After watching *As You Stood By*, I discovered it's inspired by a Japanese drama, which was itself based on a novel. The first thing that puzzled me was why the posters for the Japanese drama showed women shirtless for no apparent reason. If the original work doesn't take the subject seriously, why should the remake? But of course, they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and since I haven't seen *Naomi and Kanako* since 2016, I'm not going to try to explain what it's about. I don't know if the problem lies with the original work itself, or if this moral dilemma about what a woman should do when she's being slowly beaten to death is simply too difficult to portray. I don't think this is something we see in thrillers aimed at men; even if a woman is forced to use violence, she ends up being punished ruthlessly for it.
I think the real problem here is that *As You Stood By* falls somewhere between realism and a fantasy world. For a while, you might think it's a simple, sympathetic thriller that aims to raise awareness about the horrors of domestic violence. It shows how it's not just the husband who marginalizes the wife, but everyone around her, making her feel isolated and alone, to the point of rejecting help from those willing to risk everything for her.
Stars: Jeon So-nee, Lee Yoo-mi, Jang Seung-jo
The first half of the series is particularly effective, focusing on the generational trauma of domestic violence. It explores how it can foster anger, animosity, and fear in children, and how it's up to each child to try to overcome that fear and focus on helping others. In this case, our protagonist, Eun-Su, helps her best friend, Hui-Su.
In 2011, a film starring Gong Yoo called Silenced was released. This film about child abuse features explicit scenes of violence, seemingly just to generate sensationalism. This doesn't diminish the film's importance or its impact on the case. I felt the same way about this drama and the need to provoke outrage in the audience by showing violence explicitly instead of merely hinting at it. This isn't a thriller about a violent serial killer for the sheer pleasure of it. Viewers of this drama might be disturbed by what happens, and overall, it was unnecessary to depict it so graphically, especially without any sensitive content warnings. However, I must admit I'm grateful not to have to witness any other form of visual aggression.
As You Stood By loses its way when a character who was supposed to be gone returns unexpectedly and, frankly, unnecessarily. This character adds nothing to the series except more hatred and anger. With their reappearance, the series veers off course from the story it was trying to tell. The series becomes a gripping thriller only to collapse into a boring plot that, frankly, no one cares about. Visually, it maintains a tense atmosphere from beginning to end. There's even a segment reminiscent of Psycho, which adds a touch of terror. This is what I love about the series, as it truly connects with a woman's experience in this situation. That's why it's so disappointing to see it stray in the second half.
I can't stop talking about the performances, and they are all absolutely fantastic. Jeon So-Nee is resilient as Eun-Su and demonstrates great versatility. Her character is also very convincing, and both leads feel like well-developed, three-dimensional characters, with every move they make being intentional. Lee Yoo-Mi is also fantastic as Hui-Su, and you really empathize with her. The two girls have great chemistry, which makes everything they do together believable. But I can't stop talking about Jang Seung-Jo. (This contains minor spoilers, so if you don't want to know anything, skip to the next paragraph.)
The actor plays a dual role and is convincing in both. It's striking how different the characters are, and the actor demonstrates his vast experience. Finally, I have to mention Lee Ho-Jung, who plays a very different and probably difficult-to-digest role. You know that feeling when actors playing thugs can't seem to shake the character? That's how I felt with this role. On the other hand, some characters feel underdeveloped and somewhat superficial.
Ultimately, I wouldn't say it's a bad series, but it does have some flaws. During the first half, it feels like a really good K-drama that never gets bogged down in unnecessary details, with a solid script and intense, memorable moments. However, it's the second half that really slows it down and completely changes the atmosphere, causing a sudden shift in pace. Before watching the series, I should warn you that it contains explicit scenes of domestic violence.
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