Cain and Abel (2009)

I'm not too into revenge driven plots. Mostly because the story development sometimes comes off as clichéd in regards of character motivation, actions, etc,and this was that, to a certain extent; this isn't a perfectly executed dama. There are many elements that I didn't or found to be far fetched. Dare I say unrealistic? For example, Chae Jung An’s role in the story was an important one but the direction it had was very odd to me. Obviously this does happen but the way the character (Kim Seo Yeon) bounced between the two brothers was off putting and awkward. This plot is used often among its contemporaries, so it's harsh to solely point ‘Cain and Abel’ out for this. But then arises many flaws such as how easily she forgave Seon Woo when she found out his actions. In addition to that plot, there is too much underdevelopment regarding the father's lack of love and care for Seon Woo growing up. It's only spoken about and not shown. I believe there should've been more time dedicated to showing this. Make more use of the child actors' scenes given the actors at their disposal.

However, this was a compelling drama piece that gave our main characters (Lee Cho In and Lee Seon Woo) depth. Lee Seon Woo is both hateful and sympathetic, thanks to Shin Hyun Joon’s terrific portrayal of him, and Lee Cho In is someone with a heartful soul but is filled with burden and pain. Despite the characters getting darker as the drama progressed, the very essence of their being is kept no matter what. Lee Cho In out manoeuvring Seon Woo and his Mother despite their shady tactics that almost killed Cho In earlier in the story, was very satisfying. Getting rid of the main instigators, retaking what is his while they were helpless to stop him and making them feel shame and humility in their final moments to make a recipe for a great revenge drama. I'm surprised how little Oh Yeong Ji (Han Ji Min) had to do with that side of the plot as usually the female main character would have a more on hand role but she didn't and I'm grateful. Her character was very innocent and was a shining light in Cho In’s life among the hateful walls surrounding it, and everything she did, or was a part of, was befitting for her character.

There were a few stand out performances in this along with an exciting story. This is worth seeking out.

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I think the reason Cain and Abel didn't get great reviews when it first came out is because it's in the melodrama tradition and by 2009, audiences were burnt out on the typical amnesia/car accident/terminal illness trifecta. I only stumbled upon this drama while looking up shows to binge that were leaving Netflix soon. Little did I know, I would embark on one of my fastest and most enjoyable kdrama binges.

Even though I find 20 episode dramas a challenge to finish, this one was never a slog to get through. Every episode ending is a cliffhanger and there was really good pacing for most of the show. I binged it in a single weekend! This show is an epic that spans China, North Korea, and South Korea with action, crime, hospital drama, and yes - the usual melodrama tropes but blended in such a way that I didn't mind a single bit.

Warning - the show does have some bloody scenes where viewers may feel squeamish right from episode 1. After all, it is a hospital drama. (Side note: The first episode's quick dive into surgery gore really reminded me of American TV show The Knick. Both feature a doctor who's ill himself and deals with hospital politics. Totally recommend The Knick if you're interested in the hospital genre)

CHARACTERS AND ACTING:
So Ji Sub - His portrayal of rich, hot doctor Cho In in this drama is his most droolworthy role I've seen so far. It's So Ji Sub, so of course I would love him. When he cries, I cry. Here, he showcases his acting ability with the contrast between his stone-cold revenge face and his sweet smile for his love interest. I love me a cheeky male lead who lightly teases his girl. My mom converted into a So Ji Sub fan from this drama and she thought she'd never stan an actor with monolids.

Shin Hyun Joon - Oh boy, I disliked his character in Stairway to Heaven and I dislike him here too. Sun Woo is a love-to-hate villain and you'll spend hours seething at his on-screen evil actions. Nevertheless, the writing and acting was masterful in getting me to feel sympathetic to Team Sun Woo, composed of of Sun Woo the evil brother, the evil mom, and the girl he steals.

Han Ji Min - Main girl Oh Young Ji is spunky without being annoyingly brash. I didn't like her too much in the first few episodes but she grew on me quickly. In my eyes, she got more likeable, cuter, and prettier the more I saw her on screen.

Chae Jung An - I felt bad for her character, someone who's full of regrets but cannot change the way her heart feels. This is the girl who invokes the Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder trope not once, but twice! And with brothers, no less.

Overall - Acting is on point from everyone! Even the paralyzed dad had amazing acting with just his eyes conveying emotion. The directing in this show calls for a lot of closeups, but they hold up to scrutiny due to the strength of the entire cast. Both female leads are soooo pretty and sympathetic.

ROMANCE:
First off, I found this drama so refreshing as a melodrama without Second Lead Syndrome and dragged out jealousy. Even though there was a love square, there was no girl vs girl fighting AT ALL. Wow, I can't remember the last drama I watched that had that. I had zero Second Lead Syndrome because the couples all paired off very nicely and even the minor character side couple was cute AF!

The love stories had many factors that were believable obstacles. For the main romance, I really enjoyed the progression from friendship to love and how he was uncertain whether he saw her as a sister out of duty/friendship or a woman that he was attracted to beyond that. The main couple ended up becoming one of the kdrama couples I cheered on the most! As someone who doesn't usually rewind, I have to say that the couple scenes with So Ji Sub and Han Ji Min are so cute you might want to replay them a few times! I literally went back and rewatched their scenes right after I finished the drama. That's how much I loved their interactions <3

WRITING:
(Disclaimer - this is my first time watching a kdrama with Chinese subs instead of English and I felt that the translation was more smooth in sentence cadence and transference of emotion. So I'm not sure if I'm giving higher scores than normal in this department because the writing or the translation is better than dramas I've watched before)

Sometimes, the scenes were just so dramatic, like characters punching walls and ripping papers. But that's part of the fun of the melodrama ride! Well written dialogue in the slower scenes that moved me emotionally.

Besides the sad stuff, the kdrama humour here is actually funny and most of the logic leaps made enough sense in-universe such that even my nitpicky parents who watched it with me were satisfied. One weakness was the "finish the job" gangster guys who never actually finished the job and got finished off themselves LMAO There was also an unintentionally-comedic fight scene with them in which the blows reminded me of the doge bonk meme.

Looking at the drama as a whole, I appreciated the consistency of the themes such as forgiveness, sins of the parent vs child, and choosing not to kill / to do good where possible. The drama reinforced these themes consistently with flashbacks recalling specific moments but not overdoing the flashbacks. The writers also did a great job of incorporating the good vs evil theme within an emotionally realistic cast of conflicted, morally gray characters. Character progression was realistic; serious sins were not forgiven right away.

Finally, the ambiguous ending was perfectly satisfying for me - serving just desserts but not too harsh or depressing, the exactly perfect touch of bittersweet with So Ji Sub's poignant, subtle face delivering a conflicted mix of pity, guilt, and love. I really liked how the ending resolved in a way that revenge was served but without compromising the main character's goodness completely. It served his character arc well and kept with consistent theme cues. My first reaction was to give this drama an objective 8.5 but decided to change it to 9 just because I personally enjoyed it so much and feel that it's underrated!

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This was a generally easy show to watch in that I was able to watch it without wanting to drop it or needing a few days in between episodes. I was planning on giving this show a solid 8 until the last episode where everything just turned super melodramatic. I am of the mindset that not every villain needs be redeemed, especially when "redemption" for certain characters is not exactly believable. Unfortunately this show didn't believe in that concept. I don't care how much of a bleeding heart you have, some things are just not forgivable and even if they were, you definitely would not somehow turn everything around and blame yourself for someone else's shitty actions (talking about Cho In's and Sun Woo's father).

Now coming in to this I knew it was a revenge story and that I would not find myself actually rooting for the villain (in general I hardly do) and that was fine by me. I don't have to like the villain, in fact I like not liking the villain. However, I do not enjoy watching a villain with absolutely no charm or charisma. To be frank, Sun Woo in general wasn't acted well. The actor felt completely one dimensional up until the very last scene of the show where finally I felt myself feeling something other than utter annoyance. It really frustrated me because Sun Woo is a multifaceted character who in another actor's hands might have come off brilliantly.

I was not expecting to think much of Cho In at all because of So Ji Sub. I specifically watched this show after watching So Ji Sub in Ghost and being completely unimpressed by him. His1000+ hearts on this site baffled me and I wanted to find out what so many people saw in him. He was my absolute favorite in this show. First of all he looked adorable and secondly his wounded portrayal of Cho In just murdered my heart. I swear this man conveyed so much with his eyes, I just wanted someone, anyone to hug him at all times.

As far as the female characters go, I actually really liked Seo Yeon. She was far from perfect and thank the TV gods for that, I like my characters to be as close to human as possible. What I liked most about her is despite dating two brothers she was upfront about her feelings. She stuck by her feelings and when the time came for her to prove it, she did. When Sun Woo asked her if she would stick by him even he did despicable things she meant it. A female who sticks by her guns and doesn't play with people's hearts? Yes please. Plus she was genuinely a sweet person.

Young Ji drove me up a wall majority of the time. She was adorable at times, but mostly she came off as obsessive and stalkerish. Such a shame as she and So Ji Sub had really nice chemistry.

Back Seung Hyun, who played Chi Soo, was so dedicated and he got my blood boiling, but it was such an awesome performance. In fact I found his relationship with Cho In much more interesting than Cho In and Sun Woo's because of his great performance.

The side "romance" felt random and just "there". Didn't add much to the show at all.

All in all the show was solid and if you need a reason to watch this show, So Ji Sub would be it.

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Outro dos meus doramas preferidos Cain And Abel é um drama igualmente eletrizante envolvente como Goodbye Mr. Black. A atuação de So Ji Sub está impressionante. Bem sofrida e angustiante como o Dr. Lee Cho In. A trilha sonara conta com mais músicas instrumentais do que cantadas muito boas. Além de atuar no drama Ji Sub também está presente na trilha sonora com a sua Foolish Love. E o que dizer de sua companheira de cena Han Ji Min que também está igual de impressionante com sua Oh Young-ji que não deixa nada a desejar. Os dramas de sua personagem são bem reais e angustiantes também. Apesar reprovar algumas atitudes de Oh Young-ji gosto muito da historia que os personagens principais constroem ao longo do drama. O elenco todo está de parabéns fizeram um excelente trabalho principalmente os antagonistas que deixa o telespectador realmente com ódio deles com cada ação que fazem contra o personagem principal.

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