I may sound cranky, but I had high hopes for this drama, and I snorted at the notion that this drama was too short to properly develop the story.

I hope all actors came with better projects next time.

The parts I thought were done the best are the quiet scenes between our 3 main characters.

I actually think with this director and writer, any more episodes and we would've all been bored out of our heads waiting for the climax.
Under the hands of someone else, 12 episodes would've been a perfect amount of time to develop everything, and under someone else again they could've done wonders with this concept for 16 episodes. But as it was? Nooo any more and it would've dragged and the last four episodes would've been filler before the ending.

You make a good case about Soo Hyun having to die "A story about heartache, abandonment, and bloodshed, can only end with the same" (ouch. what a message to end a show on)
But I still think it was lazy writing and contradictory of the other themes it had set up. Hence, badly written all round, since it wasn't consistent in its themes, and never developed any of them and only followed through on the depressing ones.

I don't think I can be bothered posting the whole thing in the comments like I usually do with these things, so here are more of my thoughts on the matter: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19vMUpzH9LAAOtJ-Kwa2exivuGuujDMf3EeOqlVbUzFs/edit

The female characters were such stereotypes, and so darn needy or intrusive that i just couldn't watch after a while. And the plot, omg the plot! This is the most careless hitman i've seen in ages. No matter how much you want to protect someone, you do not just let people into your life...and your apartment. It was all just unbelievable.

This show was trite and overplayed. At various points, the word 'bathos' came to mind. I think the talents of the main actors were squandered by a writer who really ought to barred from working on a Korean drama ever again. I will continue to follow Jang Ki-yong despite this mess of a show and I hope his upcoming rom-com won't suffer from the same lack of writing talent.

I didn't expect the finale week eps to deliver, but it actually did and more. It still haven't answered most of my questions (like the backstory of Hyun-jin's adoption, Soo-hyun's peculiar blue eyes and his deliberately hidden information as a child, or the mechanism behind the numbered children as organ bank), but it delivers emotionally, which is a feat for a drama that never evoke the intended emotion out of me for the previous 11 eps. And for that, I'm a happy viewer.

I think one of the reason I enjoyed Soo-hyun as an antihero is the fact that this drama didn't try to be contemplative and philosophical and deep. That kind of story telling needs a strong writer, which is clearly not the case here, so thank God for a much shallower characterization. Soo-hyun didn't hesitate or give a damn about killing all those evil people, even until the very end. The only line he had drawn was about killing children and animals, and he was consistent about it since the beginning. I think the only time he felt bad about his job was when he realized that both Seul-gi and Hyun-jin knew about the real him. All these traits somehow made him more interesting than if he was clearly morally conflicted by the various relationships he has built.

Speaking of relationship, I'm glad that he and Hyun-jin never officially became a couple because that would add an unnecessary dramatic to an already dramatic story. I like their dynamic as a reunited childhood friends: close enough to share their stories and visit each other, but not too close that the development felt forced. What I really love though, is Soo-hyun's relationship with Seul-gi. Contrary to many other viewers, I don't find her brattiness annoying or pushy. I think she balanced Soo-hyun's super stoicism nicely with her sassiness. It kinda amazed me that the relationship that started with that big of a lie can turned into a genuine bond and fondness for each other. When Seul-gi matter-of-factly told Soo-hyun that she has forgiven his past deeds, I'm pretty sure it moved him as much as it did me.

Overall, it's an enjoyable yet somewhat boring journey. I don't really regret watching this drama since I have no grand expectation from the start. Though it's still true that they wasted good actors with their sparking chemistry, great cinematography, and earworm OSTs. I hope those actors will have better luck with their next project.

It wasn't horrible, in an unwatchable kind of way. It was just "bad" in a typical K-drama kind of way. There's always a point (or many) in a bad drama where there's simply no logical reason that what's occurring on the screen should be happening.

Oh. I was wondering if this would come out.. I'm probably among those who chose to abandon technical scrutiny to just enjoy the drama. Yes sometimes JKY's silence pained me but it made me realize how good he is in expressing emotions with just his eyes or subtle changes in his face. He's not the best actor out there but he definitely got me invested in this kind of story. And Nana--it's my first drama of her and so far she's better than most actresses out there who can't deliver emotions well. Haha I expected it to have no happy ending but I didn't expect to bawl my eyes out.. This will probably be on my list next to Lookout..

It had its good moments...maybe 12 episodes of mainly silence was not enough lol.
I knew it would end badly since the premise was just too sad to have a happy ending but I was still hoping that he would make it out alive. sob.
I did not understand the last scene...was that some sort of dream?

I was Entertained by this drama. It was ridiculous and I love love that he was a killer until the end. Was it absurd? Yup, ridiculous? Yup. But it did what it was supposed to do and that was entertain. I am content.

Cool action sequences but other than that? Sorry to disagree but even as a melodrama it doesn't pull emotional punches. I don't know whether it was poorly written or the actors were miscast.

And I'm still perplexed as to why we should understand/connect/relate with Hyeon Jin's & Soo Hyun's relationship. Because they're childhood friends

Part 1 of 2

Thanks for your series review and summation for KILL IT, @missvictrix. I agree that various elements that had been introduced early in the show were abandoned instead of further developed, which was a shame. What we ended up with was the mother of all birth secrets, and a shadowy bunch of perpetrators that made Pavel the assassin and his Russian mafia rivals look like a bunch of choir boys.

The imagery and significance of blue eyes was abandoned. What a waste. The old title was so much more evocative than KILL IT. It instantly reminded me of The Who’s original version of “Behind Blue Eyes” from the 1971 LP Who’s Next. In addition to the edge of anger in Roger Daltry’s voice, the vehement cries for help in the song’s bridge, and Pete Townshend’s daebak guitar break that are entirely missing from Limp Bizkit’s cover, the lyrics fit the premise of the drama to a T. They speak of having to live a lie under a false identity, and having to stuff all emotions because of what was done to the speaker by another person.
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/pakalanapikake/activity/777180/

Who’s Next consists of pieces from Pete Townsend’s unfinished second rock opera, intended as a successor to Tommy. I’ve posted the Assembled Multitude’s cover of the “Overture from Tommy” on my fan wall because I needed to cheer up after the finale. It’s still as uplifting as it was when it rose to #16 on the Billboard charts in the summer of 1970. Bonus tracks by related acts from the City of Brotherly Love, TSOP and The Three Degrees.
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/pakalanapikake/activity/777216/

From the start, I feared that Soo-hyun was beyond redemption. That turned out to be not quite the case. However, he took the kamikaze route to ensure that the monsters who created him and the organ-farming and transplantation apparatus were permanently put out of commission. It brings to mind another production involving social carnivores, albeit felines instead of canines: BORN FREE – which he most definitely was not. I cannot imagine Soo-hyun in jail for the rest of his life, nor on death row – both of which would have been a return to his original life as #88. I don't mean that he was trying to avoid paying the piper for his career as a hit man when he finally pulled the trigger on Do Jae-hwan. (As a child, he trained to become an assassin only as a means of survival. He had no other choice as the ward of a professional killer, dang it!) If he could have found a way to live, I’m convinced he would have done so. His conscience was clear. In his mind, he had euthanized rabid animals that had fatally bitten too many victims.

- Continued -

Part 2 of 2

Soo-hyun wasn’t committing suicide by cop, either. I don't think that ever entered into the equation for him. If anything, he was acting more like a honeybee guarding the entrance to the hive against marauders, or a worker bee ensuring the colony’s collective survival by evacuating vulnerable brood to safety (Seul-gi). Unlike wasps who can sting repeatedly, a honeybee dies when it stings in self-defense. Soo-hyun was laser-focused on ensuring that the evil mastermind would never harm another child – nor create future generations of genetically-engineered clones as throw-away spare-parts donors for the Obscenely Rich & Powerful. He wasn't leaving it up to the corrupt system that had aided and abetted Do Jae-hwan and his ring for many years. If you want the job done right, you do it yourself. The honeybee did it.

I was ready to scream on several occasions in various episodes when our allegedly hotshot Detective Do did dumb things like go to the baddies' remote warehouse without a partner or backup. She's supposed to be an experienced cop, dang it! She got stabbed in the back by Park when he was trying to nail Soo-hyun who was attempting to rescue the numbered kids from the Hospital From Hell. She barely stayed in the hospital, and then was running around – for a short while with her right arm in a, a, a – cast?! WTH! How did she hurt her arm? She'd been stabbed in the back, dadgum it!

Soo-hyun's being caught on a surveillance camera was unbelievably sloppy. Ditto for leaving the entrance to his Secret HQ & Armory wide open. Pavel must have been spinning in his grave at high RPM over such egregious lapses. Shame on you, Writer-nim, for turning uri pet-friendly vigilante and detective into doofuses.

Soo-hyun sent wolfdog Gray to a sanctuary. If that didn’t telegraph that he was on a one-way mission, I don’t know what would have. He left a single bowl of ox bone soup on Seul-gi's table, and later called her from up the street on the new phone in the new car Philip had acquired for him. He said goodbye, and didn't just disappear from her life. I appreciated that he did not abandon her.

Jang Ki-yong did a lovely job of conveying Soo-hyun’s emotional states via his eyes and body language. He was my main reason for watching. I had been impressed by his performance in COME HERE AND HUG ME, in which he played another inexpressive character. Here’s hoping his next project has a happier story line. I’ve had my fill and then some of serial killers, assassins, evil spirits (I’m looking at you, Park Il-do!). On the up side, good triumphed over evil in the end, and for that, I’m grateful.

-30-

thanks for the recap, finally watched this show, and i sort of liked it..definitely did not hate it...also it was mine first time watching both lead actors, and would definitely like to watch more of their shows, if any.

So much potential squandered T____T and so many unanswered questions. The directing and OST were top notch though. If only the writing had direction.