Should I call this a gist?

Well, I will just leave you to decide what it is. So in one of my many Hamkkechat interviews, someone had told me something about choosing K-dramas to watch that saved her mental health.

She said if you are not mentally or psychologically capable of watching a drama, just skip it because the whole point of watching is to get entertained, not traumatized. And me, being a stubborn K drama soldier, ignored that advice (talk of my love for psychopathy and serial killer movies) But lately, I realized something. As much as I loved some tropes, the moments they start confusing me or taking me through some moral gymnastics, I clock out.

So today, let me confess the popular dramas most of you loved and hyped up, but I stopped halfway.

PS: Before anyone comes for me, remember this is my opinion. If your fave is here, forgive your girl.

Hyper Knife  

You see this one? It really tricked me at first because the beginning was promising. The storyline was great, and it had the right amount of tension until the female lead started killing people unprovoked. Initially, I was expecting there would be some justification for it, but no, there was none. Instead, it was just casual murder sprinkled in like seasoning, and at some point, I realized I was doing moral gymnastics because it was just so difficult to pick a side. I mean, am I supposed to support the main lead of the story (which is the normal thing we are all used to), or am I supposed to see her as the villain? Honestly, I just had to stop at episode 8 and simply read recaps and spoilers with peace of mind.

Queen of Tears

I know you will drag because of this one because it was practically the national anthem of 2024, but hear me out. At first, I was skeptical. Why? The hype was too loud on the internet even before I began watching, and anything that loud always feels suspicious to me, but I still started i,t and honestly, it was cute. To begin with, their chemistry was tight, and the actors came with their A game. Then I reached episode 1,0 and the storyline started dragging, the pacing slowed down, the emotional weight felt stretched, and the villain was just doing too much. In my opinion, the whole story could have just ended with 12 episodes or 14 at the highest, but no. Well, I paused it and later just read spoilers so I could keep up with conversations and write about it. Love it for those who loved it, though.

Dear X  

This one had the same vibe as Hyper Knife, and the annoying thing is, you get engrossed in the initial tension before you even realize it. It had a thrilling premise, psychological intensity, morally grey characters that start reducing your peace of mind in a matter of seconds. I was following the episodic release and still stopped halfway because it was getting too disturbing.
The female lead was giving “anyone that wants to die can for all I care” energy, and the simps she called friends? Don’t even get me started. I kept waiting for a consequence, a downfall, a reset, or something. In fact, I have never wished for the downfall of a character like that. Then I read spoilers and discovered she actually survived after all the evil things she did. What was the point of watching again?

The Manipulated  

Hear me out first!

Yes, this drama had so much potential, but it had some flaws that a lot of people might refuse to pick. Let me explain what I mean. The premise was sharp, and the theme was interesting considering the fact that it was made into a movie already before the series, but the execution, my sister, my brother, my people, it dragged. Those prison scenes took over the early episodes like they were trying to keep our attention for nothing, and the whole series felt like the writers wanted us to sit inside emotional pain from start to finish. Well, as usual, I stopped at episode 10 because it was getting too heavy and too slow at the same time. Although I might return to this one someday, but definitely not now.

The King: Eternal Monarch  

This one? I just know I am not alone. Sincerely, I do not know if the series was too confusing or if it was my intelligence that refused to cooperate. Either way, I was struggling with a lot of things that included the parallel worlds trope, time travel, symbolic clues, mathematical energy, and all those things that made it look like a bowl of rice with too many ingredients. I really tried to watch this to the end, especially because of the leads. I even picked it up twice and attempted rewatching, but my brain clocked out every time. I tapped out at the end of the day and just concluded the show was not made bearing people like me in mind.

At the end of the day, watching K dramas is supposed to be fun. If a drama starts draining your spirit or confusing your destiny, you are allowed to stop. This is part one of my honesty series; part two is coming soon, titled K dramas I Almost Stopped Halfway and Why. Stay tuned.

Also, indulge me in the comments. What was that popular K-Drama everyone loved but you just couldn’t finish?