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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Hello Monster" Episode 13

The cliffhanger from last time was naturally a fake out- although there's still plenty of high stakes danger in the opening portion. Right now Hyeon is struggling with whether he should be his normal haughty self, or give into emotions and admit that the person Hyeon cares the most about is in trouble. It's a fascinating contrast because Hyeon really is at his most effective when playing socipathic mind games. But what's the point of sociopathic mind games if there's no deep emotional hook?

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That's the main essential factor of "Hello Monster" that keeps all three of its serial-killer-like characters interesting. Even Joon-ho, supposedly the most unambiguously evil one of the bunch, makes a decision here that seems prompted less by malice and more out of genuine empathy. Being a sociopath Joon-ho obviously doesn't have any idea what empathy is actually supposed to look like, but that's the whole point. It is the thought that counts...right?

Well, maybe not. None of the characters in "Hello Monster" have been all that static. Remember how vaguely incompetent the cops seemed at the start of the drama? Well, they've been learning. They'll never be able to make deductions on Hyeon's level, but bit by bit, we see them interpreting situational context in a way that lets them narrow down the important details and sniff out obvious traps. Hyeon doesn't have to lead them by the nose anymore, because they know exactly how he thinks.

This gives an especially good hook to the ending of the episode here. While "Hello Monster" is trying to convince us that the real battle is betwee Hyeon and Joon-ho, always lurking in the background is the reminder that for them this game has never really been about figuring out who's the smartest. That's been the excuse, sure, but remove Seon-ho from the story and no one even has any real motivation. These characters live in a realistic world, not a chess game.

...Well, maybe realistic is going a bit far. Of course "Hello Monster" always manages to consistently surprise with just how plausible the story seems, for all the genre trappings. This is a production with a lot of heart- literally. Any final showdown will by necessity have to deal with the dual-faced nature of the monster who doesn't want any friends, but gets bored whenever nobody's around. I doubt Hyeon is ever going to really want friends any more than he'll ever really want a passionate kiss. Even so, it's the little concessions that matter, and denote serious character growth here.

Review by William Schwartz

"Hello Monster" is directed by Kim Jin-won-I and No Sang-hoon, written by Kwon Ki-yeong and features Seo In-guk, Jang Nara, Choi Won-young, Lee Chun-hee, Park Bo-gum, Min Sung-wook and more.

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