W; W - Two Worlds - ★

W (W - Two Worlds)

This one is a real rollercoaster...

Okay, so some dramas blend genres and moods in a way that is subtle and nuanced. Not this one. 
W throws you around like a car crash. You don't know which way is up and what is going to happen next. 

W is the story of (shocker) two worlds. One is ours, and one is a manhwa written by someone in our world. 

This is another one I probably won't delve too too deeply into the plot, partly because it is so chaotic, and partly because I don't want to spoil all the things. I will spoil that the ending a good one, although not for everyone. It does wrap up in the best way it probably could.

So. On to some things.

Oh Yeon-Joo (Han Hyo-Joo) is a surgeon whose father is the author of W. She is in love with the main character, Kang Chul (who isn't). One day, her father vanishes and in her search for him, she gets sucked into the manhwa, where she saves Kang Chul's life. Everything gets weird when the lines start to blur. Suddenly, Kang Chul is not just some character, he is flesh and blood and she saved his life. She finds out that her father has been trying to kill off his cursed main character for this very reason. His tablet is possessed or something, and is the window between worlds that all this mayhem happens through. Oh Yeon-Joo keeps finding herself thrown into W, where she has no identification and everyone is suspicious of her. The upside is that she gets to kiss Kang Chul (for science). No, really. She has to find a way to end the chapter in order to come back to her world. So she has to do something drastic to make some sort of cliff-hanger. It's pretty funny and awkward. 

The real people become more and more entangled in W and all the threads begin to unravel. Kang Chul becomes self-aware and all hell breaks loose. 

Kang Chul (played by the amazingly handsome Lee Jong-Suk) is THE BEST. Like. The coolest. He was an olympic marksman in high school. He family was murdered and he was framed but he came out on top to become a mega-rich CEO who is super hot and super smart. His mission is just to find out who killed his parents. 

Let me just say - I LOVE him. I am a huge Sherlock fan, and Kang Chul has taken the throne. He is so quick-witted, but in a way that is relaxing. It's strange but you feel comfortable in his deduction, like it's no big deal. He is a perfectly built character. He has a strong sense of justice, he is kind, he is funny, and he is intelligent and down to earth. His romance that blossoms with Yeon-Joo is great to watch (although very stressful at times). He is just very intrigued by this strange woman with all her crazy antics. But he falls in love with her in such a sweet way throughout the series that you root for them with all your heart. 

Kang Chul = the best. Ever. 

The plot gets complicated by the emergence of the killer, who has no created identity in the manhwa. A huge cat-and-mouse game ensues that keeps you guessing until the end. 

The characters were not as fleshed out as they could have been, with the exception of W's creator, Yeon-Joo's dad. There was so much action happening that it would have been too much to try and really get into too many of the characters. The main ones are pretty covered, and the rest of them have enough spotlight for the series that isn't too distracting. 

The cast was great - very fun and great at shifting gears when the scene called for it. If you like detective shows or cop dramas this show would be a great one. It also is great if you like sweet, everyday romances, with some drama and crying mixed in. 

Definitely a recommendation from me. Again. Kang Chul. I don't need to say anything else.