Hyde, Jekyll, and Me K-drama
“The more I try to be me, I find different versions of myself.”
When there are two of you, how do you make your other self go away?
Artistry and Craft
As this is a Mello drama that also happens to be a mystery with a psychological twist, I wasn't expecting it to be so incredibly cheesy at the start, there were a couple of moments even where I felt myself cringe. Oddly enough, though, it was slightly cathartic in its ridiculousness which was the last thing I was expecting of something that lightly touches upon components of a phycological thriller.
This odd goofiness was highlighted by the seemingly predictable plot I could foresee happening within the first few episodes. I was almost in a state of unbelief when the initial mystery was solved almost right away, which left me thinking that it was possibly a red herring. Thankfully this drama turned out to be anything but predictable and boring as I feared.
The premise of the Jekyll and Hyde thing was interesting. The drama asks the question: what if we inverted this trope where we believe we are supressing our worst self? What if the inversion is the truest truth for the main character—that he wants to be good, that he yearn for goodness, even as he portrays himself as cruel or mean? even so some of the essential details that would make this realistic aren't there. For instance the portrayal of DID wasn't accurate, but none the less was very enjoyable and interesting in the way the writers and actor chose to tackle the concept.
Some of the acting is awkwardly timed, which adds to the unbelievable and cheesy nature of the first couple of episodes as well as some off putting moments with objectification and one of two moments of ageism. As the K-drama progressed, I found the acting also improved substantially.
There are also quite a bit of plot loopholes, which may bother some viewers who are looking for an intellectually cohesive K-drama to watch.
There are a lot of interesting clothing choices that portray character evolutions such as integration. I found that this was very pleasant to watch as a viewer, and it felt like a strong creative choice. It was also refreshing how the show put emphasis on growth throughout all the episodes, only using romance as the vehicle for growth.
A definite negative I found in this K-drama was the believability of certain concepts, like the female lead being part of a circus when her abilities weren't really shown in the K-drama, and the acrobatic capabilities that they did show was heavily edited and painfully cheesy. ★★★
Themes and Messages
Cowardness is put in direct contention with goodness; that you can't be truly good if you are a coward and care about yourself more than other people. This I found very in line with with C.S Lewis's opinions.
The show also asks: how do you know what is right, when oftentimes you haven't been through the same situations or moral dilemmas? I also sheds light on how growth requires a new part of you to grow and a old part of you to die sometimes
The drama suggests that there is your light side and dark side that need to be integrated for you to be fully functioning as a human being which is a Freudian concept. The drama shows the literal visualization of this as the integration of persons, the foundational idea of the shadow self and the ego presenting how the male lead struggles because he could not let the two parts of himself integrate.
The drama insists that being in the past doesn't make it go away, and it advocates for responsibility and accountability even when you have changed as a person, which I absolutely love.
The K-drama shows how a victim can easily turn villain and vice versa; the two ideas of victim and villain in human relationships aren't necessarily separate things, but a combination of a greater or lesser degree. ★★★★
Final Thoughts
You must not run away from your past. This drama was slightly horrifying, comforting, and cathartic for me as somebody who has had a messy past as well.
Overall, it was a enjoyable experience that I found to be far more introspective then I anticipated it to be. Over all I would rate it 3.75 out of 5 stars and would recommend this drama to those who prioritize story lines, character growth and relational growth over graphics.
Content Discretion:
Did, death, kidnapping, abandonment, cattiness, mental disorders.
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