The Opposite of a Sour Patch Kid

In the beginning of the first episode I was skeptical but I quickly fell hard for this drama. I had never seen either main before and I was blown away by our main male lead - his acting and the character.
The show had so many threads that worked well. I loved the friendship with the therapist, the lead just defining excellence as a newscaster, using his incredible memory to make quick realizations and promptly act on them. This drama opened my eyes to what is actually important when finding a partner. COMPETENCY. Nothing is hotter than a competent man. My god. The main male character set new standards that have yet to be topped months after watching this show.
The stalker plot line had me guessing and stressing who it could be. The show was so well done at this point - I was doubting any and everyone. I had a jump scare, a scream, my shoulders were touching my ears I was so freaked out.
But at the end.... what did the main lead get as thanks? His girlfriend quickly abandoning him to work on her career when he's lost his job. Not standing by him through thick and thin even after he's saved her, physically and emotionally, time after time. It broke my heart. The final episode just seemed like a slap in the face. She was gone for several years, saw him by chance on a trip back to Korea, and THEN decided yes let's get together! I can't be without you!! OHHH MY GODDD. She literally only came to that decision after seeing him randomly! There was no intention on her part to go back to him before that! It's heartbreaking! I loved them as a couple only for the writers to make her character unsupportive and selfish by the end. Did she truly care for him or did she just like how he cared for her? I hate that the show made me doubt their entire connection and wish for him to turn her down at the end. I thought this was such a sweet drama watching through but the last bit spoiled the whole drama. Started sweet but went sour by the end. Highly disappointing that kills any rewatchability of what otherwise was going to be a top drama of the year for me

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Give Me a Dark Drama

The premise of this show is absolutely amazing. I want a dark drama on the complex world of drug dealers.
That's what I thought I got with this seemingly badass main character for the first episode. It quickly changed when it was revealed **SPOILER** he's an undercover cop. Not only that - as the drama progresses you realize every tom, dick, and harry is an undercover cop. I mean my god are all the drug dealers the police trying to catch their own people?!
Also the main cop is one of the worst human beings and cops ever. You don't just manipulate and throw your dead fiance's little sister into the drug world completely unprepared. Without gangster ahjussi she would've been toast. Ugh he's so manipulative.

I will admit besides all of the many faults of this drama I absolutely loved it the first several times I've rewatched it. But going back for another rewatch I just realized I couldn't put up with the "cop out" for making everyone an undercover cop. Just lean into being bad! Those characters still had fascinating stories that were worth telling without making them "good guys" by being cops who sometimes went bad. This show didn't even want to really explore moral grey areas let alone a main character being a bad guy. Embrace it - bad guys are more compelling.

The charisma, the relationships between the main and his male and female friend are absolutely incredible. I cried so hard at the end. But I think it's just an absolute missed opportunity to not let the main be a bad guy. Or, even if he just *has* to be a good guy they shouldn't reveal it to the audience until the very end. Think of the impact when his lover finds the police tag in his apartment and have that be the audience reveal as well - wasted opportunity.

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Apparently Cops Breaking the Law is Cute

Cast does a great job in this drama but the characterization of the female officer turns what could have been a funny and intriguing new show into an unwatchable disappointment. I have two major problems that I tried to just push through until the final events of the second episode. Then, the female lead's actions were a bridge too far - or in her case, a doorway too far.

First, writers need to stop depicting female-on-male unprovoked physical violence as a form of comedy or girl power. It is not cute or funny in any context. Here, a cop repeatedly assaults an unarmed, unthreatening citizen. If your actions upset a cop, is it somehow alright for them to kick you? You disappoint a cop's expectation and the cop can throw you over their shoulder and hurl you to the pavement? In what world is that remotely acceptable? That officer should be immediately fired and sued. But here somehow there are no repercussions or even a hint that anyone in this universe thinks her actions were wrong to commit physical violence against a citizen she dislikes! It's ridiculous. Okay cool, way to go venting your anger like an absolute child who should not have any of the power or responsibility entrusted with law enforcement. It's criminal. She could absolutely have been arrested for her actions.

Second, a related point, writers need to stop allowing the "good guy" cops to break the law and get away with it/frame it as fine as long as it's in pursuit of the greater good! The female lead seems to have admired and looked up to the male lead during his past as an officer. He explicitly told her that police protected both victims and criminals within the bounds of the law. Has she taken any of that to heart? Obviously not if she believes the presence of a victim would justify the cops illegally gaining evidence against the perpetrator. Or if she believes she can physically attack those who have differing views or sides than her. Or if she believes she is justified to break into a citizen's home because she perceives him as a barrier to her. She's not police at this point she's a criminal herself. Two wrongs don't make a right. Her sense of morality and faith in the law "blessing" people seem to only apply when others break the law - not herself. Now I love a morally grey character! But, not when it's a cop trying to arrest people without following the proper procedure demanded by law and the show frames this person to be the good guy acting for the greater good.

For these reasons, I am quitting what may otherwise be a gem of a drama. The flagrant criminal actions of the female lead police offer prevent me from continuing. I could be absolutely wrong and the show will address my concerns in subsequent episodes. Even if it doesn't, it still may well be a lovely drama viewing experience. I am not trying to dissuade anyone from watching the drama. In this review, I merely wanted to highlight these two important issues that I believe should not be brushed over blithely with a comedic tone.

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PSA on the Dangers of Method Acting

The plot of this show seems complex and intriguing. I love dramas with politics, intrigue, and schemes galore. But this drama showed me I have a firm line on crazy. ***SPOILER**** I get acting like you've lost it when playing the long game. hell yeah. do you scheme it up. but my dude - it's too far. THOSE CRAZY EYES HAUNT ME. He didn't just dip his toe in crazy he did a full belly flop in the deep end of lunatic. There's absolutely no subltety or nuance to the performance. Just absolutely insane, creepy eyes. His unhinged acting takes me out of the story. I'm so distracted from the overacting I can't enjoy or focus on anything else than his one-dimensional portrayal. It's painful to watch.
I don't know if this was method acting gone wrong (the actor or the character) but fam this is not it.

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