Summary
- Netflix has released its strangest K-drama yet.
- The drama is based on a webtoon and has a lot of unconventional and idiosyncratic arcs to tackle.
- The first viewers seem to have a unanimous opinion about whether the job was done right.
Netflix execs certainly did a great job creating a hype around Lee Byeong-heon's Chicken Nugget. The new K-drama could have faded into oblivion as soon as it landed on the streaming giant on March 15, as many projects do, but its weird synopsis created the buzz and anticipation it needed to succeed.
What's so odd about the show?
Chicken Nugget stars comedic duo Ryu Seung-ryong and Ahn Jae-hong, who play the president and intern of a company that makes machines for human needs. One day, the president's pretty daughter and the intern's crush (Kim Yoo-jung) mistakes a mysterious device for a machine that cures fatigue and steps inside.
Shockingly, she turns into a single tasty-looking dakgangjeong (sweet and sour chicken ball). Now the protagonists must find a way to turn the girl back into a human being.
That's strange, but what's the point of 10 episodes, you might ask? Just reset the machine and undo the damage. Well, it's not that simple.
The show is based on a webtoon of the same name, which runs for 47 chapters and was quite popular in South Korea in 2019-2020 when it was released. As you can imagine, the number of arcs and creative plot twists provides plenty of material for the on-screen adaptation.
In fact, the story gets wilder and more unpredictable with each new episode. The human-turned-chicken-nugget shenanigans are just the tip of the iceberg. By the time the finale rolls around, all sorts of weird things have happened. And romantic feelings for a nugget is just one of them.
Is it worth watching?
Ok, the plot is intriguing, but we know that such a zany tone can either make or break a show. So which is it in this case?
The first viewers who rushed to watch the anticipated drama over the weekend seem to have a unanimous opinion: the drama is totally worth your time. You just have to come in expecting crazy silliness and relax, not trying to make sense of things. The story will do that for you on its own terms.
The plot teeters on the edge of absurdity all the time, but never crosses that line. You are guaranteed to laugh out loud in every episode, but the humor allows the deeply dramatic moments to shine through, and the ending is a real knockout.
‘I couldn't help myself, binged the entire thing in one go. Well spent Friday evening,’ a viewer wrote on Reddit. ‘A proper rollercoaster, absurdly hilarious. They took a webtoon and brought it to life instead of adapting it to the norms of Korean dramas. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.’
Source: Reddit.