KDrama to Maybe Watch: Heartbeat (2023)

Heartbeat (2023)

Grade: C+

16 Episodes
Viewing Platform: Amazon Prime

Joo In-hae is a young school nurse, trying to make ends meet ever since her father abandoned their family and her mother died. She loses her apartment and deposit as her “landlord” runs off on demolition day and is about to lose her job because she cut a student's hair. (It was an attempt to draw attention to the girl being bullied.) Then In-hae receives word that her father has been declared legally dead, and she receives a spooky mansion as an inheritance. While exploring the large old house, she discovers a coffin with a BODY INSIDE. Turns out she interrupted vampire Seon Woo-hyul's hundred-year sleep – one day short of his goal to turn human because he wants to experience “heart-pounding” love! Will Woo-hyul be able to complete his transformation into a human and find his reincarnated lost love? Will In-hae's successful old college friend (who is actually a vampire hunter descendant) succeed in drinking a half-vampire's blood to cure his early, inherited death sentence? And what will Woo-hyul's vampire rival do in response to Woo-hyul's return?

*The first 6 episodes of this drama were SO GOOD! I always love a supernatural element to a kdrama, and the intro music and animation are the PERFECT backdrop for a story like this. There are several funny and romantic tension scenes, which I love – but then the pacing drops off and a bunch of sad dialogue and moody “staring off into the distance” shots take over. Honestly, it would have been SO much better if they had chosen to make this an action-romance-comedy instead of a romance-tragedy. The writers portray Woo-hyul like a terminal patient instead of a supernatural creature, and (SPOILER alert) they just let him die! I don't want to see a normal, believable ending when there are characters who are unbelievable; give me a fantastic ending to match the fantasy start! I enjoyed parts of this show, but overall I won't watch it again.*

Photo By Naver, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73858975