Akumi

I guess I'm the odd duck because I love longer dramas, especially if they're Chinese Historicals. I don't know how to watch dramas any other way than binge-watching them and I never regret binge-watching either. Can't you just re-watch that drama or even just the parts that you felt you didn't fully appreciate?

I also download dramas because I do watch them so fast that it just saves time and makes it easier to skip the dull parts if it's a really long Chinese drama. If I don't want to download then I just watch on VIKI and use my VIKIPASS which pays for itself frankly. I take my drama watching seriously since it's my one real guilty pleasure. I want to enjoy the experience as much as I can and ads ruin it too much.

I feel really weird that I can't relate to this post considering how many dramas I've watched and that I've binge watched 99% of them. I guess there are even subcategories to the description of "Binge-Watcher" and I fit in the weird subcategory. XD Fun article and a good insight into the minds of some binge-watchers out there.

I didn't like it. In fact, it left me feeling almost dirty, like there's a bad taste in my mouth I can't get rid of.

Great acting, good writing for the most part, but I've known people like the ML and they are not good people. They may seem charming and like someone you can "teach" to be better, but the ML was already too far gone before the FL even met him. Unless he was going to get professional help, the FL had no hope of "teaching" him to be "human". Sociopaths can't learn to feel something that isn't there for them, and that's fine. It's not their fault. It's a legitimate medical condition out of their control. But not all Sociopath's enjoy other people's misery and treat it like a game as the ML does. The only redeeming facet of him is his love for the FL and that even ultimately became twisted enough for him to commit actual cold-blooded murder.

I hated that the FL kept saying how much she adored her brother and how much she owed him and I never once saw her actions follow through on that. Her brother was definitely too clingy and pushy, but he genuinely loved her and wanted what was best for her. He sacrificed a lot for her and her connection to Moo Young destroyed him. She told Seung Ah to not be so hasty and run away with a man she met not that long ago, and she's willing to throw away her brother's justified feelings over the same thing.

She reminded me of the women that write to and start relationships with men in prison for murder, who insist that no one else knows the man as they do. That only they truly understand how hard the murderer's life was and how much guilt they feel. Moo Young was a good person in her eyes because he was a good person towards her. However, he wasn't good to anyone else and she ignored that even if she occasionally threw a fit over him being cold. She even got over him playing a part in her "best friend's" death rather quickly because she convinced herself he was hiding his hurt. He wasn't. He felt nothing.

Sociopaths can be good people, but Moo Young treated other people's life and death like a fun game. He admitted as much. He let people die, cleaned up the mess, and moved on like nothing happened. He created the situation that led to the death of a woman he was sleeping with and felt nothing. He was a murderer. Put an ugly person's face over his and truly ask yourself if he'd be just as easily forgivable/understandable.

Ultimately, this drama just made me sad, regretful, and disgusted. It's kind of like Romeo and Juliette. If only these two people slowed down and thought about anyone else other than themselves so much damage and lives lost could have been avoided. Because they felt like they were the only two people that mattered in the end, everyone else around them suffered. I don't find love that destroys everything else beautiful, I find it heartbreaking and toxic.

Wow, I could really just keep going and going. This is a lot more scathing than I intended when I was beginning this comment, but I'll leave it here anyway since it's how I feel. If you like this drama, please don't take my dislike personally. I just experienced this drama and these characters from a different stand-point than you and neither of us are wrong, just different.

In conclusion, I found the ML and FL sad, selfish, and toxic. However, this drama obviously did instill strong emotions in me and I felt compelled to keep watching like it was a fiery train crash, so give it a chance and see what it stirs up for you. You may love it.

My thoughts exactly. And weren't they a bit more overt this time too? They just flat out say he's a perfect handsome genius who's better than anyone ever at his job. I mean...really?? And the female lead is broke and unenviable until she gets hired by him. They're not even trying to sound original anymore.

I still have so many feelings about Yan Xun. I fell in love with his character more than any other in that show and as a viewer, I was a witness to everything he went through. That drama arguably spent the most time exploring Yan Xun's character developments and tragedies and as a result, I understood him the most. I understood exactly why he changed and the motivations behind his actions and my heart was broken more each time he lost a piece of himself. It was horrible watching a character I loved shatter and become someone I didn't know and even become someone I was scared of at times.

I also feel like that drama did a huge disservice to his character growth and his relationship with Xing'er in the last quarter of the drama. Their relationship was honestly the most explored and expounded on relationship in the drama and I was wholly invested in them as friends/family. Even disregarding romantic feelings, their relationship was solidly built on mutual trust, affection, and affinity. They even said they were each other's everything; they were family. Then they are afforded about three whole scenes together on the screen where they don't even really talk honestly and their entire relationship is over? This is well over a decads worth of relationship building and it amounts to that little of screen time? That's all the redemption opportunity Yan Xun is offered? That's the effort Xing'er expends for her "reason for living"? Just...UGH!

Anyways! I don't think Yan Xun really applies as a typical villain because he's a general/king of the Yan. He's actively fighting in a war against Wei that they started by slaughtering his entire family. Wei was planning on obliterating Yan and Yan Xun with it. Even if he wasn't trying to exact revenge, he would be obligated to fight back against the forces trying to destroy his kingdom and himself. He'd be insane not to. Everyone he kills/attacks is those that have or will attack him or his kingdom. He's cruel and ruthless, but so are his adversaries. It's war.

It's been a long time since one character touched me so much that I actually got attached like they were a real person and Yan Xun was the last such character for me. I didn't even like the rest of the drama more than any other drama, but Yan Xun made it special for me. He's not just a typical second male lead villain. His character is just too complex for that in my opinion.

However, I agree with every other one. haha Very awesome article. It obviously made me think.

Thank you! I'm happy to find others that share the same thoughts.

I read that interview as well! He really has a lot of wisdom to share. I'm glad you and others agree!

I'm so tired of everyone saying Oh Reum is too righteous, biased, or emotional. She is definitely every one of those things, but so is every other main character in this drama.

How many times has senior judge Han Se Sang lost his composure no matter where he is and started yelling/screaming at anyone in sight? Even in court, he has become irate just because something annoyed him. How many times has he expressed a sexist and outdated viewpoint? He even victim blamed women saying that they shouldn't dress a certain way if they didn't want to get sexually assaulted. He always sides with older males, especially if they are the only money earners in the family because he relates to them. He is just as biased and emotional as Oh Reum, he just doesn't cry so somehow it's okay??

Ba Reun would be the kind of judge most of the commenters seem to want because he thinks humanity shouldn't be a factor in judgments, just pure facts. Every single person is the same and no explanation or situation should affect the outcome of a trial. Heck, why even have judges or juries at all? Oh, wait, they're there in order to inject humanity into the justice process. Because the reasoning behind a crime matters always. It doesn't excuse the crime, but it certainly contributes to the decision of what sentencing to give out.

Even with all of Ba Reun's preaching about being impartial, if it has anything to do with something he relates with he becomes just as biased and as single-minded as Oh Reum. Like with the older drunk that reminded him of his father. Like how he didn't understand how a text message from a superior that makes you feel sexually harassed can become something terrifying.

I honestly think people are way too quick to attack Oh Reum and it frustrates me that all the other biases and emotional outbursts by other characters are just somehow acceptable. No one in the world that doesn't have an emotional/mental disorder is able to be entirely impartial, unbiased, or emotionless. Your own viewpoint and morals are going to color everything you do intentionally or not. That's being human. We're not supposed to be able to shut off our emotions whenever we want.

That's why having a three-judge panel is just brilliant. Oh Reum can be idealistic, soft-hearted, and a little rash because she has two other more experienced judges to help temper her and teach her how to cope. She's learning every episode on how she needs to be more impartial and learn patience. She doesn't always do so great with the patience, but she's trying. She even asked Ba Reun to knock some sense into her if she loses her impartiality in the latest episode. PROGRESS.

Oh Reum can also balance out Ba Reun's hard-line attitude and help Han Se Sang realize his own biases and help him stop thinking like it's still a decade ago. She's already highlighted his sexist ideas and shown how that thought process is wrong multiple times and helped a fairer trial come about. She has already shown Ba Reun that he shouldn't remove humanity entirely and sometimes it's okay to empathize with people. Sure, she can be annoying and a little too righteous, but she brings about change and progress for the better in Ba Reun and Se Sang.

Overall, I get the annoyance at her character sometimes but she's not a worse judge than the other two and she isn't even the most emotional character. Crying isn't nearly as disruptive or as destructive as losing it because your ego is pricked. Seriously, we should all be concerned with just how many men in high-level authoritative positions are lead around by their egos. I'd take a judge that gets teary-eyed over one that starts screaming at the drop of a hat any day. Can you imagine the outrage/outcry that would happen if your judge/boss screamed/raged at you the way that happens almost every episode? I get that the culture is different, but I can't imagine your judge losing his temper is acceptable in Korea either.

Let's not label crying a weakness when not being able to handle anger is okay. If anyone yelled at me like Se Sang yells at someone almost every episode, I would be filing a lawsuit, getting fired, getting arrested, or all three.

Jung Ryeo Won has been popular in Korea for quite a few years now. Even if she's not Suzy famous, she has a fairly large fanbase and has been praised for her acting. Witch's Court is hardly the only drama she's well known for.

You're definitely entitled to your opinion about her acting and looks, but she's not an opportunist or a newbie actress. With her filmography, she'd actually be considered a veteran. I think you need to see other dramas of hers if you want to dismiss her enitrely as a fame grubbing notalent ugly cactus.

Same here.

I feel like Yan Xun's character was shortchanged the most by the ending. Yuwen Yue got to "die" for what he believed in and for the woman he loved and Chu Qia fought viciously for her values and for the man she loved, but what was Yan Xun's real motivation? At what point did he actually cross the line from using Chu Qia to actively trying to kill her?

I made my peace with these two never actually becoming a romantic couple, but Yan Xun and Chu Qia were FAMILY. That's the whole reason Chu followed him even when she seriously disagreed with his choices and felt like he had abandoned their dream. She loved him like family and she truly just wanted him to find his home and be happy, no matter the cost.

Yan Xun abandoned his goal and ambition and sent his entire army across the country to save Chu even when she was disobeying an order from her king. Even when he was almost completely lost in his madness, blood-lust, and need for revenge he put her above absolutely everyone and everything.

So, at what point did he decide he would kill her? How did that happen???

I know that Yuwen was the main male lead, but the show honestly focused more on Yan Xun's life story. A HUGE character arc for Chu was the horrendous tragedy Yan Xun faced and how it changed her into a harder/stronger person along with Yan Xun. Their bond solidified while they suffered and fought death together; while they fought to stay sane in the solitude and being on the constant proverbial cliffs edge. Chu herself says Yan's life became the reason for her life; that he was her everything.

The conclusion to the relationship is seriously the worst thing about this drama. Yuwen's ending is tragic, but it didn't make my heart shred into pieces like the ending Chu and Yan faced. They were each other's EVERYTHING, the only thing keeping each other sane and alive, and their relationship is turned into nothing in the span of one episode and with one confrontation. Seriously drama writers?? After thirty-forty episodes of relationship development and getting me invested that's what I'm left with? Just...ugh. They deserved so much more.

And the ending besides my other complaints was just horrible for its ambiguity. They should only ever make an ending like that if a second season is confirmed or already in the works. Just all around it left me, and I think everyone else, unsatisfied.

Her acting has actually gotten so much better. Comparing her performances from Gaksital and Doctor Stranger with Grand Prince and The Flower in Prison shows how much she has improved. She's not a great actress, but I don't think she's a bad actress anymore either. Now I'm excited to see how she improves in the future because I know she can get even better.

I've seen many actresses that have an innate acting ability just stay the same throughout their career because they're already good, but they never try to improve to become great. Jin Se Yeon has proven she's willing to put the work and effort into bettering herself and is willing to branch into different roles to do it. Even if you still don't like here, you have to admit she's worked hard at her craft and continues to do so.

Again, not a great actress but I'm curious to see just how much she'll continue to improve in the future. I'll no longer dread a drama that she's staring in based solely on her being cast at least.

I hope the victim is okay and that the legal system in Korea handles this situation with the care, seriousness, and fairness it requires. He is not a rapist and I don't think he deserves death, but he does certainly deserve punishment. Let's not exaggerate or postulate what-if scenarios. What he did is bad enough in its own right and he should be punished accordingly. That means that while I abhor what he did, I don't think he deserves the same punishment as a rapist because he "could have" escalated or because others have escalated. I don't want to live in a world where people can get punished for what-if situations, but I do want to live in a world where even a popular actor will be punished justly for his crimes just like a normal person should.

Frankly, I'm already pleasantly surprised by the response the production team and management company gave. Let's hope that in the future these situations aren't just brushed under the rug and there are some consequences and accountability all around. If big companies and dramas/movies condemn this behavior and dole out consequences, it will hopefully discourage this behavior in normal and famous people alike. If the popular opinion is against it long enough eventually the idea that drinking and harassing women is excusable will disappear. This is just a baby step in the right direction.

Please don't chastise people for wishing death on someone else by wishing they would commit suicide. Your entire post is crass, mean spirited, and hypocritical.

I agree! Joo Won tears me apart when he cries. He doesn't try to look pretty; when he cries he's REALLY crying. I love Ji Chang Wook's crying for the same reason.

The hospital director looks like Colonel Sanders. I can't take him seriously at all.

I kind of understand what where you're coming from, but I DO like darker dramas and I greatly enjoy it when a drama delves into the darker sides that each of us has.

However, Innocent Man was very much about the romance and focused a lot on love. Whether it was Kang Ma Roo's innocent love that was crushed in the beginning, Seo Eun Gi's reluctant but hopeful love that was crushed by Kang Ma Roo, or Kang Ma Roo's supposedly sudden deep love for Seo Eun Gi toward the end, the drama was almost entirely about romance.

This wasn't a gritty psychological drama or a melo that didn't shy away from humanity's darkness. This is a story of a beautiful man tearing apart an innocent woman while trying to use past hurts as a justification. If it was about the psychological aspects, there should have been more redemption. Is there anything more painful, ugly, or inspiring than a person who has become a bad person trying to become a good person??

Also, I actually really liked Seo Eun Gi in the first few episodes of the drama. She was mean and unlikable, but I completely understood her. There's a difference between being generally mean/rude or specifically targeting someone with the intentions of tearing their life apart. HUGE difference. Which is why I never liked Kang Ma Roo.

Anyways, I definitely didn't dislike it because it's full of angst or heavy. I was hoping for angst and heavy when I chose to watch a melo. It just didn't like it because I found it lacking character wise and story wise.

YES! Thank you! I felt like I was the only one actually paying attention while watching Innocent Man when it was airing. Reading about and listening to people swooning over Kang Ma Roo got more unbelievable with each passing episode. He just kept getting worse until the knife of redemption and the cure-all time lapse made everything better. I was even more disgusted with his character because everything he did was pointless in the end anyway. SIGH

This is not to say I don't understand people swooning over Song Joong Ki. I've adored him since his Running Man days and can completely empathize with loving the actor so much (or being blinded by the smexyness) that you can ignore just how horrible the character he's playing really is, but there is a limit to it like you said.

I also agree with everything you said about Ying Dong and you made me laugh because you got his character down exactly.

Madame Antoine...man...I'm still mad about that drama and I only watched the first three episodes and skimmed the rest because I just...I couldn't really believe that that drama was trying to sell the abomination that is Choi Soo Hyun as a romantic male lead. I was certain there had to be an awesome redemption arc and that at least the second half of the drama would make me understand him or at least see him as human, but I just ended up having to delete the drama from my computer before I ended up breaking said computer in my appalled rage.

You are completely right that a tragic backstory does not excuse a person's nasty/disgusting behavior. It can explain their behavior and give others a reason to maybe hold out for a redemption, but remorse and penance are completely necessary in order for redemption to take place. All that excusing people's horrible actions because of a sad backstory will cause is a lack of responsibility on their part and most often emotional scars for the victims of said horrible actions. In other words, having a scar yourself doesn't mean you're entitled to scar someone else.

As for the Thai dramas, I haven't seen either one. I have only ever watched two Thai dramas, so I'm still working on branching out there. However, I don't watch dramas where I know there will be physical abuse as once someone gets physically abusive in a relationship they become unredeemable to me. As I watch dramas to enjoy them, I won't purposefully put myself in a position to watch something I know I'll hate. But you were right about the ones I did watch, so I'll take your word for it. Also, the GIFs pretty much seal it. haha

Wow, this got long. Awesome article and it's really nice to not feel like I'm the only one with these opinions. I could do with a lot fewer anti-heroes myself. Or at least a lot more redemption arcs if "bad boys" are necessary.

I haven't watched this drama, but this is quite possibly the very best description of any drama ever. I will definitely stay away. haha

Okay people....he's already extremely popular in South Korea! King of Baking, Kim Tak Goo was a huge hit there and internationally. He still makes a lot of money for each drama he's in and is well loved by many fans. He may be no Lee min Ho popularity wise, but he's by no means unknown.

Wow....it seems like I'll either adore this drama or absolutely loathe it and everything it touched, from its creators/stealers to its fans. I'm not sure I'm prepared for that level of commitment emotionally. I think I'll wait to watch this one. XD