Hyde, Jekyll, Me

Hyde, Jekyll, Me

7.5/10

Hyde, Jekyll, Me

Genre:                                   Episodes: 20                                   Year:  2015

Romance

Comedy

Mystery

Synopsis:

Goo Seo Jin sufferes from Dissociative Identity Disorder- more commonly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. One of his personalities is cold and unemotional, while the other is sweet, caring and has a saviour-complex. When Seo Jin’s doctor finds a cure for his illness, she is kidnapped; a young woman- Jang Ha Na is the only witness. Goo Seo Jin and Jang Ha Na begin working together to capture the kidnapper, but things start to become complicated as one of Seo Jin’s personalities develops feelings for Jang Ha Na.

Cast: 

Han Ji Min (Jang Ha Na)

Hyun Bin (Goo Seo Jin/Robin)

Sung Joon (Yoon Tae Joo)

Shin Eun Jung (Kang Hee Ae)

General Thoughts:

This drama hit all the right notes for me. Sadly, I seem to be alone in thinking it was a great drama. I thought the main leads had great chemistry, the plot made sense, and there were no real ‘dud’ episodes. Unfortunately I have yet to see ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’- which I am aware

Basically my reaction when I heard people didn't like this drama

has a similar split-personality theme- so I am unable to compare the two. I know that this competition with ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ was a large reason this drama had rather crappy ratings, which is a shame. While the drama had a rather slow start, focusing on the circus (which becomes redundant plot-wise fairly quickly), once it gets into the actual storyline it is deliciously good. The main leads have pretty good chemistry on-screen and it is one of the most stable, normal relationships depicted in K-Drama- you know, apart the whole multiple-personality thing. The multiple personalities are depicted incredibly well- with both personalities being given enough time and development. Hyun Bin was exceptional with his acting- it almost felt as though they had another actor for the other personality, as he was so clearly able to show the two separate characters- it was never confusing or difficult trying to figure out which personality he was playing.

I actually really liked the 'is Robin a real person' dilemma

Villains are fantastic and surprisingly underused in rom-coms. It was delightful to see a real threat and a villain with back-story as opposed to someone who is unexplainably evil. However, the unveiling of the villain early on did lead to a slight drag in the plot, but this did manage to pick itself back up after a few episodes.

Generic K-Drama heroine

After watching, I was bummed to read some reviews that completely slammed the series. While I can understand that it wouldn’t exactly be some peoples’ cup of tea, I didn’t think that it deserved the total hammering it got online. It caused me physical pain to read that so many people dropped the series- especially after only one or two episodes! However, I can kind of see why this drama was a little off-putting for some. The science isn’t really accurate (but that is the case in SO MANY dramas!), the main female character was a little bland (again that happens in a lot of other dramas), and I feel like people had an issue with the romance between the leading lady and the second personality- but I felt like that was pretty much the whole point? Debating whether Robin was just fragment of Seo Jin, what rights he had, what kind of life he deserved, whether or not he should be treated as a separate individual- it was literally one of the main plotlines of the drama, so obviously it’s probably not the drama for you if those notions make you uncomfortable.

If you're not into split personality ethical questions: probs shouldn't watch

What Was Great:

Hyun Bin:

No. 1 reason to watch 

There isn’t much to elaborate on with Hyun Bin. He acted his characters to perfection. He is alarmingly handsome.

Robin:

I know that this development of Robin is what a lot of people hated, but I LOVED it. Frankly, I was getting a little bored of the predictable, cookie-cutter romances. The character of Robin was wonderfully developed. He had enough personality and depth to be interesting as a main character without becoming so over-developed that he took away from the main personality, Seo Jin. His relationship with Jang Ha Na was sweet, realistic and lacked the usual (and irritating) plot devise of unnecessary miscommunication.

No. 2 reason to watch

Sung Joon:

Far more than 'kinda cute'

Sung Joon as the hypnotist is fantastic. This is the only drama I’ve seen him in besides ‘Lie To Me’ and he has come leaps and bounds since then. His acting is spot-on and never over-the-top or unbelievable. I never would have thought that he could develop past ‘Oh, he’s kind of cute-looking’, but I’ve been proven so very, very wrong. He doesn’t lose out to Hyun Bin in either looks or acting.

Ethics Dilemma: 

I know this didn't really sit well with a lot of people, but I totally loved it. I thought it was fresh and interesting that the main female character fell in love with the split personality first. By doing this, the writers were able to explore the whole realm of 'is Robin a real person?'. And I still don't know the answer. Sometimes I think he is, even when I kinda KNOW he's not really- but then why isn't he? Ah, as a psych student I found this concept (scientifically flawed) but a thought-provoking debate. I also really enjoyed how they managed to wrap things up without fully answering that question either- even at the end our characters had very differing opinions on whether Robin had ever 'lived' as a separate entity outside of Goo Seo Jin.

Right in the feels

Ending:

Again, I seem to be alone in enjoying the ending. For me, the ending was absolutely perfect. There is not one major critique that I could make about it. Robin’s gradual disappearance on his own terms was something that could have been a complete disaster, but it turned out to be bittersweet and very touching. They successfully managed to merge the personalities together, while also keeping the two men as distinctive separate people. The relationship change from Robin and Ha Na to Seo Jin and Ha Na never felt forced or unnatural, but also never ignored that Ha Na had loved Robin deeply.

I was satisfied

What Wasn’t:

Boring Girl:

While not nearly abysmal, and not enough to take away from the drama, Jang Ha Na was mostly just a pretty face. There was nothing really unique or different about her character and without Hyun Bin and his amazing acting, this would be a completely forgettable female lead.

All the 'wow' was Hyun Bin

This Guy:

Who even are you?

I don't know who this guy is, I don't know why he was in this drama. I think he was supposed to be a funny, incompetent work rival to Seo Jin. Meh. Didn't mesh well. Get off my screen.

Simple Solutions:

The science in this drama was never going to be realistic. It’s a K-Drama, and a rom-com at that. Going in with this knowledge it was easy enough to accept presented scientific facts that were blatantly false. However, this did wear thin when hypnotism was used in most situations to avoid having to create an ACTUAL solution to the problem. It was hard to swallow when the bad guy could simply play music, freeze everyone, and walk away unscathed. That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.

Re-watch?

Most likely. It was never boring and had a substance that many K-Dramas lack. While being a mystery, knowing how the drama ends wouldn’t spoil the enjoyment of watching it again. It’s worth watching again just for the delightful couple moments.

Hyun Bin knows how to romance