The Bequeathed

First and most, I noticed that fans of the movie, Train to Busan has unhealthy expectation towards other works from the director, Mr. Yeon. Just like the fans are somehow unable to accept the movie, Peninsular as a standalone movie that was never meant to be a sequel of Train to Busan, they seem to be unable to accept other styles or genres of the shows that Mr. Yeon created. The different show has different story telling. Train to Busan, Hellbound, and Jung E are all different shows, and arguably they all succeeded in their own good storytelling. This show, The Bequeathed also has its own style of story telling, and I haven't found something that lacks so much to be a bad show. It's definitely better than another netflix show, Fool Me Once with a cheesy ending that I've seen multiple times from other movies and tv shows. That was the part I was also worried while I was watching this show, but luckily and surprisingly there was an unexpected turn. The incidents that are driven by the characters are so natural, and that is the highest point of this show. If I need to pick some negative aspects of the show, then it would be the scale which is very small. It's not a world problem, or a danger to a society. It's basically a family squabble which makes me think that this shows meant to be a movie, but split into 6 episodes. Anyway, with this kind of pacing, storytellng, and character development. I'm confident that upcoming netflix show from mr. Yeon, Parasyte: The Grey will be good.

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.

So, I shall not put this as a 'must watch' programme, because the phrase is often overused.

I will definitely say that it is a 'should see'.

Without spoilers, I will say that there are some plot holes, but then there is the build up to the final episode.

I did like the fact that the character development is retrospective, and that continues right to the last seconds of the final episode.

There are layers upon layers, and at one point, I had convinced myself that I knew what the final twist would be.... Then the final twist caught me by surprise, and I really enjoyed that. It is a strange blend of secrets, coupled with some parallel storylines.

If I had any complaints, it should have had another episode or maybe two, just to flesh out the additional storylines, and fill the plot holes.

But, it is very well done, it is definitely worth seeing, and there is a commentary on the troubles of being human.

As an avid fan of mystery films, I was very disappointed by this drama.

The dialogue is incredibly watered-down, lacks subtlety, and usually overexplains and oversimplifies. The deductions in the film and the motivation behind the criminals are often nonsensical. The murderer can only be found through sheer guesswork. The themes explored in the drama are either meaningless and used solely for shock-value or banal. And, much of the conflicts early on in the drama is completely forgotten or scrapped by the end. I.e., even this seemingly short 6 episode drama is flooded with useless fillers.

It's quite unfortunate because everything else beside this amateurish screenplay was surprisingly good: The actors were great, the music score was on point, and the cinematography was good. Had this been any other genre and it would have most likely been palatable, but as a mystery drama, which requires an intelligent screenplay, it was subpar.

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.