According to Nielsen Korea, the first episode of the Korean drama Good Boy recorded an average rating of 4.8% and the highest rating at the time was 7.3%. This number even surpasses episode 3 of the movie Our Unwritten Seoul aired at the same time frame, with Park Bo Young as the main character.
In episode 2, the rating of Good Boy increased to 5.3%. This is considered a positive debut achievement, showing the audience's expectations for the work.
According to Wikifree, not only did the rating show the initial success of the film, but online community forums also had many compliments for the opening episode of Good Boy.
The film received many positive comments such as: " opens a Legend", "Park Bo Gum's acting has reached its peak", "Is this combination really possible in a TV series?", "The action scene in the crazy ending", "It feels like an Avengers film"...
Good Boy opens with a non-formal premise: Olympic medalists become police officers, fighting against law enforcement and injustice.
The cast of Park Bo Gum (as Yoon Dong Joo), Kim So Hyun (as Ji Han Na), Lee Sang Yi (as Kim Jong Hyun), Heo Sung Tae (as Go Man Shik) and Tae Won Seok (as Shin Jae Hong) have formed a special teams called Good Avengers, with each character being a former national athlete in terms of player rights, shooting, fencing, boxing or throwing disc.
The film does not stop at glamorous images, it also attracts attention because of its emotional depth. Yoon Dong Joo, once a "hero" of the country, is now considered a troubler and demoted.
He had to work in the harsh sun, rolling in mud while chasing the suspect's escape vehicle, his face was full of scars and bruises. The process of Dong Joo and his team exploring the mystery one by one has created a much more humane story than a normal heroic story.
The film is directed by Shim Na Yeon, who once impressively showed his grasp of the psychology of the characters and genre elements in the film Beyond evil.
With Good Boy, the female director still promoted that strength, while increasing the action and pace elements.
In particular, the editing and filming did a good job in creating a cinematic feel for the work. Meanwhile, the soundtrack helps increase excitement and make the audience immerse themselves in the story.
Wikifree commented that the harmonious combination of the cast contributed to perfecting acting. Park Bo Gum escaped the warm, calm image he showed in Reply 1988, Moonlight Drawn by Clouds, to become an instinkately action character, always confronting and rushing forward without hesitation.
Kim So Hyun plays a female police officer who looks stylish and cold. Inside her is a person who knows how to suppress anger and has a sense of responsibility.
Lee Sang Yi, Heo Sung Tae and Tae Won Seok are also built as characters with their own stories, rather than just simple assistants, which adds a layer to the story.
