Time for more K-drama!
Psychopath Diary is a bit slower to get into because the real story doesn’t kick in until the last few minutes of the first episode (as is true for many kdramas), but feast your eyes on this premise:
Yook Dong-sik (Yoon Shi-yoon), a young, doormat of an office worker and full-time cinnamon bun gets retrograde amnesia after being hit by a police car following a suicide attempt. However, he doesn’t remember that he’s witnessed a murder and, because he’s later found with the murderer’s diary on him, thinks that he himself is the titular psychopath, and scrambles to keep his ‘identity’ a secret from everyone around him.
Just…wow.
For the show to work, the story has to rely on some utterly ridiculous coincidences, such as his family being exaggerated versions of the psychopath’s own family, and there are some fantastically farcical Deux Exes that are part of the comedy and should thoroughly be embraced – this show is having heaps of fun and Yoon’s spectacular collection of rubber-faces, pratfalls and crying skills are a joy to watch, as is Heo Sung-tae as his glorious new ride-or-die friend Chil-sung. Sadly, the female lead Jung In-sun isn’t given much to do as the show’s ‘straight-man’ role of rookie cop Shim Bo-kyung, but all the supporting players get their moment to shine, either through freaking hilarious dialogue or random splurts of physical comedy. And the story, with awesome movie references throughout, keeps you guessing each episode, like a game of chess played with wacky waving inflatable men.
Please, universe: give me more Korean black comedy. Because this shit (spoilers for episode 13) is crazy-good.
🎃🎃🎃🎃
An Englishwoman in Salem 