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Today we bring you the review of the another webtoon-based hit drama, this time around starring the amazing Seo Inguk and Park Sodam with an insanely talented and amazing cast surrounding them – Death’s Game. I’ve been putting off watching this drama despite my everlasting love for Seo Inguk and every project he chooses, mostly because I wasn’t sure I was in the right mood to watch anything depression and suicide related. I’m still not but I really wanted to see what Death’s Game is all about – especially because I’m sure everyone saw what an insanely talented cast the drama has collected. From young, promising stars like the amazing Lee Dohyun, Yoo Insoo, Lee Jaewook and Go Younjung (Alchemy of Souls reunion goes crazy) to stellar veterans such as Oh Jungse, Kim Jaewook and Kim Jihoon – Death’s Game really managed to get all the good actors in one place and I applaud them for this. This was also undoubtedly the best part of the drama in general but more on that in the review below. Beware that I will be talking about major spoilers and that the theme of suicide will be present the entire time. From MyDramaList: After struggling for seven years without securing a stable job, Choi Yi Jae becomes engulfed in despair and hopelessness. Believing that ending his life would be the solution, Yi Jae is met with a surprise when he meets the entity known as Death at the gateway to Hell. Death assigns him a unique punishment: Yi Jae must endure death in 12 different bodies. To avoid his fate in Hell, he must find a way to survive. 
Even though I haven’t read the webtoon the drama is based on, looking at the art, I have to say Seo Inguk looks so close to what the main character in the webtoon looks like and I think that’s a great thing casting directors did. He also thrives in stories that mix all the genres and I still firmly believe he is the best when he does serious dramas (anyone up for a Hello Monster rewatch? just me?). He did a great job portraying Yi Jae and I felt his troubles and pain throughout the entire drama. I also think that the variations of his emotions was completely understandable – that he would want to get revenge for those who wronged him and those around him and I don’t think that part of the plot was random at all – it made more sense than some other things which I will discuss later. Park Sodam, while in the drama only occasionally as the Death was great as well. The rest of the cast was incredible as well. I am always blown away at the sheer natural acting that comes from Lee Jaewook and Lee Dohyun and their reincarnations were some of my favourites. Of course, it was Yi Jae in them that made them more sympathetic and easy to connect with, but I truly loved their acting in here and I’m so glad to see them continue being their best selves. Same goes for Yoo Insoo who finally went back to a villain role (versatile king) and I wanted to punch him so bad the entire time while Kim Jaewook truly decided to bring the if villain bad then why sexy trope to life. Seeing Yi Jae use his reincarnation for his revenge purposes was so satisfying! Kim Jihoon is always a believable villain and he took on the role of the main one here without a problem – dear Lord, that man just couldn’t die, I was losing my mind. However, my absolute favourite reincarnation has to be Oh Jungse’s character – detective Ahn Ji Hyung. I love Oh Jungse and I think he’s such a fantastic and versatile actor (imagine having It’s Okay Not To Be Okay, Revenant and Hot Stove League just sitting in your portfolio) and I loved this reincarnation so much. Not only was the detective likeable, he was also somewhat a finish line for Yi Jae’s revenge plot and it was so thrilling seeing him work using memories of all of his lives. Oh Jungse stole the show for me for sure! 
The story is very straight-forward, as the summary explains, and it’s interesting to see what will happen next knowing all of these characters are bound to die. There’s always a small part of you hoping the character will live or that something will happen but it is still very satisfying to see that Yi Jae managed to get revenge for so many of them and to connect all of them together in the end, even if it meant using the bad guys for his own purposes. I’d say watch out for some genuine gore in the show as once Kim Jaewook enters the scene in Episode 5, things get a bit crazy and there are body parts being throw and blood being splattered everywhere. That was honestly… an experience on many levels. Either way, the plot progresses well and the actors carry this drama on their back. As we approach the ending, the plot holes just keep popping up and if it wasn’t for these talented people trying to convince us with their acting, I’d be over it at times. Death’s Game’s strongest asset is exactly that – the actors and actresses carrying the story. Now, onto what’s going to turn into a rant – Death’s Game obviously deals with suicide, depression, death (over and over again) and as such I expected certain tropes to arise. However, I was so weirdly put-off by the constant victim shaming from the very beginning that it had me genuinely confused what are they trying to accomplish with this. Of course, I should’ve also paid attention to the fact that the drama is government sponsored (which appears at the beginning of every episode) because this, in the end, truly feels like a bizarre, gruesome campaign against suicide that somehow tries to convince you to not kill yourself by telling you that you’re selfish, careless, stupid, that other people have it worse, that you deserve to be punished for not being able to endure the suffering brought upon the society itself (hypocrisy at its best?) and the fact that the corruption, state of economy and abuse of power seem to be hanging over our poor lives. Instead of addressing the fact that the main character takes his own life because he simply cannot take it anymore – he’s been working to the bone his whole life, studying but not managing to find a job, feeling ridiculed and lost after so many tries and those in power acting like they’re Gods, feeling like a burden for those he loves – the show is somehow trying to convince us that he is a selfish, idiotic loser and coward who only thinks about himself and who’s at fault for absolutely everything that’s happening. Instead of acknowledging that it’s the slave-like society all of us work in, the capitalism that’s eating us alive slowly and the corruption and abuse of power of those above us that’s at fault here in the first place, the show somehow decides that Yi Jae should definitely be blamed, shamed, ridiculed and accused of being a bad person, son, boyfriend and everything in between. Like him wanting to have money which he’s been working for his whole life is selfish beyond understanding? I fail to see how this approach was supposed to evoke anything in me but utmost shock and disbelief that lasted until the very end. If this was supposed to be a nicely wrapped campaign to fight against high rates of suicide, I really don’t think this was the way of doing it. I understand that he left people who love him behind, but what about those who have no one? Yi Jae’s sin was not only killing himself, but also leaving his girlfriend and mother behind. Okay, what about those who are alone? How is this narrative doing any good work? I think it was distasteful and I wish I skipped over some Death scenes because I was getting annoyed. We get it, we should be suffering because of others. Patronizing much? The ending, while emotional, left me feeling a bit torn. I’m glad that Yi Jae got another chance but does going back also mean that everything he did and fought for as his reincarnations is immediately undone? Because I’d rather go to hell than have that lunatic who kept killing everyone thriving. It also brings the question of his girlfriend – even if he gets his life back, is she still destined to die at the same time and place and there’s nothing he can do – not even get revenge? A bit all over the place either way. I’d say the drama is worth watching for the absolutely stellar cast who was killing it the entire time – they truly were amazing – and for the unique premise (8 episodes will fly by as well) but beware of the victim blaming for sure. As a whole Death’s Game would’ve been much better without this somewhat insensitive patronizing, but I’d give it something between a 7.75 and 8. |