While You Were Sleeping – Review

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Bae Suzy and Lee Jong-suk star in the suspenseful Kdrama, While You Were Sleeping. Bae Suzy (Start-up) is Nam Hong-hoo, a reporter who can see future events in her dreams.   After suffering a car accident where she is blamed for killing a pedestrian, she meets a young prosecutor, Jung Jae-chan (Lee Jong-suk of W and Pinocchio).  As the drama unfolds, an interconnection is revealed between Hong-hoo and Jae-chan along with valiant police office Han Woo-tak played by Jung Hai-in (D.P.).  A series of legal cases propel the story, drawing in our trio heroes and often placing them in danger.  Lee Yoo-beom (Lee Sang-yeob), a former prosecutor and now attorney, is the thorn in their side and a disturbing thread through the cases.

Lee Jong-suk as Jung Jae-chan and Bae Suzy as Nam Hong-joo - SBS TV
Lee Jong-suk as Jung Jae-chan and Bae Suzy as Nam Hong-joo: SBS TV
  • Series Title:  While You Were Sleeping (Korean: 당신이 잠든 사이에)
  • Starring:  Bae Suzy, Lee Jong-suk, Jung Hae-in, Lee Sang-yeob, Kim Won-hae
  • Written by:  Park Hye-ryeon (also known as Park Hye-ryun)
  • Directed by:  Choong Hwan-oh
  • Network:  SBS TV
  • Where to watch in the US:  Hulu
  • Premier Date:  September 27, 2017
  • # of episodes:  16
  • KafeNook Rating: 4.8 sips

While You Were Sleeping Review – !! Spoilers Ahead!!

While You Were Sleeping is a legal drama.  No wait.  While You Were Sleeping is a romantic comedy.  Nope.  While You Were Sleeping is a paranormal thriller.  Wrong again.  While You Were Sleeping is all those things and more.  Reporter, Hong-hoo, the first of our trio has experienced disturbing dreams of future traumatic events since a young age.  This includes seeing the death of her own father resulting in feelings of immense guilt at not able to stop his tragic fate.    The first episode of the series nicely sets up Hong-hoo’s past, as well as her current life showing how she dreams of tragic events but is not being able to stop them.  

While You Were Sleeping - SBS TV
While You Were Sleeping: SBS TV

On a snowy, Valentine’s Day night, Hong-hoo is in a car driven by attorney, Lee Yoo-beom. The car swerves hitting and killing young police officer, Woo-tak.  Months later, Hong-hoo comes out of a coma and learns two devasting things.  First, she is being framed by Yoo-beom for the death of Woo-tak.  Second, that her mother worked herself to death in the meantime to pay off debts.  The hopelessness that Hong-hoo feels at her situation is heartbreaking. It’s made worse by the fact the person prosecuting her case, Jung Jae-chan, does not believe her side of the story.

While You Were Sleeping Twists and Turns

The first big twist of the series (totally did not see this coming) occurs as Hong-hoo steps off the hospital building to end her own life.  Jae-chan, who tries to stop her, suddenly wakens from seeing the events concerning Hong-hoo in a dream.  Once he figures out his dream is of the future, he sets out to change it.  Twist number two arrives after Jae-chan prevents police officer Woo-tak’s death, only for Woo-tak to start dreaming about Jae-chan’s future. 

Lee Jong-suk as Jung Jae-chan, Bae Suzy as Nam Hong-joo and Jung Hae-in as Han Woo-tak - SBS TV
Lee Jong-suk as Jung Jae-chan, Bae Suzy as Nam Hong-joo and Jung Hae-in as Han Woo-tak: SBS TV

The premise of these three characters being able to see the futures of the others provides many more twists and turns. (Hong-hoo can see both Jae-chan and Woo-tak’s futures, Jae-chan can only see Hong-hoo’s, and Woo-tak can only see Jae-chan’s)  Future possibilities fold and unfold upon themselves.  Every time I thought I had this drama figured out, something unexpected happened.  Moments of comedy and romance are expertly sliced between legal proceedings and thrilling action scenes.  All legal cases are interesting with each case amping up the tension in the series. 

Once our heroes learn they can change the future, they have some success.  Hoorah!  Except, it doesn’t always work out and can as easily create a different problem or impact the same person but in a different way.  Take what happens to Jae-chan.  Hong-hoo sees him getting stabbed in her dream. She believes their subsequent actions have saved him from that fate, until he’s shot instead.

Nam Hong-joo - SBS TV
Nam Hong-joo: SBS TV

The chemistry between the three leads is strengthened through comedic and intense situations.  Though I knew Hong-hoo would eventually end up with Jae-chan, a big part of me rooted for Woo-tak.  Even Jae-chan had a soft spot for his friend, Woo-tak, and could not fault him for his feelings for Hong-hoo.

Subplots

The history between Hong-hoo and Jae-chan, whose fathers died on the same day at the hands of the same person, is slowly revealed throughout the series.   The two end up saving the killer’s brother. Given the dream logic, this made me think the brother would be experiencing dreams of the people who saved him.   I had no idea of the identity of the brother in the present until he is revealed to be non-other than Investigator Choi Dam Dong.  And sure enough, per the dream logic, he sees Hong-hoo and Jae-chan in danger in a dream.

Lee Sang-yeob as Lee Yoo-beom - SBS TV
Lee Sang-yeob as Lee Yoo-beom: SBS TV

One of the most interesting legal subplots involves a restaurant owner who kills his own brother for the insurance money and tries make it look like a car accident.  The fact that attorney Lee Yoo-beom takes on clients like this with little care as to the person’s crime, shows how despicable he is.  In final scene between Yoo-beom and Jae-chan, Yoo-beom tries to convince Jae-chan that he will become unlucky like him.   But Jae-chan knows differently, informing Yoo-beom “You’re not unlucky. You’re just bad”.  Our brilliant prosecutor, Jae-chan, with Hong-hoo by his side will never be like Yoo-beom.

Best Tear-Jerker Moments

Each lead has at least one great tear-jerker moment.  For Woo-tak, it comes when he knows that he can no longer be a police officer and cries in front of his partner (played by Lee Yoo-joon).  How like him to sacrifice his career to make sure a killer does not go free.

Jung Hae-in as Han Woo-tak - SBS TV
Jung Hae-in as Han Woo-tak: SBS TV

When Jae-chan is shot, Hong-hoo’s goes in the ambulance with him to the hospital. Through an outpouring of tears, Hong-hoo watches as the man she loves fights for his life. At the same time, Jae-chan’s voiceover tells her not blame herself.

Some of Jae-chan’s best tear-jerker moments come with Inspector Choi.  First, when he realizes that his very own Investigator Choi is the man Jae-chan helped saved all those years ago.  The two of them are at a park bench and Jae-chan is upset that Inspector Choi didn’t tell him who he is. Jae-chan breaks down as Inspector Choi tells him that he will have to make one of two hard choices. Later, as Inspector Choi lays dying, he wants to hear the words he remembers Jae-chan saying his dream of this moment from years before.  As Jae-chan talks (through his tears!), the series flashes back to all those moments where the inspector helps Jae-chan to become a better prosecutor.  Inspector Choi tells him, “That’s why I quit being a cop and came looking for you. I came knowing this would happen.” Not a dry eye anywhere. 

Lee Jong-suk as Jung Jae-chan and Kim Won-hae as Choi Dam-dong - SBS TV
Lee Jong-suk as Jung Jae-chan and Kim Won-hae as Choi Dam-dong: SBS TV

Random things I liked  

How much prosecutor Jae-chan is given grief by the people at work for being behind in his case load and burdening his co-workers when digging into investigations.   This emphasized that Jae-chan is not perfect but has a true prosecutor’s heart as he works to uncover the truth.  Also, Jae-chan and his penchant for taking selfies!  Woo-tak’s dog Robin – and Jae-chan speaking doggie/baby talk to Robin.  Hilarious.

While You Were Sleeping has one (or is it two?) of the best kissing scenes hands down in a Kdrama.  A recovering Jae-chan has left the hospital and is walking through the rain to search for Hong-joo.  Because Hong-joo dreamed of this moment, she finds him before he makes himself sick as she saw in her dream.  As the song I Love You Boy plays, Hong-joo tells Jae-chan of her dream and images of the dream are juxtaposed with the present. Queue the song It’s You as two of them kiss in the rain in both scenes.   

Bae Suzy and Lee Jong-suk - SBS TV
Bae Suzy and Lee Jong-suk: SBS TV

While You Were Sleeping Ending

The ending of While You Were Sleeping is perfect.   Hong-woo has a dream about Woo-tak going to law school. As a result, she takes him law books even when he hasn’t realized where his future lies.  Former police officer Woo-tak is going to be a brilliant layer.  (While You Were Sleeping season 2 staring Woo-tak anyone?)  At the wedding of two of Jae-chan’s co-workers, Jae-chan catches the bridal bouquet followed by Hong-woo catching it after a re-throw.  This nicely foreshadows Hong-woo and Jae-chan’s wedding without the need to show their nuptials.  Cut to newlyweds Hong-woo and Jae-chan reflecting back on a moment from the previous year when Hong-woo told Jae-chan of a dream of their future. Such a wonderful ending for this trio of characters.

While You Were Sleeping - SBS TV
While You Were Sleeping: SBS TV

While You Were Sleeping Soundtrack 

The While You Were Sleeping soundtrack is chock full of fantastic music.  Some of the ones I’ve added to my Kdrama playlist include:  When Night Falls, sung by Eddy Kim, It’s You by Henry (bonus – it’s sung in English), and Suzy’s beautiful I Love You Boy which is always played at just the right Hong-joo/Jae-chan moments.  Lee Jong-suk provides some nice vocals for two songs on the soundtrack:  Come to Me and Do You Know.   Music queues also shine in this series.  I loved the ominous music titled When The Nightmares Started which elevates the tension, as well as Traveler signaling tensions are high.   All in all – the While You Were Sleeping soundtrack is a winner. 

My Rating:  4.8 sips

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