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"No place on Earth is more screwed up than here"
WONDERfools was wonderfully quirky, silly, and fun. That’s not to say it wasn’t flawed, but I was able to overlook the more egregious issues I had with the drama for the Super Friends sake.
Eun Chae Ni was born with a bad heart and is deteriorating fast. It's 1999 and all she wants is to live long enough to witness the end of humanity on December 31st as is being predicted. She’s never been out of Haeseong and is determined to take a trip in defiance of her grandmother’s orders. Chae Ni aka Trainwreck develops a scam to make money for the trip which goes very wrong, implicating her two best friends, Ro Bin aka the Sap King and Son Ahjussi aka Nightmare. City Hall clerk Lee Un Jeong aka Mr. Oddball finds himself dragged into their madness as a nefarious force lurks in the shadows hoping to bring about the apocalypse.
This drama felt like the writer had watched old reruns of Dark Angel (2000-2002) and pitched the story like this, “What if we use the Manticore concept only make it more of a comedy? With the female lead and her friends having the emotional maturity of seven-year-olds?” I also saw strong resemblances to Guardians of the Galaxy, Super Friends, and name whatever zombie movie you prefer. There were times the super trio’s antics and emotional outbursts could be exhausting. I’m not a fan of slapstick comedy but I actually laughed frequently throughout this drama though there were times it drew eyerolls as well. The acting varied widely. Park Eun Bin and Choi Dae Hoon have some serious acting chops and Im Sung Jae held up his end of the super triangle as well. I was happy to see Kim Hae Sook have a substantial role as the boss grandmother who wasn’t afraid to tangle with the dark forces of Manticore, I mean Wunderkind, to protect her grandchild. The biggest problem I had with the drama was the romance, I’ll note why in a spoiler section under the date of this review.
WONDERfools had deaths in it and characters had suffered childhood traumas, but none of the losses carried any real weight to them as the comedy rode roughshod over most of the darker elements. I’m a sucker for friend stories and though they were the oddest ducks in town, Chae Ni, Ro Bin, and Son Ahjussi strengthened their bonds and also grew as people. They even went from a triangle to a square by adding in Mr. Oddball Lee Un Jeong---whether he liked it or not. If you enjoy super hero friends that lean toward the humorous offbeat end of the measuring stick, WONDERfools might be one to try.
25 May 2026
Trigger warning: Worms coming out of the skin of one character---I had to skip over a few short scenes. *shudder*
Spoiler comment follows---
***SPOILER COMMENTS***
Jeong attempted to kill Chae Ni to test her powers which could have ended in her death if he was wrong. But most troublesome was when he handed her over to Dr. Ha and his chamber of death knowing what awaited her. And then strongly resisted agreeing to help rescue her. These two actions, regardless of his motivations and rough childhood were not romantic lead actions for me. He was far too easily forgiven by the other main characters, especially Chae Ni. I don’t care how emotionally stunted and lonely Chae Ni was, two attempted murders make for an enormous red flag and huge NO for romance. Maybe in a second or third season when he had truly earned that forgiveness and trust I'd accept it.
Eun Chae Ni was born with a bad heart and is deteriorating fast. It's 1999 and all she wants is to live long enough to witness the end of humanity on December 31st as is being predicted. She’s never been out of Haeseong and is determined to take a trip in defiance of her grandmother’s orders. Chae Ni aka Trainwreck develops a scam to make money for the trip which goes very wrong, implicating her two best friends, Ro Bin aka the Sap King and Son Ahjussi aka Nightmare. City Hall clerk Lee Un Jeong aka Mr. Oddball finds himself dragged into their madness as a nefarious force lurks in the shadows hoping to bring about the apocalypse.
This drama felt like the writer had watched old reruns of Dark Angel (2000-2002) and pitched the story like this, “What if we use the Manticore concept only make it more of a comedy? With the female lead and her friends having the emotional maturity of seven-year-olds?” I also saw strong resemblances to Guardians of the Galaxy, Super Friends, and name whatever zombie movie you prefer. There were times the super trio’s antics and emotional outbursts could be exhausting. I’m not a fan of slapstick comedy but I actually laughed frequently throughout this drama though there were times it drew eyerolls as well. The acting varied widely. Park Eun Bin and Choi Dae Hoon have some serious acting chops and Im Sung Jae held up his end of the super triangle as well. I was happy to see Kim Hae Sook have a substantial role as the boss grandmother who wasn’t afraid to tangle with the dark forces of Manticore, I mean Wunderkind, to protect her grandchild. The biggest problem I had with the drama was the romance, I’ll note why in a spoiler section under the date of this review.
WONDERfools had deaths in it and characters had suffered childhood traumas, but none of the losses carried any real weight to them as the comedy rode roughshod over most of the darker elements. I’m a sucker for friend stories and though they were the oddest ducks in town, Chae Ni, Ro Bin, and Son Ahjussi strengthened their bonds and also grew as people. They even went from a triangle to a square by adding in Mr. Oddball Lee Un Jeong---whether he liked it or not. If you enjoy super hero friends that lean toward the humorous offbeat end of the measuring stick, WONDERfools might be one to try.
25 May 2026
Trigger warning: Worms coming out of the skin of one character---I had to skip over a few short scenes. *shudder*
Spoiler comment follows---
***SPOILER COMMENTS***
Jeong attempted to kill Chae Ni to test her powers which could have ended in her death if he was wrong. But most troublesome was when he handed her over to Dr. Ha and his chamber of death knowing what awaited her. And then strongly resisted agreeing to help rescue her. These two actions, regardless of his motivations and rough childhood were not romantic lead actions for me. He was far too easily forgiven by the other main characters, especially Chae Ni. I don’t care how emotionally stunted and lonely Chae Ni was, two attempted murders make for an enormous red flag and huge NO for romance. Maybe in a second or third season when he had truly earned that forgiveness and trust I'd accept it.
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