Unlikeable FL
I'm writing this after watching 20 episodes (12 left to go) because of how frustrating it is to watch a moral drama with such an unlikeable FL (Cha Woo Kyung). Maybe things will change in the last 6 episodes to completely change my mind, but 10 episodes in, the show has been spoiled for me by the FL. It's too bad because so much of the show is good: acting, plot, sense of mood/mystery/suspense. It tackles a tough issue and does it well--no makjang elements or silly comedic relief here. But for a show that is about good vs. evil, I found myself being frustrated by how unconvincing the good element is. I'm not saying that the heroine needs to be 100% purely good, but the FL is so self-righteous and so blind/defensive about her motives/actions that it's hard to root for her. Other than her desire to see child abusers punished--and who doesn't?--she is not a nice, likeable character; she does not treat others around her--colleagues, husband, daughter--very fairly. So at least partly due to her strong sense of moral cause, she is stubbornly blind to her moral failings. Especially frustrating is her inabilility to admit her weaknesses and ask for help, when she spends all of her time/energy demanding that everyone else fall in line with her sense of judgment. I wanted to root for her, but there's such a wall of coldness/self-righteousness around her that I just couldn't do it--and that has so far spoiled the drama for me.
Again, perhaps everything about her motives/actions/personality will be explained in the final 6 hours in a reasonable way, but so far, I'm realizing that I need the heroine to be likeable for me to really care about what she cares about. Of course, child abuse is something we can all agree should be prevented/punished, but fighting against child abuse shouldn't excuse other types of moral failings.
Again, perhaps everything about her motives/actions/personality will be explained in the final 6 hours in a reasonable way, but so far, I'm realizing that I need the heroine to be likeable for me to really care about what she cares about. Of course, child abuse is something we can all agree should be prevented/punished, but fighting against child abuse shouldn't excuse other types of moral failings.
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