First Impressions: Find Me In Your Memory

Forgotten and remembered memories as well as fated encounters are what bring an Anchor and Actress together in this latest romance series.

Lee Jung Hoon (Kim Dong Wook) is a highly respected news anchor of a late night segment who conceals his hyperthymesia, a condition which gives him the ability to remember personal memories and events vividly. Having witnessed the death of a past love, Jung Hoon struggles to forget tragedy as he remembers all the finer details of that moment. Yeo Ha Jin (Moon Ga Young) is an honest and optimistic actress who gets caught in scandals unassumingly or quite casually. She’s friendly and reckless which leads to a scandal between her and Jung Hoon, becoming ballooned and hard to dissolve. He wants nothing to do with someone so bright and irresponsible but things wind up more complicated as Ha Jin reminds him of his first love, her identity more doubtful as he spends time with her. What Jung Hoon isn’t aware of, is Ha Jin’s own neurological condition in which she’s forgotten her past and the most memorable events and people in her life.

I think I like this more than I should but that’s largely due to the fact that I can finally se Kim Dong Wook in something that won’t have me screaming in terror and keep me up at night. Both actors are a great fit for their roles and Kim Dong Wook definitely has the anchor part down, apprehensions addressed during the process of him studying his character and dedicating a lot of energy into portraying an anchor realistically. From the very beginning we get a sense of how demanding the drama is since it intersects different genres, making this show more complex; there’s the melodrama aspect which contains a lot of emotion and is related to the neurological and psychological, the romantic which is connected to more light, comedic moments, and then the professional side of things where both actors have to portray very stark careers from one another. All these things combined, suggests a show that intends to carry a lot on its shoulders.

Moon Ga Young hasn’t really had a lead role till now yet she holds her ground, portraying someone who externally seems put together and somewhat whimsical but carries deeper wounds that have left a scar so big that it needed to be repressed and forgotten. We get certain revelations by the fourth episode, building the plot and adding a bit of ambiguity but it’s not necessarily difficult to put the pieces together (this is a romance drama after all). There are tropes evidently in place but I do think we should give the drama the benefit since it does try to create a slightly different atmosphere and storyline with its characters. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a female lead in a romance series so direct and transparent in her present state, confident in herself and assured of the decisions she makes, and that’s refreshing in itself. I will admit to believing that most of the tropes, especially in regards to characterisation, are designated for Jung Hoon. He’s cold and direct, but there’s also moments where he’s talkative and more open, and obviously not incapable of love. It’s these scenes where the binaries and tropes are blurred and broken that makes me wonder where the series will go with its characters and love-line.

I’m more cautious when it comes to the plot however. Romance dramas that intend to encompass heavier subject matter don’t always do well and it’s either a hit or miss but I’m ebbing towards the side of caution and placing most of my faith in the screenwriter who penned Queen In Hyun’s Man, Duel, and Nine: 9 Times Time Travel, all of which are remarkably different from one another and offered something fresh albeit, having their own flaws and charms yet I enjoyed all of them to various degrees. The drama is slow and feels more like a melodrama but there’s definitely transitions into more light subject matter and romance when the leads bicker and develop feelings as they react to each other.

The writer’s take on hyperthymesia diverges from what’s currently out there since a lot of dramas that have explored the condition seem to glorify it and all the possible things an individual can gain, but this series wants to explore the darker side of it and how remembering is more painful. Memory in general is becoming popular of late as more series are pumping out ‘memory centric’ themes, and although this show isn’t an exception, the contrast between being able to remember quite profoundly and having forgotten entirely is a neat way of creating conflict and interest.