Dramas criticized for showing sudden death of main characters, from Park Ha Sun to Son Ho Jun

K-drama fans complain of dramas that make the main characters die early or in the middle of the story.

SBS’s Fri-Sat drama “The First Responders Season 2” shocked everyone as it showed one of the main characters played by Son Ho Joon dying after airing only three episodes. 

Following Season 1, which ended in December last year, “The First Responders Season 2” returns with more stories centering around the work of police officer Jin Ho Gae (Kim Rae Won), firefighter Bong Do Jin (Son Ho Jun), and paramedic Song Seol (Gong Seung Yeon). 

In particular, Son Ho Jun received favorable reviews for his excellent acting performance as righteous firefighter Bong Do Jin and his love for Song Seol. However, Bong Do Jin suddenly sacrificed himself in episode 3 after eating candles to preserve the evidence of a serial arsonist.

After the broadcast, many viewers poured criticism over the unexpected development of a main character’s sudden death at the beginning of the drama. Although Son Ho Jun said in an interview that he already expected the death of his character before Season 2 started, the viewers are still angry. In addition, the rating of episode 4, which aired after Bong Do Jin’s sacrifice, witnessed a decline of 0.5%. 

“The First Responders Season 2” is not the only drama that showed the absurd death of the main character. “The Veil” also shocked viewers as the female lead Seo Soo Yeon (Park Ha Sun) was suddenly shot dead in episode 6. At that time, many speculated that it was a forced ending for Park Ha Sun’s character due to the controversy over the actress’s acting skills.

As the controversy continued, MBC’s Drama Department director explained, “Seo Soo Yeon was originally planned as a ‘game changer’ who leaves the story after causing a shocking turning point”.

The reason why viewers are angry with such a development is that the story was not convincing enough to use the extreme decision of sacrificing a main character. In addition, it also breaks viewers’ immersion in the drama.

Source: Daum