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This review may contain spoilers
This is Justice 101 and if I was professor of the class everyone gets an A+, from the screenwriter to all the runners and behind the scene peeps. This drama is brilliant, thought-provoking, emotion-filled and all around entertaining.The plot was simple but the storyline was unique. How the writer intertwined one criminal case after the other was flawless. Lead actors were all so fluid but that’s not to say that the supportive cast weren’t. I hated the chief police so much, every time he smirks my blood just boils over and the sweet dad conveyed all his emotions in his eyes and eyebrows, not too many words were needed to know he was in agony.
What’s not to like is more the question for me. The ending perhaps but, there really is no good ending for time travel stories so it’s not a deal breaker for me. Oh, maybe the teeny bit of the love story, felt a bit forced at the end however it was so minor I could overlook it :). In any case, I think it’s safe to say that this drama has littlest number of cliches usually imbedded in kdramas. Justice is served in this one so watch on fellow justice leagu-ers!
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For the story...
1.) Amazing story line that hooks me up every episode. I literally lost sleep over this drama cause I was so so so curious about the story and those cliffhangers definitely left me crazy. The idea of the time-mismatching walkie-talkie is really interesting and is well used in this drama, although I hoped for a more detailed backstory of the walkie talkie to make it more completed.
2.) I also had some moments where I lost the story and couldn't follow the logic, then I rewind back so that I can get back on track. It happens for me so often but kinda feel that my IQ is increased after the drama hahaha...
3.) The ending was left half-open but definitely did not leave us hanging (maybe a teeny weeny bit). Probably for a sequel which I think is highly possible due to the nature of this drama. A pre-sequel is also possible to talk about the detailed backstory of characters as well as the walkie-talkie. Looking forward to it:)
For the cast/acting...
Casts is so goooood. Like I said earlier, I didn't know any of them when I started watching it but they totally impressed me so much. Totally. I was also very impressed by the acting of the minor characters and the sub story leads.
For the music...
I don't know the title to the opening track but it's really suitable for the drama, feels like the characters are walking back in time. Generally enjoyed the music as it was able to build up the intense at every climax.
Definitely a re-watchable drama or SEASON 2 pls. Binge watch it or lose your sleep haha..
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Tunnel is similar and better - but this is good
7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2016 South Korean crime drama with 16, 60 minute, episodes. Lee Je-hoon Kim Hye-soo and Cho Jin-woong. The story is inspired by the Hwaseong serial murders in Korea as well as other true crimes.A newbie detective/profiler, Park Hae Young (Lee Je Hoon), finds a walkie talkie that is broadcasting through time from Hae Young's time of 2015 from 2000. Hae Young has been assigned to a cold case unit who is tasked with solving crimes where the trail of evidence has gone cold. It is more of a political move than any real attempt to solve the crimes in terms of the "higher ups." On the other end of the line is Lee Jae Han (Jo Jin Woong) who is able to get clues from Hae Young about crimes that "occurred" and change or prevent the events. Cha Soo Hyun (Kim Hye Soo) is a female detective who leads the cold case team. She knows Jae Han well as she was once a rookie on his team.
Spoiler 🚨 I liked this but what slightly ruined it for me was it ended very nebulously. Some like it when it "leaves you to wonder" - I am not one of them. I understand there MAY be a second season but without that being a certainty the ending just didn't do it for me. I liked all the characters, the suspense and cases, but the ending is what really determined how I felt about this overall. Many really liked this - it rates very high. A lot of folks rate this higher than Tunnel. I preferred Tunnel. That had similar intrigue and was based on some of the same real murder cases. However, that story for me was more logically flowing and the ending felt complete. Worth the watch but be aware the ending is not neatly tied up.
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You don’t want to miss it
I had a hard time to get a grip onto that series. I mean, I started to watch it several times and dropped out of boredom but finally came to the end. It is a great plot. Honestly a great plot.It apparently is based on some true stories even if most of them compiled together don’t really add up to the point where it is comparable to the series.
Anyway I liked the plot very much even if the end was not flawless. It is acceptable.
The only drawback to me are the performances. We can all say that Kim Hye Su is a great actress. And I am convinced by all vilain characters in a performance point of view.
Unfortunately, Lee Je Hoon is lacking so much. Sorry for the fans but there is something wrong. In his favor I wonder if the filming direction was good in this way… There are a lot of long scenes where he just… think ? wonder ? try to show emotions ? those scenes are seconds but feel like minutes and he never conveys it right.
As for Jo Jin Woong, I was convinced by his performance but the too much crying (sorry spoiler) didn’t work at some point.
That is actually my point that the performances
of the 2 main characters don’t feel natural.
But the story is indeed great !
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It actually kickstarts with the kidnapping of a young girl, and the thriller starts.
In the first two cases, they did a slow reveal of who the killer was, which was pointless in my POV, because I figured out who was the killer and burglar respectively, in like, 2 seconds. In the first one, the second the bus driver said, "No-one got on at that stop" it was bloody obvious who it could be (hint: it's not the bus driver.) In the second one, there was no witnesses except the rich boy...and lo be'hold - it doesn't take a genius to figure out who it could be. I felt like my intelligence was being mildly insulted, but the walkie-talkie side-drama, kept my score around 7/10. You know - that awesome thing that can communicate with Lee Jae Han in the past :)
In the last two cases, they revealed who the culprits were straightaway, so I just settled in to watching the net closing in on them! It was actually kinda fun. My fav bits were the flashbacks on how the crimes were committed, and the human emotion it wrought. We really were spoiled! Also any scene with Lee Jae Han in it. The time looping was very impressive.
Questions that I still want to know the answers too:
1) Park Hae Young's phone kept ringing at 11:22, just before the 11:23 transmissions, 2 or 3 times. Who was it? Why was it never mentioned again? (That bugged me the most, surprisingly)
2) Does this have a second season? :)
Extra mention to Cha Soo Hyun, she was brilliantly acted by Kim Hye Soo. That woman!
Also strangely - my most favourite character besides, LJH, was Ahn Chi Soo. He wasn't quite a good guy, nor was he a full out blown bad guy (I love how he supported the Cold case team sometimes, at odds with his jerkface boss, Kim Bum Joo) and the reveal with his character in ep 11 (was it 11?) was my fav cliffhanger of the show. I like people who straddle both light and dark, in the murky grey area.
The soundtrack was great. Really elevated the show throughout. I didn't even realise the last episode was 1 hour and 1/2, I was so amazed that a show, could still remain exciting to the end, raising questions, instead of solving them! Kudos Signal team. You outdid yourselves!
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At first instance, it gave me a True Detective vibe, which shows the ambition of the show from the get-go.
For once, there were no overwhelming loveline in the story. Just a overwhelming sense of tragedy and injustice, which is precisely what the audience SHOULD be feeling, because those are exactly what drive our main characters forward throughout the show. Police corruption and injustice seem to be popular topics to cover in Korean dramas, but if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that wrongs must be made right.
The writing was not simplistic at all; the storylines are tightly woven together and the stories are carefully told and not laid out all at once to force-feed the viewer with information. The writer gives it to us bit by bit and allows the story to unfold naturally, so the viewers can come to a gradual realization of the real horrors of the injustices. I was totally hooked to the show to the very end; it genuinely kept me coming back for more after each episode.
The 3 leads are not actors you see often on TV so it was a real bonus to have them join this project. Each one of them did a great job, especially Jo Jin Woong, truly the star of the show. It was also great to have, for once, a strong female character who was placed front and centre of the show, NOT for the sake of having a lead female character. She was a capable detective who HAPPENED to be a woman. Isn’t that fab?
Clearly from the above, I highly highly recommend this show for a gripping and rewarding watch.
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Lee Jae Han forever
This Drama is on a whole other level. I have never seen anything like it.Starting with the hyper-high-octane nature of the Drama that makes 24 look slow, Signal is at the same time like a Russian novel, more complex than even Stranger 2 (which feels like a discourse in political philosophy they had the guts to make into a Drama).
I can overlook obvious flaws, like the decision to play up overly emotional moments which feels manipulative at times. During the course of the Drama I realized that emotional trauma makes up the crucial moments of everyone's life. Also, certain scenes are repeated over and over, because those crucial moments in life stay with you and are the ones you ruminate over.
These emotionally loaded scenes contrast with and bring depth to the gripping hunt for criminals and make for much needed breathing space. The Drama also infuses a very dark story with a lot of hilarious comic release moments that feel almost brutal in how they break the tension.
I think the storytelling and pacing is absolutely masterful here. It builds a perfect circle.
Signal seems to say that suffering is something you might never overcome but you can use as powerful motivator to change yourself and your environment. Without that you might live a more comfortable life but there is a price to pay for it, which may be the suffering around you.
Signal is about what makes you who you are. It closely examins in equal measure trauma, transformation and transcendence. It is healing and, in every sense, life altering.
I feel like I have lived an entire lifetime with these characters and consequently the connection I have to these people is much stronger than with other characters.
Watching Signal is an all-consuming, exhilarating experience.
This is largely due to one character and the acting involved in creating him.
Lee Jae Han: shy, socially inept, an almost naive idealist, tremendously sensitive, stubborn, defiant, gentle, strict, with a strong sense of justice, cheeky and bold, innocent, who shoulders too much responsibility, emotional, caring, grumpy, charming, unflinching, perpetually annoyed and frustrated with anyone and anything standing in his way, no-frills-no-bullshit-no-time-to-waste, quite a temper, empathic, a little silly, no sense for playing politics whatsoever, who over time embraces his outsider status, stepping over every line and on every toe in order to do what he believes is right.
Cho Jin Woong marry me.
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Must watch. Everything is 10/10. I also rewatch it thrice. Even if the casts are not very handsome or super pretty, there should be no problem. The storyline is already good enough to make for everything.
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