[HanCinema's Drama Review] "See You In My 19th Life" Episode 2

So as could already have been largely inferred, Joo-won died at a very young age. But in a bit of unexpectedly extreme trauma, she died in a car crash where Seo-ha was also present. So while Joo-won uses her last moments to try and impart to Seo-ha that she's going to reincarnate, he can't hear her because the accident damaged his ears. Even in the present day, Seo-ha needs to use a hearing aid, although this particular plot point isn't as interesting as it sounds.

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What is interesting is that by the end of the second episode, "See You In My 19th Life" has acknowledged that Ji-eum's position as Joo-won's reincarnation chasing after Seo-ha romantically is an inherently creepy one. More importantly, Ji-eum herself realizes this as she watches Seo-ha visit Joo-won's grave. This marks the first significant realization on Ji-eum's part that the tragic endpoint of Seo-ha's relationship with Joo-won makes his memories of her something that he's not likely to dwell on or see in present day echoes of Ji-eum's character.

The emotional core of "See You In My 19th Life" is strong even as at other times I struggled to figure out what exactly is even going on. The corporate plot is oddly vague, with Ji-eum's job seeming to jump at random between the automobile aspect of the business and the hotelier side. I'm not even completely sure whether or not there's supposed to be a power struggle going on, since Seo-ha acts like a manager and not a corporate heir.

The secondary cast in general is likewise poorly defined. A big point is made of the fact that Cho-won (played by Ha Yoon-kyung) is Seo-ha's little sister, all grown up. But there's not much for Cho-won to actually do except be incidentally admired by Ji-eum, who saw Joo-won's relationship with Cho-won as being a very sisterly one. In general "See You In My 19th Life" is mainly about Ji-eum's observations, for better or worse.

I can't quite make up my mind whether or not to like this drama. Most of the time it's quite cute, like when we see young Ji-eum's encounter with frustrated teenage Seo-ha, where she helps to cheer him up. Even the pathos is quite well done, and works as well as it does mainly because Ji-eum is consistently portrayed as self-centered. But I'm hesitant to be too optimistic about where the rest of the story is going.

Written by William Schwartz

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"See You In My 19th Life" is directed by Lee Na-jeong, written by Choi Young-rim, Han Ah-reum-II, and features Shin Hye-sun, Ahn Bo-hyun, Ha Yoon-kyung, Ahn Dong-goo, Cha Chung-hwa, Kang Myung-joo. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2023/06/17~Now airing, Sat, Sun 21:20 on TVING, tvN.