This review may contain spoilers
stuck in self proof
Before commenting on my review, I should note that I watched Kill Boksoon first, so I was already familiar with the world this show created. Since Mantis is a sequel/spin-off, it wasn’t difficult for me to get into the story. Kill Boksoon mainly focused on the life of assassins — their training, missions, and how they deal with the aftermath of killing. It’s the type of story that requires audiences to be emotionally prepared for dark and intense themes. Because Kill Boksoon focused heavily on action and fight scenes, I was curious about what direction Mantis would take.
After finishing it, I think it makes sense that the show focused more on the emotional side of being a killer rather than only the action. The story explores the characters’ emotional struggles and insecurities, which I know some audiences may find difficult to connect with. Personally, though, I really liked this aspect because it allowed me to understand the complexity of the characters’ inner feelings instead of only seeing their surface-level motivations and performances.
One of the most interesting parts of the story is how Dok Go projects his own emotional insecurity onto Jae Yi. This becomes the main reason Jae Yi traps herself in the mindset that she will never be as good as Mantis. What makes this even more tragic is that this belief is not originally Dok Go’s own idea — it comes from MK. Dok Go admires MK so much that he accepts his opinion without questioning it. Because he sees similarities between himself and Jae Yi, he ends up passing that insecurity onto her as well.
Even though Jae Yi clearly defeated Mantis during their match, the seniors still believed she would lose if they used real blades. They underestimated her ability and made assumptions without giving her a fair chance. Dok Go later repeats the same behavior. Even when Jae Yi requests a real blade fight, he refuses because he has already convinced himself of the outcome. The sad part is that Jae Yi would rather accept an honest defeat than live with people assuming she would lose. This becomes the reason she constantly feels the need to prove herself until she finally kills Dok Go.
Mantis also suffers emotionally. He feels guilty for being chosen while Jae Yi was rejected, even though she won. He never truly understands why the seniors made that decision. Because of this guilt, he spends his life trying to protect and support her, often holding himself back because he is afraid of hurting her feelings. Ironically, this is not what Jae Yi actually wants. If Mantis had defeated her fairly, she probably would have accepted the result and worked harder to improve openly instead of becoming trapped in a cycle of proving herself.
In the end, both Mantis and Jae Yi are victims of the emotional pressure created by the older generation. Jae Yi desperately wants to prove she deserved to be chosen, while Mantis keeps trying to support her in ways that unintentionally make her pain worse. This emotional complexity is what made the show so appealing to me.
That said, I still wish the series had given Jae Yi and Mantis more memorable fight scenes because their emotional conflict was strong enough to deserve even bigger action moments.
After finishing it, I think it makes sense that the show focused more on the emotional side of being a killer rather than only the action. The story explores the characters’ emotional struggles and insecurities, which I know some audiences may find difficult to connect with. Personally, though, I really liked this aspect because it allowed me to understand the complexity of the characters’ inner feelings instead of only seeing their surface-level motivations and performances.
One of the most interesting parts of the story is how Dok Go projects his own emotional insecurity onto Jae Yi. This becomes the main reason Jae Yi traps herself in the mindset that she will never be as good as Mantis. What makes this even more tragic is that this belief is not originally Dok Go’s own idea — it comes from MK. Dok Go admires MK so much that he accepts his opinion without questioning it. Because he sees similarities between himself and Jae Yi, he ends up passing that insecurity onto her as well.
Even though Jae Yi clearly defeated Mantis during their match, the seniors still believed she would lose if they used real blades. They underestimated her ability and made assumptions without giving her a fair chance. Dok Go later repeats the same behavior. Even when Jae Yi requests a real blade fight, he refuses because he has already convinced himself of the outcome. The sad part is that Jae Yi would rather accept an honest defeat than live with people assuming she would lose. This becomes the reason she constantly feels the need to prove herself until she finally kills Dok Go.
Mantis also suffers emotionally. He feels guilty for being chosen while Jae Yi was rejected, even though she won. He never truly understands why the seniors made that decision. Because of this guilt, he spends his life trying to protect and support her, often holding himself back because he is afraid of hurting her feelings. Ironically, this is not what Jae Yi actually wants. If Mantis had defeated her fairly, she probably would have accepted the result and worked harder to improve openly instead of becoming trapped in a cycle of proving herself.
In the end, both Mantis and Jae Yi are victims of the emotional pressure created by the older generation. Jae Yi desperately wants to prove she deserved to be chosen, while Mantis keeps trying to support her in ways that unintentionally make her pain worse. This emotional complexity is what made the show so appealing to me.
That said, I still wish the series had given Jae Yi and Mantis more memorable fight scenes because their emotional conflict was strong enough to deserve even bigger action moments.
Was this review helpful to you?
