This review may contain spoilers
m a s t e r p i e c e
Actually there is a short story behind my watching the stranger series. During the summer break, I forced my mother to watch a TV series and she chose the Stranger. I used to only watch romantic and comedy dramas at the time, so I definitely thought I wouldn't like Stranger, but because it was a Korean drama, I decided to watch it with my mom. We watched the first episode together and I just LOVE it. I continued 7-8 episodes with my mother, then I started to continue myself because she had a lot of work. And it became one of my favorite series.Let me talk about the drama now. First of all I have to congratulate Jo Seungwoo for playing the hwang simok character which seems so difficult. You can see how much effort is put by watching behind the scenes. I also congratulate bae donna because it must be difficult to play with someone who shows no emotion. I really liked the chemistry of the two main leads, it was really good. Also, shin hye sun is another reason I love this drama because I think she is both a beautiful and a very talented actress. Before I forget, the chemistry of all the characters was very good, I can say that they have the best chemistry among the series I have watched. I think I need to talk about the story now, then let me start. The first episodes of Stranger were a bit boring unlike the other series (of course it was very exciting), but the following episodes were excellent. When I watched the connection between the two murders, I was really surprised because I definitely did not expect it. The good behaviour of the police and prosecutors also made me happy. If you are reading this review, you will understand how bad I wrote because I am not very good at telling the story. But I'm still writing my best.
The only thing I didn't like about Stranger is that some of the characters in the main role died, they really added a different atmosphere to the series. All in all, Stranger is really one of the best series, the actors fit, the story is very good. Certainly, I think everyone should watch it, you should not forget such a magnificent series.
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But man, as i progressed with the first episode, just after a few minutes i was hooked. The background music worked well for me. Jo seung woo did an excellent job portraying the role of a cold prosecutor. Even though he did not have any emotions, he was full of feel. Bae Doona was awesome as the lady detective. All the cast did an excellent job. Hope to see a second season with Bae Doona and Jo seung woo as the leads
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This review may contain spoilers
Corruption, Mystery, Intrigue..."Stranger" Has it All!
There is nothing so beautiful as an intricate plot so deftly woven that it is literally a work of art. And there is nothing that compliments a masterful plot like deep and intelligent characters."Stranger" is one of the best series I've ever seen. And I've been watching shows for over 45 years. When I began Season 1, I was instantly hooked, and I found myself binge-watching the series.
The story has so many plot twists and turns that I doubt that even the most savy viewer will be able to figure it all out. It centers around what seems to be, a fairly standard murder. Hwang Shi Mok is, what would be our equivalent of an assistand district attorney, knows the victim, and takes it upon himself to investigate.
Shi Mok is like watching a master detective at work. He's like a Korean Sherlock Holmes. He is not only able to piece together events, but he does so in a way that makes you think of a master jigsaw puzzler who is able to put the 3000 pieces together within a short span of time. Shi Mok is smart, intelligent, and also calm and cool under fire. Why? Because he has a unique characteristic: he lacks empathy. Due to violent outbursts as a child, he had a surgical procedure done that literally prevents him from having such outbursts anymore. Therefore, to most of his colleagues and even strangers, he appears cold and aloof.
Shi Mok's sole partner in his investigation is Lieutenant Han Yeo Jin (Bae Doona). Bae Doona quickly became one of my favorite Korean actresses. She also successfully brings us a very intelligent and driven detective who is as determined to get to the truth as Shi Mok is. Of course, she has trouble figuring out why Shi Mok comes across as such a quirky fellow, but she soon develops tremendous respect for him and his ability to speak his mind (which he always does!).
It isn't often that I bring up the theme music for a show, but this one reminds me of Hans Zimmer's Batman score a bit! It's catchy, and it seems to sum up all of the excitement and intrigue that this series provides!
The plot is expertly crafted and multi-layered. Much like an onion, once one layer is exposed, there is another. This forces Shi mok and Yeo Jin to wonder just how far and how deep the conspiracy goes.
The British series "Line of Duty" is a show about police corruption. This show not only takes it much farther, but this story is far more taut and exciting! I cannot emphasize enough just how much credit the writers should be given. It's not easy to put something like this together. "Stranger" is nothing short of a being an absolute masterpiece! Master mystery writers like Agatha Christie would be proud! Literally from start to finish, "Stranger" keeps up the intrigue and never pauses even for a moment!
**I was so excited when Season 2 came out, and even more excited to find out that there is a Season 3 on its way!**
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Multiple plot twists, most of them completely unexpected. kept me on the edge of my seat. Probably one of the dramas I've watched quickest, just because every episode made me want to watch more. Wasn't my usual cup of tea, as I'm very much a romantic comedy, happy-go-lucky, cliché drama kinda person. However, wasn't cliché at all, and was very well written, and acted.
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1For me Stranger holds special meaning since it's the first ever kdrama for me(not taking movies into account) and it was such a high quality one from every aspect(story, cast, overall production) that immediately set the highest standard for me. After that it was difficult to find equally good productions, though I have found some.
The story has good twists and keeps you guessing and even when it's not, it still has a good execution that it's still as interesting. The cast is amazing. Solid performances from everyone. It starts off a bit slow but after the 6th episode it's addictive. And as far as I remember, there weren't any of the classic mechanics in writing that make it seem contrived. The characters and their actions have consistency.
I really don't want to say more and rather have you watch it. Even if it's not your favorite I think you'll still find it a very good one.
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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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If you are looking just for a romantic cliche show, this is NOT your show. But are you looking for a good story, with great plottwists and fenomenal actors. BAM...than this is it!
I was completely hooked on the tvscreen for days. The writers were throwing plottwists after plottwists and it was never boring.
I'm looking forward to season 2, not many korean shows get more seasons, but this one deserves it!!
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Review of "Stranger 1st season"
- First of all, can I just point out how fucking unique the plot line is!!!!! Honestly I was interested on how the director would play out the whole "no emotions" thing because while it was an intriguing idea it could have been a home run or a hit or miss and honestly I personally think they hit a home run with it!! They managed to create a character who was able to be apatheic in certain situations which was good because he was able to rationalize and reasons in ways that you can't when your being overwhelmed by emotion, but you could also tell he cared.- While his face barley ever changed (props to the actor btw) he body language told us all we need to know. From the way he stand to even how he placed his hands, I think they did a great job portraying this type of character.
- Now what I was impressed with was the most was the OST. Both the intro and the outro had me bopping, so much so that i would watch the credits just to hear the music. It also was very impactful with the storyline too.
- Now I'm just saying this to let you know, but this series contains but the smallest bit of romance. its not a big part of the story and it can't even really be called small either because while it does further the relationship between the characters it doesn't turn into anything big.
- Overall , this series is a must watch if your into crime/mystery with politics, corruption, and betrayal thrown into the mix. This show is definitely binge-worthy!!!
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