Lee Jun-hyuk is back as Dong-jae, the Good or the Bastard (2024)

25 September 4, 2024October 15, 2024

Lee Jun-hyuk is back as Dong-jae, the Good or the Bastard

by lovepark

He’s back! From the creator of Forest of Secrets comes the spin-off series Dong-jae, the Good or the Bastard, starring Lee Jun-hyuk (Vigilante) as everyone’s favorite no-good prosecutor Seo Dong-jae.

After his miraculous recovery from hell in Season 2, “our Dong-jae” returns not as a corrupt side character but the titular protagonist. However, he’s no longer the swanky prosecutor we once knew him as, and with a tainted reputation, his prospects for promotions look slim.

As he scrolls through the list of names being transferred, his is conspicuously absent, which seems to be a regular occurrence. Dong-jae curses in the elevator, but as soon as the doors open, he collects himself and goes back to doing what he does best. It seems somethings don’t change, and Dong-jae’s sycophancy is one of them.

The teaser describes Dong-jae as sometimes good and sometimes bad, and a slew of new faces enter his life to work with him, including Park Sung-woong (The Killing Vote) as CEO Nam Wan-sung. He offers Dong-jae a chance to go to the National Assembly, and Dong-jae asks what the limit is. Of course, this probably isn’t the only side he has sworn his allegiance to since Dong-jae kowtows to his department head both in and out of the office, as well.

Both despicable and pitiful, Dong-jae isn’t always the most-liked prosecutor amongst his peers as seen by his lonely crouch by the coffee machine, and this story follows his survival log. Unfortunately, that last part may be more literal than Dong-jae would hope for since someone orders CEO Nam to kill him. Despite the dangers, the idea of being the main character excites Dong-jae who suits up and gets ready to step into the spotlight once again.

While original writer Lee Soo-yeon (Grid) takes on the creator role, the script will be penned by Hwang Ha-jung and Kim Sang-won with PD Park Gun-ho directing. TVING’s Dong-jae, the Good or the Bastard is slated for ten episodes and premieres October 10.

RELATED POSTS

• News bites: August 28, 2024
• Forest of Secrets 2: Episode 1
• Premiere Watch: Forest of Secrets 2
• Jo Seung-woo, Bae Doo-na go head-to-head in new teaser for Forest of Secrets 2
• Forest of Secrets: Episode 1

I will be watching as Forest of Secrets is my most favourite drama and Dong Jae is what makes FoS ticks (along with Cho Seung Woo and Bae Doo Na).

I forgot this was coming, YEAH!!!!!!

Even if I don't watch this I will just be happy to see his face in recaps or fanwall screen captures! 🤩🤩

Lee Jun Hyuk is very charming and I'm looking forward to his other drama coming up, but I'm a little surprised they made this spinoff. The charm of weaselly Dong Jae on a beautifully written complex show like Stranger was because he was juxtaposed with the more righteous/good Yeo Jin and Shi Mok. That made his weaselliness very entertaining in smaller doses, but a full 10 episodes with him as the protagonist seems like a lot to tolerate.

Hmm not sure about the tone and plot, but I gotta give this a try for Lee Jun Hyuk!

Our favorite weasel is back!!!
This is a must watch for me. 😉😃

Eee, so happy this is finally happening! Will be waiting for 10 Oct.

Yay for morally grey characters ! the ambiguous Dong Jae is great in Stranger, and I hope that this spin off will sustain the quality of the original serie.

I feel like I've been through so much since the first announcement of this drama in the works and am a different person now haha. Yes it's been that long. Well, everyone is surprised that a spin off for a "weasel" character actually came to fruition. And my theory is that, well, I guess the screenwriter must have fallen in love with him just as I did! I would not be surprised at all. I mean, not only did she decide not to kill off his character mid-drama as originally planned, but she created a whole new drama just for him. Guys, screenwriters are made of flesh like you and I - that's all I'm saying... I actually have a theory, just a guess, that instead of his character dying, Shin Hye-sun's character died in his place. Could it have been possible? Please correct me if wrong. It's sad that we won't be seeing all the other characters from Stranger. The original dynamics were so enjoyable to watch between the two leads and weasel and Shin-Hye sun's characters. But this is almost unprecedented for a screenwriter to fall in love with a side character haha (once again just my own fantasy conjectures)

Not sure how I feel about this being the spinoff project to Secret Forest, possibly the most morally clear-eyed and urgent dramas Ive ever seen. And Lee Dong-jae is a despicable slimeball who's great in small doses. But Lee Joon-hyuk clearly loves playing him and is stupidly good at it, so maybe, just for him, I'll watch some episodes. It looks like there'll be little overlap between it & the main series, which is likely for the best.