49 Il

Omg this drama is literally one of my top favorite!!

It has similar vibes to "oh my ghost" The show is absolutely amazing !! It's definitely a must watch !!!

It's a straight 10/10 for me

Warning: this series is developed to make you fall in love with all characters, and the more you'll get to the end the more you'll cry, more and more, and so much even after the end that you won't want to watch anything else for a while. Instead, you will want to watch it again because it moves you deeply inside. In other words this is all about LOVE and SADNESS, i warned you. It will put in your heart a sad weight. If you love sobfests, if you are in the right mood, 49 days will drain all your available tears. Your tears would alone save all the cast! The storytelling, the actors, the music and the direction are so well harmonized and real that you will actually experience mourning.

49 Days' premise of a soul from a comatose / brain-dead person having 49 days to find 3 tears of pure love from friends (family excluded) to allow the return from the afterlife intrigued me from the start. The writing of this drama was excellent, every episode had surprises. The production of the drama was also top notch. The acting was the weakest aspect of the drama. The great story trumped some flat performances.

What I liked about the show a) standout character was the Scheduler played to emotional perfection by Jung Il-woo. He guides the soul through the process and has an intriguing story. The actor Jung Il-woo also was riveting as male lead in Flower Boy Ramen Shop (worth watching). b) male lead Han Kang played by Jo Hyun-jae was quietly loving and worked to support the soul's journey. For you Jane Austen fans, he was Mr. Darcy in this drama. c) writer So Hyun-kyung crafted 20 episodes of intrigue, interwoven characters with plenty of surprises along the way. He also wrote Shining Inheritance (2009 kdrama). I preferred 49 days to Shining Inheritance (good kdrama) which I watched strictly for this writer.

What I did not like about the show a) depressed heroine Song Yi Kyung played by Lee Yo-won was hard to gravitate to and like. Her story unfolds during the drama and you root for her in the end, but when the lead character is despondent, it sets a tone. When the soul inhabits her, interest picks up. b) lack of passion from most of the characters. Most of the cast seemed like they were acting in a fog and came across flat. Many of the actors were also in Shining Inheritance and not flat there, so I don't know what happened. Especially villain Kang Min Ho played as tightly wound by Bae Soo-bin. Bae Soo-bin was adorable as Park Jun-se in Shining Inheritance. Must be his hair was so cute in Shining Inheritance and so drab in 49 days. c) twist in the final episode seemed unnecessary but it didn't change my opinion of this fine drama. I'm OK with how the drama ended.

I write this review in 2023, 12 years later than this show was aired. Fortunately, it aged well! (The only exception may be cinematography - modern shows have a different color scheme / setting, more similar to that of movies, while the color scheme here still has the 'retro TV-show' feeling.)

What I really liked in this show is the screenwriting. Full of great twists and turns! Surprises never stop, even the last episode has plenty. Refreshingly different all in all than a Hollywood show.

Acting is very nice, soundtracks also. One of the finest 'Reaper, (re)incarnation, spiritual romance' Kdrama. 9/10.

The story is a marvel of construction and it is amazing how everything fits in and is explained without plot holes. Once you accept the basic premise of borrowing the body all the scenes and dialogue make sense and the complex situations and characters come together logically and seamlessly. It takes concentration to remember who knows what when but it pays off.

Nam Gyu Ri is pretty and expressive and suits the optimistic girl Ji Hyun perfectly. The lead actor Jo Hyun Jae is quite passionate and convincing. The villains played by the stunningly beautiful Seo Ji Hye and the usually good guy Bae Soo Bin are well thought out and sympathetically handled. They are so likeable usually in other roles that it was not easy at first accepting them as the antagonists but this is what made the show so balanced. I love the way that the less financially well off people aren't made to be the good ones and the wealthier ones are not the bad ones. In this way the series doesn't fall into cliches that plague some K dramas. It is realistic that sometimes the wealthier person has good intentions but the recipient of the help is jealous instead of appreciative. This is a fact and should be shown more often.

Lee Yo Won does a good job differentiating her 2 characters the depressed self and the one occupied by Ji Hyun. As a bonus the Scheduler Jung Il Woo is quite memorable and his side story is poignant. The ending is realistic as far as a show like this can get with a nice little twist. Although some may have hoped for a more fairy tale ending.

One of the best written K dramas out there.