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.

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.

I Don't Know Where To Start, But You Could Say It's A Decent Horror-Thriller K-Drama. However, Ghosts Do Not Mean That Actual Ghosts Will Appear. The 'Horror' Aspect Is Hidden Within The Theme. If You Can Catch This Theme, You Will Enjoy The Series For Sure. Otherwise, It Might Bore You Because It's For A Pro Audience, Not For Beginners. The Series Is Very Slow, And There Is No Romance. If You Love Dark, Mysterious, Thriller K-Dramas With Police Procedures, Then It's For You. The Start Is Really Nice, And The Mystery Will Hold You Until The End. You Will Get Backstory And Character Development For The Main Characters. The Actors Perform Very Well, And I Particularly Like Actor Park Hee Soon. A Few Things Could Have Been Better, But It's Still An Enjoyable Mystery K-Drama.

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.