Girl Who Sees Smells
Genre: Episodes:
16 Year: 2015
Romance
Comedy
Mystery
Synopsis:
3 years ago,
Choi Moo Gak’s younger sister was murdered by the ‘Barcode Serial Killer’.
After his sister’s death, he joined the police force, hoping to become a
detective and catch his sister’s killer. Choi Eun Sol is the only witness of
the barcode murders. However, she is in an accident right after she escapes the
murderer, and slips into a coma. Six months later she wakes from her coma. She
has no memory of her life before, but has gained the ability to see scents. To
protect her, she is entered into witness protection as Oh Cho Rim, and Choi Eun
Sol is recorded as deceased. Choi Moo Gak
meets Oh Cho Rim by chance and Cho Rim helps him solve a petty crime. The two
team up and begin investigating the barcode murders, aided by Oh Cho Rim’s
unique ability.
Cast:
Park Yoo Chun (Choi Mu Gak) |
Shin Se Kyung (Oh Cho Rim/Choi Eun Sol) |
Yoon Jin Seo (Yeom Mi) |
Namgung Min (Kwon Jae Hee) |
Song Jong Ho (Dr. Chun Baek Kyung) |
General Thoughts:
It’s a really,
really enjoyable drama to watch. The plot moves at a zippy pace, and it was
difficult to predict what was going to happen next. Sure, a couple of times I
knew I was being led by the nose and making assumptions that the writers wanted
me to make, but at the same time I couldn’t help feeling like ‘maybe, the
writers WANT me to feel like they’re tricking me, and then they WON’T’. It was
a nice change to not be able to see the ending clearly, and the drama
definitely keeps you on your toes- those cliff-hanger episode endings!
A rom-com with more than just the 'rom' and 'com' |
The characters
were all brilliant. There were no outright dislikeable characters. Sure, there
were bad characters and twisted characters, but it felt good to dislike them.
The drama quite happily avoids characters that are dislikeable for their
annoying, whiney, or stupid personalities- good job show! The casting was
picture perfect- I love Bae Suzy (who was originally meant to be our leading lady), but Shin Se Kyung as Oh Cho Rim is just
divine. She has a wonderful comedic sense that brings a lot of spark to the
character that I’m not sure Suzy would have been able to deliver. Yoochun is
divine as Choi Mu Gak, being able to be both appropriately stoic,
and innocently hilarious.
Our main couple is charming and funny, and it was
enjoyable to see the relationship develop- it was also nice to have a little
break from love triangles. The plot never
lagged, and while we did go into some smaller (but still interesting) police
investigations, the main storyline is present enough that it never felt like we
were using episodes to wait for the main showdown (which was pretty awesome).
The chance intertwining of our main characters lives was never overplayed or
tried to be passed off as ‘destiny’. It was believable that three people
involved in a tragedy (murderer, witness, victim’s brother) met again later in
life, without knowing their past connections. Plot, characters, development,
casting- it was all executed brilliantly.
Spot-on casting- good job team! |
What Was Great:
Quirky Couple:
We get a really
refreshing main couple in this drama. The romance kicks in pretty quickly,
which I’m pleased with overall. It gives our couple time to slowly realise
their feelings, and avoids coming across as a rushed relationship. A lot of
cute comes from the gradual process of Mu Gak and Cho Rim getting to know one
another.
It’s also a nice change to not have one character be the ‘main’
character. Cho Rim and Mu Gak are both equally important in the story, and the
writers never influence the viewers to feel more for one character over the
other. Even during disagreements, it is never presented in a way where one
character is obviously right, and the other is obviously wrong. Hooray for two
functional, realistic adult characters!
Two functional adults? How rare |
Both characters
are equally quirky, making for a hilariously unforgettable couple. Cho Rim is
sweet, bordering on loopy, but sweet- and in a brilliant display of writing, we
get to see Cho Rim bring Mu Gak out of his shell without it coming across as
unnatural or a complete character flip. The flashbacks of times he spent with
his sister are a great way of showcasing that Mu Gak was always a bit weird and funny, but after her death he lost that part of himself. It’s delightful that
the show manages to avoid having his feelings for Cho Rim as some creepy way of looking
for a shadow of his sister in her- because that’s definitely a danger in a
relationship like this. Their ability to function together is wonderful to
watch- and as a viewer, you hardly ever feel frustration at our main couple for
not expressing their emotions properly. Yay for no mass-miscommunication
plotline!
Along with adequate communication, the writers beautifully set up
these two people to complement each other. Right from the very obvious Mu Gak
has lost his senses and Cho Rim has gained a new one, to one cooks and the other
cleans. Unlike many K-Drama couples who have problems up to their eyeballs, Cho
Rim and Mu Gak were constructed in a way where they worked together to solve
their issues, which gave them a long-lasting, enduring feeling that other
K-Drama couples lack. Their stubborn pettiness was also a total bonus. This
comedic, crime-solving duo make for one adorably unforgettable couple.
What perfect comedy these two bring |
Seeing Smells:
Mu Gak smells so pretty |
It’s just such
a random concept. I was a little hesitant to get into this drama because I was
worried that it would take itself too seriously, and the main concept would
come across as plain ridiculous. But then I saw the trailer and my fears were
put to rest. It was cute and playful, and the show definitely didn’t take
itself as seriously as I thought it might. Cho Rim’s ability never comes across
as tacky or gimmicky. The writers successfully make it such a casual, normal
part of Cho Rim’s life (as common as our own senses are to us), that it felt
normal to us as viewers. It was delightful to have a heroine who had something
special to offer to the story, beyond just her interesting or perky character.
It was also a believable, effective method to kick-start the relationship
between Cho Rim and Mu Gak- they both had a mutual need for each other in their
workplaces.
Creepy Killer:
Villains in
dramas totally give it that extra ‘oomph’. Here we have a fantastically
executed villain. While we are in the dark on who they really are, there are so
many hints and tid-bits that the viewers’ minds can really go crazy. I made a
lot of assumptions on who our murderer was, and didn’t care in the slightest when
I was wrong.
Love me some K-Drama villains |
Not an innocent, god-like being: actually wants to kill the crazy |
I also enjoyed
how our villain impacted on our other characters a lot. Obviously his actions
have had a devastating effect on our main couple’s lives, and it’s interesting
to see them react to it. I cannot applaud this show enough for making Mu Gak
and Cho Rim realistic, relatable characters. They both want the murderer dead,
and Mu Gak wants to kill them himself. I love that this drama was able to move
away from common K-Drama leads that are beautiful, unparalleled pictures of
excellence, while never making them un-relatable or unlikeable. Alternatively,
I find that this made our leads much more endearing and realistic. They had
been hurt and were unwilling to forgive, and we as viewers were able to
empathise with that.
The conclusion
of the villain arch was executed perfectly. It was the heart-pounding, thrilling
climax we were promised, and was not disappointing in the least. There was also
enough time at the end to chuck in some nice cutesiness and wrap up our main
cast nicely.
When heart-pounding and cutesy collide |
Steady Plot:
Oh, how nice it
was to not have a drama with any lags. Both the detective storyline and the
love-line managed to keep steady (if not racing) momentum. There were enough
events going on in the drama that the writers could take their time unveiling
the main mystery without the drama becoming too drawn-out. It makes good use of
its 16 episodes- giving enough time to initial set up, character/relationship
development, going deeper into the main issue, final conflict, and resolution.
Devoting enough time to all these aspects makes it a very rounded, well-thought
out show. Another bonus of this series is that it sticks to its own science. I
don’t mind too much if the science in dramas is a little flawed, and ‘The Girl
Who Sees Smells’ is definitely not based in the realm of strict scientific
fact. However, once it presents an idea as the truth it sticks to it- and in
the world of dramaland, that’s all I really ask. There were never any points in
the drama where solutions were unjustifiably formed, or characters were able to
escape a situation by using unexplored methods. Okay, the police work was
sometimes a little sloppy (I mean, I’m sure some of those interrogations
weren’t exactly legal), but I won’t lie- I didn’t come to this drama for its
accurate representation of homicide investigations.
That finale though ♥ |
Don't look too hard at the science guys |
What Wasn’t:
Vague
Explanations:
The only real
downside to this show was that we were not given a satisfactory wrap-up for our
murderer's intentions. The situation itself is adequate, with the arrest, disappearance and final
confrontation- but we were given no explanation to how one of our main
characters ended up the way they did. Childhood abuse was touched-on, but was
never further explained or confirmed.
The fact is, our murderer had such a unique
way of killing people, and such a unique reason for doing so, that I really
wanted to know how they got there. Simply implying that they’re a total psycho
isn’t enough. The detailed, meticulous method was fascinating, and it was
interesting that none of the victims had any apparent connections. I wanted to
know how our murderer decided on a victim- what was so special about that
individual’s life over any others that they wanted to own it? Why the barcodes?
How did it all start? And while it was acknowledged that the first known
Barcode Murder wasn’t actually the first victim, it was never adequately
explored. Throughout the show, many interesting psychological questions were
raised and thrown around that I was excited for the final explanation of our
murderer. I was more than a little disappointed when it never came.
Why won't you people tell me what the deal is with this?!? |
Re-watch?
No comments:
Post a Comment