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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "I'm Not a Robot" Episodes 11-12

Obviously sincere though Min-gyoo's efforts may be toward trying to make up with Baek-gyoon's team so that he can hold on to the medical miracle that is AZ3, he still constantly fails basic social tasks. Note how Min-gyoo can't remember the names of any of Baek-gyoo's assistants. Which is fine, really, I can't remember them either. Actually I'm pretty sure we've only ever heard them referred to by ridiculous-sounding nicknames, further mitigating the severity of Min-gyoo's failure.

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Meanwhile, Baek-gyoo continues to be an idiot when it comes to anything except technological design, although as usual this is more implied than explicitly shown. We're given very obvious clues that Baek-gyoon's new investors are not to be trusted. You would think Baek-gyoon would be more cautious considering he knows the dangers but apparently the notion of Min-gyoo being a pervert really is just that offensive to the guy who modeled his robot after a romantic interest from college.

Unfortunately there's no dramatic tension to speak of when it comes to the villains. The only ones who pose an immediate danger are always framed in terms of comic relief, so it's difficult to see them as a threat. On one end it's good that we're mainly worried about the prospect that Baek-gyoon might actually takes Ji-ah away from Min-gyoo, since it's much easier to root for Min-gyoo's mental health than it is against vaguely defined corporate espionage.

But this leaves Ri-el as the closest thing we have to a villain, which is weird because Ri-el's main crime is that she's a terrible date. Episode twelve is, along those lines, mostly just a pastiche about nerd dating life. No matter how much Min-gyoo prepares, in the end it all means nothing because Ri-el seems to be on a mission to just not have any fun at all. That Ri-el explicitly says she wants to meet again is quite literally the only indication we have that she cares about seeing Min-gyoo at all.

The relationship between Min-gyoo and Ri-ah remains compelling, although it too is hobbled by the fact that Min-gyoo doing anything romantic with Ri-ah in AZ3 garb at all has now been outlined as creepy and beyond the pale. I'm a bit concerned for Min-gyoo's mental state. He certainly knows that it is wrong to have a relationship with a robot. So there's only so long this charade can go on now before it just becomes abject cruelty to him.

Review by William Schwartz

"I'm Not a Robot" is directed by Jeong Dae-yoon, written by Kim Seon-mi-I and Lee Suk-joon-I, and features Yoo Seung-ho, Chae Soo-bin, Uhm Ki-joon, and Park Se-wan.

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