Watching Inspector Koo helped me understand why the council of the Merciless Evil Devil From Hell megafandom has been rejecting Psychopath Diary as a part of their own for the last couple of years.
What the plots of The Merciless, Beyond Evil, The Devil Judge and Strangers From Hell have in common is the dynamic between their main characters. It’s required one character that represents corruption (Jaeho, Dongsik, Yohan and Moonjo) and one character that has the potential to be corrupted or is already corrupted and ignorant to/in denial about it (Hyunsoo, Joowon, Gaon and Jongwoo).
All of them begin on opposite sides of their counterparts (even in the circumstance where they work on the same team, they have their own agendas, and distrust and/or disagreements are ever present). Eventually, however, the ones with potential to be corrupted will choose to be on the side of the characters that represent corruption, whether definitely or temporarily (in Hyunsoo’s tragic case). This transition to the side of their counterparts happens after they comprehend and sympathize with their motivations.
The forementioned transition never happens in Psychopath Diary. The main character (Dongsik) was forced to learn about and analyze his counterpart (Inwoo)’s inner thoughts and motivations in order to understand himself, during the time Dongsik mistakenly believed he was Inwoo and only had his diary to guide him. Despite being initially motivated by a misunderstanding, his dedication brought results: he understands Inwoo, profoundly. But—much like the protagonist of Inspector Koo with her counterpart—he doesn’t agree with him. When he tried to wear Inwoo’s skin, his instinct rejected it. He had to modify it to something that made sense to him, something he could consent to. The same energy, but opposite moral codes.
Dongsik, with his sense of identity intact, wouldn’t be swayed by Inwoo’s cause. He couldn’t be persuaded, because he wasn't tempted. A characteristic he lacked in comparison to the characters from the MEDFH who gave in to it. Who accepted it because their energies matched their counterparts’; not for being opposites, but for being similar. The same moral code, or at least one flexible enough to accept theirs and stand tall by their side.
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