This review may contain spoilers
The character of Lee Kang made me feel really uncomfortable, so much so that I'd skip some of the scenes where he's secretly watching. However. From the very first episode, it's clear that he's just pretending to spy and that he's making up a story. Once you realize that, it begins very, very hard to get interested in a series that tells you right off the bat that nothing is true. So just tell the truth right away or do something with it. Use it to tell something. Have you heard of Straight to Hell ?
I kept watching because Choi Min-sik can't choose a bad script, no ? The end of Episode 2 gets intriguing... only because the characters tell us so. Not because it actually is. So I was watching, thinking only about why all of this was made up in the first place. And, unfortunately, we're only told at the very end, with no clues to figure it out beforehand. This story, when you think about it, wasn't all that exciting. All that for nothing. The problem with twist stories is that if you figure it out right from the start (as is the case here, since we're told right away and literally) it loses its appeal. And ending with a reference to Faust ? let's be a little humble, please.
I totally get that the show wants to question the narrator and our tendency to believe a story. It just needed to be less over-the-top. The kid and his just another sob story, nothing special... okay, great… I actually would've liked it if they'd explored that instead !
I failed to catch this K-drama. I'm annoyed with myself. But I'm reading some very enthusiastic and well-written reviews, so at least that's something.
Let's talk about the difference in acting. Choi Min-sik brings depth of intention and a certain way of looking at people ; he exudes resentment and dissatisfaction. He's an unfriendly man who still can't accept that a woman didn't choose him or that his career as a novelist never took off. An ordinary, selfish man. On the contrary, Choi Hyun-wook, elusive and expressionless, I'm not sure what to make of him by the end. He tries to come across as amoral as the protagonist of Dear X, but it never quite works for me.
I kept watching because Choi Min-sik can't choose a bad script, no ? The end of Episode 2 gets intriguing... only because the characters tell us so. Not because it actually is. So I was watching, thinking only about why all of this was made up in the first place. And, unfortunately, we're only told at the very end, with no clues to figure it out beforehand. This story, when you think about it, wasn't all that exciting. All that for nothing. The problem with twist stories is that if you figure it out right from the start (as is the case here, since we're told right away and literally) it loses its appeal. And ending with a reference to Faust ? let's be a little humble, please.
I totally get that the show wants to question the narrator and our tendency to believe a story. It just needed to be less over-the-top. The kid and his just another sob story, nothing special... okay, great… I actually would've liked it if they'd explored that instead !
I failed to catch this K-drama. I'm annoyed with myself. But I'm reading some very enthusiastic and well-written reviews, so at least that's something.
Let's talk about the difference in acting. Choi Min-sik brings depth of intention and a certain way of looking at people ; he exudes resentment and dissatisfaction. He's an unfriendly man who still can't accept that a woman didn't choose him or that his career as a novelist never took off. An ordinary, selfish man. On the contrary, Choi Hyun-wook, elusive and expressionless, I'm not sure what to make of him by the end. He tries to come across as amoral as the protagonist of Dear X, but it never quite works for me.
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