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This review may contain spoilers
Tries to be realistic, passes in some parts but fails in others
The Wins
1. I think their attempt to highlight the harm caused by obsessive fans is great. As someone who's been in the K-pop space for about 4 years now, I'm genuinely shocked and scared every time I see just how much people are invested in idol off screen lives. Actually, even their onscreen lives too.
2. The burden of being a celebrity in an image-obsessed society. At some point in the earlier episodes, it is pointed out that Laik is a brand, not a person. He's only allowed to be one way and can never be human. That's honestly such a sad existence.
3. The murder mystery aspect - This is like half a win. It was really interesting in those 1st 6/7 episodes. I was hella invested in the whodunnit of it all. However, somewhere around the 7th/8th episodes, everything went downhill. The plot stalled and started going round and round in circles with no end in sight. We also veered off, paying more attention to the romance, rather than the fact that a high-profile celebrity is accused of murdering his equally high-profile bandmate.
4. The reveal - They win on who the murderer was. I would not have guessed it
The Misses
1. Se Na - I think making her his fan was the wrong thing to do. I feel like it contradicts the initial message they were trying to make, especially with those fans who broke into his house and somehow found his number. If the point of the show was to stop fan delusion, they failed when they made his fan 'win' by having him fall in love with her.
IMO, it perpetuates the delusion that 'if only I get to meet my idol, then he'd fall for me', which is harmful for the levels of delusion seen in such fandoms. I think it'd have been best had she not been a fan of him at the beginning, but had become one in the process. Or if she were to remain a fan, she'd have been a more casual one, and he shouldn't have been her main bias.
2. The legal perspective - I speak on this as someone with a legal background. Her unshakeable belief in him was utterly unbelievable. It is human to be doubtful. Hell we are faced with doubt in relation to those closest to us (family & friends), how can you be so trusting of a celebrity? Just coz you are his fan and he saved you once way back when?
Again, the show worked hard to show us that fans don't really know what goes on behind the scenes of celebrity lives. We can speculate, choose sides when information is lacking, even when some information is revealed. But at the end of the day, we still don't know these people. This messaging is unfortunately undermined by the whole 'I'm his fan, I even met him once by chance, so clearly I know him. He'd never do that', undertone of the plot/romantic situation.
Also, lawyering is a job. You don't always trust your client. Sometimes you do, but as the case goes on or as more facts come to light, doubt can set in. That whole thing of 'I'll only pick a lawyer who 100% believes in my innocence' is dumb. And a privilege not afforded to many IRL. Heck, if lawyers only worked with people they wholeheartedly believed, the whole industry would collapse. And if accused persons only looked for legal representatives who believed in them 100%...., Bruh, everybody's going to jail.
3. Her dad's case - Why set up her background, show us the very reasons she is who she is today, the reason why she (partly) chooses to represent Laik only for you to not show us what happened with the dad's case?
Final Thoughts
a. Had they not sacrificed the idol life reality plot for the romance, I think this story would've been more impactful. But maybe they were afraid of the netizens and didn't wanna ruffle too many feathers.
b. They propped up the prosecutor in the beginning, but didn't use him to the fullest. His whole story of 'former high school bully turning a new leaf and leaving his terrible/corrupt father's shadow' would have been interesting to watch if further explored.
c. I don't think this was the intention of anyone in that writer's room, but I finally grasp (really well at that) why some idols have said that they wouldn't want to date their fans. Like, I always had an idea why, but watching this had me sitting on my couch and nodding like 'aaaah, I see it now. It makes so much sense!'
1. I think their attempt to highlight the harm caused by obsessive fans is great. As someone who's been in the K-pop space for about 4 years now, I'm genuinely shocked and scared every time I see just how much people are invested in idol off screen lives. Actually, even their onscreen lives too.
2. The burden of being a celebrity in an image-obsessed society. At some point in the earlier episodes, it is pointed out that Laik is a brand, not a person. He's only allowed to be one way and can never be human. That's honestly such a sad existence.
3. The murder mystery aspect - This is like half a win. It was really interesting in those 1st 6/7 episodes. I was hella invested in the whodunnit of it all. However, somewhere around the 7th/8th episodes, everything went downhill. The plot stalled and started going round and round in circles with no end in sight. We also veered off, paying more attention to the romance, rather than the fact that a high-profile celebrity is accused of murdering his equally high-profile bandmate.
4. The reveal - They win on who the murderer was. I would not have guessed it
The Misses
1. Se Na - I think making her his fan was the wrong thing to do. I feel like it contradicts the initial message they were trying to make, especially with those fans who broke into his house and somehow found his number. If the point of the show was to stop fan delusion, they failed when they made his fan 'win' by having him fall in love with her.
IMO, it perpetuates the delusion that 'if only I get to meet my idol, then he'd fall for me', which is harmful for the levels of delusion seen in such fandoms. I think it'd have been best had she not been a fan of him at the beginning, but had become one in the process. Or if she were to remain a fan, she'd have been a more casual one, and he shouldn't have been her main bias.
2. The legal perspective - I speak on this as someone with a legal background. Her unshakeable belief in him was utterly unbelievable. It is human to be doubtful. Hell we are faced with doubt in relation to those closest to us (family & friends), how can you be so trusting of a celebrity? Just coz you are his fan and he saved you once way back when?
Again, the show worked hard to show us that fans don't really know what goes on behind the scenes of celebrity lives. We can speculate, choose sides when information is lacking, even when some information is revealed. But at the end of the day, we still don't know these people. This messaging is unfortunately undermined by the whole 'I'm his fan, I even met him once by chance, so clearly I know him. He'd never do that', undertone of the plot/romantic situation.
Also, lawyering is a job. You don't always trust your client. Sometimes you do, but as the case goes on or as more facts come to light, doubt can set in. That whole thing of 'I'll only pick a lawyer who 100% believes in my innocence' is dumb. And a privilege not afforded to many IRL. Heck, if lawyers only worked with people they wholeheartedly believed, the whole industry would collapse. And if accused persons only looked for legal representatives who believed in them 100%...., Bruh, everybody's going to jail.
3. Her dad's case - Why set up her background, show us the very reasons she is who she is today, the reason why she (partly) chooses to represent Laik only for you to not show us what happened with the dad's case?
Final Thoughts
a. Had they not sacrificed the idol life reality plot for the romance, I think this story would've been more impactful. But maybe they were afraid of the netizens and didn't wanna ruffle too many feathers.
b. They propped up the prosecutor in the beginning, but didn't use him to the fullest. His whole story of 'former high school bully turning a new leaf and leaving his terrible/corrupt father's shadow' would have been interesting to watch if further explored.
c. I don't think this was the intention of anyone in that writer's room, but I finally grasp (really well at that) why some idols have said that they wouldn't want to date their fans. Like, I always had an idea why, but watching this had me sitting on my couch and nodding like 'aaaah, I see it now. It makes so much sense!'
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