The perfect tragic villain
First off: this series isn’t your “normal” villain story. Baek A Jin is portrayed in a way that makes you, at times, want to pity her.Careful though, they are not trying to make her the hero of this story. It is simply presented in a way that makes you occasionally find yourself rooting for her, because she is almost put into the role of a victim. That is very fitting, because in her world, she is the victim. She sees herself as the loser. At the same time, it is clearly shown that she is the villain , that she is evil and incapable of feeling compassion for anyone but herself. The series never excuses her actions, but it forces the viewer to sit with an uncomfortable question: how much empathy is too much when it comes to someone who causes real harm?
This is what I personally found most fascinating. The story is truly well written and executed. At times, you see her true self and can’t help but pity her: at other times, you are confronted with her completely psychopathic side, which sends shivers down your spine and makes you hate her. The series does an excellent job of playing with your emotions and actively evoking them. These conflicting feelings accompany you throughout the entire series. The pacing supports this emotional tension perfectly, allowing the story to breathe when it needs to and tightening when her true nature comes to the surface.
I can see how, for some people, this might feel too contradictory and therefore off-putting or even repellent. Personally, I really liked this aspect — it’s actually what made me like the series so much. What makes this series so compelling is not the question of whether Baek A Jin is evil, but how the story makes you emotionally engage with that evil.
These two clashing emotions, induced by the same character, are truly captivating. They show how complex human emotions are and that one feeling does not exclude the other. I also enjoyed this because it gave Baek A Jin real depth. Through this, she isn’t just a one-dimensional villain (though those can be fun as well), she is portrayed as a genuinely human character.
All the other aspects of the series were amazing too.
The acting was remarkable, all the actors did an outstanding job. The OST?! The sound design, loved it . The camerawork was superb as well.
Finally, I can only recommend this series to anyone who might be interested. Even after finishing the series, Baek A Jin stayed with me. Not because I sympathized with her, but because the story refuses to let you simplify her into something easy to forget. This is not a comfortable series, but it is a powerful one... it truly is one of the best series I have watched so far.
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