By the seventh episode, the ratings have been quite stable, neither rising nor falling, which further proves my point of view of the second part is correct.
———
The launch of "Psychosis" has a high-pitched word of mouth on the one hand, and moderate ratings on the other. Kim Soo-hyun's high-profile first work after his discharge from the army has become more and more two-leveled.
The reason for this is not the character design problem that many people say, nor the professional setting, nor the poor quality of the episodes. I watched the first six episodes carefully and tried to take a look.
1. Both sides of a coin
The beginning of the story is a dark fairy tale. A lonely and beautiful girl accidentally saves a boy, and they get along with each other from spring to autumn. One day she tore off the butterfly's wings, "Will you be by my side forever?" But in the end, she still gave her a back figure who fled. Behind the girl, branches grow, extending all the way to the castle that imprisoned her, forever suspicious and forever lonely.
This is also the inner portrayal of the heroine Gao Wenying.
Although Gao Wenying looks very flamboyant, she will loudly declare her sovereignty if she likes it, and push people downstairs when she can't bear it. As a celebrity, she speaks sharply in public, and there are a lot of people behind her who take care of her troubles. However, she chased the male protagonist all over the world as if nothing happened.
But behind all this is Gao Wenying's nihilistic life that is extremely insecure.
The mother died prematurely without knowing the truth, and the father was admitted to a mental hospital. The first thing after not seeing her for a long time was to strangle her. Without relatives, without friends, the seemingly beautiful and wealthy life is actually countless hidden haze.
-Since there is no one who cares, what are you doing cautiously?
- Those who leave me are what you deserve, and I can be fine without you.
With such a mentality, Gao Wenying became what she is now. And for Wen Gangtai, maybe she didn't even know that, what she wanted to seize was not only her goodwill to her and her promise not to leave, but also because she saw the company she had been longing for in this man.
Wen Gangtai is actually very similar to Gao Wenying.
Gao Wenying lost the care of her parents early, and so did Wen Gangtai. He was born because he had to take care of his elder brother who was suffering from mental disorders. Since he was a child, his mother cared more about his eldest son who couldn't take care of himself. When he was small, he could only snuggle up to his mother secretly in the dark, absorbing that little bit of pitiful warmth.
Therefore, Wen Gangtai can understand Gao Wenying's true meaning in the fairy tale at a glance: what children want is not the real thing, but the warm hug.
It's just that Wen Gangtai's life is more cautious and aggrieved.
In the first episode, a friend once said to him: You laugh so fake, it's ugly. Later, he murmured in the dark night, his brother could see every trace of his expression, happy, sad, angry, only when he smiled would his brother feel okay. Then laugh, it doesn't seem to be too difficult.
He needs to work diligently to take care of his brother, and he needs to worry about friends repaying the care of his family. Even when he rejects the female partner's confession, he will first say, "You may be sad later." So gentle and so restrained.
Wen Gangtai has been suppressing like this.
I was born because of my elder brother, grew up because I had to take care of my elder brother, was neglected since I was a child, and I was used to giving way since I was a child. But Gao Wenying was the first person, and rushed up to him regardless, and said to him, you are very beautiful, I like you very much, you are very special.
How could he be indifferent even without the ties of childhood?
Gao Wenying's current wantonness is not just what Wen Gang wants to become. They are just two poles of a coin. They seem to be mutually exclusive, but in fact they are two sides of the same body. The existence of each other just fills the gap in their hearts.
This is the most interesting symbiosis of the relationship between the male and female protagonists.
2. So why is there such a controversy in the show?
I didn't want to mention it, but I saw too many outrageous comments in various places, so let's have a serious chat. (Just a personal opinion, fans don't be angry)
First of all, the quality of the show is definitely not bad. Some dramas are not as good as expected because of poor production, broken scripts, failed performances, etc. "Psycho" is clearly not. Its production is serious, the acting is passable, the modeling and scenery are all good-looking, dark fairy tales and excellent transitions are also plus points.
Even if you just want to be a niche word-of-mouth drama, then "Psychosis" has been successful.
The problem with it is that if the initial plan is aimed at the public, the core is that the positioning of the management is not obvious, and the audience estimation is too vague.
When many people are Amway, they like to say that the show is caring for the mentally ill. Some people also suggested that the reason why the show failed to explode is because the setting of the nurse is too niche, and even suggested that the male protagonist's setting is suppressed by the female protagonist, which is not eye-catching enough.
All of the above, I don't think so.
Let's talk about the character first.
The ratings of this drama are not explosive, not as some people say, because the character design is not popular enough, and because the nurses are not watched. In the past, Korean dramas were popular in ratings, and their occupations were varied. The audience did not only like to watch nonsensical stars or legendary ghosts and aliens. Nurses and psychiatric hospitals can also write dramas.
Character design does not refer to occupation and shallow setting, but character arc and character relationship advancement. Is the development of the history enough, is the purpose of the characters clear, is the confrontation between the characters enough, can they be linked together to promote emotional changes... These are the important things.
The reason why the female protagonist has a strong sense of sight is because now it is Gao Wenying who promotes the development of the main line of the story and the changes in the relationship between the characters. She confessed that she forced the male protagonist to accept him for one night. She took her brother to live in the castle, and until now, Wen Gangtai, in addition to looking for her in the heavy rain, is still in a state of passive acceptance and struggle.
It's not because of the characters, but because the pace of story development is slow, 6 episodes have passed, and the exchange of strengths and weaknesses in the relationship between characters has not yet arrived.
Let's talk about "mental illness".
As mentioned above, what this drama will write from the beginning is the reversal and redemption of the hero and heroine, the relationship between people and people, their own childhood, family, and the self they don’t want to face. The ultimate reconciliation, not really talking about the "sickness" of psychiatry.
Of course, the series can try to lead the audience to understand the situation of the mentally ill and the current psychological problems of the public, but the premise is to let the characters stand and let the audience enter the hearts of the characters.
So in essence, this is still a love drama wrapped in dark sugar, which is fundamentally different from those realistic career, life, and social themes.
Then, the reason for the polarized evaluation of this drama is obvious-if you want to watch the love line, it may be interrupted by too many side branches, and the development of love is too slow; if you want to watch the social direction, then The exaggerated narrative style of fairy tales will inevitably dilute realistic thinking, and the plot setting seems too light.
What is the childhood story of Gao Wenying and Wen Gangtai? Why is my brother so afraid of butterflies? What is the attitude of the second female lead towards the female lead? Why did the heroine's parents become what they are now? ...There are so many clues and suspense, but they are all brought by Yingyingchaochuo. After 6 episodes, the plot is still advancing slowly like warm sugar water.
There will be a sense of separation for the audience: When I watch this drama, where is the focus? What to expect in the next episode?
Of course, if you watch it, people who like it will also love this show very much.
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