YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT TO FEEL IT.
Trust me, the emotions you feel watching this drama cannot be replicated by reading any plot synopsis or watching a summary video on youtube. And, I suggest that you dive into it without checking out the spoilers.
Now, coming to the review:
This was a MASTERPIECE in my opinion. The cinematography was beautiful and takes you back to the 90s and 2000s. The time travel plot was very well done. I thought it would be confusing but it wasn't. However, there was a time in the second half when I had to take a breather because my BRAIN STOPPED BRAINING. Haha!
Also, I didn't realise that I completed 12 episodes at one go. The pacing and the plot twists in every episode were so good that an hour long episode felt like 20 minutes (I legit felt the concept of relativity while watching a time travel drama, great!).
Tbh, I am not a fan of melodramas because I detest the feeling of gloom after watching them. But, this was different. While, I am not a crier, stray tears did escape more often than I would like to admit. I always thought that in terms of people dying left, right and centre; no drama could compete with Moonlovers - Scarlet Heart Ryeo. But 'A Time Called You' was like hold my maegju. SMH.
However, I felt warm seeing the kind of love that was portrayed. It made me feel the butterflies of a first love, the comfort of a mature love, the pain of separation and the overwhelming relief of reunion.
The actors did such a wonderful job, the way they portrayed the same characters differently across different timelines.
Jeon Yeo-been was exceptional especially how she shifted her personality between the characters. The way she looked at her lover, laughed, walked and talked; all changed with the role and the timeline.
Ahn Hyo-seop made my heart skip whenever he was on screen. The character he played was not just a green flag but the greenest banner spanning across timelines. I mean how convincingly he portrayed the character who yearns for his lover across time and space.
Kang Hoon proved that even without a lot of lines, one's screen presence can be pretty impactful. Also, the way he emotes with his eyes is at another level altogether.
Each of their stories were beautiful and so was the ending (would like to thank the makers for it). The ending made me hopeful and happy but at the same time made my heart ache. Maybe, because of the thought that so many precious memories and relationships that were once made upon various timelines would be loss forever as if they never existed. For once, I felt sad more for the memories that would cease to exist rather than for the people who would never meet.
All in all, this was the kind of drama that stays with you long after you finish watching it. I still feel a kind of tug at my heart when I think about it or hear the OST. So, I will definitely revisit it again, whenever A Time Calls Me.