Review of Mercy for None / 광장

If you’re new here, and stumbled upon this blog through the mythical powers of the Internet, welcome! I know a lot of visitors to my website are people who randomly come upon this website through search engines like Google, but I also do have a lot of visitors who come back. Regardless: my name is Ashley, and I started this blog in order to keep track of everything I’m coming across in the world.

About a year ago (at the time of typing this) I quit my job as a professional film critic to explore what was out there in the world when it came to publishing about the movies and books I wanted to see, not just what was popular in the moment. Digital media and working within it can be fun and all, but it can be grinding when you’re just chasing after all the latest trends and clicks for SEO.

I started this blog four years ago, during the pandemic, but never really took it seriously beyond the occasional post here and there about what I was up to. In 2023 I began to realize the impact this blog was having on me, and other people were reaching out about reading it, so I expanded. Once I quit my job, I decided to focus on the blog more while job hunting, as I do make a few pennies here and there from the display ads on the screen.

Anyways, I’ve been watching a lot of television regardless of the blog or not. I’ve been watching Korean dramas since 2013, and spent a lot of time as a critic working on Korean cinema as a whole. I speak a decent amount of Korean and have lived in Seoul and Busan for periods of time, so it makes sense that I kind of just fell into this path.

Somehow, though, I had never seen a So Ji-sub drama before this. I saw this show in the top 10 of the USA Netflix, and was intrigued by the fact it had gotten that high up when other Korean shows that are also fantastic haven’t been able to capture broader American attention.

So I sat down and watched the show over the course of a few days. It was pretty helpful that it was only six episodes, and the episodes themselves are max 45 minutes, making it much easier to binge watch in fewer sittings.

Let’s get into the review! I don’t want to ramble too much in the introduction.

A man returns to the world of gangs and violence when his brother is killed one night.

For those looking for a show that’s more reminiscent of Korean movies from the 2000s, this is definitely the show for that. Some might compare it to the American movies like John Wick, which I have not personally seen, but I could imagine the recent John Wick films have been inspired by Korean and Japanese revenge thrillers. They’re very pervasive in this genre’s imagery and aesthetics.

Anyways, this show’s protagonist is Nam Gi-jun, who left behind the world of gangsters and crime eleven years prior to the events of the television series. He wants to live a somewhat normal life compared to what he used to have, especially after a certain incident happens, but his brother is still in this world.

In the very first episode, his brother, Gi-seok, is cornered by many thugs and killed on the spot. He was very clearly set up by someone, and Gi-jun recognizes that right off the bat. Even at the funeral, the other crime lords and company heads are speculating about what could happen next, and no one could have predicted Gi-jun was going to go off the rails.

Angered about what happened to his brother, Gi-jun decides to go on a path of revenge, which is something we often see in Korean and Japanese cinema in the same genres. The lone male protagonist decides to go against the system he was raised in or had turned his back on years prior, uncovering an entire web of secrets and deceit.

There are a variety of characters to meet throughout this show though. Gi-jun’s first target is the spoiled brat Gu Jun-mo, portrayed by an unhinged Gong Myung who’s just having fun in this role. Then there are other suspect characters like the prosecutor, brilliantly played by Choo Young-woo, corrupt police officers, and the head of a trauma cleaning company.

Some pretty epic action scenes are packed into this show, such as when Gi-jun goes to confront Jun-mo in his apartment complex, or when he busts out of a police van when set up at one point. I was really happy with the quality of the action, as this is something we don’t often see in Korean television. It can get quite bloody though.

People often point to the romance dramas when talking about Korean television, but this can be the cream of the crop for action. I keep thinking about that hallway fight scene, which is bloody and cruel in so many ways, but it also feels like an homage to the scene in Oldboy that’s similar.

Overall Thoughts

I really enjoyed watching this show, despite all of the gruel and gore that comes with seeing a guy’s head get blown off in the middle of driving.

I know a lot about Asian action movies, despite not really being an action fan myself, and I think I like them because the violence feels very purposeful and intentional, no matter how gory it gets.

Like Oldboy for example: it feels like a brimming class rage beneath the surface, as the rich are able to do whatever they want, while the main character suffers because he was an ordinary salaryman who pissed off the wrong person when he was kid. There’s more to that and the antagonist’s motivations, but I’m not getting into spoiler territory here.

All of this is to say that I think Mercy to None is worth giving a shot if you can handle it. It feels like a movie that was extended into a television show. The ending itself and some characters’ motivations are the weakest parts of the show, but I think it makes up for it largely in entertainment factor.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a good television show, that’s for sure. Go watch it if you’re interested.

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