Modernizing reincarnation story, The Legend of the Blue Sea fascinated with an entrancing romance narrative powered by stellar lead pairing.
The year 2016 is a thriving period for K-Dramaland with notable hit after hit series paraded on the small screen that it was so easy for mediocre dramas to be washed away by heavy hitters. But The Legend of the Blue Sea held its ground well averaging 17.6 nationwide viewership ratings according to Nielsen Korea. It also emerges as one of the best Korean dramas of 2016.
- Main Leads: Jun Ji Hyun | Lee Min Ho | Shin Hye Sun | Lee Ji Hoon
- Romance/Addictive Meter:
- Overall Rating:
- Rewatch Value:
- Dramas of Similar Vibe: Goblin | The King: Eternal Monarch | Tale of the Nine-Tailed | Bride of the Water God | My Love From The Star |
The Legend of the Blue Sea Quick Recap
A mermaid chooses to live in the land out of faith that the man she loves will love her back. It turns out their connection runs deep as they were also lovers in their previous lives.
The Legend of the Blue Sea Series Highlights
At the time of its airing, expectations ran high for its A-list actors and creative team. Justifying the hype, the series was exceptional in maintaining the fantasy, romance, and comedy as it progressed in the story.
True, that it can’t be helped for it to be compared with My Love From The Star, having the same psycho villain and supernatural love-defying theme, but the base fantasy-folklore approach that seems to be familiar to anyone is most likely the key ingredient to its delightful run.
Endearing Love Tale From Hallyu’s Top Stars
Responding to the challenge of being the male lead of a celebrated actress, Lee Min Ho took the reign of carrying the weight of the story by leveling up to Jun Ji Hyun’s expected brilliant portrayal by polishing his comedic chops and emotions. Pulling off his character with a refreshing quirk and impressive bravado seals how versatile he can go from his earlier pretty face label to a truly bankable actor.
Meanwhile, Gianna Jun’s inventive approach of suiting up her role in a lingering fun way provided hilarious moments. At the same time, her optimism about her new-found world prods us that small joys surround us.
Her love journey with Heo Joon Jae is an amusing and love-affirming watch in the sense that they learn to understand each other’s flaws and adjust when necessary, in appeasing their fears and celebrating what makes them happy.
Mesmerizing Modern Fantasy Romance
The fusion of reincarnation plot and the mermaid-human romance appeared trite at its onset, but as the plot thickened, it felt like the mythical element was stronger as the driving point than the real-life premise projected in the story.
Another thing that was nicely done by the writer was how the melancholia of the past timeline seemed to complement the quirky flow of the present timeline. The Legend of the Blue Sea makes viewers smile a lot. It warms our hearts as we cheer on the impossible fulfillment of Cheong and Joon Jae’s reincarnated romance.
Remarkably, it effortlessly keeps us piqued on how the plot will unfold because it came well prepared for its weekly spectacle. On that note, the series knows when to trigger the adorable points and cast the entrancing spell for viewers to stay invested in its future.
The consistency of the plot while using alternate timelines of the past and the present would have gone ambiguous. But writer Park Ji-eun strategically switched the focal character point from the heroine in its preliminary episodes, then maneuvered to the hero halfway through the story.
Thereafter, she converged them in equilibrium as the narrative hit the waning events and pushed through the conflict resolution. The Legend of the Blue Sea succeeds in a lively pace of intelligent storytelling with smart characters you will not hate as they don’t play dumb at hindrances thrown at them.
The Legend of the Blue Sea Series Musings
I struggled to give the proper love The Legend of the Blue Sea deserves because it is airing with equally amazing dramas when it was airing, but I remained steadfast and faithful even with the penultimate episode’s joke.
Having time-transcending and supernatural love-defying themes appeared to be ambitious and risky due to its tendencies of not being able to expound on the development of the characters moving in the story. But the base fairytale approach that seems to be familiar to anyone is most likely the key ingredient to its engaging ride.
It was impressive how the story stayed focused while fusing the two timelines by not over-using the technicalities and details, but by enhancing the emotional connection of the main leads.
Steadily amazing on its run, each episode is a satisfying watch that propels the audience’s addiction to look forward to the story. A little gripe on its safe landing in the last episode can’t be overlooked because a flashy closure befits the series.
The Legend of the Blue Sea is strong on the candied-heart-fluttering moments of Heo Joon Jae and Shim Cheong, but even stronger on relaying the couple’s sweet and yet agonizing journey to endure the love they have in the present in the pretext of a human-mermaid romance impossibility.
It neatly executed the narrative by using simple rules considering its metaphysical premise. It modernized the reincarnation plot, by playing the resident drama fix of how true love overcomes almost anything.
Photos: SBS Drama
