REVIEW: Are You Human Too?
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Re-watch value: 3 out of 5 stars
Synopsis
*partially taken from Dramafever*
Nam Shin (Seo Kang Joon, member of 5urprise, from Cheese in the Trap) is the third-generation heir of the illustrious PK Group. Handsome and charming.
Seo Ye Na (Park Hwan Hee from Jealousy Incarnate) is Nam Shin's gorgeous fiancée.
Oh Ro Ra (Kim Sung Ryung from Heirs) is the young heir’s mother and a leading authority on artificial intelligence. She wants to protect her son's position.
Ji Young Hoon (Lee Joon Hyuk from A Poem a Day) is Nam Shin’s friend and secretary.
Nam Shin III is an android that poses as Nam Shin to safeguard his empire.
Seo Jong Gil (Yoo Oh Sung from Uncontrollably Fond) is the ambitious executive who is just dying to rise up the ranks at PK Group.
Kang So Bong (Gong Seung Yeon from Circle: Two Worlds Connected) is Nam Shin III’s bodyguard. While a kind and caring person, she has a tough exterior. Even though she constantly seems annoyed, Kang So Bong will do anything to defend and protect Nam Shin III, which includes showing him how to act human.
One day, Nam Shin disappears under suspicious circumstances. Sort of. Not only does the android have to imitate Nam Shin, but he also must stop the conspiracy that nearly took his “twin’s” life. And while everyone else worries about the original man, Nam Shin III begins developing feelings, wondering if he can have his own life… and love. But if he can’t stop the conspiracy, there won’t be a life left to live.
Rambling
*beware of spoilers*
I didn't feel close to this one until the last few episodes, I'm afraid. Pretty cool concept, but I wasn't sold on the romance until the last minute.
I loved Seo Kang-Joon's performance as Robot Shin and Human Shin. Quite compelling. Gong Seung-Yeon as Kang So-bong was OK; I felt that she cried at the drop of a hat (in a bad way).
Anyway, the show is chugging along—everyone is keeping up with their deception and hiding the truth from Seo Jong-gil like champs. More importantly, all of them are coming to grips with the notion that Robot Shin is a beautiful soul and very likely betterthan the Human Shin. This conflict defines the first half of the show, and I think is the most compelling point: what exactly makes you human?
The romance was boring, the skinship was lacking, and the helter-skelter cover-up was draining, but at the very least, everyone was in a moral quandary. Should Robot Shin be treated like an object, a piece of machinery, or should he be treated with human dignity, as an entity trying to find his place in the world the same as you and me?
I was yawning at the rest of the lead-up, wondering when, if ever, the show would get both the Robot Shin and Human Shin to face-off when episode 11 took me by surprise. The episode crash-landed to an epic cliffhanger with Human Shin revealing himself to be conscious and back in his place at the company, masquerading, ironically, as Robot Shin. It all comes to a startling head when—after So-bong confesses her romantic feelings to who she thinks is Robot Shin—Seo Jong-gil explodes on the scene accusing Mom Oh of creating a robot version of her son who was sitting right there in that very room. An angry af Human Shin slams a glass cup to pieces and bleeds to prove he is in fact human, and then (with quite a flourish of hatred, I might add) says to the stunned So-bong, “You like me? Who do you think you are?” END EPISODE.
And THAT’S when the show went from good to great! Yes, I totally understand the incredible amount of disbelief I had to suspend here, since a person just emerging from a coma and head trauma can’t simply get up and start walking without some serious physical therapy and recovery first, but for the sake of this spectacular reveal, I’m willing to overlook this ghastly detail.
Episode 12 had me rolling as well. That episode ended with So-bong speaking with the decidedly disgusting Human Shin. He says, and I quote, “I guess I didn’t hit you hard enough at the airport….What, do you hate that I’m human?” And So-bong says, “No. I hate that you’re not like a human at all.” YOOOOOOO! That line got me so dirty. Robot Shin appears and does a hand grab® to pull So-bong away from a seething Human Shin, saying, “I need to keep you away from that person. Is this what you call jealousy?”
I can’t say I cared too much about Robot Shin’s budding realization of his feelings, but I did care that the sequence obviously pushed our Shins to be at odds with each other. ::rubs palms together sinisterly::
I enjoyed the episode 14 finale immensely. Evil Human Shin replaces Robot Shin in the movie theater. I knew it immediately, but when he starts to cry and he says to So-bong, "I thought you didn't get us confused," I screamed.
Yada-yada-yada, Mom Oh has to fix her mistake (i.e., putting a kill switch inside the angelic Robot Shin), and—coupled with the hell-bent, devilish ambition of Seo Jong-gil—she gets killed by the same psycho that finished off her husband. Things take a quick turn for the worse as all our "good guys" race against the clock to save Human Shin from being killed AND to save Robot Shin from dying after the kill switch countdown is reactivated. Sad news: Robot Shin dies.
We get a 1-year time jump and then a textbook happy ending, with Robot Shin showing up good as new to surprise a still-grieving So-bong. I was about to shrug here when the final freeze-shot is of Robot Shin shedding one perfect tear, and I lost my composure. Slow clap for the robot who can cry! Points given to a reformed Human Shin who fronted the money and manpower to fix his robo twin.
Minor note: I hated that So-bong never showed off her strength. She barely "guards" him from anything, and her history as a UFC fighter is quite literally unbelievable.All in all, I liked this show, but I didn't love it. Seemed to spin its wheels a bit. I would recommend it because it looks like it was a popular K-drama, although it's not a fave...but thank God for Seo Kang-Joon's gorgeous face and bod, amirite?
Did you catch this popular drama? What did you think of it? Tell me in the comments below!
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