The Good Boy vs. Bad Boy Debate

**Contains minor spoilers**

I don't remember the last time that I saw a drama in which this heavily used cliche wasn't present. Of course, as the title suggests I am talking about the "Who's better?" question we, as viewers face while watching any drama involving romance. The heroine obviously knows who she wants to choose but a lot of times I am torn up about who is a better match for the girl. Because come on- you can't help but love both the 'bad boy' and the 'good boy'. Before proceeding to the battle between the boys let us first define what each term means in dramas:


THE BAD BOY
-Is often rich and thinks highly of himself
-Is rude and hardly ever speaks with courtesy
-Probably starts off fighting with the main girl or hating her
-Is shown to have either been heart broken by a previous relationship or never haven fallen in love at all
-Mostly has had a life-long love for someone, but miraculously falls for the heroine he's just met
-Keeps doing things for the girl but never tells her because of his 'pride'
-Is always indecisive when it comes to his ex-girlfriend and the main heroine
-Denies his love for the heroine for as long as possible
-Or, pretends not to love the girl because of some lame reason (like a vixen ex-girlfriend)
-Always gets jealous of the other guy
-Hardly ever professes his love first
-In some cases, might or might not go through a good character development
-Always (mostly) gets the girl


THE GOOD BOY
-Might or might not be rich
-He is super nice and courteous to every one
-His first meeting with the girl is mostly when he helped her out with something
-He gets smitten by the heroine immediately no matter how clumsy she is
-He hides his love painfully well till some time
-Is always a shoulder for her to cry on
-Always treats her happiness as the first priority
-Might or might not get jealous of the bad boy
-He is mostly perfect, so not much room for character growth
-Almost never gets the girl


In Defense of the Bad Boy:
I have a big thing for bad boys. Which girl doesn't fall for them? It is so enjoyable watching an arrogant jerk falling for a very ordinary girl. Mostly, such boys have either never been in love have serious abandonment issues (due to dead parents or having being abandoned by a parent). The prospect that he has never been in love before meeting our heroine is really cute. The heroine always turns him into a gentle creature who learns what it is like to love and care for someone. She always makes him grow up and understand the true meaning of love. He ends up doing very touching things for the girl, but mostly never tells her. His sacrifices for the heroine always remain hidden from her. Mostly, if there is someone forcing them apart he has to make her hate him and she remains oblivious to the reality. He faces a tough competition with the other man being a potential choice for the girl. In the end, he wins us by his actions and the heroine chooses him ultimately.

He is the winner, namely:

Lee Yoon Sung (City Hunter)


Lee Yoon Sung had his reasons for pushing the girl away and making her wait. But there were times when he was rude and typically behaved like a bad boy. But he was my favourite character from City Hunter.

Seol Gong Chan (My Girl)

He wasn't necessarily bad, but he denies his love for the girl an awful lot. When he does something sweet, he also ends up breaking her heart several times. But yes, I did love him for who he was and empathized with his actions.

And of course, countless other guys.


In Defense of the Good Boy:
He is the Daddy Long Longs, or in simpler words a shoulder to cry on for the girl. In some cases, he might be the heroine's first love but she ends up falling for someone else. Most of the times, he gets mesmerized by the ordinary girl he's just met. He is always protective of her and wishes for the heroine to choose him. Or, he might be bad in the beginning but as the story progresses he turns into the good guy. He hardly ever makes the girl he loves cry and his heart always breaks when he sees her suffering for the main hero. I think ideally, these kinds of the guys are perfect life-partners. While some nice guys have been boring, there have been ones that were better than the bad boy in all aspects. Alas, in the world of dramas the one who comes first gets the girl first. The worst thing that happens to him is ending up alone or getting the second lead heroine as a consolation prize.

He is the loser in the end, namely:

Yoon Pil Joo (The Greatest Love)


I was a big fan of Pil Joo all the while I was watching The Greatest Love. He was super sweet and I couldn't see why Ae Jung didn't fall for him. He was the perfect guy for her.


Nakatsu Shuichi (Hana Kimi)


I keep mentioning Nakatsu in my articles, because truly he was a marevellous character. Mizuki couldn't have gotten a better guy than him and till this day I wish there was an alternate ending to the drama.


AGAINST THE BAD BOY

The worst part of going for the bad boy is that you're in for an inevitable heart break. Be it the circumstances or his own problem with accepting the truth, he always makes you wait. The main girl is always distressed and spends the entire drama waiting for him to come around. With that, we as viewers burn along with the heroine, waiting for other ridiculous plots to end and to finally get a happy ending. It is no secret that the outcome of such dramas is always predictable. You know right from the first episode who will get the girl.

Honestly, the bad boy sometimes pisses us off. So this gets frustrating to watch because he repeats a cycle of love and denial over and over. Plus, when he treats you like a kid it is hard to comprehend why the girl fell for him. Was it the looks or the money? Over that, rudeness and constant bickering can be a turn-off. It is also hard to understand why he behaves the way he does.

Someone please ask Young-Jae from 'Full House', what's wrong with him?




AGAINST THE GOOD BOY

This is weird. What can you say against a nice person? Please stop being nice, sounds rather stupid to say. Or should I say Stop being so boring? I would rather tell the nice boy to become bad so that he can get the girl. Because that's how it works in the land of dramas. Because the heroine always fails to realize the awesomeness of the nice guy I decided to cut him slack over here for once. There isn't anything I can say to a guy- who is nice, patient and has the strength to let go, which in all aspects is a sign of maturity.

But, there is one particular drama in which he won straight up. The mention of nice guys is incomplete without him. Speaking of, Kim Boong Do from 'Queen In Hyun's Man'. He was lucky to capture the heart of the heroine immediately and managed to remain her 'The One' till the end. It was impossible to separate him and his female counterpart.





Then there were dramas which weren't afraid of breaking the cliche plots. The ones like 'Dream High' and 'Zenkai Girl' are the ones in which the heroine was cold as compared to the guy. In both dramas, she fights her feelings till the end but fell for the nicer guy because of who he was and what he did for her.

In the conclusion, I say nice guys deserve to win. All dramas with the same kind of endings get predictable to watch. It would be nice once in a while if the nice guy won for a change. Till then, I'm alright with the bad boys getting the girl as they always manage to entertain me. I am up for anything.

What do you think? Who would you go for- the bad boy or the good boy? Do you know any other dramas which had a different love story and a different kind of ending?