Alhambeura Goongjeonui Chooeok: (Memories of the Alhambra)

May 16, 2021 6:15 AM - Season 1 (Full Season)

While looking for the cryptic creator of an innovative augmented-reality game, an investment firm executive meets a woman who runs a hostel in Spain. (Netflix, tvN)

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Kdrama Kisses review (spoiler free)

HELLOKPOP Review: "For the most part, specifically 15 episodes and three quarters of its last episode, Memories of the Alhambra did not let me down."

TheFangirlVerdict - flash review: "Daring & different. The internal logic gets a little shaky, but Show’s not a bad ride – given the right (slightly blurry) lens."

TheDramaCorner review: "My final words about Memories Of The Alhambra sum up to this: credit to the drama for taking a fresh setting, highly imaginative and engrossing for a long time, complete with twists and turns. But forced romance, unnecessary characters, plus unsatisfactory explanation and ending leaves a very bad taste. Hyun Bin is super awesome and the only reason I can now suggest to watch this drama. Sigh. So many ”what could have been”s."

posted by oh yeah! (1 comment total)

At some point after watching 'Crash Landing On You', I started to give this one a go, as it's the only other thing with Hyun Bin on Netflix, but I kinda bounced off from the confusing beginning. But then my friend started the show last week and got completely sucked in, so I decided to give it another go and catch up with her, and once I got past the very beginning and Hyun Bin showed up, I was hooked as well. (I mean, look at this man, so handsome, gah).

This show was so good for so much of the run. The dawning horror of the game's inescapability, the beautiful visuals, a good OST, the mystery, terrific side characters (little sister Min Joo - every scene between her and Hyun Bin's Jin Woo are golden, and Secretary Seo was so great). But a frustratingly bad ending.

I would rank the badness of the ending as not retroactive show-killer like a 'How I Met Your Mother' or 'Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol' finale. I think it's on par with 'Black' for WTF-ness, but I think it's especially frustrating because I could never actually imagine a satisfying concluding for 'Black', whereas with 'Memories of the Alhambra' I can absolutely imagine a few different ways they could have ended the show that would have been emotionally and thematically satisfying, even while still being ambiguous and open-ended if they were hoping to springboard into another season someday.

I don't regret having watched it the show, so, I think if you're a fan of kdramas (and of Hyun Bin), it's a good one to see despite the ending.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:30 AM on May 16, 2021