It was recently announced that the Taiwanese drama Some Day or One Day is getting a Korean remake. This has spurred on a wave of new watchers, and Drama Geek was one of them. There was buzz early in 2020 about this drama, but it’s possible that the beginning of the pandemic swallowed up the hype, and left this drama watcher unaware that it was a must-watch.
SPOILERS: I will try to keep the plot spoilers to a minimum because that is where this drama excels, but it might be hard to not give some things away.
The Story
The highlight of this drama is it’s well thought out plot. Many time travel dramas get lost in the twists and turns of changing time lines, and by the end the viewer is not sure which way is up or down, and what really happened at the end (I’m looking at you Nine Times Time Travel). Some Day does have layers and twists, and kept me guessing on the resolution until the end. One aspect that kept the plot moving in a forward direction is that our lead Huang Yu Xuan (Alice Ke) doesn’t jump back and forth changing things willy nilly trying to get a different outcome for the future.
Yu Xuan jumps back in time, thinking she’s really Chen Yun Ru, and starts living her life. She’s eventually pulled back to her own time, and is able to find out key things about where she had been and what happened to the girl she believed she was for a short time. When she ends up back in Chen Yun Ru’s body, she has a mystery to solve to avoid her murder, but she also just lives the other girl’s life. It’s not hard to understand why she’d be inclined to when one of the boys by her side looks and acts like her dead boyfriend.
The People
Alice Ke does an excellent job at playing the morose Chen Yun Ru, and then the more outgoing Yu Xuan. There are moments toward the end of the thirteen episodes where you start questioning yourself on who she really is, and the actress pulls off the subtle differences brilliantly.
On the other hand, Greg Hsu is allowed to revel in his boyish charm in both roles and is a delight no matter which love interest he’s playing. Without giving away spoilers about their romance, I will say that each time you watch these two fall in love, it’s sweet and exciting. Once another aspect of their time spent together is revealed, it helps you understand the distress and sadness Yu Xuan feels at the beginning, and why she can’t move on after her boyfriend has been dead for two years.
Then there’s Mo Jun Jie (Patrick Shih). He fell for the quiet introspective girl (who penned some of the most sadly beautiful lines in her journal before her life is taken over). He sees her when no one else does, seeing the pain she was in, and wanting to get to know her better. He’s never given the chance to show her why she’d be happier with him instead of his goofy best friend. The scenes where he notices her are quiet and beautiful, and make you want the best for him in whatever timeline they end up with.
The Question
The show didn’t shy away from the moral quandary of one person barging in and taking over someone else’s life. One of the brilliant production choices is how they showed what Chen Yun Ru was doing the entire time her life was being lived for her. Yes, saving her from an early death is important, but at what cost?
The biggest question the show poses is about fated love, the huge kind that spans time and space and goes against all odds. Is that love worth a hefty body count and people mentally scarred for life? Movies, books, and dramas tell us it is worth it. You do whatever it takes to get that love. But will this show?
To find out, check out Some Day or One Day on Viki. It’s a 13-episode Taiwanese drama that may have you buckled in and staying up late to hear the song just one more time.
As always,
Drama Geek
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi
I’ve had this on my list for ages – I actually even watched ep. 1 – but it does have a lot of sadness and knowing that kept me from watching it over the past pandemic year. I think I may dip back in this spring. The cast won a lot of prizes for this show.
It’s actually not as sad as the first episode makes you think it is. It’s probably because she’s thrown into a high school friendship with the 2 boys, it makes her loss not as palpable.
Finally! I’ve been trying to get your group to watch this since last year! I posted it on of all of your separate twitter feeds and all podcaster/blogs I knew of because I was so moved by this drama. Thank you for bring this beautiful drama to the attention of your followers! I don’t know if I can watch the remake though, this drama was so perfect, it sets a very high bar.
You are probably the person that brought it to my attention at the beginning of the pandemic, but I think most of us couldn’t handle anything that looked sad at the time. LOL. Then I saw it mentioned again on Facebook and for some reason I couldn’t find it subbed. I don’t know how I missed it on Viki when I was looking. Thank you for being patient with us this last year. It’s been a hard year to stick to any dramas, so there are probably some we still need to go back and see.
This is the best time travel drama I’ve watched so far in recent years. The time traveling logic makes sense, even with the twists and turns. The music gets stuck in your head. They even have a super good English title song. I only wished they had the big Korean or China production budget to make it even better. I hope the remake doesn’t change the time travel logic.
I’m really, really hoping they don’t mess with the time travel aspect at all. It made sense, and the resolution made sense. I totally forgot to mention the music in the drama. It becomes a part of the experience. I hope they pick a good song, because you hear it a lot! LOL.
Someday of One Day truly is an amazing drama. I watched it a few months ago and absolutely loved it! Glad to see you enjoyed it so much too 🙂
I’m so glad I finally hit play.
I loved Someday or One Day. Drama watchers are no stranger to high school, time travels and epic multi-life stories, but this drama managed to feel so unique and the characters leave you with a clear impression. I’m glad you enjoyed it too!
Also thoroughly enjoyed this. It combines a compelling, very original story with lots of feels.
I agree. So many feels.
This is probably the best contemporary drama of 2020. It’s an original love story looping thru time n space, intricate n multi layered, addressing many serious social issues yet remaining true to the fated love between the main leads. It’s a fantasy but feels so real!
The actors played their dual roles with passion n subtlety n creditability as they switched between teenagers, young adults then adults.
The opening OST n theme song “The Last Dance” are beautiful n integral to the story, as are the constant uses of symbolism.
I’d rate this show a strong 10/10 for the outstanding writing, directing, acting, n music scores. This is one show to watch n rewatch.
I am so glad you gave this drama a chance! I watched it right after it finished airing and just recently rewatched it. Such a well written show with excellent performances from every cast member. The OST songs were all well used and I whenever I play them I’m transported back to how I felt while watching the show. Really a show that sticks with you after watching.