namonakisan

I was unimpressed in the beginning. It felt like If Wishes Could Kill was trying to reheat Night Has Come’s nachos, which didn’t sound particularly appealing considering I didn’t care for those nachos fresh.
But then it took a step back from shock-value gore and leaned more heavily into eldritch suspense, and it started to grow on me. It knew when to slow down and linger, when to pan away, when to lighten the mood and let the viewer breathe, and when to trust the viewer to read between the spoken lines.
For a minute there, it felt like I was in good hands. I could just sit back and enjoy the ride while the rollercoaster took us up, up, up the track to the misty summit, where the carriage crested, the mist cleared, and we plummeted…
10 feet.
After all that anticipatory climbing, the ride proceeded to slow to an anticlimactic stop not even a third of the way down, dump us, and reverse.

Is that it? Is the ride over, or is it still under construction? Why would they let us on an unfinished ride? Why build it so high if they didn’t have the materials to bring us the same distance back down?

Yeah.
That’s the feeling, and it’s a shame because I think this cast had a lot to juggle and, for the most part, managed to pull it off (shout out to Mina—I haven’t really kept up with her since IOI and she did a fab job portraying a completely incomprehensible character). And what did they get for their hard work?
A non-ending positively swimming in unanswered questions.

• What happened to Si Won’s dad?
• What did Si Won do to provoke whatever it was her mom died trying to protect her from?
• Why was Hye Ryung so easily convinced to just… leave her friend’s mom to die???
• Why did Hye Ryung immediately jump to SACRIFICING HERSELF IN THE MOST GRUESOME MANNER IMAGINABLE TO CURSE HER EX-BFF & FORMER CRUSH when she was bullied for the first time?? I feel like that is a plan z course of action???
• Why did Si Won wish for the curse to continue? The only people she might want dead are ALREADY dead?? What was the thought process here, because attributing it to revenge is just not cutting it for me
• How did Hyeong Wook’s death get settled so quietly??
• Why introduce the mechanic of subsequent wishes stopping the timer on previous wishes if Si Won is still gonna hunt all wishers down, regardless?
• Why did no one even consider wishing to end the cycle?
• Why was Se A given such Chosen One treatment if there wasn’t gonna be any payoff? No dormant shamanistic aptitude? No family secrets? No “I almost died in the accident that killed my parents and have a stronger connection to the afterlife” reveal? NOTHING???
• Ha Yeong. What’s with the snake? How did she go from Regular Joe to Vessel of Divine Power? Was the power acquired? Awakened? How did she link up with Bang Ul? Ffs.
• If Ha Yeong can weaken Si Won’s influence, why didn’t anyone suggest rounding up all the wishers and bringing them to the shrine, if only to contain some of the chaos while Se A and Bang Ul set out to fight the final boss?? Hello?? Risk & liability avoidance anyone?
• Why was Na Ri so fixated on her crush??? Girl, you were just STABBED, and you’re more mad that your crush got with your friend??? Be so fr

I could go on but I don’t feel like it
You get the idea
This drama is a tease