Well fuck me Payback is fucking FANTASTIC.
Acting is excellent. Min does microexpressions very well. Even though he maintains a largely stone face most of the time, somehow you can still tell how his character is supposed to feel. I love it.
The darkness in this show is quite captivating. Neither of the leads are entirely good or bad people. Sun did some absolutely horrific things when he was younger, but then his grief and his guilt led him to trying to be better. Yet now he's letting his thirst for vengeance control him. At least it seems that the way he plans on taking revenge doesn't involve violence. Sure he beat up his classmates, but to be fair they very much started it.
Jay/Arthur's main goal at this point appears to be seducing Sun, yet he also wants to help Sun get revenge because apparently a one night stand made Jay fall for him. I can't really ascertain much else about him. All of his energy is focused on Sun. He's clearly good at his job, but I don't know how much he actually cares about it. And while I would like to learn more about who he is as a person in general, I can't deny that I enjoy watching him dominate Sun.
Speaking of which. The kink. The KINK.
Okay, to be clear, this is not healthy or negotiated power exchange. Jay has genuine power over Sun and he's using it. This does not consensual D/s make. Every time Jay has done something sexual to Sun so far(except for the first time they had sex) it has not been consensual or at all okay. But I'm letting myself enjoy it because I think this relationship is supposed to be dark and fucked up.
All of that being said, I enjoy the fuck out of how dominant Jay is. His energy is powerful, and the way he directs it at Sun is captivating. Sun definitely gives off Top energy, but not really Dom energy. That's a hard distinction to make, but essentially a Top is just the person either penetrating in sex or doing other kinky things to a bottom, without necessarily being dominant. A Dom is someone who is in charge of their sub, and the sub wants to give them control on a deeper level than penetration or S&M, etc. Doms can bottom sexually or in S&M or bondage play(and various other things--I'm not going to give an exhaustive list of kink activities). They generally Top though. Sun is a Top, and he has very slight Dom energy. Jay seems to take that as a challenge, because he knows that Sun is a bit of a Switch. He wants to bring the submissive side out of Sun. To make Sun his obedient boy.
Also jfc the fact that Jay clearly got turned on because Sun was crying during sex. Dacryphilia my beloved. I'm sure most people are disturbed by that kink but whatever, I am who I am.
"If you want me to be fond of you, you'd better do as you're told."
When I tell you I just about DIED.
Can't wait for the next episode. This show. Fuck.
Oh also Jo is so good, I adore him.
(repeated disclaimer that this isn't healthy kink, it's dark fantasy--negotiate thoroughly and don't play with people who use non kink power over you to control you, only people who respect you and your boundaries completely)