The Witch (2025) Review: A Wistful Battle Between Science & Superstition

Do you know that sort of story that doesn’t really stand out, isn’t innovative in any way, and/or might even be a bit simplistic, but, for some reason that you can’t really define, charms you into following it from beginning to end? That might be a good way to describe Channel A’s The Witch (2025), which came to a conclusion last Sunday.

Written by Jo Yoo-jin and directed by Kim Tae-gyun, The Witch is a 10-episode series based on Kang Full’s webtoon of the same name. The series was filmed from August 2022 to March 2023, but was only released over February and March of this year (that might be because Park Jin-young enlisted in the military in May 2023 and was only discharged in November 2024).

The Witch (2025) follows Lee Dong-jin (Park Jin-young), a young data analyst who decides to “investigate” the strange events surrounding his former high school classmate Park Mi-jeong (Roh Jeong-eui). Mi-jeong was ostracised when young and branded a “witch” as all the boys who loved her seemed to get hurt or die. In order to get her out of her isolated life, Dong-jin tries to figure out the variables behind the curse that follows Mi-jeong.

A melancholic, wistful fantasy-mystery show with just a dash of romance, The Witch succeeds in discussing themes of bullying, misinformation, and science versus superstition. However, it fails to set the right pace for its narrative and to offer a female protagonist who actively designs her own existence. Despite the misleading title, The Witch is actually Dong-jin’s story as he (quite literally) stalks Mi-jeong to understand the curse that ruined her life. His goal isn’t to understand the origin of that curse or to solve it but merely to understand how it works so that Mi-jeong can live a fulfilling life in spite of it.

This review contains mild spoilers. Read it at your own risk! For our spoiler-free summary, click here!

The Witch (2025): Exploring Dong-jin’s Flat Character Arc

The Witch (2025) is a plot-driven story in which our main protagonist has a flat (or static) character arc. A flat character arc is when a character doesn’t show any inner change as they remain steadfast in their beliefs, but they often cause a change in their surroundings and the people they meet. Dong-jin has a well-written flat character arc. Despite his decision to stalk Mi-jeong (we’ll talk more about it later), Dong-jin is a character with whom we can empathise. That happens thanks to Park Jin-young’s wonderful performance and because Dong-jin is constantly shown as a well-intentioned, kind, persistent, hard-working, and generous young man.

Living in a universe where people would rather believe in superstitions than in proven facts, Dong-jin believes in science. He believes in what he can be proven with solid evidence, and, no matter how fantastical the events he faces may seem, he trusts that there’s always a reason, a pattern, a system to things. It’s with this perspective that he tackles Mi-jeong’s curse. While the world tells him that she’s a witch, he chooses to see it as a special circumstance that needs to be understood. An enigma he needs to solve.

As he investigates Mi-jeong’s life with a reasonable mind, he allows the people from their hometown to reflect on their own actions. His mother comes to understand that it was cowardly of an entire town to turn against a lonely young woman because of prejudice. As he reunites with their high school friends, he encourages them to re-evaluate their relationship with Mi-jeong and realise that they did indeed bully her — and that the spread of misinformation can cause hurt and harm.

The Main Theme of The Witch (2025)

This is what the show does best: Mi-jeong’s life is the visual representation of how humans fear what they don’t understand — and when humans are afraid, they mindlessly lash out. And when that happens, people can get hurt and lives can be ruined. Although she initially tries to live normally despite the rumours and bullying, Mi-jeong eventually gives in, convinced that her very existence could kill someone. The narrative constantly focuses on the battle between science and superstition, the effects of misinformation, and how our words can hurt much more than any of our actions. As Dong-jin rises against this judgmental, oppressive society, he not only changes the lives of the people he meets but also gives Mi-jeong the freedom to do what she wants and to love whoever she desires.

And this is where the romance comes in.

How Does The Witch Make the Romance Work?

As Mi-jeong might pose a (potentially deadly) danger to Dong-jin, they barely share any screen time. However, the romance works. Despite the lack of interaction between the leads, the romance works exactly because the world of The Witch is portrayed through Dong-jin’s perspective.

The Witch plays out as a fairy tale at times, locking our lovely princess in her tower and having Prince Charming work independently to save her. Besides the stolen glances from their adolescence, Dong-jin and Mi-jeong first talk to each other only in episode 7. But we’ve watched the previous 6 episodes through his eyes and witnessed his dedication to freeing Mi-jeong from her past. We witnessed him sympathising with her in the past, fostering this seemingly one-sided crush. When we arrive at episode 7, we look at Mi-jeong once again through Dong-jin’s eyes — he sees her as the object of his affection, the target of his admiration and care, and that’s how we’re encouraged to see Mi-jeong too.

We also have to mention that Park Jin-young can deliver such heartfelt and intense yearning that it is difficult not to empathise with his character. So, even though the romance in The Witch is almost set up to fail (as our couple is barely seen together), it succeeds because of this choice of point of view.

We should also mention that Dong-jin’s investigation process (which includes a mix of profiling and data gathering) may not be realistic (it’s a bit silly at times, yes), but it’s definitely engaging and crucial to the consolidation of who his character is, what he believes in, and how far he’s willing to go. He’s out to solve a mystery, and that’s more of the core of the series than the romance itself.

The show relies on a muted, almost monochromatic at times, palette to convey this hopeless, melancholic world that our characters live in. Storms are very common, representing emotional turmoil, elements that are out of the characters’ control, and danger. Personally, my favourite element of the show (in addition to Jin-young’s performance) is Kim Joon-seok and Jeong Se-rin’s stunning score (now available on Spotify), which offered the narrative an extra layer of mystique, tension, and beauty.

The Negative: Pacing and Repetitions

However, The Witch fails to set the right pace for the development of its narrative, choosing to repeat the same scenes over and over again or include long sequences that little — if any — add to the main plot. Major developments are few and far between, with a lot of filler in between. For instance, the first 15 minutes of episode 7 (that is, one-quarter of the episode) are composed of repetitions and sequences that could very well be edited out without any sort of consequence to the main storyline. In episode 9, we spend 6 whole minutes on a chase that means very, very little. We keep seeing the same things over and over again when we could’ve condensed these 10 episodes into 5, offering a much more dynamic and better-paced narrative.

Or we could’ve used all that time more effectively. The romance between Dong-jin’s friend, Detective Kim Joong-hyuk (Lim Jae-hyuk), and Mi-jeong’s friend, PD Heo Eun-sil (the lovely Jang Hee-ryung) could’ve used a lot more screen time. Joong-hyuk and Eun-sil only meet 14 minutes into episode 8, but by the end of episode 10, they are already exchanging confessions. As Lim Jae-hyuk and Jang Hee-ryung establish a very interesting dynamic, and you can see this budding chemistry between the two, we feel that the time that could’ve been theirs has been stolen from us (and I would’ve loved to see more of them together). We could also have had more time with Dong-jin and Mi-jeong together, allowing all of these characters to develop a more solid, more believable romantic storyline.

An important technical detail is that, even though some scenes are very well edited, some of the “accidents” are borderline ludicrous. That’s either because the visual effects are awfully weak, the sequence is stretched for dramatic effect, or purely because it was something completely avoidable. While the narrative sometimes offers events that don’t really fit in with the overall picture, visually, the show also counts on several continuity mistakes and obvious goofs, which can sometimes spoil the experience.

The Elephant in the Room: The Prince Charming Is a Stalker

Now, shall we talk about the real elephant in the room?

I’ve mentioned several times that Dong-jin stalks Mi-jeong — and that’s definitely not just me saying it. Driven by his good intentions, Dong-jin fails to realise that he’s actually stalking the girl he wants to save. It’s only in episode 8 that he’s diegetically faced with that reality: he’s called out on it, which prompts him to name himself her “stalker”. And that’s taken seriously by the narrative as his friend Detective Kim tells Mi-jeong that, if she chooses to press charges, they will arrest Dong-jin for stalking. It’s difficult to judge the morality of this plotline as, in real life, no one will die for spending more than 10 minutes with a person they love. That is, the rules of the universe of The Witch are completely different from the rules of our real-life universe. So it’s important to remember that this is a fantasy series first and foremost — and that what happens in fantasy shouldn’t be applied to reality.

But — and this is a big but — this stalking storyline stopped the show from creating a proactive female protagonist who takes charge of her own life. Mi-jeong is sweet and gentle, but she’s often apathetic and is never seen actively working to liberate herself from the curse that locked her away from the world. She never does anything to question, fight against, or solve this “law of death” that follows her, and instead she chooses to cope and forgo her needs and desires to save future victims.

That’s the problem with Dong-jin’s stalking: does she even want to be saved? Does she even want to be helped? She never participates in the process that might bring her freedom, choosing to be a passive spectator who only accepts the consequences of the actions of the people around her, but never of her own. She seems to be only the subject of Dong-jin’s study — and not the protagonist of her own life.

The final variable might be her love — love is the only salvation from the curse — but falling in love isn’t really up to us. Our heart goes where it goes, and we often don’t know why we fall for the people we do. So, to the very end, Mi-jeong’s life is defined by factors that are out of her rational control. This variable does fit the fairy-tale framing of the show, but doesn’t do much to strengthen Mi-jeong’s characterisation. Instead, we could’ve had Dong-jin find Eun-sil earlier on and, through her, contact Mi-jeong and propose a “joint” investigation of sorts. Even if he had to work to convince her, by having Dong-jin and Mi-jeong work together from the beginning, we would’ve avoided the stalking factor and would’ve had a more present, dynamic, and self-driven female protagonist.

[Spoiler-free] Should You Watch The Witch (2025)?

The Witch (2025) is the same sort of story as Melo Movie: it’s the kind of show that needs to be tested.

If you connect with Dong-jin’s dedication and kindness and Mi-jeong’s struggles, you might be in for a satisfying mystery tale with just a sprinkle of romance. The Witch can be sweet, moving, infuriating and thought-provoking as it raises questions about superstitions, bullying, and gossip. It isn’t the best show of the year, but it can make for a captivating watch if you sign up for Dong-jin’s quest. My recommendation is: if you notice a repeated scene, just skip it. There’s no new information for you there, and you’ll enjoy the journey much more if you focus on what really matters.

If you’re looking for tons of romance and a fast-paced narrative, and you have a sharp eye for production details, this might not be what you’re looking for right now. I’d also discourage you from watching The Witch if you feel uncomfortable with stories that involve stalking.

One thing is certain: Park Jin-young offers an excellent performance as Dong-jin and, for romantasy fans, The Witch (2025) might just scratch that itch for a fantastical fairy-tale that renews our belief in how powerful and life-saving love can be.

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Have you watched The Witch (2025)? Share your ideas in the comments! And if you’re a fan of fantasy K-dramas, make sure to check our review of SBS’s My Demon, which we added to this week’s newsletter. You can read it here.