Dear X (2025)

Dear X (Episodes 1–4): From Genius to Overacting

Dear X starts off brilliantly — a sharp, elegant dissection of ambition, trauma, and emotional manipulation.
Baek Ah Jin, played with surgical precision in the first two episodes, feels like a modern antiheroine shaped by pain rather than redemption.
Her cold, calculated demeanor suggests a story about psychological power, not simple revenge.

But by episode 3, the series stumbles.
The script mistakes complexity for excess, turning what could’ve been a chilling, simple act into an over-engineered mess.
Ah Jin stops being formidable and becomes theatrical — a strategist buried under implausible coincidences.

Episode 4 tries to recover tension through a police investigation, but ends up draining it instead.
Ah Jin, once fascinating, now looks overacted and hollow, her silence replaced by melodrama.

Visually, Dear X remains stylish — the rain, cold tones, and restrained pacing still work — yet the emotional impact evaporates.
It had all the ingredients for a story about moral decay and ambition, but it collapses under its own artifice.

Not terrible, but uneven: it begins with fire and ends with smoke.
For now, Dear X feels more like a promise than a revelation.

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It was a hoax all along

On theme with its theme (haha, I'm so funny *sigh*), from the start this drama manipulates its viewers. From the official promoters of the drama and the so-called "media influencers", to the vast majority of easily swayed users on websites such as this. Users that think that just because they can, they SHOULD post their thoughts about how they feel, but nothing about a media's quality. And I must address this again and again, because those are NOT the same. You can enjoy bad media, and thats ok (aka "my guilty pleasure"). Just make sure you know it is bad.
For those who don't wanna read it all: this drama is sht. Full of plot devices, plot holes and plot contrivances, to make the story move forward. People might say that some aspects are interesting, but don't bother. EVEN if you like a certain actor/actress, you're better off watching some of their other works. Also no, there was no wasted potential from the start. Even the acting was done wrong.
I'll try to keep it short, and this time I might even succeed, because I won't even bother with my usual format, taking apart every aspect every piece of what goes into making a piece of media.

Here I go. Visuals. This is the part where I talk about colour grading, cinematography and such. Well, even though this drama actually deserves praises in this particular section, I won't go out of my way, and I'll explain later why. Yes, some extremely nice cinematography. I was really impressed with some shots. Moving on.

Next I'd usually talk about audio, the pacing, world-building, acting, character development, fight choreography (when there is one), production value and so on and so forth. This time, I wont, I'll go directly at its core problem. The script is sht. Period. Every aspect of it.
I'll start with its most basic aspects. A psychopath kid is first and foremost exactly that: a kid. You can't write him/her with traits of an adult when they have no life experience. Being cold, calculated and such, has nothing to do with knowing what piece of information is important, and why that is, to use for leverage. And from that "simple" aspect, everything goes downhill. Why? Because the rest of the story follows the same flawed logic, the scenes happening in the only way to make the story happen, dismissing logic or probability.
And this is mostly in regards of the "moving parts". Add to that the sht dialogue, with half sentences, not talking like a normal human being, to incur misunderstandings (so the usual dialogue in a k-drama :)) )...
Also, manipulating people happens all around, not just regarding males. You might say she was alluring them with her body, except, no she wasn't. Most of the times it was emotional manipulation, playing on aspects regarding her or her "victim", what was working best, case by case. "I suffered great wrongdoings. Your parent hates you. You and I are the same". Stuff like that. Anything that would help bewitch the victim. Even changing tactics mid-way if needed. (she hugs him, to stop him from talking because the verbal aspect was not working). So, this aspect was also wrong.
And on top of allllll of that, the acting wasn't great either. The viewers are easily swayed, I know, mostly so when its about these dramas, but thats not good acting. Or maybe its the directing... Well, I'll gladly compromise and say "it might be both". And I will give an example. Anthony Hopkins in "The Silence of the Lambs". When you threaten someone or you let them take a peak behind your mask, what they see must be reflected in their fear, their realisation that they are prey. You know, inner alarms going off, dry mouth, the fly instinct kicking off... Because thats the main hype for a psychopath, isn't it? Showing your full might and make the victim know its "insect value" while they draw their last breath. Or something like that, I don't know, I'm not one *sweats nervously*...
What we got here is the usual portraying of a deranged individual in a k-drama. Over-the-top, of even cringe, acting that consists in extreme smiling with a blank face, void looks, like thats supposed to show a "cold/no emotions" aspect.

So, using fewer words: this drama felt fake from the start because of the script and acting. Simple as that. I never understood the hype and I hope this drama will get buried fast.

And now, to sum it up. Is it good? Hell, no. You might enjoy it? No. Not even to pass time? Nope. The only praise I can address is about some visuals and some acting of the supporting cast. Watching it just for SOME nice scenes, sounds insane, especially because you don't know then there will be one. The same for the acting. If you like someone from the cast, watch them in something else. Or, you might watch this drama in the future, when you'll see the child actor in a different drama and check previous works. "Wait, it played in that drama? Hmm, bad reviews. But I like this person so I'll give it a go". Something like that, I don't know. (Yes, the child was good btw).

When a movie has good writing, people will like it even 50 years later (I won't even bother with an example, there are lots). People enjoy "bad" media because of certain aspects, even if the writing is not that good. You might like it for the visuals (the first Avatar), or the IP (the first Mortal Kombat). Or, it is so sht that you actually start having fun watching the low bar (Madame Web, Gal Gadot acting/singing in Snow White). Well, this drama is not it. It has none of those.
It gets a rating of 2 (I've already mentioned its good parts). Enjoyment factor? Re-watching value? LOL.
Have a lovely day.

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This is one of those dramas that’s hard to rate. I don’t even know what I expected from it. Everything was chaotic, wild, dark — and yet something was missing.

It’s an intriguing story about an unconventional female lead who resorts to questionable motives and feels absolutely no remorse. Baek Ah‑jin is a manipulative vixen. You realize you’re caught in her web only when it’s already too late and the chain is tightening around your throat. Every time you think her kingdom of lies is about to collapse, the next moment you see her standing on top, with all the unlucky souls who crossed her lying at her feet. I felt sorry for the victims — at least the innocent ones — while at the same time burning with curiosity to see what devilish plan she would come up with next.

I’m not sure where exactly things went wrong, but something definitely did. Whether it was the character development or the direction of the plot… I don’t know. The beginning was fantastic. It promised something phenomenal. But with each episode I felt like I was going in circles — an endless loop of repetitive actions with no clear direction.

The whole time I watched Yoon Joon‑seo, I kept screaming: leave her, save yourself, Baek Ah‑jin is manipulating you, can’t you see it! The only logical explanation for why he stayed by her side all those years, despite her never promising him anything, is that he’s just as broken as she is.

Kim Jae‑oh was probably the most normal one of them all — just blinded by his own illusions about her. Like Joon‑seo, he could have started fresh, but he chose to remain in Ah‑jin’s shadow because he genuinely believed that made him useful, and he was strangely okay with that.

I expected some kind of development between her and at least one of the two, but everything was touched on only superficially and quickly brushed aside. Instead, they became willing prisoners in her web — a web that slowly and inevitably consumed them.

And what was Moon Do‑hyeok’s role supposed to be? His motives remained unclear until the very end. He married Ah‑jin, but for what purpose? Everything about him felt suspicious — a door left open for something more — but instead of exploring it, they simply left a gaping hole in the plot.

And then we get to the ending. Why did they have to settle for the easiest possible conclusion? What did we get — an unnecessary death and a finale that existed solely because they needed to wrap up the story as quickly as possible. After all the madness, I expected something bold, but what I got was a compromise.

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Almost perfect but lacked at some points

Firstly, it started off very strong I really liked the vibe and the way the story of the siblings was presented it was all dark and the producers did a great job. It was unique and I was really invested in the story of Ahjin, Kim Yoojeong did a fantastic job by portraying the character and as I was not convinced by her acting in previous dramas I’ve watched, I can say that she was brilliant here and she WAS Ahjin, Yoojeong was clearly the best out of the cast. However, I cant say the same about Youngdae. I really enjoyed him in the Penthouse but I felt like I was watching the same character here. I know he has a specific way of acting and he does not show so much expressions but I feel like it suited his character in Penthouse but not Junseo. I became tired of watching him in the second part of the drama as he barely had any expressions, regardless of the scene. And I know it wasnt because Junseo was expressionless it was the actor, it didnt matter to whom he was talking to in the drama, he was always boring and it itched me so much.
I have to say that I completely don’t understand why the boys sticked to Ahjin so much. It was obvious she doesn’t value them and they knew it, she only talked to them when she needed something especially to Jae Oh, he looked up to her because she was the one that understood his actions in high school but beside that they barely had any interactions and I can’t comprehend it that he could commit any crime for her, as well as getting killed for her. The same thing with Junseo, he always was by her side until he acknowledged her actions when her father died. He didn’t approve it, he didn’t like it, that was the first time he told her she did wrong and he will not be by her side anymore. But he did. Every single time! She kept on doing even worse and worse things, but he was always with her. He scolded her but also helped her hide the evidence, defended her and made himself a culprit, which is contradictory. Only at the end, he was the one that uncovered her true persona, but still “helped” her run away? Beside scolding her and coming back to her he didn’t have any important role and by the time he was only given random scenes that were unnecessary for the plot.
Also, it was really weird to watch him crushing on her and even trying to kiss her? They are somehow step-siblings, not by blood but they were growing up together for many years, which is really uncomfortable.
The other thing that itched me a little was the fact that Ahjin talked to her so called boyfriend about breaking up and she could have done it with simply stating that she doesn’t want it anymore because it posed a threat to her acting career, however she kept on telling him how she really is and her true intestions and even somehow hinted that she was the one who killed his grandmother, which is not true and it was shown that it was an accident and she could have proved it. It was shown many times that she has her plans made from the bottom to the top, she knows everything about her victims and how they would react, what benefits she could gain, but still acted irrationally here. It was obvious that when he did something to himself people would talk shit about her, which is unfavorable to her. Why didn’t she just break up with him without telling him that. I can’t understand why previously she made up more complicated plans but failed in this simple one.
I felt like some scenes or actions just were included in the drama but were not necessary or important. The husband Dohyuk was the most useless character in the drama. Everybody thought that he was the one that will take revenge on Ahjin but didn’t do anything. He tried to make her lose her mind and even tried to change script to trigger the trauma in her, but even despite the fact he failed, it in fact did not really had any consequences. Female lead didn’t even lose her mind nor did she have any mental problems like she previously started to have. It magically disappeared like her husband. Also there was one scene where they show us that Ahjin can feel empathy and she is clearly scared that Ingangs grandmother could die, but it is not used anywhere else nor shown any other scenes where is empathizing with someone.
The fact that she survived the accident was also hilarious but of course we have to be dissatisfied by the fact that SHE was the only character alive, even though she should be the one to die. I know it was intentional but I think they could came up with something better.
Overall it was not bad, I really enjoyed it and I wasn’t bored even for a minute, the acting, the aesthetic, the vibe was perfect. It simply started to fading a little throughout the drama and only the last episodes were not it, but I think it was something fresh when it comes to dramas and it was fun to watch something that stoods out a little.

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Dear X writer, who hurt you — and why did you take it out on us?

This drama started like a beautifully plated dish — glossy, aromatic, and pretending it had Michelin‑star ambitions. The opening episodes strutted around with the confidence of a chef who thinks they’ve reinvented cuisine, and for a moment, I believed it. The acting was so good it gaslit me into thinking the writing was competent. I was out here taking notes like, “Wow, this is gripping,” and the premise sparkled just enough to make me think, “Fine, I’ll take a bite.” Little did I know I was about to be served a dish that looked gourmet but tasted like someone dumped soy sauce, whipped cream, and battery acid into a blender and called it fusion.

Because somewhere around episode nine, the writers clearly said, “Plot? Never heard of her.” They started freestyling like a DJ who lost the playlist and decided to mash up whale sounds with K‑pop. The rooftop‑murder inspector? Gone like he got Thanos‑snapped. The café boss? Folded like a cheap lawn chair. And Jae‑o — sweet, loyal, plot‑carrying Jae‑o — died in a moment that should’ve detonated the plot, only for the writers to treat it like a minor inconvenience. His sacrifice should have been the turning point, the moment everything shifts. Instead, the story shrugged, checked its watch, and moved on. The disrespect was so loud I could hear its echo.

And Jun‑seo? My guy. My sweet summer child. He had the video. He had evidence. He had the moral obligation. And what does he do? Absolutely nothing. He doesn’t leak it, doesn’t expose Moon Do‑hyeok, doesn’t honor Jae‑o’s death — he just resets the plot to factory settings. I’ve seen NPCs in video games make better decisions. If this is what the show considers “love,” then I’m filing a restraining order.

Meanwhile, Ah‑jin is out there being the equivalent of a raccoon in a Gucci coat — chaotic, unhinged, and absolutely not fixable. I wasn’t expecting character development from her. She’s a lost cause, a narrative black hole where growth goes to die. I wasn’t waiting for redemption or healing or some grand transformation. But if you’re going to let a character like her walk away, at least pretend it’s intentional. This isn’t Natural Born Killers, where the villains escaping is a sharp commentary on society. This is “clickbait turned rage bait,” and I fell for it like a clown stepping on a rake.

And Moon Do‑hyeok? The show built him up as this terrifying, calculating sociopath, only to let him stroll out of the finale like he just finished a yoga retreat. No consequences. No fallout. No narrative weight. Just vibes. If you’re going to let the villain win, at least give me a monologue, a metaphor, a moral — something. Instead, the writers clocked out early and left him standing there like a glitch in the simulation.

And honestly, at this point, I would’ve preferred if the writers had just followed the webtoon. Not because the webtoon made Ah‑jin redeemable — she was still cruel, still manipulative, still a walking red flag with legs — but because at least it respected its own narrative spine. It lets every character suffer while alive, which is thematically consistent and emotionally coherent. Here, Ah‑jin lost the very mettle that made her despicable in the beginning. Once she married Do‑hyeok, she just started “resting on her laurels,” drifting through the plot like she was on sabbatical. The writers clearly wanted to be edgy or creative, but if you’re going to change something, at least make it better. Instead, they took a perfectly good recipe — the webtoon — and said, “This needs more salt,” then dumped the entire shaker in and made it inedible.

By the end, I wasn’t even mad at the characters — I was mad at myself for believing. This drama fumbled the bag so hard it entered a different timeline. It didn’t flip the script; it launched the script into orbit. The acting was phenomenal, and that’s the only reason I’m not outside the studio with a megaphone demanding reparations. But even Oscar‑level performances can’t save a story determined to sabotage itself like it’s speed‑running self‑destruction.

In conclusion: this drama didn’t break my heart; it wasted my time. And honestly? That’s worse. I walked away feeling like I watched a chef burn a perfectly good recipe, blame the oven, and then ask if I wanted seconds. No. I do not want seconds. I want peace.

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Served absolutely NOTHING!!!!

The story was sloppy. Viewers who enjoy the psychological genre would like it more. As an avid fan of dramas like It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, I had high expectations for this one. And honestly, it was almost perfect… until her father died.

After that point, everything became a big fat mess.

The narrative completely lost its direction. The story didn’t follow through on its own setup, and Baek Ah-jin suddenly started making reckless and foolish decisions. She nearly lost her defining trait, her calculative, logical nature and it felt like the screenwriter abandoned proper character development altogether. Instead, the plot spiraled into something that resembled Wattpad-level writing, full of forced drama and inconsistent choices.

As a result, nothing really matched up in the end. The emotional payoff didn’t feel earned, and the resolution lacked coherence.

I’m not going to blame the actors for this, because this is very clearly a writing issue The cast consists of experienced, well-established actors who did what they could with the material given to them. A special mention goes to Kim Yoo-jung, who once again proved why she’s one of the strongest actresses of her generation—she genuinely elevated every scene she was in.

I did have some doubts about Hwang In-yeop’s character, though. In certain situations, his performance felt a bit stiff, as if the character wasn’t fully fleshed out or properly integrated into the story. Also, it didn't feel good watching a child making those decisions on her own. I know it's merely a drama and shouldn't be taken seriously, but it was quite painful to watch the child actress acting and for some reason Ah Jin's childhood felt almost fake artificial.

On a positive note, the OSTs were fantastic and will definitely be added to my playlist, something I’ll enjoy throughout the year. Shoutout to Minnie, Olivia Marsh, Cocona, Elaine, and Kim Lim; this drama wouldn't be complete without your voice!!

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A review is not meant to judge the character’s personality but the value of the show

**SPOILER**

People are leaving bad reviews because they’re upset Ah Jin never redeemed herself and Jae O and Jun Seo sacrificed themselves for nothing. I think every choice that was made by them was in line with their personality and makes sense. It started out toxic and stayed that way until the very end.
No one is defending her actions, the flicker of humanity in her eyes makes the audience hope things can get better but she’s damaged goods. She buried herself so deep in darkness, her admitting she’s wrong would make her whole world fall apart, she was never going to stop.
The story was captivating, the characters had depth, the actors were all amazing (especially Kim Yoo Jung). Let’s not leave negative reviews because they successfully portrayed the main character as the bad guy.

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WOW.

Holy SHT.
That's all I can say.
I'm speechless.
First of all. This drama deserves AWARDS!!!
LITERALLY. The acting is surreal. Baek Ah Jin AKA Kim Yoo-Jung. You did a phenomenal job protraying your character.
From a child who was abused. Used. And damaged to an Adult who is mistreated and toyed at.
She became confident in herself with the help of her 2 guy friends. And also for being an independent women.
I'm speechless on the character of Ah Jin. The ending may be ....off.... see what I did there? LMAO
But... the story was good.
The acting hooked me. The emotions and actions was just WOW. LIKE. TANGINA. ANG GANDA PUNYETA.

Some scenes truly made my cry. Mad. Pissed. Annoyed and hated but honestly im impressed.
I stopped reading the webtoon as I prefer live action but after finishing this drama. I yhink i wanna go and read it. To see if the ending are the same or different.

Overall.
Im thrilled.
It hurts to see the other characters get treated like that but from the perspective of AhJin... its her whos destroyed af.

The people around her LOVES her.
Its her who cant seem to appreciate it due to lack of love she received as a child.
She doesn't trust or feel the sincerity.
Whenever she feels it... it backfires her.

Which made her lose her mind.

Idk what else to say.
But this was truly an enjoyable drama!
It was worth waiting for every week.
Im proud of you Kim Yoo Jung!
And also to the 2 male main lead. I already knew Young Jae from other dramas but Kim Do Hoon caught my eyes.
He' such a perfectionate SIMP.
i love him!
His dedication to her.
The love. Just wow.
Would literally do anything to keep her safe and make her happy.
To those girls
Good job! You slayed it!!!

Amazing CAST
AMAZING DRAMA!!
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS WEBTOON COME TO LIVE.

감사합니다 ♡♡

1243AM 12-5-25

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What should she have done then?

The lead actress asks the same question.

Those who demand to deny choice in the pro-life vs pro-choice debate rarely volunteer to shoulder the hardships of the would be mother. Likewise, are the people condemning her willing to shield her from the forces bent on suffocating her?

This isn’t an endorsement of her actions nor an absolution, rather an invitation to recognize the weight and complexity of lives we do not live and acknowledge that moral certainty is easy when it is not us who bear the consequences.

It is one of several dramas with morally twisted protagonists but why I think the show rises above surface level appeal is that despite the cards already in her hands she does not seek to make her life more "interesting" than necessary. She moves through her world not looking for enemies who just happen to relentlessly come to punch her so she punches harder. Her actions stem from survival not villainous desire to orchestrate just anyone's downfall, though at some point it came at the cost of few innocent people.

The drama delivers an episode8-level bomb (kdrama watchers know this) as early as episode three. The first two are their own bam and kaboom too, then it breathes and adds enriching layers to the webtoon.

There are a few points where it falters:

Initially, the narrative moved as if it showed comic panels rather than achieving a seamless flow. The school antagonist's recklessness felt inconsistent with her status as a top student. It was strange that she would be bold enough to antagonize Ah Jin so publicly alone with minimal family influence. It still felt artificial, the acting still felt like a performance. She returns later to contribute little beyond superfluous screen time. The tension between Jae Oh and his father lacked, Ah Jin's manipulative lines to young Junseo bordered cartoonish- she was more subtle in the webtoon.

But by episode three, all of that changes. The emotions sharpen and the story takes off to find its rhythm.

The spectacular restraint gives the portrayal depth. Her laugh does not slip into an over-the-top deranged laugh and her cry bears no resemblance to the familiar cry of a wronged victim. She fills the spaces with an unsettling mix of emotions revealing an emotionally nuanced character, who is molded by circumstance so she decided to shape it in return. The show is brilliant at focusing on that. There is a toxic devotion in the background, sub themes of corruption, power, jealousy, meaning of love, the promise of a savior, but at the end of the day this is all about her and her story alone.

Whether the series wins you over or not, it is far from a wasted viewing. It offers several elements that are objectively impressive: the portrayal of the actors including the children, the storytelling choices, cinematography, the score and silence at the right moments. The parallels and symbolic imagery are fun subtle easter eggs for the sharp-eyed as well.

Ultimately on a viewer-level, suspense, delight, heartache, awe, disbelief, laughter, tears, laughter through tears, gripping hair .. DearX broke records for how fast it made me feel everything.

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It's a mess

I don’t usually rant about dramas, but Dear X deserves it. I rarely drop shows, yet this one managed to frustrate me enough that I couldn’t finish without regret.

The first couple of episodes had me hooked. The female lead, Baek Ah-jin, was cold, manipulative, and unapologetically mysterious. I thought I’d finally found a drama that would let its lead stay strong and clever until the end. But instead of building on that, the writers chose the laziest route possible: a complete downfall.

I absolutely hate dramas where the male or female lead ends in collapse, and this one is the perfect example of why. Watching Ah-jin unravel into humiliation and ruin wasn’t bold or thought-provoking — it was hollow. The show wanted me to root for her brilliance, only to punish her for it later. That’s not character development, that’s narrative cruelty.

The supporting cast didn’t help either. None of them were allowed to grow independently. Every single character existed only to dismantle Ah-jin piece by piece, like puppets dancing to the writers’ strings. Do-hyeok’s obsession, Jun-seo’s betrayal, Sung-hee’s rage — all of it felt predictable, as if the writers had no interest in giving them real arcs. They were tools, not people.

The writing itself was a mess. Where was the consistency? Where was the logic? Every move Ah-jin made somehow worked exactly as planned until the script decided it was time for her downfall. It felt contrived, like the writers were more interested in shocking viewers than telling a coherent story.

And the saddest part? The drama had potential. The actors looked great, the production was stylish, and the setup could have been brilliant. But after episode two, everything went downhill so fast I felt cheated. By the finale, I wasn’t angry at the characters anymore — I was angry at the writing.

The ending sealed the disappointment. Instead of giving the lead a clever resolution or at least dignity, the show dragged her into collapse. For me, that erased everything that made her compelling. I dropped it because I can’t stand watching leads punished like this.

Dear X could have been a sharp, character-driven drama about power and manipulation. Instead, it became a chaotic, illogical mess held together by a lead whose downfall ruined the entire experience. I regret wasting my time on it, but at least it gave me something to rant about.

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