After a long wait, the much-anticipated Stranger spin-off focusing on the drama’s infamous morally gray character Seo Dongjae is here and today we bring you our review of it.

If you’ve been following our drama reviews you might have noticed that Stranger is probably my favourite k-drama of all time. I’ve loved both seasons of it, even though the second one was slower and often criticized for it, so it’s only natural I’ve been waiting for this spin-off (which I’ll take as season three personally) of the drama like there’s no tomorrow. When the news of the possible Seo Dongjae-focused season first came up, my only hope was that the drama would focus on his time after S2 of Stranger and I’m so happy that this came true. Dongjae was one of my favourite characters in the drama and his potential was even more apparent during the short time we got to spend with him in S2 – although it doesn’t hurt that I also adore Lee Junhyuk and everything he films (hoping for that second season of Vigilante). I can happily say that Dongjae, The Good or The Bastard exceeded my expectations so let’s review.

Summary via MDL: Seo Dong Jae is a prosecutor and works in the Cheongju District Prosecutors’ Office. He is ambitious and places a priority on his success as a prosecutor. Nevertheless, he is not completely cold hearted as a person. Due to the label given to him as a corrupt prosecutor, his future as a prosecutor is not bright at all. While mired in trouble over a redevelopment case, he takes on a high school student murder case. He begins to walk a fine line between his intuition as a prosecutor and instinct as an opportunist.

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When I was writing my review of the second season of Stranger, one of the things I commented on was how positively surprised I was by the fact that Seo Dongjae was apparently amazing in the juvenile delinquents section and that his character really should be explored more. Well, I think that’s exactly what I got this time around with a whole spin-off focusing precisely on him and his, if we can call it that, redemption arc. Dongjae was the most morally gray character out of the main crew from the beginning but I think that’s what made this character stand out – you never knew what you would get from him. I think Lee Junhyuk was the perfect choice to portray him because he’s serious enough to make you wonder what his character is up to, but also capable of intertwining this kind of atmosphere with some humour. He has been fantastic in everything I’ve seen him in and I’m so happy that he accepted to do this project – I’ve read that he was surprised the fans wanted it so much – because I think he did a great job.

Dongjae is a complex character. He’s had a questionable past and his fair choice of wrong decisions that led to more drama, but it’s interesting to see him continue to be dedicated to his job. We’ve seen glimpses of that potential during season 2 of Stranger and I’m happy to see this side of him explored during Dongjae, The Good or The Bastard. I was a bit worried about the direction the drama would have considering the two writers involved in the making weren’t a part of the previous seasons, but I have to say I like the way they handled the storyline. I don’t think Dongjae is a character that deserved a direct (and boring) redemption, but also not a character that deserved a miserable ending. He falls somewhere in between and tries to push more onto the good side by actually focusing on his work this time around. I really enjoyed seeing both his serious and goofy side during the drama, especially during the final episodes when it was unclear what would happen to his career.

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The storyline was actually rather thrilling. I didn’t dare have my hopes up too high but I think the writing and directing crew really did a good job. When I saw that the man, the legend himself Park Sungwoong (if you haven’t watched Life on Mars make sure you do because he was exceptional in that) would be playing the main villain, I was so excited. Additionally, Hyun Bongsik takes on a very fun supporting role of Dongjae’s rival, and Park Sunggeun reprises his Stranger role so it was good to see some familiar faces. I liked the constant push-and-pull between the characters and the fact that as the story goes deeper, the main prosecutor squad actually starts working together in order to finally solve the problem they have. The feeling of actual camaraderie during those last few episodes was great to see and my most pleasant surprise has to be Jihui – such a good character! All of these characters bring out the best or the worst in Seo Dongjae, making him have to decide which side or which route will he eventually take. I think it’s nice that we actually do see his character development, especially during the scenes where they test his previous preferences.

Another thing that surprised me was that we actually got to see more of his wife! The scene where she makes him sign a contract that he would solve the case or she would divorce him was one of the funniest ones. I wish we got more proper interactions between them but it was sweet that she was present even as a phone call at times. It made his character seem more fleshed out as well. Of course, all of this isn’t to say that Dongjae, The Good or The Bastard is a flawless drama – it definitely has its flaws but considering it only has 10 episodes, I think it does a good job of wrapping loose ends and letting everyone get their moment. I know that the ending will have viewers wondering if it’s a bad or good one – but I think it actually serves as a nice reminder of Dongjae’s past while letting him pursue future as well. It’s neither right nor wrong but I’d definitely love to see what happens next. Unfortunately, I don’t think we will get more of this story but a girl can hope! Dongjae, The Good or The Bastard gets a 8.75/10 from me because I’m ultimately simply biased towards this series and this character.

PS. You can totally watch this without watching Stranger! It’s, of course, better to watch it because you’ll get to know Dongjae better, as well as his mentioned corrupt past, but I think works as a solid stand-alone too. I wish we got a cameo from our favourite prosecutor Hwang Shimok but I’ll take that Easter egg we got by Dongjae using him as his fake name during the case he was solving as a win. Additionally, I love that the poster for Dongjae, The Good or The Bastard is inspired by the OG Stranger one!