Somebody (2022)

Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " Somebody " is a thriller with a mature content.

As an idea, Somebody doesn't stray far from the beaten track and keeps things predictable and, overall, simple. The criminal is known from the start and his crimes are pretty basic textbook, even though he appears to have no pattern as to whom he kills and whom he lets go.

The drama also gets unnecasserily gory and adds some extra scenes more to provoke than to enhance the entertainment value, or, at least, get deeper into the characters' mind.

In the end, along with some other extra plotlines that didn't add up, the drama wraps up everything the way it started things in the first place.

On the other hand, the performances were the best part of the drama.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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Just so very boring

But you know, at first it actually wasn't. Got to give full credit to those amazing Korean production values and the acting chops of literally everybody on screen because all of that propelled me through to about episode 3 before I realised I had no idea what was happening and the whole thing didn't make much sense.

Plot points seemed to repeat endlessly to no purpose and characters did inexplicable things for vague reasons (although rank stupidity did seem to be a factor).

The male lead seems to be able to sign up to a dating app with his own image, lure women in and kill them with nobody noticing or caring - let alone the police. I've seen the whole thing and still have no idea what motivated our female lead, Sum, at any point. The writer seemed to think her being autistic was sufficient motivation and I don't even know where to start on how offensive that is.

Somebody and the titular app, Someone, seem to represent an intense desire for connection between people who leave themselves open and vulnerable in trying to find it and thus end up hurt. But the show's limp, oppressed storytelling left us with nothing but a lot of scrabbling around in the dark and, admittedly, healthy doses of Kim Young-kwang being in equal parts creepy and sexy as fuck.

What should have been menacing ended up being undercut by the serial killer's sheer overwhelming omniscience and everybody's vague motivations. Don't get me started on the drama's annoying detours into mysticism and mentions of 'evil spirits' and 'exorcisms'.

By the end, I was hoping I too could be strangled mid-coitus because that would be a hell of a lot more interesting than this show and I'd still end up stupefied to the same extent.

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Kim Young Kwang’s butt

It is weird. Yes, in a negative way. At first, I kind of feel amazed at how creepy they tried to showcase the storyline, Yet, as it went on, I kind of feel icky about most of the scenes and tend to feel bored from time to time.

The only entertaining thing that the drama has to offer to me is seeing Kim Young Kwang giving his best in nailing a daring role. Full nude scenes are too good for such a popular actor like him. He is indeed a professional. Those intimidates scenes are actually the sole reason why the show is not perfectly bad. They nailed every sex scene with no too much work in camera angles and show us how thirsty the characters are in terms of sex.

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a hit and a miss

somebody (2022) instantly intrigued me the minute i read its synopsis. personally, i love crime thrillers, especially when done correctly, however, i felt like somebody was not in that case, to me it felt rushed, confusing and disappointing as a viewer.

the general storyline is very hooking, the concept we are introduced to is one about a creepy yet charming serial killer that uses an app to find his victims. similar to a concept i've seen in webtoons like 'killstagram' for example which is about a killer that uses social media. we are also introduced early on to the character dynamics between our female lead and the killer, her friends, and her enemies as one could say. this story though doesn't really follow very easily, as there are loose ends left and parts unexplained to the audience. it also moves very quickly during the start but slowly during the middle, making it harder to complete. the ending was well-- boring and expected. also the app aspect?? what happened to it?? our fl leads passions??? idkkk

my main grief is probably the characters, specifically our main female lead kim sum. for one, it's rare for a character to be both female and on the spectrum, which as someone on the spectrum myself, i was happy to see it, but in the case of somebody, i found it to be super lazy writing. obviously yes, autistic people can be killers but with the little to no rep in sk, and the rep there usually being stereotypes and very ableist representation i found it be a letdown because it did nothing to outstand those stereotypes. there was absolutely no reason to make her autistic, especially to 'make' her a psychopath.
the other characters were just okay, the male lead was obviously disturbing but nothing outstanding to be nor shocking. i expected him to be the way he ended up being at the end. the side characters were probably my favorite, i love seeing other reps for disabilities and wlw reps as well. i love that they showed those with those impediments can still have love and desire it just like anyone else.

visually though, somebody is a hit. as someone who studied video composition, wow, these shots are amazing, and it sent chills through my spine during some scenes just by visuals alone. the lighting is cool as well, with blue lighting for distress and more warm for comfort which I enjoyed. the acting was also a hit, it was greattt, ml was so creepy and made me very uncomfortable, but the facial expressions were always on point and the fl also did a good job with what she was assigned.

one thing i will note is on it's portrayal of sexuality. it's uncommon for shows in south korea to show skin so graphically and i was shocked by it's portrayal here, also rarely do you see women talking about this stuff! somebody did do a good job of making it uncomfortable.

so in the end, this show is a hit in an artistic standpoint, the creative directors, set designers and cameramen did well. but god, i could not get over the poor directing and writing, stop making autistic people villains as a way out and goddd find a way to keep the hook going throughout the story, don't ditch it immediately.

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a serial killer who entered the app "Somebody"

(WARNING, LONG REVIEW AHEAD!!)
so i'll really try my best to explain this drama so much since the overall story seems very interesting for me. from an dating app and love, to sexual assault and murder. I also read from an review that this drama has so much potential, most especially this drama was psychological one. But after all completing all the episodes from this drama, that how explains why this drama was complicated but at a same time, giving so much potential to viewers as well. I think this was too far from any kdramas I've watched, but this one feels like a western type of series as well.

Plot:
So it explains about a student from becoming a developer as she invented her called app AI social connecting app "Somebody" where anyone could talk and chat with each other. Well due to sum's communicating problems, she made her invention until Kim Sum was part of the team of the app. Until cases regarding the app was spreading and getting involved from a murderer slash serial killer, Yoon O. From murdering most women who get involved by the app (or like being matched). He has different identity to his personality, where he acts like what women likes, but he acts like his true self to Kim Sum, who was also a murderer. and Kim Sum as she was (kind of) responsible of the case, she get's to know Yun O untill she fell in love with a serial killer. She was so needy to love and sex and at the same time both of them were murderers to begin with. I kinda had a hard time explaining the story because it was pretty messy to begin with. Involving Yun O's story without the background story of his childhood days, and I was thinking maybe because of his trauma(?) or something bothers him that he turned to be a murderer. And with that, Kim Sum's friends got involved due to the dating app. And the problem of the story evolves the app overall that messes their lives from the beginning. So one of Kim Sum's friend who also got involved, Gi Eun as she was a detective, while Mok Won was a shaman as she senses spirits between her friend Kim Sum and her match from the app, Yun O.

And with that, the ending was hmmm very surpising for me. I really thought Kim Sum would ended up falling in love with benefits regarding love and sex with Yun O. But due to her decision making with her friends and for the safety of her colleagues as well, she killed him. And for me, I think it needs more background story of Yun O and Kim Sum and I think its not just me, but there is something really missing, that's why I rated it not a perfect rating but just a good one.

Characters and Cast:
HOOOOO this one was far exceeding so much with my expectations. I was thinking did they tried to be away from their characters because this one was far away from kdrama land haha. The characters from this story (while some of them) were hypocrite and desperate from what they like as well. I guess the characters were something that I was never expecting to be because from the plot itself, it was away from the overall story of the drama. Just the outside background of their lives. Now I'll go with the casts, especially I watched this drama because I was really interested of Kim Young Kwang's choice of drama projects after all this would be my second time watching his role from kdramas.

First of all, Kim Young Kwang acted this role FAR FAR from his previous roles especially my last kdrama that I watched with him was the secret life of my secretary. He made this role far from his career as well! but not to make myself look weird, but he really looks very attractive and all those *ehem* scenes from this drama. He need roles like this especially regarding murder or dark themed genre of kdramas to sum up everything. Kang Hae Lim, I never expected to see her change from her supporting role from Live On kdrama. She turned from her role from being a bully or a mean girl, to a desperate young adult women who seeks for love and sex. I was really surprised by her chosen projects and her acting career path as well. Both of the casts has something that gave chemistry in me. But I was thinking if they were comfortable filming "those scenes" and I saw that they were in touch on instagram since they followed each other as well. kinda sus haha. And also with the other cast, Kim Yong Ji as I a saw her from the last drama appearance of a kdrama I finished watching, The King: Eternal Monarch. But in short, she changed so much as well from this role. With the casts, the bts photos seems like they were happy with their roles and the bond they had with the production team and the actors and actresses who were involved. I'm rooting for the three of them actually.

Overall, this drama was giving me that feeling of darkness and feeling of emptiness in me, But it gave me a creepy vibe on the end haha. I was really surprised as well, but Hoping that these casts would have a greater recognition as well.
I would say this drama was only good for time kill. since I skipped some unnecessary scenes to it, but overall, it was a pretty good one. BUT not for beginners as well since it needs more patience and understanding.

but in a positive side, looking forward to the casts other projects! especially to kim young kwang <33

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majorly missed the mark

This show needed at least 4 more episodes to delve deeper into the backstories of the characters. I was left feeling like I knew none of the characters on a deeper level or their motives. I needed a background on the cop’s accident, the serial killers past, the shaman’s past… this show introduced 5+ half-baked plot lines that went nowhere.

Because we had no background on the killer and no inside look into his motives, I couldn’t understand his change of heart. It was just the guilt and fear of getting caught I guess.

Also, the characters made some incredibly stupid decisions. People, never meet a man for the first time in the middle of the woods by yourself, even if you don’t depend on a wheelchair to get around. And don’t go meet that man again after he abandons you in the woods and destroys your extremely expensive wheelchair. I could not feel any empathy for the cop because she kept getting herself into stupid situations.

The music also felt off. There were multiple times when the music did not match the atmosphere of the scene. The music would be really quirky while the scene was tense. It took away from the immersion into the scene.

On a good note, the acting was awesome. The male lead did a great job being menacing and a little unhinged. He mastered the creepy smile.

Overall, this show failed to keep my attention most of the time and it has 0 rewatch value to me. I almost dropped it after the dumpster fire that episode 6 was, but I figured I could finish the last 2 episodes just for completion.

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Had a lot of potential..

This maybe a Psycho-Thriller/Crime/Suspense but all I get is the Psycho part, it's creepy with almost no suspense at all with a lousy police system.

From the get go, you'll already know who's the sexual predator hiding in an online dating app.

In their attempt to make it look mysterious, I think they didn't incorporate enough subplots to the story. All we know is that the FL is a young genius that developed an online dating app. Then there's her friends; a detective who'd been a victim of a sexual predator and a shaman who's willing to go beyond measures to help a friend.

The actors did good on their part. The musical scoring and OST were ok. All in all, it's an ok show. Nothing spectacular about it though.

Would I rewatch this? Not ever..

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Needs a redemption arc.

ok this is my first review because I just binge watched this absurdity... and I have so much to say about it. The title also means the show needs a redemption arc not the murderer(s)... if anything, they kind of got one anyway.

The filming direction of this drama was very creative. Not a new concept, but very well-done and very fitting for the theme and story of this drama. I really liked that! Props to the director for doing this as a first-timer and in a way that impressed me as a frequent media consumer.

Umm, the story was... I didn't really know how to feel about it. I appreciate the openminded-ness for the s*x scenes (I am asexual so I had to skip them but I did notice the change in music and filming styles as I fast-forwarded) and how it might contribute to the tension between the characters but are we seriously going to let this serial killer and someone he was taking advantage of (at least in the first place, will talk about this shift in his character later) for being on the spectrum - turn this drama into a hornfest?? I was very uncomfortable, but that might also be me. It just didn't feel right that they kept showing it as if it was this fantasy that viewers were supposed to... what were viewers even supposed to do?? Join them on their own? Fantasize with them? I feel like if all of those scenes had to be included, then the purpose should be more definite, like showing his eeriness. Of course, I saw that this was loosely based on American Psycho, which makes me seem like a hypocrite because there were explicit scenes of Bateman and his soon-to-be victims. But that was an exaggerated satire piece mocking the higher-level NPCs in corporate business where he was driven to madness from ~society~ so what is more reasonable??

Going on with the story, I read a bunch of other reviews and opinions on people and the main thing I saw was how most people agreed on how stupid "police lady" was. I honestly agree, even after seeing clever theories that she was wearing black the second time she tried to meet Yun-o because she wanted to just "let go," but who is she kidding... that is stupid no matter what... I really couldn't stand her character but that meant that the acting had to be incredible. Huge props to the actors. And also the shaman was a great character. In a lot of media recently shamans are viewed as kind of ridiculous and unbelievable (I've been watching The Glory) and I really liked the character... plus she was the only sane one. It made me pretty angry to see how Sum was ignoring her telling her that her "boyfriend" was literally a SERIAL KILLER but I guess I kind of understood when she coded the face-hacking-video calling thing.
Yun-o's character had so much potential. I liked how his backstory didn't have to be extremely bad or long, even though I was curious whenever the AI asked him about what he regretted/wanted gone in his childhood - but I feel like that could have been a reference to how nothing was really wrong with it and he became this way only recently when he got the Somebody app. It was easy to wince but also easy to be intrigued when his character appeared on screen, because the actor just nailed his vibe so well! I liked that he fell for Sum, I think it was not random - to find someone "like him" in a world where he is wrong for his actions (he still is, of course, and I'm very against him but I am defending the writers for once) who was not afraid of him would obviously make him feel some kind of way.

The ending was creative (cool reference to the blade that the shaman hated and given in the first episode) but also NOT ENOUGH!! It's my love for revenge dramas that drives me to write this mostly, but also he killed probably over a dozen people and more that weren't on screen (in the story, not in real life). And when Sum killed him, I didn't know how to feel either. She was right for killing horrible people who wanted to and DID commit crimes toward women, but I felt like the showrunners wanted to justify her doing it and calling her "emotionless-ness" or "euphoria" when she did so to her being on the spectrum, or mental illness/neurodivergency... I understand why she had to do it and the way she was written to do it in the end, but the whole drama revolves around this idea of mental illness = connection to a murder = a ton of cinematic sex. That's only my take though, and I can see different points of views and how people would like this drama. I'm not a drama writer nor a formal critic, but I felt very strongly about some parts of this show, even though it was 8 episodes, so it definitely did its job of being compelling and provocative.

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Acting is better than the show itself

The premise was interesting and it had such a strong start but it soon turned into a meddled mess. Literally what happened?

Given the plot I couldn't help but think of Love Alarm while watching this. When you mix technology with murder things can get interesting, and for at least the beginning of the series the killings were enough to sustain my interest. However as time went on the buildup towards that last episode wasn't satisfactory AT ALL. I'm not gonna get into the ending for spoiler reasons but with such a good setup, why was the ball dropped?

Kim Young Kwang was captivating as Yun O. I don't think it's unpopular to say that he was the best part of the show. His natural performance made me feel like the killings were a part of his everyday routine. I also have to commend how raw and intimate his sex scenes felt. Especially the ones between him and Kim Sum. They were so good I felt like I was partaking in something I shouldn't be. Their chemistry and honest acting together carried the show. Gi Run was pretty good. She played a disabled person extremely well and despite the character's shortcomings she was still very capable. Wish she had a bigger role in catching the bad guy. Mok Won was rather forgettable and her storyline was difficult to keep up with but I'll give points for representation. Overall the character's could've been better fleshed out because the skeletons were pretty good. We just needed a bit more flesh to complete them.

I wouldn't recommend this tho. The payoff isn't worth it at all. There's better thrillers out there so def skip this one.

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