Possible drama crack: God's Gift - 14 Days

The new SBS Monday-Tuesday drama God's Gift - 14 Days premiered this week, and it was awesome.

For one, it opened its first episode with this amazingly eerie animated story about a mother's endeavor to save her child from Death. And it was a beautifully crafted sequence that just captivated me from the get go. From then on, the drama just brought every element into play and it was plot point after plot point, resulting in a cinematically stunning thriller that takes you for an unexpected ride.

I hope this continues till the end, because if it does, I've gotta say, we've got a masterpiece in our hands. With clever writing, adept direction, and glorious editing, both episodes felt more like a suspense thriller film than a television serial.

I've also got to hand it to the cast. Every single casting feels right. Everyone from heroine Lee Bo-young down to lackey Han Sun-hwa, they are all on point.

I've honestly never seen actor Jo Seung-woo in anything prior to this drama but despite his character being the most detached from the central plot, he is captivating and immediately interesting in the role of ex-cop Ki Dong-chan. I've already googled him and found out that he began his acting career in stage musicals - which really explains my fascination, given my love for stage actors.

The only reason I know of idol-actress Han Sun-hwa (Secret) is because of her stint of being unfortunately married to Hwang Kwang-hee (Z:EA) on the variety show We Got Married. So I'm pleasantly surprised that she's doing her character, no matter how small the role is right now, justice. I'm actually looking forward to her character and I wonder if she'll be given an actual story arc.

Another idol-actor who I am loving on this show is Baro (B1A4) who plays the role of Ki Young-gyu, a developmentally disabled teenage boy with the mental age of a six-year-old. Baro plays the role with little nuances that help convey the character's struggles without dumbing him down, which I totally give him props for. As a result, Ki Young-gyu is delightful and endearing.

Child actress Kim Yoo-bin is also wonderful in the drama and her rapport with onscreen mom Lee Bo-young feels very realistic. I hope that despite her being gone in the story's current timeline, we'll still see flashes of her when our heroine travels back to 2 weeks prior the tragic incident.

And finally, Lee Bo-young. I thought I loved her after having seen her in I Hear Your Voice, but ohmygod, she's has brought my love for her to another level with how much she's impressing me in God's Gift. And it's only been 2 episodes, gosh darnit. I was sobbing and sniveling half the time I was watching the second episode just because of how much pain and desperation her character had to go through and Lee Bo-young brought those feelings across so skillfully. I can't help but love her.

I really can't wait for next week's episode to see how the time travel happens and how the rest of the story unravels. I noticed there were some seemingly unnecessary focus on random things in the first two episodes that didn't quite make sense at the moment (i.e. the storekeeper's hair accessory, the president's lawyer during the press conference, another hair accessory Saet-byul found at the accident scene, etc.) but because the plot will bring our heroine back to the past, I have a feeling all of these will be revisited later on in the story for some grander reveals.

I also need to know what's going on with the father and what his deal is. Because while our heroine, the mother, is running around trying to find her daughter in all desperation, I have a feeling that the father is less invested in the search. And I need to know why. What secret is he hiding?

Oof. Yet another drama I'll be crazily and carefully watching. Add to that the other thriller SBS is premiering this week, Three Days, and it looks like my week will be full of drama-induced panic and anxiety.