Early Access: Run On E1 (Patreon)

E1. Immediately, within Show's first few seconds, I'm struck by how beautiful this show looks, with its bold Spring palette that pops with a breezy, sunny sort of life. I like that a lot. I feel like this fabulously happy color palette applies more to the outdoor, daytime scenes, rather than the whole show, but it's still very nice to have.

I'm not sure about upcoming episodes, but this episode, at least, felt deliberately off-kilter. I feel it's to bring out the quirkiness of both lead characters, and I also feel like it's a visceral sort of thing, in terms of whether you take to it or not. I feel like some viewers would instinctively enjoy our two quirky leads, while others would be put off by them. So far, I am taking to it fairly well, even as I'm hoping and expecting that it all comes together in a way that vibes more organic than it does now. Right now it feels rather manufactured to my eyes, but I like enough about this opening episode, to see what else Show has to offer.

I've seen Im Si Wan in shows like Misaeng and The King Loves, and he doesn't come across as athletic in either. So, I'm slightly startled to realize that the athletic actually becomes him very nicely. I shouldn't be surprised, though, since, 1, he's an idol and idols are famously always in sculpted shape, and 2, he's completed his military service, where he did well enough to be appointed an instructor. Randomly, I'm most impressed by his core strength, which we see in that shot of him doing that rotating hanging leg raise. That takes A LOT of control, and he makes it look so easy. Wow.

More shallow observations (and I promise I'll stop soon): 1, his shoulders are much broader than I expected, because he always looks like he's built on the slight side, and 2, his face is definitely leaner and more chiseled, and he looks very handsome in a suit.

I find that this athleticism, overlaid with Seon Gyeom's distinctive brand of unwavering straight-talking innocence, a rather dissonant and interesting combination. It kinda-sorta feels like Misaeng's Jang Geu Rae's become all athletic and much more confident about speaking his mind, while retaining his purity and innocence. So far, I like it, and I'm curious to learn more about Seon Gyeom, his 4D personality, and what makes him tick.

I think Shin Se Kyung does well in bubbly, outspoken roles, and so far, I like her reasonably well as Mi Joo, in the sense that I like her energy in general. I find that the quirky doesn't land as well with me as Seon Gyeom's brand of quirky, in that it feels quite.. curated, to my eyes. I feel like I can see writer-nim deciding that this combination of qualities would make Mi Joo quirky and interesting. So far, Mi Joo hasn't come together as a whole, for me, but I like her well enough, and have hope that given some time, her character will settle.

For example, I don't understand why Mi Joo picks up the water and douses herself with it, after her ex-professor throws soju at her, and then tells him to apologize. What is that supposed to even mean..? What purpose did the additional water serve?

In terms of the interactions between Seon Gyeom and Mi Joo, these currently also lean manufactured in their vibe, I feel. It all feels purposely scripted to bring out the crossed wires between them, due to their individual quirks. However, I do feel like there's room for this to settle and grow into something with organic charm, so I'm looking forward to see how this will develop.

I like that aside from the coincidental meet-cutes, which feel relatively random, Seon Gyeom and Mi Joo are going to cross paths because of work. I'd like to see how the connection between them forms and settles, now that they have a reason to spend larger chunks of time together.