intriguing story that hooks you in
originally came into this thinking it’d be one of those ‘filler’ dramas I watch when nothing exciting is being aired. but it was actually one of the best shows I’ve seen in a while. while it doesn’t do anything widely unique in terms of story, it brings out the question of how justice is defined by different people and it leaves us wondering at different points of whether violence or the law would have worked better in that situation consistently. it also had a rather great list of side characters who made the Lee Ro Um Group feel much more full of life. it does get a bit slow at times, but the eventual plot twists made it worth itWas this review helpful to you?
Underrated
It is really underrated.....the drama is really nice and I don't feel boring in any episode .....i like the main villain very2 much and his obsession with female lead.....cast is fabulous..every cast has fulfilled the duty of playing the character perfectly....and I really like the scenes where FL explain her ideas to con people.but after ep 10 it kinda start to lose its pace but then in ep 14 it gains back.....yes and I understand viewer that the characters must have developed well because rather than FL no other jeomok children back story was revealed properly ❤️perfect for one time watch series.
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Three episodes too long
This Drama started very strongly, with the central character Lee Ro Um especially interesting. Portrayed as a genuine sociopath, she was fascinating. The basic setup seemed like 70% Leverage, 10% Dark Angel, and the first 3/4 of the Drama set it up well.The major flaw was that it was too long, and as a result, it went soft and soggy in eps 13&14. This was especially noticeable with Lee Ro Um, but the Drama also burdened us with the inevitable mother and child reunion for the ML character Han Moo Young. Yawn.
Another flaw caused by the Drama's excessive length was the mystery of the mystery. The Drama dragged out its central mystery, who the "Big Bad" was, until the end of episode 13. The whole team were supposed to be prodigies of various kinds but somehow they missed the fact that the Bib Bad was basically walking around with a tattooo on their forehead that said "I'm the Big Bad" from at least episode 6.
The final 2 epiodes tightened up a bit, and overall it was a much better K Drama spin on "Leverage" than the actual Korean Leverage was. But it could have been so much better with fewer episodes.
One other important point to note: Besides doing an excellent job of portraying her character, Chun Woo Hee is also "really, really, really ridiculously good-looking" 😍
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When the act of conning takes time
I went into this drama with so much interest and LOVED the first 4 episodes.The episodes layed heavy on the crime-theme and had fun scenes using, among other things, breaking of the 4th wall to interact with the viewer which was nice and made for a clever way of explaining.
From there, we are introduced to the core group of people that revolve our main protagonists and the reality that they have all grown apart and struggled to get together as a working group again. This is where the plot starts to falter. Their overall struggles in a plot that starts unraveling more and more sinister crimes unfortunately makes the story drag. At one point midway, none of their plans have actually succeeded when doing it in the team. There is always something that goes wrong or derails them from their plans. While that is frustrating and feels like we are getting nowhere, it is really nice to see them try to improvise more and more each time. By the middle of the series, there is a huge lack of the comedy that was seen earlier. It is kinda hard to skip most of the middle, since there are alot of fragments and things that all connects by the end of the story.
Towards the ending we kinda got back the "old" format that we had grown fond of in the first episodes. This emphazises even more how far the storytelling/cinematography/script from the first episodes the drama went during the middle part that just did its own thing without any of the comedy.
Overall I did enjoy the drama alot!
Is is really heavy on the theme of crime and overall else, building friendships (there is practially no romance at all). The FL is a confident smart con-person and the ML is an compassionate lawyer, so if that partnership peaks your interest, give the drama a try!
We also got an AMAZING cameo by the talented Moon Ga Young that I enjoyed. The story tied up nicely towards the end with an happy ending :)
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Ending Surprise
I could not understand why this drama was called Delightfully Deceit. There was nothing delightful about the cruelness, but l screamed and laughed out loud near the end. This drama was somewhat hard for me to watch on a continued basis. I had to remove myself for awhile and come back later to continue watching. It was rough for me because I wanted the good guys to win immediately. This is a good watch and I recommend it to all who like a story with good substance that will keep you intrigued.Was this review helpful to you?
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NO my usual genre , but well done & Not a mindless revenge fest. Plus there's a happy ending
I went from "not interested" to "completed" and it's solely due to the format & the story. I like light dramas so this genre is not "in my wheel house" . Plus, it starts out with some horrific scenes & introduces you to a female lead that you will struggle to warm up to for 98% of the drama. Though there are guys everywhere & alot of action & violence, this story revolves around the female lead. Which makes it hard for you as a viewer if you find her to be more psychopath than leading lady. (cause you're not wrong!) BUT, wait, I will try to convey why this might be worth your watching., But first:I have seen the male lead in Resident playbook (which I dropped) & he seems to be playing a similar bland "deadpan, droll" character who doesn't do much emoting . So the leads are a difficult pairing character & story-wise. The drama format has flashbacks to show you how things were done contrary to how they seemed to be done, as well as the female lead "breaking the 4th wall"- (speaking directly to the audience) which really works well. This is a multilayered story, with the layers of each character getting peeled back to reveal what's at thier core.(some characters get more peeled than others !) With revenge being the driving force of the story and with all the violence that ensues, it took me off guard when the plot revealed that 1 person's forgiveness & determination to take the moral high ground infected/inspired those around them to follow suit.
Actually there are 2 characters, whose doggedly attempt to do things within the confines of the justice system, while at the same time supporting characters who 'appear' (key word) to be deviant . What's surprising is that though the plot is full speed ahead set on one course, the male lead, (who comes across as anything other than a course changer), will prove to be the catalyst for diverting the story from a forgone sad conclusion.
I normally don't shy away from heavy spoilers, but with this drama, they would essentially really spoil it.
The drama surprised me, it drew me in, & yes there were a few episodes that I could have done without, but I really liked that they had characters question thier own perspectives & some even evolved, learning how to reconnect with thier humanity when they & other characters thought it impossible. I liked that they had many characters standing up to take responsibility for thier actions. I was a tiny bit disappointed that they didn't give us one more millisecond of what passed for "romance" as a nice way to conclude things, but there was a "happy" ending for the main characters and I will spoil it to say that though the lead's 'romance' (if you want to call it that) is implied at the end, I was glad to see they didn't force things.
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Did not find it at all delightful, lots of deceipt,
Review
6/10 is my rating. I found Delightfully Deceitful to be a disappointing watch. The premise of a con artist with no empathy teaming up with an overly empathetic lawyer for revenge sounded intriguing, but the execution fell flat
.The female lead character, Lee Ro-woom, is portrayed as cold and distant, with a backstory meant to justify her behavior, but it didn’t resonate with me. Han Moo-young, the male lead character, is incredibly kind and patient, but her stand-offish and sometimes cruel attitude towards him became increasingly frustrating, especially since it persisted well beyond the halfway point, when I decided to stop watching.
The plot is undeniably complex, with numerous twists and turns, but this complexity doesn’t translate into excitement. Instead, it often feels convoluted and slow-moving, making it hard to follow and, frankly, boring at times. Watching with my daughter, we frequently found ourselves taking breaks, only to return and realize we had missed crucial plot points because the show was so tedious.
From what I’ve read in other reviews, the final episodes drag on unnecessarily, which only reinforces my decision to quit when I did. Additionally, many viewers noted that the drama loses its initial psychological depth and becomes more formulaic, which might explain why it feels less engaging as it progresses.
If you’re a fan of the revenge trope and can tolerate a slow pace, you might enjoy it more than I did. However, for me, it was a struggle to get through, and I wouldn’t recommend it to others. In fact, if it were on, I’d probably change the channel.
Spoilers
One of the major issues I had with the series is how Han Moo-young, a character who is supposed to be principled and upright, ends up compromising his values for Lee Ro-woom. Even considering their past connection when they were younger, I didn’t see why he would go to such lengths for her. Her character didn’t have enough depth or charm to warrant such devotion, in my opinion.
From the very first episode, I found the storyline lackluster. I kept hoping it would pick up and become more engaging, but it never did. The complexity of the plot required intense focus, as missing even a small detail could leave you lost. Normally, this would add to the excitement, but in this series, it only made the experience more tedious. Watching with my daughter, we often found ourselves taking breaks, asking each other to summarize what happened, only to realize that even when we were paying attention, the significance of events was unclear, and new characters were introduced without proper context. It felt like my brain checked out, even though my eyes were still on the screen—that’s how uninteresting I found it at times.
Synopsis
This is a 2023 South Korean series with crime, drama, thriller, and even some comedy elements. Major themes in this drama include justice, revenge and deception. The series has 16, 60 to 70 minute episodes.
Lee Row oom (Chun Woo hee) was wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of her parents when she was actually herself a victim. To survive prison, she allowed the others to believe she was an unfeeling psychopath. Angry at her fate though, she does become a very charismatic and cunning con artist. After 10 years of time in prison for a crime she did not commit, new evidence, that indicates the actual killer, leads to her release. Once released, Ro woom teams up with the attorney who helped free her, Han Moo-yeong (Kim Dong wook) to bring to justice the group that ended and ruined her family's lives. Initially very different, a passionate empathic lawyer and a cold devious con artist, they evolve both personally and together through the series. The story weaves through mysteries, betrayals and many twists and has the surprising element of Ro woom breaking the 4th wall and talking to viewers.
#DelightfullyDeceitful #ChunWooHee #KimDongWook
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Delightfully Delicious
What is touted as a revenge drama is more akin to a cross between Leverage and The Pretender (or perhaps The Institute).. This premise is both interesting and dare I say, better than most kdramas of a similar theme. Ultimately, I binged it.There is a lot to like about this drama, a show that I wasn’t aware of until two years after it originally aired. The first half was a delight, a delicious morsel that had the level of intrigue, tension between relationships and portrayal of characters just right.
Our main pair were superb. There is definitely something there between them. The evil characters were good. The notes of intrigue in the first half were classic and very good.
Show does have its brutal moments. They catch your attention. Each member of our Scooby Doo gang are suffering in their own way. Our heroic lawyer suffers from an empathetic illness that appears to threaten his life, a new one on me.
Three episodes from the end, my suspicions became clear and I wasn’t too happy with how the story was turning. The ultimate evil, mysterious, chairman was ho hum and in my view undermined what was a cracking story.
Chun Woo-hee Is an acting powerhouse. Her next drama: A Typical Family is proof of this. Kim Dong Wook is an actor I like very much and did a good job here. Then there is Yoon Park - his versatility knows no end - think Introverted Boss, For Eagle Brothers and Birth Care Centre.
Show overall, is delightfully delicious. If you like intrigue, morally grey characters with redemptive arcs and growing connections between a Scooby Doo gang, then this show is for you. Don’t be put off by the MDL rating.
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Better Than the Rating, Delightfully Surprised
This is a story about an evil bastard who destroys the lives of thousands of people, and how some of those wrecked people organize to bring him down. In the process of getting some payback these people heal each other and themselves. The story emphasizes steep character growth for the many broken individuals involved in the revenge scheme.The plot can be complicated but no overly so. Much of the uneven early presentation may have to do with this being a first script for the author.
I found the first seven episodes OK and good enough to hold my attention. It was the seventh and eighth episodes that I felt really hooked, and then it got better from there as the payoffs in plot development and character growth show up.
Usually the website ratings on shows are a good guide, but not always. Sometimes a particular drama appeals to a niche leaving others cold or indifferent resulting in a lower than deserved score (or the process can work in reverse). It's worth checking if you're in the niche for this one or not.
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I recognized the MML from a previous drama that I gave a 10 to which I rarely do but it was a good drama. Mostly because the MML got some mad fightimg skills.I thought he was going to fight in this drama but he didn't.
This drama wasn't bad but it wasn't good. The issue I had with this drama was that each episode was too long and too slow.
The MFL started off strong but fizzled in the end. She nailed about two cons and the rest went down in a heavy heap.
I usually look for character connection and of course the bromance. None of that was in this drama because the MFL was cold and bossy. The probation officer and the con crew was just annoying. If that wasn't enough when I saw who the main culprit was I was ready to stop watching. I now have some not so favorite Korean actors that I tend to avoid if they're in a specific drama and I should've skipped this one. It just didn't make no sense for this person to be the culprit. It was a horrible character choice and to me it's what dragged the drama down.
At one point I lost my patience and just sped up the rest of the episodes. What's sad was that even though I had sped up the last few episodes it still went by SLOW!!! Had I known the way this drama ended I would've stopped at episode 4 because that's where this drama went downhill. Even though each episode dragged the last two episodes just cleared up everything by the MML sliding his crew a note that solved most of their problems. I was like WTF was that?? Why was everything else dragged out but not that?!
I can't believe I was able to stick this out. I also have to check to see who's in these dramas. If it's got romance or a actor I don't like I will be skipping it.
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It’s called Beneficial Fraud… because the pacing robbed us blind
A Smart Concept Drowned in Overplotting, Saved Only by Strong Scenes and a A Descent Ending Song✨ THE GOOD:
Brilliant concept – A scammer with zero empathy teams up with a lawyer who cries at air. Dysfunctional? Yes. Effective? Sometimes.
High points slapped – Certain scenes hit, especially emotional face-offs and courtroom mic drops.
That ending song? Certified replay material. Honestly, deserves its own drama.XD
Chun Woo‑hee plays a genius scammer who cons bad people, while her lawyer co-star sheds tears like a fountain.
Odd couple goals? Kinda.
😵💫 THE “WE GET IT, PLEASE MOVE ON” MOMENTS:
Terrible pacing – Plot moved like molasses in a maze. Felt like the drama itself needed therapy.
Unnecessarily complicated – Twists stacked like IKEA furniture with missing instructions.
Villains drop in like undesirable apps – New baddie every week, then poof, gone. We’re all taking screenshots like,
“Who was that?”
Way too many f*$ing characters – Half the villains felt like guest stars in their own backstories.
🧠 THE “BIG BRAIN, NO CHILL” FACTOR:
Scam mechanics? Cool.
Execution? Convoluted.
Twist fatigue – Some reveals are clever, others feel like the script hit shuffle and forgot to check.
Pace dips near episodes 7–8… like hitting the brakes without warning , by episode 10, you’re either impressed… or emotionally bankrupt , that if you get there to start with .
🎯 VERDICT:
"Like reading a genius revenge plan written in ancient code—intriguing, but exhausting. Still, that ending song slaps."
Watch if: You love morally gray characters, elite-level scheming, and don’t mind yelling “WHAT IS GOING ON” every 20 minutes.
Skip if: You need consistent pacing, emotional clarity, or hate dramas that overthink their own genius.
Best paired with: 🎧 That OST on loop, a corkboard full of string, and the will to skip a few episodes guilt-free.
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Not Good Enough
Korean Drama " Delightfully Deceitful " is a crime thriller comedy about a con artist and an attorney coming together to punish those who think they are above any law.The drama does start out strongly, with the story of the main female lead being compelling and her character even more so. And truly, there were some con cases that were handled nicely and the result was enjoyable.
However, the drama quickly deteriorates, getting boring and falling into way too many tropes. Things got out of hand quite quickly and the plot got even more confusing and stuffy.
The performances at least were enjoyable.
So, overall, three out of ten.
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