Suspicious Partner

Ji Chang Wook is the male lead of this show, and apparently he's just finished his two years of military service and has signed on for a new production.

I imagine his fans will be ecstatic, because JCW is quite gorgeous.

Yes, I'm a hetero male who adores K Drama Goddesses ( like Park Min Young and Jo Bo Ah and Kim You Jung and, oh, stop it ! ), but I do know a really, really good looking guy when I see one. And unlike Derek Zoolander, this guy is HOT !

Luckily, he also happens to be an accomplished actor, and forms half of the cute central couple in this murder mystery/rom-com.

I've been meaning to watch this show for a while and the thumbnail pic on VIKI ( with Nam Ji Hyun smiling sweetly ) finally got me into what I assumed would be a lightweight romance. I can't recall if I read the synopsis but I'm sure I assumed any violent mayhem would be minimal.

And it's not. The murder side of things can get quite intense, with the main cast involved to varying degrees as members of the legal fraternity. Another key element is some infidelity among the central group, because a K Drama must obviously have romance even if it's unwholesome. Conflict, after all, is supposed to be a crucial driver for any narrative if the screenwriting experts are to be believed. Then again, they used to say that a voice-over was taboo yet brilliant movies like "Fight Club" and "American Beauty" sort of killed that dead. Me, I reckon we need a K Drama where the main couple have EVERYTHING go their way for a change, and maybe incorporate some parody of the formula as a parallel story line. I'm ready to write it, suits !

Serial killers are not my usual cup of tea, yet it's done well on this show and an extra layer or two is skilfully revealed as the plot unfolds. The show is certainly watchable in general, yet there are some issues which I found frustrating so I'll now put on my complaints hat. We do expect the primary romance in any K Drama to hit a rough patch sometime ( typically in the middle ), yet I felt the "down time" here was excessive. If I like them, I want to maximise their happiness. As to the crime component, there is an extremely horrific event that comes to light late on which is glossed over too quickly, while a scene where a senior person admits committing a serious crime to some underlings doesn't even warrant a comment when the juniors are alone afterwards. Overall, I also think certain scenes could've been developed further : for example, a young woman mistakenly thinks a man is flirting with her and he never pursues the matter, yet she then thinks he's horrible. It works to some extent, but would've been funnier if she had fantasised periodically about having romantic dates with him or even a wedding day. And one final whine : too many songs on the OST plus dubious placement, with one during a heavy drama scene which didn't work for me.

Hmm, sounds grim eh ? But, I did say it's watchable and occasionally a flash of brilliance fills the air too. Two mismatched people are thrown together for a while and a scene with many tears is quite superb, being a giddy mix of sadness and humour. And.....the show is refreshingly liberal in featuring some passionate, um, horizontal aerobics.

The main cast in a K Drama are usually attractive ( I read somewhere that beauty has no use, yet it's something we can't live without - so true ) and I've already done my platonic swoon over the head guy. Femme lead Nam Ji Hyun is lovely, has a really warm and engaging manner and she meshes well with her man. Second male Choi Tae Joon is always a reliably affable presence ( love the laugh ), while Nara is the second lady. She used to be in K Pop group Hello Venus and does a good job, though she isn't given any showy scenes with which to dazzle us so the jury on her talent must remain out. ( if you'll pardon the pun ). Lee Deok Hwa is lovably crusty as the CEO, Dong Ha is suitably nasty as the bad guy and junior prosecutor Kim Ye Won grows as the show unfolds ( though much more could've been done with her character ).

So, please check it out: just don't expect anything of the quality of "While You Were Sleeping".

Now you will ask what's special about this drama afteral it's the same old "who is the murderer" kind of suspense. That's true but it was actually one of the reasons why I enjoyed it and other reason is why he do that and the answer will left you in amaze.

The Male Lead: I am not a drooly fan of JCW but I love his work, he is method actor. Character grows in him. Here he plays a prosecutor here, he knows the laws are meant to be broken but he takes them as the only way to find justice.

The Female lead: Nam Ji hyun was good too and her crying scenes felt so real.

The Villian: Finally the person that plays the villain... I won't say his name in case it's a spoiler but... I love him. He plays the villain so perfectly that I hate him but because he played it so perfectly, I loved it? His emotions can be felt and can tear you off. This is the first time I followed negative character with such intensity! He stole the show here. I felt like I feared him but was also curious about him. Just when I felt like I knew everything about this character, it turns out that I was wrong all along. Honestly, I can go on and on about the villian but I can't since it will give spoiler.

The love story between the two main lead is quite meaningful because it spans over years and it grows and evolves. Second lead couples are also cute in their own way.

Overall it is a well developed, heart-warming but also very thrilling story.

Good rom com but dragged. U wont miss a thing even when u watch it in 1.5x speed.

I like the story and the actors but I feel like the story dragged a bit at the end so maybe few less episodes would've been better.

The show is fun and light hearted. Sometimes it turns into a cartoon with all the sound effects and slapstick but thankfully it's not over the top with that.

The actors are fun and some of the cases make it seem like a soul successor to the ace attorney games.

Two flaws that stop me from giving it more stars. first the shameless Papa Jones product placement. It's too heavy handed and makes me want to order Pizza hut after each episode out of contrariness!

Second is the padding. The middle of this show is just filler and could have been cut out easily for a tight 12 episode drama.

Overall it's a relaxing time with light hearted characters with a touch of mystery and likeable leads.