Watching Inspector Koo helped me understand why the council of the Merciless Evil Devil From Hell megafandom has been rejecting Psychopath Diary as a part of their own for the last couple of years.
What the plots of The Merciless, Beyond Evil, The Devil Judge and Strangers From Hell have in common is the dynamic between their main characters. It’s required one character that represents corruption (Jaeho, Dongsik, Yohan and Moonjo) and one character that has the potential to be corrupted or is already corrupted and ignorant to/in denial about it (Hyunsoo, Joowon, Gaon and Jongwoo).
All of them begin on opposite sides of their counterparts (even in the circumstance where they work on the same team, they have their own agendas, and distrust and/or disagreements are ever present). Eventually, however, the ones with potential to be corrupted will choose to be on the side of the characters that represent corruption, whether definitely or temporarily (in Hyunsoo’s tragic case). This transition to the side of their counterparts happens after they comprehend and sympathize with their motivations.
The forementioned transition never happens in Psychopath Diary. The main character (Dongsik) was forced to learn about and analyze his counterpart (Inwoo)’s inner thoughts and motivations in order to understand himself, during the time Dongsik mistakenly believed he was Inwoo and only had his diary to guide him. Despite being initially motivated by a misunderstanding, his dedication brought results: he understands Inwoo, profoundly. But—much like the protagonist of Inspector Koo with her counterpart—he doesn’t agree with him. When he tried to wear Inwoo’s skin, his instinct rejected it. He had to modify it to something that made sense to him, something he could consent to. The same energy, but opposite moral codes.
Dongsik, with his sense of identity intact, wouldn’t be swayed by Inwoo’s cause. He couldn’t be persuaded, because he wasn't tempted. A characteristic he lacked in comparison to the characters from the MEDFH who gave in to it. Who accepted it because their energies matched their counterparts’; not for being opposites, but for being similar. The same moral code, or at least one flexible enough to accept theirs and stand tall by their side.
Hell is other people - calls him darling, protects him from *evil* people, keeps him company, makes him a custom bracelet. Need I say more. his girlfriend and him had 0 chemistry. because all the chemistry was between him and the *weird dentist who seems to be too much in me*. and *weird dentist* was not afraid to show his love outwards. if only we could them being reciprocated. but he loved him. so much so that he turns into him. would have been a perfect murder couple.
Psychopath diary- another attempt at trying to turn his boyfriend into him. even does all of the preparations . but his boyfriend is too dumb. always love the part where he shows off his special interest in his boyfriend. CEO!?!?!! with a measly employee. and the way he gets jealous when his boyfriend has other plans. would have been the psychopath and his cute boyfriend. but only some people know what kind of a person he can be *wink wink*.
The merciless- unlike the previous ones. this one did not need to MAKE his boy. he already came with the preparations. he just needed to tame him. but went too far with a brat and paid the price. (seems like im siwan has a thing for gay-coded roles. and unlike the others the direction of this film did say that the characters were written as having a romantic relationship but changed it in the end to avoid criticism. F*ck homophobes.)
Beyond evil- (haven't seen but know its gay) seems like all my favorite boys are gay-coded. not that i'm complaining. If Hollywood was brave enough and artsy enough during those buddy cop movies we would get something like this.
The devil judge- (haven't seen but know its gay) f*ck world. I just wanna be a malewife to the dictator in a dystopian world.
I love this drama so much, I want to analyse every scene of it. I find it so cleverly written and edited, plus there’s the perfect balance between tragedy and comedy in it (for me at least)
I’m not sure anyone’s waiting for this, but expect more Psychopath Diary fanarts from me because it’s clearly my new obsession
I’m on my way to watch it for the second time and I ordered the DVD soooo… well