Rugal (2020)

After K2, Healer and Black, Rugal is my fourth K-drama thriller with glaring plot issues

Now that I'm on the fourth show of this kind that I really wanted to like, but the writing prevented it AGAIN, I'm slowly at a loss for words.

Some shows like Healer and Black clearly run out of budget or time and have to rush the ending in a messy (& stupid) way.

Other shows like K2 and this just never really have a plot structure to begin with, despite a great premise. Every episode, some evil (or evil-seeming) person does something evil and has to be stopped, or some other challenge is to be overcome. The overall character relations are rather static, with most players looking to take a stab at one of their targets, but this rarely happening in a meaningful way.
After about half of Rugal, it even turns into what feels like endless filler episodes, one more ridiculous in plot than the next. The primary villain of the show is pretty much Chaotic Evil, truly over the top in his atrocities, and most other characters have the chance to end him and spare us the last ~10 hours. Yet they all somehow help him, or even rescue him, and as a result we viewers must endure.

The acting is passable, but most supporting characters are underused and rarely get to shine convincingly.
The music is not that far behind K2's in excitement but is used in comically unexciting situations.
There's a lot of action, yet it's sadly often sprinkled in to cover for the lack of anything else. Random fight scenes with an infinite legion of goons are all too common.

If a plausible plot is not among your requirements, you don't mind violence, and sci-fi tech plus hero vs horde fights sound good, Rugal is likely worth a watch. The same goes if you just really enjoy the kind of villain who could eat up any weaker character.


*SPOILERS FROM HERE ON*

Starting from the very beginning, several characters end up killed, except not actually killed. They resurface perhaps mostly dead, perhaps alive and well. Sometimes they're remote-controlled monsters, but with a bit of good will they can be healed. One has part of his head sucked out, but then he's fully intact later on. It gets so bad that it's actually more surprising when a named character truly stays dead.

Sometimes the antagonist can create incredibly potent living weapons, other times they're just failures of ruthless human experiments. Rules of physics may or may not apply depending on the scene, the current week's horoscope, or who is supposed to look cool at any given moment. There's occasional Wuxia moves, fighters' motions can make robot noises irrespective of them having any biomechanical body parts, and for a police force without the license to kill, Rugal engages in a lot of neck-breaking.
The antagonist's living weapons may be zombies, or have the same abilities as Rugal members.

The plot twists are built for shock value, but usually lack all logic. This includes absurd and implausible suicides.
Supposedly, the Big Bad has an incredibly long-winded plan for world domination, but the film crew obviously never know what it actually is, and so it fizzles away in favour of an obsession with winning the protagonist to his side.


Speaking about said main character, he is given an absurd amount of leeway. For no reason whatsoever, he essentially turns into the most magically powerful one of the four Power Rangers, and everybody else is constantly enchanted by him. He's not even the team leader, but in every group shot walks ahead of the team taking point, and otherwise takes the center of attention. Because he's the actual team leader, Strong Man Tae-Woong also gets to remain relevant throughout the show, while Mi-Na and Gwang-Chul fade away into complete obscurity. To really drive home that they have no meaningful roles, they're given injuries to recuperate from for the finale.
While his artificial eyes 'whisper' to him after a few weeks/months of use, taking control of his actions and eventually subduing his will with pain, he happily murders a bunch of people – some unarmed – in cold blood, but nobody really cares. The AI chip gets replaced with a fresh, untrained one, meaning it only buys time – yet even in the "several years later" epilogue that either never became a problem again or is handwaved away by having another character assist him.


Rugal starts as a somewhat simplistic yet entertaining show, before going all-out Dumb & Dumber. Sad.

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robotic swoosh sounds

(i dont rate rewatch value, neutral)

i need more sh!t like this!! this drama is on the verge of outrageous from the get, and just goes there more and more. transhumanism to 3 varying extremes in 3 of our 4 leading good guys (dont play around with min-a tho, she'll snap you in half either way), zombies, mindcontrolled goons, and an endless barrage of unecessery (sometimes quite shocking) death on the baddie side. every last fight scene is fu€#ing (how wish i could curse here) blockbuster level, with the cheesiest robotic transformers ass sounds behind every swing. 10yr old me was JUMPING the same way anyone infront Gi-Beom or tae woong's punches was when they were sent comically leaping.

on the one hand virtually everything is one-upped, but then when we to the storytelling, they actually choose to tone things down a notch to elevate it in that way. not saying it's not a completely engaging and exciting story, it freaking is, and i love everyone with my whole heart, but they do take a step back compared to shows where theres 10 different plot lines you're anticipating to get resolved. here they purposely limit it to just a few, and take enough time with them that it's only really towards the end when they kick into full effect. most of the journey up to that is just pieces of the puzzle organically being layed out. in that sense they accomplish that rare thing of making every one of the random action scenes count towards a greater goal. we feel Gi-Beom growing stronger. ..we feel his modification growing stronger. and they're challenging one another.

if you like action dramas this is a nobrainer. i'm already a few eps into 'Bad Guys' starring my boy Tae Woong with babyface ? but same role ?

such a wholesome ending too, still brought the laughs with mere minutes left on the clock.

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The storyline was off the chain unbroken! Choi Jin Hyuk, this South Korean actor is tall and very handsome. I loved him Family Gu as well. Jo Dong Hyuk, Jung Hye In, and Park Sun Ho I would love to see all 4 actors in a continual story. I loved all four and I feel have a great connection to make a team in fighting corruption in another Kdrama. All the actors/actress is awesome in this storyline. BUT, Park Sung Woong is also in The King -Eternal Monarch, he sure is busy playing someone evil... the only thing his character in Rugal and The King are similar. Why is that? I really enjoyed it. I will be rewatching this drama with not having to wait for two episodes at a time per week. Aww, it looks there is going to be a Part 2... ding ding ding ding!

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watch this for the cast, definitely

picked this drama back up after a long pause following an emotional ep. 13.

OMG hahaha that was a somewhat open ending but i liked it. i liked how witty the ending was.

they are definitely exploring season 2, and i hope it'll happen. since the real villains are still alive. although the script sucked but the casts and action sequences were phenomenal which made me really enjoy this.

so many plot holes that are not explained or connected neatly. well i half-appreciated that a generous screentime was actually dedicated for the pretty elaborate fighting scenes each episodes, which i speculate caused less time/space for the story to fully develop. the other half is the feeling of indifference because i know that if a scriptwriter is more masterful in his/her craft, then the plotholes could've been solved within the allocated screentime, just like the masterpiece that Tunnel was.

so my generous score for the drama stems from the fact that this was an enjoyable watch/eye-candy for me being such a trash for CJH, lol.

also, i loved that Bradley was here too, who played his secretary in Devilish Joy. their interactions are so cute, haha. that was also the reason i paused watching this for a while until i finished Devilish Joy to see the boss-secretary interactions there, kekeke.

i can't wait for CJH's next projects. what a phenomenal actor, he's such a joy to watch on screen, in any genre.

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Not sure why everyone hates this?

Considering the overall rating I've seen everywhere is like a 80/100 or 8/10 - 4/5, I don't know why all the reviews are so negative? I don't even get most of the complaints.

I watched this because I love unique eyes. Any time a character's eyes are heterochromatic, or their eyes change due to an ability or emotion, so when I read the summary and I saw the trailer with the MC's eyes having these cool-ass blue glyphs in them I was instantly sold, especially because I like action dramas.

As I watched I got invested in the characters and story. Are there stupid things that happen in this show that frustrate the shit out of me? Yes of course that's literally any media you watch, but it was literally only one thing where I went 'genuinely why', but it wasn't the writer's fault.

I liked the characters (The main antag was good at being genuinely psychopathic and I've never- experienced that before in media), I liked the story (It was a mindfuck and there are so many plot twist I never saw coming so it didn't get boring and predictable), I didn't really pay attention to the music but when I noticed it, it fit really well, the acting is great I would feel emotions off of characters and understand why or even just see it without words or large shows of the emotion (again the main antag was- brilliant. Gave me chills and I couldn't stop mentioning the fact he was insane out loud while watching it), and I just genuinely enjoyed this show.

If I ever rewatched it, it wouldn't be for the story, most of the plot twists don't give you room to rewatch it and have the same kind of shock value but I'm sure you could enjoy it regardless. I would probably end up rewatching it for the eyes and characters alone.

Overall it's not that bad of a show and it's certainly not the worst drama of all time, I've seen that and it's unwatchable. People are so dramatic in declaring this the worst drama they've seen. You must not have seen many drama then lol.

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When Robocop invites Terminator to have a bath in Wanted facilities!

This one is an easy and light to watch Drama.No need hard thinking. Is full of action and more action.

The story is simple, far from been unique or original.Nothing deep here.Plain story and even more plain characters.Take it as a big in length action movie and you will have fun.Take it seriously and expect character development,meaningful messages,high morals,life changing experience,and you will curse yourself for wasting your 16 hours!

I gave story a 7 because ive watched similar scripts dozens of times.It is full of clichés,it has few tiny fine moments and some sparks, but unfortunately didn't turn into fire. Yet to execute such plain(occasionally lame) and common script with such "mastery" needs talent.And i appreciated this.Simply because it didn't fail to entertain me.

By the way,whats with the carved wooden chairs all the Big Gang Bosses chooses to sit and show off their superiority? Is it a fetish or what?Lol.Obviously stolen from Cruel City!(One of the best Dramas of all times to me)It was a detail my eye caught ..Anyways.


The main idea actually take us back to 80's and 90's.
Iam not into AI and obviously i don't have knowledge on the subject,so pretty much i buy everything they serve me.Lol.I guess that is the reason i liked this series more than others.
Half Humans, Half Androids or partial anyways,working for a secret government organization (Rugal)to take down another dirty Organization,Argos.
Simple as that!As i said nothing new,Nothing we already haven't seen.

Fighting scenes are soooo cool!Probably THE BEST part of the Drama. Choreography in kick ass scenes is absolutely amazing. Choi Jin Hyuk is so hot wearing those black leather outfits!And Park Sung Woong is so delicious playing the bad guy.And i think this is the first Drama i saw him as an evil character.Ofc i love both actors but here i can't really say they had the opportunity to unfold their talent in maximum, as their roles are not too demanding.Park is as always amazing,even when he has to portray a not so deep character.He was scary and i loved the craziness in his eyes.

Tbh, i didn't like the westernization here.I love Asian Dramas because they follow their own and beautiful Eastern culture.The way they approach things has more dark and twisted side which is one of the main reasons i stuck on Asian projects and rarely and very selectively watch Western anymore.Ofc here is the genre which limited Rugal to be more "Hollywood liked" and less Asian.

As a final thought Rugal is a very decent action drama,you will have fun and enjoy it especially if you are a fan of the genre.
I recommend it if you want to take a break from heavy plots and want to give your brain a good rest!.It is entertaining!

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Unrealistic thrilling action drama!!

Did he disassemble neck chip with his HAND? LOL This series definitely reflects 2050 years , not 2020. The characters were very well drawn (Except for a fighter woman) The attitude of the female fighter was very contrived.The series has become more and more silly. The final was very complicated I think screenwriter was afraid of the audience's reactions if finish did not finish happily. I guess they didn't get bored anymore. it turns out that the good guys we come across are actually bad in every series. And audiences can understand this from the first episode. I think some Korean dramas are in a vicious circle. I can understand how can artificial eyes control human . but it was ridiculous to be able to access confidential files. I was very hurt by the first 3 episodes. Bro got his eyes newly. Leave him a little alone! There were many points in the series that made me nervous but even so I had fun watching it.I recommend watching more realistic series such as Voice and Tunnel.

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Should be a higher rating, if the actual story was better crafted

The shame about Rugal is the fact that the first 6 episodes were perfect. A literal 10/10. Unfortunately however, by the second half, Rugal was filled with plot holes, inconsistencies and just stupid things happening, whether it's from the characters actions or the words they speak. The cast definitely had great chemistry and the acting was still really good, but the story had fell completely downhill from the second part, 8 episodes (ish) in. The OST was good however didn't really fit too much of the 'Rugal' theme.

The episodes, except from the last three or so, were still easy to watch and it wasn't exactly like the second half felt like an eternity to watch, I'm just disappointed in how downhill the quality became. Rugal was perfect, but it didn't end that way in my opinion.

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Rugal Means Having Many Folds

Despite the not-so-good feedback and review from MDL, I ignored them and went ahead and watched the drama. To see is to believe right?
The story for me was so promising. Or so I thought. Apart from liking the lead actor, I had high expectations of the whole premise of the story. This has a Hollywood action vibe. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Too many fillers, and just when the story is starting to build the momentum I needed and was looking for...it goes back to too much talking and less action.
One good thing though, I am fine with the ending but it was ruined by the long flashbacks towards the end too.
If you have tons of time to kill, yes go ahead and watch this drama.

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So...you're here because of Squid Games...lol

I won't be long. The Netflix algorithm sent this my way. I clicked because its bionics. Who doesn't like bionics?....The cast is beautiful. Hero is a hero, anti hero is an anti hero, sidekick is sidekick and female heroine checks female heroine box....

All boxes checked...so what's the problem?...simply ...its dumb. The writing is so dated. Full of useless characters and incredible amount of useless scenes...yes I mean the Argos chairwoman and company. The ONLY thing to make this tolerable....I mean the ONLY thing...is the villain...Dude thank you for saving this show....sigh. They will get a second season because of him.

So if you're a screen writer that thinks you can write a superhero movie....think hard...think really hard...because everyone can't. So how do I define a hero?...They're usually dedicated to service from the beginning of their lives to the end of their life. Hence the male lead was a cop...super soldier...investigator...and so on. It's what they do. Give it a try...see if you like it

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