00vi
This review may contain spoilers
Inappropriately Comical
Finally finished this korean drama. Though I'm not into comedy, I decided to give this one a try because I enjoy these kind of themes (murder/mystery/crime), and it suprisingly has a higher average rating in mydramalist. But wow, what a letdown.
Obviously created as a satire, this 16-episode kdrama is comedy gold. It's crazy hilarious. Even if the tone is sometimes dark, the humor and comedic timing are still integrated seamlessly. Which is, in my opinion, the only thing good about it. Its humor.
Everything else is just bad, to be honest. It's over the top and ridiculous. This is probably the drama's main goal - to be over the top- but its ridiculousness just overwhelms all the good stuff it has. It surely has heart and it has good intentions, but trying to portray a convincing dark murder/mystery plot with all that outrageous acting and storyline is impossible. People actually die and suffer here but because of the inappropriately comical mood, I honestly don't know if I have to take it seriously or not.
STORY: The first four episodes are actually great. It sets the tone and introduces all the characters well. All of the main leads - the amnesiac Yook Dong Shik, the psychopath murderer Seo In Woo, and police officer Shim Bo Kyung- have interesting backgrounds and motivations. After those 4 episodes though, the story drags on with all kinds of unnecessary shenanigans. By ep 6, I already know where this is going, and unsurprisingly the ending is super predictable and anticlimactic.
For anyone watching this because of the "supposed bromance" between the sadistic Seo In Woo and the doormat Yook Dong Shik, don't hold your breath. After ep 5 or so, the magic is gone. It's just pure cat-and-mouse game here. The psychopath will finally find out the truth and lose interest towards the MC (Yook Dong Shik), and it's just pure repulsion from thereon; with the sadistic cat mostly trying to kill the mouse, if you know what I mean. (Shame, really. They look cute together.)
CHARACTERS : What really let me down was the main character himself. Yook Dong Shik has been a doormat all his life. This guy has been bullied by everyone for being too nice and naive. There is nothing wrong with being nice, but not to the point where it's already abuse. And the problem is, Yook Dong Shik knows this. He knows that he is being taken advantage of, but did he change anything in the end? No.
In his speech in the final episode, this guy still referred to himself as "the chump and an absolute sucker" and that he would rather "suffer than let anyone else suffer" which sounds really altruistic but in reality, this is abuse too. Letting people take advantage of you does not only hurt yourself; it also damage other people. You make them irresponsible and terrible human beings, which in the long run, will make the world worse. You ain't helping anybody at this point.
The female lead, Officer Shim Bo Kyung is also almost too good to be true. Very conscientious and idealistic. Sounds like a great character, right? She really is. Except for when she accidentally ran over Yook Dong Shik (YDS) with her car and lied about it (ep 1). This was the reason why the main character YDS had an amnesia and became the root of all their problems.
Also, she lets YDS- an untrained and powerless civilian- to accompany her to very dangerous investigations which is not only gravely irresponsible for a cop, but also illegal. (Yikes). But at least, she's the most capable officer in the show. Everyone else in the police department is just laughably incompetent. It's just played for laughs, but when you think about it, it's just really sad because this is the sole reason why the psychopath wins every single time.
Speaking of the psychopath- the sadistic Director Seo In Woo has all the trademark characteristics of an intellectual serial killer, and I was relieved that his character is actually portrayed seriously. He has a solid and consistent character all throughout. Evil, but meticulous. Cold but highly intuitive and rational. He's one of the most believable character of the show. But in the end, there's still no character development and he just remained wicked all throughout.
FINAL EPISODE : I mostly judge dramas by their finale, because I think the ability to tie things altogether and have a satisfying ending is what makes a drama memorable. And this is where the drama falls short as well. Honestly, it could have all ended at ep 10, but they managed to drag it to 16 eps so they could add more unnecessary filler scenes in it. So by the final episode, there's no suspense anymore and I was just tired of it all.
The ending fight between the two male leads are just the same ridiculous, repetitive antics. There's no earth shattering moment of genius or coolness from the main character. It's just terrible, really. Not worth the 16 eps I painstakingly watched to get to this. I honestly hoped that YDS could have at least be cooler in the end and gained the psychopath's respect, but no. All his coolness already fizzled by ep 5, and he could not even outsmart the villain. It's just brute force and luck in the end, which is really disappointing.
There are heartwarming moments here and there that made the drama bearable to watch at least. I especially like YDS's close relationship with his family and his bromantic moments with Chil Sung are really precious.
TLDR: I'm probably not going to watch it again. Way too predictable and no character development. Though humorous and heartwarming, this drama lacks a whole lot of logic and purpose.
Obviously created as a satire, this 16-episode kdrama is comedy gold. It's crazy hilarious. Even if the tone is sometimes dark, the humor and comedic timing are still integrated seamlessly. Which is, in my opinion, the only thing good about it. Its humor.
Everything else is just bad, to be honest. It's over the top and ridiculous. This is probably the drama's main goal - to be over the top- but its ridiculousness just overwhelms all the good stuff it has. It surely has heart and it has good intentions, but trying to portray a convincing dark murder/mystery plot with all that outrageous acting and storyline is impossible. People actually die and suffer here but because of the inappropriately comical mood, I honestly don't know if I have to take it seriously or not.
STORY: The first four episodes are actually great. It sets the tone and introduces all the characters well. All of the main leads - the amnesiac Yook Dong Shik, the psychopath murderer Seo In Woo, and police officer Shim Bo Kyung- have interesting backgrounds and motivations. After those 4 episodes though, the story drags on with all kinds of unnecessary shenanigans. By ep 6, I already know where this is going, and unsurprisingly the ending is super predictable and anticlimactic.
For anyone watching this because of the "supposed bromance" between the sadistic Seo In Woo and the doormat Yook Dong Shik, don't hold your breath. After ep 5 or so, the magic is gone. It's just pure cat-and-mouse game here. The psychopath will finally find out the truth and lose interest towards the MC (Yook Dong Shik), and it's just pure repulsion from thereon; with the sadistic cat mostly trying to kill the mouse, if you know what I mean. (Shame, really. They look cute together.)
CHARACTERS : What really let me down was the main character himself. Yook Dong Shik has been a doormat all his life. This guy has been bullied by everyone for being too nice and naive. There is nothing wrong with being nice, but not to the point where it's already abuse. And the problem is, Yook Dong Shik knows this. He knows that he is being taken advantage of, but did he change anything in the end? No.
In his speech in the final episode, this guy still referred to himself as "the chump and an absolute sucker" and that he would rather "suffer than let anyone else suffer" which sounds really altruistic but in reality, this is abuse too. Letting people take advantage of you does not only hurt yourself; it also damage other people. You make them irresponsible and terrible human beings, which in the long run, will make the world worse. You ain't helping anybody at this point.
The female lead, Officer Shim Bo Kyung is also almost too good to be true. Very conscientious and idealistic. Sounds like a great character, right? She really is. Except for when she accidentally ran over Yook Dong Shik (YDS) with her car and lied about it (ep 1). This was the reason why the main character YDS had an amnesia and became the root of all their problems.
Also, she lets YDS- an untrained and powerless civilian- to accompany her to very dangerous investigations which is not only gravely irresponsible for a cop, but also illegal. (Yikes). But at least, she's the most capable officer in the show. Everyone else in the police department is just laughably incompetent. It's just played for laughs, but when you think about it, it's just really sad because this is the sole reason why the psychopath wins every single time.
Speaking of the psychopath- the sadistic Director Seo In Woo has all the trademark characteristics of an intellectual serial killer, and I was relieved that his character is actually portrayed seriously. He has a solid and consistent character all throughout. Evil, but meticulous. Cold but highly intuitive and rational. He's one of the most believable character of the show. But in the end, there's still no character development and he just remained wicked all throughout.
FINAL EPISODE : I mostly judge dramas by their finale, because I think the ability to tie things altogether and have a satisfying ending is what makes a drama memorable. And this is where the drama falls short as well. Honestly, it could have all ended at ep 10, but they managed to drag it to 16 eps so they could add more unnecessary filler scenes in it. So by the final episode, there's no suspense anymore and I was just tired of it all.
The ending fight between the two male leads are just the same ridiculous, repetitive antics. There's no earth shattering moment of genius or coolness from the main character. It's just terrible, really. Not worth the 16 eps I painstakingly watched to get to this. I honestly hoped that YDS could have at least be cooler in the end and gained the psychopath's respect, but no. All his coolness already fizzled by ep 5, and he could not even outsmart the villain. It's just brute force and luck in the end, which is really disappointing.
There are heartwarming moments here and there that made the drama bearable to watch at least. I especially like YDS's close relationship with his family and his bromantic moments with Chil Sung are really precious.
TLDR: I'm probably not going to watch it again. Way too predictable and no character development. Though humorous and heartwarming, this drama lacks a whole lot of logic and purpose.
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