I've watched now 50+ dramas .
Reviewed most of them .
I am a vivid watcher .
I pay attention to everything with precise detail .
If you're into K dramas , you must be familiar with how they are .
If it's a typical crime drama or anything , it will end how you're familiar with .
But
'STRANGER'
is just out of this world . Mind boggling .
I didn't expected it to be this exceptional .
The synopsis might not seem that great but the drama is .
This drama had the highest quality of acting so far .
Each and every character played as just smoked their everything .
You can't even flinch something at someone in terms of acting .
The plot has it ups and downs .
It's just awestrucking till episode 7 or 8 but then it slows down a bit .
Near the ending you'll feel a bit uninterested but hold you beer right there .
The ending episode takes your breathe away .
If you're human . If you're interested in reality . Then this is for you .
Stranger has the most sensible and harsh ending .
But still it tells you not to lose yourself , your hope , your righteousness .
PS : Jo seung woo , I've seen his only earlier drama God gift's 15 days .
And I knew he's an acting GOD .
I can easily say he's the best actor male of the K-drama industry .
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Because viewer is very slowly eased into what’s going on. For most of the time, we’re not entirely sure what’s about to happen. And it’s because of two things. First of all, characters are absolutely unpredictable. We don’t really know much about them aside of what’s happening. There’s very little voiceovers and close to none exposition, so we don’t know what they’re thinking and what they’re planning next. For most of the time, they’re wild cards, especially main character. We don’t really know who’s on who’s side, are they ally or and enemy. Even when Si Mok assembles task team, we hope that he’ll finally find someone to trust, but soon we figure out that the team is mostly made up of his enemies or people who work for them.The other reason is that events are not really explained. Once again we know exactly the same as our characters and sometimes even less than that. For like 90% of the time we don’t really know what the characters are up to. This all adds up to very interesting murder mystery/ thriller story. But you need to follow is carefully not to get lost.
Let’s talk about main character, because Hwang Si Mok (in this role absolutely fantastic Cho Seung Woo) is a type of the guy who is hard to like, but you’ll absolutely learn to love.
Again, we don’t know much about him, some random facts, some glimpse about his private life, mostly rumours circling around. His biggest trait: he lacks emotions, completely. And because of that for most of the time we have no idea what goes through his head. Is he honest or is he just bluffing? Plus, he really doesn’t have anyone on his side, which he openly admits. He’s not liked in his work environment and gossips that surround him just pour more fuel on the fire. This drama is the reason I have trust issues because at one point I has questioning everything and I even starting suspect Si Mok of committing murder.
We have main plot line that revolves around murder of a person, who as it turns out had a history of bribing highly situated people, including some prosecutors. Obviously a lot of people wouldn’t mind his death, so there’s a lot of suspects and very few proofs. And the thing is that no character is really black or white. No-one is completely good or absolutely bad. All characters are somewhere is between moving closer towards one of the sides. And then there’s Si Mok, without emotions operating in absolutes. You did something bad, you’re not a good person, you need to be punished. His judgement is absolutely objective, there’s no place for personal input.
And because everyone seem to be guilty of something, finding out about another crimes stops being a surprise, really. More often it’s a question of what rather than if.
Characters are absolutely fascinating here and I’m not only talking about the main ones. It seems that everyone has a unique story or some secret that we don’t know about.
About the plot, there’s obviously main murder theme that is somewhere in the middle of the action, but what we really focus on is politic play that surrounds main characters. So before we get to the solution of the main case we get though so many issues that sometimes this murder seems almost secondary. Especially that we cannot be sure of anything. Even if the case looks like it’s solved there’s always possibility of something happening. Even when somebody admits to committing the crime we still cannot be sure that he really did it.
The pace of the show is rather steady. It’s a suspenseful thriller, not action packed drama.
I have to admit, I’ve started watching is for Cho Seung Woo, after his performance in Sisyphus, but I’ve absolutely stayed for how amazing this drama is. All characters are masterfully played (kudos to Bae Doo Na and Yoo Jae Myung among many others) but let’s be honest, from this cast we could only expect the all the best.
Plus there’s one good thing about this drama, it has a second season!
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This is a series that speaks volumes on what quality action drama should be, at least according to my taste. The stakes are high and the tension escalates from the story itself, which although fictitious it can easily be a portrayal of real life cases...which is what makes it both terrifying and satisfying to watch it unfold.
This is not a show for those that need action packed, explosions, car chases or overly dramatic sequences to be entertained. This show is for those that want to be challenged, that want to solve a mystery together with the protagonists, someone that values intelligent writing over dramatic writing. I loved every second of it and you can be sure that I will watch it again soon. Looking forward to Season 2 soon!
Give it a chance and you'll be surprised!
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So many twists and turns
I'll start by saying that I'm not big on corruption stories. Give me a romance and I'm all over it, but watching a show about many, many people being bad and doing bad? Not so much. However, for me, this show was excellent. It requires a lot of attention, and I wouldn't advise binging it. I was exhausted and my brain hurt after every episode.ACTING: Excellent! I have to call out Cho Seung Woo especially, as prosecutor Hwang Shi Mok. He had brain surgery in the past to control his violent temper and now doesn't have the capacity to feel emotions. We've all watched actors where they have to convey emotions only with their eyes or their body language. Here, he had to display NO emotion. I was fascinated by this character. I could feel his loneliness from being out of step with absolutely everyone else. Everyone else was good as well. There were some obvious villains and some surprises as well. The relationship between Shi Mok and inspector Yeo Jin was really interesting to watch, and I liked how they worked well together and came to depend upon each other. And, I don't say this often, but THANK YOU for leaving out the romance!
MUSIC: The music was good, there was music that really brought out the tenseness of the scenes, but it didn't crowd out the dialogue or the action.
CAMERA AND MAKEUP WORK: The coloration they used was slightly blue, which really gave the impression that these people basically lived in the office and had no lives. They also showed a lot of closeups, and they didn't make much of an attempt to cover up flaws. That contributed to the gritty feel of the show.
I can highly recommend this drama. Just when you think you've figured it out, in comes someone else that's corrupt!
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A STORYLINE THAT WILL SUCK YOU IN AND YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
I LOVE THIS SHOW!!! Season 1 was so interesting. This was my first time watching this kind of more serious drama. I usually watch the rom coms so the closest thing would be vincinzo. The story in the first season was a little confusing but got explained well.I have no beef with the second season except that I HATED the Hanjo storyline. I get how it connected overall… but I feel like too much time was spent on it where we could’ve been focusing on more interesting (and likable) characters.
I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR HWANG SIMOK AND HAN YEOJIN
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The cast was excellent. This was the first time I've ever watched Jo Seung Woo, Bae Doo Na, and (the first time I've noticed) Lee Joon Hyuk. They all impressed me a lot. They all had a subtlety and charm about them. Yoon Se Ah as Lee Yeon Jae did a fantastic job - totally bought her being on the edge.
If you enjoy these genres, this drama should be on your short list!
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Let's start with the story:
The writing is exceptional, I didn't feel any episode fell flat or didn't add to the story overall. With each episode puzzle pieces fell into place. I kind of had a feeling what was going to happen but it definitely wasn't obvious and really I was skeptical if what I thought might happen would actually happen. I was pleasantly surprised how it all turned out. The main crime drama part of the story line really got me hooked and surprised us through most of the story. What really held it together was the amazing cast though.
Characters:
I won't go through all of the characters just a few of my favorites.
Hwang Shi Mok played by Jo Seung Woo was such an amazing character and to me felt like a superhero. I know, a man with hardly any emotion being a superhero you say, well I had a hard time seeing him any other way. Someone who was incorruptible in a nation full of the corrupt, battling these people when all odds were stacked against him. I mean you can't get any more superhero than that. I also loved the fact that he wasn't capable of feeling emotions like other people so when he did show the smallest sign of emotion it was very powerful.
Han Yeo Jin played by Bae Doo Na. Wow I really loved her character. She was simply amazing in the role. Not only was she a badass to me she seemed very vulnerable and human as well which was the perfect mix to add to Shi Mok's character. I loved how towards the end Shi Mok would call her when he had something on his mind, they definitely had a special bond.
Yeong Eun Soo played by Shin Hye Sun. What a touching character who I loved throughout the series. She was that tragic part of the story that just made you feel pain. I think she really was a pivotal character in showing that Shi Mok wasn't emotionless. In fact seeing his pain was very revealing.
Those were my 3 favorites but I could definitely go on but I would be here all day writing. The characters really were the shining star of this drama, no doubt.
I could gush all day over this drama and would recommend it wholeheartedly. I am so stoked about season 2, I totally can't wait!
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I strongly recommend this show and its OSTs.
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Biggest plot twist I think I have ever seen, I honestly which English television shows could think of something so great! Acting is phenomenal and each and every character you will gain a strong opinion on. I was familiar with a few actors/actresses before watching Stranger and some I haven't been so familiar on, but they all work so great together I have to admit this is perhaps the greatest cast ensemble too!
I may be living under a rock but I believe the second series has been confirmed? If not then make another season!! I could name so many events that could happen in the next one it legitimately makes me so excited. Stranger is a must watch show!
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A so very relevant drama, no matter what country you live in.
Every story can become a 10/10 drama when it's produced, directed and casted right. But not frequently do we stumble upon a 10/10 story. In this drama, all of the above were 10/10.1. Story. If you're a sucker for police thriller like me, you probably think you have seen it all already. "If they suspect this person now, he's not the culprit". "Clearly the culprit is someone who seems innocent". I know because this is what I thought while watching it. But I've never been so wrong. The story keeps on surprising while making perfect sense, no plot holes are found, every question is answered. No open ending and no cliche like "5 years later". The characters (and us) are never distracted by pointless romantic relationships that tend to ruin every non-romance based series out there.
2. Characters. All characters are fascinating. Shi-mok is an (seemingly) emotionless prosecutor who follows his moral code strictly. He is ready to fight for justice and doesn't care about being liked by other people. He is a badass at court but is cutely awkward when it comes to social interactions. Yeo-jin is an energetic police officer who enjoys her job: chasing (and catching!) bad guys. She's confident and comfortable with the other characters, even the socially awkward Shi-mok. She also has a strong sense of justice but also very high EQ, making her a very lovable character. Dong-jae is another prosecutor and a very complex character. You can never tell what exactly he thinks or feels and are his motives. He keeps on switching sides which makes him seem like an unloyal jerk who only cares about himself, but he also has his own moral code. He's introduced to us as a not very smart person, but actually he's quite wise and skillful. Eun-soo seems at first like the uptight newbie who is nervous and makes mistakes, but actually she's a strong-willed smart prosecutor. She has a goal and she put her life on the line more than once to get what she wants. Lee Chand-joon is the best character in my opinion. You keep on suspecting him while thinking there's no way he'd do it. He's strong, smart, scary, lovable, evil and kind at the same time. He always knows what's the right thing to say or do, so even when it seems like he failed, he probably wanted to fail.
3. Cast. The cast is mind-blowing. The acting was on point for every single character. They portrayed a whole rainbow of emotions in the most convincing way, making me forget I already saw some of them acting in different dramas before. I also liked the fact that Jo Seung-woo, playing Shi-mok, is not your typical k-drama male lead. He is handsome but not in the typical korean standarts. He's even pretty short, would you believe it? Jo Seung-woo is a super talented actor and the fact that he got the main role in this drama despite the fact that he's not as much of an "eye-candy" as some people say, makes me love the drama 10 times more.
4. Rewatch value. I put 8 because honestly, when you already know who the culprit is, I'm not sure how amazing it can be. But just for the amazing cast and characters, I would definitely consider coming back.
5. Summary. This is the first review I ever wrote. I felt like I have to write down my feelings about this masterpiece. It's one of the best k-dramas I have ever watched and I did watch a lot. I wish I could give it a 11/10, too bad... Thank you for reading!
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A mild thriller - Not an on-the-edge-of-your-seat/nail-biting drama
Why I Started this drama?→ Interested in Crime/Mystery/Thriller
→ This drama is highly rated across sites, and on lists of must-watch series
My humble Opinion: Expectations Unmet
→ Usually crime dramas, have a sense of urgency - mystery of who-did-it?
→ It is more preachy rather than something like stories of Sherlock/or gripping like Signal (2016)
What Works: The Acting
→ Jo Seung Woo - as an apathetic prosecutor is the first role I am seeing him in, and after this series and a little wiki info on him, I know I will see all his work soon.
→ Lee Joon Hyuk - probably the best, showing signs of a corrupt official, trying to come on the right track - but till the end we don't know whether he is actually good/bad? He is in my opinion, a survivor trying to be on the winning side to live.
→ Yoon Se Ah - she played a small support character, but delivered her twisted personality well (and her arc of mystery probably kept audiences guessing - whether she murdered someone or no?)
What Does Not Work: The Story (and pace)
→ The story was average, nothing unseen/unexpected and like a web was slowly revealed to us but we know from the get-go who is the final culprit.
→ This drama is slow paced, building out the characters and storyline but without any cliffhangers, unexpected reveals that would make you stay up all night to watch just one more episode to know what is the end.
Summary:
Forest of Secrets in an apt title - as this drama slowly showcases how deeply rooted the corruption becomes - instigated by people in power and when justice system turn a blind out to it, making the common folks suffer. Like a seed of injustice once laid, becomes a forest overtime, and ultimately harsh measures are needed to cut it down - but then again, can it be fully uprooted?
It is more suited for regular seasons, where the team tries to solve different cases than the usual single-season-wonder. (Maybe that's why there is a season 2 which I will watch).
Also in case you're wondering how I rate dramas since this is an unpopular opinion - please see my profile: https://mydramalist.com/profile/omo-omo-omo (am always up for a healthy discussion on dramas as well!)
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A definitely must watch series if you like thriller, crime drama and political drama. All of those aspects are perfectly blended in this show. Nothing is cliche and nothing is black and white. A really well made series with wonderful casts.
The story is so well paced that there’s not a time the viewer would feel bored. All the episodes would keep you at the edge of your seat, bitting your nail from the suspense. There are so many twists and turns that is unexpected along the way, it feels like a roller coaster ride. A lot of scheming and back stabbing. It’s so hard to guest what will happen and who are actually the bad guys and who is the good guys.
The cinematography is well done, I like the color palate of the show. There are some scene that annoys me because they seem to use a handheld camera because the whole scene seem to sway a lot that it makes me quite dizzy just by looking at it. I don’t mind if they do it on purpose to show conflicting emotion, or feeling unstable, but some of this scene don’t seem to have any meaning, it’s just them talking. But it’s only a minor flaw compare to all the greatness of this show.
You will be very invested in each character. None of them are perfect, they all have their good side and bad side. Everyone could be the bad guys.
What I like the most is that Hwang Si Mok as the main protagonist is not perfect and know how to play the game. You would not survive in the real world if you just want everything to go your way, there are something that you would need to let go or turn a blind eye on if you want to achieve something bigger.
Han Yeo Jin as the female lead gives a really strong performance as a no nonsense police officer. She does her investigation throughly but without she still care and warm to the victims.
The other prosecutors and police officers are really great and unique character, each with their own story which are developed well through out the show. It keeps you guessing until the last moment on who is the real bad guy behind all of this. Just remember, nobody is perfect.
The music is nothing special, but it matched the show really well. There’s no ost that I remember from this show.
I think this show deserves so rewatch, because I’m sure you would be able to pick up a lot of different things during the rewatching that you may miss the first time around. There are a lot of subtle hints and nuances given through out the show that would probably make you think ‘ah... so that’s what happen’. I’m definitely going to be rewatching this show to see all the things that I may have miss the first time around.
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