4 Things We Loved And 3 Things We Hated About The "I Am Not A Robot" Premiere

MBC’s newest drama, “I Am Not a Robot,” has aired its first week! With Yoo Seung Ho and Chae Soo Bin heading the cast of this Wednesday-Thursday drama, we knew it wouldn’t be one to miss. Want to know what we loved and hated from the first week of “I Am Not a Robot”? Read on to find out!

Warning: spoilers for Episodes 1 and 2 ahead.

1. Loved: Min Kyu’s human interactions

“I Am Not a Robot” is Yoo Seung Ho’s romantic comedy debut, and he is absolutely killing it as Kim Min Kyu, a man who is allergic to humans. Min Kyu’s allergy to other people is legitimate, but that doesn’t make him any less of a diva as he keeps others at bay with gloves, batons, and all kinds of barriers — and it’s hilarious to watch Yoo Seung Ho play a character that is so over-the-top extra.

2. Hated: too little set-up

We know what happens when Min Kyu touches another person, because he was kind enough to demonstrate this for us at the very beginning of the drama. Spoiler: even with a rash all over his body, Yoo Seung Ho is still handsome.

Still handsome, but also a bit terrifying.

But then the drama sets a very fast pace, doing itself a bit of a disservice by not spending enough time emphasizing Min Kyu’s ailment from the outset. As a result, it becomes easy to forget about his human allergy when we watch him interact with Jo Ji Ah (Chae Soo Bin), and this scene in which a man with an allergy to humans is able to safely touch another human (although unbeknownst to him) doesn’t feel like nearly as big a deal as it should:

But a fast-paced drama is better than one that moves too slowly, so hopefully this means that “I Am Not a Robot” will maintain high energy in weeks to come.

3. Loved: Min Kyu’s hobbies

There may be downsides to not being able to spend time with other people, but Min Kyu seems to have a grand enough time on his own. He’s developed quite a few hobbies, ranging from the impressive to the hilarious, and we loved seeing some snapshots of his life of solitude. His favorite pastimes include building dope card houses:

Playing games:

And insisting that he’s happy alone.

Throwing birthday parties for his robot vacuum cleaner:

Who needs human interaction, anyway?

And making out with pillows:

Better than girls for sure… right?

4. Hated: weird power dynamics

As the drama progresses, the relationship between Min Kyu and Ji Ah will inevitably undergo some major changes. But until then, it’s a little uncomfortable watching Ji Ah (and the robot Aji 3, for that matter) acting so subservient to the men around her — especially knowing that this strange dynamic between her and Min Kyu is eventually going to give way to love.

We know she’s supposed to be a robot, but that doesn’t make it any less weird. Especially with lines like this:

Also uncomfortable is Min Kyu’s budding affinity for Ji Ah when he realizes that she can be a sort of personal servant to him and perform household chores.

Something’s got to give before these two start falling for each other, so I’m eagerly awaiting the part where Min Kyu learns his lesson about treating others — even robots, and especially girls pretending to be robots – with more respect.

5. Loved: Ji Ah’s “genius”

Ji Ah may not be equipped with the artificial intelligence of a robot like Aji 3, but she manages to impress Min Kyu with her ingenuity nonetheless, finding the shortcut solutions to every problem he throws her way.

It’s not only hilarious to see Ji Ah break boxes with her fist and crack eggs on her head, but also too funny to watch the supposedly brilliant Min Kyu be duped into thinking her crude solutions are as smart as those a robot would come up with.

6. Hated: Ji Ah’s immaturity

As far as female K-drama characters go, Ji Ah is pretty badass in a lot of ways.

But I’m still not sure if I truly like her yet, largely because of the immaturity that comes out in her relationship with her brother, who attempts to instill a sense of responsibility in her.

Rather than feeling that Ji Ah is misunderstood and not taken seriously, I can’t help but find her a bit whiney.

I want to be able to empathize with her, but I’m having a hard time when she feels mistreated by her brother just because he wants her to stop borrowing money from the family to fund rather useless business ventures and inventions that aren’t likely to turn a profit.

Although to be honest, I would probably buy one of these.

Ji Ah’s entrepreneurial spirit is admirable, but she could stand to be more mature in the choices she makes, or at least stop acting like her brother is the bad guy here.

7. Loved: the unique plot

A man with an allergy to humans, a girl pretending to be a robot, and a bunch of unanswered questions: why does Min Kyu have this allergy? Why is Ji Ah the only human he can touch without getting a reaction — but only when he thinks she’s a robot? And how long can they live together before he finds out that she’s not actually the robot Aji 3?

With such a unique plot and quirky characters, “I Am Not a Robot” has all the ingredients of a great K-drama. And after a strong first week, we’re ready to see what it has in store for us!

So if you haven’t already, be sure to catch the first two episodes on Rakuten Viki:

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Hey Soompiers, what were your favorite and least favorite parts of the “I Am Not a Robot” premiere? Let us know in the comments!

hgordon stays up way too late on weeknights marathoning K-dramas and trying to keep up with the latest K-pop releases.