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Lost potential
Despite a great cast and interesting character development, the series leads nowhere. We begin with her school days, which are brutally interrupted, and we're transported to the real world, where our heroine is a celebrity. And that's where the entire storyline falls apart. We supposedly have men devoted to her, but the interactions between them are limited. We supposedly have a female protagonist with a well-developed personality, but she doesn't really do anything interesting for several episodes. Her obsession with achieving a high social position doesn't quite mesh with her story. Our greatest regret is that the guy who "helped" her ended up in prison. One scene of his gaze in prison suggests revenge. The script is disappointing, as the guy suddenly declares he forgives her, which is laughable. 0 love stories. The series' wasted potential.Was this review helpful to you?
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Ah Jin was truly a Sociopath (and I LOVED it)
Throughout majority of this drama I felt that Ah Jin could have redeemed herself (I know that's not how it works with a true sociopath but I thought that was where the writing was going (I didn't read the source material)). There were several points were I thought she genuinely cared about some of the people around her especially after the appearance of the grandmother of her boyfriend. She seemed to genuinely care for her and I still think that had the grandmother lived Ah Jin could have grown some humanity. I also realised very early on that romantic relationships mean nothing to Ah Jin and only familial relationships could have any emotional impact on her since her parents were the reasons she became like this.As much as I wanted Ah Jin to grow emotional attachments to people, I LOVE that by the end she was truly a sociopath with no empathy or emotional attachment to others. Her ending surprised me because I thought that we would see her breakdown from losing everyone I thought she cared about, but at the very end, seeing her not care at all gave me the chills (despite knowing what a sociopath is). I really thought they would tone down her sociopathic tendancies as the drama went on because I feel like majority of the time when there is a female lead like Ah Jin, a female lead who has no empathy, writers decide to make the female character more emotional vulnerable out of nowhere. But that was not the case here, if anything she gets worse but you don't see just how horrible of a person Ah Jin is until the very end.
The only thing I didn't like about the end was Jae O's death being pointless. He sacrificed himself so that Ah Jin could live the life she wanted, the least Jun Seo could have done was expose Do Hyeok for killing Jae O if he wasn't going to help Ah Jin. Jae O was honestly the best character in this entire drama, and way better than Jun Seo with his annoying saviour complex. When Do Hyeok was introduced I thought he was too psychotic for Ah Jin (despite one of my reasons for starting this drama being the fact that I wanted to see them as a sociopath + psychopath couple). But after episode 12, I thought they were perfect together, a match made in hell. He also seemed surprised by Ah Jin being a sociopath (I don't think he could break her as he did his ex) and I'm really curious what would have happened to them had Jun Seo not exposed Ah Jin. I really wanted to see more of Ah Jin and Do Hyeok's relationship, they would have worked so well together if he wasn't trying to drive her insane. I wonder what he would do if he ever sees her again, he still seemed really interested in her at the very end and I feel like their dynamic would change in a more positive way (in favour if Ah Jin) because he knows she's as crazy, if not worse than him.
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For pple who compare this with webton! True psychopath was junseo!
Opinion of sb wise :I honestly think this show was fundamentally telling a different story from what we expected in episode 1 and what’s in the manhwa. Jun-seo never really saw or understood Ah-jin. That “documentary” misrepresented her completely and was clearly designed to ruin her.. but not so she couldn’t hurt people anymore. That’s just what he claimed. Because if that was his interest, he could go to the cops so she could face justice for her actual crimes. But he didn’t do that. Instead, he wanted to make her dependent on him so he could be the one to control her, which is what he explicitly said in the car. He viewed it as him saving her but that was him lying to himself.
And also, does it even make any sense that he decided to go that far because of what Jae-ho did? He knew it was Jae-ho’s conscious decision and the show goes out of its way to make it clear he wasn’t coerced. And after being married, what did Ah-jin actually do wrong that wasn’t her trying to protect herself from someone who was determined to break her? Jun-seo didn’t do it for any noble reason; he did that because he wanted to be the one to control Ah-jin, as he himself admitted.
And when you think about it- isn’t he the true sociopath of the story? And I mean that just in terms of the clinical definition and not their actions. But isn’t he the one who couldn’t genuinely engage with Ah-Jin and make her laugh like Jae-oh did? Who couldn’t connect with Re-na (versus Ah-jin who actually did connect with In-gang)? When did you ever see him genuinely smile? Over the course of the show, Ah-jin showed more emotions than he did for sure.
And then there’s the part where we as the audience realize that this whole framing of Ah-jin as a sociopath is something that Jun-seo himself created from the documentary that was shown at the beginning of the series. It’s not actually based in fact or from any actual direct evaluation by a psychologist.
Now did Ah-jin do many terrible things that she should be held accountable for? Yes without a doubt. But I think any inconsistencies in the story or characters were very much intentional because Jun-seo, who was the source of much of our understanding of her, is an unreliable narrator who never truly saw her. so with that in mind, the ending blew me away and I thought this show was excellent. but I think if I’d read the manhwa first, I would have had a hard time because it seems the stories are very very different.
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Dear X, Why Was That Ending Like That?
So this drama was… interesting. I went in blind, fully unprepared for the chaos I was about to witness. The first few episodes had me hooked. For like 3–4 episodes, I was actually rooting for A-Jin. I didn’t like her, but I understood her. Her abuse made her sympathetic, and I thought the show would maybe explore healing or consequences.LOL. Nope.
The more she did, the more obvious it became that she was only getting worse, not better. By the midpoint I was counting down to her downfall. There’s been debate over sociopath vs psychopath, but honestly she’s a messy blend. (Neither is even a formal diagnosis, but she clearly has ASPD) But that’s not the point. The story is.
And the story… was strong at first. But after episode 7–8? Downhill.
Acting? Amazing.
Music? Very good.
Story? Lacked any actual moral backbone.
SPOILERS from here on out:
A-Jin didn’t get what she deserved. Not even close. Her husband (Moon… something, I can’t remember) escapes just fine. Jae-oh’s death? Completely pointless. It was the saddest moment of the whole drama and it made me hate A-Jin even more because he died literally for nothing. And the ending? The two main villains live. Sure, A-Jin’s image is ruined but she didn’t actually face real satisfying consequences.
Her bullies? Don’t care. They deserved everything.
But the rest? A mess.
And Junseo… I don’t even know where to start. “Let’s die together”?? Sir, be serious. He was my least favorite character. Pathetic, delusional, and enabling A-Jin in the worst way. His mother was awful to him and he still hands her his kidney like a party favor. Why bro??!!! He wasn’t even close to her.
I read the ending of the webtoon only and I have to say it was much more fitting. Petty and bitter, exactly the tone the drama should have stuck with. This “open ending” was just… there. Nothing to think about. A-Jin survives. The husband survives. They’ll probably make it work again. And guess what? She didn’t personally kill anyone so legally… there’s not much they can actually do to her besides public shame and maybe a few years in prison for instigating it.
Her sudden nightmares/memory loss? Random. If she was truly traumatized, this wouldn’t magically start at episode 11. She’s been through worse before. That whole arc felt thrown in last minute. But at least she was starting to act more like a sociopath than a psychopath so that was one thing. I just wish if they wanted to go this route, they would've started much sooner, especially after what happened with her-- now i throw this word loosly here-- "father".
And WHAT was that nonsense with letting the school bully stay with her in her house? Why didn’t she let the police get her? I think i missed something but that made zero sense. it was just like she was there so something can just happen.
By the end, the drama basically said:
“Everyone loves A-Jin! Everyone will die for her! Everyone she ruins will forgive her! Coincidence solves everything! Morality whomst??”
Junoh’s death was the only truly pitiful tragedy. And a useless one because A-jin never runied the husband.
Junseo was a just... ughh... useless ...
A-Jin never truly answered for anything.
The final 15 mins of the last episode left me like (ㆆ_ㆆ)
But despite everything… it was entertaining. The aesthetics, the acting, the vibes were strong. I would've loved it if they made it a showdown between the psychopath husband and the sociopath FML but no they decided to go the boring route... oh well.
Do I recommend it?
ʸᵉˢ… but with a warning:
You’re watching a story that’s not really realistic, no moral message, not satisfying but it is ₘₑₕ entertaining.
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Captivating From Start to Finish
I’ll be completely honest — this is the best drama I’ve watched this year. Kim Yoo Jung is simply irreplaceable as an actress. I have no doubt that she will continue to show us even more of her talent in the future.As for the story itself, I haven’t read the webtoon, though I’ve seen a few reviews, and I truly believe I’ll read it one day. But today, this review is about the drama.
From the very first episode, the series pulled me in completely, and I found myself eagerly waiting for each new week. That alone added an extra point to my final rating — as a viewer, it’s extremely important to me to look forward to the next episode and to keep thinking about the story throughout the week.
Even though some episodes were calmer, they were still so engaging that I barely noticed when they ended.
I truly believe that Kim Yoo Jung was made for this role, and it’s clear how much work and dedication she put into this character.
I’ve seen many discussions about the ending, and while I partly understand the criticism, after watching the finale several times I can confidently say that it carries a beautiful, poetic meaning. People like Ajin don’t disappear from life easily — they always find a way to turn situations to their own advantage.
This year, I struggled to get through most dramas, but this was the one I genuinely waited for every week — and it didn’t disappoint me even a little.
Final score: 10/10
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THANK YOU to the creators of this drama for getting me out of my drama slump
It’s not often that a drama sucks me in and has me this invested within the first 4 episodes. I’ll admit - I’m a sucker for media that artfully plays with the morally grey. All too often, characters that are intended to be morally grey are either too hateable or too likeable in a way that feels inauthentic and uninspiring. This drama balances that line so well. The storyline so far is cleverly written and thought-provoking, and the actors are all holding their own in some pretty difficult scenes. I’m particularly impressed with Kim Young-dae - I saw a few of his dramas about five years ago and swore to never watch another because I thought he was such a flat actor - but he has improved massively and a clip of him in this drama is actually what drew me to watch it in the first place. He’s been added to my list of actors whom I think can actually pull off an obsessed, yearning to the point of losing their mind character like the male lead in this. Fingers crossed that the plot doesn’t fall off from here on out.Was this review helpful to you?
2
1"It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero..."
—What did she do for them?*Nothing.
—What did they do for her?
*Everything.
—Why?
...
What. A. Brilliant Drama!
She was flying up so high, that when she fell, she kept falling until she crossed the path of the bottomless pit of hell. Then she rose from the ashes of misery! This was an unusual story of an anti-heroine who fought and crawled her way out of hell to make you believe that when darkness persists, daylight will not come until you let it in. So it remained dark, without any hope of light.
It's been a while since I enjoyed a thriller/ suspense drama after Strangers From Hell. Witnessing the rise of Baek Ah Jin from one traumatic past to another, they kept me on the edge of the seat in every single episode. I couldn't fathom how far she would go for her success, even if it endangered people's lives.
Ajin, single-handedly, carried the show on her shoulders. She made me despise her every action because she never wanted to play safe. Her creepy smile made my skin crawl! If she doesn't get the best actress award for this, I don't know who will.
Other characters, Jun Seo and Jae Oh, were her constant partners through thick and thin as her life proceeded, even though they knew how little they meant to her. Kim Ji Hoon as Jeong Ho was outstanding.
Honestly, I kept this review as vague as possible because I want people to enjoy what I enjoyed. It's better if you know very little about it. I loved it but it wasn't without flaws. There were several plot holes which weren't solved, even addressed. But I cannot let go of that eerie, restless feeling that I got from this drama. Often I found myself deeply moved by this storyline, definitely not in a positive way. Regardless of all the negative points, I liked it more than I expected because it's a drama I didn't expect anything to be "good" because I shamelessly expected it to get worse for a character who's beyond the fixing. Let's say when she hit the rock bottom, you can't expect fighting, surviving and crawling the way up can't be anything fairytale like. She must trample to achieve the throne, that was all she knew.
Overall, it's a must-watch if you want to be entertained throughout the series. I ensure that your sudden dopamine rush will keep you thinking about it for a long time.
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Imperfect People Living Imperfectly
This Drama took me for a wild ride. It left me in the tizzy that Ah Jin had these men in.The acting was magnificent. Everyone did so well, this needs to win all the awards. Impeccable.
Not much of a review, in that it’s structure is lacking. I am just vomiting my feelings for the characters and this show. They (my feelings) are so scrambled so I excuse me. (I may add more later)
Baek Ah Jin
I didn’t read the webtoon so BAEK AH JIN THEY CAN NEVER MAKE ME HATE YOU.
For my girl to suffer all her life and hardly know a day of peace, I don’t care what she does or did. To grow up being abused and knowing that your father is always looking to sell you (as in sex trafficking because no one cares about that apparently)… Baek Ah Jin’s life was akin to someone frantically trying to dig themselves up from a pit with nothing to aid their escape. She’s in survival mode every time she resorts to extremes.
I wouldn’t diagnose her with ang disorder, she’s a person with her back against the wall constantly trying to better herself but being shut down at every turn. Why is no one marveling at her tenacity? Her will to survive and strive no matter how many setbacks she faced? She never wanted to be a celebrity. She thought about it but knew her background wasn’t suitable. I see that choice as something she was forced into obviously because they were trying to put her in jail.
Jae Ho
My sweet Jae Ho. That scene where he’s talking to Ah Jin and she didn’t remember calling him. That one tear he shed made me bawl. The fact that he loved her so much and was in pain when she was in pain, the actor portrayed that aspect of Jae Ho’s character really well. My heart broke for them both in that scene. I was hoping they were dropping him into water before the shot widened and I realized there was no way for him to survive it. I think about him and cry, literally tearing up right now thinking about his death. I agree that Jae Ho, without even knowing all the details of what Ah Jin had been through, Jae Ho knew her the best. Maybe because he also faced violence from the one who was supposed to protect him. I don’t know, but I do know after Ah Jin he’s my favorite. I love him so much and we were robbed that we didn’t get an alternate reality ending and to see him happy with Ah Jin.
In Gang
I loved him. When they got together and I saw how happy and content he was in the relationship and how happy Ah Jin was, I was so scared for how the relationship would eventually end. I wish Ah Jin would have broken up with him but then stayed with him to make sure he was okay. I think he would have still made the same choice regardless but it would have made me feel better.
Jun Seo
I loved him for so long, I find myself unable to hate him. I see the perspective that he also was trying to control Ah Jin and she realized that in the end as well. The documentary was nasty and cruel. I can’t forgive him for that.
My perfect ending would have had Ah Jin dying as well and then seeing a montage of everyone living happily and smiling and laughing. All the people I like anyway. I wasn’t upset that she lived but what kind of life can she even enjoy?
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disappointed
Throughout the series, I kept expecting they were going to take the show in some unexpected place. In the end, I think they took it to the almost obvious.In the end, I felt like it was a 16 episode k-drama that ran out of budget at 12. There were so many loose ends. The ends that were closed, I felt that was dumb way to close them.
IMO, THE main reason to watch this show is to be treated with the stunning beauty of Kim Yoo Jung. She is perhaps the most stunning ever in this show. While watching the show, the thought of how other worldly beautiful she is keeps crossing my mind. I always thought it odd how she almost never is included in top ten lists of most beautiful Korean actresses. In my book, she has been #1 for a long time, and #1 by a comfortable margin. Maybe my tastes are unusual, but it doesn't seem so to me.
I do think it was pretty courageous for Kim Yoo Jung to take this role, considering how the Korean public often confuses the actor with the role. I hope this doesn't kill her career. I think she did quite a credible job.
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Only aesthetics
Dear X — a drama obsessed with looking meaningful instead of being meaningfulDear X has incredible set design, moody lighting, and a premise that could’ve been brutal and smart. Then it becomes a show where characters do things simply because the writer wanted an aesthetic moment.
The story falls apart the moment Baek Ah-jin becomes famous. Her sudden “I want this guy to fall for me” arc isn’t mysterious or twisted, it’s random. There’s no reason behind it, no consequences, no emotional payoff. It doesn’t reveal anything new about her. It’s a time-killer disguised as a plot.
The step-sibling obsession to THAT extent is the same problem. it’s just thrown in, and the show hopes you’ll accept it because the idea of it is dramatic. He was a blind dog on a leash, way too dramatic
Older Ah-jin’s emotional life never lands. The actress delivers anger and pain like she’s checking off expressions, but you never see those feelings change what she does. That’s why her rage feels empty: it doesn’t drive the story forward, it just appears and disappears between pretty shots.
The only relationship with real logic is the protector character. His backstory gives his loyalty weight. He clings to her because he knows what being abandoned is. He’s the lone emotional anchor in a show full of cardboard performances.
The pacing isn’t slow, it’s directionless. Scenes repeat ideas they never develop. Whole episodes exist for mood, dramatic hallways, long stares, expensive wardrobe, but nothing underneath evolves.
Dear X thinks darkness is enough. It isn’t. Darkness needs intention. Otherwise it’s just wallpaper.
The ending tries to go for tragic, but it never earns tragedy. Shock without setup is confusion. The finale doesn’t answer questions, it exposes the fact that the show never knew what it wanted to say in the first place.
In the end, Dear X is a beautiful optical illusion:
aesthetics pretending to be depth.
You keep waiting for the story to reveal something real about trauma, ambition, survival, or cruelty but the reveal never comes, because the writers never built anything beneath the surface.
It’s not a bad idea. It’s a wasted one!!!!!
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Trying gain for the meaning overall the story of this drama
there is one thing I realized after finishing this drama dear x,as an audience we also play a role as people who will guide Baek ahjin to goodness or who will always help bring her down & end her,
Junseo's death suggests that Baek Ahjin's destiny will never die and never change until someone really can change her into a better person,
if only Ingang didn't suffer from depression I'm sure Baek Ahjin would really change into a normal human being.
Baek ahjin will never stop she is a tough sociopath from childhood to adulthood she can survive well, like a wild animal that masters its wild nature.
I hope producer see this&there will be a season 2, but if it hasn't been produced yet, I won't expect it. I don't want Yoojung to be stressed for a long time because of this role.
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How to give suffering a meaning?
6.25/10The drama was good, and it started with 4 excellent episodes. I really appreciated the pervasive gray areas in almost all the characters. It was very interesting to watch.
The directing was good, though I would have preferred something more "noir" and more artistic.
The acting surprised me a lot (in a good way) :
- Kim Yoo Jung's performance was definitely good ! She never overacted, and never underperformed. I really liked her acting perf here, even though I don't usually like her acting.
However, there were still flaws in her perf, and one of them was major.
She didn't manage to incorporate that kinda "mystical" elements into her portrayal of her character. There's a lack of inner depth, and quite honestly, I think it's because the actress herself doesn't seem to be someone with a "mystical" sensibility, imo she probably lacks dark complexity.
- Kim Young Dae has finally grasped the meaning of acting after a string of mediocre perfs in the past. Here, he's good, not yet THAT good, but the progress is evident. He's also managed to imbue his character with something lowkey poetic (a blend of melancholy and strangeness).
- Bae Soo Bin once again demonstrated what an excellent actor he has always been; it was a pleasure to see him on screen again. I think it's been over five years since I last saw him.
- Hong Jong Hyun also surprised me too, I found his presence quite captivating in the drama. He certainly made an impression with the aura he displayed while playing his character.
His acting wasn't outstanding at all, but imo he added value to the drama.
- I must add that I think the overall casting was very well chosen. Everyone had chemistry and delivered good performances.
As I write earlier, the drama is definitely good, especially in the beginning, however, it gradually lost some of its luster for several reasons:
- The quality of the writing wasn't always consistent. Several scenes lacked detail, context, and depth, which was disappointing because it could have made the drama quite exceptional.
- The pacing was uneven, with a lot of scenes being uninteresting and occasionally too long (especially during the part of the drama that described her rise to celibrity).
- The 2nd ml's attachment to the fl, I felt, lacked realism. Him sacrificing his life for her, was too extreme ...
- The directing was good, but I felt it lacked shots with more symbolism and artistic merit. It's a shame because the story itself was enough material to do that.
- The story should have been told much more explicitly. Strangely, I found the drama too prudish. Kdramas these days are often explicit without any valid reason, but here, I think it would have been necessary because psychology is the major element of this drama. The characters' sexuality was barely addressed, and I found that unrealistic.
The writing isn't bold enough or to be more precise, honest enough. It doesn't sufficiently explore the complexity of the characters, refusing to delve into their true inner intimacy. It fails to truly disorient and unsettle the audience as it should have, given the complexity of the events and characters portrayed.
To conclude this review, I want to write about my opinion about the awful writing of the ending of the drama.
The whole episode was a mess, hectic and rushed.
In that episode, Junseo (the ml) was a pathetic looser for what he did to Ajin.
She is a deeply dysfonctional and complex character. She ended sacrificing the life of a innocent man (her very own friend Jae O) for the sake of her own ambition. I won't give her excuse, of course.
BUT, Junseo had no right to do what he did. Not only he tried to k'll her with himself, but before that he publicly destroyed her.
Was it necessary? I don't think so.
He only did it for himself, simply because she was the woman he loved. And therefore he couldn't forgive her incapacity to change for the sake of his love for her.
Something Ahjin also felt for him too, she hated the fact that he couldn't change for her knowing he was in love for her, she hated his unability to become a monster for her, to become a monster to save her. His love for her wasn't without limit, he couldn't destroy his own conscience for the sake of his love.
But it also was the reason she was deeply attached to him... She accepted the fact that he could never do what she needed him to do for her to succeed.
Why didn't he display that savior energy to bring down her psycho husband or his very own psycho mother, or anyone else who tried to destroy the woman he loves tho??? WELL .. I think it's because he never dreamed of forcing on them a pseudo redemption arc ... but he forced it on Ahjin, simply, because she is the woman he loves. There is something narcissic in his way of forcing Ahjin to change.
She had to become better, he never accepted her unability to change for him ...
Strangely, I've always seen Ahjin and Junseo as almost mystical twins. One being a part of the other, yet both driven by an absolute will to achieve something. Ahjin wanted to build a life that would prove to God that, despite the torment He inflicted upon her, she had managed to climb the social ladder and attain absolute power through sheer force of will, perseverance, and determination. It was her way of defying God.
Junseo, on the other hand, sought to change Ahjin, to prove that the power of his love could change someone he loved. Because his existence and his love hadn't managed to change his mother. Junseo sought to prove that his existence had a truer and deeper meaning than simply being born to become his parents' wallet... to be merely a means for the other to get what they wanted.
The thing I hated the most is indeed that public humiliation ...
He k'lled her twice, first by destroying the reputation she worked to build, a reputation that was actually a way too be loved by others, and then by letting that car crash ...
But he forgot something important, she already died a long time ago, when her own mother died in front of her own eyes, when she made the decision to let her die, a decision for herself to survive from the hell both her parent have put her through. She died when she had to kill to survive. She died when she had to become a monster to survive.
Ahjin did not escape death. Her soul has always been elsewhere, lost in the abyss of suffering that longs only to end. She is merely a body that moves with the strong will to give meaning to her suffering, the need to restore the dignity that life has stolen from her.
If she can't be loved and protected for who she is. Then, she thought she would be loved and protected for what she pretend to be and the power she worked to obtain.
Ahjin is a shadow, who lost her ability to live a long time ago.
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