W - Two worlds - KDrama

The age of sci-fi is upon us, or at least in the kdrama world this is true. Where dramas come out with stories that hook you not only with their intense and adorable romances but with their intriguing plots that may or may not be completely immersed in the fantasy or science fiction section. But I will not complain, in fact I will rejoice and encourage the makers of these dramas silently in my corner as I hope they continue like this for a long while as I am an avid fan of these genres. Because let’s be honest, in a world that’s getting a little bit more crazy as the days go by, it helps to have a little bit of fantasy to distract you and remind you that there are still things to be wondered at and amazed of.

The drama that has indeed fulfilled this need and recently ended is ‘W’. This story follows the life of Kang Chul who has a rough life where he gets accused of murdering his family and has to struggle through his childhood to become a very successful man who tries to solve the cases the police aren’t fully equipped to deal with. What makes Kang Chul even more fascinating is his very keen self-awareness and ability to realize that something is amiss with his life. This nagging feeling of his is both intensified and given an interesting twist with the lovely doctor Oh Yeon Joo entering his life suddenly and unusually.

Oh Yeon Joo is a resident doctor still finding her feet in her profession while spending her free time reading her favorite manhwa that just so happens to be written by her father, Oh Sung Moo. One day when he goes missing our curious doctor goes in search of him and suddenly finds herself dragged into another world and not just any world, but that very world of her fascination where her favorite, as well as millions of other people’s favorite, character Kang Chul resides. Before she even has time to register this event she finds herself constantly coming to our lead character’s rescue, changing not only the course of the story but her own reality as well.

Needless to say things become weird as the increasingly aware Kang Chul learns the truth of his existence from the strange girl he can’t stop thinking of as he also begins to see the world around him crumble as it struggles to keep up with the seemingly unplanned changes to his universe. It also starts getting interesting as we see the supposedly ‘real’ Oh Yeon Joo slowly becomes a part of the storyline and thus becomes bound by the laws of another universe, unable to control when and how she travels between the two worlds.

The story gifts one with a whole new fresh and intriguing storyline not fully explored by the kdrama universe and adds enough twists and turns that make it impossible to predict what is to happen and where things are going. It keeps you hooked and waiting for every step with bated breath as you follow the action-packed, romance-filled plot. Though they pull a somewhat interesting backtrack in the middle there with the clichéd amnesia card, it is easy to see where this is justified as writers try to keep the story on a smooth and intelligible track.

The acting was also on point as you watched the irresistibly handsome Lee Jong Suk display many versions of his character that show just how versatile he can be while still retaining an image you can’t look away from. The lovely doctor also held up her end of the stick with those expressions and actions that have you at first wanting to be her (as who wouldn’t want to fall into a comic book?) to cheering her on as another lead character in the story.

This drama proved to be a highly recommendable drama if only for its fresh approach to a whole new type of drama that Korea needs to invest in. It’s hard to dislike the show, (unless you watched it during the Olympics and hated that a new episode had to be delayed due to viewing schedules). In any case this drama did many things to me and dragged out many feels and I feel it was worth every moment watching it.