Somebody (2022)

Had a lot of potential..

This maybe a Psycho-Thriller/Crime/Suspense but all I get is the Psycho part, it's creepy with almost no suspense at all with a lousy police system.

From the get go, you'll already know who's the sexual predator hiding in an online dating app.

In their attempt to make it look mysterious, I think they didn't incorporate enough subplots to the story. All we know is that the FL is a young genius that developed an online dating app. Then there's her friends; a detective who'd been a victim of a sexual predator and a shaman who's willing to go beyond measures to help a friend.

The actors did good on their part. The musical scoring and OST were ok. All in all, it's an ok show. Nothing spectacular about it though.

Would I rewatch this? Not ever..

Leia Mais

Needs a redemption arc.

ok this is my first review because I just binge watched this absurdity... and I have so much to say about it. The title also means the show needs a redemption arc not the murderer(s)... if anything, they kind of got one anyway.

The filming direction of this drama was very creative. Not a new concept, but very well-done and very fitting for the theme and story of this drama. I really liked that! Props to the director for doing this as a first-timer and in a way that impressed me as a frequent media consumer.

Umm, the story was... I didn't really know how to feel about it. I appreciate the openminded-ness for the s*x scenes (I am asexual so I had to skip them but I did notice the change in music and filming styles as I fast-forwarded) and how it might contribute to the tension between the characters but are we seriously going to let this serial killer and someone he was taking advantage of (at least in the first place, will talk about this shift in his character later) for being on the spectrum - turn this drama into a hornfest?? I was very uncomfortable, but that might also be me. It just didn't feel right that they kept showing it as if it was this fantasy that viewers were supposed to... what were viewers even supposed to do?? Join them on their own? Fantasize with them? I feel like if all of those scenes had to be included, then the purpose should be more definite, like showing his eeriness. Of course, I saw that this was loosely based on American Psycho, which makes me seem like a hypocrite because there were explicit scenes of Bateman and his soon-to-be victims. But that was an exaggerated satire piece mocking the higher-level NPCs in corporate business where he was driven to madness from ~society~ so what is more reasonable??

Going on with the story, I read a bunch of other reviews and opinions on people and the main thing I saw was how most people agreed on how stupid "police lady" was. I honestly agree, even after seeing clever theories that she was wearing black the second time she tried to meet Yun-o because she wanted to just "let go," but who is she kidding... that is stupid no matter what... I really couldn't stand her character but that meant that the acting had to be incredible. Huge props to the actors. And also the shaman was a great character. In a lot of media recently shamans are viewed as kind of ridiculous and unbelievable (I've been watching The Glory) and I really liked the character... plus she was the only sane one. It made me pretty angry to see how Sum was ignoring her telling her that her "boyfriend" was literally a SERIAL KILLER but I guess I kind of understood when she coded the face-hacking-video calling thing.
Yun-o's character had so much potential. I liked how his backstory didn't have to be extremely bad or long, even though I was curious whenever the AI asked him about what he regretted/wanted gone in his childhood - but I feel like that could have been a reference to how nothing was really wrong with it and he became this way only recently when he got the Somebody app. It was easy to wince but also easy to be intrigued when his character appeared on screen, because the actor just nailed his vibe so well! I liked that he fell for Sum, I think it was not random - to find someone "like him" in a world where he is wrong for his actions (he still is, of course, and I'm very against him but I am defending the writers for once) who was not afraid of him would obviously make him feel some kind of way.

The ending was creative (cool reference to the blade that the shaman hated and given in the first episode) but also NOT ENOUGH!! It's my love for revenge dramas that drives me to write this mostly, but also he killed probably over a dozen people and more that weren't on screen (in the story, not in real life). And when Sum killed him, I didn't know how to feel either. She was right for killing horrible people who wanted to and DID commit crimes toward women, but I felt like the showrunners wanted to justify her doing it and calling her "emotionless-ness" or "euphoria" when she did so to her being on the spectrum, or mental illness/neurodivergency... I understand why she had to do it and the way she was written to do it in the end, but the whole drama revolves around this idea of mental illness = connection to a murder = a ton of cinematic sex. That's only my take though, and I can see different points of views and how people would like this drama. I'm not a drama writer nor a formal critic, but I felt very strongly about some parts of this show, even though it was 8 episodes, so it definitely did its job of being compelling and provocative.

Leia Mais

Acting is better than the show itself

The premise was interesting and it had such a strong start but it soon turned into a meddled mess. Literally what happened?

Given the plot I couldn't help but think of Love Alarm while watching this. When you mix technology with murder things can get interesting, and for at least the beginning of the series the killings were enough to sustain my interest. However as time went on the buildup towards that last episode wasn't satisfactory AT ALL. I'm not gonna get into the ending for spoiler reasons but with such a good setup, why was the ball dropped?

Kim Young Kwang was captivating as Yun O. I don't think it's unpopular to say that he was the best part of the show. His natural performance made me feel like the killings were a part of his everyday routine. I also have to commend how raw and intimate his sex scenes felt. Especially the ones between him and Kim Sum. They were so good I felt like I was partaking in something I shouldn't be. Their chemistry and honest acting together carried the show. Gi Run was pretty good. She played a disabled person extremely well and despite the character's shortcomings she was still very capable. Wish she had a bigger role in catching the bad guy. Mok Won was rather forgettable and her storyline was difficult to keep up with but I'll give points for representation. Overall the character's could've been better fleshed out because the skeletons were pretty good. We just needed a bit more flesh to complete them.

I wouldn't recommend this tho. The payoff isn't worth it at all. There's better thrillers out there so def skip this one.

Leia Mais

A Disjointed and Slow-Paced K-Drama

I do not know how many people enjoyed it, but personally I found myself skipping through so numerous parts of this show. It felt like two separate K-dramas were awkwardly mashed together: one centered on the girl's story and another on the guy's. Instead of a cohesive story, it came off as disconnected and befuddling.

I started watching this kdrama because of a few parts I saw on TikTok. In the beguining I was confused because, It kinda made me think of start-up with the story of the app and all.
One major issue of this show was the pacing — so numerous scenes were agonizingly slow, like the one where she keeps gazing at the cat for a few minutes.

Overall, I didn't truly appreciate it and wouldn't suggest it if you're looking for a seamless and engaging drama experience.

Leia Mais

Should've watched this on 1.5 speed.

I'm gonna be honest, first episode was great; I had high expectations. But it all went downhill. The pacing was terrible, probably just not my type of pacing but I literally had to skip some parts because it was just a 2 minute long shot of someone's face. The story could've been pretty good, but it wasn't. At some point I didn't know what was going on anymore. Especially the last two episodes, what was going on man. I was so lost and confused but atleast the ending made some sense.

Besides all that, I loved the acting and cast, they did great! I just didn't like most of the characters.

Leia Mais

No depth, just vibes

All right, the story begins with such an interesting premise and it’s an intriguing beginning, but unfortunately the initial episodes are the only bit of excitement you might feel as a viewer and the plot makes sense to an extent because after that, it moves based on how hot and sensual each of the characters are. The drama is wholly explicit, which isn’t a problem if there’s a story backing it but it might just be soft erotica with a romanticised version of a serial killer. The cops in this drama have got to be the stupidest team ever — everything done in the plot is motivated by how sexy the characters can be. Of course the acting is spectacular and so much could have been done with a well written story, but we barely get to see anything but their visuals. I did love the music in this drama though, it set the mood and added to the tension which wouldn’t have existed otherwise. Overall a disappointment, you can still give it a watch as it’s only 8 episodes.

Leia Mais

Something you would not normally enjoy watching but interesting

Clever to come up with the title “Somebody” that was not meant literally.

This was one of those dramas whose imperfection made it to perfection in relation to its artistic sense. If this would be a movie, it could be a good entry to any international film festival. It has a style of narration that leaves the interpretation of the whole story to the viewers.

I had these uncertainties in the early episodes but eventually appreciate it later on. It digests the topic of psychological conditions and the imbalances that lead someone to go astray. The character of Kim Young Kwang wasn’t entirely hateful and I got to pity him in the end. I have this hypothesis that he was ready to change but was not given a chance. His encounter with Kim Sum (with a special condition as well) to whom he developed a sincere affection made him capable of showing mercy to the people closest to her. It was the power of love that held him back to harm them. But that love was not strong enough for Kim Sum to choose him over her friends. Although justice was served, my heart bled for the character of the ML. for he badly needed guidance and love the most in the story.

Leia Mais

Long.

Bro for me when I first watched this show I was interested from the first characters, the murder mystery surrounding Yun-oh and the connection to Sum, I thought I was in for a rollercoaster. HOWEVER as I want went on I realized very easily that this show is going to be longgg. 8 episodes isn't that bad, it's better than most shows. And okay to be fair I dropped the show thinking I wouldn't watch it again after completing 3 episodes because I was very, very bored however I thought of continuing just because I was interested in how it was going to end. The style of the show is fantastic there's a lot of quiet moments and beautiful shots of just Sum but then there's also a lot of boring moments that will make you wonder why you're watching this. I really enjoyed the last minutes of the first episode where Yun-oh is revealed to be a killer. We have some moments between the two which I believe is actually interesting, I don't know why but the dark elements of them being together intrigues me. Obviously this couple is bad, I don't even support it but seeing how the two share the same feelings, being the only ones who feel out of place made me want to see how it would continue. Like why didn't he kill her? Why is he attached to her? YOU KNOW?!? Messed up relationships like theirs is really interesting but then we'd have some unnecessary parts mid way aka the rest of the side characters. Okay cop lady made me so BOREDDDD like girl I know it's for the plot but maybe? Maybe? Next time why did she go by herself in some demolition zone with the guy that legit left her??? Ummm like okay? AND btw we spend like a whole episode with her just being stuck and the boring ritual sorry... LOL I don't even know why??? Then afterwards we move onto where everyone finds out Sum is dating him then idk they just kind of let it??? From episodes 7-8 Yun-oh likes her, like really likes her... And I was kind of surprised- Because I legit thought he would kill her but okay sure understandable I get clinging onto the first person that you like and she did too. Afterwards skip to Yun-oh's backstory which wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be??? Kind of disappointing how it just chucks up to mommy issues and accidentally killing the first woman he meets on the app woopsiesss. Moving on- We get to the last episodes where Sum tricks Yun-oh to get killed with a razor blade to his eye, perfect slice btw, and neck and just like the cat she killed it was to spare both of them. But also um idk in revenge of all the girls he killed I thought his death would be more extreme? However I liked the part where Sum regained her control after being with him. Tbh I thought the actor for Yun-oh was sooooo good, like his scenes were probably the best part of the show, I kind of feel bad for saying this but everyone else was just meh characters to me, like I didn't really cared too much abt them even Sum... Sorry. Overall on the messed up factor I liked it. On the plot- ummmmmmmmmmm it's ight and the acting was alright. I wouldn't sit through this show again and I don't really recommend something like this to anyone who wants something dark. AND THERE WAS SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MISSING POTENTIAL THIS SHOW COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT. Also the hand thing was really weird lol. Overall 6.5 because I really like Yun-oh's actor. Thanks for reading.

Leia Mais

Gritty but ultimately disappointing

Not sure whether this was made to shock more than thrill and have us biting our nails. That's how it turned out for me and the shock wasn't, sadly, in a compelling storyline, but the fact it is very different from the vast majority of K-dramas, with sex, nudity, swearing and sex talk.
Sadly the sex scenes felt too unnatural and gratuitous in several instances.
I found the plot very disjointed and one particular, very vulnerable, character's actions had me losing all sympathy for her situation and totally lost credibility. Utterly stupid decision making.
The Shamen was.... ??? Really, like, what was her purpose.
The police were a waste of space and screen time; inept and utterly useless.
The actions of supporting characters with the aforementioned vulnerable character in some latter episodes, were frankly unbelievable and totally ruined those scenes for me.
By the end, I was not at all surprised at how weirdly it was left.
The cast were very good (only reason this gets a 6 overall from me), but the story could have been so much more.
I would not watch this again.

Leia Mais

Not for people who like typical Korean Thrillers. hide your kids, hide your wives

Come into this with an open mind. there is sex and gore but if you've seen a naked person and fake blood before, you wont die watching it. there is a skip forward button for a reason, i suggest you use it at those parts. if ur american there is less sex than grays anatomy so you'll be fine.
btw the dudes' glasses are why i gave it a lower rating, like who is the stylist because those glasses were bigger than his head??
Plot can be hard to follow for the faint-hearted romance lovers who dont understand shows with layers, respectfully.

I was gonna drop it but im glad i watched it till the end because OMG....
the ending was really good, dont listen to people who say its bad. they only watched Vincenzo and think theyre an expert in thrillers.
not gonna watch this again tho. i cant stand it horrible story building. You feel like the writers forgot about some characters at times because i cant even tell you the name of one of the main characters.

but super great u should watch :)

Leia Mais