kdramabinger posted: " Hangul: 더 케이투; RR: Deo Keitu) Original Air Date: September – November 2016 Plot: Kim Je Ha is a former elite soldier who was framed for the murder of Iraqi civilians and is on the run from being captured. He takes a job as a body guard of"
Plot: Kim Je Ha is a former elite soldier who was framed for the murder of Iraqi civilians and is on the run from being captured. He takes a job as a body guard of a wife of the presidential candidate, in exchange for getting revenge on those that wronged him.
Watched Because: I looooooved Healer and Ji Chang Wook in it. I was excited to see him in another action adventure.
My Review:
Oh K2, I wanted to like you so much. You started off with a bang, but at episode 5 you started your down hill slide that never stopped. What went so wrong?
The first four episodes were filled with slick fight scenes, car chases and suspense. The music was intense and the set up of the characters and plot were intriguing and pulled you in. Ji Chang Wook was bad ass as ever in his role as Kim Je Ha. He was wronged and was out for revenge. Then, he was forced to accept an alliance with Choi Yoo Jin (played by Song Yoon Ah). She played her role great as a complex and scorn villain. The unlikely pair had the common goal of bringing down Congressman Park Kwan Soo. Je Ha to get revenge and Yoo Jin to help her husband, Se Joon, defeat his political rival to become president of South Korea.
In the beginning episodes we meet the very corrupt universe of this drama. The politicians had a callous disregard for human life, even the innocent. They are unyielding and cruel all for the hunt to gain power. They have a corrupt police department in their pocket and a private security company to do the dirty work for them. By episode 5, it was all getting too much for me. Many dramas have the theme of political corruptness, but this drama took it to an elevated level of pure evil and darkness. It started to get unrealistic and many of the characters became caricatures. Yoo Jin and Se Joon are the most dysfunctional evil couple in drama history. It's scary if they became the actual president and first lady! Actually, South Korea is screwed if any of these politicians in the drama are elected. They are all corrupt and power hungry!
In episode 4-5, is also when the drama started to push a romance on us between Je Ha and Anna, the girl he was protecting. Anna was the hidden illegitimate daughter of Se Joon. Her very presence can bring down his presidential candidacy. In the beginning, Anna was depicted as isolated, naïve and with a severe panic disorder. Two wrong things happened with her character. First, the writers gave her a psychological transplant and suddenly the panic disorder, social phobia and naivety about the world was poof gone. How could this girl go from not know how to boil water to make ramen to being able to evade an elite security team and escape? Second, I didn't believe the romance. I could see why Anna fell for the handsome bodyguard Je Ha who saved her. But the show jumped too fast in making us believe that Je Ha fell in love with Anna. I didn't see it happen. Their chemistry was flat for the entire show. It was probably a combination of Anna's acting and the character she had to play. But Je Ha had much better chemistry with her stepmother/villain Yoo Jin.
By the time we get to the final stretch of episodes, the plot narrative is getting outlandish with constant conflict, inept villains, betrayal, ridiculous fight scenes that are illogical (suddenly Anna is able to fight without a gas mask as nerve gas fills the room?), logical leaps and plot holes, the longest ticking bomb ever and psychological warfare. The show tried too hard and took it too far into unrealistic territory.
I thought that Ji Chang Wook and Song Yoon Ah did fabulous jobs acting their characters. They are both what helped me stick through this drama to the end. Ji Chang Wook gave us awesome fighter, cool guy, vulnerable guy and romantic guy. He nailed all of them. Song Yoon Ah was able to play her character as a villain, but yet we felt sympathy for her. Such complex emotions towards her, how can I both be disgusted by her and want to hug her at the same time?
If you are into action shows or a Ji Chang Wook fan, I'm sure you will enjoy this drama good enough and be able to get past all its problems. But if you are into neither, you will get annoyed by the corruption, the over the top conflict, the plot holes, the inconsistent characterizations and the lackluster romance. Go watch Healer instead.
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