House of Lies (2022)

Strong plot Twist

I think this is my one of most thrilling drama that, I've ever watched. Each episodes give you so much thrill. If you're suspense and thriller genres lover then just go for it without any questions. Very strong characters and story's suspenseful plots are enough to give you thrill on all over your body.
If we talk about of action then this drama haven't that much action but according to the story, the action part is appropriate.
And every character's acting performance was just beyond of my expectations.
I like it very much specially when the music come during the outro. The music was really suitable for this drama.

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HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT + TERRIBLE PLOT TWIST

I enjoyed the first few episodes of the drama, as I was trying to guess one by one who was the culprit. It kind of reminded me of Strangers from Hell since the MC was living in a building with suspicious people. I enjoyed the mystery vibe and it was decent for a few episodes. After episode 3 everything went downhill. The ending did not make sense and did not clear up what was going on behind the scene with the neighbors. I was so confused about all the characters' connections with each other and with what was actually happening. The entire plot with the sketchy neighbors seemed like a side story that had nothing to do with Ji-Hyeon's kidnapping? If the writers did not have time to finish and piece everything, they should've just not included it.

The pacing between the FL and ML's "romance" was so fast-paced and seemed unnatural. It did not make sense how the male lead "fell in love".

The writers tried to add a plot twist to give the audience a shock, but it just made me more disappointed. Guess what was the plot twist? Dun-dun! The male lead was the culprit all along! Wowww! Usually, I enjoy plot twists like that, but oh man... this drama executed it poorly. Seemed like the writers had no idea how to finish the script, so they threw in a random plot twist. There were no indicators or signs that the ML was the culprit. The first hint that was provided to us was in the second to last episode and it was how the ML was knowledgeable about plants and how Jin-Hyeon has dew in her nails. The ML mentioning plants was super random like the plot twist itself. The drama could've shown a scene where the ML going in and out of the apartment building in the beginning. Additionally, it does not make sense how the ML had time to do all of this with his detective job. In one scene, he tied up the FL in the bathtub, and in the next, he was helping his co-worker? How did he had enough time to change clothes, help his partner, and go back to the FL's apartment? The ML's motive and reasoning for the kidnapping and such were dull. His plot twist contradicted his whole personality. He was shown to be a law-abiding, capable, reputable detective, but also a yandere stalker creep? Unlike Mouse, the ML did not fake his personality, so it did not make sense how he became obsessive after noticing one girl.

There were too many plot holes and the whole story felt rushed. There were many details and scenes the drama could've excluded if they wanted the storyline to flow better.

I should've listened to the comments before watching this, what a waste of time. I would rate this lower, but I just put the suggested rating from MDL based on the other scores I gave.

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watched in one day

I watched the series in one day. When I was about to go to sleep there was a huge twist so I couldn't leave it.
The actors were perfect. The main male lead, I remember him from other dramas, and like him. The main female lead, I do not know her but she did a very good job and watch her in the future. Loved the drama overall but I wished...for... a better ending.
What really bothered me, and not only here, like in many police dramas, the chief (of Team 1) is an abuser. Is this acceptable in S. Korea? If he behaved like that towards me I wouldn't be quite.
Overall watch the drama it is good.

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Average but to see.

This is the story of Ji Na, a hotel employee who is tracking down her older sister’s disappearance and returns home where she finds herself surrounded by suspicious neighbors. Detective Min Soo will be the only one to believe in Ji Na's words and help her.

Well I have to say, I expected more. To start with the story, although we end up with similarities as in "Strangers from Hell", it was better handled. Already, we keep the mystery about the neighbors and their exact role in the disappearance of the sister, we know somehow that they are related and especially that they are weirdos, but the mystery remains total. On the other hand, what disappointed me was that the show didn't explore more about that, I mean, they kept the mystery but didn't really try to make us believe that one of them was actually responsible. Early on, we can see that some characters are just stupid and weird, and often problematic, but not the author of the disappearance, and that's a shame.

The thing is that I watched this series because I was promised a huge plot twist, despite the fact that I quickly understood who was behind the kidnapping, I continued to watch because precisely I was expecting a plot twist at the last minute and some elements didn't add knowing the responsable.
Now, we also have in the background, very briefly, the fact that there is a major reconstruction project, but as it is approached so few times, we even forget why it is there, and they mention it more at the end of the series to link new revelations to this.

Overall, the promised twist plot wasn't as sensational as they say, the story is overall quite slow despite some action scenes, like, we know they're investigating but we feel like we're stalling during the season whole. The characters did show good acting, even the side characters (not something amazing but good enough). And for the two main characters, we see that there is still a lot to explore, especially their bond, and honestly I think that's what keeps the series flowing, because without their interactions, the series would have been so boring.
The production of the series did keep the impression of watching a thriller, the tones are dark and sometimes even tragic, so for that they succeeded.

So I would say that this series is not extraordinary, their plot is predictable even if the series managed to end on a cliffhanger which makes us want at least to know the sequel (if there is one), the two characters where the highlight.

A lot of questions are left unanswered in this season and mysteries remain to be unraveled, and I'd probably watch season 2 just to find out where this all takes us, but overall, yeah, not ground-breaking whether it's in the story or the acting. I couldn't even tell if the show is character-driven or story-driven, both are just average.

So, I recommend, but prepare yourself for a rather slow pace and average story. I do hope the story step up next season.

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OPEN ENDED AND TRAGIC

I started watching this for Lim Ji Yeon after her superb acting in The Glory and the story may have been ended without having Ji Hyun's justice, it still worth to watch and satisfying in a way Charlie deserved that punch. He ultimately died and I rlly hate his character tbh.

The relationship between Jina and Minsoo is peculiar. My first time came across with a ML whose a detective, murderer, and a stalker. I also didn't hate him. They have 10/10 chemistry. Jina often resembles my cousin so it is fun to watch.

It is also sad at the end because Minsoo killed himself, I don't want to say he doesn't deserve that, but my heart aches thinking that. I hope they will have a season 2 although I hate staring at those remaining characters but I also want Jina to be happy and Jihyun's justice.

I will definitely rewatch this. I completed this for 3 days watching until 4:00 AM. As an aspiring writer the plot and the ending is really satsifying for me. I love tragics and the building of mystery when that murderer at ep 1 went into a coma. Similar to Mouse(this is a master piece).

I love the ML and FL do check his other works too that Class of Lies. I loved that! Don't hate them but they really did a great job.

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Clueless Mystery

Even with a short runtime of 45min 12 episodes, a lot of it felt redundant. The mystery started to get really bland by episode 6, there was no rhyme or reason to it. The writer had a few ideas for the first 4 episodes but she was clearly lost with how to proceed with the rest. The side plots around the complex didn't blend well with the rest. Cutting them out wouldn't have made a difference. The plot holes were too obvious to ignore here, that's not good for any mystery plot. No good mystery is complete without an equally good reveal, which was really disappointing in this drama. The last 2 episodes were really bad. The drama ended with a teaser for an infinitely larger plot but I hope we don't get a sequel.

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