kaesmith-80597

An interesting and mostly well executed premise. However, it's held back by some silliness that is at times distracting (like how none of the cops seem to know basic first aid or the portrayal of how investigations work). If you can suspend disbelief and go with it, it's well worthwhile.

This drama is hard to rate. It was refreshing to see a different slice of Korean life beyond the hustle and bustle of Seoul. The acting is mostly very good. Young-sik is my favourite leading male in a K-drama thus far. He's an absolute chaotic weirdo, in the best possible way. However the three things I struggled with the most were: 1. The pacing - there honestly didn't need to be that many episodes. As a result, the series often felt very uneven. 2. The mystery around the Joker - it's a bit anti-climactic and doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense 3. This can probably be chalked up to cultural differences, but the constant labouring over the fact that Dong-Baek is a single mother and *gasp* sells alcohol. You'd think the woman was engaged in organ harvesting for the black market based on the way some of the peripheral characters carried on. It was both hard to watch and, as a point of tension, was overly relied on. We know she's an outcast, we know everyone's favourite hobby is sl*t-shaming Dong-Baek. Maybe if they'd spent less time driving this point home and more time on the Joker element of the narrative, it would be more satisfying.

In summary despite a lot of potential, it's mostly good but frustratingly doesn't quite knock it out of the park (baseball reference LOL).

The general premise had potential. The actors did a okay job; some better than others. The biggest issue is the fact there simply wasn't enough of a story to last 16 episodes. They probably could have covered everything and brought it to a satisfactory conclusion within 10 to 12 episodes. The final three episodes in particular are mostly just filler. Unless you're desperately bored, probably give this one a miss.