The Bequeathed

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.