Kim Soo Hyun, Seo Ye Ji, Oh Jung Se
Drama Rating: 8/10 Neck Score: A
It took me a while to get into this one, mostly because it needed a bit to fully set up the situation and characters, and then once it did, it was quite delightful. If you only give it maybe longer than you normally would, it picks up quite nicely. What I liked about it was that found family aspect, and opening yourself up to be okay with not being okay. None of the characters in this show is okay, even the ones who would not typically be accepted into a mental hospital, but that doesn't mean they are okay. Everyone has their struggles and needs to open up about what they are feeling and thinking.
I really liked how every character was flawed and coming to terms with that. How all the relationships were a bit love/hate, even when it was mostly love. You don't always like the people you love and taking time to release those frustrations is important. So I loved how all the characters helped each other. Kang Tae helped Moon Young be more restrained, and Moon Young helped Kang Tae release his pent up emotions and actually do things for himself. Moon Young also helped Sang Tae take responsibility and be a good oppa and hyung. In the end, everyone had a lot of character growth and that was awesome. Even the side characters had plots that we all cared about.
That doesn't mean there wasn't some crazy drama in it too. There definitely was. A lot of the trauma these characters were facing was stuff straight out of a horror film, with crazy murdering psychos, etc. But, it was handled much better than it could have been, with less rampant psychos on the loose and more mystery and suspense. Even with the crazy, there was a nice balance. It stayed a dark comedic drama (definitely not a romcom) the whole time, so the consistency was nice for me.
The actors they got were perfect. I've always loved Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Ye Ji, and they were really good picks for the crazy and the restrained. But hands down this show's MVP was Oh Je Sung who played Sang Tae with such compassion and believability that you forgot it was him and he was simply Moon Sang Tae. The rest of the cast and ensemble was no less good either. I loved pretty much everyone and appreciated their well developed characters and performances.
While this might not be everyone's cup of tea, I thought it was well done and well worth it to see all their actors in their elements, and even just to have that moment when Kim Soo Hyun pushes his bangs off his forehead and you have that overwhelming wave of hotness knock you over. Haha. It has a little something for everyone, I think. I liked it a lot.
