This review may contain spoilers
I'm honestly quite shocked this drama has so many 9 and 10 star reviews. Not that other people aren't allowed to enjoy it if they enjoy it, but because I found this drama to be rather lackluster and underwhelming and not the most well plotted thing I've ever seen. I started it because 1) I was craving something thriller/mystery-esque, a new drama craving for me as I've stuck mostly with rom-com drama's up until recently. 2) I'm forever a Seo In-Guk fangirl, and I want to watch as much of his projects as possible. 3) I quite like Jang Nara as an actress, and I quite like her role choices. 4) It had been sitting on my to-watch list since it first aired, and since the thriller/mystery drama bug had finally bitten me, I figured this was as good a time as any to sit down and watch.
I will say, the first half kept me fairly invested. It wasn't anything unique or ground-breaking, but I don't need that for me to like a drama. You just have to sell me the story, and for the first half of this drama, the writers did just that. I lost interest in the over-arching mystery halfway through though, as it went from engaging and interesting to poorly plotted and boring. There was some hinking around with character motivations that didn't work for me, things never quite connected in a way that made sense, and the main villains were not the slightest bit interesting in their adult forms. I can unequivocally say that I found both villains unendurably boring as grown ups. They never Did anything, and yet we were supposed to be terrified of them. They were also such Polar opposites of their younger selves that I had a very hard time believing they were the same people. Of course, this would make sense in the case of the younger brother considering what all he must have experienced growing up, but there was zero time spent on showing us just what growing up under the terrifying watchful eye of a psychopath might morph and change you into, and I don't understand why. The main villain does end up having a really well-thought out backstory that really adds to his overall creepiness, but it only makes his Younger self more scary, not the older version. For some reason, the older version seemed more confused about what feelings are and how they work then he did psychotic murdery. You definitely don't get the feeling that his younger self experienced any sort of confusion around emotions and their purpose in life. I got the feeling that he didn't really care.
The romance is mostly uninspired, but again, that doesn't necessarily ruin a drama for me if the writers can sell it to me, and I was onboard for the pairing. I think the combination of bad plot, boring villains, And and ultimately uninteresting romance is what ultimately did this drama in for me.
In my opinion, both Seo In-Guk and Jang Nara have been in, and have done, better things. Of course, if everyone else loves this drama, then who am I to stop them? Hopefully, my next thriller/mystery drama will be something I like a little bit better.
I will say, the first half kept me fairly invested. It wasn't anything unique or ground-breaking, but I don't need that for me to like a drama. You just have to sell me the story, and for the first half of this drama, the writers did just that. I lost interest in the over-arching mystery halfway through though, as it went from engaging and interesting to poorly plotted and boring. There was some hinking around with character motivations that didn't work for me, things never quite connected in a way that made sense, and the main villains were not the slightest bit interesting in their adult forms. I can unequivocally say that I found both villains unendurably boring as grown ups. They never Did anything, and yet we were supposed to be terrified of them. They were also such Polar opposites of their younger selves that I had a very hard time believing they were the same people. Of course, this would make sense in the case of the younger brother considering what all he must have experienced growing up, but there was zero time spent on showing us just what growing up under the terrifying watchful eye of a psychopath might morph and change you into, and I don't understand why. The main villain does end up having a really well-thought out backstory that really adds to his overall creepiness, but it only makes his Younger self more scary, not the older version. For some reason, the older version seemed more confused about what feelings are and how they work then he did psychotic murdery. You definitely don't get the feeling that his younger self experienced any sort of confusion around emotions and their purpose in life. I got the feeling that he didn't really care.
The romance is mostly uninspired, but again, that doesn't necessarily ruin a drama for me if the writers can sell it to me, and I was onboard for the pairing. I think the combination of bad plot, boring villains, And and ultimately uninteresting romance is what ultimately did this drama in for me.
In my opinion, both Seo In-Guk and Jang Nara have been in, and have done, better things. Of course, if everyone else loves this drama, then who am I to stop them? Hopefully, my next thriller/mystery drama will be something I like a little bit better.
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