Psychopath Diary

 Psychopath Diary

6/10

Psychopath Diary

Genre:                                     Episodes: 16                         Year: 2020

Thriller

Comedy

Synopsis:

Yook Dong Shik is a timid man who is looked down on by those around him. One day he witnesses a murder and picks up a diary belonging to the killer. As he flees the scene he is involved in an accident that causes him to lose his memories. Due to the diary, Dong Shik mistakingly believes that he is the killer. He draws closer to Shim Bo Kyung, a police officer who is investigating a string of suicides that she believes are actually the work of a serial killer.

Cast:

Yoon Shi Yoon (Yook Dong Shik)

Jung In Sun (Shim Bo Kyung)

Park Sung Hoon (Seo In Woo)

Choi Sung Won (Heo Tak Soo)

Kim Myung Soo (Shim Seok Goo)

Heo Sung Tae (Jang Chil Sung)

General Thoughts:

A lot of the time when reviewing K-Dramas I tend to find myself saying ‘I thought I would like this more than I did’. With this drama however, I’ve actually ended up thinking the opposite. Yes, it’s one of those rare times where I actually enjoyed a drama more than I thought I would.

I won't lie- I thought this show would be nothing but ridiculous

I went in with my expectations pretty low, and kinda just watched this show as a way to pass time while the dramas I was actually interested in watching were released (joke’s on me- I stretched my watching of this over many months and now I am once again way behind on shows). I thought it would be silly and fun for an episode or two before becoming a bit boring. But it didn’t! The first episode was great, but after that the momentum slowed a bit, and I’ll admit I found myself thinking ‘yep, here we go’,

Chill Sung made this show so fun

but then the storyline started to pick up again and I found myself being happily drawn in again. It’s not like I finished an episode and instantly switched the next one on because I was so curious to see what happened next- but I didn’t get bored in the episodes, and the episodes themselves were fun and didn’t feel long. There was an unpredictability to the show that made it quite enjoyable- you could never be sure where it was going to take you. I was surprised that we found out who the killer was so early on, but it actually worked very well in the show’s favour to do so. Seeing Dong Shik flounder around thinking he was a serial killer was funny, but putting that next to the REAL killer, In Woo, made it a lot funnier. The parallel between the two characters was a great source of humour, and the show drew on that further when In Woo thought he had found another person like him- he was so serious about it, but we the audience were very clued in on the situation and what an absolute muppet Dong Shik really was, that seeing In Woo believe he was a killer was really funny. Yoon Shi Yoon matched the character of Dong Shik extremely well- this type of character is tailor made for the over-the-top comedy that Yoon Shi Yoon so often delivers.

This is Yoon Shi Yoon's brand of comedy

If I’m being honest, I did find Yoon Shi Yoon’s acting to be a bit too much a lot of the time, but it did suit the character well. It’s kind of an old-school type of comedy that can take a bit of time getting used to, but once the drama set the stage as being one of extra, somewhat slapstick humour, it was easy enough to accept and just go along with it. It paired well with Jung In Sun’s more straight-faced, earnest character, and the show had a relatively breezy vibe over all. Even with the actual serial killer.

They made a fun pair

I don’t think Jung In Sun is the best actress ever, but she did well here and delivered an honest and endearing character. Bo Kyung’s hunches and dedication to her job made her an easy character to cheer for- particularly when everyone else in the police force was so weirdly determined to not catch the real killer. I mean seriously, did anyone think her mentor detective was a good guy? He just screeaaamed shady from the moment he stepped on screen. Our bad guy, In Woo, was played by Park Sung Hoon, who isn’t exactly a new face in dramaland, but I am fairly sure that he’s been relegated to pretty small roles previously- like a named friend of the hero or office colleague kind of thing. Well, he was so fabulous as our psychopathic killer. I won’t pretend that there was a lot of backstory behind In Woo’s character (chaebol son takes out frustrations by killing people, you know the drill), but he gave a lot of energy to the character. His smiles had such a way off coming of creepy, even in non-creepy settings. His chemistry with Yoon Shi Yoon was really fun and the two made for a really solid comedic duo, even if Park Sung Hoon played a serious character the whole time. The rest of the characters were all pretty stock-standard, but there were a couple of great side characters. Heo Sung Tae was absolutely brilliant as the gangster-turned-good, and his adoration of Dong Shik was both hilarious and adorable.

Long live this unexpected and hilarious bromance

Watching Dong Shik actually come to rely on Chil Sung was sweet and super entertaining- watching the two hapless fools bumble their way through a dangerous serial murder investigation just felt so fresh and had a load of comedy to draw from. Another scene stealer was Kim Myung Soo who played Bo Kyung’s disabled father. At first he was a sweet and endearing character that was used to showcase Bo Kyung’s love for her family and dedication to her job, and honestly that’s kind of how I expected him to stay- a sad backstory for our heroine.

Don't hurt Dad

 But then the show did something quite special- it expanded Kim Myung Soo’s role into being an aspect of Bo Kyung’s life that In Woo could take advantage of and exploit. The drama was so light-hearted that I was completely taken aback and got chills when In Woo threatened Bo Kyung’s father knowing full well that he was unable to speak out for help, and watching him keep the poor man helpless and under his influence through the hospital and drugs gave In Woo a massive fear factor that he hadn’t really had before. Kim Myung Soo played every scene perfectly- he was so sweet and defenceless that it really ignited a feeling of anger and desperation when he switched to the heavier scenes. For the plot itself, there was nothing really revolutionary going on, but it was more the interactions between the characters that was the draw of the drama anyway. The show wasn’t predictable, but it wasn’t exactly groundbreaking either- there were no major twists and it was easy enough to follow along even if you got distracted for a minute or two along the way.

What Was Great:

Lasting the Distance:

A problem I find a lot of K-Dramas have is that there just isn’t enough plot to spread out between the episodes. Plot-lines rise and fall and there tends to be a bit of a lull at some point in most shows. I was surprised to find with ‘Psychopath Diary’ that as the show went on it started to feel more engaging not less. The comedy found its footing and became a bit less slapstick based, and I just became plain interested to see how In Woo would get caught and how far along Dong Shik would get dragged.

Pre-psycho Dong Shik was painfully wimpy

I didn’t think the show would have Dong Shik kill someone while he thought he was the murderer, but I was never positive that it wouldn’t happen either. It was a good path to have Dong Shik decide that killing people was now boring, as it gave him an excuse to not go around killing people while also extending the period of time that it made sense for him to believe himself the murderer. Usually the hooks that draw you into a show, the special little somethings, become undone before the halfway point, so I was fully expecting Dong Shik to catch on that he wasn’t really the killer pretty quickly. I was impressed that the show kept Dong Shik in killer mindset for most of its run and crafted the story around that without defaulting back to a regular old ‘who dunnit’ when in actual fact we already know who dunnit.

I mean, I know which one I'd pick as being the psychopath on hairstyle alone

The show brought in enough little side stories as we made our way to the conclusion that the plot never felt dragged out, and the momentum was built nicely. With each side quest Dong Shik and Bo Kyung went on, they got a little closer to the killer. It was just plain fun to watch these two characters bumble their way into catching the most notorious killer of their time, and there was enough entertainment in each episode that it managed to fill all 16 of them without stretching the plot thin.

What Wasn’t:

Low Stakes:

Generally the downside of silly, fun shows is that there isn’t a lot of substance to them. It isn’t to say that this drama was insubstantial, but there’s only so much you can relate to dorky, slightly cartoonish characters that stumble through life. 

It's always the rich boy. Always.

There’s a level of tension you expect out of more light-hearted shows, and it almost a guarantee that no major characters are going to die or be greatly endangered. We all knew In Woo would get caught and Dong Shik would realise he wasn’t the murderer and that it would all work out in the end. And even if some characters did get hurt or die, there was very low personal investment in the characters, so while it would have been a surprise, it wouldn’t have been too heartbreaking. Also due to the fact that Dong Shik thought he was the killer, the show couldn’t then have In Woo going around killing more people- because then Dong Shik would know that he wasn’t the killer- because people would still be dying even though he was doing no murdering. So while In Woo was set up well as a scary and remorseless killer, he actually spent most of the show not killing people and just laughing about how Dong Shik thought he was a cold-blooded psychopath. 

Recommend?

If you want a silly comedy to not take too seriously then sure. If you’re after a more serious mystery or romance I’d advise you to look elsewhere.

The show gets props for an interesting twist on your classic murdering chaebol story