A Korean drama that had been gaining popularity with rising ratings was thrown into chaos just two episodes before its finale due to a major broadcasting mishap. The OTT platform TVING accidentally released the finale of ENA's latest hit drama 'The Defects' instead of the scheduled episode.
On August 5, TVING was supposed to upload episode 6, which had aired the same day on ENA. Instead, the platform mistakenly uploaded the unreleased final episode 8. For about 20 minutes, viewers on TVING were able to watch the ending, spoiling the conclusion of the drama.
Viewers who had the ending spoiled expressed frustration with comments including, "I was enjoying it, but this ruined it," "The story didn't connect, and suddenly it ended," "I knew something felt off while watching," "The end just got spoiled," "How can they make such a mistake?" "Totally ruined the fun," and "Episode 6 and 7 were supposed to be the climax... and they skipped straight to the ending..."
TVING quickly removed the video once the mistake was identified, but by then, many viewers had already seen the finale. Although episode 6 is now available as intended, complaints from viewers continued. The production team stated they were "aware of the situation and investigating the cause of the mishap."
'The Defects' is based on the Kakao webtoon of the same name. The original webtoon recorded 51 million cumulative views and won the Best Creativity Award at the 2017 SPP Webtoon Awards.
The dark storyline follows children who were victims of an illegal adoption trafficking ring. After being "refunded" by their adoptive parents, they barely survive and plot revenge against the organization. The story delves into disturbing issues such as illegal adoptions, "human refunds," and genetic class stratification.
While ENA airs the 15+ version, TVING offers an uncensored 19+ version that retains the original's intensity. Director Oh Ki Hwan explained, "The ENA broadcast was edited to fit the 15+ rating. On TVING, we were able to show everything as I envisioned. Fans of 'The Defects' can enjoy different layers of fun by watching both versions."
Yumn Jung Ah stars as Kim Se Hee, the chairwoman of the medical foundation that runs the illegal adoption ring, while Won Jin Ah plays Kim Ah Hyun, the leader of the abandoned children. YouTuber-turned-actor Dex also made headlines for choosing the drama as his first major acting project.
From its premiere, 'The Defects' drew attention with its bold plot, leading to steadily rising ratings. Episode 3 hit a nationwide rating of 2.3% and 2.7% in the Seoul metropolitan area, setting a personal best. In the fourth week of July, it ranked No.1 in drama buzzworthiness, according to the Good Data Corporation.
However, the drama was recently hit with a series of setbacks. On August 4, just ten days after news broke of his drunk driving, actor Song Young Kyu, who played Pastor Yoon Se Hoon, unexpectedly passed away.
Now, the broadcasting mishap has added another blow. The finale spoiler in particular threatens to deflate viewers' anticipation for the remaining episodes.
Meanwhile, 'The Defects' is an 8-episode series, with episode 7 scheduled to air on August 11 and the finale on August 12. With some viewers already knowing the ending, much attention is on how this will affect the drama's ratings.
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