Hyde, Jekyll And I
하이드,
지킬, 그리고 나
SBS (2015)
20 Episodes
Melodrama, Crime / Mystery, Romance Grade: A-
Korean Drama Review by Alison, USA
Having been on hiatus
from K-dramas for many months, I finally decided it was
high time to indulge myself again. The drama I chose to
watch was 2015's Hyde, Jekyll and I aka Hyde,
Jekyll and Me, starring Hyun Bin and Han
Ji Min. I'd been intrigued by the concept of this story
ever since reading Jill's
comprehensive review -- it dealt with a rather
rare form of mental illness, and I always enjoy the
exploration of human psychology. Plus I am a huge fan of
Hyun Bin - is anyone NOT a fan of his? - ever since I
saw The
Snow Queen years ago and bawled my eyes out.
This tall, handsome actor projects such
intelligence and decency, and has the most engaging smile.
He puts both his gravity and his charm to excellent use in
playing a man struggling with Dual Identity Disorder (DID) -
a condition I'd seen portrayed in American movies like The
Three Faces of Eve and Sibyl. But neither of
those films speculated on what it would be like to fall in
love with someone whose personality has been splintered into
distinct and separate selves. In fact, the last time I
watched anything remotely like that was the American soap
opera One Live to Life. I had gotten hooked on that
when I was a teenager because it featured a story line about
a young woman who had two personalities - one prim and
proper, and one wild, and wouldn't you know it? There were
two male best friends, and each of them was in love with one
of the personalities.
FULL OST
So with great anticipation, I settled down with a cup of
cocoa (a Christmas present from Jill), my dog and three cats
to watch. As always, the K-drama didn't disappoint and drew
me in.
Interestingly, it used a clip from a Richard Gere film - Primal
Fear - to first introduce the concept of DID. In that
movie, the character with two personalities - one a shy,
awkward boy and the other a cold-blooded killer - was
revealed to be faking his alter ego (guess which one was
real). But the protagonist of Hyde, Jekyll and I is
genuinely afflicted. And unlike the classic Jekyll Hyde
tale, this is not a case of one personality being good while
the other was pure evil. Both men are flawed, incomplete,
and vulnerable in their own way. Seo Jin suffered a
traumatic event in his childhood which left him fearful and
disconnected from his emotions. His solution was to draw
from far within himself to create another personality -
Robin (shades of Batman and Robin!) -- who can relate
to others in a way he cannot, who is in fact ideally
programmed to be a savior of others, a hero who can be
loved.
Seo Jin Vs. Robin Who Will Prevail?
The Story: When we first meet Seo Jin (Hyun Bin), his
alternate personality Robin has been dormant for five years,
and he's left behind some friends who have been missing him
terribly, including a young girl with a big crush (Lee Hye
Ri, cute as a button and just verging on being annoying).
Robin comes alive when triggered by the appearance of a
beautiful woman with a past history to both Seo Jin and
Robin (in Korean drama, hero and heroine usually meet as
children and Hyde, Jekyll and I is no exception).
Jang Ha Na is a circus performer and manager, and she's
portrayed by the exquisite actress Han Ji Min, whose big
limpid eyes and quiet dignity ground the more outlandish
elements of this drama. Ha Na bursts onto the scene by
helping to tame a large (and to my mind laughably fake
looking) gorilla which has somehow escaped from the zoo and
is terrorizing people just like King Kong. While Seo Jin is
frozen with fear, he sees this young woman call out to the
gorilla and engage it in play (apparently they are old
friends and like the original King Kong, this one likes
pretty females).
Ha Na with Seo Jin
Ha Na has just returned from the US -
visiting Las Vegas as so many K-drama characters do - and is
set to resume her management of the circus which has a
contract with Seo Jin's Wonderland, some kind of
amusement park subsidiary of a larger corporation run by Seo
Jin's father (Lee Deok Hwa, a character actor who
specializes in playing dominating fathers). I could never
really figure out what the company was selling or why it had
an amusement park with a circus, but what does it matter?
Seo Jin is an uptight corporate type with wire rim glasses
and Robin is a free spirit with artistic talent. Seo Jin has
no interest in Ha Na (or anyone else for that matter) but
her presence draws Robin out of hiding and into her life and
heart and this sets the stage for a highly unusual romance.
Ha Na with Robin
For a detailed synopsis and analysis of
the plot, please read Jill's
review. I won't rehash the story line here, but wanted
to provide a few additional impressions of this drama, which
for me, despite some reservations, is a must-see. Fittingly,
as I watched the drama unfold, I experienced a little of Seo
Jin's dual personality - part of me loved it, and part of me
became frustrated. On the plus side, Hyde, Jekyll and I
showcases a pitch perfect performance by Hyun Bin, who
conveys two distinct individuals with little more than a
change in hair style, expression, and the way he carries
himself. He is terrific - and lovable - in both roles,
quite a feat because initially Seo Jin is anything but
lovable. He's the kind of guy who pushes women who are
begging for help away from him so he can save himself (that
behavior will be explored later in the drama, it is the key
to his fractured self). Meanwhile Robin comes to the
rescue - more than once - with all the appeal of Clark Kent
/ Superman rolled into one (was that another case of DID?).
Hyun Bin's leading lady Han Ji Min as Jang
Ha Na is also excellent- she is spirited, warm, and
compassionate and fun loving and it's easy to see why even a
cold fish like Seo Jin isn't immune to her. The supporting
cast is also fine, and I especially liked the actor who
played the loyal advisor to both Seo Jin and Robin, named Young Chan Kwon (delightful actor Seung Joon
Lee of Descendants
Of The Sun and Nine: Nine
Time Travels). I thought that the depiction of a
man struggling with this particular mental illness was
credibly handled, and in a way that makes you wonder what in
the world you would do if you fell in love with someone with
such a condition. I found myself forgetting that Seo Jin and
Robin were really inhabiting the same body, they were truly
so different. Ha Na has the same experience, and she loves
only one of them, even while wanting the other to be able to
live a full life cured of his illness. The story of Seo Jin
and Robin's evolution is very touching - as always with
K-dramas I found my eyes filling with tears many times. And
I could barely drag myself away from it especially in the
first half. The dog and cats eventually went to sleep but I
stayed up late into the night watching episode after
episode.
Now for the down side. I did think that the drama dragged a
bit, with repetitious scenes - Robin nearly being exposed,
Seo Jin having to impersonate Robin, Robin having to
impersonate Seo Jin, the two personalities confronting each
other by leaving videos for the other to view. The chief
villain is revealed long before the drama concludes and for
the life of me I could not really figure out what his agenda
was as he keeps taunting Seo Jin and manages to kidnap the
same person not once but twice while the police sit around
with their thumbs up their behinds. Somehow the plot line is
not as taut as it could be, and the drama features a roster
of classic K-drama cliches - childhood meeting, man carrying
woman on piggyback, offering her his umbrella, walks in the
snow, kissing with eyes open, hugging from the back, etc. I
had to laugh sometimes at the hesitating way the characters
often spoke. You - big pause. Why are you here? - big
pause. Don't know.
And really, don't the Koreans ever want to get busy with
anyone? Even on a wedding night, a couple is just
cuddling. You would think they MIGHT want to make love, but
no, they want to watch videos.
"I'm Falling!"
All these minor quibbles aside, the final
episodes are terribly romantic, terribly sad, and terribly
human. When the series ended I felt I really knew these
characters and had experienced their triumphs and
heartbreak. It was ultimately quite an emotional roller
coaster. Seo Jin's journey to self-discovery is a profound
experience for him and for the viewer. I give Hyde,
Jekyll and I an A - and highly recommend it if
you're looking for something romantic and thought provoking,
and to see one of Korea's best actors, Hyun Bin, giving
another unforgettable performance.
