Beneficial Fraud (2023)

Underrated

It is really underrated
.....the drama is really nice and I don't feel boring in any episode .....i like the main villain very2 much and his obsession with female lead.....cast is fabulous..every cast has fulfilled the duty of playing the character perfectly....and I really like the scenes where FL explain her ideas to con people.but after ep 10 it kinda start to lose its pace but then in ep 14 it gains back.....yes and I understand viewer that the characters must have developed well because rather than FL no other jeomok children back story was revealed properly ❤️perfect for one time watch series.

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Not bad at all, satisfying ending

I started watching this show based on a friend's recommendation and a few episodes in, I came to MDL to see what the folks here were thinking. Somebody said that the middle of the show was boring and that worried me because I was approaching the middle of the show but I soon realized that that wasn't a problem for me.

Rather, it wasn't boring to me. I thought it was interesting and well-paced. There were setups needed for later and I liked all the planning that went into this. It's not the most complicated storyline ever but it was fun to see these characters uncover secrets and exact their revenge. It's not as good as The Count of Monte Cristo, the most classic of the classics as far as revenge stories go, but it holds its own.

I'm also usually big on romance but I found the subtle hints of romance here suitable and extremely fitting for the vibes and characters of the drama.

Overall, I'd recommend this for a weekend watch. It's fun, interesting, and plays with the idea of justice and power. These characters are interesting and new and fresh. I think you'll enjoy this show.

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Three episodes too long

This Drama started very strongly, with the central character Lee Ro Um especially interesting. Portrayed as a genuine sociopath, she was fascinating. The basic setup seemed like 70% Leverage, 10% Dark Angel, and the first 3/4 of the Drama set it up well.

The major flaw was that it was too long, and as a result, it went soft and soggy in eps 13&14. This was especially noticeable with Lee Ro Um, but the Drama also burdened us with the inevitable mother and child reunion for the ML character Han Moo Young. Yawn.

Another flaw caused by the Drama's excessive length was the mystery of the mystery. The Drama dragged out its central mystery, who the "Big Bad" was, until the end of episode 13. The whole team were supposed to be prodigies of various kinds but somehow they missed the fact that the Bib Bad was basically walking around with a tattooo on their forehead that said "I'm the Big Bad" from at least episode 6.

The final 2 epiodes tightened up a bit, and overall it was a much better K Drama spin on "Leverage" than the actual Korean Leverage was. But it could have been so much better with fewer episodes.

One other important point to note: Besides doing an excellent job of portraying her character, Chun Woo Hee is also "really, really, really ridiculously good-looking" ?

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When the act of conning takes time

I went into this drama with so much interest and LOVED the first 4 episodes.
The episodes layed heavy on the crime-theme and had fun scenes using, among other things, breaking of the 4th wall to interact with the viewer which was nice and made for a clever way of explaining.

From there, we are introduced to the core group of people that revolve our main protagonists and the reality that they have all grown apart and struggled to get together as a working group again. This is where the plot starts to falter. Their overall struggles in a plot that starts unraveling more and more sinister crimes unfortunately makes the story drag. At one point midway, none of their plans have actually succeeded when doing it in the team. There is always something that goes wrong or derails them from their plans. While that is frustrating and feels like we are getting nowhere, it is really nice to see them try to improvise more and more each time. By the middle of the series, there is a huge lack of the comedy that was seen earlier. It is kinda hard to skip most of the middle, since there are alot of fragments and things that all connects by the end of the story.

Towards the ending we kinda got back the "old" format that we had grown fond of in the first episodes. This emphazises even more how far the storytelling/cinematography/script from the first episodes the drama went during the middle part that just did its own thing without any of the comedy.

Overall I did enjoy the drama alot!
Is is really heavy on the theme of crime and overall else, building friendships (there is practially no romance at all). The FL is a confident smart con-person and the ML is an compassionate lawyer, so if that partnership peaks your interest, give the drama a try!
We also got an AMAZING cameo by the talented Moon Ga Young that I enjoyed. The story tied up nicely towards the end with an happy ending :)

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Classic revenge combined with evil and good

- Storyline -
I liked the main story and really was invested on how they will manage to workout and teamup together, although i struggled at first to comprehend and understand what's been happening but it surely came complete by the end. It's main goal isn't finding the owner, but in another way seeing how the victims deal with their trauma and keep up with them. It's showing the fact that the fl was seen as a psycopatic character, in fact it was them. When the ml cared for the fl when none else did, and gave her trust she started to open up little by little, none will ever notice it except the ml, his hyper-sympathy surely was an excuse because they needed eachother and they both helped eachother.

-actors-
I really love kim dong wook and ive never been disappointed for any of his works. The fl as well was indeed a beautiful woman, it was the first time i see her and she took my attention fully, she's got her own charm and she's so cute as well. Side characters played well and the probation cop was absolutely chaotic, i loved him. The psychiatrist is a real cutie, she's beautiful and i liked her character and her way of dealing with her responsibilities. Overall i loved them so much.

-Plot Pace-
Ngl the drama was moving slowly at first, it was moving so slow that i didn't understand what's going on, but episodes by I've been into it more and i enjoyed it. Fir advise you shouldn't care much about the details at first since you will understand it later, so you won't feel bored and just enjoy it.

-couples-
I'm aware there's no couples or romance but i can say there is a relationship between them, they opened up and they became trustworthy for eachother and that's what matters. I do hope ffor a slight of romance in between tho. For the probation officer and thw psychiatrist they're absolutely CUTIES.

-plot twist-
Yeah, it was indeed a confusing plot and i was shocked, still not sure if that's the end

This drama is fun tbh and i recommend it for people who's looking for an "evil" fl and "innocent" ml. They complete eachother like that

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Failed Potential.

I'm disappointed in this show. Really.

We had an excellent first episode setting up the Main Character (Lee Ro Um) and her backstory, as well as her apathetic view of the world in contrast to the hugely empathetic Han Moo Young.

Despite this, there was minimal "plot" and a very bland environment that stalled progress. Lee Ro Um's character had immense potential given the complexity of her past, but such trauma and desire to investigate the real killer of her estranged parents are not present. In fact, it's actually insane that they gave such depth to her character and proceeded to throw it away for the dullness of the scenes.

I understand that the point of the show is for them to work together to take down "bad guys." But the way that it was framed felt sloppy and a collision of personalities without any incentive for the audience to continue watching. Little humour. Little drama. It reminded me of the dynamic between the main characters of Catch the Ghost (without the comedy.)

Dialogue heavy dramas can work, but they require good script and visuals. This show had that in the first episode, but I can't say I was seeing it after that.

Hopefully I can pick it up again.

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Captivating Drama Delivers a Memorable and Satisfying Conclusion.

I loved the series. The character development takes its time, but it is essential in showing how the characters suffered and overcame their past. Since the individuals involved have a high IQ, their emotional quotient is low. Emotional intelligence, also known as emotional quotient or EQ, refers to the ability to understand, use, and manage one's own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflicts. This aspect is very apparent in the drama, hence the extended time dedicated to character development. For me, it was worth it.

I especially enjoyed the last scene—it left me with a smile and reminded me of a Hollywood movie. I would rate it 9.5/10, but to balance the lower ratings, I will give it a 10/10 because the drama deserves to be in the 8+ ratings category.

If you're wondering whether to watch it or not, I recommend going for it. Among the currently airing dramas, this was one of the couples I always looked forward to. It's a great binge-watch with elements of mystery, investigation, revenge, and past trauma. The story develops over time, which can be frustrating for some, but it's important to understand that overcoming past trauma takes time. Overall, it's a great drama. Go for it!

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Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " Delightfully Deceitful " is a crime thriller comedy about a con artist and an attorney coming together to punish those who think they are above any law.

The drama does start out strongly, with the story of the main female lead being compelling and her character even more so. And truly, there were some con cases that were handled nicely and the result was enjoyable.

However, the drama quickly deteriorates, getting boring and falling into way too many tropes. Things got out of hand quite quickly and the plot got even more confusing and stuffy.

The performances at least were enjoyable.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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Different from usual revenge dramas.

As implied from the headline, this is a revenge drama.
The story is about a teenage girl falsely implicated in the murders of her parents, released from prison after 10 years and going on revenge mode to avenge her wrong imprisonment and murder of her parents.
The plot: Taking a u-turn from usual revenge dramas, this drama focuses on the main leads getting revenge by conning the bad guys. As said above, FL is implicated in her parent's murder but found support in an able lawyer who has the problem of being overly emotional with the cases. FL is supported by a bunch of her "colleagues"and together they formed a perfect team to avenge for what they had to suffer in the past.
Acting: This is the best thing about this drama, the acting. Everyone has done a splendid job here. I loved the dynamics between Ro-Um and Moo-young.

This drama do suffers from the obvious low moments in the plot which can be overly complicated at times. But the biggest positive is that the writers were able to wrap things up perfectly. In an era where kdramas are sucking at the ending, this drama feels like a breath of fresh air about how they approached the story and how well the ending is written.

I feel like the ratings are not doing justice to this drama. We have mediocre products like movies of certain big stars getting ratings of more than 8, while such good dramas are stuck at 7.7.
Don't go with the ratings. You will surely enjoy this drama.

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THRILLING & SUSPENSEFUL

To keep it simple I would say, an extremely well written revenge plot. The rating doesn't give the drama it's justice. Ofcourse people have different opinions but for me it was thrilling. If you like a FL who is very intelligent and smart, who knows how to fight her own battle then you would like this drama too. It's an interesting drama and a must watch.
The rating is too low according to me. It deserves MORE!!!✨
The music is the best. It only has one major song which is the one played at the end of the episode. It gives a "karma is a boomerang" vibes. It's titled 'Villian' and it gives a sort of thrilling feeling while watch the drama. Music 10/10 ❤️

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Hard pass

Surely the 7.7 rating is due to some undeserved haterode but alas no, it's because of the crappy script and nondescript characters. I fell asleep and rewound numerous times but still couldn't give a fig about the plot or either of the main leads.

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Most refreshing drama of 2023 (contains spoilers of the first 2 episodes)

The female lead is cunning and is deemed a "sociopath" (though this is probably not the case as hinted in the first 2 episodes). The female lead is smart, funny, "antisocial" and charming when she needs to be. The male lead is a top-lawyer who is described to have a condition where he is highly empathetic. However, while this is true, it seems this "empathy" is more so of a selective nature, especially towards the female lead. He and the female lead have a childhood connection, that influences the male lead to help the female lead. Essentially the show is about the female lead being falsely accused of the murder of her parents, and the male lead becomes her lawyer to help prove her innocent. The "good boy" "bad girl" trope is not common in kdramas so I recommend everyone should give this drama a try.

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