Return of the Trusted 'Someday or One Day' Team, This Time with deeper Sorrow The news that the production team of Someday or One Day, which is evaluated to have made a mark on the history of Taiwanese drama, returned with a new work was enough to make fans' hearts beat faster. As soon as I heard the news, I decided to watch it unconditionally without even looking at the synopsis properly. I played the first episode expecting the unique sensibility shown in Someday or One Day and the sorrowful romance transcending time. However, Had I Not Seen the Sun (literal translation) was slightly different in texture from Someday or One Day. If the previous work was a mystery and time slip hidden within the freshness of youth, this work contains a much heavier, darker, and therefore more painful sorrow. Although it wears the outer shell of romance, an unbearable tragedy and desperate love flow within it, making a corner of my heart ache throughout the viewing.
The Past Viewed Through a Ghost's Eye, A Unique Perspective of Mystery The most unique point and charm of this drama is the plot method of moving back and forth between the past and the present. Beyond simply cross-editing time, the direction is impressive as if looking at past events through the "eyes of a ghost" or a "third-party observer." This technique allows viewers to objectively grasp the full picture of the incident while simultaneously making them feel the powerlessness of not being able to intervene, maximizing the tragedy. Through Part 1, it is slowly revealed what happened in the past and what terrible incidents the protagonists were swept up in, and the process is quite shocking. The cruel reality contrasting with the beautiful visual beauty clarifies that this drama is not a simple romance.
People Live the Same Everywhere, Universal Absurdity and Tragedy As the events in the play unfold, there are scenes where sighs of "Ah, that makes no sense" naturally come out. Unfair false accusations, sacrifices caused by power, and the stories of ordinary people suffering within them. Although it is set in Taiwan, I realized once again the bitter fact that absurd reality exists everywhere regardless of the country. While thinking, "Places where people live are all similar," the pain the protagonists go through approached me as if it were my own. The terrible incident that Zhang Xiaotong and Li Renyao had to undergo serves as a device to increase the immersion of the drama by nakedly showing the tragedy of individuals whom the system failed to protect.
Sacrifice for Each Other, and a Separation Without Promise The core narrative of Part 1 is the tearful relationship between Zhang Xiaotong and Li Renyao. Zhang Xiaotong makes a choice to throw away everything she has to protect the person she loves, Li Renyao. Even if that choice destroys her. On the other hand, Li Renyao also attempts something for Zhang Xiaotong, but cruel fate shows a reality where nothing changes, as if mocking their efforts. While trying to save each other, neither is saved in the end, and the two face a separation without any promise of reunion. The appearance of the two who can no longer be together leaves a deep lingering feeling and regret to the viewers, bringing down the curtain on Part 1.
The Shock of the Part 1 Ending, The Hidden Card 'Alice Ko' The moment I was most surprised while watching the drama was undoubtedly the final scene of Part 1. When Alice Ko (Ga Ga-yeon), the top star of Taiwan and the heroine of Someday or One Day, appeared on the screen, I doubted my eyes. Her appearance was an unannounced surprise to the extent that I thought, "Is this a special cameo?" Even after searching the internet to write a review and looking for information on local premieres in Taiwan, news of Alice Ko's appearance was thoroughly veiled. It seemed clear that the production team intentionally hid her existence from the marketing stage for the twist of the play and the shocking development of Part 2. Her appearance was not a simple cameo, but a signal flare announcing that the real story of this drama was beginning.
Blind DJ Xia Tianqing Opens the Door to Part 2 The role Alice Ko plays is 'Xia Tianqing', a radio DJ with visual impairment. She first appears in the scene where Li Renyao helps a visually impaired person find their way at the end of Part 1, and until then, I expected it to be just a passing episode. However, that meeting was the beginning of a massive mystery penetrating the entire Part 2. Xia Tianqing, who received help from Li Renyao, and Li Renyao, who gets entangled with her. After the meeting of the two who seemed to have no contact point at all, the drama starts to ride a rapid current in a completely unpredictable direction. As developments I couldn't even imagine unfolded, the question "What on earth is going on?" filled my head.
The Disappeared Zhang Xiaotong and the Mysterious Finger Tattoo The timeline of Part 2 is a few years after the incident in Part 1. Li Renyao returns to society and works hard, seemingly living a normal life on the surface, but inside, he is desperately looking for the disappeared Zhang Xiaotong. However, the only news he hears is rumors that she left for a foreign country. In the meantime, Li Renyao discovers a shocking fact. He spotted a very small tattoo on the finger of the DJ Xia Tianqing he met by chance, which was the exact same shape and in the exact same location as Zhang Xiaotong's. A tiny tattoo on a finger that is neither a common design nor easily visible. Could this really be a coincidence? The tension hovering in the scene where Li Renyao asks Xia Tianqing about this raises the suspense of the drama to the highest peak.
Different Faces but... The Tangled Web of Relationships Xia Tianqing has a different face from Zhang Xiaotong, and above all, considering she cannot see, it is unreasonable to view them as the same person. However, synthesizing the contents up to episode 2, it seems certain that there is an inseparable connection between the two, or between Xia Tianqing and Zhang Xiaotong. What is even more suspicious is the people around Xia Tianqing. Surprisingly, Zhang Xiaotong's mother is working as a housekeeper at Xia Tianqing's house, and her father was responsible for her transportation as her dedicated taxi driver. Why are the parents of his disappeared first love serving a completely different woman? This bizarre relationship throws viewers into a swamp of confusion.
The Silent Parents and the Suspicious Li Renyao What is even more mysterious is the attitude Xia Tianqing shows toward them. She does not call Zhang Xiaotong's parents 'Mom' or 'Dad'. It just looks like an employer-employee relationship. However, the strange atmosphere felt when Li Renyao stares intently at Xia Tianqing, and the silence of Zhang Xiaotong's father who only drives silently, imply that they are hiding some huge secret. In particular, Li Renyao turns his suspicion into conviction as he figures out that the father is exclusively responsible for Xia Tianqing's movements late at night. What kind of deal or story exists between this family and Xia Tianqing? With only the clues revealed up to episode 2, it is a development inside a labyrinth where the truth is impossible to predict.
Revenge, Serial Murder, and the Shadow of a Tragic Ending The drama already lays down the shocking setting that Li Renyao committed serial murders for revenge. There are already reviews among viewers saying that "a tragic ending is definitive," but in fact, the content of Part 1 alone was a sufficiently heartbreaking tragedy. Questions bite one another: What is the relationship between Zhang Xiaotong and Xia Tianqing? Why did Li Renyao have to make the extreme choice of serial murder? And what awaits at the end of this sad mystery? What is certain is that the Someday or One Day production team has once again created a masterpiece that will shake the souls of viewers. Part 2, completely renewed with the appearance of Alice Ko, makes the remaining episodes crazily anticipated.
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