I’ve realized lately that my preconceived notions about what
a drama is (or should be) can make it a lot more difficult for me to enjoy
the show for what it actually is. Nice Guy is
a prime example. Based on its promotional materials, I was bound to love it: Melodrama and murder mysteries, seduction and revenge? Sign me up! But
while its first eight hours were enjoyable enough, Nice Guy didn’t quite click with me until this week’s twisted, over-the-top makjang-fest.
This was partially caused by Nice Guy’s lead-in: before starting it, I had just finished watching the similarly themed Sang Doo, Let’s Go to School. As stunned as I am to be typing these words, that 2003 Rain vehicle is an emotionally truthful exploration of the gigolo lifestyle, and it left me ready to see a revenge and redemption drama focusing on Ma Ru’s time as a ladykiller for hire.
And maybe revenge and redemption will eventually be Nice Guy’s the central themes, but its first half is about something fundamentally different: love. Only not the cute, fluffy-bunny love we find in most Kdramas. In Nice Guy, love is an obsessive, destructive addiction. It’s love grown fangs, love gone radioactive.
This was partially caused by Nice Guy’s lead-in: before starting it, I had just finished watching the similarly themed Sang Doo, Let’s Go to School. As stunned as I am to be typing these words, that 2003 Rain vehicle is an emotionally truthful exploration of the gigolo lifestyle, and it left me ready to see a revenge and redemption drama focusing on Ma Ru’s time as a ladykiller for hire.
And maybe revenge and redemption will eventually be Nice Guy’s the central themes, but its first half is about something fundamentally different: love. Only not the cute, fluffy-bunny love we find in most Kdramas. In Nice Guy, love is an obsessive, destructive addiction. It’s love grown fangs, love gone radioactive.
