Pain of human nature, whether it's a cop or a gangster

The birth of a monster inside a person who was once considered moral and pure along with the very human and raw sides of somebody we were expected to solely think of as a villain is what I witnessed watching The Worst of Evil.

Beyond the obvious observations --the phenomenal acting, storyline and even unexpected twists-- what I would like to point out is the sad, regretful feeling I was left with when I finished watching the last episode. Junmo's spiral was to be expected from the moment he took on the case, but it was still heartbreaking to watch his life being destroyed.

He ended up becoming a murderer, something he tried in many ways to avoid but was inevitable when hesitating was no longer an option, as Euijung became involved. Steadily he started losing himself, no longer telling right from wrong clearly and easily. Losing his loved ones, the immediate aftermath of it all. His captain, his wife and his unexpected partner, Jung Gichul, he lost them along with a vital part of his humanity.

There was no happy ending to await from this drama, but the end still left me wincing even as I write this.

A few notable mentions: first of all, just as I expected, druglord Jung Gichul tugged on my heartstrings and I never had him as a villain in my head as I watched the show. He was mostly pitiful and if Junmo felt guilty for betraying him in the end, when that was his job all along, it goes without saying that I too wished a better ending for him. Secondly, miss Lee Haeryun falling in love and paying such a high price for that made me feel for her. At least she knows her Kwon Seungho tipped her off to spare her from getting caught, hope that serves as some sort of consolation. Lastly, the music was so good in this show. I basically wrote this review to mention just that. I just finished watching it so I'll be off to search everything about the soundtrack.

Highly recommended drama. Ji Changwook killed it.
(Bibi killed it too)

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A story about daring to see yourself for who you really are

This was mostly Kwonsuk's story.
A young adult who got robbed of her childhood and potentially happy teenage life when she was basically forced into the ruthless boxing "training" by her own father. Here is where I agree with most other watchers when i say that the redemption arc for the abusive father was at the least uncomfortable to witness. I cannot fathom how within three years someone could change so drastically and this is the one part that doesn't make complete sense to me.
But other than that, I find myself in complete disagreement with other unsatisfied commenters and reviewers.
First of all, I believe that the characters and the choices they made throughout the series were very well written. I could understand all of them because this series portrayed various types of people, all completely different ot one another and all very human. We were shown their weak, embarassing, humble, beautiful, youthful, selfish and loving sides in these 12 episodes. To me they were simply very realistic. A person isn't just good or bad in real life, nor is anyone in the series. Specifically, at the beginning, Taeyoung seemed to think he was pretty self aware, calling himself scum multiple times and seemingly owning up to his fuck-ups. But only after the situation with his friend did he realize how heavy the responsibilities he carries are. Every choice he made after that realization made it a tiny bit easier for him to live with himself, because the guilt won't ever leave him completely, but he knew for sure how to tell right from wrong after experiencing all that pain along with all the beautiful and enlightening moments with Suk.
KwonSuk too had only ever glanced towards the true consequences that her running awat had brought onto her. It was too scary to look at directly. The offer made by Taeyoung at the start of the seires was only accepted by her because she thought it was her only way to stop feeling so scared all the time. After a while she thankfully realised the offer was a one in a lifetime opportunity to right the wrongs of the past. To be brave and do her very best, in order not to regret anything anymore.
(Honestly it was a relief to hear her say multiple times that she hated boxing and putting some blame on her father. If she had blamed herself for the way she turned out I would be really disappointed ngl.)
As for the romance I really don't get other commenters. As we all know, girly had no time or opportunities to ever date and all that when she was young. Which only makes it that much more obvious why she seemed so starstruck by that other idiot. She fell fast and hard, since it was her first time. She simply wanted to enjoy everything that came with that experience and luckily recovered quickly after it was over. But man, to me it OBVIOUS she would come to develop real, strong and uncontrolable feelings for Taeyoung. It was bound to happen. He was the asshole that gave her the solution that she thought she needed to her neverending problem. But he was also the one that fought for her to make sure the situation got turnt completely around and stayed by her side, in any way he could, in order to watch her fulfill her dream and start feeling happy again. He didn't care if she hated him or if something happened to him. He was everything she needed at all those times. (Plus, Sangyeob in this role is so damn charming, I was holding my breath at every scene with him.)
Taeyoung too found something so bright and pure in Kwonsuk's strength and resilience that he was determined to distance himself from her. He didn't want to tarnish her in any way. And only after he had somewhat redeemed himself and stopped the self-punishing, he decided to approach her again. So my point here would be that I could never think the romance was "forced" in this drama. It was slow paced and a bit painful, just as it often is in real life.
Lastly, some people said it undermined the sport. I knew nothing much about boxing before this drama and to me it seemed that it was something sacred basically. From how hard Kwonsuk worked on it even though she wholeheartedly hated it to how other boxers considered her a traitor after her running away causing damage to the sport's prestige, it was clear how seriously everyone took the sport. I'm considering starting classes as we speak.
All in all, between the light, humorous scenes, the romantic first-times, the heartbreaking moments of being forced to face yourself and the violent and hateful sides of that industry, I really enjoyed this drama. (I think I could write so much more about other important points but this is too much already, I apologize)

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I'm only leaving a review because while I can see why this drama is so popular, I don't believe it deserves the high rating it got. I remember reading the summary of the plot before it aired and feeling very excited. But from the first episodes I noticed something that became a pattern in every single episode from then on, and basically ruined this drama for me. I felt the potential as well as the hard work the actors put in. However, our protagonist --who is played by an actress I really love by the way-- is a very badly written character to put it plainly. She reacts to every situation in the best way possible. Whenever the viewer senses a typical annoying drama moment coming on, she "surprises" everyone by being unbelievably understanding and exceptionally smart. She never overreacts or makes any serious mistakes. She basically barely has a character of her own. As Hua Zhi, some of her traits really sticked, I'll give the writers that, like her forward way of thinking, her wit, her love for her grandfather. But she didn't feel like an actual leal. Same goes for ML. Just two very dull characters. I swear, I thought this drama had so much it could have done with that storyline. But even if they wanted a non-typical FL, she didn't have to turn out this robotic. Basically, for me the leads just didn't feel human enough. Other characters in this drama were written so much better. I was shocked when I saw the rating because compared to so many other great shows, this got a 8.7 which feels very undeserved for me. Having said that, I enjoyed many of the episodes and I do understand if not many are bothered by the things I mentioned.

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Something to tug on your heartstrings

Well this made me way more emotional than I expected. The story has a message that is relatable whether you're a teenager or an adult. Very heartwarming and heart-wrenching at times, this series is a kind reminder to look for happiness even at the worst of times, because more often than not it's hidden deep in our everyday lives, too ordinary to notice but too outstanding to completely miss. The quote from the last episode is articulated much better, but if anyone wants to see how exactly it was worded, then check out the series. Eight episodes are way too short to miss out on!

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