Crime Puzzle (2021)

How dark do you want a drama to be ?

There are some dramas out there that you know are going to be great after seeing the first few minutes of the drama. Crime Puzzle is one of them. As soon as I started watching the first episode I knew it that I would love each and every moment of this drama. And I am quite pleased to tell you that I was right about my thinking. As it turned out to be one of the hidden gem out there.
The script keeps getting better and better with each episode and you get hooked to the story line. The actors brought their roles to life. Literally loved each and every one of them. A special shout out to Song Sun Mi's character Park Jeong Ha. Every time she shouted like a crazy women I detested her from the soul of my heart.
All in all it is a treat for the fans who love thriller, dark, crime, mystery and criminal psychology dramas.
Ps : For those who can't handle much of a dark plot. Don't think about the drama.This drama is not for you. It's quite a dark plot with many bloodbath scenes in it.

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Great start, then downhill for me

I was so excited when the subs were finally out and quickly started binging. I honestly enjoyed the fast-paced plot development and amazing acting and OST, but around episodes 7-8, I started to get frustrated and annoyed with how the writer took the story.

With an intriguing plot taking place in a prison and with a criminal profiler, I was pulled into this 10-episode drama. They began it quickly and introduced important characters well. I was held in suspense as I learned more about the secrets of Professor Han as the puzzle pieces were revealed. As it is rated R, there was a lot, A LOT, of blood and violence- even more than what you'd see in OCN dark dramas so you've been warned. I wondered at times if that was really necessary, if it was a tad overboard. That wasn't the killing point for me though. It was the plot development.

While it continued to be fast-paced, the bad guys kept winning. I prefer my crime suspense dramas to be more of a win-lose-win formula but this one was just lose-lose-lose-partial win. When the bad guys keep winning, as a viewer, I got upset and frustrated. Witnesses would get killed over and over again. Close loved ones would die. Practically nothing was in Professor Han's favor, up until the finale. The Violent Crimes team with Yu Hee was essentially useless to Professor Han. They were just plot devices to reveal more about the full puzzle. Despite suspecting a mole in the team, Yu Hee continued to disclose confidential info to them, causing witnesses to be killed. And every time, they got away with it. The logic just didn't really make sense halfway through.

As for characters, Yoon Gye Sang did phenomally as Professor Han. I have no complaints. He's the only reason I pushed through these 10 hours. He showed the anger, grief, sadness, helplessness, so on... perfectly on point. My heart ached for him when his loved ones were killed. This man went through so much and had to seek revenge himself too. His two sidekicks and Doctor Min Jae in prison were more helpful than everyone else outside. Speaking of them, these actors were amazing and I loved seeing their scenes. I loved it when Min Jae would call Professor Han "Hyung-nim." The acting of Go Ah Sung was alright, though her crying scenes were a bit stiff. As Yu Hee, she seemed to either be shocked or crying- not much else.

I would not recommend this unless you want to feel frustrated until the very end.

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To any “Prison brea” fans

It will be an easy review to write, as I’m a big Prison break fan - and this drama is so worth watching!!
Maybe because I tried watching Lawless lawyers last week, which left me really disappointed, Crime puzzle grabbed me tight - massive contrast between the two dramas. Crime puzzle’s script is very tight, consistent and the story - so well balanced. At no point you can relax.
The cast is really successful to - Yoon Kye Sang was the perfect fit for this role..he was fab in Chocolate so I wasn’t sure how he will fit in action story - but hey, he carrying the character very well! This handsome man can do it all it seems!
You need to prepare yourself for a large amount of gruesome scenes/fighting and tones of blood. But these are skilfully balanced with humane emotions and struggles as the story develops.
Beautifully presented for me, pleasure to watch, and most importantly, not “over cooked”. Just perfect!

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Top 5 Crime Series of 2021, real enough

What a ride, twist after twist, the show did a very good job with building up the hype and anticipation leading up to the climax event for it to meet expectation, did not disappoint at all. A little unfavorable for them to disclose flashbacks and behind the scenes that's not from the MC's perspective in the middle of the series, making things already known to viewers. A serious mood all the way, large cast with each own significant role to the plot, continuous large singular case, tons of death especially people closest to the MC one by one. Show wrapped it up nicely without any hole and ridiculous ends. Some serious acting skills displayed by a few side characters. Main instrumental OST is good. Glad they didn't over focus the romance between MCs like in Flower of Evil. Not a single second of this show felt too fictional until I will call bullshit, very well immersed.

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My Crazy Review I loved and hated it

I actually enjoyed this drama but was annoyed at some serious flaws that prevented it from being extraordinary:

The plot is intriguing but the follow through is underwhelming.

Good story but the presentation was less then optimal.

R-rated because of violence - don't eat when watching this, or be prepared to ff or mute (sounds of violence disturb me more for some reason). The writer seemed to savor expending lots of time, detail and drama into disturbingly violent and cruel scenes. The writer should have focused more on character development instead.

Saving grace - it has the handsome, charismatic Yoon Kye Sang. Loved him in other dramas, in particular "Last".

Sometimes the acting lacked "feels" - Some characters (not all) didn't cry in traumatic situations that any normal human being would.
Many characters are almost one-dimensional. They feel like cutouts.

Annoying female lead. The actress is fine, it's her character that got on my nerves. She seemed to be more of a plot device making bad decisions to extend the plot.

I liked the fellow prisoners in the drama, their parts of the drama were some of my favorite. Even the warden.

Still - I kept watching.

This is a drama that could have been excellent, but with it's flaws and all it still was enjoyable. Thanks to the FF button.

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Binge-watched the Whole Drama!

I’m usually not one to binge-watch a tv series, but Crime Puzzle made me sit on the couch for the whole 9 hours (sleepiness took over so I had to wait till next day to finish the last episode). The title stayed true to itself as every episode seem to put things together. We all started with a lot of questions and suspicions from episode 1 then we get to every episode where every puzzle pieces are put together. I like the fact that all my questions were answered even before the last episode so it gave me time to digest it and enjoy the satisfaction in episode 10. I feel that 10 episodes are not enough, yet I do think they wrapped the story in a way that sort of satisfied me. I said sort of satisfied me because if you watch this drama, you’ll understand that it seems that the first part of the story had been resolved, but there are certain issues that have not been dealt or discovered yet. I’m not sure what the production has decided but I do think, like most crime dramas out there, they did open up the possibility of another season.

Yoon Kye Sang definitely understood his character! It’s his first drama I’ve ever watched and I guarantee you that he did not disappoint. Kudos to the other cast members too that made the drama intense and nerve-wracking! If I must say, Go Ah Sung didn’t really convince me until the last episode. I can’t point out of it’s her acting or was it the lack of character development? I do want to see her character more though because like what I mentioned, she managed to get me on the same boat as her towards the end. I also feel that the chemistry between the leads didn’t really show until towards the last few episodes which didn’t make me sympathize with the “lover” part of the plot. Then again it’s a crime drama so what do I expect? I can point out more what I liked about this drama but I’m afraid I’ll reveal some information that for me would be better to discover while watching the drama.

The cinematography was one of the best I’ve seen in Korean dramas! The camera angle, including parts where the camera seem shaky, made a lot of scenes more intense and/or emotional. This drama is also not afraid of blood so if you are not a fan, then I suggest to try to anticipate when such bloody scenes will show up (trust me it’s pretty obvious) then just look a way. I like how they show such scenes though. It really made this drama seem so real.

Overall this drama is one of those dramas that you won’t get tired binge-watching it. Unless of course you don’t like bloody scenes, so you’ll probably have to watch something light in between. I really enjoyed how every questions I had were slowly getting answered slowly in every episode. Also thank you to the writer for not putting that love triangle drama so audiences can focus on the real issue. Really hoping for another season for this one!

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Not Good Enough

Korean Drama "Crime Puzzle" is a dark tale of a deep secret.

The drama starts off on a mysterious note, with the main case being introduced. And truly, there were really dark moments, twists, and intriguing scenes as the mystery was unfolded. However, things were bleak after the first episodes. It seemed like things were happening a bit on the overtone in order to bring out the shocking factor rather than aid the plot. In addition, the story kept ending characters, getting more and more complicated and confusing.

On the other hand, the performances were pretty great, especially by the main leads.

So, overall, 3.5 out of 10.

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Wasted

It started off poor with a tacky set up failing to construct a half-assed mystery element, even a thriller one for what it matter. Which broke off the tension right from the beginning. The violent scenes weren't there to contribute to either themes but to be violent for the sake of it. The villains were utterly comical and straight up ruined the drama shamelessly! As if things weren't bad already, they went ahead and turned the whole thing into a cult chase. it's been proven time and time again that cult focused plots have a dangerously high failure rate, yet we've been flooded by these in the recent years. The handful of violent scenes weren't enough to save the drama. Despite all of that, they had the audacity to tease for possible future continuation! What a load of rubbish!

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well, at least it's thrilling

finished: Crime Puzzle // mystery, action, thriller, cult // Yoon Kye Seung, Go Ah Sung // 7/10

i was looking for some fast paced, thrilling drama and i think this once was able to give me that entertainment at least at the first half. i actually expected more from it, some mind games, hard to solve mysteries and different cases base on the title (and i didnt look at the MDL raring beforehand), but it was disappointing in that part. there's not much mind game, and although the characters are portrayed to be smart, they dont seem that way. there are many times that they did really stupid things, esp the FL.

although the acting from the actors are amazing, the action and thriller are really on point and the first half of the drama has a potential, things just went downhill by the second half. it feels like they just decides to drag things, with all the characters who are supposed to be smart suddenly acting so stupid.

honestly, the ML's goal was clear, and i understand why he's doing things. but just it feels like there's something missing, the soul overall of the story. i know the character's reasons and intentions, but not in a deeper sense which hinders from truly connecting with them, in a way that i cannot really deeply, root for them and feel their vulnerability as a character.

also, i know that they want to show how bad this people are, but like the killing spree is a bit too much. one thing that they also forget to explain more is the cult itself, e.g. what are their beliefs? what do they do to brainwashed this much people, who are even willing to k1ll3d themseleves for them, commit that *sin, watch someone d13 in front of them? what made them believe that this filthy, horny, old man is the Messiah? honestly, i would have believed it more if the female villain is actually just after the money rather than her faith. i just cant see what made them believe in that cult. as the center of the plot, the writers should have focused more on that one rather than giving us so many deaths.

the punishment for those criminals are also not enough for me. plus the fact that the other part of that cult werent even caught (seems like theyre also even trying to put a season 2 with that ending) it's just so questionable? like, how come they didn't all fall down? no one even realized that that old man actually has a family, hellooooo??? i feel so bad for what happened to seong pil, and the chief inspector didnt even tell anything about su bin HELLO?!?!?!?

the first half was good, i enjoyed the actor's performance (found a new actor to add on my watchlist HAHA Chocolate, welcome to my never ending plan to watch list) although they didnt live up with what the title has offered. if only they continued that, i would have give it a higher rating. anyhow, i enjoyed the thriller part and the production, editing, and OSTs are on point so 7 it is.

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dissapointing.

The plot is filled with a lot of murders, which eventually became very very frustrating. In general, nothing interesting happens in the series. The plot seemed to be moving forward, just not in the direction I might have wanted it to go. Villains were slaughtering everyone who decided to show in their path, which made me feel resentful and angry, because I often wondered - when will it all end? The reasons why the cult operates were not explained, or explained very briefly. Basically, it was presented as a senseless slaughter of people for the sake of some so-called messiah, liberation, etc. Absolute nonsense, in my opinion. That constantly screaming boss was almost maddening, lieutenant Yu lacked facial expressions or any of the qualities that are necessary for a profiler. Though I really liked Seungmin and doctor Minaje characters, I think these two did a really good job.
Also, the OST is completely out of place, it doesn't convey the atmosphere of the series, especially those rap songs.
It had a promising start, but eventually became a huge dissapointment.

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All Over

Ok, so first I waited awhile to watch this cause I couldn't find English sub but I was happy to dive into another crime/serial killer theme drama and now... I kinda wish I hadn't wasted my time. It seemed a little off from the beginning but I stuck it out. I can't imagine binge watching this and it took me a lot longer than I expected to finish it cause it had such long, lost and random moments. The ending made it seem like there might be an S2 and I really hope not. I didn't think justice was all the way served (I'm petty). and everything seemed to be inside out with details and ran you around in the maze of plot holes. You get the blood supply you want and the back stories were pretty good but that was about it. Definitely, my LEAST favourite serial killer drama.
Enjoy...

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