#gtc's intermittent and incredibly slow viewing of beyond evil

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Jae Yi is the only non-cop of the main cast. She's also the moral center of the show, and that's key.

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Other random thought:

Yeo Jin Goo is so pretty, like a doll, which I think works for his character in interesting ways. Part of it is the visual contrast between his Joo Won and Shin Ha Kyun's craggy Dong Sik. Part of it is that he's so smooth looking that he's almost bland, which fits a character who seems to be trying to erase all aspects of his Self.

He's so "pretty" and not at all my type, yet I'm fascinated by the fact that his face fascinates me; if I'd just come across a picture of it I would say "boring" and forget him, but as Joo Won I keep staring at him, trying to understand what's going on in his head.

I suspect Yeo is actually quite a good actor, though most of his portrayal so far could be dismissed as "wooden." I'm curious to see how he unbuttons, as I'm guessing that's where the show is heading. H

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I'm struggling to imagine how Ji Hwa, even at 18, was ever won over by Lee Chang Ji.

He does have is charms, but they're such transparently sleazy charms, and he doesn't seem to know how to turn off the sleaze. I just can't picture her ever being naive enough to fall for it. Was she desperate to escape her parents' house? Just super horny and not thinking clearly? Will the show ever explain, I wonder?

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Joo Won looks v. good in this winter white turtleneck sweater and wool coat.

Apparently he's dressed up for his date with Dong Sik justice. And Dong Sik finally gets him in handcuffs! Hot.

This strategy was very clever, both in-universe and from a narrative perspective, and yet I did not see it coming at all.

(Joo Won seems to have been slowly easing up on his blacks as his slips further from his father's influence and moves closer to Dong Sik—first were his browns and greens on the fishing trip, and now he's gone to the full opposite. My color coding guesses: Dong Sik as blue-green, Joo Won as a black brooder repressing his true natural brown self.)

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Kwan Hyuk

is an amoral, conniving, power hungry little shit, yet I still find myself rooting for him. I kinda just want all the work he's put into his meek and self-abasing persona to be worth it, you know? He's social climbing so hard, I wanna give him a gold star for the effort ⭐️ And 'cause I'm pro anyone who tries to manipulate Joo Won's dad. (I still can't tell if he's succeeding at it.)

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WOW, I'm good. I was looking through Yeo Jin Goo's filmography on MDL, and it turns out he DID play a young Shin Ha Kyun, as a ten year old child actor, back in 2006 in a movie called No Mercy For the Rude.

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I'm watching this show at a bit of an emotional reserve, for various reasons, but Dong Sik's tears get to me every time. His sobs when he realizes how she died and how close he was. Breaks my heart.

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Ah there it is.

That's why you all ship Dong Sik and Joo Won so hard. Up until the end of this episode (the fifth) I was like, presumably something changes because so far the imagination has to do a lot of heavy lifting getting them together.

But it did change. That confrontation in the final minutes was intense! And erotic! What was that last pose anyway. Joo Won's sobbing break down? Also erotic, I have to say. I'm exited for further developments.

Also I'm getting more and more drawn in by the mystery, but I don't feel like blogging about that part at the moment.

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omg they are IN LOVE. that right there was as good as a confession. that was Dong Sik asking "do you love me?" and Joo Won's smile saying yes.

actual conversation: "What are you doing?" "What do you mean? If you sinned, you should pay for your sins, Lieutenant Han Joo Won." [Title emphasized to identify him as his own person, an officer of justice, not as his father's son.] And then the smile. And, in concert, turns to stare down the dad.

So I guess they did not plan this out ahead of time (these men still need to work on their communication skills) but Dong Sik still completely trusted that Joo Won would go along with it. Because it is an excellent plan to ruin his father, and because Joo Won does truly believe justice applies even to himself.

I'm giving it the shippy romantic read, because that's fun, but this scene is just as powerful interpreted completely platonically.

And it is echoing Jae Yi's conversation with Jeong Je only minutes before, supporting my point that she's the moral center of it all.

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I keep calling Lee Chang Ji "Elvis" in my head. Sometimes it's "Russian Elvis."

In other reflections on characters' appearances

the young Jeong Je is excellent at evoking the older one.

The young Dong Sik, however is distractingly different, to the point that it's hard to think of them as the same person. Perhaps it's that I recognize the "young" actor, Lee Do Hyun, from other dramas, but he has such a different vibe than Shin Ha Kyun, along with them looking quite different. I know younger Dong Sik is supposed to be more carefree and all that, but for me the difference was implausibly large.

You know who I think could play a convincing younger version of Shin Ha Kyun though? Yeo Jin Goo. The shapes of their faces and features are generally similar enough, but mostly it's that he can give the same type of intensity. The extreme contrast of smooth youth and craggy age would help too, oddly enough.

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Anyways,

this is definitely not a show be eating while watching. or right after.

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My best beloved, Reporter Im Gyu Soek, is back! 🥰

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ok but

this has been the most romance-hinting conversation between Jae Yi and Joo Won, and just as I'm thinking maybe that's the direction the show will go in, she sends him to find Dong Sik. I mean. If that's not a refusal to let this show be heterosexual, I don't know what is.

Also, setting aside all of my feelings around Chief Nam's death, Joo Won is at his most attractive soaking wet and sobbing. And him holding onto Dong Sik in their mutual grief was... a lot.

Everything else about this show is too much for me to evaluate and write up while it's happening. Both plot wise—there are a lot of twists and turns—and my feelings about it all.

I do really like the connection between Jae Yi and Joo Won, though. It somehow feels quiet and separate from everything that's going on.

[gillianthecat]

I don't know why it's so funny to me that Chevrolet is sponsoring this show.

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Other random Beyond Evil thoughts

Je Joeng's mother annoys me. Her ambitions are just so small and grasping. I think I'd like her more (or at least find her more interesting) if she was crueler to her son instead of trying to use him. He's just so obviously not fit for that purpose, she ends up seeming stupid and pathetic as well as mean.

I don't know what I think yet about the reveal of who the serial killer is. I think mostly I will have to wait til it's over to solidify my opinion about how the show is handling it.

Also curious what the second half of the show is going to be, since the killer has already been caught and we're only half way through.

I am mentally cataloguing all the "shippy" moments including: Joo Won handcuffing himself to Dong Sik! (briefly, but still) Joo Won getting so angry in defense of Dong Sik he almost strangles the bad guy! And then the intense looks they share after! The way they work so well as a team in the integrations! Dong Sik teasing Joo Won about being a stalker!

It does feel like the show has arrived at the point where it's becoming Dong Sik & Joo Won teamed up against the world. They seem to have an intuitive understanding of each other.

I don't think this show is going to get under my skin in the way The Devil Judge did, in part because of the way I watched them, and my different mental states at the time, but also in part because of aspects of the shows themselves. But again I will have to wait til the end to know what I think about this one.

Part of it is that this show is fairly directly about misogyny, and that always makes me anxious about the creators' ability to handle the subject well, and so I pull back.

(Same with the whole cops thing.)

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Trying to brainwash myself into relaxing into enjoying Beyond Evil:

🔮I love cops and I hate due process.🔮I love cops and I hate due process.🔮I love cops and I hate due process.