I've watched this drama a long time ago, and even after all this time there's something about The K2 that just simply remains in the air. What makes this drama taste different is the complex relationship between the hero, lead actor Ji Chang Wook, and the antihero Song Yun-ah. Unexpected. And their acting skills. Superb.
Scenography, storyline and cast are ok most of the time, and impressive on a few occasions, the action scenes seriously well done (lead actor is impressive in combat skills and stunts) and the plot really captivating.
The antagonists in this drama are interesting and well portrayed, but the real magic happens when the hero K2 and Madame Choi take the scene.
As actors, they excelled. On their own and together. The evolution of their relationship in the drama is unexpected, hard to understand at first, atypical.
The character of Madame Choi is something you won't forget easily... If you really understand what's going on. One of the most brilliant antihero out there. Worth watching.
101 Reviews
Just ignore the bad reviews and WATCH IT.
Giselle17105 July 2020
Can this storyline be any better? No. Can there be such a better strong female antagonist? Definitely not. I loved the fact that this drama kept the typical k drama romance aside and really flourished a UNIQUE COMPLEX never seen before chemistry between protagonist male and antagonist female. Bravo to the actress playing Choi Yoon. Would have rated this drama a solid 6 without her in it. I was confused about what Kim Je Ha actually thought about Choi Yoon though. How come he asked nothing about her to Mirror? Well, I was in cloud 9 after watching this. I hope u will be too!
Complicated but Interesting to Watch
donkrishna-dk1 September 2020
I was kind pessimistic that Ji Chang Wook could play well in this movie since his face is too handsome, too friendly, and too soft to cast a highly trained spec ops soldier. I thought So Ji Sub would be better for this role since he is bigger and has tougher face than him. But after I see him acting in this movie my doubt disappear. He must be trained and prepared very well in this movie because I can see hungry predatory stare on his eyes and also showing excellent athletic and fighting skill. Two thumbs up for Ji Chang Wook. Also I give special credit to Song Yun-ah who played the role as smart ambitious beautiful and tricky chaebol heirs which you can hardly tell whether she is truly generous or just a gimmick to get sympathy from people. Ji Chang Wook character was half forced to cooperate with this evil woman but he can not refuse her offer because he need her unlimited resources to revenge the death of her lover.
The conflict in this movie is kind of complicated since the "good" side is not that good and the "bad" side is not also that bad. Many grey area shown by character in this movie to show how rotten the politics is.
Fantastic female antagonist
Patel_KH1 June 2020
The reason you should give this a watch is for an outstanding female antagonist unlike anyone you have ever seen before. Song Yoon Ah who played Choi Yoo Jin is truly remarkable and her character has so much depth that she deservedly outshines everyone in this drama and beyond. I couldn't help but empathize with her throughout the story due to her emotive acting and was constantly rooting for her even though she was the main antagonist.
Things I liked:
Things I didn't like:
Things I liked:
- Best female antagonist (unbelievably, she wasn't even nominated for Best Actress at Baeksang Art Awards)
- Fast paced screenplay
- Good action choreography (over the top but enjoyable)
Things I didn't like:
- Quite a few implausible events in the plot
The Drama will be perfect without the heroin im yokn ah.
nazeefa24 November 2020
The Series was good. The acting was absolutely amazing. It went downhill everytime it comes to scene between the Lead Actor Ji Chang Wook and weekly portrayed character of the heroin,Go Anna (Im yoon ah). It was pain to watch them trying too hard, yet cannot beat the chemistry between the lead male and the lead female antagonist, Choi Yoo Jin (Song Yoon Ah)
The series was on the peak eventho just few episodes in the beginning and went straight downhill after gave one episode for the hero n heroin to work they way in convincing audience that they are in love. The director tried so hard portraying the heroin as a beautiful,ie angel of Barcelona etc. but the reality was she is not. Even the lead antagonist actress which is 17 years older than her outshine her too easily.
In sad scenes btwn hero and heroin, no tears flowed. As the love doesn't feel real. But the scenes btwn the hero and lady antagonist, let it be love, respect,or just friendship, when their eyes met every one can feel the powerful tensions of care.
We agreed if they change the actress who played the heroin to a better acting, prettier, charismatic actress then we wont mind the story line.
Or they can tweak so the romance is between Hero and the lead antagonist. It will be like the amazing Hollywood film THE BODYGUARD but better with its own twists and turns.Hence it will stuck strong in our heart, better viewing ratings, and will stand proud, unforgettable among the most amazing kdrama.
In sad scenes btwn hero and heroin, no tears flowed. As the love doesn't feel real. But the scenes btwn the hero and lady antagonist, let it be love, respect,or just friendship, when their eyes met every one can feel the powerful tensions of care.
We agreed if they change the actress who played the heroin to a better acting, prettier, charismatic actress then we wont mind the story line.
Or they can tweak so the romance is between Hero and the lead antagonist. It will be like the amazing Hollywood film THE BODYGUARD but better with its own twists and turns.Hence it will stuck strong in our heart, better viewing ratings, and will stand proud, unforgettable among the most amazing kdrama.
McGuyver meets.... kdrama
chilligrrl16 November 2019
I was hooked on this until (netflix) episode 4 when i nearly fell off my lounge with the shower scene. After putting my eyes back in my head i proceeded to binge watch, overlooking the terrible CGI mistakes like when he takes a small step up and magically flies onto the roof and some of the weird martial arts moves.
A great action drama with an alright plot line, with eye candy galore for the female viewer - i might even upgrade this to a 10 if the shirts come off again. (More than once and i'm moving to Korea tomorrow). Men will love the action in this series and the McGuyver-esque abilities this guy has with everything.
A definite must-see.
A great action drama with an alright plot line, with eye candy galore for the female viewer - i might even upgrade this to a 10 if the shirts come off again. (More than once and i'm moving to Korea tomorrow). Men will love the action in this series and the McGuyver-esque abilities this guy has with everything.
A definite must-see.
One character makes the movie
soneagu14 October 2019
Of course I love Ji Chang-Wook (who doesn't?), however in this series I loved Yun-ah Song who plays Choi Yoo-jin. Both the script and the play for her character were at the highest level, and this kept me watching and watching and watching until towards the end of episode 16. Kim Je-ha is non plausible in plenty of situations, Anna is not bad, but unnaturally full of wisdom after an entire life of complete wisdom-less, the others either laugh like cows when they shouldn't or behave like clowns when the situation requires a completely different attitude. Yun-ah is amazing, Dong-mi and Sung-ha are kind of ok, the others are pathetic. The script is not bad, but the other guys make it ridiculous.
Kick butt action
alaningle79 September 2020
If you like martial arts action with a dose of political intrigue and a side of love story this will hit the spot. I am not a big fan as I can never understand why there is so much hand to hand fighting when they have guns, but I did enjoy the storyline so stuck with it and overall found the series enjoyable. My favourite character was Choi Yoo-Jin played by Song Yoon-ah who though incredibly evil you could sense there was a heart in there somewhere. The love story was ok and but for a person who earns his living fighting hordes of people the male lead was incredibly lucky to keep his stunning good looks to the end.
Great plot but lack of chemistry between the lead actors
crmn-2296113 December 2020
Ji Chang-wook is just amazing, he carried so hard this TV series along with the stepmother, actress Song Yoon-ah. I think they had better chemistry than K2 with Anna. I didn't particularly liked Anna as a character or the actress herself, didn't move me at all. All in all, great series.
Love the story line - Hate the close ups
rhodanr27 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Love this story line of backstabbing and betrayals. Like your game of chess, you have to figure out 3 moves ahead. Love the story line between Anna and Kim Je-Ha. How they easily fall in love with each other. However, I had to take a break several times from watching this show because apparently the director didn't invest in a motion stabilizer for the camera. I mean come on. On the close up for the actors, WHY does the camera keep moving up and down and side to side. It feels like I'm on a ship with crazy waves... ugh... feeling nauseous much??
What a wasted potential
deanadeva8 May 2020
Well let me start by saying you can definitely watch it. It's quite okay truthfully. The BGS and quite a bit of cinematography were interesting as well. They had such a strong story, and it could have really been fantastic if not for few things. The heronie of the story was a all-so-pathetic damsel in distress from the get go till the end. They made her character so weak willed that it was almost irritating. The supposed to be Villan is a strong willed woman with such unexplored potential that they could have leveraged. She was neither terrible or good. She is the shade of grey that they really could have built the story on. For example, when the hero kills people to save the girl we really don't care much on the collateral damage but when this women fights for her place In the world by any means necessary it has been misjudged. Well of sorts! But anyway, if only the guy did not look so damn good. I really would have been terribly disappointed.
Unlike to Anna
guzyanis2 June 2020
Excellent plot. one of the best dramas I've ever seen. on the other hand very tired of the character of Anna. character without any substance, totally dependent, vulnerable from start to finish. Useless. I would have liked her character to evolve in the magnitude of an action drama like this
"It's only after girls grow up, they become witches?"
silvanet-308-6695051 January 2020
This is positively one of the BEST ass-kickingest one season dramas ever. If you don't realize that the role played by Song Yun-ah (maddam Choi Joo-Jin) is one of the best strong female anti-hero characters ever created, you haven't watched movies your entire life for over 50 years.
Jun-ah kills it. She is not only elegant and super-gorgeous, but deliciously malevolent and bad-ass smart, anybody's great companion to the underworld. The end of the second and beginning of the third episode is a phenomenal thumb sketch of both her and Ji Chang Wook's (Kim Je Ha) characters.
In the tradition of fair suspension of disbelief I'll overlook obvious gaffes such as Yoona (Goh Anna) leaving the house with her hair cut short and arriving the next morning with it fully grown out again.
The soundtrack deserves much more love than it's getting on YouTube. I love Kim Bohyung's "Same Day" (Everyday). I see this is currently losing popularity. Wow, give it another chance. I know its from 2016, but even in 2020 it's a winner.
Jun-ah kills it. She is not only elegant and super-gorgeous, but deliciously malevolent and bad-ass smart, anybody's great companion to the underworld. The end of the second and beginning of the third episode is a phenomenal thumb sketch of both her and Ji Chang Wook's (Kim Je Ha) characters.
In the tradition of fair suspension of disbelief I'll overlook obvious gaffes such as Yoona (Goh Anna) leaving the house with her hair cut short and arriving the next morning with it fully grown out again.
The soundtrack deserves much more love than it's getting on YouTube. I love Kim Bohyung's "Same Day" (Everyday). I see this is currently losing popularity. Wow, give it another chance. I know its from 2016, but even in 2020 it's a winner.
Entertaining show to watch
angsl-1510223 April 2019
First, Choi Yoo Jin had carried out the role in perfect shot! Well done! Beside having the actions thrill, the story ended without indepth review of the relationship between K2 and Je Ha....sad... An-na role is the most boring part of the show... not much opportunity for her to emphazise different expression...I love the supporting roles which made the entire drama more interesting..all thanks to the professional actors and actresses..
It is a waste to see a talented professional body guard to stay inhouse protecting a lady..this part of the story can improve..I shall say K2 had delivered a good shot of his role. His hairstyle with the long fringe 🤔 still prefer his smart look.
Hope to see more of JCW action drama 😃☺
Cloud 9 is the best part that i liked! Mystery is all there for us to find out...haha! Overall the drama can extend few more episode will be perfect!
ONE OF THE BEST ACTION KDRAMA
ronelioramos6 September 2020
Underrated but WELL-RECOMMENDED.
DEFINITELY WAY BETTER than the higher rated dramas like Itaewon Class, Goblin, Vagabond (goodluck with that) etc.
Action packed since Ep1 to end.
Not your typical drama where plot is laid out front - hard to predict the outcome until the very end. The cast is great especially Madam Choi (Song Yoon Ah) I LOVE HER.
If there's any negative, it would be the character of Anna - annoyed at her for being helpless.
Overall, great series - debatable top 5 drama all time.
Not sure about the negative comments - they are probably expecting a romantic comedy in this thrilling action packed series.
Ab Fab Action Series!
morebon5 December 2019
Fantastic political crime drama! Wonderful narrative, excellent writing, intriguing cinematic action scenes, and great cast and crew. Ji Chang Wook's performance as Kim Je Ha was outstanding: I'm always fangirling his works (he's that good). Cheers for an absolutely fabulous action-packed series! Loved it!
Good enough
PennyReviews27 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This drama is said to be as good as the Healer (another action spy drama), filled with action scenes, martial arts conflicts, political twists and some romance. The story starts really well, with a solid mystery and wonderful sequences of Barcelona and other Gothic background. The film makers were generous with the amount of blood and fighting they packed the first episodes. The action continues till the very end, which was really strong, leaving an impact, as it didn't conform with the cliché happy ever after. Another thing that I liked about this drama was that it portrayed each character in depth and presented everyone's motives and background, even emotions. In addition the performances were excellent, even from the second lead lady that, I admit, I didn't expect her to be that good. However, for me, the romance was a little weak, stuck between the twists and the action scenes, being only there to give motivation to the characters to act and go beyond the human limits. So, 7 out of 10.
Great Action! Cute Romance! Satisfying Drama
winpa8 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I finished the k2 two weeks ago. I really enjoy this drama very much. The drama has flaws of course but it is very entertaining at least to me. A mercenary soldier was framed for the murder of civilians or his own girlfriend and he was on the run. Later he would be joining to the bodyguards team of one of the president candidate family then he would be called Kim Jeha or the code name K2. There he got a job to watch over the candidate secret daughter who could ruin the candidate career if she is made known to the public as his daughter.
Go Anna was a secret daughter of the president canditate with a famous actress who died and not with his legal wife Choi Yoo Jin who is one of the main villain of our story. One thing is that she really is ambitious to make her family stronger by making her husband a president. She also kept Go Anna as her victim by not letting her see the father and very manipulating with the girl's mind. She could kill anyone who she think will come into her way. Many people are drawn by this character. The actress playing role is really great. Choi Yoo Jin has reasons for her to become evil. She has soft spot for Kim Jeha since he saved her life though she ordered him get killed at first. Jeha joined her side only they had one enemy or the competent another candidate who got Jeha framed for murder. Jeha was a compassionate upright guy who pity the weak or someone who does not have much power. He pity Go Anna for being the victim of her stepmother and her own father. She was all alone like him to which lead him to fall in love with her i think. They both have childlike behavior too as seen in episode 5 when he was looking at her eating ramen and dance happily from CCTV. Jeha is very protective of her and she depends on him quite a lot. She dislike her stepmother for keeping her like this and think she also killed her own mother. In the middle of drama the Choi Yoo Jin's half brother try to make her want to revenge against his sister since he hates his sister and want to be more powerful. Anna give in to him for a time. But at the end of day the it was not the revenge she actually want. She is just finding herself and her past. She really depend on Jeha and care for him most since he is most concern with her being. Although he is fierce fighter, jeha is so smitten with her. They were just breath of fresh air in this dark drama. One more thing i do not think Anna was a weak character but a strong one because we see she try to run away from her own situation to find her father who she long for; who she think loves her and she loves. But she got the warmness she long for from Jeha instead. She might be stupid at a time but i think she is very brave in her situation.
As for Choi Yoo Jin, her power come from her family. She is destined to be evil. Her father was a ruthless man just like how she became. She was competing with her relatives who hates her. She got a good_for_nothing husband who cheats on her. So yep she become a selfish villain. Yet she was very fond of Jeha; not in a romantic way. She was fond of him for his humanity and bravery and being a super hero. But it was too late for her to become good. I was so into these three characters. The political plots were good too. The only problem is that we do not learn Kim Jeha's background very much which i pretty much want to know.for examples like who his parents were and who is he really. I took one point off for this. But the ending was very satisfying still.
Go Anna was a secret daughter of the president canditate with a famous actress who died and not with his legal wife Choi Yoo Jin who is one of the main villain of our story. One thing is that she really is ambitious to make her family stronger by making her husband a president. She also kept Go Anna as her victim by not letting her see the father and very manipulating with the girl's mind. She could kill anyone who she think will come into her way. Many people are drawn by this character. The actress playing role is really great. Choi Yoo Jin has reasons for her to become evil. She has soft spot for Kim Jeha since he saved her life though she ordered him get killed at first. Jeha joined her side only they had one enemy or the competent another candidate who got Jeha framed for murder. Jeha was a compassionate upright guy who pity the weak or someone who does not have much power. He pity Go Anna for being the victim of her stepmother and her own father. She was all alone like him to which lead him to fall in love with her i think. They both have childlike behavior too as seen in episode 5 when he was looking at her eating ramen and dance happily from CCTV. Jeha is very protective of her and she depends on him quite a lot. She dislike her stepmother for keeping her like this and think she also killed her own mother. In the middle of drama the Choi Yoo Jin's half brother try to make her want to revenge against his sister since he hates his sister and want to be more powerful. Anna give in to him for a time. But at the end of day the it was not the revenge she actually want. She is just finding herself and her past. She really depend on Jeha and care for him most since he is most concern with her being. Although he is fierce fighter, jeha is so smitten with her. They were just breath of fresh air in this dark drama. One more thing i do not think Anna was a weak character but a strong one because we see she try to run away from her own situation to find her father who she long for; who she think loves her and she loves. But she got the warmness she long for from Jeha instead. She might be stupid at a time but i think she is very brave in her situation.
As for Choi Yoo Jin, her power come from her family. She is destined to be evil. Her father was a ruthless man just like how she became. She was competing with her relatives who hates her. She got a good_for_nothing husband who cheats on her. So yep she become a selfish villain. Yet she was very fond of Jeha; not in a romantic way. She was fond of him for his humanity and bravery and being a super hero. But it was too late for her to become good. I was so into these three characters. The political plots were good too. The only problem is that we do not learn Kim Jeha's background very much which i pretty much want to know.for examples like who his parents were and who is he really. I took one point off for this. But the ending was very satisfying still.
insignificant anna
nurillari14 September 2020
Just Watch It!
nishera1 January 2021
I had to do a lot of math to arrive at my rating for this show. My overall impressions of the plot, script, cast, acting, filmography and soundtrack landed it an 8.5 for the baseline material, which was generally very solid and well executed.
However, I had to add 1 star purely for the absolutely riveting performances delivered by Ji ChanWook (K2) and Song YunAh (Choi YooJin), which propelled the story into a whole new stratosphere. Frankly, Song YunAh could have carried the entire film on her performance alone. I have never seen a more tragic and broken villain, or a more believable portrayal of so many raw and opposing simultaneous emotions (tears+laughter, defiance+betrayal, menace+fragility). I was completely floored!
I also added 0.5 stars for the excellent choreography of the fight scenes (which were plentiful). I would have added a whole star, but sadly, around half the scenes were shot in ways that made it hard to appreciate/follow the action. However, the ones that were clear were quite brilliant. The group shower fight scene in particular was outstanding and original, both in terms of concept and content (all those abs and biceps didn't hurt either!). Watch it on half speed if you want to really appreciate it!
Unfortunately, I then had to turn around and deduct 0.5 stars for the awkwardness of the initial romance scenes (though the later scenes get better). It's not that I found the chemistry to be as lacking as many viewers said. It was just poorly conveyed, IMO (both how it was written and edited). Additionally, Anna's subtle character (who is supposed to be fragile, fearful, and comparatively helpless) just doesn't match the feral intensity of the power-hungry characters around her (especially YooJin), which could in turn create the perception of a lackluster romantic dynamic.
Lastly, I had to also deduct 1 star for all the camera wobble (starting about 3/4 way through). Which is truly sad, because there were so many scenes which were beautifully acted, but it was hard to focus on the emotion coming through or the action taking place because the shaking screen messes with your eyes so much.
So in the end, I ended up back at an overall 8.5 stars (rounded up to 9), though there is 10 stars worth of great content, if you can get through the 7 star moments! Highly recommended!
However, I had to add 1 star purely for the absolutely riveting performances delivered by Ji ChanWook (K2) and Song YunAh (Choi YooJin), which propelled the story into a whole new stratosphere. Frankly, Song YunAh could have carried the entire film on her performance alone. I have never seen a more tragic and broken villain, or a more believable portrayal of so many raw and opposing simultaneous emotions (tears+laughter, defiance+betrayal, menace+fragility). I was completely floored!
I also added 0.5 stars for the excellent choreography of the fight scenes (which were plentiful). I would have added a whole star, but sadly, around half the scenes were shot in ways that made it hard to appreciate/follow the action. However, the ones that were clear were quite brilliant. The group shower fight scene in particular was outstanding and original, both in terms of concept and content (all those abs and biceps didn't hurt either!). Watch it on half speed if you want to really appreciate it!
Unfortunately, I then had to turn around and deduct 0.5 stars for the awkwardness of the initial romance scenes (though the later scenes get better). It's not that I found the chemistry to be as lacking as many viewers said. It was just poorly conveyed, IMO (both how it was written and edited). Additionally, Anna's subtle character (who is supposed to be fragile, fearful, and comparatively helpless) just doesn't match the feral intensity of the power-hungry characters around her (especially YooJin), which could in turn create the perception of a lackluster romantic dynamic.
Lastly, I had to also deduct 1 star for all the camera wobble (starting about 3/4 way through). Which is truly sad, because there were so many scenes which were beautifully acted, but it was hard to focus on the emotion coming through or the action taking place because the shaking screen messes with your eyes so much.
So in the end, I ended up back at an overall 8.5 stars (rounded up to 9), though there is 10 stars worth of great content, if you can get through the 7 star moments! Highly recommended!
When great cast meets bad writing
mikkiparker22 May 2022
The beginning of the drama had really great potential. Ji Chang Wook's character Jeha/K2 and the Song Yoon Ah's Yoo Jin started the drama with immense chemistry that was intriguing to watch. However, the plot slowly started deteriorating in each episode. Jeha's relationship with Anna felt empty, there was little-to-no chemistry between the two. Anna's behavior in public versus in private felt too different, almost like watching two different people, to the point it wasn't even pleasing to the eye. Altogether Anna's character had just a small development which, considering she was the female lead, was very pitiful because we could see both Jeha and especially Yoo Jin develop enormously during the drama.
Overall, it was a watchable drama that highlighted especially Yoon Ah's acting capabilities as well as Chang Wook's. Still on the verge about whether Yoona's character Anna was that badly written or if her portraying the FL was bad.
Overall, it was a watchable drama that highlighted especially Yoon Ah's acting capabilities as well as Chang Wook's. Still on the verge about whether Yoona's character Anna was that badly written or if her portraying the FL was bad.
Wasted Potential
SerenityStone30 July 2020
Man this one had so much potential. It started out with a bang and i was really excited as I could sense this would be good. And then...the plot limped along like it had been shot in the leg and was, very slowly, bleeding to death. The plot stopped making sense. The action stopped making sense and seemed almost by rote. And the love story was AWFUL. Absolutely awful. Like, so unbelievably bad it killed the entire show. The pacing for this was just terrible. By the time I dragged myself over half the episodes, I was begging for it to be over already. I was trying to skip through the love story to get to the plot, but the plot was already so convoluted that I felt I couldn't really skip through much. I couldn't take it any more and stopped after episode 12. Such a shame because the actors were actually pretty good, with maybe an exception for the main girl. She was fine, but I thought she was the weak link in the bunch.
LOVE CANNOT BE SHARED..
gotrockboy14 April 2020
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