Somebody (2022)

A Disjointed and Slow-Paced K-Drama

I do not know how many people enjoyed it, but personally I found myself skipping through so numerous parts of this show. It felt like two separate K-dramas were awkwardly mashed together: one centered on the girl's story and another on the guy's. Instead of a cohesive story, it came off as disconnected and befuddling.

I started watching this kdrama because of a few parts I saw on TikTok. In the beguining I was confused because, It kinda made me think of start-up with the story of the app and all.
One major issue of this show was the pacing — so numerous scenes were agonizingly slow, like the one where she keeps gazing at the cat for a few minutes.

Overall, I didn't truly appreciate it and wouldn't suggest it if you're looking for a seamless and engaging drama experience.

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This is a Strange Drama

Disclaimer: This is a subjective review that is not intended to offend anyone. It reflects my personal perception of the drama, which may differ from yours. Whether to watch it or not is your choice.

This is probably the type of drama that some will call a masterpiece, while others will say, "What kind of nonsense is this?" I, however, remain somewhere in the middle because this drama felt rather strange to me.

I was intrigued by the main character because, as we know, she has Asperger’s syndrome, which I’m encountering for the first time. I was interested in learning more about people with this condition outside of watching the drama, but I felt that the main character wasn’t explored deeply enough within the series itself.

Since this is a psychological thriller, I expected it to be more intense, but instead, there were many unnecessary dialogues that I ended up skipping. I felt that this aspect was lacking.

As for the serial killer, I would have liked to learn more about him, but he was still quite well done, as he managed to evoke a feeling of hatred in me.

The supporting characters were rather shallow. I wish there had been more interactions between them.

Overall, the atmosphere felt strange to me. I enjoy slow-paced dramas, but in this one, everything unfolded in a somewhat unusual way. These slow scenes gave me mixed feelings—as if they irritated me, yet at the same time, they kept me intrigued.

However, I want to note that this drama gave me something new to think about. I found themes here that piqued my interest. This drama will definitely stay in my memory for a long time because of how unusual it felt to me.

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Should've watched this on 1.5 speed.

I'm gonna be honest, first episode was great; I had high expectations. But it all went downhill. The pacing was terrible, probably just not my type of pacing but I literally had to skip some parts because it was just a 2 minute long shot of someone's face. The story could've been pretty good, but it wasn't. At some point I didn't know what was going on anymore. Especially the last two episodes, what was going on man. I was so lost and confused but atleast the ending made some sense.

Besides all that, I loved the acting and cast, they did great! I just didn't like most of the characters.

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No depth, just vibes

All right, the story begins with such an interesting premise and it’s an intriguing beginning, but unfortunately the initial episodes are the only bit of excitement you might feel as a viewer and the plot makes sense to an extent because after that, it moves based on how hot and sensual each of the characters are. The drama is wholly explicit, which isn’t a problem if there’s a story backing it but it might just be soft erotica with a romanticised version of a serial killer. The cops in this drama have got to be the stupidest team ever — everything done in the plot is motivated by how sexy the characters can be. Of course the acting is spectacular and so much could have been done with a well written story, but we barely get to see anything but their visuals. I did love the music in this drama though, it set the mood and added to the tension which wouldn’t have existed otherwise. Overall a disappointment, you can still give it a watch as it’s only 8 episodes.

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Long.

Bro for me when I first watched this show I was interested from the first characters, the murder mystery surrounding Yun-oh and the connection to Sum, I thought I was in for a rollercoaster. HOWEVER as I want went on I realized very easily that this show is going to be longgg. 8 episodes isn't that bad, it's better than most shows. And okay to be fair I dropped the show thinking I wouldn't watch it again after completing 3 episodes because I was very, very bored however I thought of continuing just because I was interested in how it was going to end. The style of the show is fantastic there's a lot of quiet moments and beautiful shots of just Sum but then there's also a lot of boring moments that will make you wonder why you're watching this. I really enjoyed the last minutes of the first episode where Yun-oh is revealed to be a killer. We have some moments between the two which I believe is actually interesting, I don't know why but the dark elements of them being together intrigues me. Obviously this couple is bad, I don't even support it but seeing how the two share the same feelings, being the only ones who feel out of place made me want to see how it would continue. Like why didn't he kill her? Why is he attached to her? YOU KNOW?!? Messed up relationships like theirs is really interesting but then we'd have some unnecessary parts mid way aka the rest of the side characters. Okay cop lady made me so BOREDDDD like girl I know it's for the plot but maybe? Maybe? Next time why did she go by herself in some demolition zone with the guy that legit left her??? Ummm like okay? AND btw we spend like a whole episode with her just being stuck and the boring ritual sorry... LOL I don't even know why??? Then afterwards we move onto where everyone finds out Sum is dating him then idk they just kind of let it??? From episodes 7-8 Yun-oh likes her, like really likes her... And I was kind of surprised- Because I legit thought he would kill her but okay sure understandable I get clinging onto the first person that you like and she did too. Afterwards skip to Yun-oh's backstory which wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be??? Kind of disappointing how it just chucks up to mommy issues and accidentally killing the first woman he meets on the app woopsiesss. Moving on- We get to the last episodes where Sum tricks Yun-oh to get killed with a razor blade to his eye, perfect slice btw, and neck and just like the cat she killed it was to spare both of them. But also um idk in revenge of all the girls he killed I thought his death would be more extreme? However I liked the part where Sum regained her control after being with him. Tbh I thought the actor for Yun-oh was sooooo good, like his scenes were probably the best part of the show, I kind of feel bad for saying this but everyone else was just meh characters to me, like I didn't really cared too much abt them even Sum... Sorry. Overall on the messed up factor I liked it. On the plot- ummmmmmmmmmm it's ight and the acting was alright. I wouldn't sit through this show again and I don't really recommend something like this to anyone who wants something dark. AND THERE WAS SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MISSING POTENTIAL THIS SHOW COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT. Also the hand thing was really weird lol. Overall 6.5 because I really like Yun-oh's actor. Thanks for reading.

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Gritty but ultimately disappointing

Not sure whether this was made to shock more than thrill and have us biting our nails. That's how it turned out for me and the shock wasn't, sadly, in a compelling storyline, but the fact it is very different from the vast majority of K-dramas, with sex, nudity, swearing and sex talk.
Sadly the sex scenes felt too unnatural and gratuitous in several instances.
I found the plot very disjointed and one particular, very vulnerable, character's actions had me losing all sympathy for her situation and totally lost credibility. Utterly stupid decision making.
The Shamen was.... ??? Really, like, what was her purpose.
The police were a waste of space and screen time; inept and utterly useless.
The actions of supporting characters with the aforementioned vulnerable character in some latter episodes, were frankly unbelievable and totally ruined those scenes for me.
By the end, I was not at all surprised at how weirdly it was left.
The cast were very good (only reason this gets a 6 overall from me), but the story could have been so much more.
I would not watch this again.

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Have you ever met someone charismatic, hot and interesting, got to talking with them and first minutes of the conversation are great? And you're excited, you're like Yes, All This. All these things are such great points, lets dive deep! Then, the longer the conversation goes on, the more you realize that this person, for as articulate and charming as they are, has nothing to say? That their understanding of certain topics is juvenile at best.

That's Somebody.

Which is an incredible shame. Somebody has real presence. Cinematography, sound design, sets and locations, acting, there is a lot of skill here. From Kim Sum's antiseptic, concrete surroundings, to Seong Yon O's half-destroyed, abandoned buildings, and Mok-Wan's neon purple lighting, there is a strong visual language. For the first few episodes I was absolutely hooked. This is a slow-paced show, but I wasn't initially bored by it. It's the sort of show which makes you sit with people's emotions in real time, that lingers.

Yet, as it wore on I realized that, much like the conversationalist above, Somebody brings up a lot of interesting topics, but fails to use them effectively or say anything about them. Or, often, fundamentally misunderstands them entirely. Autism, communication, empathy, sexuality, relationships with mothers, emotional connections, female desires, female sexual experiences, female friendship, disability, psychopathy, concerns about social media, ennui. All make appearances, but have no narrative through lines, thematic weight or pay-off. Yet, it also fails to simply be a meditation on any of those topics, which would require exploration. It feels like they had a checklist, and that's all they had to do. Mark it off, not explain it or understand it.

Nowhere is there hesitance and lack of understanding clearer than with Kim Sum. She is our POV character for the first half in the show, and she did initially make a compelling figure. She identifies as having Aspergers, though to me her behavior could read as Antisocial Personality Disorder, OCD or Autism. You always need to be careful when portraying a specific, named disorder, and care was not taken. Kang Hai Lim is beautiful, but all she's being called to do here is not emote. It works for a time, but when it comes time for her to start being proactive, or showing her thought processes beyond pure reaction the show chickens out and switches to two other POV characters. It obfuscates Kim Sum, it decides not to look into her complicated interior. I would rather have stuck with her for her entire journey. She's the character we've invested the most time in, so it seems strange not to let us follow her on her journey, however dark it is.

Not that I didn't like that Kim Sun had friends. Women so rarely get to have friends in K-Drama. But, these are such clumsy characters that all they ultimately end up doing is padding the run time. I could see, thematically, why Mok Won was there. She was spiritual and holistic grounding and an empathetic foil to Kim Sum and Yun-o. Gi-Eun was our connection to law enforcement, managing to be both a joke of a cop and a disabled character.

Because they've done the same thing with the characters; Oh, She's Disabled/has Asperger's/is a Gay Shaman, and then that's it. Absolutely no effort has gone into giving them cohesive thoughts, motivations or interior worlds. To the detriment of the plot; they're our main characters, we need to know why they're doing things and what they feel about them. Why does Gi-Eun keep taking her ass into situations that are so obviously stupidly dangerous even for the able-bodied? What exactly is her reasoning for her relationship wit Kim Sum? Where and why did Gi-Eun meet Mok-Won and why is Mok-won helping Kim Sum? Hell, why does Mok-Won keep not telling people things that she should? What exactly are Kim Sum's thoughts on her own life that make Yun-o so appealing? Does Kim Sum really value any of her external relationships? Why does she make most of her choices in the latter half? Yet, this is so compellingly filmed, I kept getting drawn in and I wanted to know more, I wanted to dig into the characters, I wanted to understand them. It's very frustrating to have appealing bits and pieces dangled in front of you.

I'd be remiss not to talk about the sex scenes because female sexuality is a huge undercurrent here. They were less pandering than you'd think... BUT. Number A, most of the sex scenes are with a murderer, so despite how much the women lead a sex scene, the power ultimately resides with the dude who may or may not kill them, and Number B that lack of understanding often undercuts the sensuality.

For example [and overt spoilers]; in a late scene Kim Sum is looking at a shirt-less Kim Young Kwan ( Look, he was naked in this a lot, and I was kind of here for it. Grade A simulated thrusting. 10 out of 10. I would watch him dry-hump a couch) . ANYWAY. She starts rubbing one out fully clothed. It's actually a really well shot scene-most of the sex scenes are- but...why? We've been so divorced from Kim Sum's thought processes that it makes what should be an erotic scene puzzling. I liked that he just sort of sat there and let her get on with it, him as the subject of her sexual desires, but I wanted to know what her sexual desires were. Was she turned on by the fact that they hadn't had sex and enjoyed a more domestic intimacy? Did she just think he was hot? Was she enjoying knowing who and what he was? Did she think she might not be in his presence again, so she stole that moment? Was she looking at him, vulnerable in her space knowing she was going to kill him? That last one might link back to her earlier masturbation scene, BUT...you have to, like, say that. Or be clear in that first masturbation scene what was doing it for her; the killing of the cat? The connection with the man? Her actions being filtered through Somebody? GIVE ME SOMETHING.

Things like this made the viewing experience frustrating. There isn't nearly enough connective tissue, but tons of ideas. It's rather fitting that we're beginning to liken AI Chatbots as mirrors. That 'relationships' with Chatbots are little more than onanism. Somebody is little more than that hollow reflection looking back, when we should be looking at the original.

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"psychic" series

There is no doubt that this is a "psychic" series, suspenseful and violent (you need to have a high level of concentration to understand the small nuances). The series gives a glimpse into the dark side of the era of artificial intelligence (AI), and the abuse of dating sites. A glimpse into the difficulty of Asperger's diagnosed people to read social and environmental situations. It has some social messages, concerning the question of what is relative morality.
The casting is perfect, the acting of all the actors is professional and perfect +++.
Clearly erotic scenes that are not typical of Korean series (I don't know how the actors stood it during filming, haha)
There were scenes that were borderline illogical (in my eyes) that damaged the credibility of the plot, this is not a fantasy series, the plot is based on reality and therefore it bothered me personally.

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Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " Somebody " is a thriller with a mature content.

As an idea, Somebody doesn't stray far from the beaten track and keeps things predictable and, overall, simple. The criminal is known from the start and his crimes are pretty basic textbook, even though he appears to have no pattern as to whom he kills and whom he lets go.

The drama also gets unnecasserily gory and adds some extra scenes more to provoke than to enhance the entertainment value, or, at least, get deeper into the characters' mind.

In the end, along with some other extra plotlines that didn't add up, the drama wraps up everything the way it started things in the first place.

On the other hand, the performances were the best part of the drama.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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Kim Young Kwang’s butt

It is weird. Yes, in a negative way. At first, I kind of feel amazed at how creepy they tried to showcase the storyline, Yet, as it went on, I kind of feel icky about most of the scenes and tend to feel bored from time to time.

The only entertaining thing that the drama has to offer to me is seeing Kim Young Kwang giving his best in nailing a daring role. Full nude scenes are too good for such a popular actor like him. He is indeed a professional. Those intimidates scenes are actually the sole reason why the show is not perfectly bad. They nailed every sex scene with no too much work in camera angles and show us how thirsty the characters are in terms of sex.

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a hit and a miss

somebody (2022) instantly intrigued me the minute i read its synopsis. personally, i love crime thrillers, especially when done correctly, however, i felt like somebody was not in that case, to me it felt rushed, confusing and disappointing as a viewer.

the general storyline is very hooking, the concept we are introduced to is one about a creepy yet charming serial killer that uses an app to find his victims. similar to a concept i've seen in webtoons like 'killstagram' for example which is about a killer that uses social media. we are also introduced early on to the character dynamics between our female lead and the killer, her friends, and her enemies as one could say. this story though doesn't really follow very easily, as there are loose ends left and parts unexplained to the audience. it also moves very quickly during the start but slowly during the middle, making it harder to complete. the ending was well-- boring and expected. also the app aspect?? what happened to it?? our fl leads passions??? idkkk

my main grief is probably the characters, specifically our main female lead kim sum. for one, it's rare for a character to be both female and on the spectrum, which as someone on the spectrum myself, i was happy to see it, but in the case of somebody, i found it to be super lazy writing. obviously yes, autistic people can be killers but with the little to no rep in sk, and the rep there usually being stereotypes and very ableist representation i found it be a letdown because it did nothing to outstand those stereotypes. there was absolutely no reason to make her autistic, especially to 'make' her a psychopath.
the other characters were just okay, the male lead was obviously disturbing but nothing outstanding to be nor shocking. i expected him to be the way he ended up being at the end. the side characters were probably my favorite, i love seeing other reps for disabilities and wlw reps as well. i love that they showed those with those impediments can still have love and desire it just like anyone else.

visually though, somebody is a hit. as someone who studied video composition, wow, these shots are amazing, and it sent chills through my spine during some scenes just by visuals alone. the lighting is cool as well, with blue lighting for distress and more warm for comfort which I enjoyed. the acting was also a hit, it was greattt, ml was so creepy and made me very uncomfortable, but the facial expressions were always on point and the fl also did a good job with what she was assigned.

one thing i will note is on it's portrayal of sexuality. it's uncommon for shows in south korea to show skin so graphically and i was shocked by it's portrayal here, also rarely do you see women talking about this stuff! somebody did do a good job of making it uncomfortable.

so in the end, this show is a hit in an artistic standpoint, the creative directors, set designers and cameramen did well. but god, i could not get over the poor directing and writing, stop making autistic people villains as a way out and goddd find a way to keep the hook going throughout the story, don't ditch it immediately.

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