“A Killer Paradox” (살인장난감)

By Jae-Ha Kim
Substack
February 15, 2024

☆☆☆☆
Lee Tang (played by Choi Woo-shik)
Jang Nan-gam (played by Son Suk-ku)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

In Korean, the literal meaning of this series is The Murderer’s Toy. And it’s no coincidence that the detective in this K-drama is named Jang Nan-gam / 장난감, which in Korean translates to toy.

Best of: This series  made my year-end best-of list for Teen Vogue:

If you accidentally murder a serial killer, are your actions justified? Or are you just as evil as the man you killed? That’s the moral dilemma Lee Tang (Choi Woo-shik, Parasite) faces in this darkly humorous series, which pits the newbie killer against gung-ho detective Jang Nan-gam (Son Suk-ku, My Liberation Notes). Upon first meeting, it appears that the calm cop has the upper hand. But A Killer Paradox clues viewers in as to where this series is headed. The title in Korean (살인장난감) translates to The Murderer’s Toy. So who will Lee trifle with? Jang, obviously. Jang knows Lee is the killer, and Lee knows that Jang knows. After his first kill, Lee is suicidal. But after he murders a second victim, who also turns out to be a serial killer, Lee is emboldened. He justifies his actions as a form of divine intervention to rid the world of immoral trash. Never mind that he has crossed over into that category himself. The once-bullied student who was too frightened to fight back finds his killing sprees to be thrillingly liberating. And redemption is something he’s not actively seeking. (Netflix)

Airdates: Eight episodes, between 45 to 63 minutes each, dropped on Netflix on February 9, 2024.

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