Head over Heels (2025) 견우와 선녀
Directed by Kim Yong-wan, starring Cho Yi-hyun as Park Seong-ah, Choo Young-woo as Bae Gyeon-woo/Bong-su, Cha Kang-yoon as Pyo Ji-ho, Choo Ja-hyun as Yeom-hwa, and Kim Mi-kyung as General Dong-cheon/Mother Sin.
Watched 29 June - 30 July 2025 — 12 episodes (KISSKH)
*This fantasy series with supernatural elements started really promising but it went seriously downhill with the last episodes.
*Initially I loved it, primarily because I love the female lead Cho Yi-hyun as Park Seong-ah. I had never seen her before in a series. She plays such a lovable character, a high schooler by day and shaman by night. She's cute, adorable, determined and feisty. We also see her napping during class and she's not a very good student.
*I'm not really fond of the male lead Choo Young-woo (as Bae Gyeon-woo/Bong-su). I first saw him in Once Upon a Small Town (only seen 1 episode, might pick it up again), then in The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, but I still don't see the appeal of him and don't like his looks very much. But he might be steadily growing on me.
*I also chose this show because I had read it has Lovely Runner vibes. Here the female lead also wants to save the male lead from a premature death. But it's nothing like Lovely Runner, a show I love so much, with a great romance at its center. In Head over Heels there are no heart-fluttering feels at all! At least, nothing was fluttering in my chest!
*Watching this over the course of weeks while it was being aired and having to wait for new episodes, I lost a bit of interest along the way. And the plot with the ghosts, spells and exorcism gets increasingly convoluted when we come towards the end of the show. The last two episodes were even difficult to get through, they were actually quite a mess. All of a sudden Park Seong-ah has disappeared and is an evil ghost. In ep. 11 Bae Gyeon-woo or Bong-su (which one is it?) is chasing faceless ghosts using his bow and arrows and amulets. Honestly, I couldn't follow the plot anymore and gave up trying. I also was trying to understand the Yeom-hwa character but failed and I had actually enough of her.
*Then there's a 2-year time lapse and Bae Gyeon-woo/Bong-su meets Yeom-hwa again who wants to kill Seong-ah, and he's waiting for Seong-ah to appear in his dreams. And then we get a bold Seong-ah, who has an evil spirit in her body. There are some cringeworthy parts, e.g. the fashion show. Fortunately the last episode has some nice moments when Seong-ah is herself again (not the bold girl with bad clothing), and it regained some of the vibe I loved about the show. I also like the dream sequence in the classroom with the main couple.
*Love Seong-ah's bedroom with the beautiful wallpaper!
*Love Seong-ah's relationship with her adoptive mum (Kim Mi-kyung as General Dong-cheon/Mother Sin).
*Credit goes to the character of Pyo Ji-ho, played by Cha Kang-yoon. He's Seong-ah's best friend and a great sport when it's comes to being the third wheel in the love triangle. He is crushing on Seong-ah but also befriends Gyeon-woo. I like how he never pursues Seong-ah actively because he knows she likes Gyeon-woo. By the way, I like Bong-su better than Gyeon-woo, he's much more outgoing. I like serious and silent characters but Gyeon-woo is a bit boring and his character is not very engaging. Also, the romance could have been developed better.
*Nice OST!
*So ..... I enjoyed this very much at the beginning but I'm sooooo disappointed that it didn't live up to its potential.