"A Bona fide Killer" co-stars Kong Hyojin and Jung Jun-won's romance from eight years ago created excitement, but the ratings showed a disappointing result for the second consecutive week.
According to ratings firm Nielsen Korea on the 23rd, the MBC Friday-Saturday drama "A Bona fide Killer" (planned by Kwon Seong-chang, written by Kim Eun-hee, directed by Yoon Jong-ho and Kim Ji-hun), which aired on the 22nd, recorded nationwide ratings of 8.8%.
That is a 0.9 percentage point drop from the 9.7% recorded for episode 7, which aired on the 21st. Episode 6, which aired on the 15th, peaked at 10.2% and seemed to be on the rise, but it fell for two consecutive weeks, leaving disappointment. Competing in the same time slot, the SBS Friday-Saturday drama "Flex x Cop" recorded 7.5%, showing an increase for the second consecutive week.
Despite that, "A Bona fide Killer" ranked first across all channels in the same time slot, and the scene in which a stranger who appeared before Kwon Tae-seong (Jung Jun-won) introduced himself as Sergei, a friend of Yoo Bo-na (Kong Hyojin), temporarily surged to a peak rating of 9.9%. In particular, the key channel competitiveness indicator, the 20-54 rating, was 3.0%, ranking first among all programs aired that day.
The episode depicted the romance between Yoo Bo-na and Kwon Tae-seong from eight years ago. The two, who met by chance at a mountain lodge eight years earlier, alternately showed extreme tensions as they reminisced about beautiful childhood memories, and Yoo Bo-na recalled Kwon Tae-seong's writing that said, "I would not be surprised even if Kingfisher's identity is revealed someday. I look forward to the day I meet him," leaving her with a heavy feeling.
Amid this, Kwon Tae-seong finally sincerely confessed to Yoo Bo-na that he had already begun to love her. Yoo Bo-na replied with a bright smile, "Please take care of me, it's my first time in love," and the two shared their first kiss in the snow.
At the end of the broadcast, an intoxicated Kwon Tae-seong collapsed after confessing to Lee Dong-jin that he knew who Kingfisher was, and memories of being threatened by his past kidnapper resurfaced as nightmares. Later, when Yoo Bo-na headed to the airport to find her Russian friend Seulgi (played by Shin Hyun-soo), Seulgi had already met Kwon Tae-seong. Along with Kwon Tae-seong's words, "Kingfisher is a tall, well-built young man," the shocking twist was revealed that the person who had kidnapped him in the past was none other than Seulgi. The past threat, "If you break the promise, your family could be in danger," combined with Seulgi's chilling smile, completed a shocking ending that heightened questions surrounding Kingfisher's identity to a peak.
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