If you could have three wishes granted, what would they be? Believe it or not, but for the first wish most people would ask for a large sum of money. The other two wishes are also for themselves. Only a few people are willing to make a wish for others or society. On social platforms, you can see these kinds of comments regarding Genie, Make A Wish, the most popular Netflix TV series in Thailand this week.
Genie, Make A Wish, a Korean TV series, follows the story of Genie (Kim Woo-bin), a magic spirit in a lamp, who wants to get revenge on Ka-young (Suzy), a female psychopath. Genie accuses Ka-young of causing him to get trapped in the lamp for almost a century. He offers Ka-young three wishes, so that he can twist them to get revenge, however, Ka-young ignores him.
Unlike kind lamp-dwellers everyone is familiar with, this Genie has more interesting aspects since he is Satan who tempts and corrupts humans with three wishes. People must think carefully before making a wish as if they wish for a large sum of money, they may face scrutiny of their income or face a significant tax liability. Besides playing the role of Satan, Genie is also an eccentric character who has awakened after a long time and is naive about the modern world. To earn money, Genie has to work as a labourer because he cannot grant himself wishes.
The role of Ka-young, the mistress of Genie’s lamp, is also intriguing since she is an emotionless psychopath. Although Ka-young lacks the ability to express her emotions, she was well raised by her grandmother and villagers to help her adapt to society. Suzy has received mixed reviews for her portrayal of the character as many viewers cannot understand Ka-young.
Genie, Make A Wish has a compelling story which shows the dark side of human nature, particularly greed and envy. It is also making everyone think twice before making a wish since the series emphasises the saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch.