Inspired by Flower of Evil, I present: My Top 5 Drama Villains (kdrama and cdrama)! there are spoilers.
5. Jung Hyun Soo, Suspicious Partner
CREEP! Creep creep creep!!!! dong ha absolutely killed (a ha ha) this role. the character has such unnerving/seamless switches between his Normal Human Persona and cold-blooded killer. i think most people would agree that this guy was the best part of the drama
4. Li Cheng Yin, Goodbye My Princess
Hot take, since he’s also the male lead of the series. But Cheng Yin is not only the worst enemy of his wife’s family/nation (and, often, his wife), but also himself. The show centers on his steady descent to the deep end, going from protagonist to anti-hero to arguably the main antagonist, he’s directly responsible for the deaths of some major characters. Taking you on a goddamn ride.
3. Baek Hee Sung, Flower of Evil
he has great hair and loves lying, but also he’s so scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sort of a pokemon evolution from suspicious partner’s hyun soo, he’s a protege serial killer that rips off thumbnails? the fuck?? and there’s a flashback of him explicitly killing a dog with a blank expression. kim ji hoon does this thing where his jaw is always a little slack, like a small indicator that he is literally unhinged. there’s nothing redeemable about this guy and he freaks me the fuck out
2. Chen Ting, Go Ahead
There’s the stereotypical evil mother-in-law and then there’s fucking chen ting. she’s guilty of blaming her son for his younger sister’s death when he was six, abandoning him for 10 years only to return and fuck up his life even more, using suicide/self-harm as a threat/form of emotional abuse, turning the other away when her son was suffering from chronic insomnia and depression, and destroying photographs of his loved ones for the fuck of it all. and this is just to one son. and not even everything she’s done. the show tries to make her sympathetic (sort of), but for me she was pure toxic throughout the entire show. i’ve never hated a character more
1. Kimura Shunji, Bridal Mask/Gaksital
GAKSITAAAAAAAAAAL you want a villain arc, here is a villain arc. shunji starts the series as an adorable music teacher for korean children. he ends the series...not that. the son of a japanese family that descends from samurai during the occupation of korea in the 1930s, what makes him a favorite for me is how earnest he is at the start of the series, and how his motivation emerges from grief. the politics and violence of the occupation make him progressively unhinged--violent, ruthless, obsessive toward the female lead, and, eventually, wanting to kill his best friend. what makes him so compelling is that he has moments of self-awareness/vulnerability throughout the series, but ultimately decides to keep making himself a monster until the end. i fucking love shunji.
special mention: Wang Yo, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
so there’s nothing necessarily new or groundbreaking about this guy: standard power-hungry prince willing to do what he needs to in order to have the throne. but there’s something about him that makes him my favorite. likely the aesthetic or just how blatantly and unapologetically evil he is.
Series: the romance of tiger and rose
Episodes: 24
Genres: is meta a genre? meta., romance, comedy, wuxia lite
Spoilers in the Rec: minor ones
If You Like, You’ll Like: extraordinary you, the full and unabashed embracing of tropes, a solitary white dove flying in between two martial artists before a fight, a surprisingly nuanced look at gender roles, human joy
Rank: 10/10
PREMISE
xiao qian is a screenwriter trying to convince one of her temperamental actors to just read the damn lines--he refuses, because he can’t get into the headspace of his character but also because he finds elements of her script misogynistic. xiao qian heads home to do what all writers would do in this situation--aggressively spite write. during this process, she falls asleep and wakes up in her own story as a bit character named qianqian, a certified Evil Princess who’s set to be killed off by the hero about 3 eps into the story.
because of Meta Knowledge, qianqian avoids her planned death scene, but she also screws up the entire plot. the rest of the show follows qianqian as she attempts to fix her own story--especially getting the main couple back together, because for some reason the hero has been p clingy after he failed to kill her.
MAIN CHARACTERS
xiao qian / qianqian
the writer who accidentally meta’d herself into being a main character. is screwing up the plot left and right but is trying to use a group of old men and a bowl of fruit to get out of it. supporter of the arts and by the arts i mean willowy beautiful men with flutes and string instruments. sets fireworks and a band for her death scene. kind of a disaster hero and i love it.
han shuo
kitten thinks of nothing but murder all day.
i mean the leading man in qianqian’s story. he’s the prince of a kingdom ruled by men, who has to marry into the kingdom ruled by women. but he’s actually using the marriage as a Secret Ruse for a Mission to cure his Tragic Heart Disease.
initially, he is forced into a marriage by qianqian (who is supposed to die 3 eps in), but when she survives, the arrangement becomes kind of permanent and han shuo falls hard.
one petty asshole. he’ll try to kill you 3 times before asking if you want to go steady. will then only stare at you with heart eyes and try to kill other people
^ constant.
SOME SUPPORT CHARACTERS
chu chu
the original heroine of the story. chu chu is the second “princess” of the kingdom ruled by women, and is qianqian’s older sister in all but blood. a certified Action Lady, she’s the responsible, blue sibling to qianqian’s red, chaotic sibling. qianqian makes it her goal to have chu chu and han shuo get back together to Solve The Plot but can she solve their hearts
pei heng
qianqian’s favorite character and total dreamboat (complete with ~wafting robes). in the original story, pei heng is qianqian’s fiancee, and they’ve known each other since childhood. pei heng does not like the third princess’ selfish attitude. but then he meets reboot!qianqian and oh man it’s on. obligatory cdrama character that plays a guzheng to communicate how he feels through song and poise. is also the minister of education and in charge of The Ladies’ education.
is he beautiful or just very tall? yes.
zi rui and bai ji
zi rui (left) is qianqian’s servant and shares 1 of her 2 brain cells. written initially with a lot of dialogue in order for qianqian to hit that word count. i love him he’s my favorite character
bai ji (right) is han shuo’s servant/bodyguard and shares -1 of han shuo’s 2 brain cells. ridiculously bad at his job. takes a compliment very well. fooled by disguises and generally just fooled.
yuan yuan and su mu
yuan yuan is very Soft and mildly tragic. older sister to chu chu and qianqian. sad lifestyle blogger.
a hooker with a heart of gold and an inferiority complex that makes him as dense as a concrete wall
Drawbacks
That One Problematic Scene that didn’t need to be there after han shuo does that thing that he does
Reasons to Watch.
SO SELF AWARE and also SO SELF AWARE OF THE GENRE. i was delighted the entire time watching because of the embracing and subverting of typical cdrama tropes. we got doves. we got poison. we got tragic heart diseases. im ready, you’re ready.
actually really thoughtful, nuanced critique of gender roles?
Series: mystic pop up bar
Episodes: NOT ENOUGH 12
Genres: urban fantasy, urban horror lite, found family!!!, friendship, mystery, comedy, supernatural, warm fuzzies despite an alarming amount of death
Spoilers in the Rec: minor ones/for the set-up
If You Like, You’ll Like: hotel del luna (although it has a very different feel), early bleach (manga), found families, being human (uk & us versions), those moments in shows where you’re like OH MAN HOW ARE THEY GETTING OUT OF THIS and then they do. because friendship.
Rank: 10/10
I went into this with low expectations. it sounded like it was trying to bank on hotel del luna, but i was still down to watch a ghost version of leverage or whatever this turned out to be. figured it’d be decent to watch but not AMAZING.
the first ep gave me that impression. by the second ep i was hooked. and by the third ep this was one of my favorite shows of all time
PREMISE
during the joseon era, a shaman named weol ju went and fucked up a perfectly good sacred tree. as punishment, she now has to resolve the grudges of 100,000 humans or go to hell. as a shaman, she can accomplish this by plying them with alcohol and entering their dreams (well the alcohol part might just be her artistic signature).
time to start a bar!
in the current day, 500 years later, weol ju owns and runs mystic pop up bar, where she learns about her customers’ grudges. and apparently has sound business strategy, as she serves like 4 people a day but still has enough overhead to craft these 4 people bespoke meals that speak to their inner tragedy. and also sandwiches.
helping her is chief gwi, a ghost cop who’s been reassigned to her bar to help weol ju accomplish her quota. because time’s running out--weol ju now has less than a month to solve her 10 remaining grudges.
enter bambi kang bae. a regular human who works a regular customer service job, kang bae has one terrible power: anytime someone touches him (or he touches them), they want to confess their deepest, darkest secrets. kang bae is understandably not comfortable around people (but desperately wants to be around people. my poor fucking heart) and incredibly lonely.
when his and weol ju’s paths cross, she makes him an offer: he helps her out with her remaining grudges, and in return she’ll remove his powers.
deal!
MAIN CHARACTERS
weol ju
a 500+ year old shaman who is paying for her sins on earth because she went out on a limb :| . begins the series angry and ends the series angry, because it turns out angry people can still be kind, which is great to see with a female protagonist. how close she’s cutting it to the deadline on her quota speaks strongly to sixth-year senior vibes. wears modern versions of hanboks which are all v. cool and on moments of aching realization wednesdays she wears pink.
will steal your shit and look you straight in the eyes as she walks backwards into hell.
gwi/gui
a former ghost cop who’s been reassigned to help weol ju run the mystic pop up bar. he’s a lot more chill than weol ju and has the vibe of someone who forgets keys at home. while at the bar, he does a lot of the prep work, and is sometimes asked by yeom to help catch nearby, evil spirits.
he’s actually like a hardcore warrior, but you forget it because he wears goggles to cut onions and dresses like someone who would be the spokesperson for microwaveable fish sticks. team dad. fanboy of romantic serial e-novels.
han kang bae
a baby.
in a truly amazing narrative move, kang bae works customer service at a market by day and solves grudges at a bar by night. is a sweet, simple boy who just wants to help people and is SO EXCITED to have new friends in weol ju and gwi. you want to give him a hug BUT YOU CAN’T. human carebear
even the yellow collar of his customer service uniform makes a heart:
SOME SUPPORT CHARACTERS SELECTED BY HOW MUCH THEY ARE MY FAVORITES
kang yeo ri
lmao you know it’s going to be good when a character is introduced dropping a dude straight to the ground. yeo rin is a bodyguard mild spoiler turned security guard for the market where kang bae works. she could beat the shit out of you and you’d thank her. has no luck in dating. rocks a suit. sobs at movies about gout
yeom, the grim reaper
your friendly neighborhood grim reaper. yeom very much screams middle management, and works in the same “district” that weol ju and gwi have their pop up bar in. sometimes they’re at odds with one another (because weol ju has about the same amount of respect for the rules that an untrained puppy has for new carpet), but they’re still friends. gwi sometimes works with him to catch evil spirits, buddy-cop style. loves noodles.
yeomra-daewang
god of the underworld. in charge of handing out punishments and determining the fates of those sent to the afterlife. forgets who she’s texting. appreciates true love but is also aggressively annoyed by it. take your fucking scroll and go
samsin
probably the character with the most name recognition. samsin (or samsin granny) is the goddess of mothers and children, and in the show the focus is more on children. loves karaoke, basic bitch coffee, and claw games. gives out too many sexy tiger dreams.
kim wong hyun
he gave them the heebie jeebies. he had nothing else to give
ringtones.
they’re their own character. check out those motifs.
Drawbacks
if i had any, it’s that the first episode undersells the rest of the series. and even the first ep isn’t bad
12 episodes is not enough :(
Reasons to Watch.
i love the little details: that the supernatural characters have ring tones that correspond to their role (ex: the god of the underworld’s are screams; i believe the grim reaper’s are a shaman’s bells?, gwi has SPOILERS), or that the food special of the day connects or reflects with the person they’re helping. themes/significant moments are represented by the colors characters are wearing. im a nerd for this stuff
there are some dramatic reveals about who characters are and how they relate to one another, but like. dynamics barely (or don’t at all) change, and that’s due to how strong/familial they are already? and the show’s built up to it and it all feels really earned A+
i HATE monster of the week formats, but the ones in this show are integrated with the main characters’ backstories and also propel the major arcs forward. and it’s wholesome when the grudges are solved
i like that you think you saw a full scene in the flashbacks, but then a few eps later the flashback gets extended. idk it’s a cool narrative device
the romance is wonderful all-around
the pacing was great. i wish one of the Reveals was introduced earlier just so we could have more moments with it, but everything was cohesive/wrapped up nicely
all the characters have their own unique relationships to one another. kang bae + weol ju have their own dynamic, weol ju +gwi, gwi + kang bae, and so on. it was nice to see that none of the main trio were satellite characters
Series: goodbye, my princess / the eastern palace
Episodes: 52 (regular) 55 (director’s cut--this is the version i watched)
Genres: tragedy, romance, train wreck, historical, political, costume porn, scenery porn
Spoilers in the Rec: for the set-up
If You Like, You’ll Like: “what are you going to do, stab me?” says man stabbed, moon lovers but make it worse, empress ki, a show where literally every love confession ends with someone using a knife, a v fucked up deconstruction of the “runaway princess” trope
Rank: 9.5/10
^ yes this looks v. healthy, soak those clothes in the cold water of the river styx it’ll be fine
PREMISE
xiaofeng is a very bubbly and naive princess from western liang state, where she’s grown up happy and sheltered. her father is pro-peace with the li empire, and makes an arranged marriage for her to their crown prince. being a Precocious Naive Young Royal with a certified Thing for her teacher, gu jian (who seems Stoic but is actually a Softie), she eventually convinces him to run away with her so she can avoid the marriage.
little does she know that gu jian is actually a sleeper agent for a disgraced family of the li empire who are willing to do anything to get power VENGEANCE honor again.
wow, this will be fun she said. this will be good, she said.
meanwhile...
prince li chengyin, the 5th prince, is accompanying his elder brother, the crown prince, to western liang in order to broker a marriage with their princess. on the way they are ambushed by what look like members of the danchi--a nomadic, warrior state. the crown prince is killed, and the 5th prince is left for dead. eventually, chengyin makes his way to western liang, where he learns about the history of his mother’s family, the gus, and meets his cousin gu jian. together, they vow for power VENGEANCE honor as well as a way to uncover the truth about the murder of the crown prince
one way to do that is to figure out a way to infiltrate the danchi
conveniently, gu jian knows a runaway princess whose grandfather is their leader.
ope. i came out here to have a good time
gu jian and chengyin conspire to have chengyin pose as gu jian’s Totally Normal Cousin Who is Definitely Not An Enemy Royal as they help the princess “run away” from an unwanted marriage to the “safety” of her grandfather’s people.
ah. ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. hah.
MAIN CHARACTERS
xiaofeng
our titular princess!!! omg does she have a wild fucking ride of character development. happy and sheltered! oh no. oh no. oh, god. happy again! oh god. no. oh fuck.
she’s awesome. growing up in the desert (her father’s people) and the steppe (her mother’s people), xiaofeng’s lived a pretty great life of mischief and riding horses. incredibly kind and extroverted, she makes friends everywhere and a lot of them are women and that is Awesome. not a mean bone in her body. wine-child who likes to cross dress. cdrama’s best dressed.
prince li chengyin / gu xiaowu
the 5th prince of the li empire and wants power VENGEANCE honor for his momma. he infiltrates xiaofeng’s Runaway Marriage Camping Trip in the hopes of uncovering military secrets of the danchi, to get vengeance for his brother and also some military merit so he can get more vengeance. 2 vengeances for one betrayal--sweet deal. however, on the way to the danchi, he hardcore falls for xiaofeng even though he’s lowkey trying to bring about devastation for her family. ruh oh.
falls in love with the Mark, betrays people constantly and then wonders why they’re mad at him. the show/narrative never, at any point, tries to hide the fact that he is making some Severely Fucked Up Decisions and it’s amazing. genuinely loves xiaofeng very, very much. epitome of “you made your bed now lie in it.”
gu jian
xiaofeng’s teacher and also her first love. he has feelings for her back, but he’s Bound by Duty to the gu family and subsequentially the li empire. he chooses duty, and orchestrates the meeting between xiaofeng and chengyin “xiaowu” in order to get chengyin in the door to the danchi tribe. he then watches them fall in love, fully knowing the fucked up shit that’s about to go down and how much pain it will cause xiaofeng.
wears oversized scarves because a dude’s gotta accessorize. dramatically observes people from tall places like a sailor moon villain. whistle baby whistle baby let him know
SOME SUPPORT CHARACTERS SELECTED BY HOW MUCH THEY ARE MY FAVORITES
a’du
Q U E E N. a member of the danchi tribe, and xiaofeng’s best friend and bodyguard and girlfriend. xiaofeng says punch and a’du says how hard. the two of them are ride or die together, and a’du would do anything for xiaofeng. does not approve of any of her boyfriends in any capacity because LMAO she has eyes.
general pei
the Strong, Silent type and a general who is loyal to the li empire and serves chengyin. he befriends xiaofeng and genuinely cares about her. she teaches him the flute and he plays it for her whenever she’s sad and it’s precious :(. unclear whether or not his feelings for her are platonic or romantic, but it’s all v Pure and Well-Meaning. the ladies love him
he shi
(far right) a’du’s brother and the danchi’s best warrior. look he’s barely in this but i have a thing for friendly giants and this one plays the flute
mi luo
spy-turned-bar owner from western liang, who becomes one of xiaofeng’s best friends. she’s just a really cool lady and she keeps everyone absolutely hammered throughout the story, which they all need. to cope.
OTHER SUPPORT CHARACTERS THAT ARE NOT MY FAVORITES BUT ARE IMPORTANT TO THE PLOT AND/OR I WAS TOO LAZY TO MAKE A SCREENCAP OF
zhao se se. a noblewoman in the li empire who has been in love with chenglin forever
the empress. basically every cdrama empress you’ve ever encountered. moving on.
khan tömür. ACTUALLY one of my favorites but i was too lazy to get a screencap. xiaofeng’s grandpa and leader of the danchi. loves his grand daughter so, so much. does not approve of any of her boyfriends either because he also has eyes.
ming yue. a famous courtesan in the li empire who xiaofeng later befriends. she’s a perfectly fine character i was just bored w/ her subplot.
gao yuming. every Evil Minister you’ve seen in a cdrama, although he gets extra points for having one of the most annoying, blatantly evil voices of all time
second prince, li chengye. i actually liked him a lot too. the crown prince after the first crown prince dies, chengyin’s brother. anything else is spoilers
Drawbacks
there were a couple of subplots that i had 0 interest in, which is what kept this from being a perfect 10 for me. i didn’t care about anything related to minister gao + the empress, but that’s admittedly because im not all that into palace politics. the ming yue stuff was also not that interesting to me because i’ve seen that subplot a billion times.
nothing else enjoy the fucking ride.
Reasons to Watch.
this show makes no secret that it’s not going to be a good time. you jump in fully aware that it’s a tragedy and knowing that ahead of time makes it so much better. you see chengyin start to gradually lose his shit and it’s amazing. it’s so good.
character development! almost every character grows (or destructs) based on what’s happening around them and i was really impressed with it. xiaofeng’s in particular.
ACTING. omg both the leads killed it. you can see the switches flip and it p much defines the show-not-tell i love it
music! it’s really pretty ;;
FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS. FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS EVERYWHERE. xiaofeng makes so many friends and it warms my heart
if you’re into fucked up romances that also have moments of genuine cuteness/softness this is 100% your thing
The Aesthetic. costumes and scenery are on point, behold a parade of images:
(the Red Dress is iconic but this ^ is actually my favorite costume of hers)
Series: into the ring
Episodes: 16
Genres: politics, comedy, romance, slice of life, some drama (not a ton)
Spoilers in the Rec: minor ones/for the set-up
If You Like, You’ll Like: parks and rec but if it was about 15% hornier and had inhaled a bunch of helium, women who top, and underdogs fighting for good causes or whatever
Rank: 9/10
PREMISE
seo gong myung is a civil servant, punches in and out of work directly on time, and has the vibe of the kid in class who reminds the teacher that they forgot to collect the homework. initially part of the planning and finance division, he ruffled one too many feathers by holding the higher ups accountable and got demoted. now, he sits at a desk and answers civil complaints from an anonymous, online nemesis--who goes by the alias of The Tiger Moth.
goo se ra goes by the alias of the Tiger Moth and files constant civil complaints. unable to hold a job and lacking in Credentials, she spends a lot of her time getting riled up about lost causes, chasing down people who litter, and barking at civil servants because she’s an underdog, god damn it. finally, one job opportunity that lines directly with her interests appears: running for office to represent her district
inevitably gong myung and se ra’s paths cross. and they fight motherfucking crime
mostly through documents
but still
fighting motherfucking crime
MAIN CHARACTERS
goo se ra
the main heroine of the story, se ra is the perfect candidate for public office: she’s passionate about civil affairs, stand her ground, and she really cant hold down any other job. motivated by the high yearly income (which amounts to about 50k in USD, the world is a nightmare), se ra sets out to secure her spot representing the district she’s lived in her entire life.
justice first, think later. living embodiment of do no harm but take no shit. tops. big time.
gong myung
a mid-ranking civil servant, gong myung is seemingly content to live a straightforward, dry life while wearing a satchel until ser ra essentially bulldozes her way into it. very much a letter of the law type of guy, he gets caught up in se ra’s campaign and the chaos that follows it and finds his life changing because of it.
you think he’s going to be an asshole but he’s actually a precious little nerd man. will cradle se ra’s closed fist as gently as a baby bird because he is s o f t. overestimates his ability to seduce away someone’s financial records.
SOME SUPPORT CHARACTERS
jo maeng deok
a long-established politician and a classmate of se ra’s father. he’s got some backstory with other characters but i dont want to spoil. major asshole.
kim min jae
se ra’s boyfriend of 9 years who works as a secretary for jo maeng deok. puts work over love and willingly walked away from se ra’s sexy anniversary party so something’s clearly wrong with him, morally. his actor played the sweet, tragically dead boyfriend from be melodramatic which caused a lot of cognitive dissonance
yoon hee soo
fabulous councilwoman who is also an attorney who also has amazing hair. a little ambivalent about her own moral code, but i mentioned the hair, right? great hair.
goo young tae and kim sam sook
se ra’s parents. i feel like anything i say will ruin some pleasant surprises, so just know that they are awesome and i love them and it’s clear chaos is an inherited trait.
kwon woo young, jang han bi, and kim ja ryong
se ra’s #squad who become her campaign team and motivational support, consists of a young mother trying to get back into her finance career, a former judo champion with a tragic past sports match, and a literal child who just kind of hangs out with them after se ra stops being his babysitter
Drawbacks
this might just be a translation/cultural exchange issue, but there were points where i was completely lost as to what was happening with the #Politics side of things--mainly in the back half. sometimes the politics plot wasn’t as interesting to me because of that
Reasons to Watch.
it’s just so goddamn weird? the filming style is something i haven’t seen in a kdrama before, and it fits the tone and characters so well. there’s such a consistent style of humor throughout that i loved, and the reaction shots alone can be so A+++
the characters fail sometimes. but it’s not a desolate thing. it shows that they’re scrappy and they come back after every defeat. the tone/message of the show is consistent from start to finish in a way most shows don’t do
but really it’s about the otp. it’s all about the otp. here’s so many subversions of typical kdrama tropes. i will attempt to demonstrate with some examples, some spoilers ahead:
se ra sees gong myung with another woman late at night. sounds like it’s time for MISCOMMUNICATION. but no, he comes up to her and literally says “I don’t want to be misunderstood” at the end of his explanation (keep in mind they weren’t even dating yet)
despite being like 4 feet shorter, se ra pushes gong myung against the wall with sexual tension multiple times. lmao and his knees legit buckle. i love them
the couple gets together about halfway through, stays together, and are a gd team throughout
gong myun is willing to be her secretary, and there’s no drama about him feeling emasculated over it
also there’s just so many adorable things about their body language? se ra often stands in front of/physically shields gong myung from things or people and he does the same (although less often, because se ra #protects), and the aforementioned cradling of her fist like a baby bird. they’re just. real cute. real real cute. and it feels like an original dynamic.
