A Shop for Killers (2024)

DAMN!

When clicking onto this show, I thought it'd just be something similar to money heist where they're a bunch of criminals working together to complete missions. But turns out, it meant the online website where killers shop which is unique. I'm actually very happy to have completed this drama. It kept me on my tippy toes each time I thought Jian was going to die. I felt so bad for the uncle too, he was a good man with the wrong job and he tried to make things right but that led to him being chased down by many. First time in my life, I actually predicted the boy that "killed" the uncle in the first episode. He got me so mad but it was very expected. Jian is such a smart girl and even at a young age, she managed to take a hint of things and escape from them. Every episode, I kept telling myself, "Y'know, the uncle should appear magically just so I can be satisfied." And then he actually did. From the looks of it, there's going to be a season two, and I look forward to it!

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What a great show. The high quality and brutal intensity of the action scenes, the production design, the colorful and compelling supporting characters and flashily demented villains were reminiscent of John Wick in the best way. They did a great job building tension and suspense in each episode, I was on the edge of my seat no matter what timeline I was in, equally captivated by the flashbacks and the present day scenes.

The centerpiece of the show, the devoted yet unconventional uncle/niece relationship, was beautifully done. In addition to all the high octane spectacle this show had a lot of emotional weight to it. I simp so hard for Lee Dong Wook his own mother would tell me to take it down a notch so I really enjoyed watching him play a character that was so simultaneously reserved yet charismatic and he did a great job being deadpan yet still expressive and dryly funny. The acting was excellent across the board.

I do wish the show had shown us what Uncle Jin Man was up to while Ji An was battling for her life. I can intuit how/why he faked his death and that he was fighting Bale (who was MIA from the protracted showdown at the house) but I would have actually liked to see some of it. Since it felt like they recycled some previously seen footage in episode 7 I think they could have used that time to wrap that subplot up more definitively.

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Unique Story-telling That Fell Off

Will start off by praising the Writer's creativity and bravery in attempting a drama that is mostly focused on one setting (The raid of JJM's home). This isn't commonly done in KDramas as it's not easy crafting enough content to keep viewers engrossed without getting bored. Flashbacks were mostly appropriately spaced out in between the spectacular action scenes to provide some change of pace. Personally, I enjoyed the backstory and dynamics of JJE & Pashin - it was more relatable to me then the inexplicably strained(?) relationship btw JJE & JJM. As aforementioned, the action scenes are definitely the highlights of this drama despite some of the obvious plotholes/troupes that were haphazardly patched over (such as the miltary exercise cover, bad guys going 1-by-1 to die etc.).

Not surprisingly, the Writing is also the Con that let down this drama. In my opinion, too many side characters were introduced without a proper/believable backstory or use such as the Shadow Organization's Director, a random deaf "Brother", and the taxi driver... Many of the subplots were also not well-covered such as JJM's fake death, escape path that led back into the house (?), Bale's incredulous survival and decision to get revenge after many years etc.

The main gripe I had was how obvious it was that JJM wasn't really dead. I mean he is listed as the ML but only appeared spottedly in the first 5 eps in flashbacks... I found myself constantly awaiting his "heroic return" and thus felt episodes drag as it whiffed into the 2nd half. In general, the plot did not deviate from common expecations - no real plot twists (I'm not counting JJM's "revival").

Overall, I still think it is a very watchable drama - just based on the action scenes alone. Casting & Acting was also superb esp for JJE - she always looks so vulnerable. Just temper expecations and watch with an open mind (:

Final random thought: The repeated usage of "Listen Up, JJE" was seriously cringe for me. Felt they overplayed it way too much...

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~One of the best kdrama of 2024~

I started watching this because of the title, it intrigued me in a way as I am a fan of thriller kdramas I was looking for something to binge-watch and I found it!! This kdrama is packed with action, relentless fighting and drama. Its definitely one of those kdramas you can watch again, the cast, the acting top-notch? The ending was expected because they wouldn't kill the ML and he had most of screen-time and he's what supposed to be a mercenary bad-ass fighter. Just one thing about this show, too predictable I basically predicted the ending and that bale (whatever) villian was alive. Personally I like shows that are less predictable which will intrigue me to watch more and get more hyped up. Besides that, this kdrama was a blast for me, I found that pyscho (the boy who locked up jeong jian) quite annoying and impulsive but his death made me fall off my sofa, fr bro has such an easy death!?
Definitely recommended for thriller kdrama-fans...!!!

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Anti hero action drama for an entertaining ride

Likes: The dark anti-hero theme, the growth of the female lead, the fun fight scenes, the distinct characters, the pace of the storytelling (for the most part)

Dislikes: The weird fade to black transitions in editing, the repeat of scenes we've already seen, MinHye's slowness with her action scenes

I think it's fitting that this aired on Disney+, as this reminds me of all the young adult fantasy books that I read where the female protagonist goes through a series of hardships when she was young that prepares her into becoming a kick ass force to be reckoned with as she approaches adulthood. I loved those kinds of stories and I really enjoyed this one too. While Jian is not Katniss or Rose Hathaway, I do see that similar thread of growth and sacrifice that is often reflected in young adult novels and it makes me really excited to see what will happen in the next season (which I assume there will be as the ending made it seem so). Hye Joon did an amazing job playing Jian.

The whole mercenary killer theme was cool and I liked all the high tech gadgets and gunfight scenes. Were some of the characters cliche? Yes, but it didn't really bother me that much because for some reason, the whole story, look, and theme felt refreshing to me. I think it's because these types of stories usually only get depicted with American actors so to see this kind of story with this kind of high quality and with Asian actors made this all the more enjoyable for me.

Lee Dong Wook was great as Jian's uncle and teacher. Jo Han Sun also did a good job playing the psychopath (His eyes creeped the F out of me and that usually never happens). I thought everyone played their role well. I was however a bit disappointed with the character of MinHye and this is no reflection on the actress. While I loved that they showcased a female character as an ultimate threat, I'm afraid the execution didn't follow through. The way the scenes were shot made her physical fight scenes look very slow and a bit weak which makes her character a bit unbelievable as a "high threat" as claimed. This is more a fault with the direction and camera work imo. But this is a minor complaint as I did enjoy most of the series and I think anyone who likes YA female lead stories and action might enjoy this drama as well.

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Season 2 is a need!

One of the best dramas of 2024. A Shop for Killers is thrilling and constantly keeps you at the edge of your seat. Stellar performances from the cast all around. Minhye is best girl. The villains are a bit cartoonish but still so well-acted; Bae Jeongmin's 180 into a completely repugnant individual was so well-done and actor Seo Hyeon-woo's switch-up from menacing killer here to a goofy scrooge in Seoul Busters is insane work.

My few gripes are with the writing and with the way some of the reveals were handled. I wish Jian had learned more about her uncle through well-placed clues in the present rather than us being spoon-fed with constant flashbacks that I feel slowed the pacing dramatically.

I also understand that this is an action thriller and a certain amount of violence is required, but I felt it was a bit gratuitous at times.

Also, I really really hope that there's a season 2 in the works, because these 8 episodes raised a whole lot more questions than they answered (major spoilers ahead).

One major question for me was why Jinman would create the shop and code system if he wanted to leave the mercenary life behind? Didn't he realize just how much attention that would draw? Also, I feel like it was a bit naive of him to let his guard down if he wasn't completely sure he'd gotten rid of Bale, doubly so if he suspected foul play in his mother's death.

And the reveal at the end, while a bit predictable, raises the stakes immensely. I actually wouldn't have minded this show being a bit longer to fully flesh out all the details.

All in all an amazing show that no one should sleep on if anyone is.

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Fasten your seat belt!

March 2024
Wow. The brilliant Lee Dong Wook has made many action dramas and films over the years, and this is a stonkingly good addition.

From the moment he turns up at his family's home after a long absence, one just feels things might not be quite right.

Another where there is a lot of story, incorporated into a relatively few number of episodes. However, with this drama I didn't feel like there were any gaping holes. There was sufficient depth and character backgrounds (connections, experiences etc), relevant to the plot, to make it feel very solid.

It's an adrenaline, nerve fuelled blast, with totally OTT fight scenes that are off the scale exciting, but very easily bought into. I never found myself thinking 'that's ridiculous'.... far-fetched? Definitely. But totally fitting for a fictional roller coaster that's bang-on entertaining for every single second of exciting, nail-biting, viewing.

Brilliant cast, some very tough and clinically ruthless characters, and some harrowing scenes. Balanced, as I so like it, by laughs and buckets of dark humour, which never detracted from the feelings of threat.

I will definitely watch this again. FAB-U-LOUS. I stayed up all night because I couldn't stop watching and didn'teven feel tired... until after
;~D
That doesn't happen often.

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Misleading title and summary

While an enjoyable watch and the story is good, the title and summary provided in the site is misleading as this series focus more on the back story and the revenge plot of the antagonist. The so-called "shop" and even the niece were mere plot devices.

The back and forth between the past and the present provided a great way to stitch the narrative together and helped the viewer find out why assassins were after the niece. But then again contrary to what is on the title and on the summaries, the assassination attempt has nothing to do with the shop or the identity of the niece but has to do with what happened in the past.

It feels like the element related to a Company takeover of the shop was shoved in just so the title would make sense. At its core this is a revenge drama about a villain throwing a tantrum because he was chastised in the past for his criminal deeds.

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Really great drama. I loved the uncle

The drama was really good. I enjoyed watching every minute of it. The only thing that pissed me off about the drama was the female lead character. Overall, she did not make any sense to me. How could you let jeongmin fool you do you think the uncle would let some random person live under your house and watch you for 14 years if he didn’t trust him? Instead of asking questions she could’ve killed most of those people when she had a chance but instead she was letting other people make the choices for you and then you get mad when they betray you. She’s the only character I do not like tbh.
My name was way better tbh.

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What more do you need?

This was the single greatest piece of cinematography I have watched since 2024. Ok maybe not to that point but still a great nonetheless. Really loved the way the story was told while we went back and fort from past to present and how throughout the show, the story was being detangled with details.
Something I love about action show is when you have some good fight choreography. The fighting scenes were so delicious and you could see that each punch and throw were put there to tell the story.
Screaming and gagging at the last episode. Best.
Where is the second season?
Where is Lee Dong Wook's Oscar?
Why was So Min Hye such a queen?
Anyways, this is going straight to my favorite list.

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What makes a good killer?

A Shop for Killers is a very unique take on the contract killer plotline. It was a show that I was very excited to start, especially as a fan of Lee Dongwook, and it was very entertaining all the way through. However, I felt like there were a few parts of the show that felt off. The first bit will be free of spoilers, so I'll mark where they start.

The opening scene of the show has Jeong Jian, our protagonist, getting shot at in her home. A very striking opening scene that had me excited to see both what happens next and how we got there. However, it's the latter that I have to complain about. This show jumps back and forth a LOT between the present and the past. Jian has an uncle, Jeong Jinman, who seems to be up to some shady business. These jumps to the past allow us to understand what exactly that shady business is, and how it concerns her. However, it is very non-linear in its storytelling. I think the one thing that bothered me the most about this wasn't the fact that we kept jumping between times, but the fact that they replayed scenes we had seen before so many times to orient the viewer in the timeline, but it was just excessive and unnecessary most of the time. The replayed scenes were so much longer than they needed to be, especially because this is an 8 episode series. If you've forgotten THAT much of the show when it's so short, it's probably because you weren't paying attention.

Another fault brought about by this non-linear storytelling was the fact that the viewer didn't get to learn the truth alongside Jian, but rather knew before her. You learn very early on about Jinman's career as a contract killer, but you have to watch a confused and scared Jian learn this WAY later than you do, at which point it doesn't pack the same punch. I will say though, watching Jian go through so many emotions in the span of just a few days is an incredible watch, and the actress did a great job portraying her.

**Spoilers start here**

My last and biggest issue with this show was the ending. What a copout! You get to watch Jian go through all this internal turmoil of should I kill or should I not, how could I ever run this business, etc. just for all that to go out the window because Jinman is ALIVE?? The entire story could have been avoided. You could argue that that's what makes Jian such a tragic character, but I thought that leaving the storyline right before they introduced Jinman at the end would have been a perfectly fine ending - a young girl, left to figure out the world with no one on her side. Could Jian become a killer like Jinman? Does she have what it takes, or is she only fueled by the rage that her parents' and uncle's death caused? I guess these questions don't really matter, because she doesn't need to be on her own anymore!

Overall, it was a good show and an engaging watch. Besides some issue with the storytelling and the ending, it was very interesting to watch the plot unfold both in the past and present. Frankly, I think this could have have spanned two seasons, with one season being all about Jinman and one about Jian, but the back and forth didn't get too messy. Worth checking out if you like short and dark thrillers.

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