This review may contain spoilers
Good show with some flaws
The acting in this show is absolutely phenomenal. It's probably what kept me watching the most.
As for the story... It was definitely interesting. More than what is told, I liked how it was told. Mun-Oh is someone with a vibrant imagination and we get to see it all. His characterisation works extremely well in my opinion. His hunger for praise and acknowledgement makes him do things he wouldn't normally do. When he steals those questions, he doesn't do it for Lee Kang, he does it purely for himself and his hope to be the mentor of someone he can live vicariously through. He is so hung up on the past, he gets blinded by it. As a viewer, it is honestly easy to tell that Lee Kang is a liar and just tells a story. His narration works the same way, someone might write a first draft - "ah, and then he could move into the house... or what if there was a bully housemaid?", it all gets added piece by piece, but not woven in because he can't go back and edit. And Mun-Oh is eating it all up, not questioning a thing because he wants all of this to be true so badly. The character's motivations were all clear and well told except for Mun-Oh's wife. I didn't understand why she stayed that long. From all we know, he's been a huge a-hole all along. When he said those extremely mean things at the orphanage, just viewing this boy's story as some piece of fiction he might gain something from, when he wasn't there for her after she miscarried multiple times, when she cries and opens up about her suffering in the marriage he just tells her "stop whining"... Why did it take this long for her to leave? There should have been some redeeming qualities to him, but there really were none. She also has a bad feeling about Lee Kang in the beginning which is honestly understandable as he presents as a little stalker creep who wants to weasel himself into this family. Then later he is just able to manipulate her and they become friends?? That didn't quite work for me.
I think I was always waiting for something more, some sort of nuance, a little moment of psychopathy from Lee Kang that makes Mun-Oh stop in his tracks for a second... In the end it was pretty straight forward and if you, as the viewer, have realised that Lee Kang is lying, there is no other, deeper level, nothing to learn about storytelling and ethics, it's just revenge on a very willing victim.
Overall, an enjoyable show with some shortcomings in the story, but fantastic performances and great production value. I wouldn't rewatch it, but I would watch a second season.
As for the story... It was definitely interesting. More than what is told, I liked how it was told. Mun-Oh is someone with a vibrant imagination and we get to see it all. His characterisation works extremely well in my opinion. His hunger for praise and acknowledgement makes him do things he wouldn't normally do. When he steals those questions, he doesn't do it for Lee Kang, he does it purely for himself and his hope to be the mentor of someone he can live vicariously through. He is so hung up on the past, he gets blinded by it. As a viewer, it is honestly easy to tell that Lee Kang is a liar and just tells a story. His narration works the same way, someone might write a first draft - "ah, and then he could move into the house... or what if there was a bully housemaid?", it all gets added piece by piece, but not woven in because he can't go back and edit. And Mun-Oh is eating it all up, not questioning a thing because he wants all of this to be true so badly. The character's motivations were all clear and well told except for Mun-Oh's wife. I didn't understand why she stayed that long. From all we know, he's been a huge a-hole all along. When he said those extremely mean things at the orphanage, just viewing this boy's story as some piece of fiction he might gain something from, when he wasn't there for her after she miscarried multiple times, when she cries and opens up about her suffering in the marriage he just tells her "stop whining"... Why did it take this long for her to leave? There should have been some redeeming qualities to him, but there really were none. She also has a bad feeling about Lee Kang in the beginning which is honestly understandable as he presents as a little stalker creep who wants to weasel himself into this family. Then later he is just able to manipulate her and they become friends?? That didn't quite work for me.
I think I was always waiting for something more, some sort of nuance, a little moment of psychopathy from Lee Kang that makes Mun-Oh stop in his tracks for a second... In the end it was pretty straight forward and if you, as the viewer, have realised that Lee Kang is lying, there is no other, deeper level, nothing to learn about storytelling and ethics, it's just revenge on a very willing victim.
Overall, an enjoyable show with some shortcomings in the story, but fantastic performances and great production value. I wouldn't rewatch it, but I would watch a second season.
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