After a 13-year hiatus from the action genre, So Ji Sub is back in Mercy for None (MFN), the gritty noir revenge thriller packed in seven episodes of heart-stopping blood and gore, streamed all in one day.
Mercy for None had “blockbuster” written on it from its release on June 6. So Ji Sub leads a powerhouse cast of villains that reads like a roll call from some of the most popular Netflix series.
MSN is also So Ji Sub’s first drama in a global streaming site.
The screenplay by Yoo Ki Seong is adapted from Plaza Wars, the most widely popular Naver Webtoon in Korea (2020-2021). Casting So Ji Sub, who has a huge fanbase, in the lead role of a former gangster who resurfaces after 11 years to avenge his brother’s death, heightened anticipation for the series.
“So Ji Sub was the casting that fans of the original webtoon wanted most for the live-action adaptation. I was really glad he agreed to take the role,” director Choi Sung Eun said in a press conference in Seoul.
So Ji Sub’s sharp image closely matched the webtoon character.
SJS said during an interview with local reporters on June 12 in a cafe in Jongno District, Central Seoul, “I’ve always liked noir projects, but scripts in the genre are rare, since they aren’t made very often. That’s why I was truly grateful when I heard I was the first to receive the offer for a role that fit me so well.”
SJS plays Nam Ki Jun, a former gangster who cut his Achilles tendon as he left the underworld behind for a quiet life to run a camping site. But 11 years after severing his ties to the gang, he returns to uncover the truth behind the suspicious death of his younger brother, Nam Ki Seok (Lee Jun Hyuk). He embarks on a ruthless and relentless path of vengeance to make those responsible for his brother’s death pay, no matter what it takes.
The criminal underworld is dominated by two major gangs led by Ju Woon (Heo Joon Ho) and Bong San (Ahn Kil Kong). Joo Won, a fatherly figure to Ki Seok, suspects foul play but wants to resolve matters quietly. Both maintain an uneasy truce until that balance is shattered when Koo Jun Mo (Gong Myoung), the arrogant and short-tempered son of Bong San, orders the killing of Ki Seok, triggering the blood bath that follows as Ki Jun goes on a ruthless, cold-blooded and relentless campaign to spare no one, not even those remotely involved in his brother’s killing.
Mercy for None does not really tell a new story, and its convoluted plot with so many characters and sub-plots woven into the narrative leaves audiences with a tangled mess to unravel. It has a long list of characters with complicated back stories for which no context is established. It also strains credulity because it overdoes Ki Jun’s invincivility. He takes more beatings, stabbings, and bullets than any man can, but he keeps on going.
However, the performances of the ensemble cast add weight to MSN. Gong Myoung, who starred in two rom-coms before this (Way Back Love and Second Shot at Love) is menacing here and his violent outbursts are chilling and unpredictable. Lee Joon Hyuk, the efficient and caring secretary we last saw in Love Scout, is engaged in fierce and gory fights to the death.
Choo Young Woo (Trauma Code) plays Lee Geum Son, Joo Won’s son, the prosecutor who outwardly distances himself from his father, but secretly harbors ambitions to take over leadership of the gangs. His transformation from prosecutor to cold-blooded heir provides one of the show’s few satisfying twists.
What the critics and netizens say:
* The action choreography is one of Mercy for None’s clear strengths. The scenes are slick, brutal, and impressively shot. It is a visually polished, well-acted revenge drama that doesn’t bring much new to the genre. It delivers brutal fights and emotional beats, but the story is too thin and predictable to leave a real mark… the show doesn’t do much with its characters to elevate itself beyond average.” — www.livemint.com (June 7, 2025)
* Mercy for None, based on the webtoon Plaza Wars, is unabashedly generic pulp, seeking to serve a fix for stylish bravado. While the show gets off to a decent start, its main dish—the action sequences—provides diminishing returns as the story devolves into a tired tangle of treachery. Thankfully, this isn’t a very long show, but this is a clear case in the streaming era of property that would have been markedly punchier as a feature film. — amp.scmp.com South China Morning Post (June 6, 2025)
* “Unnecessarily gory. Barely any plot and some characters died so easily while the main character seemed immortal. It’s like, if you’re going to be realistic about something, then do so for everything.” — yunkiminlvr addicted to r/Kdramas reddit.com
* “It’s hard to describe Mercy For None in a way that doesn’t sound like a John Wick rip-off, but it leans into the tropes of South Korean thrillers to elevate an otherwise simple revenge narrative.” — Jeff Ewing, Collider, movieweb.com
My two cents’ worth:
At less than an hour per episode, Mercy For None, is mercifully short. But, while it has fast, crackling action scenes, the blood and gore just went over the top and was too repetitive to the point of being boring. It would have been best as a two-hour action film.
