Hail Hail! The Gang's All Here.
West Incheon’s favourite good cops Kang Do-chang (Son Hyun-joo and Oh Ji-hyeok (Jang Seung-jo) are back again for another season of murder, mayhem and manipulation with the rest of the lads from Team 2 who are much more of a cohesive fighting machine than once they were. They are still led by Team Leader Woo Bong-shik (Jo Hee-bong), a perpetual nervous wreck whose timidity regarding what they're up against is only equalled by his fear of his wife’s nagging and their chief, Moon Sang Beom (Son Jong-hak) who lives for that holy grail promotion that’s just around the corner.In this series the team tangles first of all with a serial killer in their neighbourhood with a fetish for young women in white. When they finally get their man they play a rather protracted, elaborate game of cat and mouse with a family-run conglomerate, TJ Group who seem to be at the centre of domestic violence and possibly crimes of passion. At the start the patriarch (Song Yang-chang) of TJ Group is spending time behind bars for dubious business practices and the company is left to the devices of his contentious offspring Cheon Sang-woo (Choi Dae-hoon), Cheon Na-na (Kim Hyo-jin) and son-in-law Woo Tae-ho (Jung Moon-sung). The half siblings duke it out for supremacy while Woo Tae-ho, also head of the legal team, is caught between their ferocious rivalry. Their story is both high melodrama and a psychological battle of wits rolled into one.
The thing to note first of all about this franchise is that this never purports to be a police procedural about the nobility of the boys in blue. Far from it. Indeed it is a show about cops — warts and all. The official English title is somewhat misleading and would be better translated from the original as The Model Detective. That said Do-chang and Ji-hyeok aren’t perfect men (Ji-hyeok comes pretty close) but they are the closest thing to diligence and smarts as one might get from this rag tag bunch of investigators. The two men are as alike as chalk and cheese but in very significant ways define what this abstract model detective looks like. Do-chang is all heart and emotionally driven. He sympathizes deeply with the victims’ families which is evidenced by his relationship with his adopted daughter and their relationship with the victim's grandfather. Having lost his father to a cold blooded killing, Oh Ji-hyeok isn’t just intellectually committed to cracking every case, he is absolutely determined to catch every single perpetrator that comes his way. He is depicted as the consummate detective and he’s earned the respect of his colleagues to the extent that his intelligence guides the discourse in the office. The maknae of the team Shim Dong-wook shows plenty of promise except that his Achilles’ heel seems to be his ne’er do well brother Dong-il who seems to fall prey to all kinds of schemes concocted by those whose aim is to divide and conquer.
Unlike your garden variety police procedural, getting to the bottom of the mystery isn’t the main thing here. There aren’t any intractable mysteries or supervillains here. If that’s what you’re looking for, you might want to look elsewhere. Like many K crime shows, knowing who’s responsible isn’t the end of the story or sufficient cause for an arrest because proof is hard to come by. Meanwhile the perpetrators are protected by layers political clout or vested interests which reflects how any kind of business is done in that part of the world. Truth isn’t just a casualty, it’s barely relevant in such a context. In the end one might appeal to self-interest, financial incentives, threats, and political expediency but very seldom is righteous fervour or a well-developed sense of justice part of the equation. Within this dog eat dog ecosystem, detectives see themselves as a link in the food chain and they might want to negotiate for a better deal than what the public service can offer them. It isn’t just a case of survival of the fittest but a submission to the status quo — to the way things are. Jang Ki-jin which is this season’s corrupt cop alongside Choi Yong-geun an ex-cop now enjoying the benefits of being a stooge of TJ group represents a sample of what’s wrong with the public service: It is dominated by capable but ambitious individuals who use their previous service as a stepping stone to getting in bed with the rich and powerful.
Woo Tae-ho, who is another new face in the franchise, is a morally enigmatic figure. Without his inclusion in the mix, the TJ Group would be just another feuding chaebol family. He’s a mediator, a broker and the protector in a messy situation. Somewhere along the way the former prosecutor got mired in that family’s misdemeanours to the extent that he became the family’s lap dog cleaning up after them. His moral compass has gone awry in service of the woman he married. Perhaps that’s why he became attracted to the deceased Jung Hee-joo, a subordinate, who was something of a misfit in that environment. Tae-ho’s dynamic with his wife Cheon Na-na is tragically compounded by layers of irreparable misunderstandings. From an outsider’s perspective, it looks like they’re two people who may lingering feelings for each other but an insurmountable wall has sprung up between them with neither wanting to make the first move to repair matters. There’s little trust on her side and there’s plenty of guilt on his. Na-na whose mental state is fragile despite the bravado clearly frames herself as the victim in the Cheon family dysfunction. She teeters back and forth on the edge of the abyss between stylish poise and wretched madness. It’s a masterful performance by Kim Hyo-jin. Without a doubt her chemistry with Jung Moon-sung is one of the more arresting parts of the show. Jung Moon-sung is one of those truly underrated actors who has the versatility and the charisma to be a male lead but for some reason that status has eluded him thus far.
In the end “Why was Jung Hee-joo killed?” is perhaps a far more difficult question to answer than “Who killed Jung Hee-joo?” The answer to the first question is far more psychologically complex than one might think. But at the end of the day, it’s a question that’s much more of interest to a viewer like me than the conspirators who are trying to misdirect and impede the investigation. For those of us who were raised on the teat of western crime fiction, it might be something of an anticlimax that the answers that her grandfather seeks can only be found only after a series of negotiations, accommodation and political compromises. However, such is the reality of that world. At least the cops can console themselves with the belief that the dead woman’s family can get some closure.
In an ensemble such as this with veterans and well-regarded character actors, it’s pretty much a guarantee that the performances will be stellar across the board. The actors contribute in large part to making this viewing experience an immersive one. It is a male-centric story and one of my great delights is watching the Team 2 camaraderie at work. The banter between the leads and among their colleagues never fails to amuse. Each deliver a punchline with flair especially when it's not heard by the others. What began to flower in S1 has developed into a bit of an art in this series. The dialogue spiced with wit and irony is music to the ears. Despite the ribbing and backhanded serves of chastisement, these men do really care about each other — they can be relied upon to have each other’s backs when the chips are down. Often it is a testosterone filled space that they occupy but I relish every single moment that I spend with these men.
It’s no secret that I’m slightly in love with Oh Ji-hyeok partly because of Jang Seung-jo and he does play the character in a thoughtful understated way. Despite his superior skill set, Ji-hyeok is a team player and the running gags about his good looks and his wealth oddly enough never gets old. His double act with the grumpy but passionate Kang Do-chan (Son Hyun-soo) is more often than not comedy gold.
This show is a fine example of how to do core characters well — to imbue them with distinct personalities and give them character arcs that often test their mettle. I don’t think it’s too much of an exaggeration to note that many crime shows do such a good job with the antagonists that often the protagonists fade innocuously into the background. Not so here. The drama is clear on what its roots are and where its focus should ultimately be right to its humorous ending.
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This review may contain spoilers
flow of events mostly congruent with the plot, but bad finale spoils the show
I'll start by saying that I watched Season 1, and I did enjoy it, but the disappointment manifested in the last 5 episodes or so. My memory still holds the feelings of that time, but not the specific storyline. Since Season 1 was aired two years ago, I had completely forgotten what the main case was about. So when Season 2 was starting to air, I went back and restarted S1. And just from the first ep, most of the memories of the case came rushing back! I remember why I was disappointed with S1 in the first place.Now in S2, Do Chang is now the guardian for Eun Hye, whose father they had wrongly convicted for a murder charge in S1, whom they eventually failed to save from death row. I was really pissed about that in S1. I guess that's somewhat realistic, but being part of the audience, I want some form of satisfying closure. S1 didn't provide that.
Nothing came out of the brief attraction Ji Hyuk had with Seo Kyung in S1. That was also disappointing. While I didn't care much for the couple either, I would have been happier if something happened between the two of them. A development of a new relationship, or something. Overall, S1 had a sense of discontent hanging all over it, although the thrill of the chase made it a pretty decent drama for me.
I wasn't expecting much from S2 because of the lassitude I was feeling from S1. But as I followed episode after episode, I was quite surprised to find myself easily absorbed into the story. S2 started off rather slow, but it gave a cogent follow-up on Ji Hyuk getting a transfer back to West Incheon with the same team and same partner. While in S1 he had faced various oppositions and "attitude" from existing members in the investigation team, he had smoothly cemented his place with the team with his return in S2. Do Chang's younger sister who was a mess from her divorce back in S1, now owns a fried chicken shop, and Eun Hye who Do Chang is raising, helps with the shop.
The plot for S2 began with the serial killings of several girls, which overlapped with the battery case of a woman by a son from a rich conglomerate. It felt straightforward at first glance, but it was soon revealed that one of the girls whom police initially suspected was the serial killer's victim was not in fact, murdered by him. So, as the story steadily gains momentum, it begins to present a new problem and revelation of a new mystery that requires digging into the core of an affluent but heartless and dyfunctional conglomerate family.
Most actors and actresses are well-trained -- and I'm actually a pretty easy person when it comes to grading acting skills. I usually don't have much complaint where acting is concerned, unless it's so bad that even my great-grandmother in a stupor would have been a better actress. That rarely happens. However, I'm extremely picky about the script and storyline. As such, there's nothing to complain about the acting, which I quite enjoyed, especially Kim Hyo Jin's performance. She's an amazing actress.
I wrote this review when I was 8 episodes into the drama. I gave this an 8.0 back then, but now that I have completed all 16 episodes, it is with much regret that I have to dock the rating down to a 7.0 and rewrite my review. I find the final three episodes of S2 underwhelming and nonsensical. The new developments that transpired, which I'm sure almost everyone could see coming, were handled badly. I mean, there are still wholesome humour injected in some scenes, which I thoroughly appreciate. The humour is what I love about the vibe of The Good Detective. This drama gives me a light and pleasant feeling while following the cases, compared to a dark investigative series. But that being said, I have issues to pick with some details in the writing of this show.
Now, it is clear by Episode 13 that Cheon Sang Woo was not the actual killer of Jung Hee Joo. Sang Woo, having been sentenced to 15 years for soliciting Hee Joo's murder, was suddenly deemed "innocent" and freed. This is where I have a big glaring issue with the writing. He's not at all innocent. He did order the killing, and although his solicitation of murder by hiring Ki Dong Jae to murder Hee Joo did not directly result in her death, he was nevertheless still very much guilty of hiring Dong Jae as a contract killer. This is just common sense, and a law in many countries. South Korea is not an exception. According to Statutes of the Republic of Korea (aka South Korean Criminal Law) under Chapter 24, Crimes of Homicide, which covers Article 255 in Preparations and Conspiracies, it was explicitly stated that, "A person who makes preparations or conspires with intent to commit the crimes of Articles 250 through 253, shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than ten years." Articles 250 through 253 include Murder and Murder Upon Request. All these can be found on the Korea Legislation Research Institute website.
Even if Jung Hee Joo did not die by the hand of another person, it was still very much assured that she would be killed by the assassin Cheon Sang Woo has dispatched, aka Ki Dong Jae. So why should Sang Woo go free?!?? It doesn't make a shred of sense. Why would you release someone who had been proven to hire a killer with the intent to take another person's life!? The whole retrial bugged the shit out of me. Why would you need a retrial? No retrial should have been needed, Sang Woo is a scumbag who contracted a killer, he violated a law with the intent to take the life of another human being. He should have stayed in jail. The part where Kang Do Chang and Oh Ji Hyuk requested for Cheon Sung Dae's cooperation with their investigation was unnecessary, and looked really silly at execution. What was the point of Cheon Sung Dae asking for the help of 50 other old men at a villa dinner again? That bit was preposterous. It went nowhere.
Choi Yoon Geum committed a range of crimes. He accepted money to cover up a murder. Why was he free and walking about in Episode 15 and 16??! It was utterly ridiculous. All of these people have been caught red-handed on tape yet they are all released. Lmao. Hello? They were all involved in conspiracy to murder a poor girl. Again, even if she didn't die by Cheon Na Na 's hands, Cheon Sang Woo would still have her killed. He showed no remorse whatsoever even after he was caught hiring a killer on tape, was sent to trial, and put in prison. He acted like his own psychopathic self from start to finish. The final 3 episodes made zero sense.
Dude I really, really enjoyed this drama for 13 episodes and then this whole dumb "retrial, release Cheon Sang Woo" garbage happened. Ugh. Another issue that I have is the writer's treatment of female characters like Moon Bo Kyung. Girl was introduced as a mess in S2, but she grew as a character over time and honestly I have grown to love her too. She has a crush on Oh Ji Hyuk and how did the writer give her closure? Nothing. Space silence.
The really big plus about S2 of The Good Detective is that there are plenty of comedy and camaderie spirit abound compared to S1, and I personally feel it that way because I actually ran a concurrent rewatch of S1 up to Ep 7. Really, S1 wasn't terrible, but I'm ambivalent about it. S2 is definitely the better season for me, and that is very rarely the case with sequels. It almost never happens. Honestly, S2 would have been such an awesome sequel, had it not been for the disappointment in the finale.
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The Incompetent Naive Detective 2
Regarding season 1, I liked the earlier episodes and I was looking forward to the upcoming ones but things didn't go as expected. They had a really poor mix of investigators and journalists/reporters working on the case. Not even the involved characters from that side were appealing to watch. You often hear in any police/investigation drama how they keep information away from journalists/reporters to not hinder the investigation, it turned out they were right. I liked how Oh Ji Hyuk didn't stand out as a main lead too much to allow those around him to have a space, he blended in nicely. Him and Do Chang had a nice dynamic but they started to drift apart a little bit later on.Compared to season 1, the main case was definitely less interesting. The involved parties were boring. The investigation was slower and much simpler. There was barely any tension, not much action and thriller anymore. Most of the time they were slacking around. Less budget maybe? Throughout both season there was a very small side plot in the background regarding Oh Ji Hyuk and finding a meaning in living but the writer didn't allow for such development and, eventually, after 2 full seasons, everything boiled down that he found a meaning in life through being a workaholic detective. The way they handled that after 32 episodes was the most disappointing thing about the whole thing.
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Should be renamed The Good Detectives!
This second season is as good as the first. I loved the interaction between Do Chang and Ji Hyuk, and the general comaraderie of the West Incheon investigative team and their bosses. I love Do Chang's essential kindness and integrity that served as inspiration for some of the other characters, notably one guy who appeared at first to want to take an easy way out and ended up being a hero. I love Ji Hyuk's keen intellect and instincts. There are some laugh-out-loud funny bits, as well as some seriously corrupt cops and formidable villains. This show is very satisfying because in spite of all the bad guys, the good guys win in the end, and they win in a believable way. It is a very worthy follow-on from Season 1 and I hope there will be a Season 3!Was this review helpful to you?
The story that goes in circles
After the first season, I had high expectations for the second but a lot of disappointments.1)The story goes in circles. They try so hard to catch a culprit and again they try so hard to get them out.
2)Lee Elijah not coming back. They try so hard to build the chemistry between Oh Ji Hyuk and Jin Seo Kyung in the first season all went to waste.
3)The acting was good. Great chemistry.
These are the main things I didn't like. There is some minute stuff I didn't like but we can forgive them. If there will be season 3 then I hope they come with a better story and Lee Elijah.
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As good as season 1, except for the plot holes
The story was full of twists and turns, but there were so very, very many names to keep track of! Each bad guy was worse than the last and it seemed like every sentence named at least three people. Lots of corruption, which you get used to seeing in Korean dramas, but this one, by the end of the series, people that had been in prison for serious crimes got out scott-free. That was bothersome to me. There was also a storyline where a young woman had a crush on Ji Hyuk - this went on for multiple episodes, and then she fell off the face of the earth. I would like a season three, with more focus on a specific number of characters, rather than just throwing everything but the kitchen sink in.I LOVED the relationships between the cops. Lots of humor and heart were put into their storylines. One thing I especially appreciated was the way that Oh Ji Hyuk was written (both in season one and season two). I loved that they didn't have him become stupid over a woman. He always had a plan and the character stayed true to himself throughout.
Special kudos, in my opinion go out to Kim Hyo Kin as Cheon Na Na and Choi Dae Hoon as Cheon Sang Woo. Hyo Kin was brilliant as Na Na, my eyes were trained on her in every scene she was in. I would have liked to see her further lose control at the end, that part felt very rushed. Dae Hoon as Sang Woo. I loved him in Crash Landing on You, and he played a completely different character here. He, too, had a lot of chilling moments. Unfortunately, it wasn't until the end when we got to see a little of his playfulness, and I would have liked to have seen more.
Park Geun Hyung as Jung In Beom as the grandfather - I want to be related to him! I love the respect that Do Chang and his ward had for him. Those scenes were lovely.
I did enjoy watching this show, but I couldn't binge it, because each episode made me a nervous wreck! It was time well-spent.
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Not bad, but not great sequel
I enjoyed S1 and had hoped the incomplete story of Ji-hyuk's past might have been expanded on, but sadly, whilst very lightly touched on, it wasn't at all.I like the characters and Do-chang's sister was a much more pleasant person this time around.
Eun-hye has settled and whilst her past rears its unpleasant head, she is as mature and strong as ever. A very likeable girl.
The main story sees Ji-hyuk, Do-chang and the team once again struggling against a wealthy, powerful family (whose business is the backbone of the S.Korean economy), to put to rest a previously covered up shocking assault and latterly, murder. Of course, the family's influence is widespread ~ most will know what that means.
There are several other, quite unpleasant, murders that the team must also solve and similar to S1, they have to overcome attempts to apportion blame for unlinked events, to those perpetrators.
I actually preferred S1. I felt this time around the story was quite laboured and I lost interest and concentration on a few occasions. Usually, I would rewind to keep up with the plot, but tbh, that wasn't necessary for me with this and I don't believe I missed anything important; especially as I was still able to keep up with the storyline.
It isn't a bad watch and the casts' portrayal of their characters feels natural. The story, though, has been done before and I felt it was too similar to S1 in many ways, with nothing exceptional to match or add to it.
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wow. just amazing
i love love love crime dramas, and this one satisfied all of my needssometimes, i need a break from romance and this was just so interesting and addicting to watch.
story:
all the mini cases that feed into one big case are so interesting and the way that each case is solved is also very unique UGH I JUST LOVE EVERYTHING
acting/cast:
everyone's acting was so good, like everyone: the protagonists, antagonists, side characters, etc.
oh jihyeok is v attractive lol..
the people of TJ headquarters ARE SO GOOD AT ACTING BRO
music:
i didn't really pay attention to the music? but it didnt like affect my watching negatively or anything
rewatch value:
i dont really rewatch a lot of dramas overall, but this one seems worth it to revisit in the future
overall:
amazing second season, i'm so happy that they came out with a 2nd one! i hope theres a third season so we can finally see what happened with oh ji hyeok's mom
just being able to see the whole crew together is nice too
the ending was so cute~ them running in the grass that was an allusion to the beginning of the drama where they were also running AOSDCJNU AH I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF THIS DRAMA
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Three Cheers for Team 2!
I just finished binging this series and my overall reaction is reflected in the 8/10 rating that I gave it. It had been a while since I had watched season 1 and I didn't remember most of the story arcs for that series, but I did remember the members of the police team. I like the interaction between the cops and could see them in an American style series with a new story line each episode. I got bogged down in the middle of this series, and based on the audience numbers I saw, mine was a common reaction. I'm glad that I stayed with it, not so much for the reveals, but there were some very good moments in each of the later episodes that I enjoyed. With so many portrayals of conniving characters, it was refreshing to see the good behavior of the Mr. Jung character. As much as I don't want to believe that South Korea (or the US) is full of despicable people like those depicted in this series, I want to believe that there are many more who are like Mr. Jung.Was this review helpful to you?
From the sauna to the ice bath and back
Whether you enjoy this drama or not is probably more about your expectations going into it, than the drama itself. It’s not an emotional roller-coaster of a thriller but rather a piece that is two thirds cerebral chess and one third comedic camaraderie. They make strange bedfellows and perhaps attract different types of audience hence my comment about prior expectations.The plot concerning the standard chaebol rivalries is a complete contrast to the fun-filled dynamics of Violent Crime Team 2 and sometimes the constant shifting is like plunging from the sauna into the ice-bath. (I did that once and thought I was having a heart attack!)
Let’s deal with the cerebral chess first. Although complexity is good, too much complexity can interfere with the flow and pace of the drama. It gets a bit tangled up with itself and there are a lot scenes that use a lot of names to explain the intricacies of who knows what about who said what about who threatened who because of what was done about what who ordered…
There is a balance to be struck by the writer when constructing the plot and here I think the tendency to keep explaining is counterproductive as it breaks the both the tension/suspense and the flow of the viewer’s emotional connections to the characters and story. I wasn’t totally convinced that it was necessary and at times things felt a bit repetitive. The downside of not explaining is that the viewer sometimes get lost but it allows you to keep up the pace and tension. I think this was done very effectively in “Insider” where an equally (if not more) complex plot swept along and carried you with it.
As the drama progresses it gets bogged down in the nitty gritty and where it is going has been obvious for a while, with the result that it becomes somewhat tedious and struggles in the last half to capture interest. This is partly because it is rooted in a slice of life approach that sort-of abides by the rules of investigation which slows everything down and keeps it grounded. It also emphasises dialogue over action and there are too many static scenes of people sitting around on chairs and talking.
Having plunged into the ice bath let’s go back to the sauna, and what a fantastic sauna it is. Especially in the first half the camaraderie of Violent Crime Team 2 is a total delight. It’s wonderfully funny and so warm. All of the detectives have distinct personalities and are given opportunities to shine. It totally enlivens the first half of the drama and makes it such a enjoyable watch. If it ended half way through the drama would definitely be a higher rating.
Along with the performances by the detectives, the standout for me was Jung Moon Sung as Woo Tae Ho. I was really riveted by his performance and he totally convinced me that he was a man surrounded on all sides with only his wits to aid him to survive. And lastly, just a nod to casting for actually finding someone (Jasper Cho) who can speak English convincingly, even though his accent is Canadian not American, but we’ll forgive that - nothing’s perfect…
What my rating means: 7+ A watchable drama, but nothing exceptional. Good enough to qualify for the race, but finished with the pack. The sort of thing that promises more than it delivers.
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This review may contain spoilers
Mysteries all tied up
But the ending could have been more satisfying. We were left not knowing whether the grandfather woke up and the result of Na-Na's trial. :( Also was a little disappoinged by Do-chang's date. That last scene was goofy but it didn't end on the optimistic note I'd have liked. Overall a nice follow-up to season 1. I'd love to see the team back in a 3rd season.That one theme was catchy. I loved the mix of new and reprisal for the OST. It would have been nice if the lady journalist from s1 appeared here too but the Chief's daughter made an interesting female side character.
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Weariness
A bit tiring and bland, the most righteous one was the villain/negative character in this story. The "good guys" were the actual crooked and immoral ones.This series was all about perspective and showcasing. Something feels missing throughout the drama even though they've such a nice cast set-up and yet something feels off or lopsided for some reason.
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That's all my review... Don't read ahead of this:
A bit tiring and bland, the most righteous one was the villain/negative character in this story. The "good guys" were the actual crooked and immoral ones.
This series was all about perspective and showcasing. Something feels missing throughout the drama even though they've such a nice cast set-up and yet something feels off or lopsided for some reason.
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