If there’s one thing K-dramas always hit a bulls-eye on (among many other things), they are bromances. iQIYI’s Bad and Crazy features the most chaotic duo fans have probably seen in a while.
The show features Lee Dong-wook and his partner-in-crime, Wi Ha-joon, who the international audience might remember more as the Squid Game detective.
Lee Dong-wook plays Ryu Su-yeol, a corrupt police officer who only looks for ways to earn money—sticking up to seniors—and survive in the police jungle. He’s strategic and makes calculated moves, not giving into emotions.
Wi Ha-joon plays K, a biker who acts on his whims and is unafraid of his feelings towards people, which ends up with him punching bad guys or giving flowers to his love interest late at night.
With nine episodes down, if you’re wondering whether the chaotic duo in Bad and Crazy is worth your time or not, let us tell you—it totally is.
Things Bad and Crazy Gets Right
Bromance: Lately, there has been a shortage of bromance in the K-drama space, but Bad and Crazy arrive just in time to save the day. Lee Dong-wook and Wi Ha-joon make viewers swoon over their contrasting personalities, crazy experiences, and the friendly banter of trying to one-up the other.
It’s almost frightening how much of a great pair Su-yeol and K are. The duo’s appearance is hands down the best thing in the show, which is showcased phenomenally. K’s annoying, teasing, and playing with Su-yeol, Su-yeol’s frustrated shrieks every time K does something, and their perfect teamwork—the duo deserve to go down as one of the most memorable duos in K-drama history.
Plot: The drama starts with a seemingly ordinary drug case intertwined with a missing person’s case (that, might I add, will test your emotions from the start.) The drama ignores the cliched turn and slowly unveils a greater corruption and hidden secret rotting the police station.
The show gives almost all main characters ample space to grow (more on that later). The love-hate mentor-mentee relationship between Yang Jae-seon (Cha Shi-won) and O Gyeong-tae (VIXX’s N), Jae-seon treating Ryu-seol as his ultimate buddy and confidante, are just some of the many moments that make the show’s experience richer.
The Matryoshka element: Mystery is laid across Bad and Crazy like asphalt on a road. The show might seem like any other crop drama on the surface, but it deep dives into mystery after mystery, with multiple (sometimes) unpredictable twists. The writers did a great job keeping the focus on things that might seem insignificant, while they kept revealing bigger storylines, like a Matryoshka doll.
The bad guys: Bad and Crazy takes full liberty to reveal a villain bigger than the previous one each time; and it succeeds in making us hate them every time, too (except for gang leader Boss Young played effortlessly by Kim Hee Eo Ra). Evil lurking beneath a good guy mask or another rising like an underdog, the bad guys in the drama don’t disappoint. You’ll be clenching your fists and hurling shrieks almost every time they get away because they’re just really, really bad.
Discussions on mental health: Not to give too much away, the show raises discussions around mental health and society’s acceptance (or non-acceptance) towards it. A majorly positive angle is the key characters’ journey of acknowledging the trauma and being open to treatments. It also shows the reality when people realize they might lose their job over it.
Hopefully, the coming episodes will shed more light on the mental health discourse.
Things Bad and Crazy Misses by a Margin
Slow at times: Yes, we did say the plot is great, but we can’t deny that there are times the show slows down. With multiple buildups and intense moments, the story takes some time to re-energize into another heated buildup, leaving bland bits and pieces in the middle. Bad and Crazy has way too many intense moments, which means there are times that when the fizz calms down, it’s hard to continue watching.
Lee Hui-gyeom’s (Han Ji-eun) journey: Out of the four main characters and their journey, Hui-gyeom’s development (until now) is the least chalked out. Ryu Su-yeol, K, and O Gyeong-tae have a good enough back story and time to develop, but Hui-gyeom was given no time to process her grief. She was struck with the biggest betrayal, and rather than showing how she would react, the story moved forward with the good guys kicking ass. Hopefully, we’ll see more of her towards the end.
All in all, Bad and Crazy brings out some of the actors’ finest levels of acting. An honorary mention goes to Wi Ha-joon, who carries the chaotic, crazy K with a mischievous, scary smile before facing off against the villains or a teen-in-love shyness around Hui-gyeom effortlessly.
Verdict: If you want to see an insanely hilarious and chaotic duo working together to solve a crime, with just the right sprinkle of romance, Bad and Crazy should definitely be on your plate. Make sure to not miss the thriller-mystery drama.
The finale for Bad and Crazy will be released on January 28, 2022, on iQIYI.
About Bad and Crazy
Bad and Crazy is an ongoing South Korean television series. Directed by Yoo Seon-dong and co-produced by Studio Dragon and Mink Entertainment, it features Lee Dong-wook, Wi Ha-joon, Han Ji-eun and Cha Hak-yeon in main roles.
Source: Bad and Crazy/iQIYI
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