Dear X

If You're A Fan of Watching Painful Scenes Ad Nauseam This Drama Is For You...

OMG! Idk what is going on in Korea but why are they scraping the bottom of the barrel for material like this one!?! This abused child has been turned into the dumbest psycho villainess I've ever had the misfortune to watch! I had to drop the show halfway through the 3rd episode. She made so many STUPID decisions/mistakes by then that I wanted to slap her and I'm a pacifist! Her codependent stepbrother who apparently IS a pacifist STILL having a relationship with his Mommy Dearest Mother was over the top BS for me! I was an abused child myself and IMO none of this is realistic. The author obviously only skimmed through a few psychology courses. Idk how it's getting 10 star reviews!?! I have liked the M & F leads in other dramas but this one is NOT worthy of my time! I'm so disappointed with Viki for not posting warnings about the intense level of violence in this trash. A rating of "R" is NOT enough!

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Dear X: Her life was shaped by absence more than presence.

Dear X was Kim Yoo jung’s show, through and through. A character like Ahjin is any actress’s dream, truly a once in a lifetime role. And Kim Yoo jung didnt just deliver, she knocked it out of the park

The story itself was far from a typical romance. This wasnt about two leads meeting, falling in love, breaking up and finding their way back to each other. Instead, it was the life journey of Ahjin, a transformation from victim to perpetrator. The drama explored how she used people for her own survival and discarded them once they no longer served her purpose.

The story was originally adapted from a webtoon and the drama followed the source material closely until In kang’s arc. After that point, it began to diverge significantly. The ending in particular was very different from the webtoon’s conclusion. Before watching the finale, i wasnt sure if i would like the direction the drama chose for its conclusion, especially knowing how different it was from the original source. Surprisingly, the ending worked for me. The drama and the webtoon wrap up the story in completely different ways, yet both feel thematically consistent with what they were trying to say. Most of the characters faced the consequences of their choices, while Moon Dohyuk was the only one spared, which makes me think they intentionally left room for a possible S2.

From childhood, Ahjin grew up without love or emotional support. The way her parents and Jun seo’s mother treated her played a major role in shaping who she became. She learned early on that survival sometimes meant doing things that didnt fit anyone’s moral standards. She spent most of her life emotionally numb and the only time a hint of genuine feeling surfaced was when she met In kang’s grandmother. That brief taste of unconditional parental love began to stir something inside her but the grandmother’s death dragged Ahjin right back into the darkness she came from.

Throughout her life, she used around five different men, each with unique personalities and weaknesses she could manipulate. Jae oh and Jun seo practically worshipped her. The cafe owner was one of the kindest adults she encountered, someone who could have guided her had circumstances been different. In kang was a deeply depressed person who found a reason to hope after meeting her, only for that hope to be shattered. And Dohyuk was a crazy psychopath who could challenge her on her own level. The only ones i truly felt sorry for were the cafe owner and In kang, they didnt deserve what Ahjin did to them.

What didnt work as well for me was Junseo and Jae oh’s blind loyalty. Even with Ahjin’s manipulations, these were grown men who clearly saw her lies and actions, yet chose to brush everything aside. Their backstories didnt fully justify the level of irrational devotion they showed. Still, despite the lack of logic, the dynamic between the three of them was strangely compelling. Their relationship was messy, layered and emotionally tangled, interesting enough that you stay invested even when it doesnt entirely align with realism.

Kim Yoo jung delivered a phenomenal performance as a sociopathic Ahjin. Several scenes gave me goosebumps, like when she killed her father at the end of E3 or when she slashed Sung hee’s face at the end of E10. These moments were pure cinematic brilliance. The rest of the cast also did exceptionally well, especially Hwang In Yeop and Hong Jong Hyun. The director deserves credit for bringing out the best in every actor.

On the production side, everything was top tier. The sets were lavish, the background score elevated every moment and the tension was built masterfully. The direction was so strong that even the average actors looked convincing on screen.

Overall, Dear X is a drama i would recommend to everyone but with a warning, it will stress you out episode after episode. Ahjin is such a complex and unforgettable character that it will probably take years before we see another female lead written this well.

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Bummer

I love Kim You Jung. She was so darling/funny in Backstreet Rookie that I promised myself I'd watch everything she was in afterwards. And that's why I dropped Dear X because . . . I was starting to hate her in Dear X. I know, I know she was only portraying a character but she is sooo good at acting that it is hard for me to separate the actress from the character.
Dear X is a about a sociopath, in this case a human being deprived of empathy for any others and willing to crush anyone, friend or foe, to facilitate her own success. I really hope there are no actual beings like this in the world but I also fear that it is a naive hope. Anyway, I don't want to watch one on TV because I watch TV to escape the crappy thing I don't like in this world, not rub my face in more crappy stuff.

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good people don’t always win, bad people don’t always die

Okay, Dear X” was honestly one of the strongest thrillers of 2025.
Every week, I was counting down for the new episode, and that finale… that cliffhanger was cruel in the best way. We still don’t know what truly happened to Baek A-Jin, and that unanswered mystery is exactly why this drama hits so hard. A-Jin is alive, and her story is far from over.
Season 2 feels almost inevitable.
This drama was sharp, emotional, and twisted, and it was so well-written. Even if we never get Season 2, the message is powerful:
Good people don’t always win, bad people don’t always die, and everyone, good or bad, must live with the consequences of their choices.
Kim Jae-O’s ending made perfect sense.

He spent his whole life carrying childhood trauma that shaped his twisted mind, and in the end, his final moment wasn’t happiness; it was dark acceptance. He sacrificed himself for A-Jin and died. It was his tragic way of finding closure, becoming exactly what his painful past shaped him to be

Jun-Seo’s mother also had one of the worst endings. She didn’t get peace at all. She fell down the stairs right after receiving a letter from her son, a letter in which he finally cut ties and ended their toxic cycle. And Jun-Seo’s suffering since childhood came directly from her behaviour, shaping the broken man he became.

A-Jin’s husband now has to keep living his life knowing she’s still alive, and that truth is destroying him from the inside.
He can’t sleep, he can’t breathe normally, and no matter how much he tries to move on, the fear and guilt follow him everywhere. He knows she’s out there… and that knowledge is its own kind of punishment.

Yun Jun-Seo was the most heartbreaking character for me.
He loved A-Jin deeply, yet he carried a lifetime of guilt on his shoulders. That guilt started when he was a child and never left him. He truly believed his mother ruined her life, and that belief shaped every decision he made.
In the end, he thought he could end his life together with A-Jin, choosing a tragic escape from the pain he carried. But fate betrayed him: he died, while she survived.

Sim Seung-Hui was another walking disaster. Her ending in the hospital felt like karma arriving on time.

She was the lucky one…
She’s still alive somewhere, unfinished, unpredictable, one of the strongest reasons this drama needs Season 2.
But if Season 2 happens?
Baek A-Jin’s return will be pure chaos… and I’m ready.

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Dear X : The Mask We Choose to Wear

🔹 What happens when love becomes the very thing that destroys us
🔹 Would I rewatch? Yes

📕 Overview
🔹 12 episodes, melodrama, romance, thriller
🔹 Based on the webtoon Dear X by Vanziun
🔹 Kim Yoo Jung plays Baek Ah Jin, a rising actress whose polished public image hides deep emotional scars
🔹 Kim Young Dae portrays Yoon Joon Seo, her stepbrother who has always protected her and now struggles with the boundaries of his devotion.
🔹 The story begins when Ah Jin’s fame collides with the secrets she has worked her whole life to control, pulling Joon Seo back into a world he hoped to leave behind
🔹 The drama stays firmly grounded in themes of ambition, emotional survival, and the price of wearing a mask in the entertainment world
🔹 For me, it stood out for its fearless dive into toxic love, trauma, and the quiet ways people learn to protect themselves

🌸 How It Felt Watching
🔹 I felt completely pulled in by the tension, because every relationship carries a mix of love, guilt, and danger
🔹 Tone: dark, emotional, intimate, and unsettling
🔹 Themes: trauma, loyalty, survival, manipulation, love, identity
🔹 It reminded me a little of Whispers of Fate (2025), but with a sharper focus on how childhood pain follows these characters into adulthood

✨ Cast & Acting
🔹 Kim Yoo Jung as Baek Ah Jin delivers an outstanding performance, as her expressions alone convey the calculated nature of her choices.
🔹 Kim Young Dae as Yoon Joon Seo: His loyalty to Ah Jin feels painful and real, and the way he shows love and fear at the same time
🔹 The supporting cast, including Kim Do Hoon as Jae Oh and the younger actors, builds the emotional foundation of the story and illustrates how Ah Jin’s world was shaped.

🎵 OST
🔹 Run & Run by Kim Ye Rim
🔹 Insane by Elaine

🎞️ Production Style
I liked how the director and team gave each setting its own rhythm and presence.
🎥 Cinematography
🔹 The cinematography moves between close, tense shots that reveal emotional pressure and wide frames that remind you how isolating fame can feel
👗 Wardrobe
🔹 Wardrobe choices reflect the persona of each character.

☕ Tea Notes
🔹 What worked: Kim Yoo Jung’s performance, the emotional weight of the story, and the way each scene builds tension
🔹 What worked: I believe the show’s atmosphere and pacing make the drama feel raw and personal
🔹 What didn’t: This one may feel overwhelming if you want something lighter, since the tone stays dark from the start
⭐ SpillTheDramaTea’s Rating: 9.5/10
🌿 Tea-Scale: Bold and lingering

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You will be frustrated

As much as I disliked literally every character in this show, I can’t lie I practically binged the entire series (as much as I could since I had exams lol). It was incredibly entertaining. I mean seriously, they were annoying but they would leave you on a cliffhanger that’s way too good to ignore.

On a side note the ending was so unsatisfying. I mean, I didn’t expect a happy merry ol’ ending where everyone gets their revenge and everyone reaps what they sow but it just felt incompleted? Maybe the writers didn’t have any ideas left where to go lol… It was just so anticlimactic.

I guess they were trying to say that Baek Ahjin is alive and living like a ghost now but still. The ending felt empty, like atleast a little bit more context and background would’ve sufficied.

But overall I can’t say the show is bad just because the characters were frustrating- I mean I could but that’d be a lie because the premise of the show was so interesting! I’m a huge fan of revenge plots and although this isn’t your typical revenge story (lowkey like a bad side of revenge rather than a good one) which was new and refreshing! I recommend this show, be prepared to be frustrated to the core tho!!!

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A Masterclass in Acting with a Divisive Finale

Dear X starts with a bang. The first half is a masterclass in cinematography and pacing—I couldn't look away. Kim Yoo Jung’s performance is haunting; she makes you pity her one moment and despise her the next as you realize the depth of her manipulation.

The male characters were the heart of the show for me. I was rooting for them the whole way through, and the friendship between everyone was so well-done. Specifically, the bromance between Jun Seo and Kim Jae-young was a major highlight—their bond felt authentic and kept me grounded in the story.

Unfortunately, the drama couldn't maintain its initial momentum. While it stayed "good," it lost the "amazing" quality of the earlier episodes. The last few episodes felt like a bit of a mess, and the ending was quite a letdown. I was expecting a much more polished finale for a show that started with such promise.

Even though the ending ruined the experience slightly, the acting and the relationships made it a journey worth taking.

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