PrettyCarEye

The point is Koreans are very good at realistically highlighting the ills and norms of their society in any given time period and I'm fine with that. Really I am. What tends to annoy me is repetitiveness of the characters' circumstances and their reaction to things going on around them. Very rarely do they explore OTHER types of stories & character reactions beyond what's in the formula.

For eg, I'd love to see the family drama in which the children exercise more agency for eg. I'd love to the see the crime show in which the hero does survive (& where there's no ambiguity about said survival). For once, I'd love to see a romcom with adult people of the same age in their mid to late 30s / early 40sa. Not teeny boppers, silly 20 somethings or noona romances between a 40 yr old woman & a 22 yr old man. I seriously loved the chemistry between Haksan & the Courtesan woman in TCC. I would have loved to see their relationship develop more. Instead they focused on the romance of the King & Queen which I found super boring & as interesting as pulling teeth.

Would love to see a story ... maybe about a single mother who has never been married ... so basically she had a kid out of wedlock and how the ML doesn't judge her and accept her and her kid as she is. Why? Because these stories occur in Korean society too! When I was in Korea, I saw those single mothers ... but they just insist on pushing only one set of narrative & it gets very tiring.

This post has gotten very long, but I trust by now you take my point.

Hollywood also goes by a formula, but what make Hollywood a tad bit better in this regard is that while there's a set formula ... the character's life story, how they behave & think is unpredictable, so things are kept interesting and there's something for everyone. In Kdramas, the plots are often a repetitive cycle of the same concepts and the outcomes are almost always the same too.

Rom - com: campy, happy, always one rich character & one poor, doesn't induce a lot of negative emotions, in recent years a heavy push toward noona romances (the wider the age gap, the better it seems for Korean writers), happy ending guaranteed because the honeymoon phase of every relationship is one of the happiest times most people experience.

Crime/Thriller: dark, gritty, will usually have no romance, but if there is it's portrayed in more mature/cynical way, tortured hero who is very likely to be killed off at the end, usually because it deals with the underworld of society and in that space people often die.

Police Procedural/Detective, Investigative type shows: usually features a middle aged, experienced & wise male detective. He has family problems and likely some vices - drinking, gambling etc. They will make a big deal out of him not being young & fit anymore - he might have health problems & or get beaten up a lot. But he has a moral compass. Look out for the token female character. Show will also always focus heavily on corruption in the Korean police force - dirty cops, accepting bribes etc. Hero is likely to survive in the end, but ending itself is often anti-climatic. Villain often doesn't get the punishment he deserves.

Historicals: always focus on corrupt ministers, with a few good ones the audience grow to love. Historicals usually take some cues from incidents that occurred in real life so certain deaths can not be avoided, but they almost always find a way to kill off characters (even fictional ones) that viewers might become attached to, ie Haksan in TCC. Ending is often open / ambiguous, esp regarding the romance. There are some historicals with happier endings, but these are the exception rather than the rule.

Family dramas: will feature a family with 3 - 4 kids, the youngest kid is always stuck in perpetual 'unemployment' - in Korean terms, that means they can't find full time work so they work various part time jobs. The first born & the middle child/children will have steady jobs. Parents are always TOO involved in their adult children's personal lives. If one of the kids are already married, the marriage is always unhappy & acrimonious, has unrepentant cheating husband, likely to end in divorce. Happy ending for kids but one of the elders is very likely to die at the end.

Fantasy: Fast paced, lots of twists, likely to have romance but there's always something threatening them being together. Very likely to end openly or ambiguously.

Business/Law type dramas: corruption, greed, mind games, no romance, somebody likely to commit suicide at the end and or end up in prison.

Never said they didn't. I said they follow a formula that they never deviate from, even a little. They might change the name of the characters & the setting, but the basic plot will always remain the same. I'm not even saying that is necessarily a bad thing, because they do the same in other film/TV industries to: Hollywood, Bollywood ... but what does become frustrating is the constant repetitiveness of Korean stories. Korean writers never explore different types of reaction to circumstances.

For eg, in family drama very rarely do you see adult children (even in their 30s & 40s) set boundaries for their parents. The parents treat them like kids, meddle in their private lives & almost always have a hand in ruining their relationships. And the kids just accept it without ANY pushback. For once, I'd love to see an adult child tell their parents to back off! It certainly happens enough irl ... but I guess with these TV shows they want to condition the population into thinking a certain way.

Also I see from your list that we tend to watch similar shows, mostly romantic themed shows. These are shows in which you're more likely to get an okay plot & ending because they're dealing with new love. So I can understand that you may not see eye to eye on what I'm trying to express to you. However, if you diversify your viewing just a bit, you will definitely start to pick up on the fact that every genre of drama follows a very strict formula:

This show was a total disappointment! Talk about wasted potential all around. Here's why:

THE GOOD:
- the concept, very chilling & an excellent premise on which to build a crime/thriller drama
- Lee Seo Jin ... he was puuuuurfect .... PERFECT to play this role. Everyone who has ever accused him of not being able to act can now have several seats. If & when he gets the right role, he can do the damn thing! And in Trap he went all out. The man was made for this role!

But here's where sh*t start to hit the fan, THE BAD:

- The writing totally botched a great concept with stupid Korean melodrama! A 7 episode drama about diabolical killers should be fast-paced and intense! Instead we got dumb melodrama about some old washed up cop and his family angst! WTF?
They tried so hard to make you care about him & the other band of characters on the police force, but with only 7 episodes there's no way to flesh out these characters well enough to make me deeply care for any of them. I had the potential to become attached to ONE cop - 1 - and he was only in the drama for 1.5 episodes! All the others could have gone to hell for all I cared! The most interesting character in the show, that they could have & should have focused on and fleshed out more was sidelined into playing what was essentially a secondary role. They squandered Lee Seo Jin (one of, if not THE best, role he's ever done) & instead chose to go for the same old tired cliches that you literally see in EVERY damn cop show that comes out of Korea. SMGDH!!!

- Then we come to the ending! I want to fly to Korea & bitch slap the writer. Seriously. Is it a totally horrible ending? No, but it is anti-climatic as fuck! All that build up in the last episode and ... that's how you choose to wrap things up??? WTF??? Throw the whole damn drama away! Or better yet, make a spinoff that focuses ONLY on Lee Seo Jin's character & his cronies ... now THAT would be a drama to watch! Otherwise, Trap is crap. 6/10 ... and that's totally for Leo Seo Jin oppa's performance!

I get it. I have to watch shows/movies like these when I'm in the right mood so as not to internalize what I'm seeing on the screen. If I'm experiencing sadness, distress in my own life, I have to put off watching these shows until times are better. In general, I absolutely prefer happy endings. Or endings that are uplifting, hopeful & positive in some way, even if it's not concretely roses & bow happy. Life is hard enough without subjecting myself to negative emotions in my entertainment as well (I am constantly amazed at people who express an opposite view!).

When I watched An Elephant Standing Still I felt empathy for the characters ... and the director because I felt the movie was a window into his own sad, depressed state of mind (he committed suicide after the film premiered). But I didn't internalize their distress ... and the ending, though very simple & not particularly noteworthy ... was rather uplifting for me (I won't say why in case you do one day decide to watch it). I'm not sure if that's because my life was so great at the time of viewing (I doubt it) ... or if it's a sign that ... despite the sombre, dark nature of the film, the direction provided a buffer for us. Like the lives of the characters were taking place in a fish bowl, and instead of being in the fish bowl with them ... we're able to just stand over it and watch. Dunno if I'm making much sense here...lol

Anyway, yeah! It's been a while since we chatted. I spend time on MDL in bursts and spurts. There are times when I'm on here everyday (like now, because it's vacation time) and times when I don't log on for weeks & months! I do enjoy coming across your comments around the site because we usually see eye to eye on TV & cinema. I hope you'll stick around however short.

Honey, yes they do ... cases in point: Cruel City, Nine, Black and the list goes on.
If the drama isn't a pure romantic comedy where a happy ending is guaranteed, then anything is possible in a Kdrama. For Korean writers, every genre has a set formula & very rarely, if ever, do they go outside of it. The reasons why rom-coms always have a happy ending is because it addresses new love. Boy meets girl, they fall in love ... the happy ending is that they start a relationship. At this point it's all love & roses between the couple so yeah, happy ending. But if you watch a Kdrama about a married couple - very rarely, if ever, is that couple happy or working to be happy. It's always bitter and acrimonious; there's always cheating, histronics & more times than not, the marriage ends in divorce ....
Why? Because these dramas deal with 'middle love' ... honeymoon period has worn off, the couple becomes very familiar with each other's flaws, and as they say, familiarity breeds contempt ... so in this type of drama the couple hates & disrespects each other and eventually breaks up.

Same goes for historicals .... because historical times in Korea were so brutal (starvation, war, disease, evil noblemen who killed and trampled on people of a lesser status with impunity), many people died off young ... so that's why if there's a romantic arc in a period drama, a lot of times the endings are ambiguous ... it is not made 100% sure if the leads end up together or not because back in those days there were so many things that compromised people's survival.
The formula just never, ever changes. That's why when they killed off Haksan for no good reason and out of the blue assassins attacked and killed off Officer Jang while the ML was separated from FL for 2 yrs ... I wasn't surprised one bit. This is VERY typical of Kdramas in this genre.

Melodramas, historicals, fantasy, crime & business/law type dramas almost always end up with bad, sad, open or ambiguous endings. Some people love this unpredictability. People like you and me don't. For us, it truly sucks.

I saw no reason why Haksan couldn't live. But in true Kdrama fashion they just had to find a way to kill off many of our beloved characters.

Was just sharing my opinion about your choices like you asked for. No need to tell me to write my own article. I wouldn't be interested in writing this type of article anyway, if I did choose to write something...

Great review ... I feel the same way about not wanting to be immersed in a world of constant misery with no hope in sight. I can do it, but sparingly. I'm curious to know if you ever got around to watching An Elephant Sitting Still? Not by this director or anything, but an equally introspective, subversive film about some rather depressed lives ... and yet at the end of it, I didn't feel depressed .... but rather hopeful and strangely uplifted. It's a long movie so you may never watch it, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts if you ever do.

Great article, OP! I'm not, however, 100% onboard with your casting. I don't think Son Ye Jin would be the best choice for a role like this. It's a bit too ... gritty for her? She comes across so pretty, sophisticated .... too polished? The role I think calls for a more down to earth type actress that seems, for a lack of a better term, ... more accessible? Meaning more people can relate to her as a regular, everyday woman (kinda like how Lupita N'yongo comes across in the movie). Perhaps Han Hyo Joo (W, Always, Love 911)?
The male lead ... how about Yoo Ji Tæ (Oldboy, Healer, The Good Wife) because I think he can pull off that suburban dad look, but at the same time be intense and kick ass when he needs to protect the family.
Then for the Tylers .... Son Je Yin & Gong Yoo? Joo Sang Wook could work actually, but I'm unconvinced about Lee Min Jung in this role (in general I don't think LMJ is that great of an actress tbh). I can see Son Je Yin and Gong Yoo playing the wealthy, sophisticated mysterious Tylers, giving off a perfect, polished exterior but under the surface there's something really sinister about them.
I could go along with the rest of your casting because I'm not familiar with any of these actors. Anyway, my 2 cents. Oteyo?

P.S I haven't watched 'Us' yet, but I'm familiar with the characters' archetype.

I've loved her in everything I've seen her in! Very beautiful & a convincing actress.

Still can't come to grips with your passing, oppa! I hope you're enjoying your time in heaven. This is sad af!

I totally agree! Sadly he's not the best at picking great projects! Once in a while he does a truly epic drama like Golden Empire (in movies he has a tendency of being outshined by his more famous co-stars), but most of his other stuff are just meh ... and often commercial failures. It's sad because he's phenomenal on screen!

Hahahaha! Mad!

This ahjussi is sexy af! <3 <3 <3

Whose career did they destroy? I'm totally lost ...

I understand your point. I've not been in the best moods of late myself, so I tend to avoid shows that are overly tragic & ends on a sad note. But aside from these two incidents (the killing of the child & the rape), there were no other shocking & distressing occurrences a part from regular deaths (either by natural causes or executions). A few beloved characters will die, but this kind of thing is to be expected in dramas like these, no? So if these shocking events are the only reason why you can't continue watching the series, then I hope this comment assures you that it's safe to do so.

It's an unfortunate, but true depiction of the times they lived in. To hold on to power, Kings would sometimes have their whole families wiped out, esp half siblings (doesn't matter if they were kids or not), in-laws and the like. Animals had more value & were treated more humanely than peasant people, hence the reason why many noblemen felt entitled to rape peasant women with impunity & nothing coming of it in the form of justice. In fact, it was apparently in the penal code of this time, that such crimes were not criminal as long as the victims were peasants because peasants were not deemed worthy of justice or dignity. I seriously wished the clown king had had that bastard drawn & quartered for raping his sister. Yes, I have blood lust for all dirty criminals, esp those who trample upon the poor & weak.

Don't know if you're still looking for answers but see above.

Ok, to understand the ending we have to take things step by step because the story is told in an non-linear fashion:

1) Wife is committed by husband & family because she starts to become unhinged when she finds out about the affair & that her husband is irrevocably obsessed with the babysitter. While at the mental institution, she notices a man that looks identical to her husband. Also while at the institution, she accidentally injures her roommate and is sent to prison (where she encounters all kinds of hardship & eventually makes an 'ally'). Keep this in mind because this is going to play a significant role later.

2) Meanwhile, in a fit of jealous rage the husband kills the babysitter and his best friend because he was rejected and cast aside, pretty much by both parties, and because in his own way, he done lost his damn mind over this girl. His BFF was no longer his BFF. He was now the babysitter's husband ... her loyal husband, who sided with her over him (perhaps because he broke the guy code of never sleeping with his bff's wife). Mind you, the babysitter had never intended to carry on a lengthy affair with the husband. As she said, she threw him a bone & he went wild ... meaning, she probably just wanted to sleep with him once or twice to spite & get revenge on his wife whom she feels ruined her life. But after their brief affair, the husband became obsessed with her & would not leave her alone, ruining his whole life in the process.

3) After the murders he goes to the prison where his wife is and confesses to her (perhaps covertly asking her to help him cover them up with the message on his hand). At the window the wife screams in agony because she overwhelmed by it all (her husband being so bewitched by this babysitter it drove him to murder & him once again abusing her love for him by asking her to help cover up his crime). I think after this incident is when she masterminded her revenge against him: she'd take the fall for his crimes & help him fake his death. After all, if he goes away for life for double murder, her chance to reign vengeance upon him would be lost.

They kidnap & murder the mental patient that looked like her husband. Given her prior history as a mental patient, everyone would believe that she murdered her husband and set the place on fire, burning herself in the process, because she's crazy. It's the perfect cover-up. The husband then checks himself into the mental hospital under the stolen identity. When the wife is tried for murder she uses her so-called 'mental instability' as a defense to avoid a lengthy prison sentence. The court ruled that she's not fit for regular prison and she's found not guilty by reason of (perhaps temporary) insanity. She's re-committed to the mental institution where she marries her husband under his new identity & sometime later she is released on probation.

4) After her release from custody, she's picked up by her husband from the courthouse. She's about to put her her revenge plot in motion. She thinks about all she'd had to endure, out of love, for her husband, and all he's done to her (cheated on her, humiliated her, take her for granted, defiled her sanctuary - her flower garden, had her institutionalized which led to her imprisonment, have her take the blame for his crimes etc) ... yet this mf could not, would not give up his obsession with the babysitter for the sake of everything she'd invested in him & their marriage. He'd also never sincerely apologized for categorically ruining their whole lives. This confirmed to her that he was irredeemable. He was a selfish, self-serving man who only used her to save his own ass. So in the end she decided to kill him.

That unnie, with whom she became allies in the prison, helped her orchestrate his murder (the unnie probably provided the truck that rammed into the car). In his dying moment, the husband finally apologizes, but it's too late for all that. The wife is unmoved. She gets out of the car and begins to walk away as fast as her injuries would allow; she knows the car is going to blow any time soon. That prison unnie shows up after the accident and is perhaps at a bit hesitant to provide further assistance to the wife at first, but eventually she goes back & picks her up. The wife sobs in agony, devastated by the tragedy of the entire sordid situation.

Very good miniseries. It's your typical revenge drama centered around infidelity & adultery, but the way the story unfolded made for a good, suspenseful watch. There were some nice little unexpected twists & shocking turn of events which made the drama not so run of the mill. Also the fact that it was basically rated R, with a minimum viewing age of 19, allowed the drama to realize its full potential, unlike other dramas with a lesser age limit & very sterile love affairs. Here the sexual tension between the characters was palpable. Jo Yeo Jung and Kim Min Joon have amazing chemistry; they play very well off each other. Doesn't surprise me one bit since they previously worked together on Royal Concubine: Concubine of the King where they also played lovers. Anyway, my interpretation of the ending below: