Machismo. Sexism. ***. Big world changing weapons. Secret agents with no morals. Everywhere. Codename: Anastasia is smultzy and ridiculous and yes the name is a reference to the famously dead Russian Royal Family. What does it all mean?
Kwon Taekjoo has been in a toxic relationship his whole life.
It's his mom. He can't rely on her because she relies on him. She's totally dependant on him emotionally, and they call each other every day. If Kwon Taekjoo misses that daily call well...his loving mother instantly wants to call the cops.
Why?
Well, her perfect family died.
Why?
Well, they were all in the military.
Why?
Well, her handsome husband and eldest son were upright Korean men. Who believed they needed to serve their country.
So why is Kwon Taekjoo her one hope?
Well, he's a boring civil servant who calls her every day.
At least she has her regular joe son.
Unfortunately for her Kwon Taekjoo is a secret agent. The kind that is expected to die any time for Korea. He gets sent to Russia in a convincing fake skin mask one day, and it's already over. His cover is blown. The psycho, Psikh Bogdanov, knows and has everything.
Other agents have already died.
Kwon Taekjoo eventually learns that someone in his agency must hate him, because he was sent on a pointless suicide mission. The search for Anastasia. A super weapon with no confirmed blueprints. Only rumors in Russia.
Why does Kwon Taekjoo survive his first meeting with Zhenya?
Wait who is that sorry?
That's Psikh Bogdanov's real name. Kwon Taekjoo was sent in blind, so he foolishly believes Zhenya when the stranger says they're partners.
Is Kwon Taekjoo stupid?
No, he's been set up.
Zhenya is his only Russian contact and chance of survival.
They search for Anastasia together.
Why fool around with such an elaborate lie? Kwon Taekjoo, despite his skill and experience, is a crippled lone wolf. Abandoned by his allies. It's clear that Zhenya can kill him at any time.
Why?
Well, Zhenya is attracted to Taekjoo and that's never happened before. All of his female lovers are just one time toys to him. So, investigating his strong lust for Taekjoo is worth the trouble.
What a charmer.
This is Kwon Taekjoo's real "partner" who was ALSO GOING TO KILL HIM LATER. Taekjoo becomes a really unlikely scrappy survivor as the story goes on. It's undeniable that Zhenya's weird interest did save him, but he also saves himself about two dozen times.
Kwon Taekjoo isn't afraid of fighting, or torturing, or his invisible enemies.
He's only afraid of leaving his mother behind.
Zhenya makes him look small. He's also rude and not a team player unless his partner is about to croak.
He's not boring, and that's a huge plus.
It really is hard to know what he'll do next, especially because the entire story is basically a game to him.
One where he holds all the cards.....until Taekjoo finally manages to steal just one.
Taekjoo accidentally romances Zhenya by behaving like a proper secret service agent. With no mercy or quarter. Zhenya often blushes like a maid in love when he shoots or torments their enemies.
It's fun because its not intentional. Taekjoo is very popular and attractive, but he wasn't aware of the effect he has on men. He turns heads wherever he goes, and so does Zhenya.
So, yes.
Zhenya does keep saving and sparing him because he's attractive. It's easier to swallow because his personality is part of the attraction. This story would be way more boring if Zhenya only wanted his body the whole time. Luckily that shifts very quickly.
The truth is disgusting and scary. When Zhenya reveals his true identity Taekjoo realizes he's really alone, and he was left for dead long ago. He never had a partner. He'll never get home to his mom...
Zhenya doesn't kill him as planned.
Kwon Taekjoo finds the Anastasia blueprints because Zhenya shared too many clues during their buddy-buddy mission.
He wants nothing more than to fuck the other man over.
Zhenya's strange feelings remain one-sided by the end of season one.
I think the plot twists for this one have to be seen, so I haven't included much detail. Neither main character is righteous or kind, which makes the dialog more interesting.
This one is pissing me off because there’s cheese in it. I’m not sure there’s a period of Chinese dynastic history wherein the type of dudes likely to be having rap battles would also have been familiar with hard cheese. There’d be political fucking implications to that. Fermented dairy products were often seen as uncivilized foods, and were associated in particular with northern “barbarian” cuisine (see: <lactose intolerance in Eurasia>), whereas competitive poetry was viewed as a civilized and scholarly pastime appropriate to civil servants and courtiers. Mentioning cheese in a verse which also references the heavens could be seen as an effort to legitimize the presence of these dangerous foreign elements within Chinese society, and, thus, as seditious. If dairy were to become a common theme in rap battles, it might be viewed as a dangerous sign of poor morale and defeatist thinking among the literati. “Emperor, we have got to move the capital to the south. The scholars are rapping about cheese. It’s all falling apart.”
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