Dear X (2025)

Brilliant Acting, Morally Draining Storyline

I kind of enjoyed Dear X… but only to a certain point.

The acting was the first thing that drew me in. Everyone delivered, and Kim Yoo-jung completely owned her role as Baek Ah Jin. No weak links anywhere. Honestly, the performances alone kept me watching even when the story got heavy.

Since Ah-jin doesn’t experience emotions like most people, I tried watching the drama “logically” to understand her choices. It worked in the beginning, but eventually my emotions caught up and started influencing how I felt about everything.

At first, I didn’t feel bad about her getting back at Seung-hee because Seung-hee did start the mess. Ah-jin seeing through her and fighting back made sense. But once the story shifted to murder plotting and framing innocent people, that’s where it lost me. I understood why Ah-jin became who she is. The trauma, the toxic relationships, the transactional view of love... but morally, I couldn’t follow her anymore. That was my breaking point with the plot.

The ending was a lot too. I’d grown attached to certain characters, so watching how everything wrapped up hit harder than I expected. Even so, I get why the drama chose an uncompromising ending; it stayed true to its tone and to the character they built.

Overall, Dear X is incredibly well-acted and definitely memorable, but it’s also emotionally draining. I appreciated the craft, even though I couldn’t agree with every direction the story took.

Read More

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. IF YOU WANT SOMETHING TO SCRATCH YOUR BRAIN, THIS IS IT.

One thing you need before you watch this it to leave all your expectations at the door, nothing will go the way you want it to. Nothing.

That being said...HOLY HELL WAS THIS THE MOST INTRIGUING CINEMATIC UNIVERSE EVER!!!!

BAEK AH JIN.
A girl shaped by her circumstances. I've seen many people term her the perfect villain. She wasn't a villain. Baek Ah Jin didn't seek your ruin until you came at her, until you placed yourself in her path. Then she comes for you and yours.
You cannot hold her to the standards of a normal person. As a child, Baek Ah Jin survived her mother's abuse and her father's complacency. Then her father killed her mother, and he explained it to her like that was not a big issue, made her think of the bigger picture, so when the abusive mother asked for help, she went the safer route. The writers ate with that first episode since it dictates Baek Ah Jin's persona to a T.

Her father tells her life will get better as he remarries, but some part of Baek Ah Jin believes that, only to be disillusioned when her father and her new mum plot to have her sold, or film child pornography. So she finds a way to defend herself, blackmail, when that fails, and she's almost drowned, she goes for the next weapon: Junseo. And it works. It is important to note this going forward, for it shapes their relationship.
Another gem the writers subtly nudged at the viewers was Ah Jin's hate /mistrust of females; she has a misconstrued view of her gender, and this is also a factor in her manipulation.

Her high school bully had no business coming at her, belittling her background, and her lack of parents; she got her due.

The cafe owner was marked the moment they met, but Ah Jin cemented her decision to use him when he told her, EXPLICITLY, that she could. She even repeated it. Now, under normal circumstances, it would be considered kindness to offer someone help in these words, but Baek Ah Jin isn't normal; she doesn't think as anyone would, her fight is for survival, and so she survives.

Jae Oh is my favourite character by far, and the perfect partner for Ah Jin. He gets her, her entire flawed self. He doesn't try to change her. not like Junseo, who tries to mould her to his understanding of behavioural norms. Jae Oh put her first, believed her first. And their relationship was the most open and comfortable. He could have survived, though I guess his sacrifice, which Junseo shat on!!!! required a steep price.

Junseo tries to have everything, his morals, and the woman who went against everything else. He is a hypocrite who deservedly loses everything in the end. At his own hands, too.

LET ME REITERATE, IF JUNSEO HAS NO HATERS, AH JIN GOT TO ME FIRST. FUCKER LET THE PSYCHO CEO GO SCOT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IN KANG.
One of these days, they will stop giving HIY tragic love stories. Is it that he yearns so well and plays the broken heart so good they have to cast him?

This man had Ah Jin well on the track to security and freedom. Freedom to love and feel safe in being loved. He had his demons, she had hers, but they were working it out. Grandma was healing Ah Jin one interaction at a time. Had given Ahj Jin a second chance, so had In Kang.
Then, JUNSEO HAPPENED.
He could just let it go; he did what he did best, then got into Ah Jin's head, and she did what she was good at: surviving. Survival meant protecting herself, and protecting herself meant getting rid of weaknesses. In Kang was becoming has, so she broke it off, awful timing, because the man was holding on by a thread.
In Kang's death nullifies all of Ah Jin's healing. Makes her even 'worse', especially when her carefully curated world comes tumbling down.

CEO Moon puts Ah Jin's behaviour under contemplation. He is a master manipulator, unlike her, who is majorly on the defensive. He plays everyone like a chess piece, and a desperate, heartbroken Ah Jin, falls right into his trap. When Ah Jinn doesn't fall in line, he seeks to break her, and with Jae Oh's help, she fights back. But in the end, he goes untouched courtesy of Junseo, the hypocrite.

Baek Ah Jin finally feels the freedom and survival she fought so hard for within reach, when it all comes tumbling down, on the biggest night of her life. Junseo betrays her, I think he finally embraces the part of himself he fought so hard to keep down, using Ah Jin as his shield. He wants to end it all, so he picks up a fleeing Ah Jin, stupidly confesses his love, offers to send her to hell with him, and drives them off a cliff.

If it had ended here, the writers wouldn't have done this magnificent work any justice.

Junseo dies, and his last desperate grab at Ah Jin is fought off. Ah Jin had called him his last shackle during the death drive, and with that final scene, as she is standing on the cliff, looking down at the wreckage, she didn't even try to pull him out of, she finally achieves what she fought so hard for. FREEDOM.

Her last shackle had fallen, and without her direct interference. A truly fitting ending.

I would love a second part, but this ending feels complete. Knowing KDramas, they might have botched SN 2 anyway.

Those hating on this failed to understand the film. Or they were looking for something other than what was advertised. Or forwarding masters. Their loss.

I would watch it again.

Now I'm off to rewatch my demon, and any other film with KYJ, because she ate this up, and I want more.


THIS MIGHT BE THE LONGEST REVIEW I'VE WRITTEN EVER. BUT THIS FILM DESERVES IT.

WATCH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Read More

Wrong messages...

My biggest question is why this dark and sick series has such high ratings..There is not much to write and try to justify my opinion..
A psycho woman (Baek Ah Jin) with the excuse of her "abusive past", (Millions of people fall victim to abuse but do not lose their humanity) became the cause of the deliberate manipulation and destruction of people who loved and cared for her..And the worst thing is that in the wreckage she created, she came out unscathed..The worst series I have seen lately with terrible messages..
It's not worth wasting a second of your time watching it..If you like an actor from the cast, you can see him/her in some of his/her other worthwhile work.

Read More

The drama everyone is judging but few truly understand…

First of all, I have to say that if you’re reading reviews instead of forming your own opinion before watching the series, you’re already starting off on the wrong foot—you’re letting yourself be influenced.

As a fan of Yoojung, I obviously wasn’t going to miss this series. It had me hooked from the very beginning. Everything is tightly connected, and contrary to what most comments say (I’m guessing they wanted a romance or for Ahjin to continue down a certain path—even though the drama has nothing to do with any of that), every development in the story has its own justification.

In the final episodes, we see an Ahjin who’s running out of options because she believes she has already achieved everything. But that’s not the case. That’s when we once again see the reflection of teenage Ahjin—the one living with her father in the rooftop house, the girl who didn’t know how to navigate her circumstances without using others just to keep going.

The drama is incredibly well made—so much so that it makes you empathize with a sociopath and root for things to work out for her.

That’s the level of performance Kim Yoojung delivers here.

If you haven’t watched it yet, and you decide not to because of other reviews, you’re missing out on what is possibly the drama of the year.

Read More

Not your usual revenge or rags to riches story! (MIND-TWISTING DRAMA)

My expectations were really high after watching the first episode. Though I have not read its webtoon, this drama really was unique and cinematic in every sense. I loved the acting, the dialogues, the design, the conceptualization and the OSTs. The actors really portrayed their characters to the best and successfully evoked the emotions out of the viewers. The intensity and the darkness, the manipulation and the subtle intentions, are clearly evident and is the jewel of the whole series. The psychology of the human mind, along with sociology, is strongly depicted.

Overall, the beginning was great, the characters' build up was great, like you would want to decode the whole episode, the things you missed in the bg and will wait keenly for the next episode. The drama is very different when it comes to liking or revenge themes. To my understanding, there are many characters throughout that are playing vital roles. The timelines at beginning changed very abruptly back and forth, so it was difficult to keep up. You need a lot of effort and decoding, better be a psychology student, to see through the character's act and intentions.

I never felt empathy towards a single person throughout the whole show. It was just too dark and deep in the bg. It does tell a lot about the society and the harsh reality, fame and power, besides the psyche of an ASD person. The drama is fun to watch, it may give you adrenaline rush and many WHAT moments, and I know it is unsettlingly emotional throughout. Earlier it was fun, like 'WOW' moments, then it became unsettling, then concerning and conflicting, and lastly I just wanted it to end quickly.

A very good drama, writing wise obviously and its adaptation here. Like the visuals, the actors' choice and the the bgm, is just awesome, to binge watch on a big screen. You need to watch it multiple times to uncover its hidden layers. It can be called a masterpiece but there are things I personally feel are lacking or bring down the drama rewatch value.

I am really disappointed with the ending. I didn't expect a cliffhanger or wait for Season 2 at all. (though I have not read the original version) I really felt bad at the end when she didn't die. Like it would have been a perfect ending for me. I couldn't understand her husband, I lost the plot there in last 2 episodes. Baek Ah Jin's emotions were very well controlled throughout and well portrayed by the actress, that kept the drama going for me. I wanted to see more of some characters. There were some scenes that were very frustrating writing wise and some scenes I felt needed more explanation. Or like more dialogues in the bg for viewer's understanding or at least writer's cut.

It was like we were alone throughout the whole journey of watching this drama, like we are embarking on our own personal fears and lessons, and its totally upto us in which direction we want to steer it towards. So a very collaborative but mentally pressurizing drama. To conclude, I liked watching this drama, like it was something new after a long time, and was well directed and acted, the main reason of continuing this drama till the end. The story could be worked upon and more evident justifications, to make it a lighter and smoother watch journey. It is fun, mind twisting and exciting.

Read More

Kim Yoo Jung Masterclass

I've seen a ton of Kim Yoo Jung's work since she's my favorite drama actress and people will call this biased, but I am absolutely floored by her acting skills in this show. If she keep this level of performance throughout this series, I wouldn't be surprised if she won best actress at the year end awards.

You know that I wasn't going to leave out my boy from No Pain No Love, Kim Young Dae, I did not know he had this level of dark in him. His performance in the pilot episode was *chef's kiss* chills at the end.

I was sat there thinking at episode 4 that the casting of this show was near perfect because each of the actors and actresses knew how to play their role perfectly.

I am now seated every week to watch these episodes as soon as they come out.

Read More

kim yoo-jung as baek ajin… i don’t even know how to put this into words, but she 'owned' that role. whoever decided she should play ajin—seriously, you deserve a trophy. she didn’t just act like a sociopath, she 'became' her. that feeling in your chest, that irritation, that “oh my god i hate her but i can’t look away” that’s how you know she did her job too well.

and yeah, i feel bad for the people she manipulated, but let’s be real: she didn’t kill them. she wasn’t walking around with intent to murder people. she was a broken kid who got chewed up by her parents, by the people around her, by literally everyone who should’ve protected her. she didn’t get love, she got survival instincts dressed up as personality. that’s why she’s one of the most complicated female characters out there. i’m not saying what she did was right... she messed up a lot—but when you try to sit in her pain for even one second, you get it.

and then that moment she prayed for the grandma to live? GOD. that was the crack in the armor. that was the moment where you see she’s not just this monster people want her to be. there’s something inside her still fighting, still wanting to exist without hurting people. but life doesn’t care about intentions. it will grab you by the throat and squeeze until there’s nothing left.

and jae-oh… that man. his loyalty? it wasn’t cute, it wasn’t romantic, it was DEVASTATING. he was her one safe place, the only person she could collapse into. and the way he stayed with her until the very end… it hurts. it genuinely hurts. because he would’ve died for her without even thinking. and honestly? he kinda did.

then there’s junseo. all I can really say is… he’s a loser next to ajin. he just is. no depth, no strength, nothing compared to the storm she is.

++ and i don’t hate the actor who played junseo, this is not about him as a person. but some of his acting? yeah, it didn’t hit. his expressions felt off, like he wasn’t fully connecting to the emotion of the scene. it just didn’t land for me, yk?

Read More

Best Drama Released this year

The webtoon was great and I thought the adaptation wouldn't be great but man was I wrong. This drama had me in the edge of my seat. I got excited every week. The story is about a sociopathic girl and while the story makes you want to root for her, it also shows that not everything is black and white. All her choices is rooted in her wanting to live a normal life. That was up until she framed her boss for killing her dad and she became an actress. After that you could see she wanted to be at the top because she believed by being at the top no one would be able to touch her. I love everything about this story. I would definitely recommend 10/10 from me.

Read More

I've never seen a character like Baek Ahjin in the whole industry

Ya'll can't blame her for doing all of these harsh things. She had the psychological predisposition, and all the situations of her childhood worked together to make Baek Ahjin this psychotic. In Gang's character was written as fragile, because of his bad luck he got played by Beak Ahjin so easily. Kim Jaeoh was so dependent to Ahjin, they both had family issues and traumas in common but he didn't deserve his ending poor him:(( although that was his choice. The most questionable thing is how did Moon Dohyeok find out about Ahjin's childhood and background??? stalker??? nah he was more than a stalker completely insane.

Read More

This drama successfully made me hate her to the core.

I will still say Dear X is a successful drama, because they clearly wanted the audience to hate the female lead, and we did — completely and intensely. Ah Jin didn’t receive love in her childhood; she grew up emotionally abandoned and already damaged, so from the very beginning, I never expected real improvement or healing from her. In fact, it would have been incredibly cliché if she had simply moved on and lived happily with Junseo, because she was never written to live a happy life at all.

The drama showed again and again how every character around her was attracted to her beauty, and in a way, that was their own fault too. These were not innocent boys; they were grown men, fully aware of their choices, yet they willingly got manipulated by her. They loved her. She used them. They were blind — especially Junseo, who stood by her from the very first moment and gave her endless loyalty, only to be treated with the deepest kind of emotional cruelty until the very end. His kindness, to me, crossed the line into stupidity, and the same can be said for Jae Oh, who also chose illusion over reality.

While many other reviewers say they didn’t like the ending, calling it disappointing or unfulfilling, I honestly think they misunderstood the entire purpose of the drama. Dear X was never supposed to be a comfort drama or a happy ending story. It was written as a confrontation — with trauma, obsession, manipulation, and moral decay.

The final conclusion I came to is that the sinners were judging the sinner for sinning: yes, Ah Jin was a sinner, but the people surrounding her were also sinners, just wearing more socially acceptable masks. In the end, Dear X doesn’t offer peace or closure — it holds up a mirror, and that reflection is ugly, unsettling, and brutally honest.

Read More

If you see a man being manipulated, don't do anything…sometimes he's exactly where he wants to be.

I think everyone can agree that this is a type of a drama that catches you right away. All characters are interesting and the plot is intriguing since the beginning.

Our main characters Ah Jin, Junseo and Jae Oh, are broken characters. Ah Jin is the only one with true plans for the future while Junseo’s and Jae Oh’s motivations is helping Ah Jin to get what she wants. Ah Jin takes advantage of their loyalty and feelings towards her by manipulating them directly and indirectly but the interesting thing here is that they are not fool, they know they're being manipulated, and that's where the toxicity of their relationship comes from.

Baek Ah Jin is a complex character. In the beginning it’s easy to be on her side when we get to know her story and what she went through. Also the people she's taking revenge on “deserved” the bad things they suffered. But when she shows herself to be extremely cold and manipulative with people who did nothing wrong, our moral compass is put on test and we're left torn between continuing to support all her actions or question them. I think the script is also very good in making her character seems pitiful everytime she makes or say something bad lol It’s like they’re also trying to manipulate us. In general she’s a character that we will like and sometimes not so much.

Junseo is a character I felt sorry for a lot. Yes, he was on her side because he wanted to be, he knew her deeply, but she also manipulated and used his feelings. Sometimes she even made him believe he was the one to be blame. I can understand why later he thought he should be the one to stop her. Although, I question myself if he acted that way because he truly thought she should be stopped or because he knew she would never be with him romantically and never “change”. I wonder…would he still expose her if she was related to him romantically? I also don’t know how to feel about the expose. I felt like Ah Jin was put 100% on blame when things weren’t exactly black and white and Junseo knew that.

Jae Oh was a sweetheart in the entire drama. Friendly, cute, courageous and loyal. I hated his ending but I think it made sense to his character, to sacrifice himself. And although Junseo knew Ah Jin deeply, to me, Jae Oh was the one who understood her deeply. He deserved better in the end. Not for Ah Jin, but for himself. He was the best character.

Talking about the acting now, all actors really surprised me! I already knew Yoojung was good but she was INSANE here. She gave everything to this character and I really hope she gets a nomination for best actress! Yougdae also proved himself by showing that he can act really well, as some people were doubting before. Kim Do Hoon was also good. Hwang Inyeop also nailed the emotional’s scenes of his character. Jonghyun too! Although I think he could have been more shown as the character was really interesting…I expected more of his relationship with Ah Jin as her husband. The chemistry between the characters were also amazing! Yoojung had chemistry with everyone and it reached to a point that we almost wished for a poly romance lol

Now talking about the ending: What was the point of killing both Junseo and Jae Oh and leaving her alive? And in a such open scenario where we don't even know what will actually happen to her character. I felt that the screenwriter wanted to end the drama with a grandiose scene of her character escaping death but I think her dying with Junseo would be more symbolic. Junseo also had the most ridiculous death in the drama omg. He planned everything to end up being the only one to die in the car accident and then be abandoned again by her. I enjoyed the drama overall but I thought the ending was rushed and didn't need to be that open towards her character. Technically we know her life is over as she lost everything but I don’t get why make her alive if she lost everything she fighted for? Maybe this was her divine punishment right…

In general it’s a good drama with interesting characters and plot. The last episodes were rushed and the ending was unnecessary open but still is a good drama! I think it was one of the most interesting k-dramas I saw this year. Really wishing for nominations on Baeksang for the actors!

Read More