Story
The K2 is ambitious, it wants to be intriguing and captivating but too much pressure has underwhelming results. The drama is a weird combo of action, political drama and romance that doesn't really work. There are 4 main characters, all of them perfectly demonstrated and completely 3-D, each of them has a story of revenge or ambition about the future and all their stories get entangled to set the plot. The characterization is the best part of the drama.
The base story is there and it's quite well-thought-out once you get to grasp it (takes a few episodes - or more than a few), however the K2 was one of those dramas that even though you enjoy it, only drawbacks come to mind when you think of it, sadly.
The drama felt 50% superman, 30% boring political talk and no act and 20% forced romance.
Most surprising thing about this drama is that the biggest and most critical asset of it, the action scenes, ended up working against the whole thing. Ji Chang Wook was immaculate in them, it's not his fault that after 2-3 episodes my initial enthusiasm turned into yawning. It was certainly not his fault. The directing and editing is to blame here. They overplayed the scenes so much, they quickly lose their spark and interest; unnecessary slow-motion, gratuitous weird angles and more made them look overly cheesy. What's more, it quickly felt that the drama pays too much attention in CJW doing his thing than to the plot itself which made the drama feel increasingly superficial and shallow.
Furthermore, what is the korean obsession with making their male leads look like superman? As the episodes continue CJW's character felt more and more unreal. Humans have their limits, that's their charm. Striping them of that feature makes them look fake. I didn't sign up for a hero film, sorry.
Another really awkward thing is that each episode is packed with action, or scheming, plotting, romance, so many things going on, but when i stopped to think what had actually happened after the end of every episode, how the episode contributed to the overall story, i came up always with nothing. In retrospect, nothing actually had happened. Amazing isn't it? The story is there but there is no real development until the end. Dissapointing, what a letdown.
Continuing, the drama is defined by its political aspect. I'm not into political dramas, so once this part kicked in i was inevitably bored. However, I'm usually very much into scheming evil characters and backstabbing and this drama has plenty of it, but the build up to all this was lenghty and quite tiresome to watch.
Additionally, i'd like to talk about the dissapointing romance. CJW is paired with Yoona here, and while they do look good together, their romance felt thorougly forced and wasn't given adequate time to grow and develop. On the contrary CJW and Choi Yoo Na's chemistry was effortless and off the charts. I think i can safely speak on behalf of almost every viewer when i express my dissapointment in the writer's persistence to shove the former couple down our throats when the latter was there and was spotless since the very first moment.
Drawing my rant to a conclusion i'd want to talk about the misuse of Yoona (Anna) as a character. She was either running, crying screaming or taken hostage throughout the whole thing, while she barely appeared in the first half. She basically made CJW's character look like super mario trying to save his girlfriend, unrealistic and cringy.
At this point i feel inclined to mention and stress the significance of Song Yoon Ah's character who probably makes the drama worth watching on her own. Finding characters that are 3D and not carricature versions of real life people is difficult in kdramas. Here, all the character were well-created but Choi Yoo Jin was the perfect villain or more like the anti-hero. There are several layers of her character that go deep and are visible little by little. She was the perfect villain who everyone grew fond of quickly and she deserved better from start to finish. You'll love her believe me.
Acting
The acting was dazzling.
Yoona who is seemigly the weakest link of the main cast was way better than expected. She suited the character perfectly and was completely satisfying in her every scene even though severely misused.
Ji Chang Wook executed his action scenes spotlessly, and to be honest that was his character's main goal. I have nothing else to add, he was manly and a worthy main lead, but he deserves better as an actor.
Jo Sung Ha was also spectacular in his twisted role, but the real queen of the drama was Song Yoon Ah, hands down. Her character was disturbed, easy to misunderstand, but she made us all care for her and see beyond her evil mask. Loved her completely. Star quality actor.
Recommend/Rewatch
Overall, the drama wasn't bad, it is one of those dramas that blow up in the beginning but never come up with the goods. It was enjoyable for the most part (let's exclude the boring political talk), and entertaining. If you are into hot guys playing superman in fight scenes, like evil characters scheming and double-crossing as well as some kind of romance in the sidetracks, do give this a chance. Having low expectations will surely result in higher pleasure. My 8 is kind of a stretch, consider this a 7.5 + 0.5 for the perfect poetic ending! I will never rewatch this.
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1A modern re-interpretaion of Snow White, this show could have been so amazing with some tight editing and a female lead chosen for her acting rather than her fan base. Yoona was terrible, the action was too emphasised, the real female lead was sidelined in lieu of an awful romance cliche and in the end it was a giant mess.
The biggest positive was the acting of some of the cast, especially Ji Chang Wook (the Huntsmen) and Song Yun Ah (the Evil Queen). Their performances were exceptional and their chemistry was off the charts. If the show had concentrated on that dynamic rather than shoehorning in the world's most boring romance with Snow White, this show would have been significantly better. The action scenes were brilliantly choreographed but in the end too pervasive.
Basically, when this show was channelling its fairy tale source material it was borderline genius. The rest of the time it was just terrible - nothing borderline about it.
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Started this for Ji Chang Wook & Finished/Loved for Song Yoon Ah ❤️
I have known about this drama since it released in 2016 - but while the action scenes & chocolate abs of JCW were encouraging, the whole angle of romance & Yoona's acting was simply terrible that I did not pick this up. Finally in 2024, I relented and decided to give it a go. As expected - the best thing was JCW and all his action and solo scenes. But the biggest surprise and hooking factor was his electrifying chemistry with female antagonist/second lead - Choi Yoo Jin played by the talented - Song Yoon Ah. They redefined "frenemies" & left me wanting for more . . .❤︎ LOVED:
➥ Je Ha (ML) & Yoo Jin (SFL):
I can understand why there are so many fanfictions and petitions hoping to have a spin-off to have them together as the leading romance pair. They are enemies-turned-allies in the show and every interaction is so well acted sometimes simply without words, that you just want them to rip each others clothes off and make steamy love that generations would write/read about. They were literally too hot to handle and this is without any actual romance between them. Both, in a single frame were just too mesmerizing, the chemistry off the charts - perhaps one of the best ever, and definitely the best between such roles.
➥ Action Scenes & JCW:
Those who are aware of his other works know what a great actor JCW is and the action sequences were directed well. They may/may not have gone with the plot, but it was entertaining to watch though gets repetitive over the latter part of the drama. Pure blockbuster effects, and with JCW executing it - it was flawless. The time that I delayed watching the show was compensated over the years by unhealthily rewatching the "bathhouse fight" and "shirt changing" scenes - and I am going to continue doing that on YouTube, without the need to rewatch the show.
❌ DISLIKES:
➥ The FL and Romance:
Yoona was completely useless - in terms of her character usage in the story, acting, chemistry with JCW - basically everything. JCW was carrying the romance, she was the stiff cardboard with no inputs - being used as a ragdoll. Personally - I would have liked this drama more if she was a minor character [e.g: just a young girl (aged 3-4)] and needed protection from JCW's character OR just done away with her character + romance altogether.
➥ The Plot:
It was too generic - not engaging or without unique twist/turns, with boring political talks/drama and of course the unnecessary romance. The acting of JCW, Yoon Ah, Sung Ha, Gab Soo and Dong Mi were the ones that carried the drama but they were caught in a mediocre storyline. It had a promising start but faltered from the middle.
➥ SUMMARY:
This is a delectable guilty pleasure drama - to be indulged for Ji Chang Wook's acting, action scenes and fan-service. He's one of my ultimate bias and he served. The soul of this show was Song Yoon Ah - her acting making me want to rip her mouth or feel pity for her character was flawless. And of course their sizzling chemistry was everything. This drama is over and I would not rewatch it except for their scenes, but am going to read the fanfictions about them, maybe even write one myself to satiate this unmet desire this drama has given me. They were THAT good.
So if you like all the above - with some blockbuster action, go ahead and give it a spin.
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lovely film, flat FL but still lovely
put off watching this drama for so many years though i had only heard good things about it.now that i've seen it, i can't tell if it was really good or if the directors are simply good at making bad stories seem good. this confusion is because the ending felt rushed in a way i couldn't decide whether it was intentional and part of style or just shoddy.
i don't particularly enjoy watching damsels in distress (give the woman some real agency please) because i think it's overdone in kdramas, so maybe that's why the romance between the leads did not appeal to me that much. though it's not bad, i could have done without it.
funny. i was so invested in knowing why the sort-of-evil-but-kind-of-grey-so-maybe-good? boss, choi yoo-jin (최유진), seemed to be absolutely, irreparably, in love with the male lead. most of the time, i couldn't tell if she loved him like a mother or like a lover. too funny. but i really liked that turbulent nonsense they had going on between them. would have put my money down for some romance between them.
i think if yoo-jin and her husband had actually liked each other, they could have made an unstoppable power couple (well, mainly her). she was too good.
all things said, i thoroughly enjoyed watching it. i was on the figurative edge of my seat, and i laughed in so many places i don't even think the directors intended for me to laugh. there are also many nice quotable quotes, so it was a good ride through and through.
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The very first episode is at best, laughable, but at worst, unbelievably arrogant of the writers. We are supposed to buy that rich Korean conglomerates have that much influence and power outside of their country, in other continents and can even order around the Catholic Church and a police force in a European country?! Even Samsung doesn't have that much power! :p I was ROFL! However, I was mildly disturbed as I got to thinking. Does the average Korean who has never travelled outside of Korea really believe stuff like that? Something to ponder.
The rest of the drama doesn't get much better. It is from the same writers of Yong Pal, so even though not the train wreck that drama was, it is obvious that they were both born from the same simple and way too overconfident minds. As the story progresses, you can quickly discern the unbalanced character development. Our hero, Je Ha, should be a character with much depth and personality. Unfortunately, the writers apparently did not create him for that purpose at all. The character's sole purpose was to beat people up and to have a little love story with the main female. Poor Ji Chang Wook was totally wasted here. The whole first half of the drama, he barely has any dialogue. All he does is kick ass, kick some more ass, bleed and show his abs. The main female Anna is written so typically that she could have been plucked from any cliched K drama and just inserted into this one. She is sweet, innocent and always in distress. In fact, out of all the characters in this drama, only two show any interesting personalities, depth and growth. Those are Choi Yoo Jin and her brother. Those two characters were the only highly developed ones and I was mesmorized by both whenever they were on the screen. How much better would this drama had been had it focused solely on the schemes and manipulations of those two, instead of adding all that other crap to the mix. >_< Instead, the ending result was nothing but a big mess with an ending left with many loose ends and unexplained things.
I can't recommend this drama to anyone. Well, I take that back. I do recommend episode four. Episode four alone, though. Teehee.
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No more pairing for JCW and Yoona please..
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With that being said, Anna felt like an afterthought. She barely showed up in the first few episodes and never really had an active role in the plot (No, K2 watching her cook ramen badly through the CCTV doesn't count). All that fashion show stuff and the Barcelona Angel stuff...it felt unnecessary.
A lot of the political terminology went over my head (STONKS?) and I honestly felt like the reason for "revenge" really wasn't strong enough. I never felt connected or cared about the girlfriend that was killed, and I think all the Kumar-gate talk was confusing. It probably could've been stronger it had been connected with CYJ/Anna's backstory.
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1An objectively bad guilty pleasure drama that’s perfect for a cosy weekend watch
I'm perfectly well aware of the fact that I've given this show a much higher rating than it deserves. However, as it happens sometimes, this is one of those reviews that are based solely on personal enjoyment rather than merit.You see, K2 is like this beautiful vase; it has intricately exotic designs on the outside but its inside is completely hollow and littered with cobwebs. Now, it's up to you whether you want to put it on a shelf and admire its surface beauty or you want to break it into a billion pieces and consequently end up being utterly disappointed by its stark reality. If you're a person who can momentarily cast aside rationale in the face of glitz and glamour, K2 and you would get along just fine but the moment you stop, tilt your head to the side and think; "wait a minute" all possibilities of friendship are out the door.
K2 is almost reckless in its execution, as if it reached a point where logic just didn't matter anymore. It took blatantly unrealistic happenings, a gigantic cluster of plotholes and downright ridiculous notions and attempted to create a story out of them. It's almost like the creators are poking fun at the audience as if they were idiots blanketed in foolish naivete. Events transpire without any build up, there is little to no attention to detail and honestly, it's a huge fast-paced mess.
This drama is like an arrogant brat who does whatever the fuck it wants, confident that it would be successful, still.
A woman in Iraq who's completely covered in a gown and headscarf at all times, without any second thought decides to cast aside her veil and liplock with her hero just because he suggested they should marry. The same woman is somehow extremely fluent in Korean language (even though she has lived all her life in Iraq) and Korean pop culture (even though she's in the middle of nowhere) and conveniently is killed to produce a motive for our male lead to enter the action.
A girl who's had extreme Sociophobia all her life, is suddenly very confidently striking poses with groups of people in the next second. A man who essentially hates power hungry murderers is shown to sympathize with a woman who is exactly that, if not more. There are so many handy plot devices just waiting to pop out from all sides at the very last moment in order to somehow save and prolong the show and it's all quite satirical.
But ofcourse, the smartarse that K2 is; it's completely in the know of all of its flaws and has the audacity to give justifications. The woman could speak Korean so well because she had been taught to be a translator. The girl never had Sociophobia, she just pretended because she didn't want to interact with people. The man didn't feel anything for the murderer, nope, that was just means to an end. And so, K2 commits many crimes and yet, makes sure to cover all the evidence.
The flow of the story, with all of its nonsensical and out of the blue events, is stroppy at best. Many things are left unanswered and this is the kind of production that will have you shake your head with amused exasperation at every second of its antics.
However, despite all this, for me this was a classic case of "it's so bad that it's good" and I somehow ended up thoroughly enjoying myself.
Jee Chang Wook has proved his excellent acting skills numerous of times and here too, he delivered impeccably. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't given much substance to deliver in the first place. His character is unbelievably overpowered, able to survive situations where even a super human ninja would've been obliterated. He has a butter heart, a hero complex and is very motivated to save the world one distressed damsel at a time. Combine that with JCW's natural mixture of masculinity and boyish arrogance and you get a specimen that is too good to be true. And when things are too good to be true, they mostly take a turn for the worse.
It's painfully obvious that the show is highly monetizing on his looks and name; for most of the show is him being either shirtless, flaunting his abs or doing something similarly badass to establish his "coolness". So if you're here to judge JCW's acting this is the last drama you should go to.
As far as I am concerned though, I really didn't care either way. For me, simply watching him is a pleasure, he's my ultimate bias killer and hey, if the producers want to shove mindless fanservice (involving him) down my throat, I ain't complaining.
Yoona turned out to be a pleasant surprise. She's built to play the helpless heroine who always needs saving, who trusts way too easily, cries even easier and basically creates hindrances for everyone around her. The show really tried to suppress her in every possibly way, they didn't give her character a single moment to shine and did everything they could to make her appear helpless and pathetic. However, somehow Yoona managed to turn the tables. Instead of pity, Anna garners sympathy and I would be lying if I said I wasn't rooting for her. There's an intelligence in her eyes that no matter how much of a putz she was portrayed to be, she still succeeded in speaking with the viewers and maintaining a likable character throughout.
And now comes Song Yoon ah- the heart and soul of the show. What an absolutely brilliant actress. She's one of the best k-drama antagonists; utterly ruthless and cruel and yet harboring deep vulnerabilities. She's a viciously dangerous woman and yet, pitiful at times. She's the most layered character of the show and even though she insists upon it, it's almost impossible to truly hate her.
As far as the romance is concerned, even though it's rushed and underdeveloped, there's no denying that Ji- Chang Wook can create chemistry with a garbage bag, if you let him. And if I'm being completely honest, I enjoyed the lovey dovey bits to the fullest. (Aww-ing and Ooh-ing was involved.)
So finally the question arises: If K2 on the whole, has so many shortcomings, why give it an 8.5 rating? Well, in answer to that I'll say, that I just had too much fun watching it. Plain and simple. For me, it was unadulterated amusement- sometimes at its ridiculousness and sometimes at its unabashed negligence. I anticipated every episode and was fully immersed from start to finish.
The K2 is like greasy junk food, you know it can't possibly amount to anything good but you still can't help devouring. With brilliant action scenes, beautiful visuals, entrancing music and a gorgeous cast that actually knows how to act, it is the perfect cheat meal.
Hate it or love it, you'd still end up watching it to the last episode and as far as the drama is concerned- that's a mission well accomplished.
A delectable guilty pleasure, so why not indulge?
Enjoy!
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Have you watched a preview or trailer for something you were excited about only to end up being disappointed with the end product? I'm sure many of you have just like me. The K2 is one of those dramas that have a good premise but poor execution which ends up leaving you dissatisfied and disappointed.
The plot of the drama sounds simple enough: A soldier with a tragic past becomes the bodyguard of a presidential candidate's wife as well as the candidate's daughter. Not the most original story, but still it sounds like it'll be interesting enough to keep you entertained. The problem arises with the execution. As soon as romance is thrown into the mix it just starts to mess everything up. Now I love romance dramas. They're my most preferred genre when it comes to K-Dramas. But the majority of the times, romance doesn't work very well in a drama that's clearly marketed toward the Action/Thriller genre. And the romance part of the drama definitely suffered and we're left with a half-assed, rushed love story.
Between Je Ha and Anna (the main pairing), you can see from Anna's perspective why she falls in love with Je Ha. He's handsome, a gentlemen, he can fight, saves her life and protects her countless times, and overall he's her Knight in a Secret Service suit. So of course you can see why she falls in love. But from Je Ha's perspective, you're left wondering "What does he see in her?". Yeah she's pretty, but she's also your typical damsel in distress. Now I have nothing against damsel in distress characters but when they're utterly useless is when I do have a problem with them. Sadly, Anna is one of those useless types of damsels in distress. Knowing and seeing that for myself with the drama, I just came to the conclusion that Je Ha loves Anna more out of pity than anything else, and like many have said on this site, the chemistry just isn't there.
But moving on to the real star (stealer) of this show is actress Song Yoon Ah who plays Madam Choi Yoo Jin, the wife of the adulterous presidential candidate Jang Se Joon. I remember reading an article on a writing site with a title along the lines of "Protagonist and Main Character... Same Person?". To summarize, we always use the titles Protagonist and Main Character to mean the same thing. But there are many times where the Main Character isn't the Protagonist. In the case of The K2, yes the drama is named after Je Ha's codename, and yes he is the main character, but the story isn't about him. With Je Ha, sometimes you end up forgetting why he's even there to begin with. He also doesn't develop much at all as a character. He remains the same from beginning to end.
The story is really about Choi Yoo Jin. Choi Yoo Jin is the one who drives the plot. She's the main catalyst that pushes the story forward whereas Je Ha is just the guy that gets caught in the middle of a political war between two corrupt politicians. With Choi Yoo Jin we learn about her past, what drives her for wanting to become the First Lady of Korea, why she puts up with her sleazebag of a husband, her little schemes/plots to deal with the competition etc. She dances between the lines of good and evil making you wonder if she's really bad enough to be the villain. If she really was the villain of the story that the creators intended for her to be then they did a piss poor job of making me hate her. That's one of the biggest sins a writer can commit which is making you root more for the "villain" than for the hero. I love the character of Choi Yoo Jin. If it wasn't for her charisma and beauty I probably would've dropped this drama. Song Yoon Ah definitely deserves all of the praise she gets for her portrayal of the Madam.
One of my other biggest gripes about this drama is the action scenes. Many of them just dragged on and overstayed their welcome. It also didn't help that there was constant shaky cam and fast jump cuts that can easily disorient you, or for others it'll give them motion sickness. I despise that with modern day action/fight scenes. Man do I miss the days of Jackie Chan's 80s and 90s action films where you can actually appreciate the fight scenes without getting a headache.
Plenty of plot twists to look forward too as well. Some shocking and others just plain stupid that completely ruined the flow of the story. The music was pretty great. Especially the instrumentals.
Overall this drama could've been way better than it turned out to be if it was given more time and episodes.
I didn't intend to make this review so long but I had a lot to say. If you enjoyed this review then great. If you didn't then that's fine too.
Like I always say, watch the drama for yourself and make your own judgement.
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Story:
K2 is a mixed bag of espionage, political intrigue, romance, dysfunctional family and corruption in high circles.
Acting Cast 7,5
Chang Ji Wook and Song Yoon-A were exceptional in their roles.
Character assessment;
K2 moved like lightning. He should be the executive trainer of NIS.
Choi Yoo Jin had excessive mood swings. She was bi-polar, psychotic, duplicitous, ruthless, manipulative, delusional. She should be the dictator of a country.
An Na; bland! She should open a ramen shop.
Se Joon was a philanderer, dead beat father, sycophant. He should go on the talk show circuit.
Gwan Soo was the corrupt politician and K2's target. He should be attached to a bomb device.
Music: 7
The music kept the drama alive.
Rewatch value: 5
Some day!
Overall 6.5
The most annoying aspect of the production was the ridiculous abuse of Shaky Camera. The jerky movements caused the brain to readjust and lose concentration (especially when the international viewers were reading subtitles). This lowered the quality of the project, because it seemed as if amateurs were behind the camera, and in charge of the production.
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In any case, It was great seeing Ji Chang Wook on my screen again after so many years... Lol~ Jk! I thought this drama would be badass and it was in the beginning. I don't know WTF happened later on. Most dramas are usually like that, they start out so damn good but then you don't know what happen. -__-
I did enjoy the story a bit tho. There were like multiple antagonists, or would it be better to say protagonists, antagonists and a tritagonist. I love Ji Chang Wook's character Jae Ha. He was so fearless and I guess a bit reckless too but I loved that about him. He had such a presence that if you saw him, you'd definitely think that he's that one man you should not mess with without facing some serious shit. I hated the change in his character later on but whatevs... He still kicked butt.
Yoona's character, An Na, she played her well. I just wasn't really fond of her character. She literally seemed like a pawn being thrown around and used by everyone. Lmao xD
The character who stole the spotlight was Choi Yoo Jin, played by Song Yoon Ah. Such an amazing actress. OMFG! This woman was savage AF! I didn't hate her and that's probably because I didn't view her as the villain. There were times where I wanted to smack her but when I thought about it, she seemed like a pitiful person when you know her entire story. Could you blame her? She used everything to her advantage and as a woman, seeing her character, I enjoyed it very much because she had men on their knees begging for their filthy lives and doing her bidding. Lmao xD I loved that! >:D It was fun watching her and the other guys go back and forth with each other. Haha~
I didn't care much for the "romance", even tho there were some cute moments and I didn't mind it at all with oppa being all adorably cute, but I was all for the action. :D
There were a lot more actors and they did an excellent job. ^^
Wasn't really fond of the music. :/ Nothing that made me want to sing along, or download or gave me any feels.
I truly look forward to Ji Chang oppa's next project. I heard that he would be doing any more action dramas, I dunno if it's indefinitely or only temporarily. Either way, it would be nice to see him do other roles. Be in a romance drama or something... ^^
I recommend if you're a huge fan of Ji Chang Wook and or YoonA, if you love action and if you like some angst between family, politicians... etc! I'd rewatch, but only to see Ji Chang Wook kick ass and Song Yoon Ah being a boss b*tch! Lmao xP
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