WATCH it or DROP it: Secret

I‘m back with another article of WATCH it or DROP it and this time we will all look at the Korean drama - Secret, which has an MDL rating of 8.5.

How did I stumble on this drama?

I knew about this tv series for years now and many people praised it for its unique and very, very dramatic plot filled with at that time, new romance? It came out in 2013, and I started it because my amazing friend, who loved the story, begged me countless time to watch it. The plot to me sounded also very appealing, so I couldn‘t wait to start it! However, real life happened and I got to episode 4 and then had to drop it, but two days ago I decide to pick it up once again and watch it from scratch!

This drama will depict how a man falls in love with a woman who killed his lover. It is the story about a man who doesn't believe in love and a woman who believes in love but gets betrayed by it. Min Hyuk is a rich guy who has everything but a good personality, and burns with revenge after he found out his lover was killed in a hit-and-run accident. Yoo Jung is a woman who takes blame for that accident. She is a woman who refuses to give up on life even though she′s been thrown into despair. She goes to prison in her boyfriend’s place, who causes the hit-and-run accident, but she gets betrayed in the end.

Expectations vs. Reality

As so many people told me how great and beautiful this series is, I won’t lie to you, but I was influenced by their reviews and the expectations were obviously very high. 

Since I completed this drama in 2018 of course I had experience with the leading actors which are Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum. They are many times labelled as the top actors of the film industry and also their chemistry is to die for. They proved it in Kill Me, Heal Me which is one of my favourite dramas. That’s why the expectations about the acting and chemistry was very high and I even got greedy and wanted it to top their chemistry from their previous drama. 

A major part of me deciding to watch this drama or not was also the fact of who wrote it. I don’t usually check out who is the scriptwriter, but for some reason I did check it out and was thrilled that the drama was written by Choi Ho Chul, who also wrote Mask and currently airing drama – Time, which as you can tell by  my previous WATCH it or DROP it, I absolutely love! Mr Choi is like a king of dramas for me. The plot twists and evilness he gives to the characters is simply stunning and genius.

With great actors, talented scriptwriter and interesting plot, I set off to my marathon journey of the drama Secret.

What were my expectations about the plot?

• The romance had to be top notch: Since I knew the chemistry was to die for in the previous drama of the two main leads, with this drama I expected the same thing with a dramatic twist obviously. I knew before I started this series that this won’t be any rom-com but a very emotional ride which will eventually have tears. I expected yells and angry kisses, but also sweet ending. 

• Cliffhangers should be dropped like a bomb: I don’t know why, but with melodramas where the plot is not really heavily centered around the romance, I always demand cliffhangers which will keep me on my toes and move the story forward in a very shocking way. 

• Kill, kill, kill and drugs: Call me a bad person, but I love when humans show me their true nature. Just from the plot that was given we can see that someone has been a ‘’very bad boy’’ and I was curious how bad can the characters turn out to be and eventually how will they face their punishments.

What was the reality?

1. Plot: If I could wrap it up in one sentence, it would look like this – My expectations were way too high! The plot had an amazing opportunity to be unfolded and evolved, but nothing like that happened at all. The pilot episode showed us the background which was good and me hating on the characters was a plus point, but as I kept watching more and more episodes I found myself actually hating the plot. It was slow and let’s not get started that it was heavily centered around the world of business and economics, which is NOT my cup of tea.

2. Cliffhangers: None. In my point of view, there were no cliffhangers and don’t tell me that it’s because I had a marathon. A cliffhanger should make you feel the need to watch more and continue on, but sadly I was forcing myself to finish this drama for the sake of my friend.

3. Romance: I could feel literally no chemistry between either of the main leads and Mr. Bae’s character only annoyed me with his stupid lustful feelings. I really liked how Ji Sung’s character loved his dead girlfriend and honestly, I feel he never ever stopped loving her making it look like Hwang’s character was like a sidekick? Both characters got broken hearts and in my eyes, they were using each other’s presence as a form of comfort from all the stuff that has been happening.

4. Drama & Gore: In my expectations I talked about how I love as the human nature unfolds and shows us its dark side. Yes, this drama was not an exception, but still I expected more. Bae is the villain, but I wanted more. I don’t know if it’s the actors fault or not, but since episode 1 I saw the evil within him so I was not surprised at all, at how greedy he became. But still I definitely wanted more evilness. He hid himself behind the words and beliefs that he did nothing wrong, but you know what’s more evil? When the villain actually knows he is bad and doesn’t hide behind the petty words and beliefs that his doings are right.

Introduction to main characters:

Jo Min Hyuk

- man who hides his feelings behind wealth

- man who tries to solve everything without thinking first

- stubborn man who doesn’t give up

- passionate man who loves till death

- man who goes by the saying ‘’eye for eye’’

Kang Yoo Jung

- naive woman

- hardworking woman who doesn’t give up

An Do Hoon

- man who hides his evilness in the justice

- man who fools himself with law

- man who is ambitious but not careful enough

- man with fake morals

Shin Se Yeon

- woman who thinks she is in love

- greedy woman who can do anything

- woman who likes to play

- broken woman

We are at the end of another edition of WATCH it or DROP it and I hope you enjoyed the new perspective of this drama. Since I am a huge fan of Mr. Choi's scripts, I can't hide my disappointment and after long hours of deciding about it, I had to come to a final decision and here it is….

For me, it’s sadly DROP IT!

Nevertheless, I applause everyone who finds this drama entertaining and are loving it even after 5 years since it aired. I’m curious about your perspectives and your decision so please drop some comments below and who knows, you may say some points which might open my eyes!