I've had this account for some time now, but this is my first review for any drama, because I feel like I need to stress about how this show had so much to offer, but it fell through in the end.

WARNING. BIG SPOILERS IN THE REVIEW.

This show includes a dark and mysterious theme, that tells of a powerful organization called Argos that pretty much is a terrorist and crime syndicate that brings havoc and destruction upon South Korean society. Kang Gibeom is a righteous and diligent cop whose partners are killed by Argos, and vows to take them down. Before he can, however, the organization kills his wife and digs his eyes out and plants a pair of scissors in his hand to make it look like he killed his beloved. He gets time in prison, but the top brass of the police decide he's more useful in taking down Argos rather than letting him take the fall for a murder he didn't commit, so they turn him into a cyborg to work with other cyborgs to take down Argos. Meanwhile, The boss of the organization dies mysteriously, so his wife and minions take over, instigating a bloodbath of a power struggle between its leaders. Sound interesting, huh? ultimately, However, there was little depth and development in the plot and the characters. The show's writers put a bunch of plot holes in the story that made us question so many things. Things that made the show much more complicated than it already was.

Choi Jin Hyuk's character started out as tough and straight to the point. He maintained his character throughout the show, which is fine, but the writers decided to let his character just become static- there really wasn't any change. Of course, he was inclined to take down the Argos because they killed so many people, but even after finding out Rugal was responsible for his wife's death and the gouging of his eyes, he still pursued Hwang Deokgoo and had this weak relationship with Argos's incompetent leader, Choi Yewon and didn't do much to purge his former boss at Rugal (Choi Geun Cheol). Don't get me wrong, Choi Jin hyuk is an amazing actor with great visuals. I was already in love with him when I first saw him in The Heirs where he plays as Lee minho's older brother.

Han Tae woong is the team leader of the cyborgs. He's hot. He's serious, and he's out for Argos's blood for killing his sister... Or so we think. He's repsonsible for the Cyborg teams's safety and helps them regardless of the circumstances. His right arm was cut off back in the day when he was with Argos, so he has this robotic arm that makes him incredibly strong. I think he was a pretty good character, but because he isn't the foremost protagonist, his role in the show didn't have much of an impact on the story overall. I think the writers included the fact that he was formerly affiliated with Argos to give some kind of influence, but that really didn't make him seem much more important since Argos's leaders didn't seem to find him much of a threat even before he was part of their organization. I think it would've been interesting if he was one of the top guys of Argos who was ousted by his partners (too bad). He's played by JO Dong-hyuk, who usually plays in action roles. The first time I saw was in late night restaurant when he plays as a boxer.

Lee Gwang Cheol is the third of the cyborgs. He is a seriously sexy ass hunk (sorry can't rein in my hormones for this cutie). I guess he represents the younger generation of our time. He's rash, hes heroic, he's valorous- he saves someone he just meets for the first few days. And... he's got a nice set of washboard abs. ok. ok. I'll stop. I vaguely remember his backstory, but if I remember correctly, his organs are damaged and he was a victim of Argos? He has a battery inside of him to keep him running, but it has to be recharged like any other battery. Can't say much else about him except he's hot af. By the way, he's played by Park Sunho, who was one of Produce X 101's contestants. I've only seen bits and pieces of the Produce shows, but I'm an avid fan of some of the boys.

Finally, the last of the cyborgs, and the only female member, Song Mina, played by Jung Hyein. Now she was an interesting character- she's pretty, she's got attitude, and she worked GIbeom until she gets shot by Deokgoo while protecting a witness. Needless to say, Deokgoo kills the witness, her son, and Mina's partners, and then proceeds to shot her in the head. Surprisingly, she survives, and is saved by Rugal. Motivated by revenge and justice, she joins Rugal. I think she could've been a love potential for Gibeom, but for some reason, the writers left any sort of romance out in the show, which is weird, because almost every drama has a main romance.


I think on the other hand, Hwang Deokgoo, the vice-chariman of Argos was an incredible villain. Park Sung Woong brilliantly displayed his acting talent. He stages an accident for his boss, KO Young deok, and convinces Yondeok's wife, Choi Yewon to kill her husband so they can take over. While he initially succeeds, the distrust and the internal turmoil within Argos weakens their foundation, and in the end, he and Yewon (who's a weak leader) are the only ones left in charge. His downfall is none other than his own. Despite this, Deukgoo is probably the most cruel, relentless, and sadistic psychopath in the history of Korean television dramas. He'll kill you without a reason, he'll laugh at his enemies' deaths, and he wont' hesitate to take grab a knife by its blade if it means to survive. Despite the show's shortcomings, I think we had a shining star here. I wanted time and again for Deukgoo to lose, but he always won throughout the show, from kidnapping, extorting, murdering- he only lost in the end (plot armor). Park Sung Woong never fails to amaze me. I used to think Uhm Ki joon was the best actor when it comes to villainy, but watch out, bro, you've got competition now.

Choi Yewon played by actress Han Jiwan, is extremely beautiful, but offers very little to the story. She's incompetent, as previously mentioned. She's easily shaken. She doesn't know how to plan. She isn't prepared for any sort of dangerous situation, and she doesn't have much allies or even bodyguards around her, despite being Argos's boss biggest boss. She takes over her ex-husband's (Ko Yong Deok) criminal empire after supposedly helping Hwang Deukgoo kill him. We later find out she's in her high and mighty position only because one of Argos's bosses, Jang Mijoo, placed Yewon in Yongdeok's hands to marry him. Of course, when she takes over, it's Hwang Deokgoo who's really in charge and does all the work, while she sits in her dead husband's house to sip on wine and look pretty. Initially, it seemed that Hwang Deokgoo couldnt kill her because she held all the information to Youngdeok's assets and offshore accounts. But eventually, we learn that Deukgoo can't kill her because he has a big crush on her. Pretty dumb, right? There isn't actually any true love or romantic history between the two of them (assumingly because the writers don't show us any), but shes probably the real reason why Deukgoo can't get an iron grip on Argos. He spares her at every turn, but she tries to find ways to kill him at every opportunity- and fails every time (really, how bad can you be at that when you got all the money in the world?). Why would you even like someone like that? Anyways, not that I blame her- If I were in her shoes, Deukgoo would scare the hell outta me every single second I see him. Eventually, after a long struggle, all of her rivals die, and Deukgoo, the guy obsessed with her, is incarcerated. So guess what? She lives in luxury and takes all of Argos's money without conflict. Well, at least until Gibeom calls the cops on her in the end for supposedly killing Ko Yong deok (really Gibeom?). To sum it all up, she's just a pretty face. At the start of the show, she seems reserved and composed, stoic and elegant. But that's all she is. Han Ji wan did a pretty good job portraying herself as her character, but in the end, the writers didn't give her much to do except make phone calls to Gibeom and a few dirty politicians and get bullied by the other leaders in Argos, and get constantly harassed by Hwang Deok goo. Well, lets give her some credit. She kills Madame Jang (Mijoo) for turning on her. Probably the smartest thing she's done. It's sad to see a character with so much potential to be involved with every event in Rugal, but she either gets pushed around or held hostage and gets saved by the main guy. A typical damsel in distress, which isn't something fitting for a leader of a powerful organization such as Argos.

Well that's it guys. I wanted to talk about Rugal's boss, Choi Geun cheol, but while his plotwist role he had the in the story was the plot's entire foundation, he didn't do much either.

I think this show could've been much better if they changed the story. Yewon could've been a good boss- an evil one. gibeom's wife could've lived (We find out she's alive throughout most of the show despite her apparent death in the first episode, only to commit suicide in the end for a dumb reason). Mina should've had a romance with gibeom. I don't think she much of a role to play here. The final showdown between Gibeom and Deukgoo was expected, and it wasn't that epic at all.

Nonetheless, it's whatever. I don't know how much of the webcomic they followed to make an average show such as this, but the plot was bad, and the ending wasn't redeeming either. The acting was great; the music was ok, but I really liked the theme song "Never Cry" by Han Seung hee.

Hoped this helped a bit in our times of a tumultuous world.

Read More

This was a very entertaining show as Liu Shi Shi does not disappoint. She's definitely a big name in the Chinese cinema industry and her acting was phenomenal in this work. Liu Yuning was also very good despite what other viewers might have said about him. Although I have to stress about how the show ended and how it could have ended.

Ren Ruyi is a former top assassin of her old organization, the Scarlet Guards of the State of An. She soon teams up with dashing Liudao Hall leader Ning Yuanzhou and his homeboys of the State of Wu to get revenge for her former benefactor, the Empress of An. Sounds enticing doesn't it? The first half of the show was filled with twists and turns, plotting and scheming among political organizations and assassinations. Unfortunately, the drama falls short of expectations. So many major characters don't make it till the end, leaving so many viewers rather confused as to why they lost their lives. Ruyi's disciple, Li Tongguang, played by the very handsome Chang Huasan, was done wrong by the screenwriter. He starts out as the talented military leader who manages to take down the Wu Emperor and his army despite being so young. We later realize that he is just a petulant child with stalkerish tendencies towards his former master, and he continues his behavior into the very end. Not to mention, his military prowess suddenly disappears into thin air and he is responsible for the State of An's shameful defeat in the early stages of the war. They did my homeboy wrong, and for no reason. Towards the end, the State of Wu also tumbled and their crippled prince tries to kill his siblings to take over the throne. The drama was also filled with some inconsistencies with many people switching alliances. Initially, princess Yangying is betrayed by her older brother Danyang, but he later becomes emperor and is supported by the entire main cast. As if his betrayal wasn't obvious earlier. They also killed off the rest of Ning Yuanzhou's brothers, which was uncalled for. But alas, I guess the fate of these detective like agents in historical time periods is pretty predictable.

Nonetheless, I find this show to be very enjoyable because of its theme. Ruyi is glorified as the most feared assassin throughout the world and even in the end she still goes out with a bang. Literally. No joke. The theme of the imperial court and its clandestine organizations is petty neat and I like the idea of covert operations in ancient times, as well the comical moments of the brothers of Liudao Hall. It was overall a great show and I hope to watch more like this one.

Read More