Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Hyde, Jekyll and I: A Review

Last weekend, while in Florida, I started the Korean Drama Hyde, Jekyll and I.  I had a couple hours to kill as I waited for Amanda and decided to start a new drama.  I have a list of dramas I'd like to watch and didn't think much about which one came next.  Little did I know that it was going to be the best k-drama I had seen to date.

Image of main characters (http://www.dramafever.com/st/img/slider/4601_HydeJekyllAndI_Sider.jpg)
Image via Google
The premise of the show is as follows:
The main character, Goo Seo Jin is the heir to the Wonder Group company.  Due to a traumatic childhood event, he has dissociative identity disorder (DID or multiple personality disorder) and lives his life like a glacier, icy and detached from everyone around him.  When his heartbeat exceeds 150 bpm, the alternate personality of "Robin" emerges.  Robin is kind, gentle, full of smiles and has a "saving" personality--a stark contrast to Seo Jin's cool demeanor.

When we enter the story, for the past five years, Seo Jin has kept Robin under control, but things are about to change.  Seo Jin's doctor disappears the same day she tells him that she found a cure for his illness.  The only witness is Jang Ha Na, the new spunky leader of Wonder Land's circus.  Despite Seo Jin's wish to keep people distant, he is forced to look after Ha Na as the kidnapper now targets her life.  With Ha Na in danger, Robin begins to appear more and more and pretty soon the two are falling for each other, despite Seo Jin wishing otherwise.  Things won't stay the same for long in Seo Jin's world.

My friend Kendra joined me in watching while I was in Georgia and she, too, was drawn in. Fast.  The story was quick with a lot of twists and turns.  We often wondered to each other: just where were the writers going next? One thing would seem to resolve and then Bam! What was white and blue became gold and black.  Emotional cries left our lips as events unfolded, sometimes leaving us stupefied and quivering on the couch. 

What's more is that we felt really attached to some of the characters.  Without giving away spoilers, we both really felt strongly about the villain.  For a number of episodes, we were cheering on the bad guy! I don't remember the last time I ended up feeling for and sympathizing for a villain character.

The only potential "downside" was that we made a lot of fun of the soundtrack.  There was one song that had us in fits of giggles every time it came on and we'd walk around the house belting the English lyrics out in horrible, out of tune fashion.  

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed this k-drama and would highly recommend it. 

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