[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Bad and Crazy" Episode 2

Inspector Ryu has been forcibly dragged by K to Patrolman Oh's modest, unassuming rooftop apartment. The young police officer was just the victim of an attempted murder, his home going up in flames. Patrolman Oh remains unconscious for the entirity of the episode. Inspector Ryu does do investigating in Patrolman Oh's stead, to mixed results. Detective Doh's brother Assemblyman Doh (played by Lim Ki-hong) is too powerful to be easily overcome.

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In a moment of dark humor that pervades much of "Bad and Crazy" we learn that Assemblyman Doh was being overly paranoid about the bear. It really was just a gift for Yoon-ah's daughter, exactly as Patrolman Oh initially assumed. Nevertheless, Assemblyman Doh has plenty of resources to come up with a new, genuinely monstrous plan that even has Inspector Ryu doubting his attitude even in the absence of K.

Yet rise again K does, quickly making up for lost time when he finally reemerges. "Bad and Crazy" gets no points when it comes to particularly new story beats. We learn nothing about the show's characters we didn't already know or could easily guess. "Bad and Crazy" instead focuses on deliberate, and at times even boring detectivework. Inspector Ryu feels compelled to examine every possible angle in the hopes of coming up with a relevant clue.

The detective work is solid and well-done. I particularly like how K functions as Inspector Ryu's id, coming up with assumptions that may not entirely be intuitive but which do lead Inspector Ryu to more evidence. There's a clear subtext about how in the name of corrupt office politics Inspector Ryu sublimates both his sense of justice as well as the deductive skills that probably made him want to become a detective in the first place. Yet K is also, as the show's title implies, quite crazy and perfectly happy to force Inspector Ryu into taking extreme action if necessary.

There's just little enough sympathy for Inspector Ryu, not to mention disgust for Assemblyman Doh, that I never felt like K was going too far. Inspector Ryu knows that he's making bad choices. We watch him sit through that entire painful scene with the sad little girl whose only friend in the world was Patrolman Oh. Yet hardly a few scenes later Inspector Ryu is at the bridge, cowardly attempting to abandon ownership of his decision to back the position of the bad guys.

Review by William Schwartz

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"Bad and Crazy" is directed by Yoo Seon-dong, written by Kim Sae-bom, and features Lee Dong-wook, Wi Ha-jun, Han Ji-eun, Cha Hak-yeon, Kang Ae-shim, Kim Dae-gon. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/12/17~Now airing, Fri, Sat 22:40 on tvN.