Dear X

Bummer

I love Kim You Jung. She was so darling/funny in Backstreet Rookie that I promised myself I'd watch everything she was in afterwards. And that's why I dropped Dear X because . . . I was starting to hate her in Dear X. I know, I know she was only portraying a character but she is sooo good at acting that it is hard for me to separate the actress from the character.
Dear X is a about a sociopath, in this case a human being deprived of empathy for any others and willing to crush anyone, friend or foe, to facilitate her own success. I really hope there are no actual beings like this in the world but I also fear that it is a naive hope. Anyway, I don't want to watch one on TV because I watch TV to escape the crappy thing I don't like in this world, not rub my face in more crappy stuff.

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good people don’t always win, bad people don’t always die

Okay, Dear X” was honestly one of the strongest thrillers of 2025.
Every week, I was counting down for the new episode, and that finale… that cliffhanger was cruel in the best way. We still don’t know what truly happened to Baek A-Jin, and that unanswered mystery is exactly why this drama hits so hard. A-Jin is alive, and her story is far from over.
Season 2 feels almost inevitable.
This drama was sharp, emotional, and twisted, and it was so well-written. Even if we never get Season 2, the message is powerful:
Good people don’t always win, bad people don’t always die, and everyone, good or bad, must live with the consequences of their choices.
Kim Jae-O’s ending made perfect sense.

He spent his whole life carrying childhood trauma that shaped his twisted mind, and in the end, his final moment wasn’t happiness; it was dark acceptance. He sacrificed himself for A-Jin and died. It was his tragic way of finding closure, becoming exactly what his painful past shaped him to be

Jun-Seo’s mother also had one of the worst endings. She didn’t get peace at all. She fell down the stairs right after receiving a letter from her son, a letter in which he finally cut ties and ended their toxic cycle. And Jun-Seo’s suffering since childhood came directly from her behaviour, shaping the broken man he became.

A-Jin’s husband now has to keep living his life knowing she’s still alive, and that truth is destroying him from the inside.
He can’t sleep, he can’t breathe normally, and no matter how much he tries to move on, the fear and guilt follow him everywhere. He knows she’s out there… and that knowledge is its own kind of punishment.

Yun Jun-Seo was the most heartbreaking character for me.
He loved A-Jin deeply, yet he carried a lifetime of guilt on his shoulders. That guilt started when he was a child and never left him. He truly believed his mother ruined her life, and that belief shaped every decision he made.
In the end, he thought he could end his life together with A-Jin, choosing a tragic escape from the pain he carried. But fate betrayed him: he died, while she survived.

Sim Seung-Hui was another walking disaster. Her ending in the hospital felt like karma arriving on time.

She was the lucky one…
She’s still alive somewhere, unfinished, unpredictable, one of the strongest reasons this drama needs Season 2.
But if Season 2 happens?
Baek A-Jin’s return will be pure chaos… and I’m ready.

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Dear X : The Mask We Choose to Wear

🔹 What happens when love becomes the very thing that destroys us
🔹 Would I rewatch? Yes

📕 Overview
🔹 12 episodes, melodrama, romance, thriller
🔹 Based on the webtoon Dear X by Vanziun
🔹 Kim Yoo Jung plays Baek Ah Jin, a rising actress whose polished public image hides deep emotional scars
🔹 Kim Young Dae portrays Yoon Joon Seo, her stepbrother who has always protected her and now struggles with the boundaries of his devotion.
🔹 The story begins when Ah Jin’s fame collides with the secrets she has worked her whole life to control, pulling Joon Seo back into a world he hoped to leave behind
🔹 The drama stays firmly grounded in themes of ambition, emotional survival, and the price of wearing a mask in the entertainment world
🔹 For me, it stood out for its fearless dive into toxic love, trauma, and the quiet ways people learn to protect themselves

🌸 How It Felt Watching
🔹 I felt completely pulled in by the tension, because every relationship carries a mix of love, guilt, and danger
🔹 Tone: dark, emotional, intimate, and unsettling
🔹 Themes: trauma, loyalty, survival, manipulation, love, identity
🔹 It reminded me a little of Whispers of Fate (2025), but with a sharper focus on how childhood pain follows these characters into adulthood

✨ Cast & Acting
🔹 Kim Yoo Jung as Baek Ah Jin delivers an outstanding performance, as her expressions alone convey the calculated nature of her choices.
🔹 Kim Young Dae as Yoon Joon Seo: His loyalty to Ah Jin feels painful and real, and the way he shows love and fear at the same time
🔹 The supporting cast, including Kim Do Hoon as Jae Oh and the younger actors, builds the emotional foundation of the story and illustrates how Ah Jin’s world was shaped.

🎵 OST
🔹 Run & Run by Kim Ye Rim
🔹 Insane by Elaine

🎞️ Production Style
I liked how the director and team gave each setting its own rhythm and presence.
🎥 Cinematography
🔹 The cinematography moves between close, tense shots that reveal emotional pressure and wide frames that remind you how isolating fame can feel
👗 Wardrobe
🔹 Wardrobe choices reflect the persona of each character.

☕ Tea Notes
🔹 What worked: Kim Yoo Jung’s performance, the emotional weight of the story, and the way each scene builds tension
🔹 What worked: I believe the show’s atmosphere and pacing make the drama feel raw and personal
🔹 What didn’t: This one may feel overwhelming if you want something lighter, since the tone stays dark from the start
⭐ SpillTheDramaTea’s Rating: 9.5/10
🌿 Tea-Scale: Bold and lingering

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You will be frustrated

As much as I disliked literally every character in this show, I can’t lie I practically binged the entire series (as much as I could since I had exams lol). It was incredibly entertaining. I mean seriously, they were annoying but they would leave you on a cliffhanger that’s way too good to ignore.

On a side note the ending was so unsatisfying. I mean, I didn’t expect a happy merry ol’ ending where everyone gets their revenge and everyone reaps what they sow but it just felt incompleted? Maybe the writers didn’t have any ideas left where to go lol… It was just so anticlimactic.

I guess they were trying to say that Baek Ahjin is alive and living like a ghost now but still. The ending felt empty, like atleast a little bit more context and background would’ve sufficied.

But overall I can’t say the show is bad just because the characters were frustrating- I mean I could but that’d be a lie because the premise of the show was so interesting! I’m a huge fan of revenge plots and although this isn’t your typical revenge story (lowkey like a bad side of revenge rather than a good one) which was new and refreshing! I recommend this show, be prepared to be frustrated to the core tho!!!

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A Masterclass in Acting with a Divisive Finale

Dear X starts with a bang. The first half is a masterclass in cinematography and pacing—I couldn't look away. Kim Yoo Jung’s performance is haunting; she makes you pity her one moment and despise her the next as you realize the depth of her manipulation.

The male characters were the heart of the show for me. I was rooting for them the whole way through, and the friendship between everyone was so well-done. Specifically, the bromance between Jun Seo and Kim Jae-young was a major highlight—their bond felt authentic and kept me grounded in the story.

Unfortunately, the drama couldn't maintain its initial momentum. While it stayed "good," it lost the "amazing" quality of the earlier episodes. The last few episodes felt like a bit of a mess, and the ending was quite a letdown. I was expecting a much more polished finale for a show that started with such promise.

Even though the ending ruined the experience slightly, the acting and the relationships made it a journey worth taking.

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It is backed up with 10000 IQ

This drama is made with so much care and emotional intelligence and it's so noticeable that the directors and screenwriters and all the team behind have put so much effort in creating this masterpiece. Like I love that there are so many broken people here and no one is perfect and all the emotions are delivered so well here by the actors. The team behind did a very good job in playing with our heads during the scene with the grandma's accident and they totally convinced me that I was searching for reasons to hate Baek Ah jin and that we usually do that all the time in real life, we try to find reasons in our head to hate on others, not knowing what they went through, so that we can be at peace victimizing us. At least that's one of the conclusions I came to. Also, I love the surviving part at the end, it's clear that this time too she did what she was best at: surviving. It honestly would have been weird if she died too, after all the effort she put in making her life a better place for her. I want season 2.

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The writer left the show just like Ajin left the Award Show.

When I watched Episode 1, I thought: "Jesus Christ, this is crazy". Then I realized, a drama that sets the bar this high is not gonna end well, and as usual, I was right again.

The first half of the season was fun, and chilling, but the second half was just a HOT MESS!!!

I should dislike a psychopath woman like Ajin, but somehow, I managed to hate Junseo more than any other character on the show. No sane person would make excuses for Ajin, but the fact is, she never experienced love and caring, and based on what we've seen, she never really wanted to hurt anyone, other than her dad. When she did something bad against someone, it was basically a retaliation. Sure, she used people for her own sake to gain success and fame, but it's not like other people don't do the same, it doesn't make her worse than others.

The biggest problem with the show is that there's no clear goal. Someone hurts Ajin, and she fights back. That's all. What they did to her in the past when she was a kid was never solved by the police, no one protected her. All the disgusting crimes people and her own family committed against her were never solved. I can't blame her at all for wanting to kill her dad, even tho she could've done it without using another guy, but that's another story.

The police were completely useless, but this is not a surprise in Kdrama land.

The writer used her backstory and mental illness as a tool, and barely did anything with it. The whole show was carried by Kim You Jung, and Kim You Jung ALONE! Without her, I would've dropped this in midway. Her acting made this addictive.

The only actor who were almost on the level with her is Kim Do Hoon. They were the ONLY interesting characters and actors who actually put something in this.

Kim Young Dae was bang average, he was basically a one face guy, and a totally useless character. I don't mind if his character wants to betray Ajin, but he not only betrays her, he betrays Jaeo as well. What's worse, he helps out the psychopath billionaire who killed his so called "friend". How messed up is that? Not to mention, he gives up on his kidney to help his abusive mother, then lives with her a couple of weeks to make her a bit happy. Like, where's the logic in this?

Say whatever you want about Ajin, that's up for debate, but Jun Seo is not better than her in any shape or form. I would argue he's worse than Ajin.

Above, I said I don't know what was the point of this drama, and the finale proved that. They didn't solve a single storyline, and that's a rare thing to see, even in a Kdrama.


I could rant about this show all day, but I don't want to waste more time.

I'm really disappointed!

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Great great casts!

Pertama, Dear X ini fresh air banget buat kdrama menurut gue, setelah banyak drama 2025 boring abis. Kategori thrillernya juga bukan yang pembunuhan biasa yang ada detektifnya, jadi dia emg lumayan beda nih, itu poin plus.

Kedua, gak hentinya gue bilang KYJ lo akhirnya menemukan peran lo ya! ini satu-satunya drama KYJ yang menurut gue cocok sama KYJ, ternyata dia lebih cocok jadi villain! turut senang KYJ akhirnya menemukan best fieldnya. Ini drama terbagus KYJ sih, yang lain meh banget. Gak cuman KYJ tapi ini drama terbagusnya Yongdae dan Dohoon juga menurut gue. Suka banget liat mereka di sini, dan casts lainnya, good job banget si pemilihannya.

Dari segi cerita, agak melambat ditengah ya, dan agak rushing diakhir dia ketemu "lawan" nya, tapi masih enjoyable. Dari awal sbenernya udh kerasa sih siapa belenggu aslinya, gue bingung aja knp dia bisa sepercaya itu haha.

Gue kasih rate tinggi karena Dear X ini gue anggap lebih baik dari drama2 lainnya ditahun ini. Overall, great!

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