Vampire Prosecutor 1 + 2: In Praise of Yoo Jung In

So this show was a thing that happened. (warning: some spoilers ahead)

First rule of vampires in kdramaland: Become a vampire, automatically acquire heavy eyeliner

Second rule of vampires in kdramaland: You will never understand anything about the plot. Ever. Accept this.

And that was basically all one really needed to know diving into this show.

Now. I could spend this blog post talking about our titular hero, the vampire prosecutor--he of the blood-drinking, bad-guy beating, sizzling-cool 'tude.

But I'm not.

Don't give me that look.

He's awesome and I love him.

But you know who I love more?

 That's right. This woman right here. Yoo Jung In. This character could have gone so wrong so easily as the only female in a team of guys cracking murder mysteries. She could have become a typical 'strong' female. She could have been a typical love interest. She could have been written as the weak link, or as the endearing idiot. Or one of the kdrama tropes I hate the most--the girl who sucks at her job, but is just so passionate at it she inspires everyone else.

 Come on people. 

But Prosecutor Yoo Jung In was none of those things.  She was by turns tomboyish and girly, smartmouthed and sensitive, cynical but loyal. She was passionate about what she did, sure, but she was also damn good at it. She had her weaknesses, but she had her strengths, and in the end she was an integral part of the team. She had her own overarching storyline, and her own painful backstory to drive her actions. She was so beautifully complex that I seriously need a season 3 to find out what happened to her. 

Ahem. Getting ahead of myself.

My favorite comment on her? From Evil Boss Lady in season 2: "A competent woman. A bitch. Two words that mean the same thing." Thanks for summing her up so perfectly!

When we first meet her, she's a rookie prosecutor, just settling into the 'dead-end' new Unsolvable Mysteries division. She's almost awkwardly enthusiastic about her job, not quite equating the realities of death and grief with the mental challenge of solving crimes. But she refuses to be talked down to, knowing her own worth and expecting to receive the respect of her colleagues based on her work. When faced with a rape case, her unswerving support for the victims and drive to get the perpetrator were awesome.  She quickly started picking up on strange things about Min Tae Yeon, although she never quite made the leap to vampirism (although honestly, who thinks, "hey, my boss is probably a vampire"?). She drives like a pro in a television-culture where women driving is equated with power and is rarely shown.   

She's also a genuine badass -- the girl can handle a switchblade and gun like nobody's business, and is entirely capable of taking down a bad guy with nothing but a good throw as she proves several times. And why do you ask?

Because her dad is one of the biggest mob bosses in Seoul. And he's her own personal big bad -- the guy she's out to get for his numerous crimes.  An upbringing on the dark side of Seoul left her with the ability to con gangsters, stay cool under pressure, and with a fierce sense of loyalty. It's also left her isolated and wary of trusting others.

For instance. One of the most interesting things to note about her is how the way she presents herself changes so drastically over the two seasons. In the first season, she sports an awkward bowl cut that hides her face rather than reveals it, and dresses in boxy dark suits three sizes too large for her. They look like they came off the thrift rack (not that there's anything wrong with that! I just find it telling).

And you know what?

I bet they did. 

Her father, a crime lord, supporting his daughter through law school? Ha.

I'm willing to bet you she slaved her way through school, and when she gets her first real job, she has to buy cheap suits to try and look professional. And I bet the size thing is somewhat intentional. Sure, she's petite. But coupled with the hair, you get the impression that she's trying to block herself off. She's never been accepted, her father looming like a dark shadow over her life. The head prosecutor freely admits she was hired because of her connections, in a 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer" kind of philosophy. She's been judged her whole life on that. No one has ever accepted her as Yoo Jung In, prosecutor, rather than Yoo Jung In, mob boss's daughter. She's terrified of her new team finding out her past. So she hides herself.

But they do find out. And what's more, they accept her, without blinking.

And by the second season, the whole way she presents herself changes. She's grown her hair out and wears it pulled back from her face. Her whole style has shifted from an awkward, uncomfortable attempt to be professional to a sporty and youthful casual look that fits her personality and lifestyle. Her clothes are the right size, she wears occasional jewelry, and generally looks like someone who's spending time with family she trusts rather than coworkers.

That's a telling point since the whole main theme of this show seems to be the importance of makeshift family.

I regret to report that sometimes she does indeed end up playing the damsel in distress (at least twice in my recollection). But on the other hand, she saves the hero a fair few times too. Considering the fact that he's a martial-arts master quick-healing vamp, I think that's saying something about her skill.

And she gets to be such a girl! She daydreams about her love interest even while taking down serial killers, enjoys a temporary jaunt into the land of modeldom as a chance to dress up, suffers jealously when it looks like her crush likes another only to swing around to 100% support for the girl when she discovers her own painful history.

So I guess my point is that Yoo Jung In is the kind of female lead we don't get a lot of in kdramaland. Brave and smart, adventurous and kind, tough-talking and soft-hearted, with an insecurity about her identity that's healed through friendship. She's the kind of character male leads are usually written as, and all I can do is applaud that writers are finally granting that kind of complexity and reality to their heroines.

Playing Russian roulette like a badass

So here's to a season 3, where Jung In continues to grow and flourish, and just be. 

All pics courtesy of Dramabeans