1
This review may contain spoilers
If you see a man being manipulated, don't do anything…sometimes he's exactly where he wants to be.
I think everyone can agree that this is a type of a drama that catches you right away. All characters are interesting and the plot is intriguing since the beginning.
Our main characters Ah Jin, Junseo and Jae Oh, are broken characters. Ah Jin is the only one with true plans for the future while Junseo’s and Jae Oh’s motivations is helping Ah Jin to get what she wants. Ah Jin takes advantage of their loyalty and feelings towards her by manipulating them directly and indirectly but the interesting thing here is that they are not fool, they know they're being manipulated, and that's where the toxicity of their relationship comes from.
Baek Ah Jin is a complex character. In the beginning it’s easy to be on her side when we get to know her story and what she went through. Also the people she's taking revenge on “deserved” the bad things they suffered. But when she shows herself to be extremely cold and manipulative with people who did nothing wrong, our moral compass is put on test and we're left torn between continuing to support all her actions or question them. I think the script is also very good in making her character seems pitiful everytime she makes or say something bad lol It’s like they’re also trying to manipulate us. In general she’s a character that we will like and sometimes not so much.
Junseo is a character I felt sorry for a lot. Yes, he was on her side because he wanted to be, he knew her deeply, but she also manipulated and used his feelings. Sometimes she even made him believe he was the one to be blame. I can understand why later he thought he should be the one to stop her. Although, I question myself if he acted that way because he truly thought she should be stopped or because he knew she would never be with him romantically and never “change”. I wonder…would he still expose her if she was related to him romantically? I also don’t know how to feel about the expose. I felt like Ah Jin was put 100% on blame when things weren’t exactly black and white and Junseo knew that.
Jae Oh was a sweetheart in the entire drama. Friendly, cute, courageous and loyal. I hated his ending but I think it made sense to his character, to sacrifice himself. And although Junseo knew Ah Jin deeply, to me, Jae Oh was the one who understood her deeply. He deserved better in the end. Not for Ah Jin, but for himself. He was the best character.
Talking about the acting now, all actors really surprised me! I already knew Yoojung was good but she was INSANE here. She gave everything to this character and I really hope she gets a nomination for best actress! Yougdae also proved himself by showing that he can act really well, as some people were doubting before. Kim Do Hoon was also good. Hwang Inyeop also nailed the emotional’s scenes of his character. Jonghyun too! Although I think he could have been more shown as the character was really interesting…I expected more of his relationship with Ah Jin as her husband. The chemistry between the characters were also amazing! Yoojung had chemistry with everyone and it reached to a point that we almost wished for a poly romance lol
Now talking about the ending: What was the point of killing both Junseo and Jae Oh and leaving her alive? And in a such open scenario where we don't even know what will actually happen to her character. I felt that the screenwriter wanted to end the drama with a grandiose scene of her character escaping death but I think her dying with Junseo would be more symbolic. Junseo also had the most ridiculous death in the drama omg. He planned everything to end up being the only one to die in the car accident and then be abandoned again by her. I enjoyed the drama overall but I thought the ending was rushed and didn't need to be that open towards her character. Technically we know her life is over as she lost everything but I don’t get why make her alive if she lost everything she fighted for? Maybe this was her divine punishment right…
In general it’s a good drama with interesting characters and plot. The last episodes were rushed and the ending was unnecessary open but still is a good drama! I think it was one of the most interesting k-dramas I saw this year. Really wishing for nominations on Baeksang for the actors!
Our main characters Ah Jin, Junseo and Jae Oh, are broken characters. Ah Jin is the only one with true plans for the future while Junseo’s and Jae Oh’s motivations is helping Ah Jin to get what she wants. Ah Jin takes advantage of their loyalty and feelings towards her by manipulating them directly and indirectly but the interesting thing here is that they are not fool, they know they're being manipulated, and that's where the toxicity of their relationship comes from.
Baek Ah Jin is a complex character. In the beginning it’s easy to be on her side when we get to know her story and what she went through. Also the people she's taking revenge on “deserved” the bad things they suffered. But when she shows herself to be extremely cold and manipulative with people who did nothing wrong, our moral compass is put on test and we're left torn between continuing to support all her actions or question them. I think the script is also very good in making her character seems pitiful everytime she makes or say something bad lol It’s like they’re also trying to manipulate us. In general she’s a character that we will like and sometimes not so much.
Junseo is a character I felt sorry for a lot. Yes, he was on her side because he wanted to be, he knew her deeply, but she also manipulated and used his feelings. Sometimes she even made him believe he was the one to be blame. I can understand why later he thought he should be the one to stop her. Although, I question myself if he acted that way because he truly thought she should be stopped or because he knew she would never be with him romantically and never “change”. I wonder…would he still expose her if she was related to him romantically? I also don’t know how to feel about the expose. I felt like Ah Jin was put 100% on blame when things weren’t exactly black and white and Junseo knew that.
Jae Oh was a sweetheart in the entire drama. Friendly, cute, courageous and loyal. I hated his ending but I think it made sense to his character, to sacrifice himself. And although Junseo knew Ah Jin deeply, to me, Jae Oh was the one who understood her deeply. He deserved better in the end. Not for Ah Jin, but for himself. He was the best character.
Talking about the acting now, all actors really surprised me! I already knew Yoojung was good but she was INSANE here. She gave everything to this character and I really hope she gets a nomination for best actress! Yougdae also proved himself by showing that he can act really well, as some people were doubting before. Kim Do Hoon was also good. Hwang Inyeop also nailed the emotional’s scenes of his character. Jonghyun too! Although I think he could have been more shown as the character was really interesting…I expected more of his relationship with Ah Jin as her husband. The chemistry between the characters were also amazing! Yoojung had chemistry with everyone and it reached to a point that we almost wished for a poly romance lol
Now talking about the ending: What was the point of killing both Junseo and Jae Oh and leaving her alive? And in a such open scenario where we don't even know what will actually happen to her character. I felt that the screenwriter wanted to end the drama with a grandiose scene of her character escaping death but I think her dying with Junseo would be more symbolic. Junseo also had the most ridiculous death in the drama omg. He planned everything to end up being the only one to die in the car accident and then be abandoned again by her. I enjoyed the drama overall but I thought the ending was rushed and didn't need to be that open towards her character. Technically we know her life is over as she lost everything but I don’t get why make her alive if she lost everything she fighted for? Maybe this was her divine punishment right…
In general it’s a good drama with interesting characters and plot. The last episodes were rushed and the ending was unnecessary open but still is a good drama! I think it was one of the most interesting k-dramas I saw this year. Really wishing for nominations on Baeksang for the actors!
Was this review helpful to you?
