Smart Prison Living

Smart Prison Living

9.5/10

Smart Prison Living

Genre:                                                Episodes: 16                                     Year: 2018

Comedy

Melodrama

Synopsis:

Star baseball pitcher, Kim Je Hyuk, is sentenced to one year in prison after assaulting a sexual assailant. He must adapt to living in jail with other inmates and the prison guards.

Cast:

Park Hae Soo (Kim Je Hyuk)

Jung Kyung Ho (Lee Joon Ho)

Krystal (Kim Ji Ho)

Lim Hwa Young (Kim Je Hee)

Choi Moo Sung (Kim Min Chul)

Jung Woong In (Officer Paeng)

Lee Kyu Hyung (Yoo Han Yang)

Jung Hae In (Yoo Jung Woo)

Park Ho San (Kaist)

Jung Min Sung (Dr Ko)

Ahn Chang Hwan (Crony)

Kang Ki Doong (Officer Song)

Kang Seung Yoon (Jean Valjean)

Park Hyung Soo (Officer Na)

Kim Sung Cheol (Jailbird)

Kim Kyung Nam (Lee Joon Dol)

General Thoughts:

I love this drama, and there’s not a single thing I’d change about it. And I’m bloody picky, so you know that’s a big compliment right there. It’s the magic director-writer combo from ‘Reply 1997’ (and ’94 and ’88), and at this point I really think they can do no wrong.

I love this writer-PD combo and I love their dramas

The writer is an amazing and rare talent, and her dramas make me want to meet her in real life. To come up with such beautifully crafted stories with such real and raw emotion, Lee Woo Jung must be one interesting and intelligent lady. The director at her side is Shin Won Ho and boy have these two just learned how to work in sync.

From high school kids to men in prison

Shin Won Ho takes the story and fills it with life and flavour. He knows the exact emotional beats that the writer is aiming for and manipulates all aspects of filmmaking in order to bring that emotion to the audience. While I do admit that I’ve been waiting excitedly for the next ‘Reply’ instalment from these two, now that I’ve watched ‘Smart Prison Living’ I’m glad they deviated away from their hit franchise for a time. It’s not that the followup ‘Reply’ series weren’t good (because they were), but as they all worked around the same genre and the same type of characters (eg. hilarious, spunky female youth for a heroine), we all knew a little bit about what to expect. It’s not that we didn’t enjoy it simply because it was what we expected, but it is nice to be wowed every now and then. ‘Smart Prison Living’ proves that this writer-director combo aren’t a one-trick pony, and can work different characters in different settings into a compelling story about love, life and hardship. Backing up the fantastic writing and directing was an absolutely stellar cast. ‘Smart Prison Living’ differentiates itself from the ‘Reply’ series, and most other K-Dramas, but not exactly having one cast the entire way through.

There were so many characters to love 

The whole show is a revolving door of characters who come and go as we walk with Je Hyuk through his prison journey. Our one constant is Park Hae Soo as our leading man. I’ve only seen him in ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’, and I won’t lie, I don’t even remember him in it. This is another thing I love about this writer-director combo- they take actors who fit the role regardless of if they don’t have a lot of working credits or a wide fanbase.

How can that pudding haircut suit your character so perfectly?

While Park Hae Soo was unremarkable in ‘LOTBS’, I found him completely unforgettable here. He showed how Je Hyuk’s humility and calm nature mostly resulted due to him not exactly being the smartest prisoner in the cell. His naivety and vagueness often made for some hilarious moments, and Park Hae Soo was able to deliver these aspects of his character perfectly, without ever making Je Hyuk seem plain dumb. Sure, he was a little slow, but he’d get there eventually. However, on the other side of the coin, Park Hae Soo could really turn cold when Je Hyuk snapped. It was a subtle difference in facial expression and a whole change in body language that easily alerted us as to when Je Hyuk was riled and likely to do something impulsive. While his slow side tended to make the humour, Je Hyuk’s anger is where a lot of the emotion in the series came from. Je Hyuk had two extremes- completely calm or completely furious. Rarely did Je Hyuk get furious, but it was always interesting and compelling when he did, because so often it was for someone other than himself, which is ultimately what made him such a loveable and endearing character. He would listen all day to people insult him or push him around, but when that contemptuous attention was turned on someone Je Hyuk cared about, such as his cellmates, he was likely to snap completely.

I kinda loved when Je Hyuk got angry

Park Hae Soo could shift between these two sides of his character wonderfully, and did so believably. It always felt like Je Hyuk snapping was the stick that broke the camel’s back rather than Je Hyuk being schizophrenic. Jung Kyung Ho played our hero’s best friend and constant supporter. I’ve seen him in some of his previous works and loved him. He brings a wonderful energy to his characters and just has that charming charisma that makes you like him, and whatever character he’s playing.

Jung Kyung Ho is always delightful

Joon Ho was an interesting character as while he was nice and morally upstanding, he didn’t exactly radiate compassion for the inmates. While he never took advantage of his role as a guard or treated the inmates disrespectfully, he always gave off the vibe that he didn’t trust any of the prisoners, and avoided investing in them emotionally, unlike our other main guard Officer Paeng.

Nothing beats a bromance

Joon Ho was the halfway point between the authorities and the disciplined. He went by the rules, and didn’t take anyone’s side. Except for Je Hyuk. Which is where we start to really love Joon Ho. Despite being a rather strict guard and going by the book at work, Joon Ho does whatever he can to make Je Hyuk’s prison life that little bit smoother. He goes out of his way to ensure his friend’s safety- both physically and emotionally. Jung Kyung Ho brought a sweetly playful side out of his character when he was alone with Je Hyuk and gave him just enough empathy while maintaining his character’s rather minimal-investment personality. Jung Woong In was insanely dynamic as Officer Paeng. His character was one that was introduced and explored slowly in the early stages of the drama, but the more we got to know him, the more endearing he became. Officer Paeng was the depiction of rough-around-the-edges, but no one could deny that he wanted the best for the inmates in his care. Officer Paeng didn’t assume the inmates were bad people the way the rest of the world did, and saw them for who they were rather than their crimes.

Talk about a character with layers

He might have been lazy in some aspects of his job, but that carefree attitude is what made him so approachable to the inmates, and was a great facade for his caring nature, as he would often help the inmates out under the guise of not caring, when in actuality he cared more than almost anyone. He was one of the characters that gave the most emotional punches, as each time another snippet of his story was told it served to reveal what a kind-hearted man he was-

Sweet and fun and so, so sad

such as his extreme guilt and grief after following procedure and losing some inmates in a fire. Jung Woong In is a mighty fine actor, and I loved the gruff charm he brought to his character. As he’s an actor that’s played a range of characters in the past, I wasn’t sure if he was going to be a likeable character or not. But boy did he know how to reveal his character’s squishy marshmallow heart in the sweetest ways. There’s so many side characters that it really would be impossible (well not really, just super long and hard) to mention them all so I’ll try to restrain myself. I thought a particular standout was Lee Kyu Hyung, who gave 100% to his druggie character, and managed to make him fun without being ridiculous. A lot of the humour in our main cell came from Han Yang’s antics, and Lee Kyu Hyung gave him such a wonderful air of rich-boy superiority paired with just the right amount of vagueness from his withdrawal. His goofy character kind of made you let your guard down, so that when he actually came to deliver an emotional scene it was like a punch in the gut. Han Yang definitely had one of the sadder stories, with his desperation to have strong self-control, but always tending to fall at the last hurdle.

Poor Han Yang came so close to kicking his habit

I think Lee Kyu Hyung hit a perfect balance of showing just how much Han Yang wanted to break free from his addiction, but also how hard the struggle really was. For people who’ve never been addicted to anything it’s so easy to criticise his relapses and his choices, but Lee Kyu Hyung clearly and brilliantly expressed Han Yang’s disgust at his own inability to beat his addiction. His love-line was handled delicately and was awfully bitter sweet.

My poor broken heart

It was sad to see the relationship that had been so tentatively built fall to ruin. Knowing that homosexuality isn’t exactly widely accepted in South Korea, I did appreciate the addition. It didn’t feel like Han Yang was just gay for gay’s sake, but it felt like a genuine part of his character and played a large hand in shaping his story. It was also an interesting point to see how other characters reacted to discovering that Han Yang’s lover was actually a man, and not a girl as they thought. Some didn’t care at all, others were totally disgusted by it, and some were uncomfortable with it but learned to live with it because they cared about Han Yang and his happiness. The show did a good job at balancing the fun make-believe drama world with bites of reality, and Han Yang’s final decision to turn to drugs again, essentially throwing away his lover’s faith and trust, was definitely one of the darker moments in the drama. You just felt this awful drop of disappointment watching Han Yang’s boyfriend waiting in a cafe for Han Yang who would never come. It was in these quieter, sadder moments where the drama really grabbed your emotions, and the director knew exactly how much to show to create the biggest impact.

Your heart was either super warm super broken or racing super fast

Take the scene I mentioned above for example. We see Han Yang succumb to his temptation and get arrested again, but we never see him back inside a prison. We see his lover and his parents expecting his return, and are left with the lonely image of them waiting as we never see the moment they give up and go home. We were given just enough to know what was happening, but we were never over saturated with information.

Everyone's favourite hyung

The show never felt like it was looking for tears- it was just focused on telling its story complete with all its darker moments. It was the same for Min Chul- his repentance and regret paired with his life sentence made him such a lonely figure, particularly once he revealed that the young boys he mentored and looked out for in prison never came back to visit. And yet he continued looking out for these young kids and encouraged them to live honest lives. His relationship with Jean Valjean killed me, and my heart really dropped when Valjean didn’t come back to visit. However, Valjean’s rather late visitation plus parole plus Min Chul’s discovery of his delightful and very accepting daughter felt like a final glimmer of happiness after Min Chul’s long and lonesome stint in prison watching other inmates come and go. Despite the show’s very present bite of realism, it was these moments of happiness that made the drama feel extremely rewarding.

You will laugh and you will cry

Despite having rather miricle-like situations sprinkled throughout the show’s run (eg. such as Je Hyuk learning to pitch with his other arm, Min Chul’s daughter finding him, soldiers deciding to testify for Jung Woo’s retrial), the equally bleak moments

Yoo-Han combo was always fun

(eg. Han Yang falling back into drugs, Kaist’s son not wanting to see him again), meant the show was able to maintain a very realistic feel without becoming too dark. All the cast members seemed to be having a really good time on set, and they all seemed to get along with each other really well. The brilliant acting from them all definitely made the series better, but what made it really stand out is the comradery between all the actors. I think it must be much easier to give a heartfelt, convincing performance when you really enjoy working with the people around you, and the humorous scenes felt that much more hilarious because all the actors were obviously having so much fun filming. I know we hear a lot about how hard it is working on K-Dramas, and I could be totally wrong here, but it felt like everyone involved (staff and actors) were really invested in making a wonderful production and tried their best to help each other out, and that really carried across into the viewing experience.     

What Was Great:

Basically Everything:

There’s no one aspect of this drama that stands out as being amazing, but rather the combination of all its parts that make it such a wonderful experience. Admittedly, at the heart of this drama there was Je Hyuk, and this drama definitely wouldn’t have been what is was without him.

Definition of handsome idiot

He was the perfect character to centre this show around, as his celebrity status was something that worked both for and against him. It would have been hard to get into this drama if the main character hadn’t been instantly likeable- and with him being in prison he obviously needed to break the law, which makes you wonder how you would get the audience to like this man who is a criminal. 

You can't blame him

By using Je Hyuk’s fame and having authorities want to make a show of treating celebrities ‘fairly’ (by rather unfairly convicting him of aggravated assault), it ensured that he remained a character we could root for. His unfortunate conviction became a hurdle for him to overcome, and we could cheer him on through it. A part of Je Hyuk’s character I really enjoyed is that he wasn’t just a dedicated sportsman ready to beat the odds and get his career back. In a lot of uplifting movies and shows, the main character has an unfaltering determination and that unwavering faith and steadfast determination are what make them succeed in unfavourable circumstances. As strange as it sounds, I loved that Je Hyuk gave up. When things got hard and one thing after another went wrong, I appreciated that Je Hyuk got angry, cursed the world and threw in the towel. After a shoulder-injuring accident in his youth, stomach cancer, getting sent to prison, and getting stabbed in the shoulder, it just felt painfully and endearingly humane for Je Hyuk to give up.

I mean really- dude's had a tough run

And I loved that he people around him supported that choice. We’re doused with so much ‘if you fall, get back up’ and ‘hardship is the road to success’ that it felt wonderfully refreshing to have a drama say that it’s okay to quit. Because the truth is, while trying as much as you can for as long as you can is a good way to live, the fact is that sometimes things don’t work out, and it’s okay to quit.

We just want our hero to be happy

Sure, Je Hyuk picked himself back up with the support of his friends and family and inmates and worked hard to play baseball again, but I liked that he was furious with the unjustness of it all (and not just a saint of forgiveness and perseverance), and took time to walk away, explore other options, and figure out what he really wanted. He really was the perfect character to star in this uniquely charming show.

What Wasn’t:

Nothing?:

A drama has to be pretty darn good for me to not find fault with it (finding shortcomings is something I’m particularly good at), but there wasn’t anything glaringly obvious in ‘Smart Prison Living’ that hindered the show.

Admittedly, this face does increase my attention span

I stand by my opinion that no drama really needs to have episodes that go over an hour (my attention span is only so long), but I found that the 90 minute episodes weren’t really that much of a problem here. The plot didn’t really have an episodic format, so the story just flowed smoothly from start to finish, breaking where it did because we can’t (or shouldn’t) just sit down and watch the whole thing straight. Because I watch shows after they air, and because of the nature of this drama’s story, I really watched it at my leisure pausing whenever, and watching as much as I could whenever I could. I suppose the length of the episodes would have bothered me more if I had to take a huge chunk of time out of my day and watch a whole episode, rather than watching hours and hours on the weekend with intermittent 30 minutes here and there during the week. I also thought the transition of Je Hyuk from the initial detention centre to the prison was super weird. At the end of one episode Je Hyuk’s getting stabbed and at the beginning of the next he’s in a new facility with new cellmates and I had no clue what was going on, and actually wondered if I’d somehow missed an episode. Pretty small complaints overall. 

Recommend?

Yes, yes, yes. This drama is a beautiful and heartfelt show, and I guarantee that you won’t regret watching it.

This drama was hard to say goodbye to

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