The Bequeathed

This isn't a murder mystery or thriller. Nor is this a horror story about shamanism. All those are cover for a study on basic human emotions. With a few murders to fill in the blanks.

People are selfish, people can be greedy, people can hold a grudge and shape a lifetime of experience and impression. The harder question is why can't people change ? Is personality hard wired or is it how one's mind fixated/dwell to much on the past that we can't get out of its trap? Nature AND nuture.

There are two stories to show all this. First the burial ground inheritance between two siblings. Which is also interwoven with land dealings. Second is the history of two detectives.

In both cases, emotions clouds judgement, which limits or hinders communication, and builds walls.

You really must have patience on this one. It has not the usual comedic relief but tension, albeit a slow burning one.

Another web series written by Yeon Sang Ho. After binge watching the six episodes. I do think that Yeon Sang Ho needs to rediscover his spark while he is doing Train to Busan. It seems that he lose something that was not always present on his previous projects which were Hellbound, Jung E and this current project The Bequeathed. Honestly the plot and story was there, Great actors and all , but watching the series till the end was screaming THAT'S IT? I really hate to invest on a series that I expected to be great cause the material was really there but the execution was a let down. To be fair , the cinematic and sounds were all well executed but then it just not what i expected.

Is it worth watching? In my own opinion Yes, if you're a person who likes mystery and novel like psychological thriller series. But if you're not into slow pace thriller just go to the next kdrama.

Kim Hyun-Joo plays Yoon Seo-ha who is exploited by a professor to ghost write his books and also has a husband who is cheating on her. She gets news that an uncle she was unaware of has died and left her a burial site at the top of a mountain. We learn that the land maybe worth a lot of money and at the wake a man turns up claiming to be Seo-ha's brother and then murders suddenly begin to happen in relationship to the land. Investigating events are two detectives who have a back story putting them into conflict. It is a thriller with supernatural overtones as shamans are involved when we have flashbacks in the story. An interesting well acted series with good and bad points and is well directed over the six episodes.

It absolutely baffles me when shows like this get rated below a 7, whereas other completely mindless, horribly written ones with atrocious dialogue and acting get much higher ratings.

Albeit no "Train to Busan," most of Yeon Sang-ho's works post that blockbuster were all compelling in their own rights. Hellbound tackles the issue of religion and the dangers of cultish behavior, Jung-E is a family story packaged in an action drama, and this one, once again tackles familial relationships but in a much different arena. And there's always something humane at the core of these shows that grounds them, despite some of the outlandish scenarios. What happens when absolute devotion to your family pushes you to do irrational things; what happens when lack of devotion creates similar outcomes? This is a wonderful exploration of the complexity of what family means, should be, could be, shouldn't be, is expected to be, etc.

The acting is superb, and the characters are complex and dynamic. Highly recommended.

Write a brief summary of your impressions up to episode 3.

First of all, from episode 1, the suspense increased with a compelling plot and the appearance of various characters.

The dark and heavy atmosphere dominated the entire drama, and I felt a shiver run down my spine as more and more mysteries were revealed.

The acting skills of Kim Hyun Joo and the other actors were amazing, which made the drama very immersive.

The storyline was also gripping and kept me watching episode after episode.

I honestly didn't expect Korean dramas to be this good.

Highly recommended if you like the thriller genre.