detective kdrama

Train (2020)

by maandoe

Profile:
Drama: Train (트레인)
Network: OCN
Episodes: 12
Release Date: July 11 – August 16, 2020
Runtime: Sat. & Sun. 22:30

Plot:
A detective tries to catch a serial killer who was dumping bodies inside a luggage at the Mukyeong Train Station. The same killer kills his love, and he ends up in a parallel universe, where the people are the same but the circumstances are different. Will he be able to solve the crime or will he get stuck in the other universe?

Main Cast:
Yoon Si Yoon – Seo Dowon
Kyung Soo Jin – Seo Kyung

Review:
Really intense, tightly written drama. Great acting from everyone, especially Yoon Si Yoon and Choi Seung Yoon. Very unpredictable story, it kept me guessing not only about the killer, but what will happen next and how it will end. Just when I thought I know who the killer is, the drama surprises us with one big twist after another. And another. I’ve never been so happy being so wrong and looking forward to the next episode with my mouth hanging open from disbelief and amazement.

I think I had an idea who might be the killer (because there were only a few characters to choose from, but what I didn’t know was why that person was killing. When they revealed the killer, it was so twisted and sick i wanted to steal Seokyung’s gun and just end the killer’s misery. The conversation between the killer and Dowon was shocking. I had the same expression of “no it cant be you’re kidding!” on Dowon’s face.

I really loved Yoon Si Yoon as the triple Seo Do Won, i mean man, sometimes i had to stop and remember that this was one person acting as 3 versions of the same character. That was how good and convincing he was! I wished more people had a chance to watch this drama and see Yoon Si Yoon, who has always been underrated but better skilled actor compared to his peers.

That one scene where Dowon told Seo Kyung that “There hasn’t been a single moment that I haven’t loved you” was like the most swoon worthy time travelling confession I’ve ever heard in my kdrama watching life! So simple yet so sincere. Beats even Lee Minho in The King Eternal Monarch!!

Due to the shorter episodes, there were several questions that were left unanswered, esp on how you can cross boundaries, but it didn’t deter me from enjoying the story because this drama didn’t focus on how you cross worlds. From the start it was all about the characters and how the consequences of their actions can change their world. The ending was left to our imagination, which i liked because it gave me hope that somewhere Dowon and Seokyung found each other again but felt like it was “too nice” of an ending from a very grim drama. I would have been have happy with them going back to their own worlds and treating it like a dream.

Rating: 9/10

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The Good Detective (2020)

by maandoe

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Drama: The Good Detective (모범형사)
Network: JTBC
Episodes: 16
Release Date: July 6 – August 25, 2020
Runtime: Mon & Tue 21:30

Plot

Years ago, a man was wrongly accused of killing a woman and is now sentenced to death. Two detectives try to catch the real person responsible for killing a woman and fellow detective before it’s too late. But during their investigation, they face a lot of corruption and powerful figures, trying to stop them from revealing a bigger truth.

Review:

Whew! The never ending twists and turns just made the ending satisfying. The first couple of episodes were confusing to me, because it felt like there were too many characters and too many people involved that i didnt know where the story was headed. But once you get past Lee Dae Chul’s case, the story becomes clearer.

There were some moments where it gets frustrating because I wanted the team to find enough evidence to catch Jong Tae and Guk Hyun but they always get away and with everyone not helping, I also felt like them, that i just want to manipulate the case to get this over with.

I really liked the team. They worked really hard to solve the cases (and there were a lot and connected!!). I would say that after everything that has happened, justice has been served to the bad guys (in some way or the other). However, I thought that Superintendent Moon and Yoon Sangmi weren’t punished enough. Just because they repented and moved to the good guys side do not give them a free pass from due punishment.

I also appreciated how the stories and characters were written. Most of the characters were complex. As much as I would like to hate all the bad guys, the writers show us a different side to them, not to like or forgive them, but to understand their motivation. The same way that we also see that the good guys are not always so good. They also make bad decisions that can have great consequences, like when the Reporter didn’t tell the cops what she knew. And then there are people who are neither good or bad, but goes with the flow in order to survive. I guess that’s just how we are as human beings.

The show mostly was dark and gritty, but once in a while there’s some humor that lightens the mood (mostly from the VC team 2), and a subtle romance between Jihyuk and Jin, which balances the story drama. I loved how awkward Jihyuk is with Jin, he’s so adorable, Jin probably found him cute. And his smile is so charming 🙂

I also liked how the story delved with Dochang’s and Eunhye’s relationship. Although i didnt really like the sister and didnt care for her story, i loved how they eventually built their own family in the end.

Overall, this was a solid detective kdrama!

Rating: 8.5/10

She Knows Everything (2020)

by maandoe
Profile
Drama: Miss Lee Knows (미쓰리는 알고 있다)
Network: MBC
Episodes: 4
Release Date: July 8-9, 2020
Runtime: Wednesday & Thursday 21:30 (35 minutes each / 2 episodes per day)

Plot
Main Cast
Jo Han Sun – In Cheol Ho
Kang Sung Yeon – Lee Gung Bok

Review
The first two episodes were boring and confusing – i think partly because they were trying to make everything so mysterious and there were too many clues and characters to sift through. But once they start putting together the clues and revealing the secrets, everything started making sense. There were some scenes that were not necessary and 3 out of 4 episodes spent on suspects that were not the suspects that i wished they made the pacing much faster and more action packed. It also didn’t help that the colors were so dark and bluish and gloomy.

I also both loved and hated both leads – just when you thought they were the good guys – turns out they also have something to hide, although it made the story and the characters more complex. The twists in the end were partly unexpected and partly sad as we find out what really happened that night.

I didn’t like Miss Lee, she had this perennial frown on her face and she looked really suspicious. Plus, she is breaking the law by trying to undermine the police investigation I mean, wiretapping the detective, running into his car and taking the suspect away? I’m surprised she didn’t get penalize at all for her misdeeds.

On the other hand, i wanted Ho Cheol to win against Miss Lee and solve the case. He just looks so icky because he wore almost the same clothes the entire time and he looked so smelly (!!) Even when he looks so handsome, i dont think i can sit beside him. Plus he looks so weirdly tan and had too much movie makeup on. The shocking twist is that he is also a bad detective and he has been hiding a lot of things to stop the investigation (although it was later revealed to be somebody’s else doing too). I also can’t understand how he can be brothers with the other guy when they dont even share the same surname (this was also not explained). I like the resolution at the end, i thought it was the right thing to do although i was sad to see that way.

The ending where we find out who was the real killer was both expected and unexpected for me. Expected because after we exhaust all the possible characters and suspects, there was just 1 remaining person with the motive to kill. Unexpected because how the killer killed the lady was different for me.

Overall this mini mystery drama was interesting enough to keep you guessing until the end. Just try to not get too bored during the first 2 episodes.

Rating: 7.5/10