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I think this drama completely misunderstands the difference between a complex character and an unbelievable one.
My problem isn't that the male lead suffers too much. My problem is that the writers are trying to make him every possible thing at the same time. He's a victim, a villain, a grieving father, a loving husband, a terrible husband, a respected doctor, a criminal, a fugitive, and somehow still the person we're supposed to root for.
His child dies. He drunkenly wishes his wife would die. He appears to be having or had an affair with another doctor. He steals from his in-laws. He's on the run from the police. A cop dies in front of him. Then he and his friend literally fire a shotgun at a police officer.
At some point I stopped seeing a human being and started seeing writers throwing random misery and controversy at a character to keep viewers talking.
The police are somehow even worse. They spend episode after episode talking, theorizing, gossiping and accomplishing almost nothing. They can't find the wife. They can't catch the husband. They seem more interested in discussions than actual investigations. For a supposedly serious thriller, the police work feels embarrassingly incompetent.
The villain is decent, but even that storyline starts dragging. The more the show goes on, the more it feels like events happen because the plot needs them to happen, not because the characters naturally drive the story.
What disappoints me most is Namkoong Min himself. Not because he's bad—he's actually doing his best with the material. The problem is that the writers have given him an impossible job. They want him to be guilty and innocent, sympathetic and disgusting, broken and emotionless, victim and villain all at once.
A real person can be contradictory, but the writing never makes those contradictions feel believable. Instead, it feels like the character changes depending on what the current episode needs.
I keep seeing people defend the character because they love Namkoong Min. But that's exactly the issue for me. I shouldn't be watching Namkoong Min trying to save a poorly written character. I should be watching the character and forgetting the actor exists.
Instead, all I can see is Namkoong Min carrying a script that doesn't know what it wants its protagonist to be.
By Episode 5, I no longer cared who kidnapped the wife. I no longer cared about the mystery. I was just wondering what ridiculous tragedy or personality change the writers would throw at the male lead next.
A good thriller makes me believe in its characters.
The Husband made me believe the writers were making things up as they went along.
My problem isn't that the male lead suffers too much. My problem is that the writers are trying to make him every possible thing at the same time. He's a victim, a villain, a grieving father, a loving husband, a terrible husband, a respected doctor, a criminal, a fugitive, and somehow still the person we're supposed to root for.
His child dies. He drunkenly wishes his wife would die. He appears to be having or had an affair with another doctor. He steals from his in-laws. He's on the run from the police. A cop dies in front of him. Then he and his friend literally fire a shotgun at a police officer.
At some point I stopped seeing a human being and started seeing writers throwing random misery and controversy at a character to keep viewers talking.
The police are somehow even worse. They spend episode after episode talking, theorizing, gossiping and accomplishing almost nothing. They can't find the wife. They can't catch the husband. They seem more interested in discussions than actual investigations. For a supposedly serious thriller, the police work feels embarrassingly incompetent.
The villain is decent, but even that storyline starts dragging. The more the show goes on, the more it feels like events happen because the plot needs them to happen, not because the characters naturally drive the story.
What disappoints me most is Namkoong Min himself. Not because he's bad—he's actually doing his best with the material. The problem is that the writers have given him an impossible job. They want him to be guilty and innocent, sympathetic and disgusting, broken and emotionless, victim and villain all at once.
A real person can be contradictory, but the writing never makes those contradictions feel believable. Instead, it feels like the character changes depending on what the current episode needs.
I keep seeing people defend the character because they love Namkoong Min. But that's exactly the issue for me. I shouldn't be watching Namkoong Min trying to save a poorly written character. I should be watching the character and forgetting the actor exists.
Instead, all I can see is Namkoong Min carrying a script that doesn't know what it wants its protagonist to be.
By Episode 5, I no longer cared who kidnapped the wife. I no longer cared about the mystery. I was just wondering what ridiculous tragedy or personality change the writers would throw at the male lead next.
A good thriller makes me believe in its characters.
The Husband made me believe the writers were making things up as they went along.
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