Let Me Off the Earth (2020)

Had So Much Potential

I'm not usually into the time loop trope, but I was so intrigued by the idea of a character reliving three years of their life 33 times - long enough to be able to periodically ignore the feeling of being trapped and suffocated within a time loop but short enough to constantly feel unfulfilled by the end of each cycle. There was so much potential for the show to explore the pros of living such a long time loop -- the ability to stay young forever, to live without consequences, to never see your family and friends grow old.

They could have explored the cons even more - the monotony and loneliness of living the same life 33 times, knowing that nothing you do will ever change the inevitable. I mean, the ML literally jumps off a building at the end of his 33rd life and he immediately begins his 34th life (happens in the first episode, so not a spoiler). That must be miserable!

The show spent more time navigating typical high school woes than they did on understanding and breaking the time loop. Every now and then the show would give us a little nibble of insight into the time loop and then ignore it for five, six episodes before the next feeding - just enough to keep us coming back. For example, halfway through the show, the ML and the SFL, who is also stuck in a time loop, begin studying quantum mechanics in hopes of uncovering the mystery behind the time loop. Ten, fifteen episodes go by before they even make a reference to studying quantum mechanics, and then the SFL suddenly drops that massive changes made during a time loop can break it! But what constitutes a massive change? The ML literally threw himself off a building in the first episode!

But then it also brings into question another compelling idea - if a massive change breaks a time loop, how massive does the change have to be so that you don't trash the life that you end up living past the three year mark? The SFL, in order to break her loop, changed schools, rebelled against her parents and fell in love - all pretty conservative changes but massive considering her personality. She had always been reserved in rebelling, so I'm sure she had tons of inner turmoil weighing the pros and cons of doing X, Y, Z action to break the loop, like running away from home or publishing her R-rated novel. It may break the time loop but then she would also be risking that whatever damage she does in this time loop becoming permanent if she breaks it.

Instead, we spent 45 episodes watching kids bully each other.

The characters were really charming and fun to watch, but with all these questions piling up in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but be disappointed by the final outcome. We are no closer to understanding the time loop than we were in episode one.

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A really great life lesson kdrama!

Without spoilers, i’ll explain this in the most general way possible.

A lot of people throughout the show began to give up due to how many episodes there are but honestly speaking, it was quite reasonable for there to be many episodes. It was reasonable for it to have this many episodes especially with how the story ending was.

High school is really a place where lots happen. This drama has portrayed the perspectives of many different characters, basically also showing how each student in school can have their own ways of viewing life. Despite it having some fillers, these things are really important to realize. They’re also very realistic and portray a good example of high school and how students can be in their high school life. There was lots of character development with the characters, and like I said, even though it took long, they really showed the true development of a student. It shows how much one can change from the beginning to end of high school.

I can really say that it was worth sticking around till the end because of how I can relate to some of these things as a former high school student. There was so many things that were brought to life in this show that I, myself, didn’t even realize. It makes you believe that you don’t have to keep sticking to your usual or normal doings, and that exploring life while you can makes things a little better so you won’t regret anything. The growth as a teenager is SO SO important! Going through this self-growth in your “teenage-hood” before you reach the age 20 is good. There are hardships here and there but all of that will really help you in the end and can create memories for yourself, whether it will be a good one or one that may suck but taught you a lot.

This drama really teaches you that high school is not what everyone thinks it is. There isn’t only happy moments involved but there’s also the negative parts that almost help you get through life as a high schooler as bad as it sounds. This teaches so many things and the main thing is that it teaches you to live life without regrets. Even if there may be regrets, don’t let that affect the way your present and future will be.

The acting was amazing as well. It’s great how they all went by their real names and I guess that gives you more of a sense to act like yourself knowing you are being called by your own name. The music was great too! I really love the songs that Eunsang and Young K made.

This drama covers a lot of different things btw! Romance, School Life, Trauma, Bullying, Social/friend life, etc etc. It’s really good and I hope people consider it and are patient with it!

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mixed feelings

this drama was an experiment for me. i was quite intimidated by the amount of episodes but having it be a web drama made the watching experience easier.

the loop concept in the drama was interesting but quite boring in my opinion. but the acting skills and casts did a great job in this drama. some scenes interested me and some i just skimmed through.

i would say give this drama a shot but dont have high hopes for it. its an average high school web drama to say the least. i feel bad giving it a low rating since it was really well done and produced well. it was just the concept and excessive scenes for me. the OST was really good and i enjoyed the songs and how they went with the scenes. theres a good amount of love, friendship, drama and family issues in the school web drama.

just the big con is how boring it can be to watch the series. it felt really dry.

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Good but frustrating

Frustrating, they really had gold in their hand with the time loop thing and at first it was really great to watch but as the serei goes on they seems to less talk about it and we even see less and less the MC (only for his fortune telling stuff) and if the side character were a bit forgateable, they would have been far better if this drama had more time loop in it.

Problem is after first half the serie got a bit more "cliché" with bully stuff (interesting but.....does it really mater if MC "could" be reseting everything 2min after?), exams (my man had 33 cycle of highschool and still struggle to get top of his class) who where really long and felt boring when all of this could have been more time for MC to explore time loop and try changing things for real (he doesn't really make anything that was a bid sad to see)

Like the end is cool, but I really wish we could see another season where MC have a full happy ending this time.

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Good Enough

Korean Web Drama 'Let Me Off The Earth' is an innovative sitcom that deals with school life problems, varying from young love to family drama. The main plot, however, is a fantasy story about a time loop.

First of all, the drama has some interesting short stories that explore multiple genres. Unfortunately, the main story is not that nicely presented. It starts at the beginning of the drama, pulling the viewer in with the time loop mystery, but it doesn't conclude in the end. Rather, the ending is open and it doesn't explain the time loop.

As for the performances, everyone did a great job, even though they are rookie actors and actresses.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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Feeling Connected to The Characters

I feel blessed to find this drama. Not only because of the interesting fantasy concept that it has but also how it tells everyone's character with so many perspectives one by one. I feel really connected to anyone in the story. Also, I feel relieved seeing the ending, happy ending for all parties, hehe. Anyway, I still think that Ahn Se Min looks like younger Park Bo Gum, or is it just me (?) Hahahah

P.S. If you're interested in a slice of life story like this, I'd like to recommend the webtoon Odd Girl Out. The genre is not a fantasy however, it's fun to watch ??

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A high school drama that had no right to go as hard as it did

I could honestly write an entire paper on this show, just wow. The whole premise is based on a character experiencing a time loop but to be honest I forgot about it most of the time because all the stories and characters just swept me off my feet. Taking a step back, music, lighting, camera work was all spectacular the type of thing you'd expect a very high quality drama to have. The stories and characters had so much depth to them they felt very real. And there were situations that felt so life-like, not at all the corny drama characters sometimes find themselves in (which lets face it is also fun, but it was so refreshing to have things like relationships dealt with in a healthy and realistic way). Again there is some romance in this drama, but it is NOT the focus and for once I didn't mind, because the time and energy was truly well spent developing the relationships between multiple characters so they felt deep and not two dimensional. My one small spoiler for the show is the ending (so DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW)- the ending is a little bittersweet. I personally really liked it and it was still a happy ending but wasn't just everything wrapped up in a neat tidy bow with a big smiley face. It's a little sad. So be warned. If you liked the end of Extraordinary You you will probably like this ending - a happy end, but if you think about it/the implications too much, it is a bit sad.

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unexpected ending ..

Let Me Off The Earth (2020) is a story of a school. in here not only romance. It's a story of relationships. how you handle your best friends, your classmates, and strangers. my only wish is to go back to 2012 if I can. but after watching this, I came to the conclusion that going back to the past is not the solution for your issues.
heart of a person is not always the same. the way you treat them, it changes. don't be sure about someone's affection, and neglect them. they change the way you treat them.
Let Me Off The Earth (2020) is a loveable story with 20 episodes. I watch it on YT. I hope you will enjoy it.

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