BAD AND CRAZY begins with the introduction of Ryu Soo-yeol, a promotion-seeking anti-corruption cop played by drama heavyweight Lee Dong-wook, who is willing to sacrifice all moral righteousness in his pursuit of power. Things start to go wrong for him when he wakes up to find his car smashed to pieces, followed by a continuous beating to a pulp with no recollection or evidence of who the perpetrator might be.
Soo-yeol eventually puts the puzzle pieces together & realizes he has a split personality disorder. He's the one who has been terrorizing him. Or, more specifically, it's his motorcycle-helmeted alter ego K, righteous other half, expertly played by Wi Ha-Joon. As the show's title implies, it's essentially a story about two sides of the same person.
As the story progresses, we develop more sympathy for Soo-yeol. As the most successful professional member of his family, he inadvertently feels obligated to provide everything for them. So, his motivations & apparent disregard for everyone else around him begin to make sense.
Away from this, the introduction of a murderous Korean-Russian drug ring into the fold shifts things to the left. At this point, the show is on the verge of having one too many corruption-driven plot arcs, but it worked. However, the fact that it works is largely due to Kim Hieora's performance as Boss Yang, the ruthless, lollipop-sucking cartel kingpin. I literally fall in love with her character.
Overall, BAD AND CRAZY has one of those casts that you know you'll miss when it's over. The plot isn't new, but the split-personality twist adds a new taste to it. It manages to tell a violent story with a surprising amount of sentimentality. At times, the show even attempts to break down the taboos associated with discussing mental illness. While it may appear that the show is stumbling through what appears to be a million different story arcs - which borders perilously close to being messy or confusing - the watertight writing, pitch-perfect casting, great production value save the series & keep it from running wild.
