Ailiseu

If you like 24 series, I think you'll like this too. However I find there's a bit too much love triangle in the series. It has action, thrills, suspense, love, friendship, betrayal, some mystery on the IRIS organization. The leading actress is pretty & make it more enjoyable to watch. In summary, it's a very good show if you can don't mind the love story & love triangle.

NOTE: This review has been edited as of 10/08/18.

Iris is 20 episode Korean TV show that aired in 2009. It's your basic Korean melodramatic TV series format, only it's infused with a significant amount of action & intrigue. Iris 2 (Iris II, Iris; New Generation) is its second/follow up season, which was also 20 episodes, but it didn't air until 2013.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

I had originally written 2 separate reviews years ago for this show/series, because IMDB originally listed them as 2 different shows. Since then, IMDB has apparently merged the original Iris page and the Iris 2 page together, so I'll do my best to merge my two original reviews together here under one review for both "shows/seasons".

Iris (Season 1) was a unique show in Korea when it aired. The idea behind it, was to get some guys who like action/spy/intrigue flicks to also tune into a TV genre almost exclusively geared to attracting female viewers by nature. They spent a fortune making this show (by KTV standards at the time), and it shows; production values are through the roof, various exotic locales are visited, there's some terrific cinematography, blazing gunfights, action scenes, etc.

Viewers loved it immediately (as did I), and it's easy to see why; it's often a riveting television series that is hard to look away from! And, Judging by the show's super high nationwide ratings (nearly 40% of all Korean TV viewers were watching this show by the time it wrapped up), I'd say the producers accomplished their goal and then some. Iris was a massive success by KTV standards that soon spawned a spin-off show (Athena), a movie (which was just an edited version of the TV show), talks of a second season (which only rarely happens in this medium), and so forth.

The closest comparison to this show for western audiences is the American TV series "24", and that's a fair analogy, as they do share many similarities. Here's your story: Two marine friends get recruited by the NIS (basically the South Korean equivalent of the U.S. CIA/NSA). While there, they meet the primary love interest who is their section chief responsible for training them. The 2 friends quickly take to their new jobs as secret agents, and are soon deployed in the field. Things go wrong when they are sent on an important mission though, and they discover they're mere pawns in a much bigger picture.

After the botched mission by the 2 friends/leads, this show boils down to a matter of uncovering what everybody's motives are, who's working for whom, and trying to stop the world from blowing up. Along the way, there's your main love interest story line, the main friendship story line, and so forth.

What cannot be understated is that this show is, at its core, a soap opera. It's a high octane soap opera indeed, but a soap opera nonetheless. I've seen a ton of Korean melodrama shows/series over the years, some of which tried their best to have these "soap operas" reach an audience that includes EVERYBODY (males/females, Koreans/foreigners, action fans/love story fans, etc.), and this is one of those rare shows that actually accomplishes this fairly well.

Iris (Season 1) is very entertaining and highly watchable. I gave it 8 out of 10 stars in my initial rating, and I stand by that. As for Iris 2 (i.e. Season 2). Very disappointing for several reasons. I see some reviewers think it's better than the original, however they are wrong, and I'll now explain why: Iris 2 is greatly hampered by two overriding factors: 1) It's just more of the same with a weaker story and less prominent actors, and, 2) The show producers missed the window to capitalize on the popularity of the original show/1st season, by delaying its production for nearly 4 years.

Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of the actors/actresses in Season 2, and they performed well overall, but the story and writing is lacking in general compared to the first season. In addition, everything seems rushed and tacked on (and/or poorly thought out), in what appears to be a last ditch effort to just cobble something together to put on TV and bring this show/series to a close. Part of the problem is because there was a bunch of hemming and hawing FOREVER about how to write and budget for a new season, along with trying to negotiate and sign up much of the original cast (despite the fact that, SPOILERS, most of their characters died or "were disappeared" at the end of the original show), and so on. As a result, Iris season 2 turned out to be a hodgepodge mess that was just "too lacking, too little, too late".

There are a couple of cast members in Iris 2 that are back from the original, but they're mostly all supporting roles that are non-essential and/or are under-utilized. There's also several new tie-in characters related to characters from the 1st season, but none of these prior cast members or new "related characters" really fit well within the overall story. And, I cannot forgive the fact that they cast some English speaking dude as the main evil guy. No offense to him as an actor or person, and I understand they're trying to be more "globally receptive" by speaking English some, but this role should have been given to someone fluent in Korean; the resulting "forced" English dialogue between him and some of the Korean actors/actresses is often distracting, and prevents the Korean actors/actresses from acting at their best (since they have to use a foreign/second language in some crucial scenes with him).

Iris 2 (Iris, Season 2) is not very good when compared to its forerunner. I originally gave it 5 out of 10 stars, and I stand by that.

Bottom Line: 8 out of 10 stars (for Iris 1 ONLY). As for Iris 2, hmmm, watch Athena; Goddess of War instead!

... in it's heart-stopping action scenes, this drama is the closest cousin to Bond and Bourne I have seen on TV, with death-defying stunts, a huge budget and a massive body count. It also boasts a very physical turn from Byung-hun Lee as a highly believable super agent.

It is unfortunate that the plot wanders too far away from credibility on occasion to maintain the suspense.

The opening action sequence grabs you by the throat. Then there is a hiatus while the past history of the characters and their relationships are presented. Stick with it and once the action kicks back in it just does not let up.

This is a review of season one. The story line is fast paced and keeps your interest with tension. The production values are better than average for a Korean TV series, with the exception of the then, trendy, camera jerkiness which is horrible at times. Don't expect the production values to be as good as a movie.

There are the typical plot holes, but the show moves fast enough you can mostly ignore them. It is amazing to me that still, in 2020, most Korean shows never admit the ability to track a cell phone for location or recent calls after a bad guy or phone number has been identified. Regardless, I didn't mark this 2009 show down for that omission because my review is in comparison with other Asian dramas.

The show is well written enough that I couldn't always tell what was going to happen next, which I really enjoyed. Most shows follow pretty standard plot lines and this one follows a common overall plot arch, but the details were often difficult to predict, especially early in the show. Later in the show it becomes more formulaic.

The main characters aren't the best actors in the world, but they had chemistry with each other and with others, so that worked well.

SPOILER ALERT! I have to admit that I was disappointed in the tragic ending which I assumed was a vehicle to pull the female lead back into the spy agency. But, turns out that is not the case. So, just another Asian drama with a tragic ending.

I am usually very analytical (an engineer by education), but I generally want my shows to lift me up at the end, so that is entirely emotional and I did not enjoy the ending.

I just want to mention that Season Two is mostly new characters, weaker writing and weaker production values. It starts roughly 3 years after season one.

"In Greek mythology, the river that flows in front of Hell is Iris." Mega-talent Lee Byung-Hun (Mr. Sunshine-9, Our Blues-8.5, Squid Game-8.4) is Kim Hyun-Jun. He looks so young! "Keep an eye on him, or he'll turn into a terrible monster," the lead behavioral scientist warns. I also say, keep your eye on him - Yes, he's gorgeous, & he goes through he!! Lee Byung-Hun is a world-class talent. My first look at him was In Squid Game-8.4. All he does is take off a mask and look at someone, but I was smitten-on-the-spot by his talent. That doleful, pensive stare said volumes. He's that good.

"You have a solo mission. Just like Hungary played a pivotal role in the reunification of Germany, you'll be able to play the same role in unifying the Korean Peninsula, if you succeed in your mission." For anyone not familiar with Korean politics, that's no trifle. Hyun-Jun does succeed in his mission but he's shot and stranded in Hungary, left hungry for the support he needs to escape. He holds up at the safe-house. The cheerless black-suits are closing in. Things go slip-shod; fade to black. Next, the filtered light creates a dreamy quality. We are with Hyun-Jun on a lush college campus in another place and time. We're back at the beginning.

Iris is a 2009 release that is rated 89 on AWiki. It is 2 seasons consisting of 41 60-minute episodes, with only S1 available to stream on Netflix, currently. Ep1 has a Hollywood action feel and jumps from the present to the past. We don't get caught back up until ep4. The Budapest mission becomes Buda-bust. Something is terribly wrong. The rest of the series will be devoted to up-ending things that have 'turned', as many things have started to go the wrong way.

Kim Tae-Hee (Welcome to Samdal-ri, 99 days with the Superstar-7) is The Girl, Choi Seung-Hee (SHee). She totally shoots 'like a gurl', but she is beautiful and capable. They meet on the first day of college; she's smarter than he - sort of. He wows her with his photographic memory. She out-drinks him. He wakes up alone... She isn't in class... He's ghosted. He learns from the prof that SHee was just auditing at the request of the DOD. In the last third of the show SHee changes, becomes frumpier, and gets alittle irritating. I believe that is designed as a plot device to make her less attractive, but it doesn't play well.

Jeong Jun-Ho (SKY Castle, The Tale of Nokdu) is Hyeon-Jun's buddy, Jin Sa-Woo. He meets SHee somewhere else and also falls for her instantly. The guys don't know they've fallen for the same girl. As it turns out, she's no ordinary girl and she's a much harder 'get' than either of them realize.

Kim Seung-Woo (Basics of Love, Their Embrace, Late Night Restaurant, 71: Into the Fire) is NK agent Park Cheol-Yeong, and he's a fabulous presence. Kim So-Yeon is NK agent/sniper, Kim Sun-Hwa. She has the look, hair, and gravitas to play a badass agent anytime, anywhere. By the end of the show I preferred her. Maybe it's the hair... Other successful roles for Ms Kim are Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938, Two Weeks, and The Penthouse series. The directors are Yang Yun-Ho (Grand Prix, Criminal Minds) and Kim Kyu-Tae (Our Blues, That Winter, The Wind Blows-7). There's 3 writers: Kim Hyun-Joon (Secret Royal Inspector & Joy, Ho-Gu's Love-7.4), Jo Kyu-Won (Different Dreams), & Kim Jae-Eun (Korean Ghost Stories & Bad Boy).

You might think the training is extreme. I've read about Korean congressman fainting from intensive training /videos/ in the last part of the 20th. (Apparently, politicians aren't built for sacrifice, pain-for-gain, or inner strength anywhere in the world). Iris is superb through 16 episodes. As there's an excess of Kdramas that start out great but unravel before ep10, that is commendable. What's wrong is that Iris just had to be 20 episodes long, and eps 17-20 feel tacked-on. They aren't nearly as good.

Let's deal with eps 1-16 first. The budget was in excess of 40 billion won (US$34.97 million) and it shows. One thing that stood out is that communist agents look the same on film whether they're Korean, East German, or Russian: Straight-laced, severe black garb, cheerless. (If you want the full flavor of living in a surveillance-laden, clamped-down, cheerless society, watch Chernobyl-10). There's excellent writing, acting, and directing that make a near perfect spy thriller. It is one of the most Hollywood-feeling K-features I've seen. The cadence is perfect: They have 20hrs; they can take their time, but it's not slow. The second unit didn't cut any of their film school classes - the action is exciting. I would not hesitate to confidently recommend this to the action hounds in my sphere. In fact I did recommend it to my niece when I was on ep8. She ended up finishing it before me and came at me demanding answers. Whoops! Knowing what I know now, I still would recommend it - but I would slap a warning label on it.

Maintaining integrity is one of the themes. "He could become a monster." "I fear whether we will become monsters, in the end," we hear. But then there's this: "A man who lets his conscience or sense of responsibility weaken his ambition can never achieve anything." So says one of the brass at the agency. Sounds like a lofty statement to cover sleazy undertakings. Hyun-Jun loses his way for a time & makes a directional change that hurts. There are understandable temptations, and he was misled, but it's still a difficult pill to chew on.

In the aftermath of 911, the way the CIA operates came under discussion. Some wanted to cut ties with any slimy characters while others argued that in the world of intelligence, agents, assets, and the pay-for-info crowd, that is all there is. One can't deal in trading classified information without brushing up on slime. In Iris, the world of secret agents gets convoluted. Around the midpoint we have two agencies working against eachother. The supposed "good guys" have an agent who's actually trying to facilitate the nuclear attack, while the "bad guys" have a guy who's working at stopping it. Who are the good and bad guys? It gets muddy. It depends on the way the wind is blowing on certain days. The mid eps through ep16 are crazy CRAZY good.

Another theme is the shadow power behind the power. Yep, another conspiracy piece. Conspiracy theories are a blast. They can't all be true, but it's naive to think there are NO conspiracies in the world. That's not the nature of power. I, pretty much, believe that politics is a big distraction, and that we effectively have the illusion of choice. The money and effort we put into political leaders, who don't deserve our love or respect, would be better spent elsewhere. They're all good at pointing out problems. Oh, how they excel at that. It's solutions (actual ones, not words) that give them trouble. The only thing politics has accomplished in the last 40 years is that we all hate eachother. Having said that, don't skip the show's quote at the end of this article.

The soundtrack is excellent. It ranges from instrumental, to rap, to Kpop. Dreaming Dream (Kim Tae Woo) is VG. Their trip to Japan is just wonderful and romantic. He gets in trouble for not remembering "White Day". On March 14, in Korea, men are expected to show appreciation for the chocolates they received on Valentine's Day by giving women candy. SHee expects candy. Hyun-Jun is from Mars, so he doesn't get what the fuss is about. There's quite a few more people with tans in this show than the average bleached out Kdrama. Unfortunately, most of them don't end up in a great place. East Asia needs to rethink their shallow skin color preferences and diversify more. Ditto for the rest of the world.

Eps1-16 are as good as it gets. Now for the last 4 eps. This show would probably have been perfect at 16 episodes. Ep17 is sort of a pause, recap, and flashback episode. Okay... The main plot did just have a conclusion of sorts. The last 3 eps aren't /bad/ (perhaps they are, slightly), but they feel tangential. They definitely don't augment the show - they bring it down a notch. I rate eps1-16 at 8.6, for example. S2 sees a big drop in the ratings and eps17-20 give us a preview of the decline. The 2nd half of ep20 is really good. BUT, with 5min to go, something feels ominous...

My word of warning to all is: Consider stopping at the end of ep16. I doubt anyone will heed my warning, but there it is.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣8 📝8 🎭8.5 💓7🦋7 🎨7.5 🎵/🔊7.4 🔚6 ♦ 🌞3 ⚡8 😅2 😭5 😱5 😯3.5 😖4 🤔4.3 💤0

Poli-wagging - 2/10. The NK agents are humans in a difficult place. The REAL DEVIL is the Japanese agent. What 2 countries in this world have the worst opinion of Japan? Korea and China, based on some brutal history that won't be overlooked any time soon.

Age 14+ violence, sexual situations

Rated TV-14: Parents Strongly Cautioned.

Re-📺? Name, rank, and serial number only

QUOTE📢 In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way. ~Franklin Roosevelt~

In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

Mad For Each Other-7.8 ~silly fun; Crazy Love-7.8; Love to Hate You-8.9; Romance is a bonus book-7.9; Crash Landing On You-9.1; Oh My Ghost-10; Private Lives-8.1; It's Okay Not To Be Okay-9; Love Struck in the City-7.3; When the Camellia Blooms-8; K2-8 Tunnel-8.1; Signal 8.6; Sisyphus-8 My Mister-9.5; The King's Affection-8.3; Mr. Sunshine-9 Squid Game-8.4; Kingdom-8.3; Flower of Evil-8.9; D. P.-8.4, The Man from Nowhere-8.9; The Cursed-8.3; Black-9.