autumnleafspice
This review may contain spoilers
amazing thriller with a terrible ending
This show was a ride. Not only was it my first kdrama Thriller, it was also having an overall great premise. This show pulled me in from the very first second and I really loved every episode. Up until like the last three that were slowly ruining it all for me.
Story: I really love the "someone killed my sibling so I will go undercover to find the person who did this" trope and this show managed to give us a protagonist who was not letting herself be pushed around. She was smart and didn't put up with anything, but still had a kind heart. Chanmi was a real delight and a welcomed fresh breath of air after so many push-over main characters I endoured the last few weeks. She managed to be both a badass and a softie and I love her. Seonjoon was a very interesting character as well and watching him walk down the narrow path between seeking revenge for other people and just cruely beating people up to the brink of their death was chilling. This boy had to shoulder so much and my heart was breaking for him and his mother a dozen times in these twelve episodes. Jaebum was someone I didn't trust from the start. His amnesia seemed so oddly convenient and I've seen the plot twist "he's faking his amnesia" too many times, so I was always suspicious. But like halfway through the show I slowly warmed up to his charm and good nature. A mistake as it turns out, but more on this later. The supporting characters were great as well, making you feel for them and hate them, whatever the show needed you to feel. About the detectives... Well, let's just say that I have mixed feelings about them. I'm glad that they started to trust Chami more and more and were trying to work with her after realising that she was onto something. But at times it also felt very frustrating since Chanmi and we (the audience) were always one step ahead, so whenever they discovered something it was never a "oh!"-moment but rather a "finally!".
Acting/Cast: Almost all the actors and actresses were doing a phenomenal job, especially the main cast was really giving their all in their performances and it shows.
Music: Great. Just great. But kdramas rarely have bad or boring soundtrack, so no surprise here.
Rewatch Value: Up until now my review probably seems overwhelmingly positive, so you might think that my rewatch value is quite high, but not only am I not one to rewatch stuff easily, I also have very strong feelings about the ending and if it isn't satisfactory enough for me, it will immediately lower my rewatch value drastically. And as you can see from my rating, I will not rewatch this show any time soon.
The Bad:
- predictable plot twists. Okay, so this one doesn't have to be too bad, because if nobody can predict your plot twist than you have done a bad job at forshadowing it. But this show had so many plot twists that I have seen coming from a mile away and not in a "oh! I see! So this could happen!" kind of way but in a "lol maybe they pull x-twist, i hope not tho" and they did. Like my first thought was "why would Jihyun and Osung care so much about others knowing they are siblings? if they aren't dating, nobody cares" and well... guess what happened...
- characters suddenly turn dumb. This one was probably the most frustrating one. I had to watch Seonjoon and Chanmi accuse everyonea round them of murder for like ten episodes straight, they were pointing fingers at LEFT AND RIGHT, but when the culprit is RIGHT THERE they close their eyes. They literally have a conversation like: "Hey, the police says that the murderer probably used his left hand." - "Huh, that's good to know. Btw, Jaebum was acting really strange and he wrote his name with his left hand." - "Oh, you should ask him if he is ambidextrous." - "Yeah... anyway, back to the killer. So Osung-" LIKE???? They laid such a heavy focus on the left-hand-thing just for them to IGNORE IT?? What was the point of the shots of Seonjoon staring at Jaebum doing all these weird things just for him to NOT mention it to Chanmi or to not grow at least a little suspicious??
- all is forgiven. HOW?? Chanmi was ready to pull a gun on Seonjoon as soon as she suspected him of murdering his brother but all of a sudden she has a change of heart and forgives Jaebum. I know that some more time has pass and she learned to trust people and learned to love these people, yadda yadda. But she was ready to kill him and suddenly she forgave him completely. That seemed very unlike her and, after all we've been through, a little disappointing. And I'm sorry but I just can't believe that if someone would try to kill me and I wouldn't know who and someone was like "yeah it was this guy" I would WITHOUT QUESTIONING HIM FIRST OR ANYTHING just straight up go there to murder him??? Like how was that his FIRST THOUGHT?? And the way he kicked him wasn't him trying to be like "I will push you out of the window so you can have the same experience as me" but he full intended to kill him. Just good old coldblooded murder and we are just supposed to shrug it away. I know he was manipulated but just the fact that he was so ready to kill someone...idk idk
- is this an open ending or no ending? So, the thing with open endings is that they are pretty hit or miss. You can still get a sense of closure and satisfaction even if the ending is open or ambigious. But this ending felt like someone forgot to write an ending and came to set and made something up. I'm glad that they didn't kill-off Seonjoon in the very last few minutes because that would just leave a sour taste in my mouth. The characters all graduating and Chanmi just saying in a voice-over "btw he died, but live goes on" and then end credits... like no please don't. But since the very first episode we are told that he will die and he doesn't. He leaves school, get's together with Chanmi and that's it; "he's lucky for now". They are happy for now, both alive for now. But you know what, I can live with that, I can understand leaving it at that with them, since fans can now decide for themselves if they have many happy years in front of them or if Seonjoon died soon after. But with everyone else... no. What happened to Jihyun and her family after finding out the truth about her brother and seeing him literally die right in front of her eyes? What happens to Jaebum? Is he now "freed" or is he still mentally ill (we'll get to that in a second)? What about his family? What about the detectives? Are they just gonna accept that everyone pretends like this guy died of natural causes?
- everyone accepts that Osung died of natural causes. So you tell me that this school had like two dead students in a year and nobody is like "hmm, that's a little sus, we should keep an eye on them"?? The detectives arrive see that this guy apparently jumped from the roof and they just accept it with a "if enough people push the lie it eventually becomes the truth" like first of all...no that's not how that works and second of all that insinuates that she KNOWS that something's up but she CHOOSES to ignore it??? Good to know this woman has learned nothing from twelve episodes.
- Jaebum is possesed by a demon(??). Throughought this show we get many hints that there is something wrong with Jaebum. Him stating that he "doesn't remember stuff he did" and "remembers stuff he didn't do" was like an alarm bell going of. And I know that the "this super nice and sweet guy was actually the killer all along and is actually cold, evil, and bloodthirsty" is a beloved trope. God knows I do like it as well. But the way it was handled in this show... uff. First of all, I am really tired of the way people keep misrepresenting DID and make it into a Jekyll and Hyde situation. Just make him evil and say that he loves playing nice guy or something. Also Chanmi's speech of evil guy Jaejoon was truly something. Her saying "you are a demon" and "please let him free" was just...I was speechless. My girl, my man has a mental illness, he is not possessed by a demon. That's not how it work--well apparently that's exactly how it works in this show.
- the nice Jaebum being not so nice. Okay, so the thing is that everyone keeps telling you that Jaebum is a good person. Even when he literally killed someone, they say it's not his fault since he was manipulated and everyone forgives him. And I guess, yes, he does take responsibility once he's caught. We don't know what happenes after if his family just buys him out or if he talks about his illness or if he takes the blame for it all, we will never know. But what we do know is that Jaebum got his memory back of the incident quite early... like this man had some time to think. Time to feel guilty. You tell me this guy knew he killed a classmate and he just...went on with his life?? He knew he was the killer then looked Chanmi in the eyes and didn't immediately start crying?? The Jaebum who was so ready to jump to her defense all the time? The guy who was ready to cover up a murder for his friend(s)??? Also how did the fight between him and Osung end? They were ready to kill each other and suddenly they are both fine and went different ways?
- the full-circle-dilemma. I know that the whole school protecting Seonjoon was more a symbolic thing, to show that they really value him as "the hero" and that was sweet yes, if you don't really think about how unrealistic it is that not one single soul snitched. But even if you pretend that it's totally realistic for two hundred people to stick to one story and protecting a guy some hated and some loved, it still felt weird. It was supposed to be this full-circle kinda thing, a parallel to Wonseok's death and how everyone believed/accepted it to be suicide and nobody spoke up about it. But it didn't give me anything. And I know that Osung was a bad person and that some might think that he deserved it, but for me it just felt like history repeating itself and nobody learning anything.
- so who should've been the killer? So after this whole rent you might as yourself, well how would you have liked this show to end then? And I don't have a clear answer to that, since there were so many (better) possibilities. So many characters that could've made (a better) perpetrator. My personal favorite was Soyeon and Seonjoon as a team. At one point I even suspected a last plot twist that it wasn't actually Jaebum but Soyeon and Seonjoon who constructed the whole thing. It was mentioned so many times that Wonseok was someone many people wanted to see dead and maybe Soyeon and Seonjoon made that happen. And maybe Seonjoon didn't mean to kill Wonseok but just fight him and he accidentally fell out of the window or his anger spiked up because of his cancer and that's why he forgot it or idk. I haven't planned an entire alternative ending in my head, these are just a few thoughts that popped into my head in like episode 11 when I thought that maybe this show would pull a better twist.
Story: I really love the "someone killed my sibling so I will go undercover to find the person who did this" trope and this show managed to give us a protagonist who was not letting herself be pushed around. She was smart and didn't put up with anything, but still had a kind heart. Chanmi was a real delight and a welcomed fresh breath of air after so many push-over main characters I endoured the last few weeks. She managed to be both a badass and a softie and I love her. Seonjoon was a very interesting character as well and watching him walk down the narrow path between seeking revenge for other people and just cruely beating people up to the brink of their death was chilling. This boy had to shoulder so much and my heart was breaking for him and his mother a dozen times in these twelve episodes. Jaebum was someone I didn't trust from the start. His amnesia seemed so oddly convenient and I've seen the plot twist "he's faking his amnesia" too many times, so I was always suspicious. But like halfway through the show I slowly warmed up to his charm and good nature. A mistake as it turns out, but more on this later. The supporting characters were great as well, making you feel for them and hate them, whatever the show needed you to feel. About the detectives... Well, let's just say that I have mixed feelings about them. I'm glad that they started to trust Chami more and more and were trying to work with her after realising that she was onto something. But at times it also felt very frustrating since Chanmi and we (the audience) were always one step ahead, so whenever they discovered something it was never a "oh!"-moment but rather a "finally!".
Acting/Cast: Almost all the actors and actresses were doing a phenomenal job, especially the main cast was really giving their all in their performances and it shows.
Music: Great. Just great. But kdramas rarely have bad or boring soundtrack, so no surprise here.
Rewatch Value: Up until now my review probably seems overwhelmingly positive, so you might think that my rewatch value is quite high, but not only am I not one to rewatch stuff easily, I also have very strong feelings about the ending and if it isn't satisfactory enough for me, it will immediately lower my rewatch value drastically. And as you can see from my rating, I will not rewatch this show any time soon.
The Bad:
- predictable plot twists. Okay, so this one doesn't have to be too bad, because if nobody can predict your plot twist than you have done a bad job at forshadowing it. But this show had so many plot twists that I have seen coming from a mile away and not in a "oh! I see! So this could happen!" kind of way but in a "lol maybe they pull x-twist, i hope not tho" and they did. Like my first thought was "why would Jihyun and Osung care so much about others knowing they are siblings? if they aren't dating, nobody cares" and well... guess what happened...
- characters suddenly turn dumb. This one was probably the most frustrating one. I had to watch Seonjoon and Chanmi accuse everyonea round them of murder for like ten episodes straight, they were pointing fingers at LEFT AND RIGHT, but when the culprit is RIGHT THERE they close their eyes. They literally have a conversation like: "Hey, the police says that the murderer probably used his left hand." - "Huh, that's good to know. Btw, Jaebum was acting really strange and he wrote his name with his left hand." - "Oh, you should ask him if he is ambidextrous." - "Yeah... anyway, back to the killer. So Osung-" LIKE???? They laid such a heavy focus on the left-hand-thing just for them to IGNORE IT?? What was the point of the shots of Seonjoon staring at Jaebum doing all these weird things just for him to NOT mention it to Chanmi or to not grow at least a little suspicious??
- all is forgiven. HOW?? Chanmi was ready to pull a gun on Seonjoon as soon as she suspected him of murdering his brother but all of a sudden she has a change of heart and forgives Jaebum. I know that some more time has pass and she learned to trust people and learned to love these people, yadda yadda. But she was ready to kill him and suddenly she forgave him completely. That seemed very unlike her and, after all we've been through, a little disappointing. And I'm sorry but I just can't believe that if someone would try to kill me and I wouldn't know who and someone was like "yeah it was this guy" I would WITHOUT QUESTIONING HIM FIRST OR ANYTHING just straight up go there to murder him??? Like how was that his FIRST THOUGHT?? And the way he kicked him wasn't him trying to be like "I will push you out of the window so you can have the same experience as me" but he full intended to kill him. Just good old coldblooded murder and we are just supposed to shrug it away. I know he was manipulated but just the fact that he was so ready to kill someone...idk idk
- is this an open ending or no ending? So, the thing with open endings is that they are pretty hit or miss. You can still get a sense of closure and satisfaction even if the ending is open or ambigious. But this ending felt like someone forgot to write an ending and came to set and made something up. I'm glad that they didn't kill-off Seonjoon in the very last few minutes because that would just leave a sour taste in my mouth. The characters all graduating and Chanmi just saying in a voice-over "btw he died, but live goes on" and then end credits... like no please don't. But since the very first episode we are told that he will die and he doesn't. He leaves school, get's together with Chanmi and that's it; "he's lucky for now". They are happy for now, both alive for now. But you know what, I can live with that, I can understand leaving it at that with them, since fans can now decide for themselves if they have many happy years in front of them or if Seonjoon died soon after. But with everyone else... no. What happened to Jihyun and her family after finding out the truth about her brother and seeing him literally die right in front of her eyes? What happens to Jaebum? Is he now "freed" or is he still mentally ill (we'll get to that in a second)? What about his family? What about the detectives? Are they just gonna accept that everyone pretends like this guy died of natural causes?
- everyone accepts that Osung died of natural causes. So you tell me that this school had like two dead students in a year and nobody is like "hmm, that's a little sus, we should keep an eye on them"?? The detectives arrive see that this guy apparently jumped from the roof and they just accept it with a "if enough people push the lie it eventually becomes the truth" like first of all...no that's not how that works and second of all that insinuates that she KNOWS that something's up but she CHOOSES to ignore it??? Good to know this woman has learned nothing from twelve episodes.
- Jaebum is possesed by a demon(??). Throughought this show we get many hints that there is something wrong with Jaebum. Him stating that he "doesn't remember stuff he did" and "remembers stuff he didn't do" was like an alarm bell going of. And I know that the "this super nice and sweet guy was actually the killer all along and is actually cold, evil, and bloodthirsty" is a beloved trope. God knows I do like it as well. But the way it was handled in this show... uff. First of all, I am really tired of the way people keep misrepresenting DID and make it into a Jekyll and Hyde situation. Just make him evil and say that he loves playing nice guy or something. Also Chanmi's speech of evil guy Jaejoon was truly something. Her saying "you are a demon" and "please let him free" was just...I was speechless. My girl, my man has a mental illness, he is not possessed by a demon. That's not how it work--well apparently that's exactly how it works in this show.
- the nice Jaebum being not so nice. Okay, so the thing is that everyone keeps telling you that Jaebum is a good person. Even when he literally killed someone, they say it's not his fault since he was manipulated and everyone forgives him. And I guess, yes, he does take responsibility once he's caught. We don't know what happenes after if his family just buys him out or if he talks about his illness or if he takes the blame for it all, we will never know. But what we do know is that Jaebum got his memory back of the incident quite early... like this man had some time to think. Time to feel guilty. You tell me this guy knew he killed a classmate and he just...went on with his life?? He knew he was the killer then looked Chanmi in the eyes and didn't immediately start crying?? The Jaebum who was so ready to jump to her defense all the time? The guy who was ready to cover up a murder for his friend(s)??? Also how did the fight between him and Osung end? They were ready to kill each other and suddenly they are both fine and went different ways?
- the full-circle-dilemma. I know that the whole school protecting Seonjoon was more a symbolic thing, to show that they really value him as "the hero" and that was sweet yes, if you don't really think about how unrealistic it is that not one single soul snitched. But even if you pretend that it's totally realistic for two hundred people to stick to one story and protecting a guy some hated and some loved, it still felt weird. It was supposed to be this full-circle kinda thing, a parallel to Wonseok's death and how everyone believed/accepted it to be suicide and nobody spoke up about it. But it didn't give me anything. And I know that Osung was a bad person and that some might think that he deserved it, but for me it just felt like history repeating itself and nobody learning anything.
- so who should've been the killer? So after this whole rent you might as yourself, well how would you have liked this show to end then? And I don't have a clear answer to that, since there were so many (better) possibilities. So many characters that could've made (a better) perpetrator. My personal favorite was Soyeon and Seonjoon as a team. At one point I even suspected a last plot twist that it wasn't actually Jaebum but Soyeon and Seonjoon who constructed the whole thing. It was mentioned so many times that Wonseok was someone many people wanted to see dead and maybe Soyeon and Seonjoon made that happen. And maybe Seonjoon didn't mean to kill Wonseok but just fight him and he accidentally fell out of the window or his anger spiked up because of his cancer and that's why he forgot it or idk. I haven't planned an entire alternative ending in my head, these are just a few thoughts that popped into my head in like episode 11 when I thought that maybe this show would pull a better twist.
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