Um Pedaço da Sua Mente (2020)

Failure is an option

For a slow drama to work you need a tight and controlled storytelling otherwise it will turn into a tasteless picture of which this drama fell into constantly. This notion was only amplified further by poor character writing, poor plot devices, and poor attention to details. The writer must have been utterly delusional thinking she was writing something "good". The final blow was delivered with cutting down the number of episodes. On the bright side, it ended early!

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Slowly Fall by Ha Hyun Sang & Rain or Shine by Elaine (OSTs)

These OSTs sum up the first 3/4 of the drama perfectly, the lovely heart breakingly touching part. So if you are in the mood for these songs, you are in the mood for this drama. It teetered a bit towards the end and felt less slice-of-life. It got shortened to 12 episodes from 16 so I can understand the writers had to cut their original plan and (because I knew that) I can tell the direction they wanted to head in if they had the time. I don't even want to call it minor plot holes because they were that minuscule, I only remembered because I was looking out for it. So if it were given the 16 episode chance it could've been great or it could've been the opposite and bombed. I didn't like where I think it was heading with the minuscule plot holes (it could've been tiresome and repetitively dragged out) but this drama surprised me from the start so it could have surprised me at the end. Because they had to cut it to 16 episodes I feel sorry for the writer who couldn't fully deliver the story they wanted to deliver but unfortunately they cut out too much of the ending they wanted to tell. Instead of trying to squish it all in they basically ending up with nothing in the last few episodes so it was dragged out anyway. Which is why they decided to cut it because too many people were dropping it.

Jung Hae In is killing the slice-of-life genre and I've loved Chae Soo Bin since I first saw her in Cheer Up! They did not let me down and I'm keen to watch both their next roles. Outside these two though the actors were passable, they fulfilled their role but they didn't surpass it and Moon Soon Ho annoyed me, especially when she started getting longer scenes towards the end. None of the characters are meant to be perfect, though Moon Ha Won is pretty close, but Moon Soon Ho was too much. She was realistic, annoyingly realistic! Ignorant and pushy and so annoying. Sure she doesn't know but please stop making comments, I wanted to shush her, like how I want to do that to people in real life. Including myself sometimes.

This story is one of healing, love and loss with amazing music so if you aren't in the mood for either I don't recommend it. "A memory which becomes a button to elevate your will, everyone has a memory which allows them to survive, which cheers you on. Something. A piece of one's own mind." - Moon Ha Won.

A key thing to note is to not take the sci-fi part too seriously, they don't really explain the device and it's very much not possible (or is it).

Quote:
It's not a big deal, just a person I've seen for the first time. He came in as though burrowing into my heart - Han Seo Woo

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This is a philosophical drama that explores “the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct” of the main and supporting characters. Through the fantasy element of the creation of a voice activated AI apparatus, the leading man, Moon Ha Won, is comforted as he creates an application that will help patients that have gone through traumatic events as he himself has. This drama evolves in super slow motion due to the unresolved feelings of important characters which, in one way or another, get their lives entangled through their interaction with Kim Ji Soo, an ephemeral character that leaves a complex and almost disturbing experience on everyone related to her. Then, there is also the lead female character, Han Seo Woo, which on the drama’s synopsis, is described as a person with “an open and optimistic mindset, believing that all things happen for a reason”. Most of the time, Seo Woo was ridiculously unreasonable, intrusive, impulsive, and insecure. Also, she develops a bizarre connection with Kim Ji Soo just after a few brief and almost nonsensical exchanges. Although the lead couple has good chemistry, their beautiful connection and developing love is wasted by Seo Woo’s antsy feelings toward Ha Won and her constant running away from him. Overall, the producers, writers, and editors missed to bring out a meaningful drama out of a potentially great story.

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The first 5-6 episodes were incredible. I have fond memories of the anime "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai", but this show has a more mature story and a better sequencing of events, up to the half way point at least. The actress playing Jisoo did an amazing job, I really felt drawn to her & later on even as a voice actor she was phenomenal. Feels weird that she is supposed to be a supporting actress, however Lee Hana is credited as the second lead. It's not like Lee Hana did a bad job, it's just that the writers were not kind to her character. After episodes 7-8 the writing has become aimless. I mean I get it, the ratings were bad & international audiences don't matter, so they tried a bunch of haphazard ideas to improve ratings, but I don't think that ever works, but it kind of ruins it for the rest of us. (same thing happened to When The Weather is Fine) They focused on Kang Inwook's character way too much to up the conflict, but I don't think anyone cared about him at any point in time. Ultimately the ending is reasonable (not great) and they did deliver on the sad boy meets sad girl & then they heal premise. The title of the drama is "A Piece of Your Mind", to me this means that if the writers have had the chance to develop their original concept we could have gotten a lot more focus on the AI devices. I'm thinking that the old lady that tuned the piano would have had a lot more screen time as well..
We had stunning audio-visuals and good acting performances, but then again there are quite a few side characters that had meaningless storylines. Other than Jisoo & the OTP I did really not care about anyone else, which is a shame, because the cast was great. As for the main leads, they had average chemistry, but their acting performances were great.
One big plus is that even though the "final confrontation" was dragged out, things didn't devolve into full on makjang..

Overall the 8/10 rating seems reasonable for a show this memorable despite the numerous shortcomings.

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Story is a mess

This drama would be perfect if not for the lack of coherence plot-wise, the background story is well defined and it had a lot of potentials.
After a couple of episodes, it felt like the production was throwing punches in the air to make sense of events.

The main one being when Jee Soo dies. She called Seo Woo when she was about to die, Which is just straight-up unrealistic because when someone is in a life and death situation they do anything to survive. She should've called Ha Won who knew where she would be and would've been able to contact local authorities and rescue her.

The second one is how Ha Won deals with his mother's murderer. He's basically just crying on a corner when he should be doing anything to get back to him or at least settle things with a punch or two. Either he's an ANGEL or I don't know.

The last one isn't really bad per se it's just that I find it annoying. The way Soon Ho handles knowing Kang was guilty of the death of Ha Won's mother. It's just infuriating to see her take the side of someone with who she has no connections other than wanting him to feel better or something.

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A MUST WATCH !!!

For me , I really loved the feelings this drama gives me , how you can’t even feel the time passing while you watch the episodes and uh the episode is finished without you knowing ^^ , that’s how beautiful & interesting it is , how precious warm feelings it delivers , how it touches your heart from happiness to sadness eagerness and excitement !! It’s so well written well acted , the visuals and the cinematography is so relaxing and healing , it is totally my kind of dramas , I love how the idea didn’t saw it before , and I can relate to it in many ways regarding the feelings , coz I felt the same of them in my life , I liked how the main acts like a masterpiece , and I really love jung hae in his acting so beautiful and real I like how he can make me get the feels by just looking at him , the expressions he uses , uhhhh he’s just so amazing , the main soobin , I liked her beauty and acting from other shows and as expected she didn’t disappoint , her acting so beautiful and realistic , for me it is so so so my type of drama , I won’t talk much about it coz I don’t like giving spoilers , idk why some ppl didn’t watch it or how sad that it’ll be getting shortened to 12 eps instead of 16 ㅠㅠ like imagine cutting 4 eps of this masterpiece , it’s not one or two it’s 4 y’all ToT I’m so sad and so heartbroken now ㅠㅠ so I came telling how beautiful and worthy this drama is , it didn’t get the recognition it should and so sadly underrated by tasteless ppl , I’m still in shock , how beautifully written well filmed with brilliant visuals and acting , this art got treated like this , for now , waiting for 6 eps more while I was supposed to have 10 more eps coming ㅠㅠ ahhhhh , so disappointed in tvn this time , really a lot

I’m at ep 10 now and I can’t belive it’ll end next week when it was supposed to end in about a month more ㅠㅠㅠㅠ tvn give me my four episodes back ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

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I had a love-hate relationship with this show the entire time. I like JHI and CSB, so I started watching with high expectations, but dropped the show after two episodes. The start of the drama was very confusing. They introduce Jisoo, who is the catalyst for the plot. The way they brought her into the story was... creepy. She's a bit strange too. All her lines were vague and left me with a lot of questions. I guess they were trying to make viewers curious about the plot and build up hype for the later episodes, but I hated it and dropped the show.

I picked it back up again because I was bored. I had no expectations while watching the first half of the show, because I didn't think the drama was that great. I watched this alongside "When The Weather Is Fine", and enjoyed that way more. (They have different vibes but if you're debating between the two, watch that instead lol) But, I can say that this got better as the show progressed. Seeing how different people deal with love & death was interesting.

At first, I liked the combination of slice of life & technology. I've seen Jung Hae In in "similar" dramas (Something in the Rain & Spring Night), but the AI aspect was unique and somewhat refreshing. But as the drama progressed, the idea of the device became a little ridiculous to me. I couldn't look past how unrealistic it was. Slice of life & unrealistic tech? Not a good mix.

Another thing that bothered me was Moon Soonho. She's nosy for no reason, and I thought they'd give us more background on her so we'd empathize with her character but nope. I don't think she added anything to this show. Her scenes annoyed me most of the time.

I grew to love everyone at Eunjoo's Homestay, where Seowoo lives. It reminded me why I chose to stay at a similar place during college. The people living at the homestay have vastly different personalities, but eventually become a family. The homestay was one of the best parts of the show - it's where all the character development happened.

I have many complaints about A Piece Of Your Mind, but I'm a sucker for slice of life so I kept watching. I wouldn't call this a "healing" show because it wasn't healing for me personally, but it's a show about healing. Everyone faces slumps at some point of their lives. This drama shows how people accept the past and move on. I could relate to it because I recently got myself out of a huge slump and finally picked myself up again after years of shutting myself out of the world. The acting, aesthetics & OSTs are decent, but I don't think I would recommend this to others. JHI & CSB were cute but there are better dramas out there.

As much as I complain about it, I was surprised by its low ratings. I feel bad that the show was cut short, but I can't imagine how boring it would've gotten with 4 more episodes.

As a final note: JHI's good at these kinds of roles, but pls try something different next time. I'm BEGGING;;;

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**Updated**

Story
Why is this drama only 12 episodes? They could have lavished us with more fluffy and dreamy scenes between the MLs. I wish the whole drama focused more on Ha Won and Seo Woo's story and less on Ji Soo and In Wook. Piano scenes were a bit too much. In Wook's glum character was something that I wish didn't exist in a drama like this one. It dimmed the light and happy energy that Ha Won and Seo Woo tried to bring into their scenes. The episodes at the beginning and towards the end were too focused on Ji Soo. Also, there were a lot of unnecessary scenes that dragged the story down, it made it more slow-paced than it actually was.

**Having had watched a number of dramas during this pandemic, APOYM remained my number 1 in 2020. I rushed a bit when I watched it the first time because I couldn't wait to see how things would unfold between the main leads, but after watching it again and again at a much slower pace just like how I'd enjoy my midday coffee on a lazy Sunday, I gained appreciation to how the support leads portrayed their roles. This drama was so much like a movie in all aspects. It's a masterpiece that, perhaps, only those who understand art can truly relate to. It's made for a niche audience.**

Acting/Cast
Hae In (Ha Won) and Soo Bin (Seo Woo) really did so well in this drama. I like the development of their characters and love story. I love seeing them quietly stealing loving and admiring gazes at each other. Hugs came aplenty but I wished they did not scrimp on kisses. The MLs look so perfect together. Their eyes say a lot, their acting deserves to be praised. I hope they both appear in another slow drama with a beautiful love story in the near future. I look forward to seeing them together again.

**Hae In and Soo Bin are a visual treat. Their features are so alike they complement so perfectly. I hope drama writers & directors also read reviews & comments on this site. Guys, can you please give us another Hae In-Soobin drama? Can you make it sooner, please? I'd love to see them in an action-romantic comedy or medical romantic comedy-drama. If only APOYM had more episodes, these two MLs could have given more of what they had given us as actors.**

Music
The OSTs are the other best thing about this drama. Like Ha Woon and Seo Woo's love story, the songs soothe and heal.

**Personally, I needed some kind of healing, too, when I watched this drama. The OSTs are on the first 4 of my top songs in my 2020 playlist on Spotify. Listening to these songs soothed me like a warm hug on those days that I was down and needed a lift. It pulled me through these unprecedented times and for that I was truly grateful.**

Overall, I love this drama. It's one of the best this year.

**After watching it many times, I realized that this drama helped me accept, understand, and release unprocessed emotions. I gravitated towards this drama because in some ways I could relate to what Seo Woo went through. Coping with the loss of a loved one and overcoming grief, loving someone from afar, throwing your 1% out there and see how it would survive, power hugs-- these are just so real, so human. Watch this drama slowly because it holds in it little moments of pleasure that would surely make you smile and leave your heart warm and fluffy. Pay attention to the details. Most importantly, watch it with headphones because there are poetry and magic to be captured in between lines, music, and silence. Trust me, you'll appreciate it better.***

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A Soothing Pat on Back for the Grieving Soul

5-Point Short Review

+ Points
1. Story and Characters keeps you curious
2. Truly healing drama
3. gets huge support from music and cinematography

- Points
4. Takes time to pick up pace initially
5. I wish it was longer...( not a - Point, really )

Detailed Review

Story & Characters
The first episode might give you many questions about what is happening and why is it so slow and make you lose interest as it did for me. But the curiosity of knowing the answers is what makes you come back and that is also the premise of the entire drama. As they say, Curiosity killed the cat, here, curiosity saves them all. Additionally, the drama focuses on giving closure to different life events and moving on. The base story may seem very usual and ordinary but the way of narration and how it unravels makes it worth watching. The main characters have interesting life going on and their perspectives on everything will teach many life lessons. The side characters too are very inspiring in their own way and life of their own. The romance aspect of the drama is very minimal; I swear I'll surely make my unborn kids watch this one day. The Tech/Scientific part gives off "Black Mirror" in a positive tone and can be a bit unconvincing. Glide over it and you'll find the ride enjoyable.

Healing Aspect
This drama gives various ways to heal from different past events like the death of parents, child, partner; unrequited love, breakup, betrayal, etc. Along the way, it also teaches what love is in a very realistic way without romanticism, where to draw line between holding on to unrequited love and letting go. This makes you question the purpose of life and how to deal with it.

Music & Cinematography
The music plays a huge role in adding depth to each character and intertwines them all. From, a sound engineer, a major portion of the drama unfolding in a music studio, mother comforting her child with her music, a doctor who loves to go Karaoke bar, a person who finds purpose in bringing musicians out of the slump, the drama keeps moving in and out of its musical notes seamlessly. The OSTs doesn't seem quite memorable but it suits the drama and is well placed and has apt lyrics. Moving on to the cinematography, if music is rhapsodizing then cinematography is scintillating. The drama differentiates past events and present with winter/snow and Spring/Sun themes. It helps in making nature as one of its main characters. Even death is portrayed in a visually pleasing way that you might wonder the person didn't actually die but have ascended. The constant light glares, and streaks add a dreamy and fantastical feel to the drama.

Slow Start
Often, dramas tend to have a good start and end in an unsatisfying way but here opposite happens. Overcoming the initial doubts can make this ride rewarding. The screenplay of initial episodes could have been made more concise. Alternatively, After a point, you just get adjusted to the pacing.

Shortening the run of Drama
It is quite a binge-able drama that the next morning after, it makes you yearn for it to be a longer dream. Anything from adding little backstories, and delving a little bit more into the technical aspect of that device would have worked. But alas, it had a perfect ending giving closure to every character.

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I was confused whether I should write this review but I needed some way to say farewell to this drama as I took around 2 weeks to finish it. The reason was only because of the last 4 episodes. However, I would like to start with the good and why this drama is enjoyable mostly.

The start of this drama was perfect to me as it made me curious but not frustrated. The introduction of Seo Woo and Ha Won 's character is bizarre but if you wear your kdrama lenses you should be okay. At first glance, Seo Woo seems to be the character we favour compared to Ha Won as he seems to be a bit weird (not sure whether that's the right word but that will be what we go along with). He is obsessed with Jisoo who he has not met with for 9 years so he anonymously asks for Seo Woo's help. They meet, stuff happens and so forth then Jisoo dies.

This to me was the first flaw of the drama as it seemed to be an unnecessary plot device. It made me remove my kdrama lenses and realise how weird it was that he couldn't stop loving her until she dies. It was also an unnecessary catalyst for their relationship to blossom and to me felt a bit weird. My main problem with Jisoo's death was that the only person who seemed to be mourning was her husband but he was supposed to be the villain? ( we'll get to that soon )

After Jisoo's death, they soon start falling in love and become closer. Remember that he has been obsessed with a girl for 9 years. Yet this part is the most enjoyable part of the drama for me as it made me feel energised whenever I watched the drama. The episodes were enjoyable, well-paced and well written. Most of the characters were fun to watch and just watching it was enjoyable. It didn't even matter if you didn't understand what was happening it was fun to watch.

But after this peak, the drama went downhill. From episode 8 onwards the show went through a different direction. They made a conspiracy out of Ha Won's mother's death and decided to also try to make Soon Ho and In Wook closer. All the weak points of the drama were accentuated at these last 4 episodes and they went with a whole different plot that was truly pointless to what the story was trying to promote.

The thing with this drama is it didn't seem to know what it wanted to accomplish. For example, Kang In Wook, Jisoo's husband was framed as the villain but suddenly was given a redemption arc in the last episode. While his arc made sense there was no evidence to prove him being good. Him even getting the villain role was silly to me as the villainous thing he does happens when he was 16 and they blamed him for that though he's been blaming himself for years. He was one of the main reasons why I think Jisoo's death was useless as they wanted to show their romance arc but they barely had any scenes filmed together so it was ineffective.

Another useless character was Moon Soon Ho since she seemed to be a mild version of a manic pixie dream girl. "As she taught him to love again" or whatever. Though she did help him it was in a very cliche-filled way where she is extremely nosy and eventually, he gives in to this but she does redeem herself at the end. The main characters are not bad actors yet they are a little confusing. At the start, Seo Woo gives a lot of time to shine but then her growth gets shoved off to the side for Ha Won to grow. The way Ha Won grows too isn't very organic and is just spotlighted that I really stopped caring about what happens.

At this point I feel like I've begun rambling, So I will give my short review compared to the long one. A piece of your mind is a show which makes bad choices yet because the start was good I couldn't rate it too low. The characters faithfully act their badly written characters and you can see the dedication while you are watching. The music was decent and it wouldn't have been a bad drama if it excluded the last 4 episodes . Actually it might've been one of my favorite dramas if those last 4 episodes didn't happen.

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Somehow, this drama just feels so peaceful for some reason. It make you feel happy, sad, angry, curious but at the same time peaceful. It is the type of felling that make you feel like you are being sucked into someone’s memories, as if you were there too. As if you had physically witnessed each scene with your own eyes. In a way, you slowly you realized that you get attached to each characters and too the story itself.

It's not a drama with the loud characters and other kdrama cliches. It's just so beautiful. It's refreshing. This drama is quite therapeutic. A wonderful piece of art. I am not going to comment on the technological aspect of the drama because it doesn't affect me at all while watching, but if I want to be honest, I must admit that I might appreciate seeing more about the creation of the device, but the way it is doesn't hurt at all the story part.

The writer, the production team, the actors really did a great job. The whole team did a great job. You made it possible for me to enjoy such a good pièce!

Overall, I really have appreciate this drama. The mains roles really did a great job expressing the feelings all the way and I simply adored the chemistry between them. I really recommend this drama.

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