Circle

Circle

9.5/10

Circle

Genre:                                   Episodes: 12                       Year: 2017

Mystery

Thriller

Fantasy

Synopsis:

As children, twins Woo Jin and Bum Gyun witness an alien arriving on earth, and shortly after their father disappears with her. 10 years later in 2017, Woo Jin is a hardworking student while Bum Gyun has just been released from prison due to his obsession with finding aliens. In 2037 earth is divided into Normal Earth, a heavily polluted area with many crimes, and Smart Earth, a clean and crime-free city. Kim Joon Hyuk is a detective who tries to enter Smart Earth to investigate a case of missing twins who disappeared in 2017.

Cast:

Yeo Jin Goo (Kim Woo Jin)

Gong Seung Yeon (Han Jung Yeon/Byul)

Kim Kang Woo (Kim Joon Hyuk)

Ahn Woo Yeon (Kim Bum Gyun)

Lee Ki Kwang (Lee Ho Soo)

Min Sung Wook (Lee Hyun Seok)

Seo Hyun Chul (Hong Jin Hong)

Jung In Sun (Park Min Young)

Han Sang Jin (Park Dong Gun)

Song Young Kyu (Han Young Woo)

General Thoughts:

When I really love a drama I either want to talk about it so much that I can sit down straight away and write pages and pages, or I don’t want to talk about it at all. ‘Circle’ definitely falls in the latter category. I adored this drama so much that I don’t really want to sit here and try to dissect it piece by piece, I simply want to enjoy it for the wonderful drama it was. That being said, I’ll still try to talk about this show in as much detail as I possibly can.

So many feelings

So what made ‘Circle’ so great? To start it was a tightly woven story. There were many layers and many details that knit together to form a tight, intriguing narrative. I’ve found a lot of mysteries lately have been coasting along on one question

One mystery after another

(most often being ‘who is the killer?’), which can work fine, but what made ‘Circle’ so interesting and so dramatic, is that we didn’t even know what the question was. We follow our characters and are just as confused as they are about the events that unfold. Granted, this mode of storytelling could completely fall apart and become too confusing, but this writer cleverly let the characters (and by an extension us) solve smaller mysteries while we worked our way up into the finale. It gave the show a beautifully cohesive feel, as each problem solved lead us to an even greater problem. At first it’s about finding out why students are committing suicide, then figuring out if Jung Yeon is an alien, then why her memories are gone, then finding who kidnapped Bum Gyun and why, and eventually what happened to Woo Jin. Having each episode split into two timelines ended up working really well, with each timeline being used to create tension throughout the whole series. The acting was excellent all around. Yeo Jin Goo has lately been picking projects that are only so-so (‘Orange Marmalade’) or that I have no interest in (‘Daebak’), so I’d kind of forgotten what an absolutely incredible actor he is when he’s given something decent to work with.

He has more talent in acting than I have talent combined

He was nothing short of dynamic in this drama. Every time I thought he couldn’t impress me any more than he already had, he pulled something else out and left me completely floored. The gradual buildup of tension in the series let Yeo Jin Goo start off lightly and slowly gather momentum as the story progressed. As our hero of Beta Project (the 2017 timeline), Woo Jin was such a pivotal character.

Pretty much how we all felt

He was our lead into this strange new world where aliens might exist and something strange and ominous is occurring. As he delves deeper into the mysteries, Woo Jin becomes an extension of the viewers- he knows what we know, learns what we learn, and ultimately reacts the way most of us would react. While he was a character that spent almost all his time being very confused and very afraid, as he was the viewers’ eyes and ears he needed to be confident in his conviction to find the truth even amongst his confusion, and relatable and understandable even in his fear- and that’s exactly what Yeo Jin Goo delivered. Next to him we had Ahn Woo Yeon, who played Woo Jin’s slightly derailed brother to perfection. He hit that perfect balance of crazy yet believable. Regardless of whether Bum Gyun’s theories were true or not, I believed that Bum Gyun firmly believed them himself. Unlike Woo Jin, Bum Gyun wasn’t a relatable, reliable insight into the story. Instead he was a catalyst for our confusion. He was elusive and sporadic, and we could never be quite sure if he was on the trail of a greater scheme or simply lost in his own world.

Kinda a lose-lose situation- he's either totally crazy, or there's someone secretly killing people

Ahn Woo Yeon played Bum Gyun with such conviction that it was hard to dislike him as a character- as confusing as he was, and as hard as he made things for Woo Jin, all we wanted was for the two brothers to get to the bottom of whatever was going on and live peacefully together again. In Brave New World (2037 timeline), Kim Kang Woo did a great job at driving the story along. I didn't find the mysteries in BNW as intense as in Beta Project (as if anything could be as intense as the mystery in Beta Project), but Joon Hyuk was a likeable hero.

What cuties

Similarly to Woo Jin in Beta Project, Joon Hyuk was our intro into this new world with all it’s new technologies. Kim Kang Woo incorporated aspects of both Woo Jin and Bum Gyun into his character, so we couldn’t be quite sure which twin he actually was. He had Woo Jin’s dedicated desire to find and save his twin while uncovering the corruption in Smart Earth, and he had Bum Gyun’s reckless obsession with the mystery at hand.

She's growing on me more and more as an actress

Kim Kang Woo also brought a maturity to the character that was completely his own, while always staying true to his character. Gong Seung Yeon was brilliant as the strange alien girl in both timelines. Though I occasionally questioned her character’s importance in BNW, the writers did a great job at ensuring that she was developed as a character and not just a plot device. While the plot was heavily driven by Byul’s creation of the memory box and her forgotten memories, it was her as Jung Yeon that made her an emotional aspect of the story rather than a purely logical one. She obviously has a deep desire to protect Woo Jin and Bum Gyun, mixed with a deep sense of guilt that it was something she created that ended up tearing the brothers apart. Gong Seung Yeon brought great depth and emotion to a character that could easily have ended up as a simple plot device. We didn’t want Woo Jin found only because Bum Gyun was searching for him, but also because Jung Yeon had been searching for him for 20 years. The villains, played by Han Sang Jin and Song Young Kyu, were brilliant. They were inconspicuous enough that they weren’t obvious villains, but both were able to produce an off-putting creepiness that hinted at a possible corruption.

So nerdy...so twisted

What the villains did so well in this story is that they were everyday people. Jung Yeon’s father was a scientist who was willing to do whatever it took to complete his project in the name of scientific development and bettering the human race.

This slightly sarcastic, slightly condescending role was a great fit

Dong Gun was a regular man who quietly took advantage of a situation to ensure it benefitted him most. Neither man was exceptionally cruel or pure evil, their morality just wasn’t quite as in line with everyone else. Having antagonists such as this opens the door for a lot more interesting storytelling as it starts questioning human nature as well as furthering a story. The supporting cast were all brilliant and fit their roles well, with Lee Ki Kwang being a particular standout. I’m not familiar at all with any of his acting credits, but he was so perfect in his role here. A lot of his scenes were used for comedic effect, with him bantering with Joon Hyuk- and Lee Ki Kwang’s simple, straight-faced humour worked really well in the situation. I was happily surprised to see he could also do a bit of heavy lifting when required- a standout being the time his traumatic memories began resurfacing. I was pretty impressed with his acting throughout the drama, and was actually a bit bummed when his character got a bit phased out at the end there. The directing of this drama was really slick, and was a great contributor the high tension that ran throughout the show. Music choices were absolutely perfect and raised the suspense immeasurably. 

The show gave just enough clues at just the right times

What Was Great:

Two Worlds:

What really makes this drama different from others is that it has two timelines being shown at the same time. It’s innovative and interesting, but also a huge risk- there were so many ways it could have gone wrong. And thankfully, the show managed to avoid all of those reasons.

Better than I could have hoped

While the cliffhangers in Beta Project tended to be a bit more thrilling than those in BNW, BNW still managed to have a lot of secrets and a lot of intrigue. Rather than knowing what would happen in Beta Project because we’ve seen events in the future, we’re still unsure how events will play out. A large part of this definitely came from the twin switch-up. Had Woo Jin been the centre in both timelines,

The humans in this drama are infinitely more dangerous than the aliens

BNW wouldn’t have been as thrilling, but by having Bum Gyun as the hero in the future timeline, it created a fear in the audience for Woo Jin. Woo Jin is our focus in Beta Project, so how is it that he somehow became lost while Bum Gyun was found? What really perfected the two world plot is how the stories gradually grew closer together. At first they were completely different, with Beta Project exploring the existence of aliens and Bum Gyun’s dangerous obsession, and BNW focusing on the mysteries behind Smart Earth. As the plot in each timeline continued, we could see that these mysteries were somehow linked and both our heroes in both the timelines were working towards the same conclusion. It’s clear that the writer knew exactly how this story was going to pan out, and chose the perfect amount of time to tell it- I cannot emphasise how drastically underutilised 12 episode dramas are. The story was tight and thrilling with the perfect amount of reveals at the perfect times. The merging of the two worlds at the end of the series couldn’t have been more perfect, and was a brilliant example of how confident our writer was. Having Woo Jin lose consciousness in Beta Project while being pursued by Dong Gun, and then waking up after being used as Smart Earth’s supercomputer was a great twist and an excellent way to merge two stories that had been completely separate until that point.

I'm so sad, but I'm so intellectually satisfied

It made sense how Woo Jin was captured and secretly used for 20 years, and of course the cloning added an extra sense of heartbreak to the scenario, making for a strangely bittersweet ending. Although I was completely heartbroken at the idea of Woo Jin’s death, I sort of loved the ethical complications it brought up in regards to cloning.

As far as cars of doom go, this was one of the better uses and best filmed

Memory was definitely a continuing motif in this drama- with Jung Yeon not remembering her alien heritage, Bum Gyun losing his memories, and Smart Earth secretly blocking citizens’ traumatic memories, and the show seemed to be making a pretty solid stand that memories are one of the most important parts of what make us who we are.

At least there got to be a little bit of happy

The finale took that a step further by questioning this conclusion with the introduction of Woo Jin’s clone. If memories are what make us who we are, what does that make a clone who has the body and memories of someone else? If this clone is Woo Jin because he has his body and his memories, what does that make the Woo Jin that died? I appreciated that the show let these questions hang in the air a bit. For the sake of the drama’s closure Jung Yeon and Joon Hyuk (after some turmoil) accept the clone as Woo Jin. It was a satisfying conclusion to an intense and gripping drama, as this acceptance on Joon Hyuk’s part brought about the brothers’ reunion we’d been longing for all drama long. However, the drama also didn’t exactly say that this was the one and only correct answer, and I love that right up to its ending the drama was making its audience think a bit deeper than we usually do.

What Wasn’t:

Slight Slowdown:

I’m sure that there probably were things in this drama that made it less than perfect, but I was so caught up in the story and the acting that I didn’t even notice any potential shortcomings. This was a drama that just really worked for me. Yeah, I was a little bummed when it was revealed that Woo Jin did in fact die, but then I was so into all the ethical questions that were brought up as a result of his death, that I appreciated the story taking that direction.

I also appreciated that he didn't stand around for 5 minutes staring at the car that was about to hit him 

I guess if there’s one tiny, slight downside to this drama (and only because I’m being super picky and don’t want to leave this section blank), there was the smallest lull in momentum just before the finale. Seriously, it’s so insignificant and lasts for such a short period of time that it doesn’t impact the enjoyment of the show at all. It’s just that after so many hours of racing momentum and heart-stopping cliffhangers, I just noticed one patch that wasn’t quite speeding along like the rest of the drama. Which is kind of fair enough, because boy did this drama rip along.

Recommend?

Absolutely. 

So many mysteries, so many thrills

Remember- Son's War

Remember- Son’s War

8.5/10

Remember- Son's War

Genre: Episodes: 20 Year: 2016

Mystery

Melodrama

Synopsis:

After his father is sentenced to death for a murder he didn’t commit, Seo Jin Woo becomes an attorney in order to defend his father and arrest the real criminal. As his father has Alzheimer’s it is very difficult to prove his innocence. As the trial continues, Jin Woo starts to develop issues with his own memory, and is diagnosed with the same disease as his father. 

Cast:

Yoo Seung Ho (Seo Jin Woo)

Park Min Young (Lee In Ah)

Park Sung Woong (Park Dong Ho)

Namgoong Min (Nam Gyu Man)

Song Young Kyu (Tak Young Jin)

Lee Shi Un (Ahn Soo Bum)

Eom Hyo Seop (Hong Moon Suk)

Lee Won Jong (Suk Joo Il)

Kim Jin Woo (Kang Suk Kyu)

Jung Hye Song (Nam Yeo Kyung)

General Thoughts:

What a cracker. This drama was interesting to watch from start to finish, with hardly any dull moments in between. It’s not the most original content (murderous chaebol), but the extensive cast gave great performances and populated the drama-world with an interesting mix of characters.

I love Dong Ho and all his flashy suits

The plot wasn’t exactly plot-hole free, but as the series didn’t linger too long on any one conflict it was easy to overlook some aspects of the story that weren’t exactly concrete, as you never really had time to think about it too deeply, and could just let it pass as this drama’s logic. The few beginning episodes when the story was setting itself up were a little slow, but once the conflict was presented the drama moved along at a ripping pace.

This expression made me annoyed rather than sad

Our hero was perhaps a little too weepy in the early episodes (I just didn’t find Yoo Seung Ho to be a moving, believable weeper, though I know many do), so I enjoyed the story much more when he was being a confident, in-control lawyer. He was an easy character to root for- underdog hero does everything he can to bring down a corrupt powerhouse. What’s not to like? Yoo Seung Ho was brilliant in scenes where he was strong and determined, and really sold the man-on-a-mission vibe. He was also excellent in moments when his memory loss came into play. While I may not be sold on his crying abilities, his gradual shift from innocent to confused to sad realisation was done perfectly. You couldn’t help but feel for Jin Woo when he had a memory slip and just had that expression of pure confusion and helplessness. Park Min Young was excellent as the heroine beside him, and although she didn’t actually do all that much, she still remained a strong presence in the show. It shows how strong the character was written and how well Park Min Young played her that In Ah could be pretty quiet for a couple of episodes but it always remained clear that she was a source of strength for Jin Woo, and was fighting her own battles in the background. And boy oh boy did those two have some smoking chemistry going on!

Kya~ look how cute they are!

The times they got to play around and flirt with each other were just too cute and actually left me feeling a bit sad that the show didn’t have more romance in it- because I so wouldn't have minded seeing the two of them interact while happy a bit more. It also made me remember just how darn wonderful Yoo Seung Ho is when he smiles- because Lord knows we didn't see a lot of that in the drama.

His accent was icing on the awesome-character-cake

And Park Sung Woong was just magic! I have never come across him before, but he’s totally on my radar now. He made Dong Ho such an endearing yet conflicting character. He was so dynamic and so interesting that I really wanted him to come over to team Jin Woo. My desire for Dong Ho to turn against Gyu Man lead to me having a rather unfounded belief that there was NO WAY Dong Ho would sacrifice Jin Woo and his father. Except…he kinda already had. It was a great effort on Park Sung Woong’s part that Dong Ho remained a likeable character, as he showed his confliction and his constant desire to do the right thing, even though for most of the drama’s run Dong Ho actually didn’t do the right thing at all. I mean, when you think about it, he buried a whole lot of Gyu Man’s crimes and didn’t go back and correct them. The only one we saw play out was Gyu Man’s rape case (which Dong Ho buried) and that was only brought up by Jin Woo and In Ah in order to get Gyu Man in the defendant seat so they could make the investigation focus on the murder Jin Woo's father was blamed for. How many other horrible crimes did Dong Ho help cover up? And yet despite all this, through Park Sung Woong's brilliant acting, he was one my favourite characters for the entire show.

You can't not not love him- he's just so snazzy

The momentum of the show was pretty fast, with new, smaller conflicts being introduced to keep our minds occupied while the heroes prepared for the final showdown. The smaller conflicts always had something to do with Gyu Man or Jin Woo’s father’s case, so it never felt like we were watching filler in order to get through the number of episodes the show needed to air.

Great angle, great lighting, great face

Granted, there were a few plot holes now and then (though admittedly most of them have slipped my mind by now), but the show’s constant focus on the big picture made it easy to let minor details slide. I found the plot and the characters so enjoyable that I was happy to not let my mind focus on the messier parts of the show so that I could be fully engaged in the story the show was trying to tell. And as for something that was certainly not messy- the cinematography! The drama was just shot beautifully. A multitude of angles along with playing with light and shadow really made the drama visually appealing to watch, while also tightening the tensions or emotions of a scene, or giving a bit of insight into the characters. Jin Woo and Dong Ho tended to have a lot of shadow, while In Ah- our prosecutor of justice and hope was always filmed with a lot of light. In fact, there were times it seemed as though In Ah herself was actually glowing- as if her inner goodness was spreading to the world around her (cheesy I know, but not exactly untrue). The drama was just so compelling to watch, and the main characters are just so fascinating. 

What Was Great:

Cast:

There’s not much to say here, everyone was fantastic and they all did brilliant jobs. Namgoong Min really was phenomenal as our villain though.

Great actors make for great conflicts

Goodness, he’s dynamic. He’s one of the best actors when it comes to believable tantrums, and his switching between his two faces was excellently done, albeit a tad creepy. But it’s not just how excellent a villain he was, but Namgoong Min also made Gyu Man weirdly relatable.

How do I feel bad for you? You are quite possibly the worst human ever...so...how?

Like, he was a horrible, horrific human being with no redeemable qualities, and yet I found myself feeling sorry for him. How? Why? It really had very little to do with how the character was written, it’s just that Namgoong Min had this amazing ability to show how lonely and hurt Gyu Man really was with very minute facial expressions in very minute amounts of time. Sometimes in K-Drama you get so used to seeing a lot of actors and so used to the roles that come up a lot (such as rich boys with murderous tendencies) that it all kind of becomes the same. Then you’ll have an actor, such as Namgoong Min, come along and smash their role out of the park and it really makes you sit up and notice what a good actor they are. Because no matter how many Chaebol villains we get, Gyu Man is probably going to be one of the ones I remember most- and that’s purely because he was acted so perfectly.

Gradual Progress:

Generally speaking I’m not a huge fan of cat-and-mouse conflicts. I tend to find them a bit circular and slow, as our hero and villain fight all series long but we know the hero will come out on top. So in this sense, I appreciated that ‘Remember’ focused less on how our hero was going to defeat his enemy, but more on how he will change as a person and what he will have to sacrifice on his way to victory.

Gave up love for justice

In the end, Jin Woo spends his last years with memory fighting against injustice and gives up any chance at leading a normal, happy life. He could have easily given up after his father died and spent his time contently with In Ah, but instead he chose to give up his remaining time and his potential relationship with In Ah in order to catch Gyu Man. Cat-and-mouse conflicts also tend to put all their conflict resolution in the last few episodes,

Just look at Gyu Man burn those bridges

but this drama felt more like a net slowly closing around our villain rather than the usual constant circling before the final attack. One of the best aspects of the story is that it wasn’t just our band of heroes that cornered Gyu Man. It was endlessly interesting and mildly satisfying seeing how Gyu Man kept creating more and more enemies for himself. The way he treated those around him, particularly his assistant friend, were huge steps in his own downfall. It wasn’t just the hard work of the righteous that brought Gyu Man down, but his own inability to control himself and maintain his relationships. It’s rather a nice take on the psycho-chaebol element. I’m so conditioned to seeing chaebol villains being so smart and so manipulative that only a very special, highly dedicated and intelligent individual would be able to bring them down. But with Gyu Man it always felt as if he’d become his own undoing sooner or later, and with Jin Woo’s interference it just came on sooner. It’s almost a little relieving to believe that despite all his money, power and connections, Gyu Man’s own arrogance and superiority would have allowed his crimes to catch up with him eventually. Guy Man’s role in his own destruction also meant that there was steady movement towards the show’s finale.

He is his own worst enemy

As our heroes uncovered new ammunition to use against Gyu Man, Gyu Man himself was causing his own allies to turn against him, giving Jin Woo and In Ah even more evidence and information. The slow betrayals from those involved in Gyu Man’s crimes gave the plot a great forward momentum, and made sure the story was always moving forwards rather that just going in circles.

What Wasn’t:

Underutilisation:

There were so, so, so many characters in this series but they were sadly under-utilised. You’d think that with 20 episodes each of the characters would have enough time to get fully developed, but that wasn’t really the case. The biggest case of underutilisation was definitely Nam Yeo Kyung.

She is significantly less involved than I thought she'd be

She really is perfectly placed to be a deeply interesting character. As a prosecutor she has a sense of justice, but she is also a part of the Nam family who use their power and influence to avoid justice. Yet her father and brother are constantly ignoring her and treating her like a child who is of no real importance, so it was hard to gauge where her loyalties were. It could have been so interesting to watch her struggle with what she wanted to protect and what she wanted to stand for, but it never really came about. Her turmoil was hinted at, but was never used to its full potential. Surprisingly, another dramatically under-utilised character was Joo Il. The writers only just put in enough effort to make the story passable, but it was still a little confusing, and a fair bit was left to the viewers’ imaginations. It was clear that Joo Il and Dong Ho had a father-son relationship, but I still remain confused as to how that played into Dong Ho betraying Jin Woo and his father. It didn’t appear that Joo Il was being threatened, but rather that he was reaching for more money and/or power. Which doesn’t seem like a decent excuse to let someone go on death row for a crime they didn’t commit, just sayin’.

I kinda get what you're doing here...but I also kinda don't

It was kind of glossed over why Dong Ho decided to pull out of the trial, and so remained slightly confusing when Dong Ho decided to jump back onto team Jin Woo. Nothing had really changed between Dong Ho and Joo Il, and Dong Ho seemed to walk away from their supposedly airtight relationship pretty easily. It wasn’t clear what Joo Il was after in regards to Gyu Man’s company or really any of his actions around Dong Ho. The writers seemed to really be pushing for the whole ‘they’re trying to protect one another’ angle, but it just didn’t really come off, as the writers didn’t really spend any time developing Joo Il as a character outside of his involvement with Gyu Man and Dong Ho.

It made way more sense to me for Dong Ho to pick Jin Woo

The series was still excellent, and there was enough sense in the plot to get by on, but in hindsight there were a few characters that if developed more could have really given the show an extra punch of emotion.

Soft Take on Alzheimer’s:

Basically the series had its rosy-glasses on whenever it was dealing with Alzheimer’s. It focused most on the memory aspect of the disease, but this wasn’t done smoothly or accurately with Jin Woo’s father.

This guy got the worst deal by far

Although it was done in a simple way, it was still passable as Jin Woo’s father’s memory loss was kinda the whole point of the show. My main gripe is how the show dealt with portraying Jin Woo’s Alzheimer’s. I understand that the doctor giving Jin Woo 6-12 months was just to give the show a timeline and ensure that it made sense why Jin Woo was going for Gyu Man so hard and so fast, but it is just so ridiculously inaccurate that it really made the show seem a tad ridiculous. But again, it was passable as it wasn’t a huge part of the show. It was how Jin Woo chose to leave for apparently no reason that really got on my nerves. If someone that young actually had Alzheimer’s and the progression of the disease was actually that fast, there is really very little chance that a year later they’d be with it enough to be walking around unsupervised. Jin Woo didn’t appear to be getting any help for his disease, and it didn’t seem to be progressing much from where we’d left off a year before.

How did he remember to go here? Hoooowwwww?

It’s unlikely that Jin Woo would be sick enough to not remember In Ah or any of the events involving his father and Gyu Man, yet still be able to remeber where to hang his notes and how to get to wherever it is that he’s staying now.

I hate to be the wet blanket, but he would be nowhere near that functional

Not to mention that Alzheimer’s isn’t just a memory thing. Along with his brain forgetting his memories, Jin Woo’s brain would also forget how to do other things- like eat, and speak, and walk. Understandably the series didn't want to go that far as it would massively take away from the happiness of the show, but if they were going to suggest that Jin Woo was sick enough that he wanted to remove himself from In Ah they should have gone all the way with it. Or, they should have gone all the way with the rosy-glasses and let him stay with In Ah and his friends, occasionally forgetting things but remaining happy all the same. The show’s indecision to go all out in either direction left the ending of the show feeling a little weak and a little emotionless when the rest of the show had been packed with intrigue and heart.

Recommend?

Definitely! This drama is fantastic. While it’s not free of plot-holes, the story remains engaging from the start to finish with very few drags in momentum. The hero and heroine are easy to root for, and Namgoong Min gives one of the most dynamic villain performances in K-Dramaland.

Endlessly entertaining