REVIEW: ‘Head Over Heels’ Episodes 1-2

Head Over Heels Episodes 1-2 start rather adorably. The stage gets set for what may initially be a humorous romance pitting opposites against one another. However, as the episodes unfold, things get legitimately serious with misfortune after misfortune hitting Bae Gyeon-woo (Choo Young-woo). While the young shamanness, Seong-a (Cho Yi-hyun), is earnest, it’s immediately clear that her work is cut out for her if she wants to save Gyeon-woo from dying in less than a month. 

Episode 1 rightfully introduces the characters, their desires, and the challenges they face. Seong-a is introduced in a dynamic exorcism ceremony over a weekend. She’s powerful, vibrant, and full of energy, but a hilariously timed alarm clock and a dramatic wind blowing off her dress reveal to everyone that she’s a high school student. Cutting to the school, gone is the energetic shamaness. In her place is an exhausted teenager who can’t stay awake in class. Caught between her responsibilities and school, Seong-a juggles a lot, and not everyone agrees that she should focus so much on school. 

Her mother (Kim Mi-kyung) lectures her about not finishing up the exorcism, and it’s a clash of wills. This clash of wills never dies across Head Over Heels Episodes 1-2, but Seong-a’s mother never goes overboard. She’s fierce, but acknowledges that being too harsh will turn the young teenager away. This comes further into view once Gyeon-woo and his grandmother, Ok-soon (Gil Hae-yeon), enter the Heaven and Earth Fairy’s shrine. 

Things seem innocuous until Seong-a realizes that Gyeon-woo appears to have walked in upside down. A premonition had previously warned her that her love would come to upside down, but this wasn’t a wholesome wish. A person walking upside down indicates they are not long for this world. And, after a lifetime of misfortune, the young man has little faith that things will improve, even with Seong-a professing that she’ll do what she can to try to save him.

Light and darkness meet in Head Over Heels Episodes 1-2.

While her mother warns Seong-a that her promise to keep the young man alive will be too hard, the teen is determined to save him. It almost seems like things might get easier once Gyeon-woo enrolls in Seong-a’s school. Her daily routine is upended once ghosts on the premises start to go wild every time he’s near. Across Head Over Heels Episodes 1-2, Gyeon-woo’s presence acts like a switch, causing seemingly harmless or at least quiet spirits to become malevolent. Their target? Always him. 

The first couple of times he is targeted, it seems like just a coincidence. However, how these near-death experiences play out onscreen shows that this is no laughing matter. Through a combination of VFX, stunt coordination, and camera angles, the danger for Gyeon-woo feels all too real. And, with each near-death experience, the light in Gyeon-woo’s eyes dies a little bit more.

It’s no wonder  Gyeon-woo is so anti-spiritualism. While initially sarcastic toward Seong-a at her shrine, in Episode 2, he erupts into rage toward her as his grandmother grows closer to her. Up to this point, actor Choo Young-woo had shown Gyeon-woo the inner turmoil he had been feeling, leaving behind a sport he loved and abandoning the fragile life he had built for himself. But after so many years of failure and frustration, Gyeon-woo snaps. Choo Young-woo forces Gyeon-woo’s rage to the surface, and it’s terrifying.

However, there are layers to his pain that Seong-a may never be able to address. In Episode 2, when Gyeon-woo gets trapped by a fire ghost, a flashback shows the audience that this isn’t an unfamiliar situation. A young woman seems to die in his arms, and another flashback shows someone wishing that he would die. It’s not clear if the woman who died is the same one shown to be harassing him via text and phone call. But the impact of the young woman’s death weighs heavily on Gyeon-woo.

Will Seong-a be enough to save Gyeon-woo?

This heaviness lingers for the remainder of Episode 2, particularly after the devastating reveal by episode’s end. Head Over Heels Episodes 1-2 establishes Ok-soon as Gweon-woo’s rock. After his family rejected him, and with the majority of his peers turning their backs on him, he’s spent his life alone with his grandmother by his side. Throughout Episode 2, his grandmother grows close to Seong-a, realizing quickly that the teen is the shamanness they visited before. This knowledge ultimately leads Ok-soon back to Seong-a, where a comforting gesture from Seong-a reveals Ok-soon’s death.

It is another heartbreaking blow for Gweon-woo, which proves that the young man is doomed to misfortune. The one tether keeping him in place is now gone, and Ok-soon knows this. She goes to the one person who can help him and asks her to do what she can to protect him. This ultimately culminates in a dramatic ending, with Seong-a running through the streets to Ok-soon’s wake. She never falters even with Gweon-woo lashing at her in his mourning rage. She knows exactly what she plans to do – be there by his side. The question that looms is whether or not she will be enough to keep him alive.

Head Over Heels Episodes 1-2 provide a strong introduction to the world, its characters, and the overarching dilemma at the series’ center. It’s a clash between light and darkness, positivity and negativity, belief and non-belief, with no clear idea yet of what will prevail by the series’ end. Cho Yi-hyun is delightful as the bubbly Seong-a, with her force of spirit radiating with every move she makes. Pitted against Choo Young-woo’s perpetually dour Gweon-woo, the opposing personalities offer much to work with for the actors, creating a fun-to-watch dynamic onscreen.

Off to an intense start, Head Over Heels, Episodes 1-2, immediately pave the way for what will likely be an addictive watch. Gweon-woo’s tragic life and Seong-a’s infectious energy make for an enticing combination. However, now that Gweon-woo is left without his grandmother, hope almost seems lost. The next few episodes will determine whether or not he can make it out okay. 

Head Over Heels Episodes 1-2 are now streaming exclusively on Prime Video, with new episodes releasing Mondays and Tuesdays.

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