2
5
1
1
1
This review may contain spoilers
Idol-I: I for Intuition.
Major spoiler: I mention the culprit among other spoilers in the drama
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If I did not know the gist of the drama beforehand, I would have thought I was getting something light and easy. The lead names alone screamed romcom, and the wordplay was funny enough to lower my guard. Then the end of episode 1 hit, and suddenly we were dealing with mystery, grief, anxiety, and how lonely and suffocating idol life could be.
Maybe it helped that I binge-watched this, but pacing-wise, it was okay for me than it did for those who watched while it was airing. I thought the story moved steadily without dragging until the end. I appreciated that they did not cram all the happiness into the last five minutes just to check a box.
Raik’s emotional journey was the backbone of the drama. We watch him navigate fame, guilt, suspicion, and the weight of being constantly watched, and in some points, it was sad to witness. I do think that the drama does a good job of showing why his on-stage versus off-stage self are different without overdoing it. It did not excuse his mistakes, but it also allowed us to understand where he was coming from. The same goes as well to the other characters. By the time the mystery deepens, we are already invested in him as a person, not just a suspect nor as an idol alone.
Early on, my expectations for the drama were already set. I had the idea that the drama focus will lean more towards Raik's emotional healing process and idol life than the mechanics of Raik’s case even though technically everything revolved around the case, so I stopped expecting a strong procedural script. I expected an emotional mystery instead, and in that sense, I was right.
With this expectation, the murder mystery itself became an okay. Not groundbreaking, but engaging enough to keep me guessing. I liked that it did not tunnel-vision on one mysterious culprit. The constant shifting of suspicion among characters we already knew kept things tense, and it made the investigation feel messy in a realistic, entertaining way. There was also this sense that solving the case was dangerous in itself and sometimes unfair, which added weight to the story.
However, I do admit that it was hard ignore how many basic investigative steps were skipped, though I was generous in letting that slide because of my set expectations. The very simple things that could've ended this drama on episode 2 were the DNA checks on door handle and the earring. Even if I assume they did check and just did not show it, the flashbacks themselves made it hard to believe the crime scene was spotless. The culprit was frantic and emotional, she was very far from careful. That earring alone should have been enough to crack things open earlier. All Raik had to do was go back to his apartment and the case would have unraveled much faster.
Where the show gets more interesting, and more uncomfortable, is its take on fangirling. Sena was meant to represent the healthier end of admiration, even if the drama sometimes undermined her professionalism to get there. Her fangirling slipped into her work more than it should, and I did find myself frustrated that she did not always act like the capable lawyer she was introduced as. She took on Raik’s case after reading his expression and decided to trust him because, as a 10-year fan, "he doesn't know how to act" was enough to convince her. While I understood the narrative purpose of giving Raik someone who believed in him, I did not love that her decision relied so heavily on intuition and personal guilt (about her father) rather than evidence. Afterall, she is a lawyer who works with facts, not intuition. But then again, she is also human.
In contrast, the ex-girlfriend felt close to a sasaeng. What initially looked like concern and longing on her part gradually revealed itself as obsession. The drama made it clear how "love" could rot when it turned into entitlement and obsession. Everything she said was designed to corner Raik into believing she was what he needed, and would hurt both of them if they aren't together. As her arc unfolded, we come to understand that her relationship with Raik turned parasocial and toxic, which I then questioned whether the love they once shared was ever even real. Watching her justify cruelty, surveillance, and control in the name of love was uncomfortable.
This is where the drama becomes ironic. It spent so much time showing fans how important it is to respect boundaries and recognize idols as human beings with private lives, and how it affects them mentally. Yet, the story ultimately framed a fan as Raik’s emotional and legal savior. At the same time, the culprit was written with sasaeng-like behavior, while the two sasaengs who caused repeated harm faced barely any real consequences and even had character glow-up in the end. I would have liked to see genuine accountability instead of a few scoldings and a glow-up. The way it plays out almost reinforces the idea that fans are the loyal constants. I do not think this was the intention, and viewers with common sense will understand the moral the drama was aiming for, but the narrative choice was still disappointing, especially given how many more challenging and thoughtful directions the story could have taken.
On a lighter note, I appreciated how the side characters parts were handled. No ridiculous filler arcs, and no unnecessary love triangles blowing things up for the sake of drama. The second male lead understood where he stands and respected boundaries. The prosecutor and the policeman, frustrating as they were at first, actually grew and chose truth over power, which was nice. Even Raik’s group was given enough focus to remind us how they also had their own struggles on how isolating idol life can be for others involved, not just for Raik.
The romance itself was fine. It is there, it develops naturally enough, but it is not the point. For me, it works best to be understood as part of Raik’s healing. After everything else was resolved, we witness his emotional growth after one final one-on-one scene with the ex-girlfriend. Finally, her words no longer had power over him. Sena, meanwhile, remains the same person she was, just no longer held back by her past. She's then balancing her appeal for her father’s case, her fangirling, and being Raik’s lover.
Idol I is far from perfect. Some parts could have been fleshed out more, especially given how heavy the themes are. But for a 12-episode drama, it did enough to tell what it was meant to tell.
Not a masterpiece, but a grounded watch.
-------
If I did not know the gist of the drama beforehand, I would have thought I was getting something light and easy. The lead names alone screamed romcom, and the wordplay was funny enough to lower my guard. Then the end of episode 1 hit, and suddenly we were dealing with mystery, grief, anxiety, and how lonely and suffocating idol life could be.
Maybe it helped that I binge-watched this, but pacing-wise, it was okay for me than it did for those who watched while it was airing. I thought the story moved steadily without dragging until the end. I appreciated that they did not cram all the happiness into the last five minutes just to check a box.
Raik’s emotional journey was the backbone of the drama. We watch him navigate fame, guilt, suspicion, and the weight of being constantly watched, and in some points, it was sad to witness. I do think that the drama does a good job of showing why his on-stage versus off-stage self are different without overdoing it. It did not excuse his mistakes, but it also allowed us to understand where he was coming from. The same goes as well to the other characters. By the time the mystery deepens, we are already invested in him as a person, not just a suspect nor as an idol alone.
Early on, my expectations for the drama were already set. I had the idea that the drama focus will lean more towards Raik's emotional healing process and idol life than the mechanics of Raik’s case even though technically everything revolved around the case, so I stopped expecting a strong procedural script. I expected an emotional mystery instead, and in that sense, I was right.
With this expectation, the murder mystery itself became an okay. Not groundbreaking, but engaging enough to keep me guessing. I liked that it did not tunnel-vision on one mysterious culprit. The constant shifting of suspicion among characters we already knew kept things tense, and it made the investigation feel messy in a realistic, entertaining way. There was also this sense that solving the case was dangerous in itself and sometimes unfair, which added weight to the story.
However, I do admit that it was hard ignore how many basic investigative steps were skipped, though I was generous in letting that slide because of my set expectations. The very simple things that could've ended this drama on episode 2 were the DNA checks on door handle and the earring. Even if I assume they did check and just did not show it, the flashbacks themselves made it hard to believe the crime scene was spotless. The culprit was frantic and emotional, she was very far from careful. That earring alone should have been enough to crack things open earlier. All Raik had to do was go back to his apartment and the case would have unraveled much faster.
Where the show gets more interesting, and more uncomfortable, is its take on fangirling. Sena was meant to represent the healthier end of admiration, even if the drama sometimes undermined her professionalism to get there. Her fangirling slipped into her work more than it should, and I did find myself frustrated that she did not always act like the capable lawyer she was introduced as. She took on Raik’s case after reading his expression and decided to trust him because, as a 10-year fan, "he doesn't know how to act" was enough to convince her. While I understood the narrative purpose of giving Raik someone who believed in him, I did not love that her decision relied so heavily on intuition and personal guilt (about her father) rather than evidence. Afterall, she is a lawyer who works with facts, not intuition. But then again, she is also human.
In contrast, the ex-girlfriend felt close to a sasaeng. What initially looked like concern and longing on her part gradually revealed itself as obsession. The drama made it clear how "love" could rot when it turned into entitlement and obsession. Everything she said was designed to corner Raik into believing she was what he needed, and would hurt both of them if they aren't together. As her arc unfolded, we come to understand that her relationship with Raik turned parasocial and toxic, which I then questioned whether the love they once shared was ever even real. Watching her justify cruelty, surveillance, and control in the name of love was uncomfortable.
This is where the drama becomes ironic. It spent so much time showing fans how important it is to respect boundaries and recognize idols as human beings with private lives, and how it affects them mentally. Yet, the story ultimately framed a fan as Raik’s emotional and legal savior. At the same time, the culprit was written with sasaeng-like behavior, while the two sasaengs who caused repeated harm faced barely any real consequences and even had character glow-up in the end. I would have liked to see genuine accountability instead of a few scoldings and a glow-up. The way it plays out almost reinforces the idea that fans are the loyal constants. I do not think this was the intention, and viewers with common sense will understand the moral the drama was aiming for, but the narrative choice was still disappointing, especially given how many more challenging and thoughtful directions the story could have taken.
On a lighter note, I appreciated how the side characters parts were handled. No ridiculous filler arcs, and no unnecessary love triangles blowing things up for the sake of drama. The second male lead understood where he stands and respected boundaries. The prosecutor and the policeman, frustrating as they were at first, actually grew and chose truth over power, which was nice. Even Raik’s group was given enough focus to remind us how they also had their own struggles on how isolating idol life can be for others involved, not just for Raik.
The romance itself was fine. It is there, it develops naturally enough, but it is not the point. For me, it works best to be understood as part of Raik’s healing. After everything else was resolved, we witness his emotional growth after one final one-on-one scene with the ex-girlfriend. Finally, her words no longer had power over him. Sena, meanwhile, remains the same person she was, just no longer held back by her past. She's then balancing her appeal for her father’s case, her fangirling, and being Raik’s lover.
Idol I is far from perfect. Some parts could have been fleshed out more, especially given how heavy the themes are. But for a 12-episode drama, it did enough to tell what it was meant to tell.
Not a masterpiece, but a grounded watch.
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