tvN’s hit drama “Lovely Runner” tells the story of Im Sol (Kim Hye-yoon), who is living in 2023, coming back in time to 2008 to save her idol Ryu Sun-jae (Byeon Woo-seok). The work that contains the exciting romance between Kim Hye-yoon and Byun Woo-seok, which has attracted numerous fans.
However, viewers who are enthusiastic about their romance are expressing dissatisfaction with the comedy material used during the drama’s development. Earlier, embarrassing scenes were shown involving underpants and menstrual symptoms. Im Sol’s friend Lee Hyun-joo (Seo Hye-won) defecated her pants in front of Im Geum (Song Ji-ho), Im Sol (Kim Hye-yoon) couldn’t hold her urine and got off the bus with Ryu Seon-jae (Byeon Woo-seok), and the door was opened while a senior who bullied Im Sol was doing business. So far, these hardcore scenes were considered as cute scenes. Especially, in the 12th episode, which aired on May 14th, Ryu Sun-jae’s father locked the bathroom door and used toilet water to wash his hair.
Regarding these scenes, viewers responded with comments saying, “I wish they could stop making unsanitary jokes” and “The comedy element came out so unnecessarily that the pulse is cut off.”
Last year, “King the Land” also faced criticism from viewers who found the drama’s forced humor disappointing. The drama depicts the romance between Gu Won (played by Lee Jun-ho), the heir to the ‘King’ hotel group, and Cheon Sarang (played by Im Yoona), a hotelier. From their first meeting, the drama introduced crude humor elements.
From Sarang mistaking Gu Won for a sexual harasser while he was innocently in the hotel gym to an awkward encounter when Sarang inadvertently meets Gu Won while he’s using the bathroom in the suite, wiping away his sweat stains, the humor seemed contrived from the start. Viewers even criticized the appearance of menstrual scenes from the first episode, calling the script weird.
However, not all crude humor scenes are doomed to fail. For instance, the line “Student Junhyuk~ I found your panties!” delivered by Shin Se-kyung in MBC’s ‘High Kick Through The Roof’ (2009) is still remembered today.
Despite its frequent use of crude humor elements like bowel movements, menstrual cycles, and underwear, the sitcom survived confidently within its main purpose of providing laughter.
In the debate of whether humor or romance should take precedence, viewers of “Lovely Runner” express a desire for less forced humor and more humor that aligns with the drama’s narrative.
Scenes like Im Sol accidentally borrowing an adult video tape, while funny, are deemed acceptable because they serve to connect the main characters’ storylines.
With only four episodes left until its finale, “Lovely Runner” remains under scrutiny. Whether the drama can move away from its excessive reliance on forced humor and satisfy viewers with sweet romance while still maintaining its charm is the focus of attention.
Source: naver
