Lookout

Lookout

7.5/10

Lookout

Genre:                                                Episodes: 16                                  Year: 2017

Mystery

Thriller

Synopsis:

After her daughter is murdered, Detective Jo Soo Ji does everything she can to bring he killer to justice. Due to corrupt prosecutors, the murderer avoids arrest and Soo Ji loses her faith in the justice system. She is approached by a strange group who act outside the law to bring un-convicted criminals to justice, and joins them in the hopes that one day her daughter’s killer will face the justice he has avoided.

Cast:

Lee Shi Young (Jo Soo Ji)

Kim Young Kwang (Jang Do Han)

Kim Seul Gi (Seo Bo Mi)

Key (Ko Kyung Soo)

Kim Tae Hoon (Kim Eun Joong)

Choi Moo Sung (Yoon Seung Ro)

Jung Suk Yong (Nam Byung Tae)

Park Solomon (Yoon Shi Wan)

General Thoughts:

‘Lookout’ for the most part was an exciting, emotional story of a ragtag vigilante group. Right from the first episode we’re drawn directly into the conflict and the series manages to keep its racing momentum for most of its run.

Super exciting pretty much all the time

It was a good move to have our heroine join the team mid-way through their revenge plot as it gave us an easy way in. Rather than trying to figure out who was who and how they all came together, we were drawn into the group along with our heroine. And what a heroine she was.

Our poor baby

Soo Ji was a character that was hard to dislike- a proud parent who worked hard both at her job and raising her (adorable) daughter. Yoon Ah’s death was brutal and shocking and was a surefire way to get us hating the villain and squarely on the Lookout Team. ‘Lookout’ isn’t the first K-Drama to go with the death of a child being the motivation for the hero/ine (‘Bad Guys’ being one), but most I’ve seen tend to have the children being murdered once they’ve hit their teenage years. It was much more horrific having Yoo Na murdered as a child- it’s basically the unwritten law of the world that hurting children makes you the worst of the worst. So with Yoon Ah’s death, the writers ensured that we all had a burning vengeance to see Team Lookout bring down Shi Wan and his father. Having other members of the team allowed us to be satisfied with the long game. Had there only been Soo Ji going for revenge the plot would have seemed very slow and ponderous, but adding in Bo Mi and Kyung Soo meant the series could keep its momentum rolling. As we’re introduced to the other members of the team, it’s obvious that there’s something linking them all together and each step towards that truth feels like a reward rather than a story simply being drawn out to cover more episodes.

Yoon Seung Ro sure messed up a lot of families

The show moved quickly and smoothly from Soo Ji joining the team to Bo Mi’s story to Kyung Soo’s story, with pieces of Do Han’s story sprinkled throughout the lot. Each of the different character arcs were woven together brilliantly, and as an audience we could see how solving each crime was bringing us closer and closer to catching Shi Wan and Dad Yoon. As interesting as each development was on its own, it was really the characters that were the driving force behind the story.

I adore that Kim Seul Gi got to play a pretty character.
I will forever curse 'Queen of the Ring' for calling her ugly. Curse you.

Soo Ji was obviously our main hero, but the people that surrounded her helped with shaping the story into something that was emotionally rewarding rather than just intellectually satisfying. Bo Mi was one of my favourite characters, and her survivor’s guilt was a poignant point throughout the show. Bo Mi's slowly developing relationship with Kyung Soo was also one of the show's highlights. With child murders and abductions and other rather dark things going on, Bo Mi and Kyung Soo became a little ray of much-needed hope in the show. Despite how bleak things may be getting in the show, those two could always be relied upon to provide a little bit of warmth and even humour. It kept the show from feeling too hopeless. While Soo Ji and Do Han were so focused on revenge and getting to that point, they'd never actually thought about what comes after. Bo Mi and Kyung Soo were the opposite of that- planning a happy future together once their task was over. Do Han as hero was rather interesting. At first I thought Kim Young Kwang was acting Do Han's smarmy prosecutor persona too well, and it was actually quite hard to like him. While as an audience we were always aware that he had underlying motives and that he actually was on Team Lookout, he was just so good at being a d*ck to characters we really cared about- like Soo Ji and Eun Joong.

I won't lie, it took a while to warm up to our hero

I really thought the nail in his coffin had come when he admitted that he'd thought Shi Wan might do something to Yoon Ah and didn’t stop it. But that was just another fascinating aspect to his character- and Soo Ji's as well. Most of the series I identified strongly with Soo Ji's emotions (except that one time she thought finding out who Leader is was more important than the mission at hand),

I still kinda can't believe you didn't try to save her...

and when it came to that revelation it was the same. I was shocked and extremely disappointed at Do Han’s confession and didn't think anything could redeem him. Yet as the show progressed, I found myself accepting Do Han and his situation more and more. It wasn’t okay or right that he’d not rushed to help Yoo Na right away, but his clear guilt about the situation and the fact that it was a brief hesitation and not a total unwillingness to help assisted in softening the blow and making Do Han seem likeable again. It was an added bonus that we could see these same emotions being played out with Soo Ji. While there was no way she could forgive him for playing a role in her daughter's murder, she could understand him after hearing his story and seeing his regret, and she was able to look past his mistake and work together again. Do Han really had excellent character development- I absolutely hated him at the start, but by the end I pitied him greatly and wanted the team to succeed- not just for the others, but for Do Han as well. This was a role where Kim Young Kwang really stepped up his acting a notch. While I personally haven’t found him bad in anything, he's also never floored me with his acting.

A rare moment of honesty from Do Han

In ‘Lookout’ there were several scenes where I was impressed with Kim Young Kwang’s acting ability. The moments he was himself with his brother the Priest were often emotionally heavy scenes where we experienced rare glimpses of Do Han’s true face. It was through these extremely brief moments that Kim Young Kwang had to pull us into Do Han’s story and make him a character we can feel for, and I think he was really successful in doing that.

The best I-f*cking-got-you face I've ever seen

I often felt Do Han’s fear, anger and regret in those short scenes. Another great example of Kim Young Kwang’s improved acting was toward the end when Dad Yoon discovered Do Han’s identity and his true goal. Kim Young Kwang’s manic, ecstatic grinning actually gave me goosebumps and made me extremely nervous/excited about the events that would follow. It was an expression that showed both severe joy and severe hate, and hinted at how close to unravelling Do Han had been all along, and how obsessed he had been with achieving his goal. Lee Shi Young was excellent as the heroine beside Do Han, with her quietly determined ways. A lot of her heavy lifting in the acting department came early on in the series. It was Soo Ji’s complete and utter devastation after losing her daughter that really captured my interest and pulled me into the series. Seeing this amazing woman lose everything she held dear made me want to see her succeed in ruining the person who took her baby from her. If Lee Shi Young hadn’t acted as brilliantly as she did in those scenes, I doubt I would have had such a reaction. The scene that really stands out in my mind for Lee Shi Young is when Soo Ji goes to Shi Wan's school to kill him.

I know on a moral level I shouldn't want her to kill the kid. But on a K-Drama level- killhimkillhimkillhim.

I never thought that I’d want the heroine of my drama to kill a teenager in cold blood, but there you go. I wanted it. I wanted it so bad. Lee Shi Young was able to get me right there in Soo Ji's mindset. I felt her hate and her anger, and I understood that it didn’t matter what happened after so long as Shi Wan died. Thankfully that didn't happen and we got a really good drama out of what came after, but it was a truly emotional, stunning performance from the actress. Both Kim Seul Gi and Key gave heartfelt, believable performances of their own, and definitely pulled their own weight when their turn in the spotlight came.

Cutest couple on the show (even though they had no competition)

The directing was all pretty schmick, with quite a few slick and stylish action sequences- particularly early on when we were getting introduced to the Lookout Team. During many of the missions, clever deviations into flashback often elaborated on how our heroes were able to succeed without disrupting the flow of the narrative. The soundtrack was also excellently effective (and ridiculously catchy). 

What Was Great:

The Team:

I think I’ve rambled on about this quite a bit above, but the driving force of this drama was really the characters that were in the vigilante squad. As we learned more about these characters and watched them grow as individuals and as a team it made us more desperate to see them beat Dad Yoon and his twisted son.

The lookout fam was just wonderful

While the plot itself was fast and addictive, it was the characters that really drove it. Yes it was interesting to have a whole family murdered leaving a sole survivor who became a shut-in constantly watching CCTV, but it’s the survivor’s feelings of fear and guilt and her slowly learning to rely on others and step outside her comfort zone that really won me over. Each of the characters had such rich backstory that shaped who they were. Sometimes even the smallest pieces of information could lead to huge emotional moments- such as Soo Ji blaming herself for Yoo Na’s accident because she lied that Yoo Na’s father was dead and ‘in the sky’ rather than admitting that he’d left them both. And of course the small moments of interaction between the team were just golden. It often felt like Soo Ji was becoming a sort of mother to Bo Mi and Kyung Soo (like the way she fixed Kyung Soo’s tie) and the relationship between Soo Ji and Do Han was endlessly fascinating. Although I do wish we could have seen a few more of these moments were the team really bonded together, I was satisfied with what we got, and the characters were brilliant at driving their own story arcs so that we could lead up to the final showdown.

What Wasn’t:

The Final Huzzah: 

Considering how excellent the series was for most of its run, it was a little disappointing that the final conflict was really the least thrilling one. I enjoyed the courtroom takedown of Dad Yoon, and while it wasn’t exactly an action packed scene, it was the swift, accurate move that the team needed to make.

I am adequately placated with that a-hole's smackdown

However, I was expecting something more spectacular for Shi Wan. I’d sort of come to accept that we weren’t going to get any backstory on Shi Wan- he was just born a psycho apparently, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have an exciting downfall. Frankly speaking, I liked Shi Wan better when he was a quietly dangerous, you-don’t-know-what-he’ll-do-next kind of villain.

Your final plan was bad and you should feel bad

He had a stealthy sort of creepiness about him that just wasn’t used to its full potential in his final murderous plan. His ‘game’ was really just too out in the open. So far he’s been hurting small children and those weaker than him subtly and without anyone knowing. Suddenly he’s built a bomb and is making threats and is video chatting people mid-threat. He’s spent so much time and effort making people believe he’s normal that it just felt weird to have him throw all of that away in the final hour. Not to mention he’s not exactly threatening. He’s not a big kid and I don’t doubt that our two female officers could have overpowered him easily if they tried. I was actually pretty disappointed in Officer Lee’s reaction to the whole scenario. Sure, your daughter is in a dangerous situation but you’re a well seasoned detective for crying out loud! Her complete inability to even attempt to come up with a plan that could save Soo Ji and Se Won just annoyed me. Her response would have been acceptable for a regular mother, but I felt like she’d been constructed as a character who was smarter and better under high-pressure situations than she was at the end. And Se Won. Sigh, Se Won. I mean, what the f*ck. She is quite possibly one of the stupidest characters I’ve ever seen, and she flip-flops like a fish out of water.

Like...what did you think was gonna happen??

First she has a crush on Shi Wan. Then she totally believes that he pushed a little girl of a roof. Then she likes him when he befriends her (acceptable so far, she’s a total outcast and there wasn’t any solid proof he was a murderer), then she finds out without a shadow of a doubt that he pushed Yoo Na off a roof and avoids him (smart move). Then, oh my gosh I still can’t believe the stupidity of it, then she goes to a frigging ROOFTOP after she finds a note implying that he’ll jump off the roof.

The start was much more intense than the finale

Like, why follow him? He’s a psycho killer who’s been lying to you and murdered a child- if he jumps of the roof then good riddance. But no. She follows him to a place similar to where he’s killed someone before and then goes into a small, dark room that’s completely out of the public eye. And she kind of seems surprised that Shi Wan is trying to kill her. It’s just so stupid and so baffling, and cruel as it is I kind of didn’t care that much if she died or not because 1- she’s a fictional character who 2- apparently forgot that this dude is a nut-job completely happy pushing people off buildings. Even if Se Won hadn’t been the hight of stupidity, it still wouldn’t have made for a very exciting finale. We see very little of Se Won compared to our Lookout Team and I’m sad to say that I just wasn’t invested in her character. Sure, it would be sad if she was killed by the crazy dude- but better her than Bo Mi or Kyung Soo who I’m so completely involved with. I really think it would have been a better move if the writers had chosen to endanger either Bo Mi or Kyung Soo. While I would have been devastated if either of them died, I wouldn’t have put it past the show to take one of them out as Shi Wan’s last horrific act- the suspense would have upped the stakes in a thrilling way that just wasn’t possible with a character like Se Won. And now we arrive at it- Do Han’s death. Hm. Yeah. I don’t completely hate it, but it didn’t leave me feeling particularly satisfied either.

If I don't feel broken yet satisfied, then you didn't really pull off the hero's death well...

It actually felt like a bit of a cop-out. I’ve been waiting to see how Do Han and Soo Ji cope (or don’t) post-Dad Yoon and psycho son. They’ve invested so much time and energy into their revenge (particularly Do Han) that I wanted to see how they would live after they didn’t have that revenge driving them. But then Do Han dies.

How about NOT pushing him off a building? Hmm?

He’s lived most of his life as someone else in order to bring Dad Yoon to justice, so it kind of seems a bit meaningless for him to die as soon as his revenge is complete. It just felt narratively weak- like the writers were looking for an easy way out. Do Han’s death means that they don’t have to create a life for him after his revenge and it guarantees Soo Ji’s forgiveness- because you can’t really hate a man who saves you once and then moments later dies for you. You just can’t. Also, what happened to Shi Wan? Did he die too? Did he ever actually get convicted for murdering Yoon Ah? My distaste for the finale might make it seem as though the drama had a lot of downsides as I’ve written so much here, but most of the show was actually pretty airtight with 95% of the things I’m annoyed about coming in the last episode. It’s just a bit of a bummer when you love a show so much and it just lets you down at the end because the end is your last impression and what you remember the clearest (as it's the most recent). On the bright side, I appreciated how Team Lookout were still doing their vigilante business after they’d accomplished their main goal.

Recommend?

Yeah I would. ‘Lookout’ is one of the more successful vigilante K-Dramas around. It manages to neatly balance humour and heart-break (and even a nice little bit of action) and delivers a thrilling story.

Pretty awesome