Clinically-Insane

8 isn't a bad a rating at all.

I mean it's human nature to be compassionate enough to not like a relationship between a very passionate person and a very ill person. DS doesn't know how it'll end up any different than before and neither do we because SA is still the same SA. She doesn't need a partner at this point but a very good psychiatric care by professionals and DS needs someone (if at all) who won't break him. Like accept it or not, good people do turn bad and broken after a certain point. I just don't want to see that happen to him.

I just want to put something out there; there's nothing, I repeat nothing, more ultra-moronic and messed up than a guy (Jung Hwan) who is an as*hole to everyone around him except the girl he's in a relationship with. It just brings down everything about the guy (personality, humanity, values etc) to be merely dependent on who he can f*ck. I wish we could have a frequent discussions about why that's a huge red flag. Like a guy who doesn't even have the character to be a descent human being to the people around him is just so telling of the kind of person he most likely is.
Apparently Kdramas like to do that to male lead characters so often. Everything about MLs are just brought down to a moronic level and then we get a FL (who usually deserves better) who just happen to put up with him and then change him. That's unrealistic and boring at one hand and on the other hand; It brings in nothing relatable for male viewers.

That being said, I very much like the ML here. He's relatable, very passionate about people and has real struggles (and not a freaking CEO who has had a bad past blah blah blah). The FL is a very patient and brave. I would have messed up those as*holes if i were in her place but then again she's a better person and someone to look upto.

P.S. Excuse my language. I just a had my 2nd year proffs and am a little tired.

The ratings are so abrupt and without any real reason but then again, ratings on MDL is increasingly becoming unreliable and have become a measure of comfort and happiness the drama tends to provide generally.
Anyway, I liked the first two episodes and the acting being the highlight for me (this is my first drama in last 3 months). The actor Lee Byung Hun is an acting legend and I'm very much interested in what he participates in.

Okay i was following and genuinely interested in the plot and characters upto ep 6-7 but then (like most kdramas) it went downhill so fast that it seemed like blatant and biased take on the issues the plot was about; cheating, communication, lack of effort and commitment. The ending was the nail on the coffin for me especially after it seemed more like wish fulfilment for a certain gender and characters than a fair and realistic analysis or understanding of the plot points and character arcs. The FL doesn't go through internal character progression or realisation of the fact that something is seriously wrong with her and the dynamic of their relationship. She just acts like every one with guilty but ignorant mindset does; blame other people, situations and just willing to let it this all pass while the plot tries very hard to make her seem some self righteous and wronged person who apparently isn't responsible for all the mess.
The ML in the beginning seemed very realistic with the struggle to accept a betrayal of trust from a loved one but his character arc just spirals downward after the initial episodes and then picks himself up in the last episode which I was very contented with BUT that nonsensical ending then ruined his character development. Another thing about his treatment by the story progression is; he is blamed more for his lack of effort in his relationship than his wife who basically did far more than that.
They both end up where they left. There's no apparent or even miniscule character progression or breakthrough for me to say that the relationship will be any different after the passing of initial fear of infedality (on his part) and her initial gratefulness for his forgiveness and acceptance fueled by psychological and emotional weight. He's far too naive to grasp the reality and healthiness of moving on and letting go (of someone who clearly deserves it) and she's far too self absorbed to actual put in an effort to fix what she broke or be self reflective.

There it is; another cliche and very disturbing relationship dynamic in a drama. I was actually hopeful till the last episode but the endings was a knee between the legs for me to even dare put my hopes in something so shallow and unmoving. If you want a genuine and critical approach of the plot themes that's grounded in reality with character progression, then this isn't for you. If your looking for wish fulfilment and a nonsensical "happy ending", maybe this is for you.

Dude, you just described the pattern 99% of kdramas, of the same genre, follow.
You comment says nothing.

I'm just baffled by the anger and biased opinions that are based on nothingness.
Okay, so I'm not a fan of the romance genre mostly. I dislike, if not hate, most of the popular romantic dramas here on mdl. I'm a pain in the ass when it comes to genuinely being interested in something. "I'm a dead inside" is what people have told me here on mdl. Anyway you get the idea about the energy i radiate; extremely pessimistic and unromantic one.
But I'll never understand how or why people judge a whole cinematic project, that hundreds of people have worked on for months, without even watching a single episode. I get the criticism towards the actors (because we actually have a criteria to judge them on based on their previous work) but I'll never understand the claim to call a drama bad just because the acting craft (among the 24 crafts involved in its making) may not be satisfactory. That's just biased and illogical effort to downgrade something based on nothing or almost nothing.

Grow up!

And they still are all that. They didn't change; childish, flawed and aren't learning very well. That wasn't my point. I never attributed all those faults with YS only. Now CW flaws never were a the main reason YS took that step. I don't know why you're willing to accept that they both are flawed but not the apparent fact that the break up decision weighed much more on YS's issues not CW. YS always knew who he was and is but always accepted that. The only time she didn't look back was when she had overwhelming amount of issues of her own to deal with and I never blamed her for CW's pain but at the same time am willing to see the matter for what it is. I actually understand YS the most between the two. I think her decision made sense at the time.

Again, there's no point in "what ifs" in the context of whose decision it was to break up. Now if you're using the phone call from YS to differ whose mistake the break mainly was or if you're saying that it's somehow CW's fault that they didn't get back together since he didn't listen WHEN DRUNK AND IN PAIN, that's just not fair or right. The way she broke up with him will ruffle anyone to ignore, hate and shut her from their life let alone CW who as you say had issues. She just 'called' him to reverse all that and that's all it requires for you to not see the matter for what it was; a cruel break up. Give me a break!

I never said they aren't oe weren't willing to accept each other with their flaws but that also brings in the issues I had with their characters. They remained the same even after the most important growth phase. They both are stuck in the past and it bothered me as a viewers.

Coming to your point of YS being his comfort person; that's not what YS was for CW at all. He heavily depended on her to live a normal and healthy life. That's not what a comfort or romantic relationship should be. If you're telling me whether that's realistic; yeah sure, it can happen but like I said sometimes reality is the most disappointing and messed up and that's exactly what their character arcs were for me. I had no issues with them getting back togethet but at not at the expense of their individualistic growth. There's no way in hell I would believe that it's okay to stay in a relationship like all is fine when he couldn't even life an everyday life without her. That just irks me the wrong way to see him so dependent and unable to fuction healthily without her. That's psychologically and mentally damaging. The plot's inducement of their relationship to fix his issues is far from reality. They are people stuck too much with each other to actually develop as individuals. They shut the to the world only because they did have each other. That, for me, is not what a healthy romantic relationship is or should be. Their infatuation seems more like an obsession or a fulcrum to not bear the actual weight of their individualistic flaws and issues. It's not a matter of whether they can accept each other but all whether they can live on their own.

And that's true. He was fine when they were together but went down a very unhealthy path when they broke up. I didn't write that sentence to blame YS for his inability to function in society in general but my goal was to say that he was very dependent.
I'm not blaming anyone, not even CW's real dad or YS's inferiority complex. I'm just observing these characters from my prespective and whether I can relate to or appreciate them. That's all.

You're constantly editing your comment, so i have to reply in a very disorderly manner.

Their breakup was very much intiated by YS. Now her inferiority complex played a huge part but that's not to say that other factors didn't contribute. Like their poor communication skills and her poor economical situation.
There's no point in saying that "if he wasn't drunk" to actually lessen the effect or differ the cause of YS's mistakes. She did what she had to and she priotized herself over him. That's fine by all means but to induce the "what if" in order to say any different will not be a very logical or humanly analysis of the situation.

1: If you mean to say that her inferiority complex didn't play a huge part in her break up and was just her dealing with something difficult in life, then I have nothing to say but the fact that that's not true at all.

2: Yes and that's exactly what I am saying. He's too dependent on their relationship to actually fully develop as an individual. His insomnia and very unhealthy approach towards issues needed character development through learning, experiencing and possibly psychotherapy and not a very unrealistic approach of "love can fix everything" scenario.

Well that's very true and perhaps is the most beautiful thing about cinema. It's all about prespective and differing values towards life in general. You can like, dislike, love and hate without really harming anyone. When someone sit infront of a screen to view very different characters and storylines that are very foreign and relatable, at the same time, and still be able to express those emotions, that's just a beautiful thing.

Well this was fun till ep 6-8. It was different in its approach to deal with the characters and their arcs but eventually fell into that cliches and forced scenario eventually. Contrary to most critical opinions, I've no problem with them not moving on from their first relationship or her dumping him because she felt inferior (which is a logical yet very dumb reason). My problem is with the fact that they stopped living outside their professional life, especially CW. He just shut himself and couldn't even sleep after he went through a very bad breakup. That's a very bad case of dependency to me. Sure we grief over losing someone we loved but to carry that grief over the course of 5 years to the point that it becomes a doorway to a destructive and unhealthy life is anything but romantic. A relationship, for me, is a choice not an absolute necessity. The main characters here were in a stage in their life, when they broke up, where most of us experience pain, grief, happiness and disappointment but we don't carry those emotions with us throughout our life, in most cases anyway. Most people learn from experience of extreme emotions whereas the leads here didn't learn anything through one of the most important growth periods of their life. It's like the two needed each other to survive and live a content life. That's not a very attractive relationship scenario to me.
Sure it can happen in reality but reality sometimes is disappointing too and that's exactly what their character arcs are to me; disappointment. I won't be pretentious to say that I know exactly what they feel but for the most part it was convenient writing to bring in very clinche and mediocre character arcs. Their character development was too slow and very often too shallow to actually appreciate. The writer focused too much on a possibility; of them continuing with their relationship after all that without a profound growth in their characters, that the probability of them moving on was very unique and attractive to me. Sometimes it's necessary to let go of someone or something in order to be able to love and care for yourselves. What's to say that they won't end up where their previous relationship ended up. Although that's the bitter truth of reality, I would have appreciated if they actually learned to live healthily and happily as individuals first and then maybe as a couple (if that's a must anyway). I can understand the concept of longevity, living in the moment and appreciating what is rather than what will be but not at the expense of proper closure, dependency (to that extent) and an unhealthy approach towards life.
Anyway that's what I felt about their relationship.
I liked YS relationship with her grandma and CW's ability to love everyone around him.
KJW needs therapy and not a relationship at this point.
NJ needs someone who can love her for who she is as a person and not an idol.
Now, I loved the cinematography and the characters were just brilliantly portrayed by the actors especially KDM and CWS. Both of them are very good actors.

Well sympathy doesn't necessarily means forgiveness or innocence. It can mean pity for the ML to be unable to control people or situation around him or sorrow for the FL to cross path with someone she knows very little about but seemingly enough for the naive her to actually take a wrong step.
I can still be clear minded to understand the concept of consequences while actually emotionally involved in people's situations.

I'm fine even with the romance as long it doesn't distort the main plot line or propell the main characters to idiots for the sake of it.

Yes I found the politics very interesting, atleast in the first episode. Maybe because I live in a very politicised society. I can almost draw a parallel to every political figure involved with real life politics. I especially thought that it goes well with the characters we are presented with. A spy, very political motivations of the main characters and overall presentation of larger than life plot points.

Let's see what becomes of it because it's the beginning for me.

I just finished the first episode and I certainly liked the political angle of the plot. The rivalry between the two members of DAP and their antics to impress their head seemed childish to me but then it also reminded me of the mess between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in their presidential campaigns.
The ML is intresting so far. I know that he's a north korean spy (thanks to social media hype) but what I'm dying to know is what light he'll be shown in; a patriot who's brain washed, an oppressed forced into all this mess or a little bit of both. Considering this is romance, my money is on the oppressed and forced scenario to garner the element of sympathy necessary for a romance genre.
The FL is certainly not what I expected. I don't know the actress but she's doing an okay job which I hope will get better as we dive deep into the plot. I'm expecting that she'll hide him despite meeting him only a couple of times but I can digest that for now but this better not be the only base of a potential romantic relationship between them.

It was good a good start to say the least.
A question; should I binge watch it or take my time with it?

Tell me something; what if
1) CW ends up with NJ (happily and not the half hearted way) and YS with JW?
Or
2) In the end every character moves on without necessarily being together in a romantic relationship?
Will that change the impact or critical reception of the drama? I mean falling for different people after going through a bad break up (especially after years) or accepting irreconcilable differences and moving on is as realistic and necessary to depict as two people ending up happily (which is most likely the ending; CW and YS ending up together, and I certainly hope so too) after years of torment. Anyway, I'm genuinely curious of how people will react if one of those really does become a reality.

P.S. I like the character of NJ and I certainly believe the genuineness of her feelings for CW but those feelings are turning her into someone bitter (which I hope is just desperate mistake on her part and not the real her). As for JW, I'm having problem with the fact that he's like a brother to CW and I would hate to see their relationship destroyed because of a nonsensical crush he has been carrying for a decade (for me that takes away a lot from the believability and reality of his feelings for her). I certainly feel bad about the whole situation with his mother.

Okay, thanks.
"Watching it out of spite" it is then.

Okay. That's a downer.
Then why is this rated so high?Considering it has more than 2200 ratings and still is an 8.7, which is impressive to say the least.

Tell me something, is this an action thriller with a really gruesome take on the issues under discussion or is this a wannabe thriller where we will have to suspend reality in the favor of nonsensical romanticism?
People's outrageous response to a fictional show tells me it has some reality (which isn't very welcomed) incorporated in it or maybe SK has a large number of very sensitive snowflakes who can't handle a fictional approach with resemblance to a set of real events. I don't feel like watching another ongoing kdrama (I'm currently watching OBS) but the nonsensical outrage towards the actors and the drama is literally making me to watch it out of spite.