1
2
1
This review may contain spoilers
If 'Black Swan' and 'Carrie' had a child
Dear X is dark and utterly addictive!It's an emotional rollercoaster that keeps you guessing—who to trust, what’s real, and what isn’t.
Weaving together drama, suspense, and psychological tension, Dear X offers a unique take on the entertainment industry. It’s chilling and beautifully crafted, a tangled web of emotions where everyone is hurting, everyone wants something, and nobody walks away unscathed. Haunting, dramatic, and surprisingly empathetic, it shows how ambition, love, and pain can twist together until you can’t tell them apart anymore.
Ah-jin is not an easy character to like, which threw me off at times, but I found myself captivated by her story nonetheless. She manipulates the loyalty and devotion of those around her, using them to climb higher and prove just how far she’ll go to survive and succeed.
While not directly related, or even intentional, I couldn’t help but notice some striking similarities between Ah-jin and Carrie White from the Carrie films. Both grow up lonely, mistreated, and misunderstood—carrying wounds that no one truly sees until it’s too late. When they finally break, it’s not because they’re evil, but because they were never given love, safety, or the chance to simply be human. In the end, both stand as tragic figures shaped more by the cruelty around them than by who they ever hoped to be.
Much like Nina from Black Swan, Ah-jin also spirals into madness as she claws her way toward the top. The parallels between the two are impossible to ignore. Both are women moulded by trauma and crushed by impossible expectations within the entertainment world. They want so badly to be perfect, to be chosen, to be enough, and that pressure slowly unravels them. Their lives become performances, their identities blur, and eventually the personas they’re forced to uphold end up consuming them. It’s a painful, raw look at how the entertainment world can twist people until only the mask remains.
If you’re in the mood for an eerie drama that leaves a lasting impression, Dear X is exactly that.
Was this review helpful to you?
Red Lines Reveal Dark Secrets
If Strangers from Hell and Taxi Driver had a child — it would be S-Line.While the main plot of S-Line isn’t exactly the same as those dramas, it feels similar. The overall vibe is heavy, tense, and unsettling, much like Strangers from Hell. There’s a constant sense of discomfort and mystery that keeps you on edge the entire time.
In terms of structure, it follows a more episodic format, similar to Taxi Driver. The core storyline develops slowly in the background while new plots and mini-stories unfold in each episode. This keeps the drama fresh and engaging, giving you something new to latch onto every time while still weaving in deeper threads (no pun intended).
The leads do a great job portraying subtle shifts in emotion, and the supporting characters are equally unsettling. They are layered and unpredictable, you never quite know who to trust. I’ve always loved Lee Soo Hyuk and rarely see him in lead roles, so it was such a treat to see more of him on screen (and he absolutely delivered!). As for Lee Da Hee, while I haven’t always connected with her performances in the past, she had a much smaller role in this and actually suited it really well - I was pleasantly surprised. A Rin played her character so well, it was interesting to see a different side of her acting.
The storytelling is bold (sometimes disturbing) and while it’s not perfect, with some parts feeling underdeveloped, the plot is intriguing and easy to binge. It’s fast paced with a unique concept, and despite only 6 episodes, the drama uses its time well to thoughtfully uncover many details.
If you like psychologically heavy dramas with a mysterious edge and enjoy watching dark stories unfold one episode at a time, S-Line is absolutely worth checking out!
TRIGGER WARNING: some graphic scenes and sensitive themes like suicide are featured throughout.
Was this review helpful to you?
