Dear X (2025)

A Dark and Thrilling Ride!

Dear X had me hooked from the start — the acting, the tension, and the way the story unfolded were all top-notch. Baek Ah-jin is one of the most fascinatingly twisted leads I’ve seen in a K-drama, and Kim Yoo Jung absolutely nailed it, and the rest of the cast really brought their characters to life. The drama felt intense, with the music and visuals adding so much to the atmosphere.

The only letdown for me was the ending. After such a strong buildup, the finale felt rushed and didn’t hit as hard as I hoped. It wasn’t bad, just not on the same level as the rest of the show.

Even so, I'd give it a 9.5 because the journey was amazing, and I’d still recommend it to anyone who loves dark, morally complex characters and gripping storytelling. Definitely one of the standout dramas of 2025.

Read More

MASTERPIECE BUT THE WEBTOON IS IGNORED???!!

As a huge fan of the webtoon, I immediately noticed the numerous differences with the drama. First, the chronological order of events: the news report denigrating AJIN's actions, which appears at the very beginning of the series, actually comes at the very end in the webtoon. Some characters also lack development, and most importantly… the ending has been completely changed, to the point of using the beginning of the webtoon to conclude the drama. Not to mention the fiancé; he wasn't supposed to have that ending either.

Despite this major error for readers, the series manages to maintain constant tension, driven by remarkable acting. Honestly, the cast delivered an exceptional performance! Not to mention the visuals, the music, and the overall production quality.

It's an excellent drama, but I remain truly disappointed by an ending that doesn't respect the original work.

Read More

an insanely good show on an evil villain

what an insane show

(i don't condone or idolize ajin's actions, it was interesting and exciting to watch an unpredictable plot)

we get plenty of shows about sociopaths and all but this one so different and good.
we get baek ajin, a girl from an abused family who gets stuck with other abusers and bullies but she overcomes everything by manipulating people from a young age. a sociopath who uses people left and right. she was morally grey (imo) until the cafe owner part. after that she was the devil who was on a mission to get on the top.

i liked the excitement of finding out how she was going to move and get to the top. her plan to bring down her school bully, her plan to kill her father, her plan to reach the top as an actress, her plan to escape her psycho husband (this was a very interesting part, seeing how the psychopath and sociopath will one up each other). there were so many unpredictable moments. my jaw dropped when we learnt the truth abt ingang's grandmother.

baek ajin was a complex character with so much layers to her. some things which make u want to be on her side and other things which want u wish on her downfall.

i loved the dynamic of her and each of the men she used. my fave would be kim jaeoh. and of them were also fairly complex characters, each of them with their own weakness which she perfectly uses. joonseo might the most interesting one, his dependency on her and desire to be with ajin but ultimately he wants the ajin he created in head and not the reality in front of him

kim yoojung deserves all awards for this. give her all the oscars and emmys, her acting was insane. especially her eyes, so much emotions were conveyed through her eyes and we learnt so much abt ajin without saying anything out loud.

the outfits, the sets, everything about this was perfect. even the soundtrack and osts.

there were some inconsistences to me, like the deep relationship the manager had with ingang, his suicide, seunghui and her last actions etc but im willing to overlook them.
i felt like they tired to downplay her mother's abuse of her sometimes along with making the school bully and joonseo's mom look like the victim, which might the only thing i don't like. ajin is evil on her own, don't make me sympathize with her by victimizing her abusers.

the ending was very good. i don't know how i wanted it to end but i was shocked by the ending. even the last shots were amazing. there could have been a better ending. i don't think we need a s2, keep it as it is.

overall, one of the best dramas of the year, it gave us everything from acting to story and sets. amazing

Read More

Inside the World of Ah Jin

This is the story of Ah Jin, a young woman with antisocial personality disorder shaped by years of abuse and trauma. Her mother abused her, her father killed her mother, and she continued enduring violence from him and others around her. She’s incredibly smart, manipulative, and uses people as tools, but only goes after someone when she feels threatened or wronged. Otherwise, she does keep to herself and uses men to help her climb to the top.

One of them is Junseo. They met as kids when Ah Jin’s father got together with Junseo’s mother, briefly living as step-siblings before Ah Jin’s father went to prison. Junseo knows she’s using him but accepts it because he’s attached to her, looking for her humanity while still being haunted by the moment his mother tried to drown Ah Jin. Since then, he’s trying to cut ties with his mother (who comes in and out of his life when she needs something) and stayed loyally by Ah Jin’s side as her brooding, obsessed sidekick. He’ll do anything for her except kill, which eventually becomes a problem since she needs help escaping her abusive father. Their relationship is incredibly close, toxic, and built on enabling each other’s worst impulses.

She also has Jae-Oh, whom she met in high school after catching him stealing an AirPod. She recruited him to run errands and collect money, and he eventually grew attached to her. Unlike Junseo, he’s more naïve about being used but definitely refuse to question her, even when he is pushed aside. He’s a good-hearted, loyal to a fault, funny, slightly arrogant kid who is typically bad at school, but the sunshine of the trio.

I won’t spoil the plot, but the first episode immediately pulls you in with its manipulation, secrets, revenge, and tight character dynamics. Ah Jin is the center of everything, and these two men willingly lie and scheme for her. She uses others too, but Junseo and Jae-Oh are her core tools.

Her whole goal is to put herself in a place where she can’t be hurt anymore, somewhere people can’t reach her. And in trying to protect herself like that, we sometimes see these small facets of her, little traces of humanity where she lets herself hope for something… but there’s always an external force pushing her to shut it down again.

She’s simply searching for the safe environment she never had as a child, a space where she can actually be herself.

It’s a deeply emotional, morally grey set of performances from the cast. We see the good in them, but we also see their unresolved issues, their obsessions, the healing they desperately need but never receive. So they cling to each other and try to survive, mostly by trying to give Ah Jin whatever she wants.

The series is phenomenal in both writing and acting. Kim You-jung is incredible as Ah Jin, delivering a rare, compelling portrayal of a female sociopath. If you like twisted relationships and high stakes, I definitely recommend it.

Read More

Refreshing and Entertaining

This was a story of a villain as the ML. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the 12 eps kept the plot engaging.

She was so quick to marry someone handsome with power, money and influence she didn't bother to ask any more questions about him. She got tangled up with someone crazier than she was. Lol. It's like he wants to see if he can break someone he thought was strong. That's his hobby.

To be honest, I didn't feel sorry for her. I felt bad for three men she manipulated to get what she wanted. She only called them when she needed them and their blind devotion was exactly what she used to get revenge on ppl. She chose a lot of the path she traveled. And really didn't want to take any personal responsibility for her actions, always blaming other ppl for how she "turned out".

She didn't have to marry that guy. She didn't bother to even talk to anyone else about it. She made that executive decision because she thought dude was another man she could use to her advantage. As she was so accustomed to doing and ended up suffering the consequences of her decision.

I did like that she played dirty with ppl who came after her first. But the 3 men she used didn't deserve her manipulation. So in the end, she got what she deserved. She was a well-played villain.

Read More

Great character study of a complex FL! The men though....

Overall, this show is one of the most captivating watches...you WILL be invested one way or another! The FL is obviously a lone protagonist, which breaks the mold but lets us see her relationship with multiple characters at a deeper level. Definitely would recommend if you like character-heavy shows and a really dramatic storyline.

With 16 episode dramas, I would always lose interest towards the end, but for maybe the first time, I wish this was longer, at least 14 episodes since the ending felt rushed.

The Good:
Fantastic acting! Almost perfect Act I and Act II (episodes 1-8), with really great writing, pacing, characters. It was gonna rank in my top 5 kdramas! The show really explored the FL's motivations and pushed her to her emotional extremes all while letting us understand and even empathize with what she's been through and why she acts that way. I think its one of the most complex, multi-dimensional characters ever, and overall, the FL carried the whole show.

However...
Act III (epi 9-end) felt rushed...it was still captivating and didn't ruin the show at all, but I felt like the show had set itself up with high expectations of how it would all end. For me, it wasn't the most satisfying but I'm also not upset...another reason for you to watch for yourself!
And since we spent the entire show with the FL, the other characters feel one-dimensional, almost like caricatures to serve the plot. They were still effective and for some people, they connected the most with the rest of the cast. But since the FL was so complex, for me the contrast felt so stark. The writers probably did this on purpose to stay focused and not divert attention, I think this choice is up to personal interpretation.

Overall, its obviously super unique and everyone should at least check out the first episode and decide for themselves!

Read More

Majorly disappointed

Ah-jin's backstory is devastating and it really makes for such a captivating story. I really rooted for her, despite all the horrible manipulation she's capable of. But then the plot took a real dive after episode 8 or so. So many plot points were thrown away after the mid-point (what happened to the agency CEO? And our classmate bully in the hospital?) And not to mention the finale. So ridiculous it's not funny. I really loved the villian husband that was a real match but Ah-jin but then there was no conclusion for their story. The character development lacked, and if there was, it was wasted by the end. Maybe they strayed away too far from the original webtoon.

The acting. I think Kim Yoo-jung shone best in this. The two male leads were a little wooden but that just might have been the fault of the writing.

There was so much potential, but this sadly did not deliver.

Read More

Why it is total BS

I'll make this short because this really angered me:

This show is absolute nonsense - why?

1. It's another flick of in slow motion torture porn going on forever and ever - who enjoys watching such sick stuff to such extent?

2. It is ab so lu te nonsense that the FL would look ANYthing like she is shown. In fact she would have been dead a hundred times after how her father is beating her to a bloody pulp. But let's for the sake of it imagine a very petite woman of probably 45kg soaking wet could survive such attacks, and several of them, where a VERY tall, strong man is kicking her into the stomach, groin, chest etc ( Did I mention that it is absolute bs she would survive this?)... so, if she would survive these attacks for some supernatural reasons, she would be scarred EVERYwhere, her face would be scarred up and down, she would have so many broken bones that she probably couldn't walk and stand upright without very lengthy rehab training, if ever at all again, and I laughed out loud after seeing the end of ep. 3, she is practically mushed potatoe in the end, and next scene in ep. 4 she is sitting in a hospital bed just with a little band aid in her still perfectly pretty face - seriously Ef off with this total nonsense!

These shows glamorize super crass violence and make it look like someone like this very tiny woman could just walk away from such attacks and plan any kind of ridiculious revenge while she would have been dead a hundred times. Are people so daft they don't even realise this simple fact? Does anyone know anything about basic physics, and basic knowledge of what a human body can take or not? I doubt the whole freaking mankind if I see something like this receives 8.4 here, absolutely hilarious.


3. Did I say this is bs already? Well, and on top it is a total insult to EVERY real victim of severe domestic violence, and people supporf this and rate it with 9.0 or 10.0.

Read More

Harsh

After watching eight episodes, I have decided to drop the drama Dear X. It is a very loud drama filled with negativity. I was expecting that the female lead’s character would eventually start doing good deeds, but not only was she arrogant, selfish, and psychopathic, she also killed someone in the eighth episode, which made her a murderer.

For me, it was impossible to accept such a character as the lead. I mean, the main character should be morally right at least at some point. For example, the character Ki Ga Yeong from the drama Genie, Make a Wish was also portrayed as a psychopath. However, as time passed and she stayed around good people, she gradually turned into a better person.

I expected the same kind of transformation in this character. Although the themes of both dramas are different, but both characters are psychopaths. One turns into a good person, while the other becomes even more cruel. I honestly don’t know what the ending of Dear X will be—whether she turns into a good person or not—but after she kills someone, it no longer matters to me.

Secondly, I felt bad for all the boys who helped her unconditionally and treated her well, yet she remained the same.
Overall, it was simply too much for me.

Read More

South Korea Proves Once Again They’re the Masters of Thriller

I’m currently on Episode 8 of this series (still ongoing), and honestly, I’m blown away. South Korea has always been unbeatable when it comes to psychological thrillers, but this drama takes it to another level. It’s easily one of my favourite thrillers in recent years, and I’m desperately waiting for the next episode to drop.

The pacing is tight, the suspense is consistent, and the atmosphere is crafted so well that you’re constantly on edge without feeling overwhelmed. The editing deserves its own praise—it’s sharp, stylish, and heightens every tense moment perfectly.

But the real star here is Baek Ah Jin, portrayed by the insanely talented Kim Yoo Jung. She’s absolutely stunning on screen, but it’s her acting that carries so much of the emotional weight. She switches between vulnerability, intensity, and mystery so effortlessly that you’re never quite sure what’s going to happen next. Every supporting character is solid too—no weak links in this cast.

What I love most is how the story keeps evolving. Just when you think you’ve figured something out, the show throws another twist that somehow makes perfect sense. It’s smart, dark, and incredibly addictive.

If you’re into thriller, psychological, or mystery genres, this is a must-watch. I can already tell it’s going to be one of those shows people will still talk about even after it ends. Can’t wait for the next episode.

Read More

Dear X: Her life was shaped by absence more than presence.

Dear X was Kim Yoo jung’s show, through and through. A character like Ahjin is any actress’s dream, truly a once in a lifetime role. And Kim Yoo jung didnt just deliver, she knocked it out of the park

The story itself was far from a typical romance. This wasnt about two leads meeting, falling in love, breaking up and finding their way back to each other. Instead, it was the life journey of Ahjin, a transformation from victim to perpetrator. The drama explored how she used people for her own survival and discarded them once they no longer served her purpose.

The story was originally adapted from a webtoon and the drama followed the source material closely until In kang’s arc. After that point, it began to diverge significantly. The ending in particular was very different from the webtoon’s conclusion. Before watching the finale, i wasnt sure if i would like the direction the drama chose for its conclusion, especially knowing how different it was from the original source. Surprisingly, the ending worked for me. The drama and the webtoon wrap up the story in completely different ways, yet both feel thematically consistent with what they were trying to say. Most of the characters faced the consequences of their choices, while Moon Dohyuk was the only one spared, which makes me think they intentionally left room for a possible S2.

From childhood, Ahjin grew up without love or emotional support. The way her parents and Jun seo’s mother treated her played a major role in shaping who she became. She learned early on that survival sometimes meant doing things that didnt fit anyone’s moral standards. She spent most of her life emotionally numb and the only time a hint of genuine feeling surfaced was when she met In kang’s grandmother. That brief taste of unconditional parental love began to stir something inside her but the grandmother’s death dragged Ahjin right back into the darkness she came from.

Throughout her life, she used around five different men, each with unique personalities and weaknesses she could manipulate. Jae oh and Jun seo practically worshipped her. The cafe owner was one of the kindest adults she encountered, someone who could have guided her had circumstances been different. In kang was a deeply depressed person who found a reason to hope after meeting her, only for that hope to be shattered. And Dohyuk was a crazy psychopath who could challenge her on her own level. The only ones i truly felt sorry for were the cafe owner and In kang, they didnt deserve what Ahjin did to them.

What didnt work as well for me was Junseo and Jae oh’s blind loyalty. Even with Ahjin’s manipulations, these were grown men who clearly saw her lies and actions, yet chose to brush everything aside. Their backstories didnt fully justify the level of irrational devotion they showed. Still, despite the lack of logic, the dynamic between the three of them was strangely compelling. Their relationship was messy, layered and emotionally tangled, interesting enough that you stay invested even when it doesnt entirely align with realism.

Kim Yoo jung delivered a phenomenal performance as a sociopathic Ahjin. Several scenes gave me goosebumps, like when she killed her father at the end of E3 or when she slashed Sung hee’s face at the end of E10. These moments were pure cinematic brilliance. The rest of the cast also did exceptionally well, especially Hwang In Yeop and Hong Jong Hyun. The director deserves credit for bringing out the best in every actor.

On the production side, everything was top tier. The sets were lavish, the background score elevated every moment and the tension was built masterfully. The direction was so strong that even the average actors looked convincing on screen.

Overall, Dear X is a drama i would recommend to everyone but with a warning, it will stress you out episode after episode. Ahjin is such a complex and unforgettable character that it will probably take years before we see another female lead written this well.

Read More