This review may contain spoilers
Dear X - Find a target, do everything to destroy it, repeat
This "review" contains spoilers, so be warned
Story (6-6,5): A Psychopath (yes, these traits she has shown us in this show are more that of a Psychopath rather than that of a high functioning Sociopath [long term planning and manipulation, no regret/remorse, doesn't feel "emotions" at all and many more examples I could name]), has a harsh childhood and learns from a young age how to manipulate things to get things done "her way".
She manipulated our ML into being the "anchor" to his existence (repaying him because his mother nearly killed him, telling him that "only" she loves/cares for him, nobody else, not even his mother. As the story unfold, I could still ride with it overall.
But, even in a conceptual logic, many things were just designed that way from a narrative-viewpoint. Let's take the Ep.1 -2 into perspective, "her school-life", the teacher gets caught with the lawyer, who is the father of her "real first target", in "public". In public?
Nobody questions this? He is a lawyer, she is a schoolteacher, but they get caught in the "open"? Both parties knew that this was an affair/fling, and their educational standard should tell that they should think things over more logical, they would most likely not be caught so easily, either getting into a location via different times (1 hour earlier, 1 hour later), pick spaces that cannot be easily caught via camera etc.
Then the whole thing with her killing her father, by manipulating her Boss into doing it (Stalker, help me, I am being attacked). Her co-worker already was already suspicious of it all and when he wanted to talk with the boss about this whole thing, she just happens to be near the location of conversation.
I mean, cellphones were already a thing in the timeline of this drama in the schooldays, as it was shown already. So, he couldn't tell his Boss to be more careful around her?
I dunno mate, her manipulation of things was not "genius"-level, but more narrative focused, with many flaws, which ofc made her more "humane", but it was mostly there to create tension for these said situations.
But the lowest point for me was the episode 6, like ehm, Heo In Gang, who was always suspicious of others because of his own trauma/mindset in the early days in his life (band-life, knew about the nuts in the food, but didn't mention it, because he wanted the "win" in the aspect of attention etc.), we have seen that he saw thru' her facade easily. But what happens? He needed to be nerfed for this narrative, telling her about his "trauma" just because she gave him a bottle of water when he was taking his meds? Then she does things like meeting his grandma, not telling him why she is in this kind of club, and he always tells her to "get out (of his sight)", because these are not coincidental things that happen.
I ofc see that his grandpa had an impact on him with saying things like "You need to let your guard down sometimes, form connections etc.", but then, after this conversation, he meets his old band-member, who even tells him that this whole plot/conversation was because of our FL.
"AFTER" this he tells his "Boss", Seo Mi Ri [Longstar Entertainment CEO], that he doesn't want any contact with her anymore, be it commercial, movie-related etc. But then, because he "re-collects" his "moments" with her on TV (based on their in-drama-drama-show), he calls her and wants to apologize?
And then, just because he was late, based on the design of FL's who wanted him to be late, he was "running" to her and just then thereafter kiss her?
Sorry, but even in a conceptual logic of things, this didn't really make much sense to me. I get how it is important for the narrative of it all, but nah, it could be done way better.
And I don't even talk about Yun Jun Seo, how his trauma bond breakage-stages were like this:
Stage 1 — Idealization (past)
She was everything; he viewed her as savior.
Stage 2 — Disillusionment (episode 3–4)
He begins noticing patterns; sees moral violations.
Stage 3 — Cognitive Breakthrough (after episode 4)
He understands who she is.
Stage 4 — Emotional Dependence Still Holding (currently)
He is not yet free emotionally, even though cognitively he’s halfway out.
Stage 5 — Collapse of the Bond (future arc)
This is what the show is clearly building toward:
his realization → confrontation → separation or sacrifice → personal identity reconstruction.
He isn't really blind to what is happening, he is just split, two system interact with one another:
System1: Conditioned Attachment / Trauma Bond (stay with her, protect her, leaving is betrayal, she is "just" traumatized)
System2: Emerging Rational Awareness (This is wrong, she is dangerous, she doesn't care about anyone, just manipulates everybody, it is not "just" a trauma)
The process of it all is kinda too slow, but it is still in the framework of the conceptual logic, so I can't really find much fault in it, if I look at it in a more objective way.
Acting/Cast (8,5-9): FL's acting is really good, support/guest cast is also solid, and they are mostly known for their acting-skills for these kinds of roles.
I don't really want to pin-point it all, because the determination/rating of acting in this kind of forum is more subjectively than objectively.
In a nutshell, she knows when to act emotional (outburst of emotions, even if fabricated [for the story]), when to act shy, mistreated, evil/dangerous etc.
Most of the time she fits almost all boxes, the ML tho' shows less acting (fewer facial expressions [small eye, lip movements etc.]), not comparable to the Manhwa-Version of his character.
But we can't really say if it is the fault of the actor himself or if it was the decision of the directors etc. So yeah, can't really fault him for this, because we have seen that he can act differently in other Dramas he is in. In general, nothing "out of this world", but more than just "above average".
Music (9): Music where the lyrics were perfectly fit for the overall theme of this show/scenes, but the placement of the songs was not always "perfect", sometimes another song was fitting better for the overall situation of the scene.
I don't judge it my personal preference, because I would not listen to this songs in my own free time, but I "judge" them if they are fitting for the show (lyrics, scene-placements to affect/improve the scenes/emotions overall etc.).
Rewatch Value (1): I find the pacing of processing thru' the trauma-bond-breaking stages of Yun Jun Seo too slow, because from both perspectives, the observer/viewer and from his perspective, there are many signs/signals shown for him to "breaking out of it", but it still makes sense overall in the conceptual logic because of what they together went thru' as child's, how they bonded, how she manipulated him to the extreme, how he thinks he is guilty because of his mother etc.
Also, the "breaking the (conceptual) logic" just to increase the "tension" (to build/hype it up) was too much for me, especially episode 6 with Heo In Gang, other scenarios still made at least a bit of sense, but his whole character flip in just 1 episode was just "wait, what just happened?".
So yes, it is a solid show, and I will watch it till the end, but will I ever rewatch this K-Drama? Absolutely not xD.
But this is, as rewatch value is in general, ofc just a subjective opinion, don't let it affect your fun on this show, I do me, you do you x3.
Story (6-6,5): A Psychopath (yes, these traits she has shown us in this show are more that of a Psychopath rather than that of a high functioning Sociopath [long term planning and manipulation, no regret/remorse, doesn't feel "emotions" at all and many more examples I could name]), has a harsh childhood and learns from a young age how to manipulate things to get things done "her way".
She manipulated our ML into being the "anchor" to his existence (repaying him because his mother nearly killed him, telling him that "only" she loves/cares for him, nobody else, not even his mother. As the story unfold, I could still ride with it overall.
But, even in a conceptual logic, many things were just designed that way from a narrative-viewpoint. Let's take the Ep.1 -2 into perspective, "her school-life", the teacher gets caught with the lawyer, who is the father of her "real first target", in "public". In public?
Nobody questions this? He is a lawyer, she is a schoolteacher, but they get caught in the "open"? Both parties knew that this was an affair/fling, and their educational standard should tell that they should think things over more logical, they would most likely not be caught so easily, either getting into a location via different times (1 hour earlier, 1 hour later), pick spaces that cannot be easily caught via camera etc.
Then the whole thing with her killing her father, by manipulating her Boss into doing it (Stalker, help me, I am being attacked). Her co-worker already was already suspicious of it all and when he wanted to talk with the boss about this whole thing, she just happens to be near the location of conversation.
I mean, cellphones were already a thing in the timeline of this drama in the schooldays, as it was shown already. So, he couldn't tell his Boss to be more careful around her?
I dunno mate, her manipulation of things was not "genius"-level, but more narrative focused, with many flaws, which ofc made her more "humane", but it was mostly there to create tension for these said situations.
But the lowest point for me was the episode 6, like ehm, Heo In Gang, who was always suspicious of others because of his own trauma/mindset in the early days in his life (band-life, knew about the nuts in the food, but didn't mention it, because he wanted the "win" in the aspect of attention etc.), we have seen that he saw thru' her facade easily. But what happens? He needed to be nerfed for this narrative, telling her about his "trauma" just because she gave him a bottle of water when he was taking his meds? Then she does things like meeting his grandma, not telling him why she is in this kind of club, and he always tells her to "get out (of his sight)", because these are not coincidental things that happen.
I ofc see that his grandpa had an impact on him with saying things like "You need to let your guard down sometimes, form connections etc.", but then, after this conversation, he meets his old band-member, who even tells him that this whole plot/conversation was because of our FL.
"AFTER" this he tells his "Boss", Seo Mi Ri [Longstar Entertainment CEO], that he doesn't want any contact with her anymore, be it commercial, movie-related etc. But then, because he "re-collects" his "moments" with her on TV (based on their in-drama-drama-show), he calls her and wants to apologize?
And then, just because he was late, based on the design of FL's who wanted him to be late, he was "running" to her and just then thereafter kiss her?
Sorry, but even in a conceptual logic of things, this didn't really make much sense to me. I get how it is important for the narrative of it all, but nah, it could be done way better.
And I don't even talk about Yun Jun Seo, how his trauma bond breakage-stages were like this:
Stage 1 — Idealization (past)
She was everything; he viewed her as savior.
Stage 2 — Disillusionment (episode 3–4)
He begins noticing patterns; sees moral violations.
Stage 3 — Cognitive Breakthrough (after episode 4)
He understands who she is.
Stage 4 — Emotional Dependence Still Holding (currently)
He is not yet free emotionally, even though cognitively he’s halfway out.
Stage 5 — Collapse of the Bond (future arc)
This is what the show is clearly building toward:
his realization → confrontation → separation or sacrifice → personal identity reconstruction.
He isn't really blind to what is happening, he is just split, two system interact with one another:
System1: Conditioned Attachment / Trauma Bond (stay with her, protect her, leaving is betrayal, she is "just" traumatized)
System2: Emerging Rational Awareness (This is wrong, she is dangerous, she doesn't care about anyone, just manipulates everybody, it is not "just" a trauma)
The process of it all is kinda too slow, but it is still in the framework of the conceptual logic, so I can't really find much fault in it, if I look at it in a more objective way.
Acting/Cast (8,5-9): FL's acting is really good, support/guest cast is also solid, and they are mostly known for their acting-skills for these kinds of roles.
I don't really want to pin-point it all, because the determination/rating of acting in this kind of forum is more subjectively than objectively.
In a nutshell, she knows when to act emotional (outburst of emotions, even if fabricated [for the story]), when to act shy, mistreated, evil/dangerous etc.
Most of the time she fits almost all boxes, the ML tho' shows less acting (fewer facial expressions [small eye, lip movements etc.]), not comparable to the Manhwa-Version of his character.
But we can't really say if it is the fault of the actor himself or if it was the decision of the directors etc. So yeah, can't really fault him for this, because we have seen that he can act differently in other Dramas he is in. In general, nothing "out of this world", but more than just "above average".
Music (9): Music where the lyrics were perfectly fit for the overall theme of this show/scenes, but the placement of the songs was not always "perfect", sometimes another song was fitting better for the overall situation of the scene.
I don't judge it my personal preference, because I would not listen to this songs in my own free time, but I "judge" them if they are fitting for the show (lyrics, scene-placements to affect/improve the scenes/emotions overall etc.).
Rewatch Value (1): I find the pacing of processing thru' the trauma-bond-breaking stages of Yun Jun Seo too slow, because from both perspectives, the observer/viewer and from his perspective, there are many signs/signals shown for him to "breaking out of it", but it still makes sense overall in the conceptual logic because of what they together went thru' as child's, how they bonded, how she manipulated him to the extreme, how he thinks he is guilty because of his mother etc.
Also, the "breaking the (conceptual) logic" just to increase the "tension" (to build/hype it up) was too much for me, especially episode 6 with Heo In Gang, other scenarios still made at least a bit of sense, but his whole character flip in just 1 episode was just "wait, what just happened?".
So yes, it is a solid show, and I will watch it till the end, but will I ever rewatch this K-Drama? Absolutely not xD.
But this is, as rewatch value is in general, ofc just a subjective opinion, don't let it affect your fun on this show, I do me, you do you x3.
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