Player

Player

6/10

Player

Genre:                                                   Episodes: 14                                  Year: 2018

Action

Mystery

Synopsis:

The Crime Proceeds Redemption team consists of Kang Ha Ri, a con man, Im Byung Min, a hacker, Do Jin Woong, an ex-fighter, and Cha Ah Ryong, a getaway driver. The team works together to bring rich and powerful criminals to justice, while stealing all their illegally gained funds along the way.

Cast:

Song Seung Heon (Kang Ha Ri)

Lee Shi Un (Im Byung Min)

Tae Won Seok (Do Jin Woong)

Krystal (Cha Ah Ryong)

Kim Won Hae (Jang In Gyu)

Yoo Ye Bin (Choo Yeon Hee)

General Thoughts:

OCN is back with another rag-tag, home-made family of vigilantes. I feel like OCN gave birth to this genre back with 'Bad Guys', and that 'Player' is a much more light hearted, modern version. Not that I’m complaining- I love groups of criminals that band together to take down bigger criminals while finding loving, meaningful relationships as they go.

Nothing says besties quite like stealing millions of laundered dollars 

While not as dark or detailed as other vigilante dramas, ‘Player’ was still a fun and interesting watch. Most of the time I had basically no idea what was going on in the plot, why the bad guys were bad, or how our team was going to come out on top, but the main group of characters were just so funny, and their relationships were so enjoyable to watch that it didn’t really phase me.

I have no idea what's going on, but it's fun so whatever

The writing wasn’t exactly fabulous (I’m pretty sure this was his first drama), but it wasn’t downright awful. I could see where the writer wanted to take his story, and it was clear that there were certain scenarios that had been really well thought through. But unfortunately one good idea does not a good drama make. This show didn’t really do very well at connecting all its good ideas. When we got to one of those scenarios that had been well planned out, it was easy to watch and enjoy, but the lead up to the group’s missions often left me feeling confused. The PD was also pretty green, and while it didn’t show all that often, I will say that the fight scenes were hard to watch. For starters, it seemed like they were trying to make the fight scenes too cool and too badass. There were a lot of camera movements and rapid switching of angles, and while that occasionally added a sense of urgency and dramatic tension to a scene, most of the time it just made it hard to see what was going on. Which is a total shame, because the fight scenes seemed really cool and well choreographed.

I could never tell who was winning the fights- I just assumed it was the Player Team

And while it made sense for Jin Woong to be able to take on so many bad guys at once, and even kinda believable for Ha Ri, I often found myself having to suspend my disbelief when Ah Ryong was able to take down so many gangsters at once. Or worse- when Byung Min (the group’s computer nerd) got into fights and won. It made our good guys seem way to overpowered, and the bad guys way to bad at fighting.

Confidence is the best accessory

Like, this is literally their job. They are paid to fight people- there’s no way they’d be that bad at it. That being said, one of the show’s bright points is that it was so good at balancing humour with its more serious notes. The rapper between the characters rapport always pretty jovial, so it didn’t feel awkward or forced when that lighthearted attitude carried over into more serious scenarios. I also really enjoyed the soundtrack. I thought it was the perfect mix of songs, and never found that they were overused. An emotional scene can become less emotional if it’s paired with a track that we’ve heard 500 other times throughout the drama, but I think ‘Player’ did a really great job at matching its music to its scenes. The acting was great all round, particularly from our leading man. Song Seung Heon gave Ha Ri the perfect mix of arrogant confidence and veiled compassion. It can be hard to make a character with unclear motives likeable, but Song Seung Heon did an excellent job at keeping Ha Ri loveable by showing how much he cared for his teammates, but also managed to keep the mystery surrounding his identity and his personal involvement in their cases.

I didn't care what this team was doing as long as they were doing it together

Krystal isn’t the type of access who can get me excited about a drama just by seeing she’s in it, but she has a knack for choosing roles that compliment her strengths. She played Ah Ryong nicely, and had great chemistry with her co stars. Lee Shi Un has a looooong list of credits as a side character, and while he does have a flair for comedy, it was nice to see him take on some more serious scenes here.

The price of breaking out from your comedic side-kick roles

While Byugn Min was used for comedy quite a lot, his character arc did get quite dark towards the end, and it was satisfying to see that Lee Shi Un is able to bring in the heavy emotions when he needs to. Tae Won Seok might have been type cast for this role (I mean, K-Drama doesn’t exactly have a large number of super beefy actors at its disposal), but I thought he did a great job at bringing out Jin Woong’s softer side. Any man of his size would have been just as able to look scary and throw punches, so it was enjoyable to see how Jin Woong became such a marshmallow outside of physical confrontation. Tae Won Seok was so good at being a giant softy that I kind of wish the show had shown a little bit more of that side of his character. I always say that I enjoy Kim Won Hae being serious rather than comical, so it was nice to see him in another serious role. While his character could somehow be frustratingly slow (why would you not get suspicious when you’ve been called out of the blue to the the building your sunbae was murdered in? Why?), but he was an enjoyable character all the same.

Wait, you're telling me there are high level prosecutors in K-Drama that aren't corrupt? 

Vigilante dramas so often have the criminals fighting the worse criminals, that it was nice addition to have a regular, law abiding prosecutor brought into the mix. While In Kyu did bend the rules a bit by turning a blind eye to what Ha Ri and his team were doing (and even actively helping them on occasion), it was still nice to have a prosecutor in a K-Drama that wasn’t evil or corrupt. 

What Was Great:

Players:

By far the best part of this show was our rag-tag team of heroes. It was fun seeing Ha Ri pull them all together, and it was even more fun watching them work together on their plans.

The camaraderie was fabulous

The bickering between the members was always fun, and it was lovely to see how they all pulled together to form their own family, particularly around Ah Ryong. As a getaway driver wasn’t something the group particularly needed all that much, it was nice to give Ah Ryong a role outside of that. While the three boys were all good friends and worked together well as a team, they never quite hit that ‘family’ dynamic until Ah Ryong was brought into the mix. Unlike the boys, Ah Ryong was more a victim of circumstance with becoming a petty criminal, and all the boys were extremely protective over her. As fun as all the group’s schenennigins were, the best parts of this drama were definitely when they were banding together to look after their beloved dongsaeng, Ah Ryong. While the plot was pretty messy, it was insanely fun to come on this adventure with this particular group of characters, and their fun family dynamic made this show an easy, enjoyable watch. I’m glad that the writer kept romance out of our main four too.

Three examples of the 'Don't Touch My Donsaeng' look

It almost looked like the show was hinting at a romantic relationship between Ha Ri and Ah Ryong, or even between Ah Ryong and Byung Min. While I probably wouldn’t have minded if they had paired Ah Ryong up with any of the three boys in the team, I kind of preferred that we kept everything neutral, and that both Ah Ryong and the boys were delighted at having them simply be oppas.

What Wasn’t:

Bad Plot:

For the most part I’m not quite sure why anything happened in this drama. I had a basic idea of what was going on, but the details flew way over my head. I knew enough to know who it was our team was fighting against, but did I know why? Nope.

This window of doom is as confusing as it is suspicious

And as fun as the team’s heists and plans were, I found them a little tricky to follow at times. Quite possibly because they always seemed to go wrong. Once or twice would have been okay, but it seemed like our team messed up their plans far more often than they got them right.

This was Ha Ri's masterplan? Because it's terrible.

Which made them feel more lucky than talented. I also think the final confrontation was a bit of a disappointment. The crew had done some pretty crafty cons in this show, so to have them take down their biggest nemesis by a simple hidden camera felt super lame. Super duper lame. I failed to see what made the hidden camera so dangerous and risky and hard to do that it would take Ha Ri years and years of planning. For all the show’s talk of ‘That Person’ being the best manipulator and greatest criminal influence, he sure went down pretty easy. I never really clicked on to how all the smaller puzzle pieces fit together to create the big picture, or why Ha Ri had to bring down all theses other corrupt men to get to ‘That Person’ either. I kind of knew that somehow everyone was related and it all made sense, but it was never super clear and there was never that ‘ah ha!’ moment where it all came together to form one big cohesive story.

Recommend?

No, not really. While the characters and their family dynamic were cute and fun, there are other ragtag vigilante dramas that have an actual understandable plot driving the team.

Fun but forgettable

Remember- Son's War

Remember- Son’s War

8.5/10

Remember- Son's War

Genre: Episodes: 20 Year: 2016

Mystery

Melodrama

Synopsis:

After his father is sentenced to death for a murder he didn’t commit, Seo Jin Woo becomes an attorney in order to defend his father and arrest the real criminal. As his father has Alzheimer’s it is very difficult to prove his innocence. As the trial continues, Jin Woo starts to develop issues with his own memory, and is diagnosed with the same disease as his father. 

Cast:

Yoo Seung Ho (Seo Jin Woo)

Park Min Young (Lee In Ah)

Park Sung Woong (Park Dong Ho)

Namgoong Min (Nam Gyu Man)

Song Young Kyu (Tak Young Jin)

Lee Shi Un (Ahn Soo Bum)

Eom Hyo Seop (Hong Moon Suk)

Lee Won Jong (Suk Joo Il)

Kim Jin Woo (Kang Suk Kyu)

Jung Hye Song (Nam Yeo Kyung)

General Thoughts:

What a cracker. This drama was interesting to watch from start to finish, with hardly any dull moments in between. It’s not the most original content (murderous chaebol), but the extensive cast gave great performances and populated the drama-world with an interesting mix of characters.

I love Dong Ho and all his flashy suits

The plot wasn’t exactly plot-hole free, but as the series didn’t linger too long on any one conflict it was easy to overlook some aspects of the story that weren’t exactly concrete, as you never really had time to think about it too deeply, and could just let it pass as this drama’s logic. The few beginning episodes when the story was setting itself up were a little slow, but once the conflict was presented the drama moved along at a ripping pace.

This expression made me annoyed rather than sad

Our hero was perhaps a little too weepy in the early episodes (I just didn’t find Yoo Seung Ho to be a moving, believable weeper, though I know many do), so I enjoyed the story much more when he was being a confident, in-control lawyer. He was an easy character to root for- underdog hero does everything he can to bring down a corrupt powerhouse. What’s not to like? Yoo Seung Ho was brilliant in scenes where he was strong and determined, and really sold the man-on-a-mission vibe. He was also excellent in moments when his memory loss came into play. While I may not be sold on his crying abilities, his gradual shift from innocent to confused to sad realisation was done perfectly. You couldn’t help but feel for Jin Woo when he had a memory slip and just had that expression of pure confusion and helplessness. Park Min Young was excellent as the heroine beside him, and although she didn’t actually do all that much, she still remained a strong presence in the show. It shows how strong the character was written and how well Park Min Young played her that In Ah could be pretty quiet for a couple of episodes but it always remained clear that she was a source of strength for Jin Woo, and was fighting her own battles in the background. And boy oh boy did those two have some smoking chemistry going on!

Kya~ look how cute they are!

The times they got to play around and flirt with each other were just too cute and actually left me feeling a bit sad that the show didn’t have more romance in it- because I so wouldn't have minded seeing the two of them interact while happy a bit more. It also made me remember just how darn wonderful Yoo Seung Ho is when he smiles- because Lord knows we didn't see a lot of that in the drama.

His accent was icing on the awesome-character-cake

And Park Sung Woong was just magic! I have never come across him before, but he’s totally on my radar now. He made Dong Ho such an endearing yet conflicting character. He was so dynamic and so interesting that I really wanted him to come over to team Jin Woo. My desire for Dong Ho to turn against Gyu Man lead to me having a rather unfounded belief that there was NO WAY Dong Ho would sacrifice Jin Woo and his father. Except…he kinda already had. It was a great effort on Park Sung Woong’s part that Dong Ho remained a likeable character, as he showed his confliction and his constant desire to do the right thing, even though for most of the drama’s run Dong Ho actually didn’t do the right thing at all. I mean, when you think about it, he buried a whole lot of Gyu Man’s crimes and didn’t go back and correct them. The only one we saw play out was Gyu Man’s rape case (which Dong Ho buried) and that was only brought up by Jin Woo and In Ah in order to get Gyu Man in the defendant seat so they could make the investigation focus on the murder Jin Woo's father was blamed for. How many other horrible crimes did Dong Ho help cover up? And yet despite all this, through Park Sung Woong's brilliant acting, he was one my favourite characters for the entire show.

You can't not not love him- he's just so snazzy

The momentum of the show was pretty fast, with new, smaller conflicts being introduced to keep our minds occupied while the heroes prepared for the final showdown. The smaller conflicts always had something to do with Gyu Man or Jin Woo’s father’s case, so it never felt like we were watching filler in order to get through the number of episodes the show needed to air.

Great angle, great lighting, great face

Granted, there were a few plot holes now and then (though admittedly most of them have slipped my mind by now), but the show’s constant focus on the big picture made it easy to let minor details slide. I found the plot and the characters so enjoyable that I was happy to not let my mind focus on the messier parts of the show so that I could be fully engaged in the story the show was trying to tell. And as for something that was certainly not messy- the cinematography! The drama was just shot beautifully. A multitude of angles along with playing with light and shadow really made the drama visually appealing to watch, while also tightening the tensions or emotions of a scene, or giving a bit of insight into the characters. Jin Woo and Dong Ho tended to have a lot of shadow, while In Ah- our prosecutor of justice and hope was always filmed with a lot of light. In fact, there were times it seemed as though In Ah herself was actually glowing- as if her inner goodness was spreading to the world around her (cheesy I know, but not exactly untrue). The drama was just so compelling to watch, and the main characters are just so fascinating. 

What Was Great:

Cast:

There’s not much to say here, everyone was fantastic and they all did brilliant jobs. Namgoong Min really was phenomenal as our villain though.

Great actors make for great conflicts

Goodness, he’s dynamic. He’s one of the best actors when it comes to believable tantrums, and his switching between his two faces was excellently done, albeit a tad creepy. But it’s not just how excellent a villain he was, but Namgoong Min also made Gyu Man weirdly relatable.

How do I feel bad for you? You are quite possibly the worst human ever...so...how?

Like, he was a horrible, horrific human being with no redeemable qualities, and yet I found myself feeling sorry for him. How? Why? It really had very little to do with how the character was written, it’s just that Namgoong Min had this amazing ability to show how lonely and hurt Gyu Man really was with very minute facial expressions in very minute amounts of time. Sometimes in K-Drama you get so used to seeing a lot of actors and so used to the roles that come up a lot (such as rich boys with murderous tendencies) that it all kind of becomes the same. Then you’ll have an actor, such as Namgoong Min, come along and smash their role out of the park and it really makes you sit up and notice what a good actor they are. Because no matter how many Chaebol villains we get, Gyu Man is probably going to be one of the ones I remember most- and that’s purely because he was acted so perfectly.

Gradual Progress:

Generally speaking I’m not a huge fan of cat-and-mouse conflicts. I tend to find them a bit circular and slow, as our hero and villain fight all series long but we know the hero will come out on top. So in this sense, I appreciated that ‘Remember’ focused less on how our hero was going to defeat his enemy, but more on how he will change as a person and what he will have to sacrifice on his way to victory.

Gave up love for justice

In the end, Jin Woo spends his last years with memory fighting against injustice and gives up any chance at leading a normal, happy life. He could have easily given up after his father died and spent his time contently with In Ah, but instead he chose to give up his remaining time and his potential relationship with In Ah in order to catch Gyu Man. Cat-and-mouse conflicts also tend to put all their conflict resolution in the last few episodes,

Just look at Gyu Man burn those bridges

but this drama felt more like a net slowly closing around our villain rather than the usual constant circling before the final attack. One of the best aspects of the story is that it wasn’t just our band of heroes that cornered Gyu Man. It was endlessly interesting and mildly satisfying seeing how Gyu Man kept creating more and more enemies for himself. The way he treated those around him, particularly his assistant friend, were huge steps in his own downfall. It wasn’t just the hard work of the righteous that brought Gyu Man down, but his own inability to control himself and maintain his relationships. It’s rather a nice take on the psycho-chaebol element. I’m so conditioned to seeing chaebol villains being so smart and so manipulative that only a very special, highly dedicated and intelligent individual would be able to bring them down. But with Gyu Man it always felt as if he’d become his own undoing sooner or later, and with Jin Woo’s interference it just came on sooner. It’s almost a little relieving to believe that despite all his money, power and connections, Gyu Man’s own arrogance and superiority would have allowed his crimes to catch up with him eventually. Guy Man’s role in his own destruction also meant that there was steady movement towards the show’s finale.

He is his own worst enemy

As our heroes uncovered new ammunition to use against Gyu Man, Gyu Man himself was causing his own allies to turn against him, giving Jin Woo and In Ah even more evidence and information. The slow betrayals from those involved in Gyu Man’s crimes gave the plot a great forward momentum, and made sure the story was always moving forwards rather that just going in circles.

What Wasn’t:

Underutilisation:

There were so, so, so many characters in this series but they were sadly under-utilised. You’d think that with 20 episodes each of the characters would have enough time to get fully developed, but that wasn’t really the case. The biggest case of underutilisation was definitely Nam Yeo Kyung.

She is significantly less involved than I thought she'd be

She really is perfectly placed to be a deeply interesting character. As a prosecutor she has a sense of justice, but she is also a part of the Nam family who use their power and influence to avoid justice. Yet her father and brother are constantly ignoring her and treating her like a child who is of no real importance, so it was hard to gauge where her loyalties were. It could have been so interesting to watch her struggle with what she wanted to protect and what she wanted to stand for, but it never really came about. Her turmoil was hinted at, but was never used to its full potential. Surprisingly, another dramatically under-utilised character was Joo Il. The writers only just put in enough effort to make the story passable, but it was still a little confusing, and a fair bit was left to the viewers’ imaginations. It was clear that Joo Il and Dong Ho had a father-son relationship, but I still remain confused as to how that played into Dong Ho betraying Jin Woo and his father. It didn’t appear that Joo Il was being threatened, but rather that he was reaching for more money and/or power. Which doesn’t seem like a decent excuse to let someone go on death row for a crime they didn’t commit, just sayin’.

I kinda get what you're doing here...but I also kinda don't

It was kind of glossed over why Dong Ho decided to pull out of the trial, and so remained slightly confusing when Dong Ho decided to jump back onto team Jin Woo. Nothing had really changed between Dong Ho and Joo Il, and Dong Ho seemed to walk away from their supposedly airtight relationship pretty easily. It wasn’t clear what Joo Il was after in regards to Gyu Man’s company or really any of his actions around Dong Ho. The writers seemed to really be pushing for the whole ‘they’re trying to protect one another’ angle, but it just didn’t really come off, as the writers didn’t really spend any time developing Joo Il as a character outside of his involvement with Gyu Man and Dong Ho.

It made way more sense to me for Dong Ho to pick Jin Woo

The series was still excellent, and there was enough sense in the plot to get by on, but in hindsight there were a few characters that if developed more could have really given the show an extra punch of emotion.

Soft Take on Alzheimer’s:

Basically the series had its rosy-glasses on whenever it was dealing with Alzheimer’s. It focused most on the memory aspect of the disease, but this wasn’t done smoothly or accurately with Jin Woo’s father.

This guy got the worst deal by far

Although it was done in a simple way, it was still passable as Jin Woo’s father’s memory loss was kinda the whole point of the show. My main gripe is how the show dealt with portraying Jin Woo’s Alzheimer’s. I understand that the doctor giving Jin Woo 6-12 months was just to give the show a timeline and ensure that it made sense why Jin Woo was going for Gyu Man so hard and so fast, but it is just so ridiculously inaccurate that it really made the show seem a tad ridiculous. But again, it was passable as it wasn’t a huge part of the show. It was how Jin Woo chose to leave for apparently no reason that really got on my nerves. If someone that young actually had Alzheimer’s and the progression of the disease was actually that fast, there is really very little chance that a year later they’d be with it enough to be walking around unsupervised. Jin Woo didn’t appear to be getting any help for his disease, and it didn’t seem to be progressing much from where we’d left off a year before.

How did he remember to go here? Hoooowwwww?

It’s unlikely that Jin Woo would be sick enough to not remember In Ah or any of the events involving his father and Gyu Man, yet still be able to remeber where to hang his notes and how to get to wherever it is that he’s staying now.

I hate to be the wet blanket, but he would be nowhere near that functional

Not to mention that Alzheimer’s isn’t just a memory thing. Along with his brain forgetting his memories, Jin Woo’s brain would also forget how to do other things- like eat, and speak, and walk. Understandably the series didn't want to go that far as it would massively take away from the happiness of the show, but if they were going to suggest that Jin Woo was sick enough that he wanted to remove himself from In Ah they should have gone all the way with it. Or, they should have gone all the way with the rosy-glasses and let him stay with In Ah and his friends, occasionally forgetting things but remaining happy all the same. The show’s indecision to go all out in either direction left the ending of the show feeling a little weak and a little emotionless when the rest of the show had been packed with intrigue and heart.

Recommend?

Definitely! This drama is fantastic. While it’s not free of plot-holes, the story remains engaging from the start to finish with very few drags in momentum. The hero and heroine are easy to root for, and Namgoong Min gives one of the most dynamic villain performances in K-Dramaland.

Endlessly entertaining

W- Two Worlds

W- Two Worlds

8.5/10

W- Two Worlds

Genre:                                    Episodes: 16                            Year: 2016

Romance

Mystery

Fantasy

Synopsis:

Oh Yeon Joo is the daughter of a famous manhwa author. When her father suddenly decides to kill the main character of his comic, Kang Chul, Yeon Joo is transported into the world of the manhwa and saves Chul’s life. However, Yeon Joo’s involvement in the fictional world changes events, and the story begins to take on a life of its own.

Cast:

Lee Jong Suk (Kang Chul)

Han Hyo Joo (Oh Yeon Joo)

Jeong Eu Gene (Yoon So Hee)

Kim Ui Sung (Oh Sung Moo)

Lee Shi Un (Park Soo Bong)

Lee Tae Hwan (Seo Do Yoon)

 

Park Won Sang (Han Chul Ho)

General Thoughts:

This drama is crazy. It’s been a while since I’ve been so completely sucked into a drama by both its plot and its characters- the two rarely come together, but ‘W’ is a wonderful combination of excellent storytelling and beautifully developed characters.

The leads are all kinds of excellent

The twists and brain-f*ck moments came hard and fast, and gave the series a cracking pace. The whole idea behind the drama was just excellent- a manhwa character being created with too much brainpower and initiative sets out to gain his own self-awareness and just generally creates a bit of a sh*tstorm.

I should learn how to draw, ya know...just in case...

The idea is fresh and interesting, and the writer is clearly a magician, because she takes drama ideas that have been insanely overused and often come across cliche and irritating and makes them into impactful, emotional scenes. This drama is one of the few times that I’ve been genuinely moved by the separation of the leads and not just frustrated by it. The writer also really nails the fantasy aspect of the drama. She wasn’t afraid to really use the fantasy element to her advantage by placing the characters in dangerous situations that they just realistically wouldn’t be able to escape from in a non-fantasy, reality-based series. But add in the fantasy element and suddenly the writer has a lot more room to play. The characters can be placed in broader, more intense circumstances with a multitude of ways to move the plot forward while still making sense. One of the drama's better points was that the rules were mostly explained to us (even if they did change every two episodes), so that while the fantasy element added an air of magic and mystery, it was never used as an easy-fix. Every situation and every resolution was clearly thought through, and that understanding from the writer translates to the viewer even if we don’t 100% understand it ourselves.

Super creepy

The momentum did slow a bit as we approached the second half of the series, but still had a quicker pace than most other dramas. Lee Jong Suk smashed it as our cartoon hero. It doesn’t hurt that he’s pretty enough to look like a fictional being, but his phenomenal acting really boosted the series.

Why does Lee Jong Suk look so attractive covered in blood?

Even though Chul’s problems were very different to that of the viewers (I don’t think a single viewer has ever had to battle discovering they’re a cartoon), Lee Jong Suk was still able to make Chul understandable- and most importantly likeable. His delivery of Chul’s emotions was picture perfect, and he was simply the embodiment of the wounded hero searching for his life’s meaning. The obvious difference between creator and creation were interesting to see explored, and offers a bit of insight into why artists love creating hero-like characters. Chul was everything that Sung Moo wasn’t- brave, determined, and willing to do anything for his family. The scenes of Chul having to face the weakness of his creater, and Sung Moo having to face his own weaknesses were pretty heavy and added a huge amount of depth to the series. The character of Kang Chul was easy to cheer for (he’s basically the perfect man), and his struggles brought about bigger questions that everyone could relate to, cartoon character or no. How much free will do we have? What is predetermined, and how much control do we have over changing our fate?

Creator vs. Creation 

In Chul’s case all it took was his self-awareness to allow him to begin to change the world around him- and that’s a heavy, complex idea that the drama is bringing into play. Wrapped in all the pretty packaging the drama is suggesting that all it takes is your own awareness that you can change things around you, and then can. Yes. Mindf*ck. The drama was good at that.

Took the story into her own hands (literally)

It was excellent that Chul was able to step outside the character set-up that Sung Moo had created for him and grasp his own free will, yet he never had to compromise who he was as a person (or a character- I don’t even know anymore). Next to Lee Jong Suk was Han Hyo Joo, and she was just as brilliant. She made Yeon Joo into an incredibly endearing and understandable heroine- and you cared just as much about Yeon Joo’s happy ending as you did about Chul’s. Unlike many K-drama heroines, Yeon Joo was a character that always made sense. She was our way of viewing the new cartoon world, and was our insight into the difficulties and emotions that occurred as a result of constantly slipping between the two worlds. Dad (Sung Moo) was a good (but not great) villain to have opposite our leads. I found the villain to be more threatening when it was the unidentified shadow man with no face, as it added a sense of paranoia to the series that giving the villain a face kind of took away. While the villain was a faceless, poorly constructed character it was hard to predict his movements- because Dad had just written him as a plot device, not an actual character.

Only purpose is to kill Chul and his family, which is kinda sucky for Chul

His movements were often erratic and simply not having an identity was a threat in itself, because how is Chul supposed to defeat an enemy with no identity whose sole purpose has been (and still is) to kill people Chul considers family as a way to build Chul as a hero and drive Chul’s motivation.

Why were you so worried about Chul when you'd created this lunatic?

He still remained pretty frightening after he took Dad’s face as he still held a rather unhinged attitude, particularly after he became self-aware like Chul and started identifying as Dad himself- not just as a character Dad couldn’t be assed creating properly. It was interesting to see how the killer wanted Dad to give him an identity just as much as Chul did- because his self realisation was basically rendered meaningless once he learned that he wasn’t a proper character and had only been created for the sole purpose of the one scene where Chul’s family is murdered. The killer ends up being the complete opposite of Chul. Chul is so well thought-through and so detailed that everyone who has read the manhwa has a thorough understanding of who he is. On the other hand, the killer has no identity, no purpose, and no set-up that provides him with any limitations or guidelines. The conclusion for the killer was action-packed and pretty satisfying, though I do think that it could have been ramped up into a bigger showdown considering that he was the main villain. If Chul was just going to shoot him, why didn’t he just do it before? Y’know- before he shot and killed Chul’s wife.

Why yes. At one point our heroine actually dies.

I was pretty underwhelmed with Chul Ho as far as villains go. He was a fairly underdeveloped character- like, why did he even hate Chul do much? He didn’t really do much to get in the way of Chul, and he really did nothing after gaining information about the two worlds, which makes me wonder why the writer bothered having him find out.

You need to up your game buddy- the last guy didn't even have a face

He’s not the worst villain to ever grace my screen, but it was a smidge disappointing to have him as our last villain and our final hurdle for Chul when the previous hurdles seemed so much bigger and so much more dangerous. Beyond the main characters and the villains that fought them, none of the other characters really mattered much. None of the characters from Chul’s manhwa world were developed that much (which is weird considering that So Hee was supposed to be the heroine of the comic before Yeon Joo showed up). I suppose they just didn’t really matter all that much considering that Chul would eventually come into the real world and leave the comic and all its characters behind. The side characters in the real world were a little more interesting and given a little more screen time. Soo Bong was a bit of a scene stealer as his reactions to everything were so spot on and basically mirrored how I was feeling as a viewer. I wish Kang Ki Young had a bit more to do in the series, as he can be such a dynamic side character. I wanted to know more about him and his relationship with Yeon Joo (and Chul’s jealousy that might result)- but alas he was a character that fell by the wayside. Visually the drama was spectacular. The directing in regards to the seamless transitions from comic panel to live-action were flawless and added a huge sense of amazement to the drama- not too mention it just looked plain awesome.

It was so magical- it was like Harry Potter for adults (not that Harry Potter isn't for adults)

The soundtrack was also quietly wonderful. It was in the background not demanding too much attention, but spot on when you did pay attention to it- particularly towards the end of an episode when we reached those cliffhanger moments.

What Was Great:

Our Leads:

Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo were spectacular and they were insanely good together. You know when two leads start to spark rumours that they’re dating in real life then the chemistry’s bound to be good. And it was. Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo matched each other perfectly and had wonderful on screen chemistry that was addictive to watch.

And the snogging gets better as the series goes along

Their casual flirtation is always fun, but never forgets to hint at the stronger relationship developing underneath. It was such a must-have to have great chemistry in a series like this considering it’s all about a comic book hero coming to life and jumping worlds so he can stay with the woman he loves, and the two lead actors nailed the do-or-die dynamic of their relationship. The relationship between the two characters was so enjoyable to watch develop- particularly after the manhwa world resets and Chul loses his memory of Yeon Joo, as it shows that no matter what, if Chul ever meets Yeon Joo, no matter how short their meeting or how many times he forgets her, he will always be curious about her and that will always lead to his becoming self-aware.

I so desperately want them to be happy forever

It’s a nice bit of fate, but isn’t so in your face that it seems ridiculous or against all odds. I particularly loved the way Yeon Joo always brought about Chul’s awareness that he was in a cartoon because, despite what was written for his character,

I love them as much as they love each other

he chooses to go after Yeon Joo every time- which is his first ever real choice as an independent being. Which kind of brings on the warm fuzzies. It was wonderful that Yeon Joo and Chul had equal footing in the relationship. Chul was the badass action hero of the manhwa who could do anything and everything, but Yeon Joo is his original creator who knows almost every aspect of his life. While Yeon Joo is left shouldering all the burden and hurt after the comic world resets, it's evened out by Chul waiting for her for years as time in the two worlds flows differently. It was a great move for both of them to have a period of wanting an waiting for the other (even though I usually hate that), as it showed that it wasn’t just Yeon Joo suffering and waiting on her own- Chul was just as invested and just as in love as she was, and was willing to go through hurt, loneliness and heartbreak in order to achieve their happy ending. 

The Tease:

The drama was far from predictable, and that’s always a good thing. It wasn’t unpredictable because the writer was just doing whatever she wanted- but continued to have clear movements and momentum.

Please don't kill Chul, please don't kill Chul

And one of the upsides about this unpredictability is that it made me fear for the characters lives. Not many K-Dramas can pull that off because there’s just no way in hell that the writers would leave us with a dead hero on our hands- but I honestly wouldn’t have put it past this writer to give us a sad ending to the story. Fearing for the lives of the characters adds a huge amount of tension to the drama and makes for one hell of an addictive watch. Because unlike other dramas, you’re not waiting to see how the happy ending comes about- you’re waiting to see if there is a happy ending, or if everyone dies and the comic world combusts and the plot reaches a satisfying conclusion but all the characters are miserable anyway. There were lots of hints that the drama might be heading towards a not-so-happy ending, so it only served to increase the excitement in the last episode, and made the eventual happy ending feel so much more earned than in most other dramas. Technically the ending wasn't completely happy- although Chul got what he wanted, he spent two years in prison (which still seems a little unnecessary, but whatever) and Yeon Joo’s Dad died which was a bit of a bummer (for her, not us). 

How I was watching this drama

Correct Use of Amnesia:

I have never ever, not once in a K-Drama enjoyed the use of amnesia or even the forced separation of our leads. Because it’s cliche, often frustrating, and just generally sucks.

I was actually sad for her instead of just ridiculously annoyed

Until now. I was on every emotional beat of Kang Chul’s amnesia and the effect it had on Yeon Joo. It was sad. It was heart-breaking. It was basically soul destroying. I’m not exactly sure what it was that made this amnesia work when so many others have failed- but good job drama. Maybe it was the fact that the separation wasn’t for an extended period of time, and that Yeon Joo is just such a top heroine. Rather than shrinking into herself and just wandering around with sad-face on, she helps out at the hospital and actually responds when Chul talks to her (no matter how sad it is that he doesn’t remember her), and it actually produced some pretty funny moments. So the couple of episodes were sad and emotional, but they had some humour in there that stopped it from becoming a total angst-fest. Also, it does help that both of our leads went into this situation with the knowledge and agreement on what was going to happen. Yeon Joo could have written the dream and reset the manhwa world without telling Chul- but she didn’t. Chul could have done a huge Noble Idiot and just pretended he didn’t actually love Yeon Joo in order to keep her safe from the killer- but he didn’t.

Just remember her already!

The two had a rational, level-headed discussion and came to a mutual decision. Isn’t that nice to see! It’s just another part of what made these leads such a wonderful couple- they communicated, made plans together, and were basically not self-centred knob-heads. 

What Wasn’t:

Villain Switch-Up:

The one thing I think sapped a bit of tension and drama from the series was that it didn’t have one continuous villain throughout. We had three. Well, maybe two and a half. The first villain, the original killer, was my favourite of the villains. He was so unhinged that he was hard to predict, and his knowledge of the manhwa world and the real world made him very dangerous, but also made a lot of sense.

And he was by far the scariest of the lot

He wants to know who he is and what his purpose is. These desires are realised when Dad gives the killer his own face and things kind of snowball into one big clusterf*ck. It’s riveting to watch, and the killer poses a real sense of danger to Chul, to Yeon Joo, and also to Dad whose face he (literally) stole.

And that's what you get for being a lazy ass writer

Which was super creepy- but also a bit of a plot hole. While the idea behind Dad accidentally giving the killer the exact same face as the one he had is an interesting concept, the logic of it fell a bit short. Dad’s face didn’t disappear when the killer got his face, which leads me to think that the killer somehow stole Dad’s face. Which is cool and creepy, but doesn’t make much sense. The killer gaining control of Dad when he’s faceless is also a great plot twist in the story and creates a huge sense of urgency for Yeon Joo and Chul as they are now living in a world that is completely controlled by the killer via puppet Dad the artist. The how factor of the killer's control over Dad is also left a bit too under explained for my taste. Then the killer is dealt with a fair few episodes before the drama concludes and suddenly, oh no, we don’t have anyone for the heroes to fight. So then Dad goes kind of crazy, not sure if he’s the killer or not due to him actually recalling the killers memories as if they were his own. Which is again an interesting point as it begs the question of just how connected Dad was to the killer, and how similar they were that Dad himself is confusing the two of them.

Pretty easy to keep him under control

But he wasn’t really all that threatening. They just tied him up until he was sane enough to come and save the day. So that leaves us with Chul Ho as our main villain for the last few episodes, and he wasn’t really all that great. He didn’t seem all that smart, and didn’t do anything even with the knowledge of the two different worlds. Frankly I’m surprised he even managed to shoot Chul as Chul is way too much of a clever badass to walk into a situation like that, but I guess they just needed something to actually happen in the last episode.

I don't think Chul would be that dumb, but we'll let it slide for dramatic tension

What’s most frustrating about Chul Ho is his apparent lack of motivation. He was pretty much ignored for the most part, not really being a character of actual importance until the last few episodes, so it did leave us wondering what his actual problem was. Why all the Chul hate? The drama hinted that if Chul found the real killer that Chul Ho’s popularity would drop, but I don’t really see that being a reason for Chul Ho to try and kill Chul and his bodyguard friend.

But...but...he's self-aware...

Chul Ho seemed to accept pretty easily that he was a manhwa villain and didn’t seem too motivated to change that, so I did wonder a bit about his obsession with the other world. It came out sounding like he wanted to go there and conquer that world, but that makes little sense considering that he knows nothing about that world, and hasn’t even conquered the world he actually lives in. His death was short and sweet and brought on pretty easily- but it also kind of defies logic. We’d never before seen scenes of characters doing things they didn’t want to do once they became self-aware. All drama long we’ve been told that once the characters become aware that they are characters in a cartoon they can start to control their own fate, and not be guided by the will of the writer. Yet I’m pretty sue Chul Ho doesn’t want to shoot himself, but Dad ends up making him do just that. The scene itself is pretty cool and pretty dark- but it does open a few plotholes that the series didn’t have before the final episode. Chul Ho’s time in the spotlight was pretty short, and I’m a little disappointed that this amazing, heart-racing drama didn’t finish with big confrontation with a well thought out, fear inducing villain.

Where are My Snoodles?:

I wanted way more of this than we got

I was kind of hoping that we’d have time for a lot of kisses and cuddles at the end of this drama. All series long the different plot-points tended to wrap themselves up pretty quickly without becoming too drawn out, and that left me thinking (and hoping) that we’d get at least half an episode of seeing Yeon Joo and Chul being cute and happy together in the real world.

Where all my cuddles at?

Or even a whole episode on Chul having to adjust to the real world and the big issue of him not actually having a real identity there. But instead we had Chul sit in prison for two years while Yeon Joo was sad for a week and then they kissed on a bench- that’s it, the end. WHERE WAS THE CUTENESS?! WHERE WAS THE HAPPY-FUN-TIME FOR THESE WONDERFUL CHARACTERS?! The first half of the series had a lot more cute and a lot more romance than the second half did. While I’m not upset that the show decided to go for a darker, more villain-focused route, I do wish it had returned to it’s lighthearted spooning and snogging a bit earlier than it did.

Re-watch?

Maybe not the whole thing- but probably the first half. Because I love these leads together.

I don't really care how they got their happy ending as long as they got one