Head Over Heels Review: Warm, Whimsical, And A Little Bit Wonky

NDTV

2 days ago

If Lovely Runner was your serotonin in 2024, Head Over Heels might just be your warm hug in 2025.
Think of it as a spiritual sequel, not in plot but in pulse. While Lovely Runner made you root for a time-travelling fangirl saving her idol from death, Head Over Heels puts a divine twist on the same emotional beat: a girl who'll go to hell (and high school) and back to protect the boy she loves.
This time, though, the female lead isn't armed with K-pop playlists or time machines, but talismans, rituals and a grin that masks a lifetime of pain.
Head Over Heels spins the tale of Seong-ah (Cho Yi-hyun), a teenage shaman who doubles as your average high schooler by day and ghost-whisperer by night.
She's spirited(literally and metaphorically) and has spent her childhood navigating a double life filled with supernatural chores and emotional abandonment.
Raised by her spirit mother, General Dongcheon (the ever-reliable Kim Mi-kyung), Seong-ah wears optimism like armour, even though her past is riddled with hurt.
Everything changes when she meets Bae Gyeon-woo (Choo Young-woo), a handsome transfer student with a tragic fate: he has just 21 days to live.
Seong-ah instantly falls for him and, in true K-drama tradition, vows to save him, at first in secret, then at all costs. Gyeon-woo, initially unaware of Seong-ah's shaman identity, resists her meddling until her genuine concern starts to chip away at his guarded exterior.
As their bond deepens, so does the complexity of their world. Enter the looming presence of Yeom Hwa (Choo Ja-hyun), an estranged spirit daughter of General Dongcheon, whose grief over her own child's death compels her to summon an evil entity named Bong-su.
In a cruel twist of fate, Gyeon-woo becomes the vessel for this dark spirit, forcing Seong-ah to become both protector and saviour.
The plot isn't afraid to get messy with ghosts ranging from baby spirits to suicide ghosts and even an exorcism gone wrong that costs General Dongcheon her spiritual life.
At one point, Seong-ah literally becomes a human amulet, clinging to Gyeon-woo to transfer her positive energy and fight off the curse.
Their journey, filled with tender glances and desperate pleas, is high-stakes and heartfelt. Yet it's not just romance that drives the show-there's a deeply rooted mythological flair that keeps the show running.
The spirit world, rituals, gods and ancestral grudges lend a folkloric touch to what might otherwise have been a simple teen drama.
But for all its fantastical elements, Head Over Heels is at its core a story of longing: for love, for normalcy, for peace. It's about people who've been dealt a bad hand by fate, clawing back their happiness one ghost at a time.
There's delightful comic relief in Seong-ah's friend Pyo Ji-ho (Cha Kang-yoon), whose unrequited love for her forms a light-hearted, non-toxic love triangle that adds warmth without unnecessary angst.
His one-sided affection never turns bitter, and his camaraderie with both leads anchors the show emotionally.
That said, the drama does occasionally falter. Some episodes feel padded, especially in the middle where plotlines meander and the villains lose their bite. Yeom Hwa, introduced with menacing intent, fizzles out toward the end.
Even Bong-su, despite a moving backstory as a lonely child soldier, never becomes the fully formidable antagonist the early episodes promised.
The finale redeems much of this by revealing that Bong-su (real name Yoon-bo) was just a boy trying to return his mother's ring. It's a poetic twist, and Seong-ah's final hug goodbye to him feels earned, even if it comes after a few narrative detours.
The final stretch gives viewers a satisfying payoff. Gyeon-woo, now a national-level archer with the ability to see ghosts, never gives up on Seong-ah after she disappears: visiting her room, collecting medals for her, believing she'll return. She does, of course, and together, they help Yoon-bo cross over and finally defeat the curse.
There's a kiss, a jump in time, and a hopeful epilogue where Seong-ah fully embraces her shaman identity and helps spirits find peace.
What makes Head Over Heels worth the 12-episode ride is not perfection, but sincerity. The series wears its heart on its sleeve, unafraid to mix goofy high school antics with grief, romance and exorcism rituals.
Yes, it's uneven at times, and yes, you might be tempted to fast-forward through the occasional exposition-heavy segment. But even when it stumbles, it does so with charm.
In a year bursting with stellar K-dramas, Head Over Heels manages to carve a place for itself by doing what Lovely Runner did best: reminding us that love, even in the face of death, is worth fighting for. It's warm, whimsical, and a little bit wonky, but it leaves you smiling.