[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Bad and Crazy" Episode 6

So Inspector Ryoo has been forced to strike a deal with Superintendent Kim. Due to Inspector Ryoo's corrupt reputation, as well as the recent drugs in his system, his version of events is unlikely to be believed by authorities now that Superintendent Kim has a new dead scapegoat. But Inspector Ryoo quickly realizes that, given Superintendent Kim's confirmed lack of scruples, the situation in the first episode regarding the death of Officer Tak may indeed have been more complicated just as Inspector Ryoo rather snarkily and insincerely implied.

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Superintendent Kim has a problem. His issue is less Inspector Ryoo as the fact that Superintendent Kim has committed so many crimes at this point that nearly any digging uncovers something. Boss Yong (played by Kim Hieora) still ominously lurks in the background as the Russian-Korean crimelord to which all of these crimes eventually trace. But Boss Yong is noteworthy for not really liking Superintendent Kim even as an erstwhile ally because he just keeps making a mess of everything.

The crude yet effective investigative technique of Inspector Ryoo and K is quite the contrast. To try and locate possible informants as to the fate of Officer Tak, they infiltrate a homeless encampment. K is gleeful about making Inspector Ryoo uncomfortable, and the drama has a strong sense of humor as always about Inspector Ryoo getting furious at his alter ego in plain sight of other people. The predictability of these developments is buoyed by strong chemistry.

What's not as easy to justify is how helpless Detective Lee has been in the story so far. First at the mercy of the legal system, Detective Lee proceeds to be victimized yet again. It's only finally at the cliffhanger, this time with actual hanging, that we get much hint of Detective Lee finally being able to do something useful. Honestly it's hard to even really call her smart- more than the physical confinement, the fact that she was so unambiguously fooled by Superintendent Kim makes her a bad judge of character.

In a way this explains how Detective Lee could get entangled with as unsavory a character as Inspector Ryoo to begin with. The humor being that, through K, Inspector Ryoo is at least trying to redeem himself in part because of her. But by and large most of the story movement here is simple crime procedural work, with Inspector Ryoo crawling through the muck to find usable evidence.

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.