Killer And Healer

killer and Healer

you have to stay alive. you're going to be such a beautiful middle aged freak. young freaks will see you in the street and know that things can be okay.

ohhhh i remembered about my favourite edit of all time: dongsik with cpr. the song suits him, doesn't it?

If this can no longer resonate, no longer make my heart vibrate Then like this may be how I die my first death. But what if that moment's right now? Right now? Black Swan by BTS

“a dancer dies twice — once when they stop dancing, and this first death is the more painful.” ~Martha Graham~

So, episode 1 jwds is on my mind again and I'm here to prove that this episode has all the ingredients to be a... quirky... rom-com... please bear with me and trust the vision (and don't take this too seriously, cause i'm not taking it seriously either)

(get a drink and strap in.... I'm going to mock them)

ahh yes, it's Romeo and Juliet but instead of a fish tank, it's a partitioning wall in a police station, and instead of a masquerade ball, it's a weaponized meet cute

we have the boys making comments about the new inspector. The editing in this scene makes a big point to show that DS is suuuuuper not interested in the conversation, oooohh noo, he doesn't care about the new inspector. Why would he? He's just some guy. He's not even listening to the conversation about how the new inspector is super smart, really physically fit, comes from a top university, graduated top of his year, and is very handsome.... who is also the son of the man connected to his sister's disappearance? oh. But Dong Sik doesn't care, you guys. He's not listening to the conversation!! Right, Dong Sik???

Dong Sik??

Oh, so you were listening... and you are interested.

Hm.

also...

(it's the same scene.... js. timestamp: 2.10)

and how can we forget that Han Joo Won ISN'T HIS TYPE (he is) HOW ARE ANYONE SUGGEST SUCH A THING! (no one did) HOW DARE THEY BRING IT UP (he brought it up)

you know... when i introduce myself to someone, i also like to be standing so close that my hand is basically touching their stomach

tut tut... look at him being so into Joo Won's bratty behaviour. so, jw was kinda rude to him (he's kinda into it) but it's okay bc he's got the energy of a guy who knows he can [redacted] the bad attitude out of someone.

Now, our police boys have to reassign partners and sort out hierarchies. Dong Sik doesn't care, you guys, he doesn't care! Super not interested! Barely paying attention to the convo....

until Gwang Young volunteers to be Joo Won's partner and... Dong Sik sighs and looks down??? He sure seems to have an opinion for a guy who's pretending not to care...

our boys get paired up because... of course, they got paired up. it's for the plot and because NSB is a matchmaker. (It's Arthur and Merlin all over again....)

jfc! just bat your lashes and twirl your hair, it'll be less obvious

it only took you an afternoon to get your hands on the new inspector?? nice going! genuinely impressed that you found a decent bullshit excuse to feel him up

of course, Dong Sik (who doooesn't have a thing for younger bratty men) would find Joo Won's ridiculous display of "i'm a loner, no one talk to me. I'll hiss if you try and befriend me, i'm too important for genuine human connection" act to be off-putting, right?? right?? cause it's a red flag.

ffs, why is he smirking???

okay, now, he's really getting into the swing of teasing Joo Won for his contrarian shit, isn't he?? Dong Sik's flirting in episode 1 is basically "you think you're hot? well, your face might be but your personality sucks.... (but that's why i'm interested)"

then he's just straight up telling Joo Won that he likes him... but Joo Won has to go ruin things by being a little weirdo with a murder mystery plotline

speaking about murder plotlines...

I also like to flirt whilst undergoing official police business... with the guy I think has a connection to the unexplained death of an unidentified body

oh come now, is this really necessary???

Now, i know you're thinking that this poor Ahjussi is simping over the young hot bratty new-in-town inspector. "What a silly guy, he's flirting with the grumpiest guy in town. What a waste of time, jw is never going to return his feelings"... But it's is totally a two-way street from the start.

Everyone, I present to you, Han "I like to check out my suspect" Joo Won:

he likes to bite his lip whilst he looks at one of his stalker pictures of him

he gets turned on when Dong Sik recites the criminal code word-for-word by memory

he's so impressed by Dong Sik's knowledge that he takes the time to check him out as he walks across the road (even checking his mirrors as he drives past just so he can prolong looking at him)

apparently, he doesn't have "a thing" for "nut cases"... he says whilst looking the man up and down... you know? like a liar.

and sureeeee, let's have fun and pretend to believe him for a sec. Okay, he doesn't have "a thing" for an older man who he thinks is a "nut case". Fine... But that doesn't explain why

he makes it a habit of looking at his lips...

and at his stomach?? his hands??? his....??

and his arse....

he also sends a few flirtatious smiles at Dong Sik in front of their colleagues (a hjw version of a flirtatious smile is quite small)

He also sneaks in a few little looks, all before finding an excuse to have one-on-one time with him and to talk about nothing and everything. (I wonder how long Dong Sik had been out of the room before Joo Won decides to follow him. He's sooo.... ugh! this guy. if i were the gang, I would assume they have the hots for one another. the teasing, stealing glances across the dinner table, sneaking off to have private conversations??? what can i say? it seems suss)

and smiling at him... like this... after the guy, he's just accused of being a serial killer laughs at him menacingly. he finds it cute!!! he's a little weirdo who's into the guy he thinks is a sadistic serial killer... (pals, jw needs therapy asap)

So, yeah, from Dong Sik's perspective, episode 1 of Beyond Evil was a typical rom-com until Joo Won had to be a little creep and bring murder into the equation. It certainly brought a damper to their relationship but it didn't stop them from... you know...

becoming good partners...

@thesweetscentofbooks made such an interesting thought that I wanted to talk about it in a separate post. I will quote: “ Duality yes, in fact I would say that the characters embody these archetypes precisely because they choose it even when it would have been easier not to. Like Ju-won’s entire life and career could have reached new heights if he would have suppressed this case. But he chose justice, chose Dong-sik even as his childhood shattered before his eyes. They clinged to these principles because to them they are the thing that cannot be taken away from them without losing their personhood”.

And indeed, the trait that distinguishes all the heroes of “Beyond Evil” - each has a certain fundamental value, to which the very essence of the character converges. A value that the hero cannot give up no matter what. Juwon cannot overstep justice. Dongsik cannot stop caring for others (and cannot stop living - which is why a tragic ending would not be realistic for Dongsik). Jeongje cannot completely forget. Jaeyi can’t stop waiting. The villains have that value too. But what sets them apart is that they have perverted this value in order to avoid pain / shame / punishment. Perverted, but did not refuse. So Han Gihwan perverted the dream of perfection - leaving only one outer shell of it. Kang Jinmook, in the ugliest way, perverted the dream of family and affection for his wife. Do Haewon perverts motherly love. Lee Changjin begins with a dream of a city - and eventually destroys the city that he undertook to rebuild.

This is somewhat unusual for modern cinema. More often we are dealing with heroes who change at the will of the author, adjusting to the plot twists. It seems to the author that this makes the character more ambiguous. But sometimes it just takes away the wholeness. Transforms his personality into a vague swamp.

And the most interesting thing is that with such fixedness, the characters of “Beyond Evil” feel especially alive and complex. They develop while remaining themselves. And there is something cozy and reassuring about it. “Beyond Evil” seems to say - you can find strength in who you are. It doesn’t have to be your anchor, it can be your support. And if you correctly rely on this foundation, you will be able to push off from it and develop further.

But to make such a leap, you need to be able to see the other and accept the other in his individuality.  To feel oneself more fully and wider through contact with another. And for self-contained “monsters” their obsession becomes their doom.