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Kill It: Episode 1

OCN’s newest weekend thriller, Kill It, opens with an action-packed and intriguing story of our sympathetic antihero with no memory of his past but a mission to uncover the world that he’s forgotten. While the premise feels familiar, the fresh faces of our objectively very attractive leads offers a new spin and a chemistry that I’m surely looking forward to. This first installment provides an obligatory round of introductions, but we also learn that our hero isn’t the only one with a mysterious past.

Note: This is just a first episode recap.

  
EPISODE 1 RECAP

It’s the year 2001 in Vladivostok, Russia, and as a boy runs through the woods, the rules of survival narrate in voice over: “Rule number 1: Never reveal the client’s identity; Rule number 2: Never keep the witness alive; Rule number 3: Stay alive.”

The boy nimbly navigates his obstacle course and aims his gun at the makeshift target. We learn that he lost his memory and was told that his father tried to kill him. A Russian by the name of PAVEL (David Lee McInnis) took him in and trained him.

A wolf appears in the woods, and Pavel reminds the boy of rule number 2. When the boy hesitates, Pavel cocks his gun to kill the wolf, but the boy derails the shot. As punishment, Pavel ties the boy onto a tree, leaving him to fend for himself in the woods.

The boy ends up on the ground after maneuvering himself out of the rope, and he comes face to face with the wolf he saved earlier. The wolf looks into the boy’s eyes, and we see that the boy’s eyes are the same piercing blue shade of the wolf’s eyes. Huh, curious. (The wolf seems to think so as well, as we see the wolf’s eyes widen lol.)

Jumping ahead to 2017 in Busan, we see the grown boy, who we’ll later know as KIM SOO-HYUN (Jang Ki-yong), getting ready and putting in color contacts to hide his blue eyes. He disguises himself as an electrician at the Red Mafia’s villa and plants a hidden camera in the vent.

In his dark, curtained home, an older Pavel senses that he’s being tailed and peeks out the window to find suspicious men camping out. He exchanges his rosary for his gun and walks down to his basement to shoot at the intruder. It’s Soo-hyun, who asks if Pavel forgot him again and yells at Pavel to stop shooting, but Pavel demands to know who sent him there.

Pavel offers to save Soo-hyun’s life if he reveals who sent him, but Soo-hyun quickly positions himself to have the upper hand by appearing behind Pavel with his gun aimed at Pavel’s head. Soo-hyun reminds him of rule number 1: Never reveal a client’s identity.

The two engage in intense hand-to-hand combat, and Pavel stabs Soo-hyun in the shoulder with his knife. Soo-hyun manages to push Pavel off of him and holds Pavel in a chokehold until he passes out.

Pavel wakes up in his bed hooked up to an IV and reaches into his desk drawer for a taped-up photo of young Soo-hyun and a young girl in a wheelchar. As Pavel inspects the photo, he remembers young Soo-hyun discovering this photo after rummaging through cabinets. Pavel ripped up the photo, citing rule number 2: Never keep witnesses alive because they will find you. Pavel realizes the identity of the intruder and looks regretful.

Meanwhile, Soo-hyun stitches himself up and answers a call from his friend, who asks if he’s really going to sell all of his guns. His friend and business agent, AHN PHILIP (Lee Jae-won), seems exasperated that Soo-hyun wrapped up his services in Seattle, Busan, and Vladistok, and he suggests that they find a nursing home for Pavel abroad. Aha, so Pavel is ill.

Soo-hyun rejects the idea because they would have to kill everyone at the nursing home (rule number 2). Philip tries to pitch their potential new client with a sexy voice, but Soo-hyun hangs up.

Soo-hyun spies on the Red Mafia with his hidden camera, and stabilized Pavel starts to brief Soo-hyun on their client and target. Pavel struggles to remember their target, and Soo-hyun looks alarmed by the worsening state of Pavel’s condition. Pavel insists that he can finish the job and tells Soo-hyun to plan go off on his own after their final job.

Pavel then hands Soo-hyun the taped-up photo and tells him that those people could have been his family. Soo-hyun responds that Pavel is his family — not the people in the photo. Trying to disclose everything before completely losing his memory, Pavel also reveals that it was Soo-hyun’s father who wanted Soo-hyun dead, but he doesn’t explain why he didn’t kill him.

Lying in bed, Soo-hyun stares at the photo. In his dream, he recalls his young self during a rainy night, running away from a car that was chasing after him. Soo-hyun jumps awake from the dream and finds Pavel’s room empty. Pavel had already left to complete their mission.

At the Red Mafia’s villa, Pavel aims his sniper gun at his target. As he’s about the pull the trigger, his hand begins to tremble. Pavel holds his rosary tight and tries to stabilize his grip, but when he looks through his rifle scope again, he’s lost his target.

Pavel resorts to physical combat, and Soo-hyun follows suit after spotting Pavel knocking out guards at the villa. A guard passing by Pavel recognizes him as an intruder and informs his crew. The guard attacks Pavel, who seems to manage fine until he’s outnumbered, stabbed, and shot in the leg. Soo-hyun appears and shoots down the extra guards, but one guard holds Pavel at gunpoint and drags him away.

The guard demands to know who sent Pavel, but Pavel tells the guard to just kill him. The guard shoots Pavel without hesitation, and Pavel’s eyes widen in the shocking pain.

Soo-hyun sets up a time bomb in the vent and plasters the target on the ground at gunpoint, ordering him to summon his whole crew. With the distraction in place, Soo-hyun finds Pavel and implores him to drop his mission, determined to get them both out alive.

When the mafia crew gather at their boss’s command, they find him dead and hear the ticking time bomb in the vent. The villa explodes, and Soo-hyun carries injured Pavel away from the flames. After Soo-hyun buckles Pavel into the passenger seat of the car, Pavel smiles at his loyal successor, but Soo-hyun is less amused. From the flaming villa, the mafia boss’s son gets up. Uh-oh — rule number 2!

Soo-hyun urgently prepares to treat Pavel’s wounds, but Pavel rejects treatment because he’s accepted his fate as an old killer with dementia. Pavel apologizes to Soo-hyun for raising him as a killer and makes Soo-hyun promise to live an ordinary life like the people in the photo. Then, Pavel’s body goes limp, and Soo-hyun tries to wake his dead father figure in disbelief.

Assassin business buddy Philip receives a surprise visitor at his place, and he recognizes the potential client by her alluring voice. She offers a great commission deal and sends him a photo that will surely convince Soo-hyun to take her as a client.

While mourning Pavel’s passing, Soo-hyun receives a text from Philip and looks alarmed that the photo from the lady client matches the one that Pavel left him. He immediately calls Philip about the photo, but they’re faced with more urgent matters: The Red Mafia found them.

Soo-hyun quickly escapes his house with his husky, Gray, and the mafia boss’s son just misses his chance to get revenge. Once they’re in the clear, Philip calls Soo-hyun and tells him about their soliciting client, who has six targets and promises a new photo for each successful assassination. Soo-hyun seems intrigued and asks Philip to start by finding a place for him to stay.

In present-day Seoul, an older man hunts game and stands at the edge of a cliff with his gun aimed at a deer. Then, Soo-hyun flies toward him and lassos the man’s leg to fling him off the cliff. I don’t know what just happened, but it looked super badass.

Soo-hyun approaches the badly injured man and completes his mission with a fatal injection that stops the man’s heart. He snaps a photo of the dead man and picks up the deer feed that he used as indirect bait for his target.

The man’s death headlines the news, and we learn that he was a renowned CEO, President Yoo Dae-hwan. Special Investigation Unit police officer, DO HYUN-JIN (Nana), arrives at the scene and investigates the point where President Yoo fell from. She uncovers the leaves to find parallel drag marks from President Yoo’s arms as he was dragged off the cliff.

When Hyun-jin inspects President Yoo’s face, she reads his expression as one of betrayal and questions if this could be homicide. She introduces herself to the Officer Park, but he seems dismissive of her, which Officer Lee explains is because she’s a younger woman sent from the central office. Unfazed by the disrespect, Hyun-jin takes charge and orders the two officers to fulfill their respective tasks.

The regional police chief learns about Hyun-jin, a stellar police officer, who curiously trained for ballet in Russia prior to joining the force. She was in charge of President Yoo’s drug investigation, but she’s now claiming that President Yoo is a victim of a serial killer.

While driving through the mountain, Hyun-jin stops behind a parked vehicle and sees a vet, Soo-hyun, preparing to rescue an injured fawn. She gets out of the car and lends her expert dart-throwing skills to immobilize the fawn. She offers her scarf to cover the fawn’s eyes to calm it down, but Soo-hyun rejects her help.

Offended by Soo-hyun’s ungrateful attitude, she confronts him that he should acknowledge another’s goodwill. He takes her blood-stained scarf and hands her his business card to redeem it. She scoffs at his compensatory gesture and says that she’ll reach out when she needs his services.

At the police briefing, Hyun-jin presents her findings of the drag marks on the cliff, the rope mark on President’s Yoo’s leg, and the needle marks on President Yoo’s ear. She explains why she believes he was a victim of a serial killer: All the names listed in a notebook — which belonged to a reporter, Go Min-hyuk, who died 9 years ago — have died.

The recent deaths of the Fire Department Chief and gang boss were unresolved, due to lack of evidence to charge a suspect. The names of these victims, including President Yoo, were listed in the notebook.

The officers murmur in suspicion, but Officer Park erupts in laughter. He accuses Hyun-jin of watching too many movies and likens the notebook scenario to Death Note. When he jokes that the dead reporter must be the killer, Hyun-jin snaps and throws a pen right into Officer Park’s mouth to shut him up. Ha!

Soo-hyun drops by a restaurant for take-out and finds the angry owner husband throwing a violet fit because his wife won’t give him money from their daughter’s college fund. Soo-hyun stops the abusive husband from hurling a chair at the wife and silently stares him down.

When Soo-hyun returns to his vet office, he’s followed in by a school girl, KANG SEUL-GI (Noh Jung-eui), who claims the take-out as her lunch. She notices the woman’s scarf hanging and wonders who it belongs to. Seul-gi feigns sadness as she announces that she’s skipping class because the anniversary of her grandfather’s passing, and Soo-hyun ignores her dramatics.

At the forensic lab, Hyun-jin learns from her sunbae that the needle discovered near the scene had traces of the lethal injection and President Yoo’s DNA at the tip but also traces of another drug. At the end of the needle, traces of cocaine imply that the needle was used and that the culprit is somehow linked to cocaine.

Officer Park and Officer Lee run into the lab with confirmed evidence of their latest suspect and rush out to arrest the abusive restaurant owner husband. The wife frantically claims that her drug-addicted husband would never kill anyone, and Hyun-jin observes the arrest with a critical eye.

In the interrogation room, the abusive husband twitches from withdrawal and urgently takes off his shoe, where he stores his emergency syringe of cocaine. Hyun-jin runs in and stops him before he faces even more serious consequences, but the suspect only seems to care about feeding his addiction.

Meanwhile, Soo-hyun sends the photo of dead President Yoo to Philip and waits for his next photo clue from his client. He looks at a photo hint that he previously received and decides to head to the address inscribed in the corner of the photo of the house.

Upon entering the photographed house, Soo-hyun walks through a creepy exhibit of stone children. He also finds a phone, which he opens and sees a magnified view of the mother-daughter pair in the original photo. Then, he hears a beeping time bomb and runs out of the house as it explodes.

Soo-hyun looks at the house engulfed in flames and receives a call. A demonic voice warns him not to search for the mother-daughter pair nor his client — or else, the mother and daughter will die.

The police unit applaud their successful capture of the serial killer and plan on a celebration dinner that evening, but Hyun-jin and Officer Lee aren’t convinced. Officer Lee doesn’t believe that a serial killer would be dumb enough to leave traces of his identity and assessed that their drug addict suspect doesn’t have a motive. Hyun-jin agrees, but she strategically decides to let the drug addict be framed because it will prompt the real serial killer to let his guard down.

That evening, Hyun-jin and Officer Lee visit the restaurant to inform the wife of her husband’s next steps in the criminal proceedings. Soo-hyun lurks outside to eavesdrop as Hyun-jin notices the wife’s bruises and asks if she needs to relocate to a shelter. The wife refuses to leave because she’s waiting for her daughter, who left home a while back. Soo-hyun leaves before Hyun-jin can notice his presence outside.

A broker tries to show Hyun-jin an open apartment in the same building as Soo-hyun’s vet office, but the building owner isn’t around. The broker says that the owner is a young orphan girl who happened to inherit a building and isn’t available to show the open space because she’s at school. Huh, so Seul-gi is the building owner?

Hyun-jin’s lab sunbae calls her out for dinner and tells her that the higher ups had ordered him to report the autopsy of President Yoo as an accident to avoid further controversy. He assures Hyun-jin that he recorded the phone conversation, but he’s concerned about her actively defying orders with her investigation.

Sunbae knows that she’s fixating on these killing because of late reporter Min-hyuk, who also died of the same fatal injection that was found in the victims of the supposed serial killer. Hyun-jin finds the coincidence too striking to let go and says that she just needs to find the one witness at the scene.

Flashback to nine years ago. Hyun-jin runs in to the scene of the crime, where she finds reporter Min-hyuk dead. She drops to the ground in tears and notices a traumatized young girl with stitches on her forehead being escorted out of the house. We speed back to the present day to find the same scar on the forehead of Seul-gi, the schoolgirl owner of Soo-hyun’s vet office building.

Soo-hyun looks up photos of Hyun-jin and prepares his next syringe, setting her as his next target. As he looks through more surveillance photos, he receives a text from Seul-gi demanding that he arrive promptly for her grandfather’s memorial ritual.

While driving, Hyun-jin accidently hits a cat on the road and gingerly carries the injured cat to her car. She remembers the rude vet she encountered and speeds off to Soo-hyun’s vet clinic. Hyun-jin runs into the clinic and asks Soo-hyun to help save the cat, unknowingly coming face-to-face with the wanted killer.

  
COMMENTS

With the strong brand of OCN backing this show, I think Kill It is one of those shows that will do perfectly fine by executing the network’s tried and true formula for action thrillers. I don’t think the formula is necessarily a bad thing because OCN has built a reliable reputation for this genre, and they’ve clearly got this genre down. While the “formula” does create a familiar mood and storyline that could seem mundane, the reliability does lend itself to taking more liberties with casting fresh faces, which counteracts that sense of familiarity. Jang Ki-yong and Nana aren’t completely new faces, but they’re still relatively new to leading role responsibilities, so this trusty OCN format and story cuts them slack.

I’m not super impressed by the individual performances of our leads so far, but it’ll be nice to see their improvement as the show progresses. I also think there will be a synergistic effect when the pieces of our characters’ stories come together. I appreciated how the link among our characters wasn’t just isolated to our leads in this first episode, and I’m intrigued by how schoolgirl building owner Seul-gi will affect this story. She’s the hidden card, someone’s Achilles’ heel, and her own advocate as the sole witness of the crime 9 years ago, and I’m curious to see who’s side she’s on. Another curious thing from the first few minutes of the show was Soo-hyun’s connection to the wolf and his blue eyes. Young Soo-hyun’s intimate eye contact moment with the wolf seemed a bit strange to me, and I interpret that as some connection Soo-hyun has with animals (hence his cover-up occupation as a vet). But the blue eyes? Is there supposed to be some supernatural element to this show? Was Soo-hyun actually raised by wolves? I really doubt it, but this will be in the back of my mind until proven otherwise.

There is a softness that I see when Soo-hyun looks at an animal, and that subtle change in his glance indicates that he’s more than just a merciless badass assassin. He clearly lacks healthy human affection, especially after Pavel’s death, and finding his real family may prove that he’s a human capable of expressing human emotions, like affection, longing, and sadness. I think the best moments of this show will be in those tender moments, and hopefully he learns to translate his care for animals to humans — in friendship, for family, and maybe even in love.

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i'm confused about the storyline, but i don't care. i like looking at the pretty the drama so far!

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Nooo, Na-moo! What are you doing?!

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Our peaceful tree has become a thorn bush.

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we just have to HUG verrrry carefully....

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Tree huggers at its finest

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Dang, Na-moo trumped Psycho Dad in the first episode. What a body count. Forget that silly hammer. C4 is way more fun. -- On the other hand, he's still into canids. ;-)

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He didn't even kill them all though! He failed the Second Rule! Never Leave a Witness alive! Tsk tsk. Needed more C4 (although WAS that C4? it kinda looked like dynamite...)

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Truth to tell, I don't even remember what the explosives looked like. I'm slipping. And yes, uri assassin goofed on Rule #2 again. Now he's going to be pursued to the ends of the earth by a Red Mafioso with a grudge like that of the honey badger in THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY 2. Which is super apropos for a wildlife veterinarian. ;-)

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There's a Honey Badger in The God's Must Be Crazy? That's some A+ wildlife.

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There were a couple of moments in CAHM where NM looked like he could go over to the dark side but of course did not. Well in KI it looks like Ol’ Blue Eyes has made the plunge.

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LMAO recently finished marathoning Come and Hug Me plus viewed your recaps/comments...I wondered what your reaction will be after this ep just as I stumbled upon this!!! Hahahaha

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When I first saw the trailer/description for the show I was worried they wouldn't give us enough motivation behind the whole vet by day/hitman by night thing to make him a sympathetic character. They definitely didn't do that but I'm also not happy with getting basically his entire backstory in the first episode.
The pacing felt a little off to me. I would have preferred starting with the murder investigation and unrolling the mystery from there which would have also given us a little more time with the female lead (I feel like we know nothing about her so far, other than she throws darts well (?)).
I'll give the next few episodes a try though because I really like the idea behind the show :)

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Is this just the first-ep recap, or will there be recaps for later eps?

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Note: This is just a first episode recap.

Dramabeans will not be recapping Kill It.

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First of all let me just scream how hot Jang Ki Young is in this show. The guy is so good looking. Serious and silent characters suit him the most.

On a serious note,I am not liking the show. I dont know but something feels really off about this show. Just finished the 2nd episode and am still not liking it. I like these type of genre, but the setting, editing and direction with the characterization is not what i have expected.
The female lead though she is very pretty, but her expressions seems dull and doesnt give me of a detective vibe. They could have chosen some other actress. The chemistry between the leads is missing and the whole plot is confusing. I might drop this next week. I would only be sad not seeing Jang Ki Young.

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1st to the make up department, shame on you for the horrible makeup on David McInnus. It was a less than 20 year time jump and you make him look like he was 100. Just. No.

Also, this was all over the place. The writers did a disservice to the introduction of Nana'a character. I was sympathetic to her while at the crime scene...until she walked all over it with no gloves, no booties and 3 feet of hair hanging down her face. For a detective that is by the book and really good at her job, that was a epic fail.

And don't even me started on her and Soo-hyun's introduction. She gets out her car, does not ask if he needs help, just goes up and take the dart of out his hand and then expect him to bow are her feet for it. Just. No.

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I watched the first little bit and was not feeling it. I'm glad to have the recap and comments like yours to confirm this is probably one to skip. (Though will be nice to be able to come back for later recaps to see if it irons out all the writing/pacing/editing issues)

It pains me deeply because JKY and those stares and that voice. *weeping*

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He next series needs to be a comedy. Dude was awesome in his cameo in Reach of Sincerity.

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how was he awesome? he wasn't even doing the comedy .. just playing a lead man.. YIN was doing the comedy of acting out a bad actress acting

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If you could not see that as the parody it was, that's on you.

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lol.. i could see the parody.. but that still doesn't prove where you are getting what you are getting and passing it on as a fact

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Stop signing checks you cannot cash.

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clearly you weren't!

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Well!.. now that your monologue in front of mirror is over..

So again, why did you hit the reply button?

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given you don't actually have anything relevant to say

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You still writing.

I stopped because I was bored with you. Why did you answer twice?

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It gets much better later- give it a chance ;) !
I didn't understand it at first, but now I'm hooked and have been for awhile! Just finished episode 10, can't wait till ep 11!! P.S.: you can find it on dramanice if you want

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Their introduction to each other was so absurd I said "what?" out loud. She just popped up and forced herself into his business & expected thanks. And the whole "skilled" at darts things is so dumb.

And even tho Jang Ki-Yong had maybe at the most 30 lines in these two episodes, I think his acting is way better than Nana's.

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Thank you in advance @dramallama for the recap. I have watched the first two episodes and I am confused. The recaps will be very helpful to me. I have not read the recap yet but I was so grateful when I saw it here.

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I laughed alot at the start of this drama. Bless David McGinnis but he is not a very good actor and that accent, God help us, it was so bad. Im still confused as to why he didn't just speak Russian. Also who leaves a loaded weapon around a former killer with dementia🤔🤔🤔. Also bless Robin( abnormal summit😍), but he is also not the best. That being said, it found it's stride by the end and hopefully it improves from here on out.

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I also don't believe that a professional assassin would go for a mission knowing he has dementia...

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Pavel wasn’t a former killer; he was still active in the business. And the character wasn’t one to go out peacefully while his mind and body and world slowly went to pieces. And if you’ve known any addictive personalities, you know the “just one last *whatever addiction* “ excuse ...

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@FlyingTool
Lemme hugs you... You described the character well. Yes, people with addiction will always have 'just one last...', includes me. 'Just one last coffee for today' or 'just one series tonight' result to wake up till 5 am with more coffee and one more last series... and be a zombie at the office. On repeat.

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I like badass character like Hyu Jin but honestly all her deductions seemed very lucky (I will miss Detective Kang Ji Hun, the only true one).

I think Jang Ki Yong won't have too many issues to learn his text for his drama.

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*chokes at the last line* in episode 2 I decided I should try counting how many lines he'd so far had to Nana... Kekekke

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kay I don't usually turn up on first recaps because lol it's the first hr but I just had to say something about that awkward first meeting with the injured deer.
HJ comes in from no where, sees an injured animal, picks up the professional tools of a clearly professional working person, throws a tranquilizer dart at a deer by hand, and only because three seconds before we learnt she was a dart champion, then tries to tell the professional how to do his job and interferes AGAIN with his work, and then when he doesn't say anything demands at least a thank you if not an apology for ignoring her?!!!
Uhm. Girl. No! He should be telling you off not thanking you! Just because you're a cop don't mean you can butt into everything. Yikes.
She redeemed herself a little bit when she cried over the cat at the end but then I'm a cat person.
Episode 2 was better but idk what they're trying to pull with HJ character yet cos I think I'm supposed to like her for being kind badass and no nonsense but she just keeps rubbing me the wrong way lmao.

Oh also. There ain't no way an 11 year old could hit anything with what I'm just gonna assume is probably a full sized hand gun 😂😂😂😂 the recoil would rip his arm off.

Now that I have that minor snark out of my system I'm gonna shut up till episode 4.
Ki Young is great though.

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For a cop, she doesn't really seem concerned by the owner of the cat :p

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I just figured it was a stray lol

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I mean it's a young cat, it could have run away from its home. Putting placards with its picture, it would be great before to assume it's a stray cat.

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I have nothing against strong female characters but disrespect and rudeness toward others are surely not considered as "strengths" worthy to be praised. I mean imagine if a guy acted the same to a woman, people will call him misogynistic. I think some writers don't know that the latter is a flaw when doing characterizations of imposing heroines.

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Thank you. Disrespect and rudeness were the words I've been looking for to describe how too many dramas think this means a strong female when it's the opposite. And the thoughts I've had about if guys acted the same way.

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From what I've read so far, I agree. Disrespect and rudeness are not strengths and shouldn't be shown as that. However, I think you were a bit too quick to judge it as a strength. A lot of characters are start off as rude and disrespectful and then start changing.

I haven't read the recap or watched the show, but a lot of the comments. This is just the first episode and she may start changing later on.

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I generally agree with you Reyme, and I like to give less than appealing female characters the benefit of the doubt too and will continue to do so for HJ for at least two more episodes despite my complaining, because it IS early days yet.

However the difference between say Jo Boa's character in My Strange Hero who also received a lot of criticism at the start and this character is that I could see exactly what they were trying to do with Boa's character, and I was right about it, whereas I have no idea what they're trying to achieve here. I THINK I'm supposed to like her or at least root for her but she keeps doing things that rub me the wrong way, and I usually like the annoying, less than savoury unlikable characters. On top of that the directing and writing is oft confusing.

I am in fact breaking all my drama watching rules by continuing to discuss this show so early on when I prefer to form an opinion farther in though lol.

That being said at the moment I simply find the female lead's writing confusing and frustrating and hope she changes farther on but who knows!

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I mentioned it already in the Ratings that I didn't like the first episode. Or more precisely, I didn't like how the story was told. Too linear (and boring) for me. They could have started with detective Hyun Jin explaining the case with short flashbacks how the assassination was done... The backstory of our Killer could have been revealed over several episodes, just a little glimpse here and there... they also could have kept Pavel alive instead of his cliche heroic (=stupid) death and introduce more interesting (and black humour?) situations... the charcters could be less cliche (opposing male detective, drug addict)... etc etc... And what's with the mannequins and explosions? Sorry, I found it more ridiculous than scary... And blue eyes???? I don't know... looks like they are introducing and mixing too many things in not the best manner...
I will have to look up the PD and the writer, right now it looks like a show done by highschoolers...

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Yes to all above. So, in spite of the very, very pretty, I set a personal record for "fastest time to drop a show.......".

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I'm still hesitating if to watch ep2... though... I got my yesasia parcel today with 1% of Anything and now I'm at the 2nd episode 😁... plus Waikiki is waiting...

But yeah, so far Killer is the biggest disappointment of 2019 for me...

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i might just have it running for the visuals while i listen to music or the news...
: D

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Early days. Only episode 1 of 12 according to KILL IT’s wiki page. So like in TRAP (10 episodes) the plot will have to move quicker than otherwise.

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I guess it isn’t your cup of tea. I love this drama, unlike you. I think it is too early to charge the drama by watching just 2 episodes. Why not to give the drama a second chance. LOL

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I have no idea why I liked this show so much. First episode is objectively a mess, second episode was a bit better and gave me strong Healer vibes.
Also, Nana is so pretty. Probably because I watched too many kdramas, but if felt weird that no character commented on her appearance.

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Lol drama citzens don't seem to register a character's above the average looks recently. Even Do Hyun-jin isn't fazed by Soo-hyun's imposing height and appearance. It feels weird because well-defined defined features are part of the leads' Marty Stu/Mary Sue make-up but ironically nobody comments about thm?? So I found it refreshing in "Fiery Priest" when Honey Lee was gushing about Kim Nan-gil (in our stead).

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I remember in Boyfriend everyone commented on Park Bo Gum's face at least two times every.single.episode.
This and gave him tea for some reason....

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I also really enjoyed the first 2 episodes. Not sure if I overlooked a lot of the drama's shortcoming because of how pretty JKY and Nana are. 😅 The directing and editing are not the best but I like how they are going with the story so far. I'm very much intrigued. I watched mainly for JKY, who is not tiring to look at, but Nana is just so gorgeous.

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Jang Ki Yong is hot. Even his voice is hot.

Now to the most important question. So he got the blue eyes because he was in a staring contest against a blue-eyed malamute(?) ?

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Psst.. it's the Henry Fonda Killer's Blue Eyes reincarnation...
(OUaTitW)

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Beautiful connection there to Henry Fonda’s Bad Guy! The piercing blue gaze from Once Upon a Time in the West!

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He must have done something very good to be reincarnated with so much hair this time around.

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Was Soo-hyun actually raised by wolves?

If so, wouldn't he be a corrupt politician ?

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Cheesy, over the top, absurd, slick, ridiculous. I LOVE IT. It works on every level for me. 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for the first episode recap!

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I think the reason I can thoroughly enjoy this drama is because I don't take it too seriously. It's fun and slick and shallower than what I imagined. I don't question the characters' motivation too deeply because the show certainly didn't dwell on that. I'm just here for the pretty, the cheesy, and the cool action scenes. And with Haechi and Beautiful World on my "currently watching" list, this one balances it nicely with its over-the-top-ness.

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I have read the recap and thanks again@dramallama. I think you straightened me out and saved me from having to watch episode one again. Random thoughts/confusions:
1. We have a Korean boy (with blue eyes) who is raised by a professional killer in Russia;
2. When the story jumped to 2017 I thought we were still in Russia and the mafia hit was taking place there (wrong!);
3. I thought the gun battle and fight between Pavel and Soo-hyun was in Pavel’s dream (wrong again!). Then again Soo-hyun would not have to stitch himself up;
4. The other bad guys (sorry SH but for now you and Philip are considered bad guys) know a lot about SH and Philip;
5. The super annoying Suel-gi is also the young witness to the murder of Reporter Go Min-hyuk. Were Reporter Go and Inpector Do Hyun-Jin in a romantic relationship at the time of his death?
6. The early vibe I am getting from JKY’s portrayal of Soo-hyun is Na-moo/Do-Jin from CAHM. I guess because he is playing SH wound so tight. I hope he creates a “new” character;
7. I find SH’s Vet. Office strange. There aren’t that many animals.
Where is his helper? The person who deals with the public and cleans the cages etc.
I am staying with it. I mentioned in the Ratings Report that KI airs Sat/Sun at 10:20pm. That might not be the most ideal time to draw viewers.
Just for comparison I looked back at OCN’s VOICE (16 episodes) which was quite violent. It aired Sat/Sun at 10pm. It’s Nielsen ratings for the first 2 episodes were 2.3% and 2.9%.

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3. No one heard the gunshots...that was the weirdest thing ever.
7. It has an open door policy...no assistant. I assume he cleans or the dog might be the one dusting sometimes. Some animals are there but not many. He took the time to put all food packs on display quite nicely.

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7. Cost cutting on the production... or hmmm... a front for an assassin like that wouldn’t want a lot of business, except that anyone doing a check would realize that front could not possibly generate the revenue needed to stay open ... i’m Back to cost cutting on the production.

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8. A biggie. I did not realize that SH was looking at a picture of Hyun-jin as his next target. That a contract was out on her!

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I think he has her picture because they were following the same people. And he took a pic of her probably because he needed to investigate who she is and why she was there.

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I missed this. I thought he just had shots of her because they were tailing the same people.

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Thanks for your introductory recap of KILL IT, @dramallama. If I switch off my brain and just watch the action, it's pretty good. But I'm confused as heck by the whole blue eyes thing, especially as it seems to imply a cross-species transfer by proximity of recessive genes. And why back in 2001 in Vladivostok were Pavel and Soo-hyun speaking English instead of Russian? Was it part of the boy's education to become an international contract killer? If so, kudos to Pavel for his forward-thinking globally-oriented training methods.

After cringing at Detective Former Ballerina Darts Champion contaminating the site of the "accidental" death with her ungloved hands, I had surmised that the wildlife vet was putting on a dog-and-pony show with his "injured" tame decoy fawn to give a pretext for his being in the vicinity when his target's corpse was discovered. But why stick around near the scene of the crime? Maybe I'd better not ask.

I'll keep @greenfields's and @gadis's modus operandi in mind when I watch ep. 2. HAECHI is a demanding watch for me, so I need to switch off with a something lighter. Methinks DOCTOR PRISONER got off to a better start. I've only seen CONFESSION's first episode raw, so the jury is still out on that one as well. I'm a sucker for Namgoong Min, and still have not learned my lesson after HANDSOME GUY. The same goes for Junho, who looks quite spiffy as a lawyer. I loved Jang Ki-yong's performance in COME HERE AND HUG ME, and would love to see him in a unabashedly happy/non-lethal drama.

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The funny thing is, Kill It seems to take itself seriously. While it's clearly an absurd, over the top show.

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I don't feel like it's THAT absurd; there are definitely absurder shows. But it is amusing in its theatrics yes.

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Blue eyes makes me think that he has a European somewhere in the woodpile. Maybe even that crazy pseudo-father that died in the first episode. The high school girl appears to be someone that breaks the rules "leave no one alive." I tomorrow I will be watching episode two and see how much more they reveal.

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I wonder if Pavel was the one that broke the rule (because of his illness/he just forgot about her). The murder happened 9y ago so that might be when Pavel was still in action. I don't see SH breaking the rules so many times already (as he did with the dog). I assume HJ will be the only person he breaks his rules for (*heart shaped eyes*). SH might be there either by chance and he has no idea how the girl is connected to the story or her grandad was Pavel's friend (because he spared the kid/first symptoms of his illness made him forget about her) and he is there to protect her?

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Wouldn't Soo-hyun need to have at least two Caucasians in the family tree in order to end up with those nice recessive baby blues? Unless there's some kind of medical condition that turns one's brown eyes blue (with apologies to Crystal Gayle http://www.dramabeans.com/members/pakalanapikake/activity/746735/).

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There are more than the two genes involved. While rare, blue eyes can result from what I understand.

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@sychotic1 athena,

Thanks for the update. I'm embarrassed to say how many years it's been since I last cracked a biology book, long before the Human Genome Project. ;-)

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Me too. I was taught exactly what you were taught. Of course it seems to work over 99 times out of 100 ^^

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way too much pretty going on in this episode
well... killing and dead people too but pretty people~
now that my mood for drama watching is back, I'll most probably watch this, along with dr. prisoner

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@hanie,

I watched DOCTOR PRISONER ep. 3 with subs in the wee hours this morning, and it was just dandy. Namgoong Min is having a blast. Meanwhile, Junho is hitting it out of the park in CONFESSION. With Jang Ki-yong playing a veterinarian who's a horse of a different color, methinks I won't have bandwidth enough to catch Kim Jae-wook finally headlining his long-overdue romance, nor Kim Young-kwang in a rom-com. (Yay! Cut us some sweetness and light after LOOKOUT!) Unless there's a time-dilatation device I can filch from ITEM... Now what is that incantation again??

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You are watching Confession too? The first episode is such a good introduction tbh but I'm putting Confession on hold to make room for Kim Jae Wook XD
Sorry Junho~ But I dont think I have enough time and bandwidth for everyone

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Since this is only a first episode recap, can we use this page to discuss the show? I have thoughts about Episode 2 and I'd like to discuss.

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Argh! Can't type tonight. Just do it.

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Yes where I would love to discuss.

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Discuss away, I'd be happy to read and lurk more 😬

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I put it up, and it's awaiting moderation ^^ it should be fine I think, but let's let the mods clear it. If not, to the fan wall it goes. 😊

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Great idea. Better than a hijacked thread.
(See LAWLESS LAWYER and GRAND PRINCE.)

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Would love that! I haven't been so into a kdrama since YWCFTS. I'm super excited for the episodes to come!

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@greenfields let's keep this post spoiler-free for now. Thank you~

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Cool. :) Thanks for the reply. Its why I specifically put up the question.

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Your thoughtfulness was much appreciated ♥

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I liked the premier. The blue eyes in my opinion are there only to identify the kid later on. They could not give him a big scar so they opted for the blue eyes?
David Lee McInnis fake Russian accent made me laugh but it was nice to see him take pity on the kid and save him, although he raised him like a killer but that is probably the only thing he knew.
The young girl might be the key and the weakness for our main characters.
HJ went to Russia to study ballet and came back as a darts champion? Can anyone explain that to me?
Also the deer not running off after a guy falls from the sky next to it...lol

The mystery is intriguing. He seems to have a genius hacker as an associate but he cannot find info about his past so killing random people seems a logic next step. lol

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Became a fan of Jang Ki Yong after watching Come and Hug Me... what is it with him and horrible family history lol Just finished that drama so I think I gonna give it time before watching Na Moo become a serial killer... Plus the cold reviews are not helping esp because I had high hopes considering it’s a heavily advertised OCN drama.

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Does this mean you haven't seen Go Back Spouses yet? :O watch eeeeeet~

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In GBS Nam-Gil’s (JKY) relationship with his mother and father was definitely messed up but he was treated kindly by his stepmother. That is a bit unusual. His character was also wound up kind of tight.

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Oups, I was replying to them being a fan after watching Come and Hug Me. Go Back Spouses was earlier than that and it's a nice (older) gem that you can watch if you're new to Jang Ki-yong and want to fall even more in love with him. :D

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Yes @mary GBS is a gem and it was a recent catch up for me. One of the reasons I watched was because it has your imprimatur. It was a follow up to seeing Son Ho-jun in COFFEE FRIENDS.
Seeing JKY was a bonus and I am kind of glad I saw his performance in CAHM before watching GBS.

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@marcusnyc20 today I learned imprimatur. :D

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Been reading reviews about Go Back Spouses if it was worth the watch (and if there was enough Jang Ki yong heh). There were lots of good reviews but i have to prepare my heart for JKY not getting the girl T.T

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You won’t mind it by the finale, I promise! They give the second leads a nice send-off. :) Plus you really shouldn’t miss him in that role. And the rest of the show is sweet and funny and heartwarming. It’s a must-watch even without JKY.

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I will definitely watch GBC since I always since it in underrated kdramas list, along with Just Between Lovers that is almost always recommended right after Come and Hug me.

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I always wondered why this show was given its title but after watching ep 1 and the several scenes with animals the “It” in Kill It will probably be an important animal character in the show. I’ll be extremely impressed if they pull a John Wick arc with Jang Ki Yong’s dog...

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I got the John Wick vide as well...although very weak. lol
Pavel was always saying Kill it because it dehumanises the victim (wolf, dog, human, etc). So maybe we will see SH's transition from It to Her/Him and finally realising that killing is a bad thing.

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Good theory!

I also read a somewhat interesting guess that the show might touch the subject of clones and how they’re considered as objects/experiments rather than human hence the “it” in kill it. It’s a far fetched theory so yours is so much more plausible...but the possibilities if the plot go the clone route might make me rethink my decision to postpone following this drama.

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@joonie0613 Joonie joonie and @tesshan,
Interesting with the JW reference. I passed on the original film. I know it is superficial but I thought Keanu Reeves did himself a disservice with that facial hair. Lol. Maybe the part called for him to be unattractive. I don’t know. Anyway,
I looked at the JW wiki synopsis and you maybe onto something.
@joonie0613 with the mention of clones now we are sliding into DUEL territory. Maybe a cameo by Yang Se-jong is in the making.

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"Maybe a cameo by Yang Se-jong is in the making."

Maybe a cameo or three, plus an impersonation! Hats off to an impressive performance. Manseh! ;-)

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Girl, I highly recommend the JW films. The plot seems so unoriginal and boring on paper but the film executed it in a way that is fresh and very gripping ( the action scenes were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G). Plus, the dark humor was well-delivered.

After watching the films, I found most action sequences in dramas and films very formulaic and uninteresting. Maybe that's why I was a tad disappointed with the first two episodes of Kill It. The drama's advertised plot was not original but with the right execution of story telling, this show could be a gem. I hope it gets better.

If it gets into clone territory, I will be wishing for a Yang Se Jong cameo every single day. I really enjoyed the fast pace of Duel, esp during the first half of the show when I was so desperate to know what the heck was going on hahaha I expected that kind of thrill in Kill It tbh

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The lady cop/abused daughter stresses me a bit. I guess i'm burned out on feral tough girls. (Pointing at you The Golden Eyes.) I like Soo-hyun a lot. Murder, aside, he's a nice guy and isn't as dead inside as your average raised-to-kill assassin. My biggest hope while watching this is that he will not be caught or arrested. I figure he has to die because he's murdered quite a few folks. But, if his victims all deserve it, and if he doesn't accidentally murder his father because of some misunderstanding, then I'm okay with him having a good death. Thanks for the recap.

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You should start a betting pool/opinion pool on the ending. And Dramabeans gods, y’all should let us have an instant poll mechanism!

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So, contrary to the popular opinion below and in the recap, I really liked the drama and watched each episode twice to fully appreciate the little things and also because I couldn't get enough of the leads together. The story might not have anything new(although its too early to have a say on it), most of the run of the mill plots can also be done tastefully to really strike a cord and be hit. I love the chemistry between the leads and Jang ki yong is anyways great and suits these silent strong characters to the hilt. His lingering stares and hard to read expressions got me hooked. His acting is really worth studying. Nana is holding well and actually like her character. As an actress she is definitely good lot to come out of idol turned actress. As far as the randomness of the character she plays is concerned, the first meeting shows her arrogance which is also displayed many other times. She is just too confident sometimes and I bet she will have a learning curve once she gets more acquainted with JKY's character and vice versa. She is not the conventional female lead (and by that I mean even the one's deemed as non-conventional and eventually turn out to be conventional ones) which makes it very interesting. I like her in your face tease and that especially riles the opposite sex. But then given her prolific track record she is still a force to reckon with among the male dominated profession. I anyways appreciate these kind of dramas than the stupid overrated ones which have nothing except cheesy relationships and crying leads over the stupidest of matters.

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Someone made a comment about Nana not being reckoned for her ethereal looks by her colleagues. Well, at least others who see her find her too attractive which is made apparent in the 2nd episode. And for her colleagues, generally if you see a beautiful colleague day in and day out you don't really see them as the most beautiful being anymore, because your eyes just get used to it. And in a profession as rough as their's, I can accept them quickly getting past the looks of a certain someone.

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