[Plot twists] When hope exceeds expectations
by Guest Beanie
Editor’s note: This post contains spoilers.
Why hello there. It is I, RamyunIsTheName, here to tell you why the best plot twist of all time is the one that you pray will happen but still manages to take you by surprise.
Yes, having a plot twist that comes out of nowhere is great. It’s an incredible feeling to get hit with something so well done and so out of left field that it can leave you breathless. Yet, despite that, I would still argue that having a plot twist that isn’t from nowhere but right within your periphery is the one that gives the most gratifying and awe-inspiring level of satisfaction. To be shocked by something you knew to be a possibility requires the most skill from a drama’s actors and creative team.
For example, take 2014’s Liar Game. The show was based on trying to understand the morals and ethics of man. As we all know, Liar Game is one of the best Korean dramas to ever be made (from a totally unbiased standpoint, of course). The drama revolved around an innocent and a group of geniuses who treated people and the real world like it was all a game of chess. This drama was so full of games of liars, and liars playing games that it kept you at the edge of your seat from episode 1 all the way to the end. Its mental games and philosophical undercurrents kept us, the viewers, judging not only the characters but also ourselves. Plus, it had Lee Sang-yoon’s dimples and we all know they were the real stars of the show.
There were a dozen different plot twists that occurred in this drama that were so incredible that even though it’s been years since the drama aired, viewers can still go back and feel the rush of those moments. There were so many twists and turns–as well as many moments that left us confused but also searching for answers. From Ha Woo-jin’s total annihilation of Nam Da-jung’s skeezy professor in episode 2, to the amazing plot twist at the end of the drama (I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen the show yet), it’s difficult to choose just one great plot twist.
But even with a wealth of twists to choose from, we all know when our favorite plot twist hits. For me, it was episode 10 with Lee El’s character, Jamie. For the majority of the drama Jamie was our secondary baddie. We knew that the primary villain was Shin Sung-rok’s, Kang Do-young, however Jamie was evil in her own way. She was sneaky, manipulative, vindictive, cruel, arrogant and worst of all… cool. Do you know how infuriating it is to be a bigger fan of the baddie than the protagonist that was slated for your affection?!
Yet even as Jamie infuriated and angered us, there was just something that made us all want her to be redeemed. As episode after episode went on, we all started to lose hope for our favorite femme fatale but then episode 10 occurred. In one fell swoop Jamie was on our team. But it wasn’t just that she was on our team, but she was on our team in such a badass and amazing way that I swear in that moment all was right in the world. The birds started to sing; world peace was won for a minute. The polar ice caps stopped melting. Heck, my ex stopped being a piece of garbage in that badass and amazing minute.
To see Jamie not only redeemed but able to give two metaphorical, well-manicured middle fingers to the true baddie was so shocking–yet not. So amazing, yet so understandable. She was so classically cool that I realized exactly who I wanted to be when I grew up. She shocked us, but we knew she had it in her. We just didn’t know exactly how much of it she had.
So just as Jamie got to sit on her throne of money throwing one of the biggest wrenches in Kang Do-young’s plan, I believe that Jamie deserves to be given the K-dramaland throne and crowned the Queen of Plot Twists.
RELATED POSTS
Tags: Theme of the Month
Required fields are marked *
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
1 Martin J Simwaba
January 15, 2019 at 12:24 AM
Wow!!! That Jamie sounds great. The way you have described her makes want to try it.
LIAR GAMES here I come
Required fields are marked *
2 oppafangirl
January 15, 2019 at 12:38 AM
Thank you for such a nice and quirky article about Lair games. I agree 95% with your unbiased review that it is best of the Korean dramas. (I did double check my calculations).
Your comment about the moment of the plot twist is gold. (My fav being about the ex ... Hahahaha).😂😂😂😍😍😍
Required fields are marked *
3 Narcissa
January 15, 2019 at 12:43 AM
Comment was deleted
Required fields are marked *
Lurker
January 16, 2019 at 12:57 PM
I haven't seen the Japanese drama but I've read the manga after watching the Korean drama.
I personally thought the K drama was great and the few changes they made actually felt more coherent and engaged me more with the story.
Does the Japanese drama end at the end of the manga ( if that's the case, I can be disappointed in advance because I hated the final twist which ruined part of the series for me and also wasn't really in sync with what had been built regarding some characters.) or does it changes direction from the manga?
I still have the whole series on my HD but I'm trying to get rid of the Korean afterglow... Liar Game is among my top 3 K dramas of all time and mind you, I've counted... I've got over 165 completed Korean dramas under my belt and over 55 dropped mid-way. Over 15 years of K drama addiction and this one still stands out.
I'm still waiting for season 2.
Required fields are marked *
4 liar song #PuppyNotPuppyLeeJaeWookIsBack
January 15, 2019 at 1:33 AM
Liar Game introduced me to the gem that is Lee El (and made me interested in Shin Sung-rok haha). This drama was a great adaptation in that it is not the exact replica of the original but it has a few twists and turns which makes it different! Thank you for writing about Liar Game and Jamie, @feranmi10!
Required fields are marked *
5 gotojapan
January 15, 2019 at 2:51 AM
Yes! On your take. On other note, I forgot that sang yun was favorite db grumpy, so used to him smiling on master of the house.
Required fields are marked *
6 growingbeautifully
January 15, 2019 at 3:49 AM
@feranmi101 Ramyun, thanks for a different take on plot twists.
I recall how Liar Game got us commenting on how to figure out the logic or the psychology, on whether the female lead (the innocent) could have been considered kind or not (she helped a little old lady) and whether we were dealing with real evil. It was such an amazingly convoluted way to get a game to be played. But oh, so effective... even though a thousand variables might have impinged upon the plan to skewer it, it still made it to the end, right according to ... well.... plan! Just thinking about it makes me want to re-watch! LOL.
Required fields are marked *
7 siesta
January 15, 2019 at 4:43 AM
i've watched both version and personally loved the japanese version more, i feel the tension is more gripping and darker overall (prolly caused by the shorter number of episodes as well which keeps it fast paced). the twists kinda make my head hurt tho lol
but overall, liar game as a premise is great, it really makes us think about the human psyche, how you can never truly know someone because everyone is different and everyone has an agenda of their own. in a way, all of us are playing The Game in our daily life, although not to that extreme
Required fields are marked *
8 sazttkktt
January 15, 2019 at 5:34 AM
#stillwaitingforSeason2
Required fields are marked *
9 juti
January 15, 2019 at 9:52 AM
Love this post, thank you and yeah she was totally badass at that moment! After thinking about it, I felt so glad to have been played by her since, in the end, she was still cunning but on our side. And that's it, she didn't change much but it still made a huge difference and that's the coolest thing about it. To be on the good side but to keep being yourself.
Required fields are marked *
10 larelle79
January 15, 2019 at 10:30 AM
I started Liar Game and I am already sick of Kim So Eun's character so it is nice to know that El Lee's Jamie is pretty awesome.
Required fields are marked *
11 Ally
January 15, 2019 at 1:12 PM
I’ve had LIAR GAME on my watch list since I pretty much started kdramas, and didn’t want to be spoiled, so I’ll have to put your writing on a must read list after I see it! *moves LIAR GAME to the top of the list, again*
Required fields are marked *
egads aka Dame Maggie
January 15, 2019 at 1:22 PM
I had JUST watched the first episode and jumped over to DB to see what was happening and immediately stopped reading this essay after the words Liar Game showed up.
After 3 episodes I’m loving it, and I will now stay far away from this topic until I’m done.
Also, can the drama gods gift me a rom-com with Shin Sun Rok and Lee El. Maybe as competing art thieves who are recovering national treasures stolen by colonial forces. Just a suggestion.
Required fields are marked *
Ally
January 15, 2019 at 1:49 PM
This would be the BOMB! Oh, yeah, there needs to be an actual bomb in the story, a boobytrap device protecting the treasures. And there needs to be lots of comedy in this rom-com. Like make it a com-rom-con. Get it? 😉🙄
Required fields are marked *
egads aka Dame Maggie
January 15, 2019 at 2:09 PM
com-rom-con is my FAVORITE. Moral ambiguity, fast wordplay, and shenanigans. Sigh, are Korean drama writers reading Dramabeans?
Required fields are marked *
LT is Irresistibly Indifferent, Dame Judi
January 15, 2019 at 1:49 PM
Yes I watched Japanese Liar Game a few months ago and have been waiting for a bit to watch the Korean version as I didn't want to jump straight in. So I'll come back and read this once I finally get to it. I'm expecting to enjoy the Korean one a lot more (although that could be my bias talking).
Required fields are marked *
Saya
January 15, 2019 at 5:54 PM
Aahh!! You guys are in for a ride, LG-K is brilliant. It deviates from the source material (manga) in some big ways, but all of them WORK, so well. Every actor was perfect for their roles. Just...almost complete perfection. It's very cerebral, but somehow it gets well under your skin nevertheless.
Required fields are marked *
12 Kairoskat 💐
January 15, 2019 at 3:56 PM
I will put liar game on my watch list. I liked the Japanese version a lot, but i was not interested to watch a remake.
But...i will watch this for SSR. And now that i know Lee El is in it, more reasons to watch hahaha
Required fields are marked *
13 tonal
January 15, 2019 at 9:39 PM
Jamie sitting on her throne of money and holding wads of cash like a fan is my most favourite memory of the Liar Game. She made my heart pound in that shot! I watched the scene of Do-young coming upon her countless times. Gaaahhh! I can still feel the feels!
Required fields are marked *
Flightey Gazelles
January 17, 2019 at 3:16 AM
that's my favorite still! Was my dp towards the end of last year...It was LG that introduced me to Lee El and made me fall in love with her
Required fields are marked *
14 mikachan
January 16, 2019 at 4:19 PM
u should really check out the jp version. "jamie" is even more amazing
Required fields are marked *
15 ⭐ Sera The Ms Temper ⭐
January 17, 2019 at 5:23 AM
Loved this drama so much. But as much as I loved it, I don't think I still want season 2 that much, especially after seeing many drama sequels didn't live up to the expectation.
However, I would love to see these whole casts in the new drama helmed by the same PD & writer in the future, maybe crime thriller and with opposite roles they had in Liar Game.
Required fields are marked *
16 aegiomma
January 18, 2019 at 6:27 AM
One of my favorite moments of all time was when Jamie started laughing to herself and then revealed she wasn't who they thought she was. It was seriously the perfect anime moment!
Required fields are marked *
17 egads aka Dame Maggie
January 27, 2019 at 2:48 PM
@feranmi101
Finally, I was able to finish Liar Game, and I am so glad I didn't read this and ruin the surprise of Lee El on her money throne. She's the bomb, and I want to be her when I grow up. I loved almost every minute of this drama, and it is firmly in my top ten now, probably top five. While watching, I came to the realization that all my favorite shows revolve around morally ambiguous characters who while simultaneously are both repugnant and compelling, they also make us question our own actions and motivations. My double dose of an evil adjacent Shin Sung-rok character over the past weeks, has been a pleasure, and I want more. Season 2 please.
Required fields are marked *
Kwan
February 5, 2019 at 4:47 PM
Unfortunately Shin Sung-rok ruined this drama for me. I've seen him too many times as a slimy bad guy, that I can hardly stomach looking at him. I did finish Liar Game but I was there for Mr. Dimples, one of my favorite actors, and almost quit because of Shin. I am currently struggling to get through Last Empress because I find watching him to be repugnant.
Required fields are marked *
egads aka Dame Maggie
February 5, 2019 at 5:13 PM
We are complete opposites, but that's okay. Admittedly, I have thing for morally corrupt (okay evil) characters in my fiction, and I think Shin Sung-rok has played some of my favorites.
Required fields are marked *
Kwan
February 7, 2019 at 4:15 PM
That's why drama appeals to many different people. Shin isn't the only one that has turned me off by his excellent acting playing a villain. The first Kim Rae Won drama I saw was Say You Love Me, and Yum Jung Ah did such a convincing job of playing the "bad woman," I swore I'd never watch another thing she was in--so that might leave Sky Castle out for me. When a character goes against my strong feelings of right and wrong, it's hard for me to forgive and forget.
Required fields are marked *
RamyunIsTheName
February 8, 2019 at 11:28 PM
first I just love him just because but you seeing him as a baddie makes me laugh because he's such a dork in real life so watching him play a bad guy is truly one of my small joys in the world. Please also watch him in trot lovers it will completely erase any fear of him. Lastly i think after my sister pointed out that he looks like jojo from horton hears a who idk if I've been able to be afraid of him since ctfuuu.
Required fields are marked *
Kwan
February 10, 2019 at 2:12 PM
He doesn't scare me--I just don't enjoy watching him. Don't get me wrong he's a great actor, but I think he looks evil. In my opinion he's not at all attractive looking. I remember when I was a little girl I watched the movie Shane. Jack Palance was in the movie--his character was so mean and evil that I couldn't bear to watch any other movie he was in. The same thing happened when I watched Richard Gere in a movie where he was despicable and evil--I couldn't watch anymore of his films until I wanted to watch, Hachi: A Dog's Tale, so I gave in and watched him again, and he was wonderful in it.
Required fields are marked *
RamyunIsTheName
February 10, 2019 at 3:30 PM
Okay I can understand that but I hope you don’t dislike him for that. He got the part because his face fit the bill for a baddie but he also can’t help how he looks. I’m not blaming you of course though just asking.
Kwan
February 12, 2019 at 8:50 PM
I didn't see where I could reply to you down below so I'm doing it here. I don't dislike him because of how he looks--I just have my favorite Korean actors, and some that I don't care for. Another one I don't enjoy watching is Lee Joon Gi. He's never played a bad guy in any of the dramas I've seen him in, he just isn't one of my favorites. I guess he's not my type, just like Shin.
Required fields are marked *
18 sph_7
February 7, 2019 at 4:17 PM
I really liked Liar Game.
Required fields are marked *