‘My Name’ shows how your birthday could also be the worst day ever
This review contains spoilers.
Celebrating birthdays isn’t the same for everyone. Some consider it as a reason to throw a party, while others don’t really find it monumental. But for Han So-Hee’s character in My Name, it was an event in her life that marked the beginning of a painful journey. She played the role of Yoon Ji-Woo, a high school student who lived alone after her father was associated with a criminal organization named Dongcheon.
Ji-Woo was the daughter of a wanted gang member named Yoon Dong-hoon, with who she had a brief phone call on her birthday. Out of frustration, she told him that she considered him dead at that point since he has been gone for months with no clear explanation.
Even if it was risky, Dong-Hoon wanted to check on Ji-Woo after their conversation. When he was about to open the front door, a man suddenly appeared and shot him multiple times — and Ji Woo saw everything through the peephole. It was like everything came full circle given that the last thing she told him happened before her eyes.
After the grueling incident, Ji-Woo developed her thirst for vengeance. She couldn’t identify the killer’s face since it was covered, but she made a promise to hunt him down.
Women can be badass in action scenes, too
The eight-part Netflix series involves a lot of blood and violence as it brings a trifecta of action, thriller, and crime. But it’s refreshing to see is a woman as the lead in a genre like this. South Korean actress Han So-Hee steps out of her comfort zone in this new role, which is far from her previous portrayal in Nevertheless (2021). She proves that women can deliver badass fight scenes, too.
At her father’s funeral, Ji-Woo met Dongcheon’s leader Choi Mu-Jin (Park Hee-Soon), who considered himself as her dad’s best friend and brother. He eventually took her to the organization’s training gym to help improve her fighting skills before catching the assailant.
Since she didn’t have a support system, you’d think that being part of a gang could’ve filled the void. But things got more complicated since she was the only woman trying to whip into shape, and other members tried to harass her. But she didn’t back down and the training match was a confirmation that she could beat every single man who comes her way.
My Name presents the usual stunts like using knives and guns, hand-to-hand combat, setting a boat on fire, getting handcuffed, and the classic police car chase. While these are all expected to appear, it still has a way to leave you on the edge of your seats. The series also focuses on the character’s emotions when they’re in action, so you kind of feel every punch, cut, or gunshot.
Betrayal could literally kill you
Mu-Jin eventually explained to Ji-Woo that a police officer was the one who shot her father, so she worked her way into landing a spot in the Metropolitan Police Agency to figure out who the killer was. She also changed her name to Oh Hye-Jin to lessen suspicion.
Ji-Woo suspected the Narcotics unit’s captain Cha Gi-Ho (Kim Sang-ho) as the killer, but things changed when she knew the truth. It turns out that her father was a cop assigned to a long-time sting operation to investigate the illegal drug activities of Dongcheon.
My Name has a handful of plot twists but the most surprising one was this: Mu-Jin was the one who took the life of Dong-Hoon. People have different motives for taking revenge. In the series, the reason all boils down to betrayal, and the price to pay is someone’s life.
Getting revenge is not a common hobby
When Pil-Do asked Ji-Woo what she does outside of work, she couldn’t think of a particular hobby. Given the circumstance that Ji-Woo was in, revenge was the only thing on her mind. But she shared how she enjoyed going to the beach with her dad.
Pil-Do remembered that tiny detail and brought Ji-Woo to a nearby beach later on. For a moment, she experienced a semblance of a peaceful life before everything completely turned haywire. However, she witnessed another death caused by Mu-Jin when he shot Pil-Do in front of her. Losing two important people in her life fueled her even more to avenge their deaths.
During the most thrilling fight scene in the show, Ji-Woo exchanged blows with Mu-Jin, who she rightfully defeated. But what happens after accomplishing her life-long goal of vengeance with no one to turn to afterward?
The last episode showed Ji-Woo visiting the graves of her parents and Pil-Do. They say revenge is sweet, but this scene suggests the complete opposite. My Name started out dark, heavy, and brutal, with a silver lining in between, but everything was still burning with pain in the end. She was still alone.
There wasn’t a clear explanation on what Ji-Woo will do from then on, but maybe she’ll find comfort in beaches until she finds a new hobby that doesn’t involve bloody situations. Her birthday will never be the same again since it’s also her father’s death anniversary. But it might be the type of darkness that could keep her strong.
Image credits: Netflix/My Name | Banner edited by Bea Zaragoza
The post <b> ‘My Name’ shows how your birthday could also be the worst day ever </b> appeared first on WE THE PVBLIC.
Source: we the pvblic
No comments