I completed the drama, well, I like it to some extent, but I think it's a bit overrated. It's also far-fetched…
Thanks for understanding my opinion as much as I understand yours. But just to give context, I was comparing Stranger's to Signal, and (Innocent) Defendant. I hope you've watched these dramas, so you would better understand my point.
Arguably, in real life people are hardly 100% good, and trustworthy like Yeo Jin, and other characters of the series. Conversely, no one's 100% bad as well. (except for evil psycopaths probably)
Take for instance, Defendant. The characters were never portrayed as perfectly good or perfectly evil, they at times cut corners, do things in the grey area for their loved ones, or for themselves. Hence, for this reason, I find these kinds of characters a lot more amiable and closer to reality.
For instance, Dong Jae, and Chang jun had more depth in this case,
since they had a good mix of good and evil motivations which, I said is what I prefer, and what I think makes characters connect well with its audience.
Going back to Hwang Shi Mok, his personality disorder was never explained fully in the series to point that we could accept the fact that it affects his way of thinking just as what you said. Also, there were a lot of holes in his "disorder," for instance, trusting Yeo Jin, is a flaw of this angle. I think for the element of trust to work, which is very evident in the series coming from Shi Mok, he must have had emotions, and feelings, which contradicts his supposed disorder.
In this respect, you would say that Yeo Jin is bringing out his hidden emotions, as premised in a few episodes, and the last few scenes. But then, is it possible given his personality disorder?
Kim Jung Bon, you do know how weak your connections with your acquaintances 20 years ago, or elementary school classmates, thus, again proving that there must be a big element of trust given by Hwang Shi Mok to Kim Jung Bon, which again in my opinion is a flaw to his disorder.
You also agree that there's no backstory for Yeo Jin, I think this is pretty unacceptable given that she's a main character, and though I understand it had to focus to the plot, I believe there are a lot of ways to introduce this development without deviating just like the one's they did in the series Signal.
I'm concerned with the ratings given here in MDL just because there are a lot of dramas, which are way better than Stranger that are rated lower, or rated just as high as this one, and it affects overall perception, and judgement of the drama community especially those who are new to watching Asian Dramas.
I completed the drama, well, I like it to some extent, but I think it's a bit overrated. It's also far-fetched to say that this was "one of the best dramas ever created." I'd say the rating should be just around 8-8.5, in my humble opinion.
It had quite a number of flaws, many of them being on character development. There were a ton of flat and boring characters, who lacked clear motivations, and realistic boundaries in the series.
Starting of with the male lead, Hwang si Mok. He is known to have a personality disorder due to a brain surgery that removes his capability of feeling human emotions, most specifically empathy. There were a lot of scenes and minutes proving this. But those scenes I believe are meaningless, and just made the show draggy because it didn't in any way move the plot. There was no clear connection on how this disorder affects Hwang Si Mok's judgement or how he would have solved the mystery and why he was so determined to stop the corruption in the prosecution.
If he had been a normal person, or without having this disorder, would he have acted differently? Given how the series built his character, I believe he would have done the same thing. So why include this meaningless and underdeveloped angle at all?
Han Yeo Jin, the female lead was also a dull character. She's a character that series would just force everyone to accept that she's good just because she is. There are no developments on why she is acting the way she is, or why she's helping Hwang Si Mok. Also, come to think of it, there was no other background given in the series towards her identity, aside from that of Han Yeo Jin being a police officer.
Kim Jeong Bon, Hwang Si Mok's supposed middle school friend/classmate. There's no information at all given to their supposed "friendship" that should motivate him to help Hwang Si Mok in his endeavors. I found it a bit weird that he suddenly was so determined into helping Hwang Si Mok, who is barely an acquaintance, and who he just randomly met after 20 years?
I could say more flaws like these for many other characters. I think the only characters who had depth in the series were probably Dong Jae Seo, and Chang Jun- Lee, but then their character development also came a bit late.
To conclude, the series could have been better if it had developed its characters more, and would then give the audience a better connection with the leads, and therefore the whole series. Also, the plot could have been told in a faster pace. Only by then I think it would give its audience a better reason to watch this drama other than just the desire to know "what would happen next, or how would the mystery develop."
Arguably, in real life people are hardly 100% good, and trustworthy like Yeo Jin, and other characters of the series. Conversely, no one's 100% bad as well. (except for evil psycopaths probably)
Take for instance, Defendant. The characters were never portrayed as perfectly good or perfectly evil, they at times cut corners, do things in the grey area for their loved ones, or for themselves. Hence, for this reason, I find these kinds of characters a lot more amiable and closer to reality.
For instance, Dong Jae, and Chang jun had more depth in this case,
since they had a good mix of good and evil motivations which, I said is what I prefer, and what I think makes characters connect well with its audience.
Going back to Hwang Shi Mok, his personality disorder was never explained fully in the series to point that we could accept the fact that it affects his way of thinking just as what you said. Also, there were a lot of holes in his "disorder," for instance, trusting Yeo Jin, is a flaw of this angle. I think for the element of trust to work, which is very evident in the series coming from Shi Mok, he must have had emotions, and feelings, which contradicts his supposed disorder.
In this respect, you would say that Yeo Jin is bringing out his hidden emotions, as premised in a few episodes, and the last few scenes. But then, is it possible given his personality disorder?
Kim Jung Bon, you do know how weak your connections with your acquaintances 20 years ago, or elementary school classmates, thus, again proving that there must be a big element of trust given by Hwang Shi Mok to Kim Jung Bon, which again in my opinion is a flaw to his disorder.
You also agree that there's no backstory for Yeo Jin, I think this is pretty unacceptable given that she's a main character, and though I understand it had to focus to the plot, I believe there are a lot of ways to introduce this development without deviating just like the one's they did in the series Signal.
I'm concerned with the ratings given here in MDL just because there are a lot of dramas, which are way better than Stranger that are rated lower, or rated just as high as this one, and it affects overall perception, and judgement of the drama community especially those who are new to watching Asian Dramas.
It had quite a number of flaws, many of them being on character development. There were a ton of flat and boring characters, who lacked clear motivations, and realistic boundaries in the series.
Starting of with the male lead, Hwang si Mok. He is known to have a personality disorder due to a brain surgery that removes his capability of feeling human emotions, most specifically empathy. There were a lot of scenes and minutes proving this. But those scenes I believe are meaningless, and just made the show draggy because it didn't in any way move the plot. There was no clear connection on how this disorder affects Hwang Si Mok's judgement or how he would have solved the mystery and why he was so determined to stop the corruption in the prosecution.
If he had been a normal person, or without having this disorder, would he have acted differently? Given how the series built his character, I believe he would have done the same thing. So why include this meaningless and underdeveloped angle at all?
Han Yeo Jin, the female lead was also a dull character. She's a character that series would just force everyone to accept that she's good just because she is. There are no developments on why she is acting the way she is, or why she's helping Hwang Si Mok. Also, come to think of it, there was no other background given in the series towards her identity, aside from that of Han Yeo Jin being a police officer.
Kim Jeong Bon, Hwang Si Mok's supposed middle school friend/classmate. There's no information at all given to their supposed "friendship" that should motivate him to help Hwang Si Mok in his endeavors. I found it a bit weird that he suddenly was so determined into helping Hwang Si Mok, who is barely an acquaintance, and who he just randomly met after 20 years?
I could say more flaws like these for many other characters. I think the only characters who had depth in the series were probably Dong Jae Seo, and Chang Jun- Lee, but then their character development also came a bit late.
To conclude, the series could have been better if it had developed its characters more, and would then give the audience a better connection with the leads, and therefore the whole series. Also, the plot could have been told in a faster pace. Only by then I think it would give its audience a better reason to watch this drama other than just the desire to know "what would happen next, or how would the mystery develop."