I Hear Your Voice

I Hear Your Voice

6.5/10

I Hear Your Voice

Genre:                                      Episodes: 18                            Year: 2013

Romance

Fantasy

Mystery

Synopsis:

At a young age Park Soo Ha saw his father brutally murdered. After the murder, Soo Ha gained the ability to hear people’s thoughts, but his testimony in court lost its validity after he reveals the fact, and those around him believe him to be crazy. With unsubstantial evidence the killer looks to walk free, but the testimony of a schoolgirl, Jang Hye Sung, who was a witness to the murder is enough to send the killer to prison, and the killer, Min Joon Kook, swears revenge on the two children. 10 years later, Soo Ha and Hye Sung meet again, the same year that Joon Kook is released from prison.

Cast:

Lee Jong Suk (Park Soo Ha)

Lee Bo Young (Jang Hye Sung)

Yoon Sang Hyun (Cha Kwan Woo)

Jung Woong In (Min Joon Kook)

Lee Da Hee (Seo Do Yeon)

Yoon Joo Sang (Shin Sang Duk)

Kim Hae Sook (Eo Joon Shim)

Kim Ga Eun (Go Sung Bin)

Park Doo Shik (Kim Joong Ki)

General Thoughts:

The episode extension killed this drama for me. It was never one where I found myself wanting to stay up until the wee hours of the morning just to fit one or two more episodes in, but it was entertaining for the most part. Lee Jong Suk is brilliant (when is he not), and putting him in a noona romance is just the cutest thing ever.

What a total cutie

He really does make the best abandoned puppy face. He was easy to root for as a hero, as his blind love of the heroine made him adorable and likeable, and it was funny watching him having to see his ideal imaginings of the perfect woman Hye Soo grew up to be constantly being shattered. His heartbreak and revenge was always easy to understand- I mean, the kid saw a man bludgeon his father  to death right in front of his eyes and then nearly get away with the murder.

Plus damn that boy looks good in a school uniform

It made sense for him to adore the girl that stepped in to make sure the murderer was put away, and his earnest desire to keep this girl safe was super sweet. Lee Jong Suk has a way of tapping into his characters’ deepest feelings and bringing out emotion in such a raw, real way, and Soo Ha was no exception. It was easy to be on Soo Ha’s team every step of the way, as Lee Jong Suk made us feel every injustice, every agony, and every once of hatred that Soo Ha felt. However, I’m less sold on our female lead. I’m not sure if it was Lee Bo Young’s interpretation of the character, or just the way she was written, but I found something a tad off-putting about Hye Sung. Its wasn’t glaringly obvious, and for the most part I found Hye Sung to be an okay heroine- I just didn’t love her the way I loved Soo Ha. I think a part of that is because Hye Sung is a character that’s written to always have a protective face on to save herself from getting hurt or embarrassed- but the problem was that we never really saw that mask slip. We saw it when she was a child (acted by Kim So Hyun), when no one would believe her innocence, but never really saw it again after that. I think her closed-off nature just seemed very stoney next to Soo Ha’s honest and bleeding heart.

Two veeeeery different people

It was so easy to sympathise and connect with Soo Ha, but I sort of had to stop and think about why Hye Soo would act the way she did for her to make sense. She’s not the worst heroine ever- far from it. While we got plenty of growth from the character (her becoming more of an adult and understanding what it meant to be a public defender), we never really got the raw emotion from her that we got from our hero.

More dongsaeng than boyfriend

The relationship between the leads was a good one though. Lee Jong Suk really sold the romance, and as most of the drama happened while Hye Sung was denying her feelings for Soo Ha, it didn’t matter so much that the hero carried the bulk of the romance on his own. It’s not saying the romance wasn’t an enjoyable one, but as fun as watching the dynamics between the two of them was, I was never 100% sold on their love. I understood Soo Ha and it was always plainly obvious how, when and why he came to love Hye Sung. But for Hye Sung, I always felt she treated Soo Ha like too much of a younger brother- which can be a problem in noona romances. Right until the moment Hye Sung admitted that she liked Soo Ha, there was never really a moment where she thought ‘oh, that’s manly’, or even ‘oh, he’s cute’. She was just suddenly there. So while I wasn’t against the relationship (I was actually really for the relationship), I never got to see Hye Sung’s ‘aha!’ moment, so I didn’t fully understand her switch from sister-brother to romantic love. Something about it just fell a bit flat. Not a lot, just a bit. But it was that tiny bit that made the difference between me liking and me loving this drama.

Doesn't mean they weren't cute though

One thing that I did love about this main pairing is their complete lack of Noble Idiocy. It would have been so easy to throw some ‘I love you so I’m leaving you’ in this series to drag out more time, but this was happily avoided. In fact, the drama went as far as to actually criticise the whole concept of noble idiots- with Soo Ha reading in Hye Sung’s mind that she wouldn’t be okay if he disappeared.

Yay for you guys not being dummies

Even if Soo Ha went as far as to die for her or kill for her, it was clear this wouldn’t make her happy, as she’d be losing Soo Ha in the process and would be miserable alone. I do enjoy a drama where our characters aren’t stupid. For side characters, Lee Da Hee as Do Yeon was a total stand out. While she often came across as cold and even a bit nasty, there was always a slight childishness about her that stopped her from being downright dislikable. Sure, she could be a bit mean every now and then, but more often than not it was simple pettiness rather than being cold-blooded. In fact, by drawing certain parallels between Do Yeon and Hye Sung, the drama ensured that we never really thought of Do Yeon as a horrible person- as our heroine was often found doing many of the same petty things. We were always shown that Do Yeon was doing what she thought was best in the eyes of the law (except in her high school days), so it was hard to criticise her because technically she wasn’t wrong. Do Yeon had some excellent character growth, and it was enjoyable to watch her soften slightly as the series progressed, as she realised that yes the law had to be followed, but you can also show compassion while still acting in the realms of the law.

Petty fights are the best fights

Sadly, I didn’t super love Lawyer Cha. I liked him more when he was the dorky lawyer with the hair part, glasses and white socks. It gave him a sense of individuality. After he dolled himself up, it felt like he slid back into typical second male lead territory. He also tended to come off as a bit of a know-it-all in the second half rather than an optimistic lawyer. That being said, I did like the way the show concluded his relationship with Hye Sung.

He's way too dorky to be that smooth

Once Lawyer Cha and Hye Sung started dating, I did wonder how the show was going to get out of it without someone becoming a d*uche, or Lawyer Cha getting killed off. Having Lawyer Cha not only defend the man who murdered Hye Sung’s mother in court, but actually believe his innocence was a brilliant way to carve an irreparable rift between them. Sure, Hye Sung could (and did) eventually forgive him, but you just can’t quite look past the fact that Lawyer Cha took the word of a criminal over the word of his own girlfriend. While some people could probably get back into a relationship after the forgiveness occurred, Hye Sung’s really not the type of girl to do that- particularly when you have Soo Ha waiting around for Lawyer Cha to screw up. That being said, I did often find myself confused at times as to what the jobs of our lawyers were. They seemed to place a great deal of emphasis on being the ones to find out the truth- but I don’t really think that’s the point of a lawyer. This was made particularly evident in the case where Hye Sung worked together with the prosecutor to bring about the truth, and then backstabbed her client and sent him off to jail for a good long sentence. The show had a lot of weaknesses where law was concerned (oh my God, SO many).

I'm not big on Korean Law...but this can't be right

I mean, I wouldn’t have minded too much, except the flaws weren’t continuous. If a drama tells me that the punishment for murder is 5 years prison, I’m going to think that it’s ridiculously wrong, but if every murder get 5 years, I can roll with it- that’s just the way it is in that particular drama world. But when there are inconsistencies, I start to get a bit annoyed. Joon Kook hits a man with a truck and then beats him to death with a metal pipe in front of his nine year-old son.

Shadows and ominous music- this must be the murderer

He then lies about being innocent and threatens the witness before attempting to strangle her to death when she testifies against him in court. He gets 10 years. Okay, fine whatever- I can buy 10 years because obviously there needs to be a villain for this drama to go ahead. But then later, Soo Ha is framed for murdering Joon Kook and he’s told that he’ll get 20 years unless he pleads guilty and repents. Um, why? Joon Kook pleaded not-guilty and went out screaming about revenge and more murders and he got half that sentence. All in all, it’s not a huge thing to get worked up about, but it did become increasingly annoying when the law was just so bad, and yet the drama spent such an alarmingly long time on it. The story overall was enjoyable, even if it didn’t present us with anything new. The villain kept the stakes high, and the addition of Soo Ha’s mind reading abilities was a nice twist. The pace was pretty cracking for the first half, and probably would have been for the second half if the series hadn’t been extended. While the soundtrack was good, I did find that it was relied on a bit too heavily, particularly in regards to Joon Kook. I don’t need dark, heavy, a-murder-is-about-to-happen music every time he’s on screen. I know he’s the bad guy. I know.

What Was Great:

Killer:

The concept of the murderer, while admittedly unoriginal, was exciting and entertaining. While it’s not the first time (nor will it be the last) that we have a murderer out for revenge against a witness, it did an excellent job at providing a mutual villain for our two leads, and also served as a device to draw them together and forge an unbreakable bond between them.

Scary, scary

The villain’s story was executed brilliantly- we were always aware that there had to be a reason behind the murder of Soo Ha’s father, but were kept in the dark for most of the show’s run as to what that reason actually was. Although sometimes being deliberately kept out of the loop can be annoying, for the most part it didn’t bother me too much with this particular storyline as we had a much more present danger to be getting on with. I mean, why care about why that murder was committed when you’re about two seconds from being murdered or becoming a murderer yourself? While the rest of our characters were unaware of what Joon Kook’s motivations were, I was content to be unaware as well.

So scary, yet so sad

When Joon Kook’s reasoning finally came to light, it was a heartbreaking story that did lead you to pity the man. Of course his actions were unforgivable, but as always, it’s hard to condemn someone 100% when you know that they have received such a large injustice. Joon Kook was a beautiful parallel to Soo Ha, who made every opposite choice to ensure that he did not become a man like Joon Kook. The show went even further into humanising Joon Kook by having Soo Ha come so close to becoming a murderer himself, and showing that the only difference between these two men is that Soo Ha had someone looking out for him, worrying about him, and protecting him, and Joon Kook did not. While Soo Ha always had Hye Sung there to prevent him from losing himself, Joon Kook was alone. His agony and loneliness did a wonderful job at humanising him, and showed how easily and quickly this man’s life had spiralled out of control. When Joon kook was still a threat, it was hard to pity him, but once he was behind bars he became just like Hye Sung’s mother had said he was- sad and pitiful. Joon Kook was an excellent villain with a rich backstory, and frankly any time he wasn’t actively involved in the story it was a little boring. He really was the driving force behind the show. And of course, you can’t talk about the villain without mentioning Jung Woong In who gave an amazing performance as our murderer. While he was always frightening, Jung Woong In has a wonderful ability to show the inner workings of his character so clearly on his face. Joon Kook’s turmoil and indecision to continue on his dark path was hinted at early on, and was acted out so genuinely, that I know more than a few people were hoping for some sort of redemption arc stemming from Hye Sung’s Mum’s love.

Well...there goes your shot a redemption

Of corse this never happens as Joon Kook goes on to murder Hye Sung’s Mum, continues down the road of villainy, and ensures we get get a gripping story out of it. 

Drama’s Voice:

Although this drama was far from perfect, the main messages that the drama wanted to deliver it delivered loud and clear. The whole series carried a pretty obvious message about regret and pride that weaved its way through most of our stories, both major and sideline. It was the shared regret that both the female characters had that shaped their relationships and helped them come to understand each other better- Hye Sung regretted testifying because it put her in danger, and Do Yeon regretted not testifying because it showed her cowardice.

Two sides of the same coin

Another theme the drama constantly touched on was truth and lies- is it okay to lie to get the result you know is best? Are there some truths best kept hidden? The drama went with the route that the truth is always the best way to go, as the truth is bound to come out eventually- as it did in every aspect of this particular story.

To murder or not to murder- that is the question

The writers even went as far as showing that Lawyer Cha and Soo Ha’s choice to keep secrets from Hye Sung was just a big fat mistake. Hooray! A drama that doesn’t base its conflicts around pure miscommunications. I will admit, it does help to avoid miscommunications when your hero can read minds. But the biggest theme this drama had throughout its run was the concept of victimisation- what made you a victim, and at what point do you stop being a victim and start becoming a perpetrator. The drama was always very clear on where it drew the line- once you went as far as killing in the name of being a victim, you are no longer the victim, you’re just another murderer. It was an interesting theme to explore as while on paper it’s so obvious that this is the case, when you threw Soo Ha into a situation where he was constantly being ridiculed by the gloating murderer you can feel his anger and resentment, and also his fear, and really nothing would make you happier than seeing that smarmy asshole go down. But where this drama differs from a lot of other dramas is that it never forgot that killing someone is always a crime. If it’s not life-or-death self defence there’s no excuse, no matter what the other party has done to you. Soo Ha was often presented with this conflict, and it was a conflict for us as an audience as well- we hate Joon Kook just as much as Soo Ha and probably wouldn’t mind Soo Ha getting his revenge- but we also want Soo Ha to live a long and happy life not being in prison.

Cuz prison's probably not a fun time

Which brings us to the drama’s final theme- revenge is never worth it and only hurts you more. It’s what Hye Sung’s Mum was constantly saying to Hye Sung, and then what Hye Sung started to drill into Soo Ha.

What Wasn’t:

That Extension:

The extension was so not necessary and hurt the series more than it helped it. I think the pace of the drama was always going to slow down as the drama came to a close, but with the addition of two more episodes, the plot lost nearly all momentum. From the time it was decided that the series would have an extension, the show started to drag its feet and there were many episodes (not just the final two) that felt long and slow.

Please come back and stir up some real trouble

Even though the episodes only went for an hour, they felt very long as they didn’t have all that much content. Rather than adding in new conflicts, the writers chose to draaaaag out their current ones. You can tell, because most of the drama’s conflicts are introduced very early on and then take time coming to centre stage. But as we neared the end of the series, no new information was being given- we were just rehashing old conflicts and taking far too long to reach the conclusion. I actually found myself getting a bit bored in some episodes. The dragging out of the plot also meant that there was a halt in our villain’s game-plan, and he was absent for a period of time. As I said earlier, the most interesting parts of the drama involved Joon Kook, so it wasn’t very exciting when all he did was send mail. We also seemed to spend an increasing amount of time in the courtroom. At the beginning the courtroom battles were new and interesting, but past the half-way point they all started to feel a bit the same. Not to mention that it was usually just rehashing information we already knew. Add on how terrible the law was in this drama, and courtroom scenes became a thing to dread. The extension was also the reason we were kept in the dark about Joon Kook and Soo Ha’s father’s connection for so long.

For the love of K-Drama- just tell me what's going on

When Soo Ha and Hye Sung were unaware that there even was a connection, I was happy to be left out of the loop as well. But as Lawyer Cha and Soo Ha came to posses this knowledge, the show started spinning its wheels and purposely left the audience wondering how Soo Ha’s father wronged Joon Kook enough that Joon Kook thought his murder was justified. It becomes boring, and frankly annoying, to have information withheld- particularly when the characters know what’s going on and we don’t. It was plainly obvious that this information was withheld because the writers wanted a dramatic effect before the final showdown, and then the episode extension pushed that showdown further away.

The finale was cool- I just wish it hadn't taken so long to get there

PoPo:

Good Lord, the police in this were daft. At the end they had some fairly decent detectives on the scene, but at the start all we had were those two ridiculously dim police officers who were less than no help. 

Is there just no crime in your precinct?

They were so trusting of a convicted murderer, to the point where they thought innocent victims were overreacting- like, had they just meandered through their careers without ever actually seeing any crimes? It was ridiculously unbelievable and a little annoying. A murderer threatens the witness and actually tries to strangle her to death in front of a room full of witnesses, then is dragged out while yelling that he’s going to kill her when he’s released. And no one even informs this witness when he does get released? Not only that, but she doesn’t get any sort of witness protection or even a restraining order? Yeah, that’s just plain stupid.

Re-watch?

Nah. I think I enjoyed this drama more in hindsight than I did while actually watching.

But let's be real, I'll watch anything with Lee Jong Suk