Disclaimer: Not for soft hearted people!!!
This drama is setting a mark for extremely dark dramas. If you are looking for morale in characters, or perhaps have ignited a hope that things will turn better and everything will be all sundry then extinguish that hope. Here are only characters with no morale or sense of justice and the rest of the good souls will only be manipulated to meet a very deadly end. So if you are more into that sort of things then this might not be your cup of tea because its characters are outright EVIL.I have watched FL in many dramas where she had played badas*s characters, bubbly characters or the ones where she is extremely kind hearted one. This one is something else altogether. I am sure it is gonna be one of the best dramas of her life.
I am not saying such dramas haven't been made before or such characters have not been conceptualised before ( The Glory, Penthouse, The Mouse are few such examples) but it is extremely different in a sense that all the other characters are as hopeless as the FL. In simple words- with no morale or principles. How unhinged a human being could be? This drama's FL will surely set a mark for that one for sure.
The intro was more than enough to set the tone and few minutes in and I was taken aback by pure chaos that happened in the first four episodes. The music adds to the whole chaotic plot but the acting of every side character including the main characters are worth your time. This could have been a great drama if they hadn't deviated so much from the original webtoon storyline. Plus the ending which ultimately plummeted its ratings. They could have done so much better if they really wanted to go with different ending than the original. Unnecessary death in the name of sacrifice, looked nothing but stupid which brought nothing to the FL's arc.
It is definitely not the ending I was expecting especially the way they started the show. It was one chaotic drama that fizzled out due to weak writing towards the end. To conclude -You will be left unsatisfied with only bitter taste.
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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.
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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?
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this series is for the people that get it get it
just gotta say people who dont like this dont like women being in men field. i support every women's right and wrongdoings 🙂↕️the acting is top-notch i dont have any doubt in kim yoojung's acting. give all those damn awards to her alread she deserves it!
what i dislike in this series is just the ending cz doohyuk deserved to be killed by ahjin. aint no way he didnt get any punishment. need s2 so ahjin can kill him with her own hands this time and make her more psychotic and cruel like she got no mercy for him.
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This review may contain spoilers
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.Was this review helpful to you?
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.Was this review helpful to you?
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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.
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1This review may contain spoilers
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!
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E, no fim, o drama é sobre controle masculino
Um dos dramas mais complexos com personagens mais tridimensionais que já vi.No começo minha crítica era sobre como o drama me pareceu didático a já na primeira cena afirmar que a Ah Jin era sociopata, mas gostei de ser surpreendida quando mostraram que aquela era uma narrativa enviesada de um documentário com fins de destruir sua carreira de atriz anos depois.
Muito interessante perceber que as ações da protagonista, antes facilmente colocadas na sua condição de sociopata, ao fim ganham um novo prisma. E se na verdade, ela se aproveitou de um controle por parte de todos os homens de sua vida?
Para o colega de classe de família desestruturada e sem senso de valor, Ah Jin era um instrumento para tornar-se valioso; para o ator depressivo, Ah Jin era o modelo de esposa perfeita para seus sonhos de margarina, mesmo sem consultá-la sobre quais seriam os sonhos dela; para o jogador de beisebol aposentado, Ah Jin era mais uma maneira de se perceber como benfeitor mesmo após a perda de seu sonho; para seu marido psicopata, Ah Jin era o entretenimento, o objeto de mhlher forte pronta para ser quebrada para caber no próprio controle; para seu pai, seu maior algoz, ah jin era a galinha dos ovos de ouro e, ao fim, a pessoa que possivelmente Ah Jin mais amava, seu melhor amigo desde a infância, com quem passou por todas as fases, Song Jeo, só queria que ela coubesse na sua utopia de normalidade e ficasse refém da própria idealização e desejo de ser salvador de sua alma.
todos os personagens homens ao seu modo tinham um desejo de controle por uma mulher bonita, aparentemente frágil. Para sobreviver, para ter um vislumbre de alívio do próprio sofrimento, Ah Jin se aproveitou de suas sedes de controle pelo seu corpo e alma para sobreviver... Até restar, quebrada, sem ninguém ao lado, viva, mas nunca feliz.
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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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Interesting
Many of the dramas lately have had similar stories but this one is refreshing and intriguing. Some people may not like the ending, but that's alright. After all, not everything ends as expected, especially with a sociopath involved. However, the drama is not boring at all, even if you're not a fan of it. Overall, it's a good watch.Was this review helpful to you?
such an addictive show
I'd say that Dear X was THE kdrama of 2025. It was such a rollercoaster.The acting? Impeccable.
The storyline? Masterpiece.
The suspense? Through the roof.
Hotel? Trivago.
Anyways, the actors, especially Kim You-Jung, was insane for this work. I've seen her in couple of her other dramas but this one? Insanity. I truly loved how they showed the different psychopathic and sociopathic traits in Baek Ah-Jin. Even the show kind of manipulated the viewer's POV. I think the show was so well-built and every loose end was tied into a knot. Definitely will watch it again, was so worth watching. 10/10.
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