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When the Devil Calls Your Name korean drama review
Completed
When the Devil Calls Your Name
7 people found this review helpful
by Poia
Sep 25, 2019
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

A peculiar journey through the soul

I can't deny that I expected something different, or at least I didn't expected this.
The drama turned out to be more peculiar than I expected and the reference "inspired on Faust by Goethe" is not accidental. It is in fact a psychological drama that analyzes and compares human free will with the laws dictated by the deities (deity / evil). The story is completely character driven and evolves around the lifestyle choices made by Ha Rip, his actions influence the lives of others and both he, and the other protagonists, will have the chance to experience a strong character development. The drama has some flaws but on the whole it has been able to differentiate itself from all these similar dramas that run lately. The whole cast did a great job but the couple JKH and PSW obviously is the one that shined the most.

It is difficult to describe the plot of WTDCYN without making spoilers, so I will limit myself to describing to you what are the main topics:

1) the complex relationship of love / hate between father and son, this theme is the trigger of all the actions committed by the protagonists.

2) sell the soul to the devil, a good part of the drama analyzes how humans are willing to sell their soul and for what reasons, not only for greed, but also for sacrifice, love and above all desperation.

Unfortunately, as already mentioned the drama is not perfect, the author has chosen a difficult subject to deal with and not everyone can be Goethe. (no offense). Both the plot and the direction were a bit of a mess, the initial part is very confusing, it's a mix of genres and sub-plots, a sign that the author wasn't sure which way to go. When he finally decided to choose the tragedy, things started to improve. From ep. 6 the true story begins to take shape, the pieces of the puzzle are recomposed and each character shows us a heartbreaking story.

I didn't like the direction because it changed too quickly and too often from one character to another, passing from comic scenes to tragic scenes within a few seconds, at first I liked the switch comedy/melodrama but when it became clear this was tragic I found the comedy a bit annoying.
You didn't have time to digest what had just happened that the plot moved to another character. (Perhaps it is a common problem of character-driven plots, I don't know, I usually don't watch them unless it's a slice of life.)  At one point they also tried to play the romance card and then immediately withdraw it, luckily for us. But there are some "side crush" and romantic implications.

The music / entertainment component is only the sector chosen to set this story but it is not a music drama, despite the soundtrack being magnificent, at least if you like old rock style ballads.

Overall it was an interesting ride inside the most difficult and obscure subconscious of humanity, the soul.
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