A review: Mad for each other (이 구역의 미친X)
I LOVE K-DRAMAS. It started with Alchemy of Souls and now I have apparently watched 23 shows, 242 episodes and spent just over 11 days watching K-Dramas (statistics courtesy of My Drama List, I don’t want you to think I just rustled up that maths). Those numbers are almost as confronting as my screen time the first week I downloaded TikTok.
Anyway the introduction no one asked for is over, this post is a review of Mad for Each Other. I am going to review it in the same way I do books (slightly edited to make it make sense):
1. Top notes – a first impression a high level of everything you need to know.
2. Middle notes – the foundation. Watchability and characters.
3. Base notes – the impression. Feelings, interpretation and everything else.
There are spoilers!
Top notes:
Thirteen episodes, all around 30 minutes long – the shortest episode being 28 minutes and the longest episode being 30 minutes. I watched Mad for Each Other on Netflix, and it was originally aired in 2021. I watched it in 2 evenings because I have no self-control. Watching this gave me the same feelings as It’s Okay to Not Be Okay – but I could relate to Mad for Each Other more.
Main roles: Lee Min-kyung (Oh Yeon-seo) and Noh Hwi-oh (Jung Woo).
Middle notes:
Mad for Each Other is easy to watch, the short episodes, the pace, the sub-plots. This isn’t the typical love story you may have come to maybe expect from K-Dramas. This is two people struggling, trying to cope as best they can and who eventually find each other (even if at times you think that they won’t). Everything about this drama feels human, no elaborate homes, cars or CEO vibes. The story is funny at times and heart wrenching in others.
Mad for Each Other is the story of two main characters who are living their lives as best they can given their past experiences and current situations. Their relationship starts with a series of escalating misunderstandings and has a happy ending. They are very much main characters in their own rights, with equal focus given to both of their stories. There are a lot of great characters around the leads – Howi, Min-kyung’s dog who I am obsessed with deserves his own shoutout for just existing and whose name comes from the word guardsman in Korean.
Base notes:
Min-kyung and Hwi-oh are neighbours, they go to the same therapist, they hate the rain, both are struggling with their mental health – both take you a while to figure out. We get an insight into their past experiences, their families and what is important to them as the episodes unfold.
In the first episode we can see both characters in therapy – the therapist writing down; post traumatic embitterment disorder for Hwi-oh and delusional disorder, post traumatic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder for Min-kyung. The portrayals of trauma, PTSD and OCD were for me - realistic and honest throughout every episode.
There are some scenes / reactions from the main characters put in purely for comedic effect but none of that stayed with me. I can’t remember laughing all that much but I do remember shedding a tear – whether you will cry or not is not up to me, that is an issue for you and your eyeballs.
The setting
Both Hwi-oh and Min-kyung’s flats reflect their feelings. Min-kyung has a room full of boxes she hasn’t dealt with and minimal personal items on display in her flat. Hwi-oh has a practical flat which is nicely furnished (we come to find out why he owns this flat and it makes more sense – also I am not trying to ruin everything for you with my writing so there are some things I will not write about).
As they move forward we can see their wardrobes change, the colours become lighter, outfits sometimes match, items start being placed on Min-kyung’s shelves, glasses go from black to pink.
For both the leads whoever styled the characters did an excellent job – I don’t know how they managed to capture the perfect balance of put together but not ok. All I know is that Min-kyung made me want to buy Birkenstock Boston clogs, the only reason I don’t want to buy a pair or black circular glasses is because I already own them.
Min-kyung
Min-kyung and her experiences with trauma and OCD due to her past relationship struck my heart. I haven’t seen compulsions around the fear of leaving the gas on or double checking windows ever portrayed as part of a characters every-day life in this real way. Nor have I seen the coping mechanism of taking photos as proof to refer back to portrayed before.
Not being able to trust herself was the most painful part of her character – and the saddest part for me. You want to (and I did) cry at the violence Min-kyung has endured, how society, her job, her family – everyone has let her down. The worst part is how she has internalised all this – making her not trust herself.
“I told you, I can’t trust anyone. And the person I can’t trust the most is myself ”
She is trying her best to protect herself in every way, this can even be seen through her physical portrayal – she wears big circular black sunglasses and a flower in her hair as a way to protect herself from the outside world and to get people to avoid her. In episode 8 she explains that she wants to go to Mongolia because it has a low population density and she therefore won’t have to be around people.
“I wanted to make people avoid me.”
Despite everything she has been through she is strong, she may not trust herself in some respects but we see her hold her own when it comes to the on-going charges against her ex-partner and the pressure being put on her to drop these charges – from various people, for various reasons.
Hwi-oh
Hwi-oh has anger management issues and as the story unfolds we discover what is behind his reactions.
A detective who is currently dismissed from his job due to taking a case too far and letting his impulsiveness mis-lead him. He is in therapy and struggling with his emotions which are manifesting as anger.
“Everyone gets angry, anger is a natural emotion, supressing it isn’t the only answer. It’s how you express it. ”
As the story unfolds we see how underneath this anger and sometimes rudeness – he is caring and compassionate. As you find out more about him you can empathise with the anger he is feeling - towards the system he is working against. Having a crime to solve alongside the story of the 2 main characters is a nice sub plot which also has a happy ending.
Them
“Then, no matter what I do, be understanding, trust me and stand up for me.”
The relationship between Hwi-oh and Min-kyung starts with a series of escalating misunderstandings. There is a lot of dog symbolism between them (beyond Howi) – how many dog related symbolism / names did you pick up on? I counted at least 6.
Min-kyung goes from a trigger Hwi-oh needs to avoid to someone he wants to spend time with. There are a series of events – the flasher, teaching self-defence and continuing small misunderstandings that bring them closer throughout the episodes.
I like that Hwi-oh isn’t ‘saving’ Min-kyung which can be typical in some stories – he is there for her but she makes decisions for herself and in essence saves herself. The same goes for Min-kyung and Hwi-oh, they work on their own problems but find a way to come together. Understanding each other as the story unfolds.
I liked how they are main characters in their own right, with equal importance given to their stories and then it all coming together in the end.
My favourite moments were; the purple whistle Hwi-oh gives Min-kyung in episode 8 and then the necklace he gives her in episode 13 – a symbol of; I will be there for you and you are not alone… And Hwi-oh buying the pink glasses for Min-kyung to replace her black (iconic) glasses – a symbol of her seeing the world a little lighter.
“Here’s your medal…
Will you show up if I blow this whistle? ”
Episodes 12 through 13 starts with a broken promise, a fight between Hwi-oh and Min-kyung’s abusive ex, the drug dealer Yang being caught, a kidnapping and a car chase. It all dramatically picks up in the last 2 episodes, but it all ends with Hwi-oh hearing the whistle as Min-kyung walks towards him. That is a summary that I wanted to give – which doesn’t give it all away but also contains alot of spoilers…
“I love you.
You’re crazy. ”
Conclusion
Apart from wanting my own Howi and a pair of Birkenstock Boston clogs, Mad for Each Other made me think about being loved as a whole. It does and will get better. I also hope more dramas touch on mental health and society more. Shows like this can open up conversations about experiences around mental health, relationships and normalise this being a normal topic of discussion.
When you see main characters with issues that many of us face, it helps you to feel less alone, it helps to normalise and de-stigmatise mental health problems. Although a lot of humour is used, I think that humour is at some points needed in this drama to contrast with the harder moments of the story. I like how the story, the characters and even the clothes get lighter as the story unfolds.
The end scene of them smiling at each other was perfect.
Speak soon!
Ms ASK