REVIEW: ‘As You Stood By’ Is Not For The Faint Of Heart

As You Stood By (Dangsini jugyeotda) is not an easy watch, particularly in its opening episodes. Based on the novel Naomi to Kanako, written by Hideo Okuda, this latest Netflix K-drama series pulls no punches in its handling of its subject matter. Centering on two women whose lived experiences offer little escape, there’s a cloying desperation that culminates in drastic plots that can only go wrong in some fashion. And yet, you hope all the way until the end that these two women are finally able to breathe again.

Directed by Lee Jeong-lim, no punches are pulled in establishing the abuse that impacts the two central women of As You Stood By. It is in these opening episodes that I advise viewers, particularly those who may have experienced similar traumas, to proceed with caution as they continue their viewing. Eun-su (Jeong So-nee) works as a VIP luxury handler at a department store, where her attention to detail allows her to shine with her clients. However, that attention to detail has a darker undercurrent. 

Eun-su is the focus in the first episode, and flashbacks to her childhood and adolescence show how she bore witness to her father (Kim Won-hae) constantly abusing her mother (Kim Mi-kyung). Forced into a position to hide it from her younger brother, this internalized fear manifests itself in the tiniest ways that still emerge in the present. From slight flinching to her wariness around the unpredictable and mysterious CEO Jin So-baek (Lee Mu-saeng), you can see the difference in how So-nee holds herself when she’s on the defensive. 

Eun-su and Hui-su are the beating heart of As You Stood By.

Enough distance has been forged from her home life, but it’s not enough to break free of the cycle. She needs to reach a place where she can truly let go, with some incredibly helpful wisdom delivered by So-baek and a catalyst to form her resolve. Yet, for someone like Eun-su’s best friend, Hui-su (Lee Yoo-mi), something like that is easier said than done when she’s still living in the thick of an incredibly volatile, painful marriage.

As Hui-su, Lee Yoo-mi is rightfully heartbreaking. Her husband, Jin-pyo (Jang Seung-jo), has her under his thumb (and under his fists), rendering her powerless. Starting her dedicated episode with her trying to escape shows an unfortunate reality – how hard it is for the abused to leave. Typically, it takes four to seven attempts, yet Jin-pyo knows exactly how to break her so that she gives up. This all culminates in an act that Eun-su thankfully intervenes in, and the two hatch a plan to finally get rid of Jin-pyo. Their friendship is the beating heart of the series.

Where the plot of As You Stood By goes from here requires some suspension of disbelief, with the understanding that desperate people don’t generally come up with the best plots. With an initially passive doppelganger, Jang Kang (also played by Jang Seung-jo), and a scheme gone awry, it’s clear that these two women are in over their heads. However, it’s a testament to how Lee Jeong-lim, Lee Yoo-mi, and Jeong So-hee tackle the aftermath of its execution, never wholly giving the women relief from what is meant to be the end of Hui-su’s suffering.

While they may not make the smartest decisions, their actions are understandable.

Sadly, for trauma survivors, it isn’t easy to fully relax, and this is something As You Stood By demonstrates incredibly well. Sometimes, time can help ease the pain. It can even have you feeling strong enough to confront your abuser or the abused in your periphery. But more often than not, you’re left to deal with the pain of the memories alone, especially when people around you turn a blind eye. And, in As You Stood By, no one is blameless in looking away, most especially Eun-su.

In many ways, society makes it difficult to report abuse. And, as we see in As You Stood By, multiple factors contribute to why people don’t report it, including how the police talk people out of it. Wealth is a significant factor, serving as a cushion to protect those more vulnerable from reporting them or acting out. Like clockwork, it isn’t until the abused reaches a breaking point that anything is discovered. This is something both Eun-su and Hui-su learn, with Hui-su’s husband realizing in her most desperate hour, he can’t even call the cops or risk exposure.

It’s no wonder then that the women take desperate actions. There are no easy options, yet their desperation opens them up for exploitation, enabling the series to fully embrace the crime-thriller genre. However, the return of Jang Kang with a wholly different personality is jarring (though well-acted), much like the convenient reveal of a doppelganger that the women can use. It’s in these moments that As You Stood By buckles, but it always manages to find its footing after. But the aftertaste of these pivotal plot points isn’t easily dismissible. 

It’s in the final act that tension reaches new heights, with previously sidelined characters taking centerstage.

It is when As You Stood By reaches its final act that things really come together. Characters that had typically operated in the background, like So-baek and Jin-pyo’s police detective sister, Jin-young (Lee Ho-jung), take centerstage, taking full command of trying to address the aftermath of the women’s actions. Both emerge as far more powerful players than expected, with their actions creating a new level of suspense and tension that carries all the way to the end.

As You Stood By has so much to say. Sometimes it’s not subtle in its delivery, and sometimes its storytelling takes risks that require the viewer to take a leap of faith. Yet, in its dissection of the cycle of abuse and through its outrageous scenario, we see how difficult it is to break away. It’s not as simple as just being able to leave. It never was. 

That being said, As You Stood By is not an easy watch and should be approached with that in mind. Desperate people take desperate actions, and the violence enacted more than demonstrates why sometimes the only way out is so extreme. And As You Stood By never lets go of that extremity.

All episodes of As You Stood By are now streaming exclusively on Netflix.