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Who is the main character?
I really liked the beginning of the drama. The actor Choi Wooshik has become one of my favorites and seeing him in a role like Lee Tang’s was also very different from what I saw him in before (Our Beloved Summer and Melomovie).I like the beginning of how he is a lost and unsuccessful student working at a covenience store who also used to be a victim of bullying so he has always been having a hard life. The moment he first kills someone and how his anxiety was portrayed in the drama was great!!! it made me feel scared too! And then just the way he got entangled more in othet killings with the blind woman and the two bullies. I wish the rest of the drama went on like this. I loved thinking about the morals and ethics of whether it is ok to kill someone who has done much worse atrocities. The concept reminded me of Death Note tbh and I reallyyyy loved it!!!
However after he moves to another city, and the ex-accomplice of Ro Bin appears, the drama changes drastically! I didn’t like this turn of plot and it actually felt like a completely new drama. We were barely seeing Lee Tang, the main character of the drama anymore… I feel like after watching this the police officer Nan Gam seems more like the actual main character because in the end it’s all about finding the murderer of his father who turns out to he Song Chon…
The beginning of the drama was worth the watch for sure and judging from the end it looks like we will get a season 2! i hope that will be more focused on Lee Tang.
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This review may contain spoilers
overall it's a series that I won't remember in detail for a long time
I liked that the main character never sees himself as a hero, and it's fun the way everything happens.I really liked how the detective acts. I also liked the ending.
I like that it's dark and the kind of humor it has.
But overall it's a series that I won't remember in detail for a long time.
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Dull Paradox
The first four episodes follows Lee Tang bumbling his way into being an accidental vigilante with an uncanny ability to kill people that turn out to be murderers or other vile offenders while leaving no evidence of the kills is the most kinetic and interesting comparatively to the second half of the series which pretty much grinds to a screeching halt to focus on the beleaguered detective and delusional serial killer with Lee Tang running hiding from the police as a b story. What a waste of time to not develop and focus on the guy with the supernatural powers who can identify actually guilty people upon contact, even a brush through layers of winter clothing. There's gratuitous, explicit nudity as well, one of which is for a crime.Was this review helpful to you?
Thrilling, fantastical… murder?
This was a genuinely fun watch. Even though I think they kind of liar the plot in some of the middle episodes and it seemed super compressed due to the short run time, I thoroughly enjoyed some parts a lot.I think many of the stories of the victims of the victims of Lee Tang’s murders had their story told phenomenally, in an extremely touching way. The narrative did a great job of getting us on people’s side, getting us to see things from others perspectives. Some of the stories were enough to make me tear up a little.
What I did think lost a little of v the magic was the chase sequences, simply because I think we could have embellished our fine detective with more than just a wonderful amount of facial hair. We only see the detective’s inner working mind and thoughts in the later episodes, and I would have loved to see far more of him.
Roh Bin was an interesting character. I was extremely surprised when Song Chan’s flashback sequence actually had me seeing things from his viewpoint.
All in all, enjoyable. I did thoroughly enjoy the ending sequence.
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This review may contain spoilers
"A Killer Paradox" is a suspense/thriller about an ordinary man named Lee Tang who one day accidentally kills someone in a fit of rage, only to discover that the person he killed was a serial killer. Lee Tang then goes into a spiral, as he takes this as a sign from God that he should get rid of people like that. Nan Gam is a police officer who is investigating the murders and is close to identifying Lee Tang.The first person Lee Tang killed was an accident, and like any normal person, Lee Tang felt guilty for what he did, until he discovered that the person was a serial killer. After that, everything changed. All the evidence against him simply disappeared, and all the people he killed later turned out to be horrible people who deserved it. I can even understand why Roh Bin thinks Lee Tang has some kind of special power, because it's too bizarre to be true without it.
I think the ending makes a lot of sense, with Nam Gam freeing Lee Tang. The world needs people like him, because justice is not the same for everyone and there are many bad people who go unpunished.
I didn't like the drama at first, because the development seemed unrealistic, at times even reminding me of the "Final Destination" franchise, but watching it you realize that there is a purpose in all of this. Coincidence or destiny? That is the big question raised by the drama and the main reason for Lee Tang's journey as a serial killer.
Choi Woo Shik's acting is truly incredible!
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it's like a boring kids ride at an amusement park
let me begin with a short tangent i guess. personally, i don't might gore or nudity when it contributes smth to the story. there is one nude scene, and i understand the purpose of it and what it's supposed to convey abt the main character, but it's WAYYYYY overkill. you know how sometimes in a kdramas, when the actors kiss it's like 2 barbie dolls aka it's just lips touching and not actual kissing? to me, this is that but like nude. it exists for shock value mostly. i am by no means conservative/traditional/modest, i just don't like things in art works that have no purpose. it might sound weird, but it creates a disconnection with me bc i no longer see it as a story, but a moneymaker. i could also rant abt how american entainment companies' investment into kdramas is changing the landscape for better and for worse, but this isn't a place for that.concept: great idea. i like vigilante stories, but halfway through it just... stopped... like it just stopped having a plot...
execution: bad. the entire production gave up half way.
pacing: can you even say there is pacing?? i guess it was too fast, and then nothing.
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Common but not disappointing.
First the positive things:Very common thriller trope but unexpected plot twists. Also, the acting is amazing, the stories are so well explained, and you can empathize with the characters. I even festival goosebumps with Heejoon's and Wooshik's acting because they have a lot of versatility.
Now the negative things:
I disliked the first +18 just because it didn't have anything to do with the plot and was just unnecessary. I didn't like the way it was so slow at the beginning, but luckily it changed. The last thing I really didn't like was that I think we needed more explanation of Tang's story and his superpower because it came out of nowhere without an explanation.
Overall, I give it a 10 because I really liked and enjoyed this series.
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All Actions have Consequences
This show started perfectly and it managed to stay fresh and interesting until the end. I couldn't stop thinking about it for two days until i finished it. I did took a break after every episode.The style is a little bit quirky and even though this is an action thriller with a hint of supernatural, it also had some comical moments. I was bothered with some unnecessary scenes like for example two short nude scenes, but the biggest issue is that in the second half of the series the main character, Lee Tang paradoxically only has 5 minutes of screen time per episode since the story expanded to other characters. So the drama loses/changes it's original identity. All in all this was an exciting watch with great characters and actors who gave them life.
A great small detail in the drama is a book "Crime and Punishment" which must have inspired the creators and, after finishing this drama, i feel a desire to read the book also.
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So fresh. Wait, I meant refresh.
Went into this with high expectation. Was familiar with the main antagonist who did a fairly good job albeit I felt he was not captivating enough (as for instance the main antagonist of the Flower of Evil was). Always thought Wooshik would kill a villain role, but whether it is the script or his execution, I just did not believe him as a main lead. The detective and his story also felt unnecessary. Also Roh bin's connection to everyone but low quality script/screen time?All felt underwhelming.
The first few episodes were interesting. Random comedic elements and the element surprise was there to give drama a fresh feel. But the further we went from the mid of show, more the plot has lost its direction... everything became a random mess, useless killing of random characters and honestly as if they tried to just filler even those 8 episodes.
All seems to be indicating for S2. Because what is Lee Tang's gift? And what is the meaning of all characters gaps? Questions fly above my head.
Extremely underwhelming. Save yourself time and go watch Strangers from Hell.
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Fell
I really agree with alotta people, the first like 3-4 episode was good, then the shift to focus on the past parter of Roh Bin was disappointing to me. I enjoyed when MC was out conducting his justice, would've enjoyed seeing that in an Death Note style influence.Roh Bin was the best part after Tang
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Disappointing Despite Star-studded Cast
Premise: Did not read the web seriesWas throughly impressed with the First 3 Episodes. CWS & SSK are such amazing actors that I was immediately captivated and brought their world. Absolutely enjoyed the directing which were movie-esque - especially in first few murders; such as the slow-mo scenes & cut scene of likening Lee Tang to a dog. The introduction of SYO (blind lady); who btw was brillantly acted by JYS, brought good tension and progression to the show.
However, for me, it all started going downhill with the introduction of Roh Bin. Understand that it is somewhat a fiction drama (with Tang's "powers") but it was incredibly unbelievable that a one man(?) hacker, someone so naive, someone watched by the Police, someone inspired by Batman, would be able to aid vigilante murders... To me, it felt like drama instantly crumbled in terms of realism/sophistication. It could have been so much more with the budget awailable..
Overall, still a reasonable watch in my books, esp with the amazing cast whose perofrmance was top notch.
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A Failed Paradoxical Expectation
First off, let me reiterate that I am fan of both Choi Woo-shik and Son Suk-ku. I think that their acting was very well done and I hope to see them working again in another drama or movie.That being said... I don't know what I was expecting but from the trailers, I thought that maybe it would be more supernatural in genre. That his first kill made him somehow able to "see" the crimes of the people he came in contact with. If you ever watched the Memorist, you'd know what I'm talking about. But alas, it wasn't so. It was more that Choi Woo-Shik's character, Lee Tang, just becomes a vigilante at best with some kind of small intuition to feel out evil people.
I think one of the problems with the storyline was basically Lee Tang's character development into a serial killer. One minute you see him like a regretful and tortured accidental killer and other times, just as a serious murderer. He goes back and forth like this and somehow it didn't allow the storyline to flow smoothly. Maybe that was part of the paradox they were aiming for but it just didn't work. Sometimes he's a coward in hiding and other times he's a cold-blooded killer. I don't know if the second killer was worth bringing in. Also, the nude sex scene was like a Michael Bay-Netlix-Let's-Show-Some-Boobs-And-Sex thing. Why was that even in there? Added nothing to the story but just degradation of women in film as usual.
Overall, it was good enough that I binge-watched this but I don't think I'll rewatch it.
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