The new K-drama Dear X (2025) confidently drops its first four episodes with style. From the start, we are plunged into the world of Baek Ah‑jin (played by Kim Yoo‑jung), a top actress whose past is anything but glamorous. Her journey from trauma to ruthless ambition sets a tone that’s heavy, unsettling, and compelling.
The strength of these episodes lies in their willingness to explore the darker side of human nature. The question the drama asks: is Ah-jin inherently bad, or did life force her into the role she now plays?
Setting the Stage for Dear X: Survivor or Villain?
As we move through episodes one to four, Ah-jin’s transformation becomes the show’s centrepiece. She becomes a top actress, outwardly charming, inwardly ruthless. The show even flags her as having Antisocial Personality Disorder.
Her childhood is defined by neglect and abuse: an alcoholic mother, a silent father, and a stepmother who sees her as exploitable.
It is clear that the series wants us to ask: Is she a villain or simply a woman who decided to stop being the victim?
A Web of Manipulation
Ah-jin manipulates those around her with cold precision. In high school, she pits her rivals, friends, and family against one another. One standout sequence: she uses her classmate’s social status, leaks her father’s affair, frames her for theft, and then watches her fall.
Her strategy is long-term and systematic. Economically vulnerable students become her pawns; teachers and rivals become targets. The series handles this manipulation in a disturbingly compelling way.
Supporting Cast and Their Roles
While Ah-jin dominates the narrative, her supporting characters are equally intriguing.
- Yoon Jun‑seo plays her childhood friend-turned-pawn. Loyal, conflicted, and aware of what he is getting into. His moral struggle adds layers.
- Kim Jae‑oh is the other young man pulled into her orbit. He has his own trauma and finds a strange solace in Ah-jin’s certainty.
Their dynamic is not simply hero and villain, but something much more messily human.
Tone, Production & Direction
The show is dark. Very dark. This isn’t a light psychological thriller. The first four episodes question human nature. The production values help: cinematography, sound design, pacing, everything contributes to unease. One viewer summed it up:
“The very first scene was word-for-word straight from the manhwa … I’m really hoping it’s a faithful adaptation!”
And that adaptation pays off. The pacing is tight yet allows for character depth.
Themes and What They Mean
A central question hangs over the show: Is someone inherently bad, or did their environment make them that way? The show clearly leans into the latter. Ah-jin’s upbringing is portrayed as a factory for pain and survival. Her father’s abuse, abandonment, and her mother’s alcoholism do not excuse her actions, but they explain them.
Also, the show explores power. Ah-jin wants safety, respect, and control. She finds it by any means necessary. Yet the show hints that high status comes with a cost. Early glimpses show her stepping into fame even as she discards the connections that helped her.
Our Final Verdict
After watching the first four episodes, I am left with both admiration and trepidation. Admiration for the bold storytelling and the lead performance. Trepidation because this story challenges you as a viewer.
It makes you question where you stand when the heroine becomes the antagonist. The show is not aiming for comfort or catharsis in a usual way. It is pushing into deeper territory: survival, power, the cost of ambition.
If you like stories where no one is purely good or entirely evil, where the lead can terrify you even as you watch her rise, then this is a drama worth your time. But if you prefer clear moral lines or lighter themes, be prepared. This ride gets messy.
If the next episodes keep up this level of craft and tension, we are in for a wild ride. And I, for one, am ready to buckle in. Want more K-drama and K-pop coverage? Head over to Saranghero for the latest updates, reviews, and deep dives.