[Drama 2019-2020] Psychopath Diary, 싸이코패스 다이어리

[ktcjdrama]

The first half hour was rather boring for me and my interest was waning seeing how the male lead is such a pushover... until Park Sung Hoon appeared and the killing started, and then I am fully on board again

The cliffhanger was great too, so I am continuing the watch for the time being.

[ryanallright]

 

[partyon]

I really would like to watch this drama because I loved Yoon Shi Yoon in Your Honor! Were it not for his haircut.... Seems like he not only lost his memory in the accident, but also a mirror. I don't know what's going on, but I just find his fluffy helmet overwhelmingly distracting.

 

Will keep reading your comments on this thread, though. If the drama turns out to be super good, I will force myself to watch it! By that time, I hope he has already had a makeover.  

[Ameera Ali]

 

Certainly happy to give it a try

I love ep 1 & the changes on the lead guy character , he played doormat personality very well  , but I’m excited to see more of his psychopath personality  

 

 

 

 

[nikki7]

Episode 2 was daebak 

The show does great mixing comedy with thriller. I was rofling during the ending scene when Dong Shik tried hard to write backward like the psychopath killer.

 

Contrary to popular opinion, I kinda like Dong Shik's beehive hair. It looks adorkable on him. 

[Ameera Ali]

He need to listen to his body  that he isn’t the psychopath 

 

 

[tinymel]

I am LOVING the support cast. These kinds of dramas depend on the support casts and so far... lots of fun. 

[nrllee]

On 11/22/2019 at 7:07 AM, partyon said:

I really would like to watch this drama because I loved Yoon Shi Yoon in Your Honor! Were it not for his haircut..

You’re not the only one. .  I am low key hoping that he would shave it off at some later stage so he looks more like PSH’s character.  But from the first scene in Ep1 where he’s arrested the fluffy mop stayed .

 

So far I am liking it enough.  I am still unsure about the comedic elements interspersed through the drama.  Is it because it’s tVN and not OCN that it’s not allowed to go full on dark?  Anyway irrespective of that, I really like how BoKyung’s father shows up in her mind talking her through cases.  It’s a really nice addition to highlight how she remembers him as opposed to how he is in reality.  He lives through her and just because he’s the shell of the man that he was before, it matters little because she’s been endowed with his brilliant mind.  It’s a positive take on a very sad state of affairs in her family life.

 

I have an inkling as to what the underlying message is for this drama (based on DongSik’s ponderings) but I will wait for more episodes to see if it’s right.

[guinearoyal]

I loved the episodes at well this week. It was hilarious to watch how DS thinks he is such a tough guy because of the diary and certain situations and yet it is very clear to us as the views that he is not at the same level as the real psycho. So far he has only scared people through psychological means, he has yet to actually hurt someone. And everything he has done was based on some movie he as seen or what he read in the diary. He has never done anything he had thought up on his own.

But I am worried that he will go too far and/or the police will mistake him for the killer, when he is not at all and the killer will get away.

But it is looking like the real killing is starting to take an interest in DS, and may actually come to like him because he is using the diary as a guide for his behavior, which will make the killer feel close to him. 

Please BK, use that brain of yours to find the real killer first. Don't let DS take the fall for the real killer!!!

[lyd89]

https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4437923354894314

 

Just posting for extra information, the first image in the link is the planning intention of the drama, which lays out the premise of the drama. It can also be a slight spoiler on what to expect in the future for the drama or the drama can deviate from this in the end since not everything is pre-filmed. Second image is a fan translation (though not in English). 

 

So for anyone who knows either Korean or Chinese, you may read at your own risk lol.

[nrllee]

Interesting fact, left handed people often do mirror writing.  My daughter who is left handed started writing like that.  It freaked me out initially because I thought there was something wrong with her brain .  But I found out that it was normal for left handed people to start off writing like that because they can read what they write and their hand isn’t covering up the letters as they write and they aren’t smearing the letters when they write.  
 

I get the feeling they put this little fact in to highlight the potential mirror of DongSik (YSY) and InWoo ‘s characters (PSH) as their psyches collide via the diary.
 

 

 

 

 

[nrllee]

He said once before that dogs scared him in real life.  What a turnaround   Yura was walking this dog. Maybe YSY was the person who asked her to make a cameo appearance?  

 

 

[partyon]

@nrllee Thanks for your posts! You have convinced me to give this drama a try. We have met on many other threads before, which means we probably have a similar taste when it comes to dramas (or maybe it's Yoon Shi Yoon we both like.... )

Anyway, I will watch the first episodes over this weekend.

 

I think the story and its premises sound quite interesting! There have been quite a few dramas about psychopaths over the last years (e.g. "I Remember You", "Gap-dong"; "Signal", etc). As I haven't watched this yet, I am not sure about the writer's message of the drama. Just from the description, though, I guess there could be several messages which have to do with what one can learn from a psychopath:

• How to set boundaries towards others, so that you are not taken advantage of or stepped on by other people. How to listen to your own needs and respect them.
• Empathy is important (something psychopaths lack), but you cannot always help other people and forget yourself. It's important to help yourself as well. Balance is key.
• Psychopaths didn't choose to become psychopaths. Genetics play a role, but most also had horrendous life experiences in childhood which scarred them and stopped their soft skills development. In the end, they are people too.
• Psychopaths can have some traits that others can learn from. Not every psychopath is violent - instead they might have charisma, fearlessness and focus, which many non-psychopaths would like to possess.

Just some thoughts for now. More when I have watched the first two episodes. I just hope I can distract myself enough to forget YSY's head floof. 

 

 

[nrllee]

13 hours ago, partyon said:

I just hope I can distract myself enough to forget YSY's head floof. 

I didn’t come into this drama with high expectations.  I came with fear and trembling because the teasers looked comedic and I wasn’t sure how it would turn out.  So far I am trying to keep an open mind.

 

I love those potential messages you’ve noted down.  They have crossed my mind too.  I think most if not all of them will come out in this drama.  So far the thinking out loud voice overs have been giving us insights into the minds of both DongSik (YSY) and BoKyung (JIS).  The mind of InWoo (PSH) is coming out through diary entries... but of note is how similar the family backgrounds of both men are.  Can a monster be created?  Or do you have to be born with a predilection to get there?  From the background of DongSik, he was originally kind.  So kind that it was detrimental.  People took advantage of his “kindness”.  DongSik was at breaking point, he was ready to end it all.  Even before the accident, DongSik was already filling his mind with violent viewing.  His DVD/video collection.  We can see how he remembers these and talks about them and acts them out in real life after his accident.  It’s not just the diary that is filling his mind with the potential to turn into a monster, there are other factors at play.

[tinymel]

51 minutes ago, nrllee said:

Can a monster be created?  Or do you have to be born with a predilection to get there?

Or! if you have a blank canvas what can be created?

 

I'm actually happy with the humour aspect because the portrayal of InWoo is very, very tropey... It was bothering me until I decided to see him as a trope rather than a psychopath for real. The set up is predictable so I'm curious to see how he develops. (side note: I would have quite enjoyed it if the psychopath was *not* the son of the president but just another office worker/middle management. So many psychopaths are about feeling like the world has passed them by, they've been overlooked, etc.)

 

What I find really fascinating is that DongSik feels far more like a psychopath than InWoo. That smooth switch is well shot and directed--a bit heavy handed since he actively decides to load up the next psychopath. This could also be YSY's acting--how long ago since High Kick and Flower Boy Next Door! Enrique! 

[nrllee]

3 minutes ago, tinymel said:

side note: I would have quite enjoyed it if the psychopath was *not* the son of the president but just another office worker/middle management. So many psychopaths are about feeling like the world has passed them by, they've been overlooked, etc

I get the feeling that’s where DongSik is headed.  Downtrodden, overlooked, wall flower... dead beat loser.  You know how you read of neighbors being interviewed after being told that there was a serial killer living next door?  And they say, “He was just your average office guy.  Kept to himself.  Was friendly when I said hi.  I never thought for once he could’ve hurt a fly.”  

[Ameera Ali]

 

# why you crushed into my door , really  

 

# silence of  lamp  , who wouldn’t be silent after this  

 

 

 

 

** I just love right mix of drama with a bit of dark humour 

 

[nrllee]

Thanks for those 2 scenes above @Ameera Ali.  Did you notice how fear is conceived in the mind?   The mind is so much stronger than the body.  Had you just looked at them from the outside, you would’ve assumed there would be NO contest between the 2 of them (and that was what the mobster thought too).  He thought his brute strength could threaten.  But DongSik did mindplay and manipulated him to think that he was this scary monster so the tide turned.  Same with the mob in the restaurant.  So many of them against DongSik the weakling.  But there’s the catch.  He seeded fear in their minds.  He was the one in control.  Power play of the mind.  Switched from being the prey to being the predator.  The mind is a powerful thing.  

[jongski]

Done with the first two episodes. YSY ♡♡

 

I actually found both episodes interesting. DongShik thinks he's Seo InWoo and that he's a pysychopath. DS voice over and SW diary gives insight how our they are as person and what they feel. How they feel. How they act. How they are as person dealing with family.

 

I like the voice over as we see what what goes through the mind of DW with amnesia trying to recall what he was like and how he was before  the loss of memory. SW mind through the diary.  DS doing voice over the thoughts of himself as SW.  Accorsing to the diary SW is desperate to be acknowledge by the father aka 'chairman  after the death of birth mother. This is part  is where usual kdrama type why a pyscho turned out to be such monster.  SW  disguises his killings as suicide - taking pills old lady slip on the floor with the stove on

 

 I like when DS becomes SW the pyscho.  It took all his will power and mind recalling to not do the same thing to Mr. Gong. I wouldn't have felt sorry for that  jerk if he suffered. 

 

DS prior to having the amnesia, was weak timid guy who pleases everyone  and is pushover.  He's kind as well. He would never be suspected of killing, doing murders. But  you can see from the first few scenes he knows he's being walked upon and being making him feel and look like a fool. He knows this yet he doesn't do anything. But....  he's got a lot of murder killer type videos. He probably  wants to stand up for himself, do something similart  to the ones  he's watching.

 

I like YSY. I don't mind the curtly hair. It fits his weak pushover character. I like when his character changes and becomes a pyscho in his mind but  still looks like's innocennt.. which he is.  Well I want him going pyscho with all the ones who treated him like he's a loser. What's payback time again?!

 

I'm still weighing how I feel about Park Sung Hoon character here. I like how he had more errie pyscho vibe in his previous drama.

 

From watching the first two episode, I'm not going to expect hard crime genre like OCN. This delves more pysche of the characters and probably more drama.. you know...like how it is ... kdrama.  Like he'll probably already regain his memory but will continue to act like he hasn't.

 

I want to see see the present time. I wonder how DS character will evolve or will handle being accused as serial killer.

 

 

[nrllee]

Did anyone notice that in the opening scene where he was led out by the Police the voiceover newsreader (?) said that he was accused/convicted (?) of 7 crimes in total but only 6 were detailed in the diary?  Maybe that’s the mystery that will play out in the end.  Did DongSik commit the 7th murder?  So far the last diary entry by SIW was that homeless man’s death but he didn’t write about the fire in his house though?  He was expecting to kill him in the building construction site?  But he escaped.  Who is the 7th murder victim?