I watched Bridal Mask with high expectations for Joo Won after seeing Good Doctor (the role that made him one of my favorite actors), and I got a surprising shock when I saw how versatile Park Ki Woong was in Bridal Mask. He has an innocent smile, but he managed to capture Shunji’s intense descent into being a villain. However, Monster has 50 episodes is a lot and I have commitment issues with lengthy dramas. Do you think it’s worth watching?

Ha, I had to double-check which inbox you sent this, Anon, because I also run @fyparkkiwoong (so fair warning about bias).

The thing about 50-episode dramas is that they don’t run at the same pace as 16-20 episode dramas. Which sounds like a “duh” statement, but it also means they have the freedom to be a little leisurely about plot. Not in a way that diminishes the story, but in a way where they just don’t have to try and cram everything in at first and can spend time developing a character (many characters, actually, since they have the time to spend with more than just a handful of leads. Whether or not the production crew succeeds in this is another story).

As for Monster… we’re only four episodes in so far. I was pretty impressed that we only spent two episodes on the childhood versions when shows like this typically do at least four.

There’s definitely a bit of a tonal shift, though, between the first two episodes (hiiiigh melodrama – we’re talkin’ old-school melo) and the later two (more comedy, which was a relief, because it’s what I love best from this writer). I’m genuinely not sure where exactly this story will be going. I mean, yeah, I get the general idea – REVENGE!!! – but because there was such limited information about it prior to airing (oh the frustrations of finding any kind of teasers and background information), it wasn’t even clear to me until the press con extended teaser that the hero goes blind.

It surprisingly feels like it could be some kind of superhero show. I’m serious! Hear me out:

WARNING: SPOILERS

Our protagonist (Kang Ji Hwan) loses his mother, father, and eyesight in one accident, that may not really be an accident, and then his money is stolen from him, too. What he gets in return is incredible hearing and through, circumstances, a man-made anti-virus (created by his parents’ company that was stolen from him) injected into his body that makes his blood the new anti-virus. Of course, it was the only anti-virus created and therefore his blood is a precious as gold.

In the meantime, he gets his eyesight back (but retains his superhuman hearing) and works hard to change his identity so he can go undercover at his enemies’ company. He works hard to be the top ranking at the training facility, only he’s got competition in the likes of an illegitimate chaebol son (Park Ki Woong) who’s got something to prove – and a mental instability that makes him dangerous (even lethal).

They’re set up as enemies to go head-to-head as they compete for the top spot, but I’ve been rooting for them to grudgingly become friends (or at least find a way to work together) because I need it. For reasons.

Oh yeah, there’s also a love interest (Sung Yuri), who is spunky and clumsy and determined to succeed even though she’s not the best at anything. Which sounds like a stock character, but it works for me. She’s not a true love interest at the moment because our hero never saw what she looked like when he first fell for her (because he was blind, remember?) and he’s using a new identity and, y’know, no longer blind. Although we’re definitely being set up for a love triangle, even though Soohyun is there to add to the pretty and be perfect and mysterious (and another spy).

I don’t know what the hiring criteria is for the Big Bad Company, but there are spies everywhere it seems and I’m pretty sure everyone except for Sung Yuri’s character has a secret reason for working for (er, against?) the Big Bad Company.

There’s also Lee El looking as phenomenal as ever who also is like our protagonist’s handler, and since she works for the company who needs the virus, it’s a little unclear what side she’s on (although she seems to have a personal vested interest in helping the protagonist beyond just farming him for his vaccinated blood). She also goes undercover to get info she needs and help infiltrate. While looking stunning the whole time, of course.

Tbh you just reminded me I needed to go watch the episodes again because the first time through I was so excited to see all the pretty faces on my screen that I was mostly focused on taking screencaps of my beloved Park Ki Woong and the goddess Lee El. (Although the casting is incredible just in general, so I feel it’s worth it for that alone.)

Anyway. The point is I’m not totally sure where the show is going, because the first two episodes maybe weren’t the best at giving us a taste of what it’s going to be like. 50 episodes is, indeed, a huge commitment, and there’s no reason to start it if you’re unsure. Dramas keep – you can wait to hear more buzz about it and decide later if you like.

(But Park Ki Woong is back on my screen and that makes me very, very happy.)