Every episode is action packed and in chances where the episodes have less action, they fill it with a lot of information relating to the characters and plots. Unlike many other drama’s I have watched, a lot of the plot is explained in detail. The characters go through a great deal of development and you are left feeling satisfied by the story by the end of the drama.
The story line does not lack action and drama. The whole drama is filled with action scenes and can definitely be labelled a thriller. There is little to no romance in the plot as well which is a bonus for someone like me who doesn’t like romance driven actions. The two male leads have amazing chemistry with each other as well.
The actors in this are absolutely amazing. The Yang Se Jong is incredible. I personally had not heard of him before this drama, but his skills definitely have me looking out for his next dramas. He takes on multiple roles in this drama (Don’t worry not a spoiler ;) ). Which definitely took a lot of skill to play different roles.
I don’t really have much to complain about with this drama besides the fact that it ended lol. This is probably one of my all time favourites and is definitely a must watch.
Overall this drama was clearly well planned out. You get a ton of important details and a lot of the plot and history of the characters are explained. There is a lot of character development and the story focuses on the two male leads instead of having the drama lead by romance, despite female characters being introduced. If you are a fan of action thrillers I definitely suggest you give this a watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
I don't have too much to write but i did want to leave my thoughts here about this drama.First of all i will start by praising the actors!! they portrayed the emotions and played their characters so well.
This drama was full of plot twists that took me by surprise every single time and i was kept on my toes, wanting more.
The ending left me feeling bittersweet.
**SPOILER ALERT** I couldn't stop crying when Sunghoon died.. i was so angry that the writers decided to kill him, but on the other hand it seemed like the most logical thing to happen, because if Sunghoon didn't die he would probably have to spend the rest of his life in jail for all of the crimes he did, and he would continue living miserably.
Overall this drama is probably one of my favorite crime/thriller dramas so far.
I highly recommend it!
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This review may contain spoilers
100000% recommended.The plot was great but the ending was so bittersweet. However, I'm still very glad I watched the drama because it was so unqiue and interesting.
First of all I'd like to say that at first I didn't appreciate Sung Hoon because of how much I appreciated Sung Joon for being nice and sweet. But as I found out more about Sung Hoon I realised how great he is too. I would have loved more twin/clone time and I think the (spoiler ahead)
death of Sung Hoon was unnecessary....
Well, not entirely. If Sung Hoon was seen to die but then at the end found out to be still alive, it would be such a fucking great ending.
Sung Hoon and Sung Joon never got to spend any time together and when they did it was always in the worst situation. I really loved this drama and I am very glad that Mi Rae, Chief Jang and Soo Yeon are alright. I am very very glad that Sung Joon is alright too.
However....Sung Hoon....I feel as if he could have had a better ending.
Overall, though, I loved the drama and I shall remember Sung Hoon as Sung Joon remembers him. Maybe I wouldn't rewatch the ending...but it would be great to see the twins/clones in action again.
Much love to this drama.
Hope to see similar ones in the future.
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This drama has it all. Tension, Action, Emotions and also silent moments. It is like Circle but also very different. For those who want romance I have to disappoint you, because this drama focuses on friendship and relationships between family Members.
The Story is about a father who searches for his daughter who was kidnapped. With the hope of finding his daughter he teams up with a mysterious young man who he believes knows where the child is. The two of them teams up to rescue the child, but after a few episodes you will know, there is more than that. When I watched the first Episodes I asked myself if there will be more conflicts or if the main theme will be the search for the daughter. I can say the wait was it worth because the Father-Daughter Story is important but there is mysterious Case who is very important, too. Maybe more important.
Cast: The first I want to say is, that this drama was amazing because of Yang Sejong. His Acting Skills are like he is in the industry since years ago. But he is a rookie. I didn't watched his debut drama „Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim“, yet but it is on my 'to watch' List. He played not one or two roles, but three roles. They were all very different and he acted like a Pro. In my opinion he is an amazing Actor. I like many Actors but Yang Sejong is talented as hell. He is one of the best young Actors I have ever seen. In this drama he shows us his skills every single time he appears. Without saying much of the Story I can say that he acts like a pro when he plays more than one roles (plus all of his characters are very different from each other).
Duel was my first Drama (or movie) with Jung Jaeyoung so I don't know how he acted in other projects. His Acting here was good. I liked his relationship with his drama daughter and his interaction with Sejongs character (or should I say one of his characters?). He has a lot of emotional scenes but I is a veteran Actor, even though he has more experiences with Movies than dramas. His emotional scenes were very movie so I liked his acting a lot.
Seo Eunsoo was okay. Not amazing but I liked her even though I think her role wasn't a must. The drama would be good without her role, too.
The Actress I was disappointed in was Kim Jungeun. I know she is a very good veteran Actress but I think her Acting here was disappointing. Maybe it was her role, but she could have done better. Most of the time I hated her.
Honourable mentions go to Choi Woong, Kim Kidoo, Lee Chulmin and little girl Lee Nayoon. They were good actors and I enjoyed their scenes a lot.
Music: The Music was good and suited the moments it was played very much. So I think it was good.
In Conclusion the Acting of Yang Sejong saved this dramas rating for me. I can only repeat myself. He was so amazing that I could watching this drama all day. But I haven't time. Luckily he has a new Drama *-*.
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Suspenseful Drama
Duel was an exciting show that kept me engaged and I felt it had a satisfying ending.What I Liked
Yang Se-jong’s performance as two different people was very good. I could definitely tell the difference between them. Sung Joon had a kindness about him and was determined to help Deuk Cheon find his daughter. Sung Hoon, on the other hand, was impulsive and, on the surface, it seemed he was doing what he did because he enjoyed it but there was more to his character. He was unpredictable, at times delusional, and that creepy smile he had was really chilling.
I really felt for Deuk Cheon’s character and was rooting for him to find his daughter. He made a lot of dangerous decisions, but it was understandable since he was in a distressing situation. I liked the bond that he and Sung Joon shared and felt it was built-up well throughout the show. Sung Hoon’s inner turmoil was interesting to witness as well, and I would love to do an in-depth character analysis of him because I felt he was a complicated and complex character with different sides. He wasn’t just the average villain without a reason for what he was doing. He exuded this calm exterior at times but, as the show goes on, he becomes more and more agitated to the point where it seems he's lost his sense of reality.
The suspense was well done, and I found myself binge watching to see what would happen next. The music wasn’t very memorable, but it did serve its purpose, which was to pull the viewer into the chaos that was happening to the characters. I liked the storyline and felt invested in it along with the characters. Everything was revealed at a good time and it didn’t feel at all draggy.
What I Didn’t Like
The underground fighting part seemed a little chaotic and disconnected but it did serve to bring Sung Joon and Mi-rae together. Other than this though, I really enjoyed the show. It wasn’t much I didn’t like.
Would I Rewatch?
Yes, definitely! It’s a show I would watch from the beginning after a few years. I would say it's one of my favorite chase/suspense dramas so far.
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A Really Impressive Sci-Fi Mystery
I feel as though Duel is one of those dramas which a lot of drama users don’t know about which is a shame because it does deserve a lot more attention.The series is a pretty original concept for a Korean drama and as an OCN production has a flare of more “ darker” themes.
I’ll be honest in saying that I struggled with the first few episodes. The pacing was a bit off for me and the main detective did get on my nerves a little initially. However when I got over this hurdle of the first two episodes I’m glad that I stuck around as the main lead changed my opinion a lot.
A lot of this was down to the main cast who did a really good job as our leads. The biggest praise does go to the second male lead of the series who had to play two different roles with ease. I’ll be honest in saying that given context I knew it was the same actor it was easy to feel as though I was watching two different people.
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The first 4 episodes didn't seem too great but not too bad either, but it's really later on that the show hooked me up and I absolutely loved it.
The plot is interesting since the beginning if you're into this type of dramas and it becomes better as the series goes on. There were also some plot twists that I really didn't expect although I have experience with korean dramas!
Besides, Yang SeJong did an amazing job portraying all the characters he was given and it's thanks to this drama that I really fell in love with his acting.
I would 100% rewatch it, in fact I'm waiting to start forgetting some of the synopsis to finally watch it again haha, but it's really remained engraved in my brain since I liked it so much Read More
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This review may contain spoilers
This was actually recommended to me the year after it was release and due to the fact that I'm also an avid fan of tv series having crime solving themes. I recently just watch it and finished it today. At first, I did not expect anything from this thriller, although, I already find it interesting. The fact that I finished this in one-sitting just show how good it is. Plot twist within a plot twist - which is the reason why it will leave you hanging and wanting for more.
Just like OCN drama in a nutshell, every episode is filled with crime, suspense, action-pack, mindfuck and heartbreaking scenes. Only a little time to relax and unwind. This might be the reason why, after watching this, I'm emotionally unstable, I feel relieved and at the same time depressed. The scenes always ingraining on my mind. The others are right, this drama will really get to you.
The cast, indeed, portray their characters well. I was attached, badly. The main detective is headstrong that is both his weakness and strength, but if I was also in his position, considering what happened to his daughter, I would be like that too. The prosecutor is greedy but she subtly cares, straightforward and pragmatic. The reporter is stubborn which is also her weakness and strength. And the clones, oh the clones, the first one carries humane tendencies, warm, while the other is cold, neurotic and slowly losing it. One thing these clones/twins have in common they are both fragile mentally and...physically.
The music production was perfect. Every sound emphasizes/heighten the feelings, the actions, the expressions and the dialogues of each scenarios. The 1st Ost "Nightmare" by Mad Soul Child is the absolute combination for the drama, or specifically, other says that, it is a song suitable for the evil twin.
All in all, this is really indeed, one of those dramas that I will watch again because it really impacted me, strongly.
Btw, this show has led me to be curious about stem cell and how cloning human is indeed unethical and blasphemous.
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Fantastic acting and a amazing story plot!
This drama is ABSOLUTELY amazing. The story line and the acting is on point! I've seen so many crime and thriller dramas and this is the BEST one yet! The first episode will pull you in and isn't boring like most 1st episodes! Yang Se-Jong became one of my favorite actors, he played 3 people! All the actors in here were fantastic, it felt SO real. You will cry and will be getting upset with a few people in the show. I would also re-watch this show in the near future, it's such a good drama to not throw away. If I could give this drama 100 stars I would! You should watch, you won't regret it!Was this review helpful to you?
I wish there would be a season 2 for this, Yang Se-jong was really good. I love to see him on this genre...
I have watched a lot of kdramas, but I never expected that I will watch all of his tv series just to see him on the screen... He's role mostly on a romance drama were all very awesome-- but on this one, he's exemplary.
I wish time will fly so fast so that I can see Yang Se-jong in action again.
Kudos to the writer on this drama that came up with kind of concept
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Painful lack of balance.
Duel is an interesting tale that serves as a commentary on morality, what it means to be human and what one can do for survival. It mixes typical corruption and crime plot lines with underlying science fiction elements. Sadly, the lack of balance in terms of writing the characters and their backgrounds makes it hard to truly enjoy and appreciate it.To keep it simple, this show kept making me feel angry, depressed and frustrated. This drama was determined to dump any possible bad event on one character, not letting him, nor me as a viewer, take even a small chill break. By the end of the show I couldn't care less about any other character except for Sung Hoon. While making me care so much about the "villain" - the angry, manipulative and selfish one of the Sungs could be considered excellent writing, the fact that it also makes me dislike Sung Joon says otherwise.
How many writing mistakes must you commit to make me dislike the good, loyal, selfless and cute character, while I wish to see the happiness of the evil, shady and selfish one? And that's where the lack of balance shows. The good guy was too good and didn't have an interesting backstory, while the bad guy had a compelling background and more complex personality.
The plot follows a rather typical structure of a crime show. The science fiction aspect has little if not no closure. All storylines for each character got a conclusion - some more, some less satisfying.
I have to applaud Yang Se Jong's performance. He aced both the goodness in Sung Joon and madness in Sung Hoon. Truly believable dual acting. I wasn't the biggest fan of Kim Jung Eun in here, but I'm honestly not sure if the problem was her acting, or how her character was written.
Overall, watch it if you like to suffer and be frustrated - for some people it makes them feel alive. For me, the drama could have dived deeper into how external circumstances can shape who we are and how we act, what it means to act morally and if it even matters when faced with a life or death situation.
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This review may contain spoilers
Since watching Korean dramas for close to a year now, I gotta say Koreans must have special genes and lives like a cat because realistically the things that happened in this series NO real human would be able to bounce back from.In the last few years I've become a binger-not a word, I know-but this is what I've become. I no longer have the patience to wait out another week for a episode to air. Luckily I've been able to do so with some of my TV shows and now Korean shows.
I was close to not watching this. I kept running into it while trying to find dramas w/o the romance and it's a very few. I recognized the main male actor from the Partners For Justice series and immediately liked his character. But I avoided watching this but bit the bullet and went on ahead and watched it.
This show isn't for the faint of heart. It actually reminded me of that Canadian series 'Orphan Black'. This series wasn't as deep as that series but it had me interested.
It does run slow and I watched only two episodes a day. I felt a little robbed because there wasn't a lot of backstories about any of the characters. I'm so use to backstories now that when I don't get one or get a little info I get disappointed. They did show a little about what the 2nd & 3rd male lead went through when they were kids. But it wasn't enough for me.
I liked the main male character because as the series progressed this guy was like a surrogate father to the 2nd male lead and other people who got involved with the plot.
I really didn't like the female prosecutor though. I'm not surprised about not liking several females in this as it always happen throughout the Kdramas I've watched.
The revenge aspect was a little weak but it was maintained a bit throughout the series.
It was a OK watch. The score was going to be lower but I decided it wasn't that bad. I do know I won't watch this again though.
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