Tag: kdrama

Rating the Squid Game (Characters)

*Spoilers ahoy*

Imagine waking up at 6:00 am, excited to embark on a lengthy hike up a mountain. It’s drizzling outside and at a spicy, 88 degrees Fahrenheit, the sparse sprinkling will keep you cool on your trek. You get in the car and drive towards the trailhead, checking the forecast at a stop light – there’s a chance of thunder later, but eh you’re already on the way.

Four miles into the hike, the light rain turns torrential. You realize (woefully) that you’re going to be uncomfortably soaked. But there’s only two miles until the top. Onward! It’s starts thundering and anxiety creeps over you but look! A sign signaling there’s a mere 0.5 miles left. So you push yourself, reaching the mountain’s peak only to find the fog is so thick it entirely obscures the view.

Did you have fun?

Yeah, sure. You enjoy nature in general, good views or not.

However, you can’t help but feel – as you make the long journey down the mountain cold, dripping wet, and sore – that maybe you’d have been better off staying home today.

That’s what watching Squid Game felt like.

Squid Game is about humans playing children’s games, except losing is death; winning means billions of won. It’s no surprise the show resonated with people around the world, given it’s themes and characters are relatable to everyone alive on planet Earth because most of us are broke and would also die for money.

Anyway, all opinions are mine and they are trash. My criteria for a good character is basically:

  1. Their removal would affect the plot
  2. They undergo some change/character development, good or bad
  3. We see different sides of their personality/can understand their motivations/background 
  4. If female, they cannot have a plot that revolves solely around a male character, or they must be really well-developed within the confines of the role they are written to play (love interest, etc.)

Darth Vader Front Man/In-ho

  • overlooked a lot of obvious things like the PlayStation Symbols messing with cameras, selling organs, etc.
  • actually a previous winner of the Squid Game
  • E-Q-U-A-L-I-T-Y!
  • took an arrow in the knee bullet in the shoulder for his bro

Front Man being hot cop’s brother was obvious as there were no other unknown, significant characters he could be.

Post-winning, Front Man embraced the ideology of Jeff Bezos the VIPs. Yet he wasn’t totally lost as he attempted to get his brother to join him so together they could rule the galaxy . It’s also possible he shot hot cop in the shoulder and not the chest/head, because frankly hot cop’s chances of survival by falling off a cliff into the ocean were far higher than his chances anywhere else.

Front Man/In-ho Rating: 7.5/10

Sang-woo

  • literally how did he survive without his glasses
  • graduated from SNU, in case you had no idea based on how many times it’s mentioned by multiple characters
  • Gi-hun’s childhood buddy
  • gave Saint Ali likely what little money he possessed for bus fare
  • manipulated Saint Ali into giving up his marbles. Tellingly, he didn’t even suggest another game like even dumpster Deok-su did
  • killed Sae-byeok

It’s easy to villainize Sang-woo because he’s trash. But Sang-woo wisely realized they weren’t all going to leave and chose violence life.

Sang-woo had the dignity to not accept Gi-hun’s dumb proposal to end the game and killed himself instead. Still, I wanted to see him struggle more with his own decaying morality. We see shades of this internal battle when he nearly tells Gi-hun about the dalgona candy, but then he just doesn’t? At that point, no one knew death directly correlated to more money, so are we to just assume he was a sociopath from the beginning? IMO, he could’ve used a bit more character development.

Nevertheless, he looks great in a suit.

Sang-woo rating: 8/10

(Dumpster) Deok-su

  • every story needs an additional villain to make everything worst for everyone involved
  • cool tattoos
  • i legit believe this man is a gangster in real life
  • thug before joining the games, coward after joining them
  • recognized he couldn’t trust the mfs with him and didn’t start another brawl at night, thus prolonging probably one person’s life for another day

After promising to stay with Min-yeo forever and then abandoning her before Tug o’ War, during Death-Hopscotch Min-yeo traps Deok-su in a bear hug and tosses them both into the glass riddled abyss below.

Deok-su Rating: 6.9/10

Tiger Mask

Incredibly within a group of men who travelled across the globe to watch in real time people die in horrible, violent ways while sitting on human furniture and making bets on who would win one stood out as being exceptionally repulsive: Tiger Mask.

Tiger Mask grew bored of watching people die from his human footstool, so he threatens a waiter (secretly hot cop Jun-ho) with death so he can sexually assault him instead.

I loved the imagery of Jun-ho taking off the tiger mask, a symbol of power, to reveal a wimpy, old coward.

Tiger Mask Rating: Jun-ho On A Cliff With One Bullet/10

Min-yeo

  • smartly aligned herself with those most likely to win (throwing dumpster Deok-su the lighter)
  • after not being picked for marbles, she slept while everyone else killed their bffs
  • fabulous hair
  • smuggled in cigarettes/a lighter via her vagina
  • had a child she never named

Min-yeo was brilliantly annoying but also yes, queen throw that mf off that bridge!!!!!!

Little is known about her back-story, but the amount of chaotic energy she brought overall was amazing, like putting on a show in the bathroom to cover for Sae-byeok. She literally went out with a bang, taking Deok-su and one of the glass panels down with her.

Min-Yeo Rating: 7.2/10

(Saint) Ali

  • pure as they come
  • strong, but smart. Sang-woo teams up with him for this reason
  • “stole” the money from his trash boss who was swindling him
    • Boss’ hand got crushed and Ali took off with the cash, giving it to his woman so she could fly home
  • a bilingual king
  • overly trusting. Sang-woo showed his true colors and Ali should’ve said, “you lost hyung, annyeong”.

Not only did my man grab Gi-hun with one hand and keep him from falling during Sniper Light, Green Light – Ali did it while keeping his own balance and perfect, unmoving posture. My man was ROBBED.

Ali exemplifies the “ideal immigrant”. He’s hard-working, kind, a family man, and even learned Korean. Yet that didn’t guarantee financial security, nor prevent him from being ROBBED. First by his Boss, second by Sang-woo. Of all the characters, his was the cleanest critique of capitalism, because Ali did everything right by capitalist standards and still ended up destitute enough to join the Squid Game.

Saint Ali deserved to win.

Ali Rating: 10/10

69 & 70

Husband and wife team. Have to play against each other in the marble game. Husband wins. Wife dies. Husband hangs himself.

69 & 70 Rating: Pigtailed Doll Saying 무궁화 꽃 이 피었 습니다/10

(Princess) Ji-yeong

  • fabulous hair
  • kinda upbeat, all things considered – more than once, she mentions wanting to hang out with Sae-byeok when they leave, only to remember that one of them isn’t leaving
  • understandably not a fan of religion given her trash pastor dad beat her mom and abused her
  • was in jail – like what a gangster

Ji-yeong’s 18 seconds of screen time showed that, contrary to what Trash Grandpa believed, there will always be good people in the world. Refusing to play the game of thrones marbles for her own gain was perhaps the greatest stick it to the VIPs.

Ji-yeong’s demise, while expected, was heartbreaking because we saw the best of humanity in her (brief) interactions with Sae-byeok. Her criminal past would paint her negatively in society, though ironically she was one of the few characters with heart. Despite being unreligious, she exemplifies the verse, “[g]reater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Ji-yeong Rating: 10/10

Oh Il-nam

  • actually the HBIC of VIPs having helped designed the games
  • literally chaotic evil – he made the games for LOLz, then joined because watching people die wasn’t fun enough given he was close to death himself
  • very pessimistic – Il-nam didn’t believe anyone would help the drunkard. While someone did (spoiler: not Gi-hun), he didn’t live to see it

The most shocking twist in the show was how evil Trash Grandpa was after seeming like a sweet, old guy with dementia (I was always mad suspicious though because really this old dude won a game of ddakji? Against Gong Yoo??). Trash Grandpa shows his true colors right before death though, in calling the drunken dude garbage.

Oh Ilnam Rating: 9/10

Gi-hun/Sang-woo’s mother:

  • never given names
  • one dies off-screen
  • one is given a child

Gi-hun/Sang-woo’s Mother Rating: -0.7/10

(Hot Cop) Jun-Ho

  • genuinely a good cop investigating his brother’s disappearance
  • wisely took receipts, then immediately sent those receipts as soon as he had service
  • plot armor prevented him from not getting caught for a very long time despite multiple individuals noticing how sus he was
  • nice eyes
  • nice face
  • nice hair
  • nice

Jun-ho’s entire existence was anxiety inducing. From sneaking around and posing as various PlayStation buttons, to catching the eye of Tiger Mask, to running around that island with poor cell service, I was stressed.

The most unbelievable part of Squid Game was his iPhone lasting that long, like at least be realistic and make it an Android. Anyway, Jun-ho was shot by his brother (Front Man) (in the shoulder, not the head/chest/anywhere else that would instantly kill him). Consequently, he fell off a cliff and is “dead”.

Jun-ho rating: 8.5/10

Doctor

He was losing sleep by helping the PlayStation Controllers frisk corpses for body parts and after he was done they were like, “yeah bro, we’ll tell you the next game tomorrow morning maybe idk if we can find out tho” like BYE. I would’ve stabbed them in the eyeballs with my fingernail.

Because of Doctor, Jun-ho learns about the escape route/diving gear and also Front Man was able to give his equality speech.

Doctor Rating: 5.5/10

(Queen) Sae-byeok

  • threw hot coffee in the face of that dude and threatened him with a knife
  • tragic backstory – dad is dead, she’s a defector from North Korea, she’s broke (like everyone else)
  • master pick pocket
  • snuck into a vent and spied on the sugar stirring PlayStation masks
  • pulled a chunk of glass out her body and still managed to live for a while longer
  • like one of 2.5 characters in the game for a noble reason – to bring her mother into South Korea and provide a better life for her brother
    • she made Gi-hun promise to take care of Cheol, and likely would’ve done the same for his mother.

Sae-byeok initially comes off as cold, being a pick-pocket, threatening/fighting Deok-su, generally being stand-off-ish, etc. but ultimately turns out to be one of few who keeps her humanity. Until the moment she was ROBBED of her life, she was thinking of others (Cheol/her mother), which is a testament to her warm heart. Her story is incredibly sad though as it shows how via no fault of one’s own (such as merely being born in the wrong country), one can end up fighting a losing battle just to live a normal life. And in a capitalist society, there are few (if any) resources for those who are just born unlucky.

My queen deserved to get her mojito on Jeju Island with the ghost of Ji-yeong!!

Sae-byeok Rating: 10/10

Gi-hun

  • gambled his ailing, nameless mom’s money away instead of buying his daughter a gift/meal
  • missed the birth of his daughter
  • divorced
  • can’t support his ill (unnamed) mother, who was working to support him
  • sighs approximately 43275382 times

Gi-hun was almost delusional in his optimism, but that’s a testament to his good character. Initially, he’s not really set up as sympathetic. But eventually we see his true nature has been slowly whittled away by life’s woes (death of a homie, work strike, losing his job, divorce, gambling addiction, series of bad financial choices). At his core, Gi-Hun is good. He isn’t willing to hurt others for gain, making him the perfect foil to Sang-woo. We see this goodness clearly when he picks Chaotic Grandpa for the marble game, despite knowing he’d be all but useless in anything requiring strength.

It was foreshadowing Gi-hun seemed to be the only person smiling during his picture – a reflection of an optimistic spirit that was crushed and replaced with anger (red hair) and a desire for vengeance.

Anyway, he did not deserve to win and he should’ve helped the drunkard himself after flipping off Il-nam.

Kudos to him for not slitting Sang-woo’s throat though as it couldn’t be me.

Gi-hun’s Rating: 10/10

Squid Game alludes to the pitfalls of capitalism: the idea that with enough hard work and dedication, anyone can rise to the top, (or win the game). However, when we metaphorically look at how each death drops $$$ in the golden pig, we see capitalism only works at the expense of someone else. This is literal in the sense that the more players who die during the game, the more money someone else gets.

Capitalism too thrives on the idea that everyone has an equal chance at success. But despite Front Man’s equality spiel, the games are not equal and are deliberately manipulated to make things worst/remove any advantage the players might have (such as the dude able to differentiate between the types of glass, or choosing games women would have a harder time winning due to physical differences). From the limiting of food to creating circumstances to induce a night brawl (and thus an environment no one could sleep well), Squid Game critiques how in real life individuals are pitted against one another in a capitalist society as they compete for resources. Resources that are in abundance because ya know, the VIPs could just give people that money but I digress. The games bring out the worst of humanity for the enjoyment of Elon Musk the VIPs (who while wearing animal masks call the participants animals lol). VIPs who are ironically bored and unhappy because they have too much money and thus seek fulfilment in watching others suffer for their own amusement.

Anyway, while I enjoyed this despite it’s plot holes, it should’ve ended with Gi-hun mournfully looking at the snow and reminding himself people are still good as the drunkard gets helped. The ending with Gi-hun on a quest for vengeance was a little too cliché.

Squid Game Rating: 8.7/10

Rating The Bad Boys of Weak Hero pt. 2

Part One.

My criteria for a good villain is based 100% on my personal, garbage opinions but basically:

  1. Their removal would affect the plot
  2. They undergo some change/character development, for better or for worse, as the story progresses
  3. We see different sides of their personality – aka they are presented as complex individuals, who have some good aspects, or we get enough back-story on them that we understand the motives behind their actions
  4. They have some sort of personal goal/motivation that goes beyond, “for the sake of being chaotic and evil.”
  5. They aren’t so OP that no one can defeat them except by random chance or luck
  6. They’re not so weak that they aren’t a challenge for the hero

*Spoilers, also I own nothing. Not even my own soul*

(Seong-je Geum) Wolf Keum

  • threw hands with Donald Na twice (impressive as Donald says when he fights someone, he beats them thoroughly so they don’t challenge him again)
  • was Donald’s fav
  • red blazer instills fear in the hearts of those who see it
  • has beef with Grape and it’s always on sight
  • 3 seconds, bam
  • doesn’t like pretty boys who cry when he fights them
  • is smarter than he initially seems (noticed Jared Sun’s face/realized Rowan wouldn’t have kept lying)
  • beat up Jared Sun
  • probably would’ve killed Jimmy, despite having recently gotten whooped by both Gray Yeon and Donald Na
  • seems to be a decent friend. After his skull was cracked, Red Hair is like “u good bro?!?” and looks genuinely concerned. They’re also seen vibing together.

After losing to the White Mamba, Wolf’s just like, “what a funny dude,” which is an odd reaction to getting knocked unconscious with a potted plant.

Wolf Keum seems to be teetering on the edge of leaving the Union. Given he’s one of the few characters who seemed somewhat humbled by their beating who seems to respect the strength of those who beat him instead of being petty about it, it’ll be interesting to see if he goes round 3 with Donald.

Wolf Keum’s Rating: 8.5/10


(Gong-sam) Sam Lee/Grape

  • Doesn’t like being called Sam, so he goes by Grape I guess because his hair is purple.
  • Grape seems like a decent friend given he’s lost multiple fights but is always seen vibing with the same folks.
  • He can throw hands.
  • He was mad jelly Gray Yeon did what he could only dream of doing, which was murder beat up Wolf Keum.

Grape’s notable for always looking woefully resigned cause with Wolf it’s always on sight, no matter the location, situation, doesn’t matter who else is around either. Wolf’s dislike of Grape is so palpable and notorious even Long Hair of the Mok-ha duo is like, “dude, why’d you beat him after he got trashed already lmao,” (and Long Hair is bat-crazy)

In a way, Grape’s pitiful despite generally being a jerk because Wolf seems to be violently yandere for him and unless he moves to another country city or dies, it doesn’t seem like he’s gonna be able to escape him anytime soon.

Grape’s Rating: 7/10

(Hak-ho) Jake Ji

  • Jake is basically Ben with red hair.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Bad-Ass.
  • Likes manga, specifically One Piece
  • Has a solid group of ride or dies (Dean, Wings of Peace, Glasses Dude No. 2)
  • Got (narrowly) whooped by Ben Park and admitted he lost
  • Wasn’t really mad about losing to Ben
  • Protected trash Naksung from Zombie Ben
  • Really only joined the Union for the sake of his brother, Kenny
  • Watched Gray and Wolf clobber one another from atop a building
  • Has fabulous taste in hats

One thing I appreciate is how the author often draws Jake’s expressions – he goes from looking very lively, affable, and goofy one second, to looking like he’ll rip your eyeballs out the next (because he will). It’s enough to intimidate even Glasses Dude No. 3 (Kingsley). He loses some likeability for beating up Gerard Jin prior to fighting Ben Park, though this is likely because he knew Ben would only fight seriously if one of his homies got clapped.

Jake is different from the other top dogs as Jimmy was pissed he lost to Ben and sought revenge, and Wolf is generally just a blood knight. But Jake doesn’t involve himself in needless fighting (even Eugene comments that he’s not like other girls dudez). His friends seem to genuinely like him, and they’re seen joking around and talking about things non-Union/fighting related.

Jake Ji ‘s Rating: 9.7/10

(Sehan) Forrest Lee

  • Fights Teddy and Alex and almost wins – the dude has hands
  • Took Myles Joo’s place as HBIC after he defected (or whatever).

He seems like a True Companion too as he’s mostly always seen vibing with the same crew.

Forrest Lee’s Rating: 4/10

(Seung-jin) Myles Joo

  • Hyped up for an entire season only to get brought down at the speed of light by Orichimaru the Mok-ha Duo.

Miles dipped from the Union and doesn’t appear until season 2, but almost everyone knows about him. We don’t know the circumstances of why he left; we barely know what his face looks like, all we know is that he’s uber strong.

Sadly, he wasn’t strong enough to prevent himself from getting clobbered.

Myles Joo’s Rating: 6.3/10


Bryce Oh

Bryce Oh highlights a central theme in Weak Hero: when folks take off their glasses, they become evil.

Bryce Oh is initially a loner, taken in by Saint Stephen Ahn. They get along well enough at first but it’s all downhill once Bryce stops wearing his glasses.

Bryce’s issue was always that he is a worthless, spineless parasite had a severe inferiority complex and wanted acceptance – that’s why he never messed with Gray (because Gray excelled in school, his friendship came with benefits) and why he latched onto Oswald after buying him shoes (cause he was loaded). These traits might make him pitiable but he also desired power. This put him at odds with Stephen, who was content to be nice whether it benefitted him directly or nah. Eventually, those odds turned into resentment once his inferiority complex kicked in and when given an outlet for that resentment, he took it out in the form of bullying.

Bryce Oh is one of those characters who, despite my tendency to be enamored by the absolute worst (fictional) characters, is very difficult to sympathize with because there wasn’t much of a reason given for him betraying Stephen and he didn’t even seem a little sorry for, ya know, nearly killing someone who considered him a friend.

His actions inadvertently give birth to the White Mamba though.

Bryce Oh’s Rating: 6.5/10


Oswald Yang

Oswald Yang was trash from the start, so unlike Bryce who was at one point Saint Stephen’s friend, Oswald was a classic silver spoon using their privilege to bully others.

The disturbing thing is how realistic Oswald’s story is – the school does everything to cover bullying that resulted in someone becoming a vegetable because Father Yang is important and has money. It’s something we see in real life all the time – the law being used to protect the wealthy instead of enacting justice.

#putOswaldYangandBryceOhinjail2021


Oswald Yang’s Rating: 2.7/10

(Jeongwon Seon) Jared Sun

  • basically Phillip Kim lite
  • has 0 fighting abilities
  • lied about everything
  • is not loyal – stole money, framed Rowan resulting in him and Eugene getting a beatdown
  • is generally why Gray ended up in the hospital and Wolf not only got KO’d with a potted plant, but also inadvertently the reason he got beaten by Donald Na as that situation resulted in Wolf wanting to dip

Much like Phillip and Oswald, he’s born with a silver spoon and uses his privilege to belittle others. He also dug his own grave by being a titanic terror to Chicken Place Dude and his Son. At least those those like Jimmy, Wolf, Forrest, etc. risk their physical health by fighting to gain power, Jared was content sit on the sidelines while others got wrecked.

Jared Sun’s Rating: 3.7/10

(Baek-jin) Donald Na

  • looks like a vampire, which is fitting given he essentially sucks the will out of everyone he encounters via fear and fists.
  • seems to be an orphan.
  • has beaten the snot out of pretty much every top fighter in Weak Hero without breaking a sweat sans maybe Jake as he seemed to have joined “willingly”
  • is like what… 16? 17? And is working with other adults and basically running an empire lol
  • is super smart, having created an impossible math question
  • puts effort into styling his hair
  • has some sick tattoos and jewelry
  • good fashion sense
  • nice office with a good view
  • good with business – he’s making $$$ enough to pay like several different schools

In some ways he’s like Phillip Kim except Donald could for sure kill anyone who challenges him. Like Phillip, Donald’s power is very tenuous in the sense that Jake is only with the Union for Kenny, Wolf had to be beaten into staying, Myles already dipped, and while Jimmy is terrified of Donald, that’s not stopping him from looking for a way out either. All those schools aren’t following Donald so much as following their respective leaders who’ve mostly been beaten or coerced into following Donald. And Ben still won’t join despite having gotten whooped by Donald once. All in all, he’s sort of built his empire on sand.

Speaking of hair, it’s notable that since season 2 began, Donald’s mane is no longer nicely coiffed but usually down, giving him a more sober, unkempt appearance. Is this a sign he’s starting to crack?

Only time will tell.

Donald Na’s Rating: Ben Park’s Sledgehammer Fists KOing Forrest Lee/10

There are more, like Mok-ha, etc. but this it already long and no one’s gonna read it anyway.

Rating the Bad Boys of Weak Hero Pt. 1

Of Season 1.

Normally, I rate female characters. But that’d be like 2 people (Queen Lily and Julia).

There are, however, loads of bad boys.

My criteria for a good villain is based 100% on my personal opinions but basically:

  1. Their removal would affect the plot
  2. They undergo some change/character development, for better or for worse, as the story progresses
  3. We see different sides of their personality – aka they are presented as complex individuals, who have some good aspects, or we get enough back-story on them that we understand the motives behind their actions
  4. They have some sort of personal goal/motivation that goes beyond, “for the sake of being chaotic evil.”
  5. They aren’t so OP that no one can defeat them except by random chance or luck
  6. They’re not so weak that they aren’t a challenge for the hero

*Spoilers, also I own nothing. Not even my own soul*

(Hyo-man) Colton Choi

  • Awarded for being the first fool to get wrecked by the White Mamba.
  • Pimp slapped by Gray Yeon in the middle of class.

Colton Choi’s Rating: 3/10

(Haiba/ Hee-chol) Helmet/Harper Ha

  • Unfortunately wasn’t wearing a helmet when he got bricked in the face.
  • gets others to do his dirty work
  • switches sides when the literal second it suits him

In a way, Helmet is pitiable because he gets beat once, is bullied and effectively ostracized over his epic loss (it’s hinted his physical appearance plays into his treatment too). He tries to get the job done, but his pen PTSD is so strong a mere clicketh of a pen has him shooketh.

It’s hard to feel sorry for him though, because he’s still a bully.

Helmet’s Rating: 5.5/10

(Tae-oh) Teddy Jin

  • Got beat with a coke can
  • Was strangled with curtains in the middle of class
  • Found a stray cat, took care of it
  • Wears his hair in a fabulous pony-tail
  • Accepted his defeat, didn’t try to get revenge
  • Eventually became friends with Rowan (who apparently talks a lot)
  • Took over his class by challenging Phillip to a brawl on sight
  • Brought Gray coke at the hospital
  • Beat up that weird teacher and those kids who were throwing rocks at Sprite

When I re-read Weak Hero, I’d completely forgotten how much I initially despised Teddy.

Teddy was not only humbled by his curb-stomp but changed his ways too. Realizing his “friends” were fake probably helped him turn over a new leaf. Fortunately, he’s got a fresh home boy, Rowan aka Hyperelbow aka Sidney Guillotine, and he’s part of the Squad now.

Teddy Jin’s Rating: 9.5/10

(Jihoon) Jimmy Bae

  • Has red hair
  • Clearly puts effort into styling his hair
  • Has beaten up many people to get where is he
  • Lost to Ben once, had to be rescued by Donald Na
  • Uses those he bullies as footstools
  • Lost to Ben a second time, wasn’t rescued by Donald Na
  • Gets killed by Wolf Keum in a dream sequence after getting knocked unconscious fighting him

Jimmy is an arrogant jerk, pummeling people for no reason, smoking and generally being a delinquent. His sole good trait is seemingly being a good friend considering Jack is willing to risk his life by leaving the Union’s clutches with him.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens to Jimmy. He wants out of the Union, but even Jack is like, “yeah if we leave we might die, but at least it’ll be me and you dying together, bro,” which is a true bromance if there ever was one.

Jimmy Bae’s Rating: 7.4/10

(Jeongyeon) Jack Kang

  • Jimmy Bae’s bae homie.
  • can throw hands
  • always looks low-key annoyed with whatever is going on
  • is not interested in the ladies
  • is more level-headed than Jimmy, sensing something was amiss with the Myles Joo meeting and preventing them from probably getting killed
  • doesn’t seem interested in the Union (and the money/power it gives them) so much as sticking with Jimmy

For all Jimmy’s abundant faults, he has a friend who’s willing to stay with him wherever he goes. It says something about his character… sort of, since a lot of characters lose their friends/respect once they get wrecked even if they are strong. Fortunately, Jack is a real one.

Jack Kang’s Rating: 8/10

(Pil-young) Phillip Kim

  • Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty – won’t find that here.
  • Gets whooped by Gray
  • Gets scared into submission by Teddy
  • Puts effort into styling his hair

Phillip’s image is accurately described as a sandcastle that eventually crumbles. The dude cannot fight, yet becomes the HBIC by aligning himself with the strong and using his wealth/charisma to win allies.

Phillip Kim highlights a central theme in Weak Hero – a lust for power but how easily that power can crumble when it’s built off fear and fakery. Phillip was like, “a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

He’s hard to pity as he’s not loyal even towards his homeboys (such as setting up Jimmy v. Ben Park), and he’s not willing to risk anything personal to get what he wants (he literally can’t fight).

Phillip Kim’s Rating: 7.1/10

Part 2.