Finished watching the first four episodes and so far it's pretty good. I love the performances from all actors so far, Go Eun is absolutelly killing it in this role. I have some theories regarding the real cilprit but we shall see.
I'd like to offer an interpretation of Tae Joong's statue Yo Han sculptured:
In the statue, Tae Joong is being depicted as being wrapped in wires, particularly his mouth. I found a connection between the wires and Jesus' thorn crown. Jesus was made to wear it as a mockery and that's what Yohan did to Taejoong. To him, Taejoong was a pathetic person who would rather sacrifice his freedom instead of betraying his morals. He appeared to be "almighty" and "righteous" and Yohan, who couldn't fathom the concept of empathy and kindness, was amused and wondered how he could taint Taejoong's innocence. Once Taejoong ridiculed and insulted him, despite Yohan's attempt to give him a last chance, Yohan lost his respect towards Taejoong and his persistence to sacrifice himself for others was an evidence of Taejoong's weakness.
On the other hand, one could argue that Taejoong's willingness to give up his freedom for Yongsik could be paralleled with Jesus'sacrifice for mortals. Taejoong was shown that he will protect his loved ones, even at the expense of his well-being. Thus the parallel themes of sacrifice and kindness. The Manipulated tackled religious themes in the first episodes, so I couldn't help but incorporate them in my analysis.
What’s the problem with the ending?? 🥲 Tae Jung already suffered so much, he deserves that ending, guys 😭
My issue is that it could have been handled a little bit better, they fit too many things in two episodes and the story's development felt kinda rushed. But I'm happy for Tae Joong, God knows how much he deserves this.
We need more people in the justice system like Yang Cheol Hwan. Such an underrated character. I liked that he played a more active role in the second half.
Lee Jun Ho revealed that the reason why the plot became repetitive was because of prod team's involvement. They made the writer and the director change the script in order to have someone the audience could hate οn. This is why Pyos felt too bland in the second half, the initial plan was to keep them for the first 6 episodes only but unfortunately, the writer was forced to abandon her vision.
Please let's spread this word in order to direct our complaints to the actual culprit. Having a rookie writer get involved in such an ambiguous project only to force her to change her original plans is beyond cruel. This is why the first part felt well-written and more consistent. If only they had given her the freedom to proceed with the original script...
I absolutely love the chemistry between the characters and their teamwork. I am very pleased to see that they are actually competent. They can be clumsy but they know what they're doing. Cannot wait to see more of them working as team.
1 
4 
1 
In the statue, Tae Joong is being depicted as being wrapped in wires, particularly his mouth. I found a connection between the wires and Jesus' thorn crown. Jesus was made to wear it as a mockery and that's what Yohan did to Taejoong. To him, Taejoong was a pathetic person who would rather sacrifice his freedom instead of betraying his morals. He appeared to be "almighty" and "righteous" and Yohan, who couldn't fathom the concept of empathy and kindness, was amused and wondered how he could taint Taejoong's innocence. Once Taejoong ridiculed and insulted him, despite Yohan's attempt to give him a last chance, Yohan lost his respect towards Taejoong and his persistence to sacrifice himself for others was an evidence of Taejoong's weakness.
On the other hand, one could argue that Taejoong's willingness to give up his freedom for Yongsik could be paralleled with Jesus'sacrifice for mortals. Taejoong was shown that he will protect his loved ones, even at the expense of his well-being. Thus the parallel themes of sacrifice and kindness. The Manipulated tackled religious themes in the first episodes, so I couldn't help but incorporate them in my analysis.
Sorry if I sound too deranged 🤣
Please let's spread this word in order to direct our complaints to the actual culprit. Having a rookie writer get involved in such an ambiguous project only to force her to change her original plans is beyond cruel. This is why the first part felt well-written and more consistent. If only they had given her the freedom to proceed with the original script...
https://m.entertain.naver.com/home/article/396/0000728770