Suspicious Partner (2017)

A little uneven, unsatisfying, and unfocused, but overall lighthearted fun

This is a great, lighthearted watch. The show won't blow you away in any category, but it's still good fun. Of the clear positives, Nam Ji Hyun is great as the earnest Bong Hee. I found Choi Tae Joon to be the scene stealer -- of his character Eun Hyun, you really want to hate him, but his motivations for doing less-than-honorable things are quickly explained and he helps hold the group together by playing love doctor, keeping them financially afloat, and supporting them in their main story investigations. Overall, the drama has some romantic moments that touch you and some thrilling moments that make you want more.

Unfortunately, there's some strong pacing problems. The thriller plot thread kicks off with a bang, but the story gets established, and the plot quickly gets confused about where it's going and what to do with itself. Similarly, the romance escalates quickly, settling into a "will-they-or-won't-they" equilibrium, but then quickly loses its momentum. Matching this, the last set of episodes felt really out of place, filled with filler to remind you that the show is supposed to be funny and romantic, while not really tying up the story together that well.

I think if the whole 20/40 episodes could be re-evaluated, re-shot and re-edited for its weak parts, this could be easily transformed into a 10 out of 10 show. There is a lot of potential here for a magnificent story, but unfortunately it doesn't all come together. As such, it's just an OK watch.

Read More

I think that this drama did it pretty well for me! A lot of people have said that this drama started off strong for them but ended not so well. I kind of disagree with that because I throughly enjoyed it.
Story: 9.0/10
Now you might say that the whole murderer aspect, "who is the murderer" is the same old, same old. That's true but it was actually one of the reasons why I enjoyed it. Though the only thing that left me kind of questioning was, why did he do that? I still had many questions at the end. The romance in this one was good but not the best. It just didn't stand out that much to me but I still found some scenes cute between the main characters. I actually was more attracted to the second lead romance.Also another thing that I really liked watching was the office meetings. They were too funny.
Acting/Cast:10/10
Acting in this one was amazing. I've watched Ji Chang Wook in many other drama's but, I think I fell for him in this one. I couldn't stop staring at him. Nam Ji hyun was good too and her crying scenes felt so real.I'm so glad Choi Tae Joon plays a really gullible character in this because his character in missing 9 was not so pretty, and now I love him to bits. This is my first time seeing Nara and I must say, even though of what happened in the past with her character, she is my favourite in this. And finally the person that plays the villain... I won't say his name in case it's a spoiler but... I love him and hate him at the same time. He plays the villain so perfectly that I hate him but because he played it so perfectly, I loved it? Does that make sense? Idk XD
Music: 7.0/10
The reason why I put it at such an average score was because I haven't listened to the whole soundtrack yet so I'm saying it's not bad. Eye contact by Kim Ez acoustic version is so far my favourite song on the soundtrack. The sound effects during the episodes were also nice to but too bad their not actual songs.
Rewatch value: 5.0/10
I won't be rewatching this because I don't see the reason why and I always say this but I rarely rewatch drama's.
Overall: 8.5/10
I recommend this to you if you're looking for a sweet romantic comedy with a bit of a twist. By the way, the outfits in this drama were so eye-catching to me even though they were simple.

Read More

Ji Chang Wook, who continues to practically ooze charisma from his damn pores, plays straight laced and uptight Prosecuter Noh Ji Wook opposite Nam Ji Hyun's chipper and plucky Lawyer Eun Bong Hee. Bong Hee works for Ji Wook, but when she's framed for murder, he ends up being the one prosecuting her (apparently conflict of interest is not a thing, at least in kdramaland court rooms). This all happens in the first handful of episodes, but the real story follows after the resolution of her prosecution for murder. The drama really follows them, Ji Wook's mostly estranged best friend (played charmingly by Choi Tae Joon, who manages to hold his own against Chang Wook's own effortless charm - not an easy thing to do), his ex-girlfriend/fiance (played by Nara), and his extended family/friends. Throw into the mix a serial murderer. The resulting recipe is a lot of fun to watch. The notes in this show are mostly up beat. They do trot out some dramatic family secrets, but even the sad and down moments are balanced out by bright and cheerful ones so you never come away from this feeling like you've had to slog through anything.

I'm pretty sure Ji Chang Wook's inherent charm is what keeps the Earth rotating on its axis.

Read More

This drama start with a mystery and change into a cute and fluffy drama. I am not sure about Korean drama's trend these days or it is just because I happened to see a lot of drama with similar style (Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Healer, I Hear Your Voice, Pinocchio, etc). Suspense mixed with romance comedy drama with something either happen in the past or present. If you want a serious clever mystery plot like I Hear Your Voice, you wont find it here. I find the investigation part is really really slow (I mean, how slow they can be to investigate more of Hyun Soo's past??). This drama is strictly focused on the complex relationship between the characters , romance and fluffiness.

Although a lot of things in this drama can be cliche, all the elements works pretty well. I think the drama for 30 minutes for each episode works out well for me than the usual 1 hour length for 16 episodes or so. The pace of the romance is pretty reasonable. The fact that they start off with a wrong impression of each other and get to know each other step by step drawn me more. Ji Wook's trust issue (he was betrayed by his 2 most closest person after all), lost his beloved job, case with Jung Hyun Soo, and also the fire case which involve Ji Wook and Bong Hee parent brings a lot of turbulence into their relationship. And Love is all about timing. There are a lot of back and forth but love can only start with the right timing.

The story is pretty cute and fluffy. The main leads are not the only one who give out fluffiness. Tae Joon as Eun Hyuk is a total sugar candy. I nearly push him and Ji Wook as couple. They are adorable together. Another that is pretty interesting for me, somehow, I came to like the female love rival more than the female lead. Yes, Yoo Jung can be shameless (in term if betraying Ji Wook with his best friend and try to justify her act). But She is pretty cool too. I can see the reason why Ji Wook and Eun Hyuk fall for her. She is attractive and has a pretty cool personality. She does not scheme like the usual love rival. I find her pursuing Ji Wook is because she just being honest to herself. She knows she is wrong. But she cannot lie about her feelings. In addition, even though she was suspicious of Bong Hee (her love rival), she really put her 100% to the right job and investigate the case with professionalism. This remind me that not all people are 100% bad, but 100% good either. I find if both Bong Hee and Yoo Jung meet under different situation (without Ji Wook), they can be a pretty close friend.

Last note, I find Ji Chang Wook acts better here (He has more expression). He also has more chemistry here with the female lead than when he was with Park Min Young in Healer (Though story wise, Healer is way way a better drama.). I think this drama is a worthy watch for fluffy romance.

Read More

I think that this drama had a lot going for it, but despite some really great things about it, it didn't quite do it for me.

I tried to start the show 3 times and each time something annoyed me in the story. Despite that, I kept watching to get to the good parts because of the high rankings the show received. I had a really hard time with the first 3-4 episodes. I found No Ji Wook and Eun Bong Hee's encounters to be rather awkward; not pleasant to watch at all. On top of that. I felt that there were way too many unlikable characters (evil killers, mean girls, cheating boyfriends, uncompromising DAs) and I didn't like the twist in which a girl suddenly became a suspect and there is literally nothing anybody saw or heard because of some ridiculous blackout. It was too unbelievable for me. However, it did eventually get to the good part.

--This part of the review can spoil parts of the show, so don't read it if you didn't watch the show. --

The criminal part of this story that pertains to the serial killer is its best part. The plot twists are surprising and interesting and I can't believe how amazing Dong Ha was in his role. Hyun Soo was probably the most interesting villain I've seen so far. He was scary, creepy and intriguing at the same time. His interactions with the people around were always tense and made things more interesting. I mean, Dong Ha really stole the show here. I felt like I feared him but was also curious about him. Just when I felt like I knew everything there was to know about him, it turns out that I was wrong all along. This was one of the best stories like that out there. However, I can't get over how unrealistic the lawyers' jobs were portrayed. I mean, this show was more of a police drama than lawyer drama. This is not what lawyers do! This really annoyed me throughout the show.

------ end of slight spoiler part -------

I think that the weakest part of the show was the romance. It started off kind of promising, but it quickly became bland and boring. They kept moving around in circles and almost no interaction between the two was interesting. I couldn't really see Ji Wook and Bong Hee as love interests and I don't think that I particularly liked Bong Hee's character. It's not that I disliked her; she was just very lukewarm to me and I don't want to feel this way about the main character. I also didn't feel much chemistry between the actors. I wonder if it was the writing or Nam Ji Hyun's acting. I mean, after watching Healer I can't get satisfied with the level of chemistry that I saw in Suspicious Partner.
I really liked how the relationships between the lawyers and other people developed and how natural the progression was. I regret that I didn't feel like that about the main couple.

All in all, I'm glad that I watched this show but it didn't make it into my all time favorites.

Read More

I like him a lot ❤️ Ji Chang -wook

It is great romantic comedy with happy ending.
Great story,music,everything.
Watched only because of Ji Chang -wook and i’m satisfied.
My total recommendation.
Where is my favorite actor,there is magic.
I’m just a spectator who wathed series on Netflix for the first time.
I’ll rewatch someday,now i have to move on.
My admiration for great series.
Again,watch the series.
You’ll love everything ❤️
Greetings from Serbia,Europe
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️??????❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Read More

This is a very unique drama in that it is truly a tale of romance but it is embedded deeply within a suspense/thriller story. It is one of the rare dramas that has enough of each (substantially equal) that if you are only interested in the romance part of the story there is enough story content related to the romance to be satisfied with this drama even if you never care for the suspense/solve-the-crime story. If you like crime-solving thrillers and want to ignore the lovey-dovey parts of the two main characters there is enough plot and tension within the crime story that will keep you interested and on the edge of your seat for the entire series. In fact, toward the end of this drama, the love story had to take a back seat to the unnerving and chilling parts of the story when the killer is finally caught and brought to justice.

"Suspicious Partner" is special because it has a balanced blend of humor, comedy, romance, bromance, suspense, anxiety, thrills, mystery, heartache, happiness and contentment to satisfy the various desires of a large audience. This drama sort of has it all.

I am a Ji Chang Wook fan and he did not disappoint in showing his range of acting skills and emotions in "Suspicious Partner" from comedic, to courageous, to loving and tender, to hurt and frustrated, to caring and sensual. He is the rare actor whose eyes and facial expressions say a thousand words without him speaking; however, when given great words to say, combined with his physical gifts of expression, it makes him extremely endearing and a strong protective force on screen. You can see why many women get weak from his heartfelt words and his piercing gaze.

I just want to give final recognition to Nam Ji Hyun for being an equally great female lead actress in this drama. She was not only beautiful but she was also able to display her great acting abilities to demonstrate many emotions on screen---all of them authentic and realistic to the audience. To Lee Deok Hwa who was the CEO/Step-Father to Attorney No. He was the great comedic relief to the show in the many super funny staff meetings that the firm had; but he also showed he could be the loving father, the wise sage, and the attentive and caring businessman---I really loved his character. Finally, hats off to Dong Ha who really played a very sinister, foreboding, mentally disturbing, malevolent, villain/murderer. He played this role so well, that you did not like his character at all, (he was pretty scary most of the times) but you have to give him his props for such a remarkable performance.

Read More

Suspicious Partner is a Korean suspense, law, mystery, romance and comedy drama. The story is about Ji Wook an intelligent stubborn prosecutor turned lawyer and Bong Hee a naive lawyer who team up to work on a mysterious murder case involving a sly serial killer. The story explored corruption in the justice system. The cast played their characters very well, and there was good chemistry between the male and female leads. The music was pretty good and fit the drama well. If you like law dramas with a bit of romance and comedy then I would recommend this drama to you.

Read More

And Justice For All

In order not to appear innocent victims, a law enforcer must uphold justice! That's more or less the message of the drama 'Suspicious Partner'.

Because of the actions of Prosecutor Jang Moo-Young, misfortune befell Eun Bong-Hee. He was bullied as a murderer's son, after Eun Bong-Hee's father was sacrificed as a firefighter.

The second time, Prosecutor Jang Moo-Young almost indicted Eun Bong-Hee by forging a murder weapon. Even though he escapes punishment, it doesn't mean good luck comes to Eun Bong-Hee.

Prosecutor Jang Moo-Young's other act was the rape case against Park So-Young by 7 teenagers. The majority of the perpetrators came from wealthy families, so the case was frozen. As a result, one of the perpetrators felt guilty and killed 6 other perpetrators.

Coherently arranged, the drama 'Suspicious Partner' begins with interesting scenes and tends to be funny, such as Eun Bong-Hee falsely accusing No Ji-Wook. Then No Ji Wook used Eun Bong-Hee out of shame towards his ex-girlfriend and mistress.

The colorful fun scene in the first episode suddenly turns dark, dark in the next episode, when Eun Bong-Hee becomes the accused of the death of her ex-boyfriend.

Overall, the drama 'Suspicious Partner' is recommended, even for re-watching. Although the results would be better, if the director and production team would condense it into 16 episodes or 32 episodes @ 30 minutes.

I like the idea of ​​Eun Bong-Hee, who is confused about finding a place to live, but instead goes to Na Ji-Hae's house, which incidentally is her rival. Na Ji-Hae once snatched Eun Bong-Hee's boyfriend, then became a damning witness. Their feud has even ended in each other. Exciting friendship!

What I like about this drama is the warm, brotherly atmosphere of the lawyer's office. Eun Bong-Hee confides with Ji Eun-Hyuk. It was the cold No Ji-Wook who had to be firm and make a decision. The arbiter of the wise Mr. Bang, and the trouble maker, senior lawyer Byeon Young-Hee, who is also No Ji Wook's adoptive father.

The cases raised are also interesting, such as the case of the death of the perpetrator of domestic violence. The wife thought her son had committed the murder so she wanted to take his place as the accused.

Then there is the stalker case that Eun Bong-Hee defends. A case of beating by a fortune teller. And certainly the case of serial killers who experience cognitive dissonance.

I give the drama Suspicious Partner a 7/10 because it is full of good acting and makes me smile. It could be 9/10 if this drama was shortened to just 16 episodes.

Oops, impossible wish huh? ️
Furthermore, my review can be read here:
https://www.maria-g-soemitro.com/2022/01/suspicious-partner-huami-park-shin-hye.html

Read More

Definitely was interesting in the beginning with the storyline as well as the eerie feeling that came when Bong Hee arrived in her office at night scene. The new storyline of Ji Wook preventing Bong Hee from going to jail was a fresh start to the drama and the unknown identity of the murderer made it more suspenseful and interesting to watch. It definitely fell short when the murderer Hyun Soo was revealed way too early in the drama which lead to it dragging along in most of the episodes in the middle. I think in the early episodes of when Chan Ho was revealed to have ill intentions and could possibly be the murderer could have been hidden from the audience and revealed later on just like the point I made before. About 1/3 of the drama near the end was just "when will they catch the murderer already?". It was dragging so much in the middle and near the end that I honestly skipped a lot of parts and I was still able to catch on with the premise of the story at the end. Also would've been interesting if somehow Ji wook and Bong hee figured out that their fathers were involved in the same arson case near the middle of the drama which would've added more to the drama. The ending was somewhat not satisfying because we've known who the murderer is for almost the entirety of the drama and I stuck with this drama due to Ji Chang Wook and Nam Ji Hyun's chemistry. My first time watching Ji Hyun's acting and will definitely watch her other dramas as she's a good actress! Really had potential in the beginning but I think it fell short in generating suspense throughout the middle to end of the drama as mentioned before, I'm not sure why the writer decided to just reveal the killer so early on and prolonged everything and nothing became intriguing quite quickly.
Some concluding points:
- Moo yeong (Hee joon's father) should've been punished more for what he did in the past
- Yoo Jung's character didn't provide much other than the "ex that cheated with my friend" impression and I think her character barely developed
- A lot say they like Ji Hae's character near the end which I agree but I still think she should've been punished in a way for being the "mistress" of Hee joon and I don't see how Bong hee had such a mutual relationship with her
- Choi Tae Joon's acting is okay for me as it felt kinda awkward at times with his facial expressions
- Liked the happy and cute ending but wished it would've shown a bit of their life after

Read More