The Worst of Evil – Full Review
Welcome to The Worst of Evil – Full Review. A small town detective goes undercover to try to expose a dangerous drug ring. If you haven’t watched this drama yet, I recommend checking out my unspoiled review here.
The Worst of Evil
♥ Aired: September 27 – October 25, 2023
♥# of Episodes: 12
♥Where to Watch: Hulu
♥Genre: Crime Action Drama
♥Starring: Ji Chang Wook and Wi Ha Joon
The Story
Set in 1990’s Gangham, a small town detective is recruited to go undercover to expose an organized drug ring. He enters into a dark and dangerous new environment of night clubs and violence. But his effort to gain the trust of the powerful boss seem to be succeeding. So, he is shocked when his wife, who is also a detective, joins the operation. And her surprising connection to the boss’ past complicates their mission and their marriage. Now he will have to tread very carefully if he is going to bring down the criminals while protecting both his wife and his own safety.
The Leads
Ji Chang Wook as Park Joon Mo/Kwon Seung Ho
Park Joon Mo is a police officer at a small station outside the city. When he is approached by his mentor about working undercover in Gangnam he jumps at the opportunity to prove his skills as an officer and finally receive a promotion. His target is a powerful gang leader named Jung Ki Chul, who makes money in illegal night clubs and drug sales. Joon Mo, whose undercover name is Kwon Seung Ho, claims to be the cousin of Ki Chul’s best friend, who was recently killed in a fight with another gang. Although Ki Chul is distrustful at first, Seung Ho proves himself invaluable with his fighting skills. Soon he works his way into becoming one of Ki Chul’s most trusted guys. But when Joon Mo finds his wife, who is also a detective, is Ki Chul’s first love and that the two have recently reconnected, he is forced, for the sake of the operation, to stand in the shadows and let her date Ki Chul. And until they have all the evidence they need to put Ki Chul and his cronies away for good, he will do his best to keep himself and his wife’s true identities from being revealed.
Park Joon Mo met his wife while they were attending the police academy. But while Joon Mo’s father was a petty criminal and addict, Eui Jung comes from a family of decorated police officers. And her family seems to take every opportunity to belittle him about his lack of promotions and recognition. For Joon Mo, this has been a point of shame. Which is why he jumps at the chance to go undercover, without even telling his wife where he was going. Joon Mo’s background is also why he can understand Ki Chul and sometimes seems to almost envy his exciting life on the edge. Ji Chang Wook is great in action roles and I always enjoy watching him. His portrayal of Joon Mo as he slowly loses control and perspective is terrific and I think he suited the role perfectly.
Wi Ha Joon as Jung Ki Chul
Jung Ki Chul used to go to school and church with Eui Jung. The pair shared a young, first love before Ki Chul’s family had to move away suddenly. From that time, Ki Chul started working as a DJ and later rose to power, recruiting a gang of faithful companions to help him maintain control of the area. Recently Ki Chul has entered into a drug ring, working with Japanese and Chinese gangs to introduce an intoxicating new drug into the clubs of Korea. When Ki Chul meets Eui Jung again by chance and she tells him she is divorced, he begins to dream about an average life, away from the crime and nightclub scene. Little does he know that his new right-hand man, Seung Ho, is Eui Jung’s current husband and that the two of them are both involved in a sting operation to expose his gang activities and send him to jail.
Jung Ki Chul has done what he needed to survive, but he always hoped to put it all behind him some day and settle down. And when he meets Eui Jung again, he is ready to give up everything he has worked to build to spend the rest of his life with her. And as his friendship with Seung Ho begins to develop, Ki Chul is also sure that he has found the perfect person to hand his business over to. Unfortunately for him, neither of those things will ever happen. Wi Ha Joon has embraced the ability to play villains, or at least, characters who walk the line between good and evil. He is at once so charming and so cold. I love it! And this is another role that he brought to life in a realistic way that made you both pity and respect him.
Supporting Characters
Im Se Mi as Yoo Eui Jung
Yoo Eui Jung grew up with Ki Chul and was his first love. Now she is married to Joon Mo, and they are both police officers. When she learns that her husband is working undercover to arrest Ki Chul, she demands that they let her work the case as well. She tells Ki Chul that she is divorced so that she can date him while she helps with the investigation. But her history with Ki Chul and the lies she has to tell eat away at her emotions and leave her confused.
BIBI as Lee Hae Ryeon
Lee Hae Ryeon is the daughter of the Chinese crime boss working with Ki Chul. She comes to Korea to protect their assets and make some kind of deal with Ki Chul and the Japanese boss. But when Hae Ryeon meets Seung Ho she immediately falls for him. While Hae Ryeon is very open about her desire to be in a relationship with him, Seung Ho tries to keep her interested without betraying his wife. But that becomes harder with time, and soon Seung Ho finds himself trying to protect Hae Ryeon rather than arrest her.
Yoon Gyung Ho as Hwang Min Gu
Hwang Min Gu is a detective who has been taking money on the side from criminals for years. He has created his own power center while secretly helping certain criminals keep from getting caught. He doesn’t know that Joon Mo is working undercover, but he sees his work with Ki Chul as a threat to his own illegal actions. In the end, Min Gu’s determination will expose Joon Mo’s true identity and jeopardize the whole police operation.
Things I Liked
♥ Lead Chemistry
The complex relationship with Seungo Ho and Ki Chul was one of the highlights of this drama for me. There are moments when the pair are bonding, and we definitely get those friendship bromance vibes. But these scenes are counter-balanced with points where they realize, each for their own reasons, they can’t fully trust each other. Its the intricate dance between these feelings that gives this drama a unique feel that I appreciated.
♥ Multi-National Scope
I thought it was interesting the way this drama brings the Korean, Chinese, and Japanese crime rings together as a single operation. Each gang has their own characters and politics that give this series an interesting twist. I especially found Hae Ryeon’s story to be well- written. We get a chance to see her as more than just the spoiled daughter of a rich crime lord. She loves and is loved in ways that made me understand and pity her.
♥ Joon Mo’s Transformation
I read plenty of criticism for Ji Chang Wook taking this role. But I have to say that I thought Joon Mo’s journey into the darkness of evil was so well played. It’s true that this is no happy-go-lucky rom-com, but it was a great opportunity for the actor to portray a complex, emotional character The moment when he sees Eui Jung watching him fight, and for the first time he sees himself and who he has become through her eyes, was poignant and heartbreaking. There is no black and white for him in this situation, and that truth will likely follow him for the rest of his life.
Things I Didn’t Like
Marriage Story
The “love” story of this drama is easily the weakest part for me. The sporadic flashbacks never do enough to paint a picture of Joon Mo and Eui Jung’s marriage. I feel like if the drama has taken the time to show them as a loving couple in the beginning of the series, it would have made their separation at the end much more impactful. As it is, we see Joon Mo take off on assignment without even telling his wife he was leaving. That makes me feel like their relationship may have just been broken to start with. Even the few times we see them have a quick moment alone or talking on the phone, there is no chemistry or emotion there.
Violence
I’m beginning to feel like a broken record here, and I understand that a crime noir drama about a drug ring is going to have violence. In fact, I really liked the action fight scenes, its just the blood and gore I could do without. This dark style of drama, heavily influenced by American backers, is becoming icreasingly more popular in the kdrama world. And it is that trend more than anything else that makes me call it out here. In itself, the bloody moments are not horrible, but for me they hint at a bigger problem in general.
Investigation
The story of this investigation just doesn’t seem realistic to me. First of all, they recruit a no name police officer with no undercover experience from some small station to try to take down a big name gang leader. That in itself doesn’t make much sense. But then, they send in his wife for back-up? Really? Not to mention, not only is she Joon Mo’s wife but she has a personal history with their main target. This seems like a conflict of interest waiting to happen. And the idea that this single-handed sting gets backing from Japan and China to take down the entire drug ring with hardly any advanced preparation seemed like a real stretch to me.
The Ending
Well, good luck finding the silver lining in this one. Seriously, no one gets a happy ending here. Detective Seok and Detective Hwang are both dead at the hands of those they sought to protect. The police from Korea, Japan, and China all sweep in to arrest and capture their respective gangs. The only exception is Hae Ryeon who is warned by Seung Ho to lay low in Hong Kong until things die down. Joon Mo and Eui Jung ackwardly return to their apartment to find Ki Chul standing in front of their wedding picture. Ki Chul raises his gun to his own head, vowing to haunt their memories for the rest of their lives. But before he can pull the trigger, Joon Mo pulls out his gun and kills him. Later, we see Joon Mo and Eui Jung sitting apart in an empty auditorium as they receive awards for their work. It’s obvious that Joon Mo finally got his promotion, but it came at the cost of his marriage and his integrity. The final scene shows Joon Mo at Ki Chul’s gravesite. A bouquet of flowers tied with Eui Jung’s necklace shows she has been there. Joon Mo lights a cigarette for his old friend and as he turns to leave, he takes off his wedding ring and sets it down.
Should I Watch
“The Worst of Evil” is a gloomy crime drama about betrayal and responsibility. Once again, I need to emphasize that this show is rated Mature for a reason. It is unapologetically violent, gory and at times stiflingly depressing. . To be honest, I’m not sure crime noir is my thing. All of that dark violence and action doesn’t leave much room for the story depth and character development I am partial to. That being said, if you can get over the darker themes and violence, I have to hand it to this series. The acting was raw and riveting and the cinematography was eerily realistic. Ji Chang Wook’s performance as a police officer slowly slipping into the evil he is supposed to be fighting was well worth the watch. I give “The Worst of Evil” an 8 out of 10 ramen.
🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜