. I love how curious she was and how she kept trying to figure out the rules as to why the resetters were dying one by one. I love how quick she thinks and acts, as well as how helpful she had been to Hyeong Ju all throughout the show. 

One of the highlights of Ga Hyeon's display of wittiness for me was when she was on the phone with Sun Ho during Episode 20. After figuring out that all of the killings that involved the resetters happened within the district of Seoul Makang's Police Station, she had been quite wary of Sun Ho. In that sense, it was just so smart of her to not spill any details about how her meeting with Young Woong's teacher went, especially since prior to revealing the details of the meeting, we were only shown how Sun Ho had tried to pry information from her. I was like, "Do not give anything away. That man's fishy. Do not give anything away." Ha. 🤪

❀ RANTS ❀ »•»

1) A Few Inconsistencies. Sometimes, there were a few instances where certain actions never got explained in the show, and that these actions, logically speaking, doesn't add up to what the show was trying to convey, such as this:

Although I loved how clever it was of 365: Repeat the Year to make Lee Shin such a complex character and turn her from being an evil resetter to being a pitiful mother, I'm not sure I quite understand why she had to be portrayed as someone 'delighted' at toying with the resetters' lives. She seemed really amused at the resetters' dilemma during Episode 12, and after her own reason for resetting has been thoroughly explained at the end of the show, she then changed from being evil to someone whom the viewers felt sympathetic with. This makes her characterization not vague at all, but rather, felt a little bit forced. It was like her characterization depended on where she was needed to get the story moving. 😒

And this:

I've had a problem with the limo since the beginning of the show. First, Lee Shin was the one who invited the resetters to join the reset. It seemed like she was the only one who knows the process, yet she was there, inside the limo, with the rest of the resetters. In the end, it was revealed that Lee Shin was only following No Seob's instructions regarding the reset and that he was the original one who had discovered such a feat. Yet if we go back on the first episode, he was also inside the limo with the rest of the resetters. Who was driving the limo then? I think I haven't seen anyone in the driver's seat... Was it automatically set then? How? Why? I even had to go back and watch that particular scene again just to get answers, but I don't think I have found what I was looking for. 😒

Also this:

I know that in the 6th timeline (and probably the timelines prior to this) Hyeong Ju was the one who found Maru after Ga Hyeon lost her because of the car accident. However in the 7th timeline, we see Maru wag its tail and be warm at Hyeong Ju even if they're supposed to not have met each other yet. I don't think Maru was with them during all of the resets. I don't think I even saw her in the limo to begin with. So... what's this?

❀ RULING ❀ »•»

365: Repeat the Year may have its fair share of flaws, but nevertheless, these do not take away the awesomeness that the show was able to exude from start to finish. It remained suspenseful and intriguing until the end, bold and smart but never went too far ahead of itself. Truly one of the bests this year.

Edit 05/13/2020: So apparently, Maru was experiencing an "Akashic Record", as per this MBC clip which explains why Maru remembers Hyeong Ju even if they supposedly haven't met yet in the 7th timeline. According to gaia.com, the Akashic Record is believed to be the repository of every thought, word and deed of every living being, good, bad and awful, in all times; past, present, future. So that's why Maru seemed close to Hyeong Ju... The dog was able to recall bits of memories in all of the timelines he has been in because of the Akashic Record. Wow. 😯

PS. Just thought about this... If Maru apparently experiences the Akashic Record, it's possible for Ga Hyeon to experience this too, right? Wow. That would make a pretty good material should a second season for 365: Repeat the Year be in the works. Make it happen MBC! Pretty please! 🙏

TAGS: 365: Repeat The Year, K-Drama, K-Drama Reviews, Lee Joon Hyuk, Nam Ji Hyun   Edit