K-Drama Review: Innocent Man

Hey guys, I just had a 3 days marathon re-watching Innocent Man! :) Innocent Man aka Nice Guy is a 20-episodes KBS drama starring Song Joong Ki, Moon Chae Won, Park Si Yeon and many other supporting cast. I first watched this drama 3 years ago when it premiered in 2012. This drama is my all time favorite drama and I have to say I really enjoyed watching this drama the first time and re-watching it again 3 years later! All the excitement, thrill, and heart tugging moments has made its comeback once again through this revenge and melo-themed drama!!! I would highly recommend this drama to anyone who is a K-drama fan out there! It is definitely worth it to watch this drama! :)) 

Innocent Man aka Nice Guy tells the story of a man named Kang Ma Roo, portrayed by actor Song Joong Ki, who has been betrayed by his girlfriend, Han Jae Hee, portrayed by actress Park Si Yeon. Ma Roo was a medical student, while Jae Hee was a news reporter. One day, Ma Roo received a phone call from Jae Hee, who was crying while asking for his help. Upon receiving her call, he left his sick sister, Choco and went on to look for Jae Hee instead of sending his sister to the hospital. It turned out that Jae Hee had accidentally killed a man while on her job looking for evidence for a news coverage. Ma Roo decided to take the blame of the murder on behalf of Jae Hee. He was thus sentenced to 5 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit, but had decided to cover up for his girlfriend, Jae Hee. 

Five years later, Ma Roo is released from prison. But what he didn't know was that Jae Hee is now the mistress of the president of Tae San Group and a mother. He didn't want to believe the truth that his girlfriend had betrayed him until he confirmed it with his own eyes. On the other hand, Ma Roo has changed from a nice guy to a playboy who sells his body in order to make money to pay for his sister's hospital bill. One day, he was on a plane on the way back to Korea when he met Seo Eun Gi, portrayed by actress Moon Chae Won. Eun Gi was in the restroom when she fainted on Ma Roo when she came out. Ma Roo, who used to be a medical student did the emergency treatment on Eun Gi because there wasn't any doctor on board the plane. Thus, he had saved Eun Gi's life. At the same time, he found out that Eun Gi is actually the only heiress of the Tae San Group and is now the step-daughter of his ex-girlfriend, Jae Hee. 

Ma Roo then met Eun Gi for the second time when she was riding her motorbike in the jungle. Eun Gi almost fell off a cliff when her motorbike was overturned. However, Ma Roo had saved her once again and he risk his life by going down the cliff to get a doll which meant a lot to Eun Gi. While trying to help her get her doll in her bag which had fallen off the cliff, he had fallen off the cliff. He suffered from fractured bones as a result and was sent to the hospital. That is the first time Eun Gi had met Ma Roo. She became intrigued and found herself falling for this mysterious person who just appeared in her life. After several encounters with Kang Ma Roo, Eun Gi found herself falling in love with Ma Roo. However, what she didn't know was that Ma Roo and her step-mother, Jae Hee were in a serious relationship in the past. Ma Roo had decided to make use of Eun Gi in taking revenge against Jae Hee. 

What Ma Roo had not expected was to fall in love with Eun Gi, and he began to regret making use of Eun Gi. He decided to break up with her by telling her that he was only using her to get Jae Hee back and that he had no feelings for her at all. At the same time, Eun Gi had already found out about the relationship between Ma Roo and Jae Hee. On her way back, Eun Gi received a call informing her that her father, the President of Tae San group, had passed away. Upon hearing this news, she became very angry and upset. She decided to change lanes in a tunnel she was driving through and crash into an incoming car, where Kang Ma Roo was the driver of that car. 

One year after the accident, Seo Eun Gi had went missing from the hospital and Kang Ma Roo has recovered from the accident. He has now become an industrial spy who investigates and gets things done the illegal and improper ways. Han Jae Hee is now the temporary representative of the Tae San Group. Eun Gi had loss her memory and suffered from brain damage as a result of the car accident and is hidden from the public eyes by Lawyer Park and Secretary Hyun. One day, Ma Roo met Eun Gi in his neighborhood. He realized that Eun Gi is no longer the Eun Gi he knew and she had loss her memory. However, she remembers Ma Roo not as a bad guy who had made use of her feelings, but as a nice guy whom she was in love with before the accident. Lawyer Park then asked Ma Roo for his help in getting Eun Gi back to her rightful place as the owner of Tae San Group. 

Ma Roo had decided to help Eun Gi, because of his guilt and also because he was still in love with Eun Gi. Eun Gi lived together with Ma Roo and his sister, Choco and his best friend, Jae Gil, while he helped her to gain back her memory and to learn back some skills she had loss after the accident. Ma Roo then helps Eun Gi to get back her position by going up against his ex-girlfriend, Jae Hee. And thus, all the love, hate, sacrifice and revenge starts to unfold.

PROS:

1. Thumbs up to the writer of this drama-Writer Lee Kyung Hee!! I really enjoy watching melodrama themed and revenge drama.  I would like to say that this is one of the best revenge drama I have watched. This is because the story line is not entirely focused on revenge and hatred. But instead, it shows the transformation of a man from wanting to seek revenge to someone who is willing to sacrifice for love. Thus, this drama portrays the values of both love-sacrifice and hate-revenge. The plot of the drama is really good and the flow is consistent. I've never once felt the drama being draggy, even after my second time watching this drama. 

2. The acting of both Moon Chae Won and Song Joong Ki is really superb! Actor Song Joong Ki managed to show a whole new side of him through his role of Kang Ma Roo. He portrayed a character who transforms from an innocent man to someone who is full of hatred and seeking for revenge into a man who is willing to sacrifice for love. Actress Moon Chae Won has also managed to showcase her amazing acting skills through this drama. Her amazing transformation from the cold heiress into someone who has amnesia is really notable! I have been a fan of both Moon Chae Won and Song Joong Ki after finishing this drama series! 

3. Chemistry between the main leads is definitely an important part of Korean dramas, especially for K-drama fans like me! :D The chemistry between Song Joong Ki and Moon Chae Won is extremely amazing and sizzling, and it gets even better as the drama progresses. After watching this drama, I am officially a CHAEKI shipper of this couple in real life as well! :)  (p.s. if you don't know what CHAEKI is, it's a name given to this couple by the fans)

4. I would say that the supporting cast in this drama also plays a very very important role in the success of this drama. Actress Park Si Yeon managed to nail her role as the villain Han Jae Hee, who is greedy for both fame and money. She managed to portrayed her role really well which made the drama even more interesting as her character progresses. And also not to forget Lee Kwang Soo, Lee Yoo Bi, Jin Kyung, and Lee Sang Yeob and many other casts, who made the drama worth watching by so much more. 

5. What I really liked about this drama is the development of the characters in the drama. I liked that the writer decided to split the drama into two parts, where the first 10 episodes was about Ma Roo seeking for revenge, while unexpectedly falling for Eun Gi. And the later 10 episodes were about Ma Roo sacrificing for his love for Eun Gi. It shows the contrast between love and hate, sacrifice and revenge which is portrayed by Kang Ma Roo. 

CONS:

1. The ending of the drama was not really what I have expected after all the roller coaster surprises from the writer. There was much confusion among the viewers back in 2012 when the final episode was shown. I remember some of the viewers commented that Ma Roo had died and that the last scene was simply a dream. 

However, after re-watching the second time, I believed that Ma Roo had survived, lost his memories, continued his studies, and finally getting back his memory as he work as a doctor in a small town. Both Ma Roo and Eun Gi finally got the chance to experience a normal relationship just like any couple. That's what my interpretation of the ending was. I felt that the ending was not the best ending and I had expected a better ending with more closure. I had also expected more development on Ma Roo and Eun Gi's love story after Ma Roo had survived.

RATINGS: