The Trunk (2024)

When an 8 episodes drama felt like a 16 episodes drama.

Contract marriage is one of my go-to genres but the way they did it here was not your typical contract marriage.

The plot : The ex-wife (with issues) planned for her ex-husband (also with issues) to marry other woman while she herself marries to another. Thus began their mutual toxic relationship in the drama until the ex-husband met now his new wife (who also had her own share of trauma) which after living together her presence slowly become significant in his life. Then after facing a series of incidents together, began their process of healing.

For an 8 episodes drama you would think just how hard it can be to finish one. But it took me 7 days to complete watching. Even watching in 2x speed still feel too long. Plot got repetitive especially in the first half. Just when I feel like things started to get interesting , we are back to 0 again.

This was me while watching,

Ep 1 : Feel like the longest 1 hour of my life.
Ep 2 : Watching my cat sleeping is better than watching this.
Ep 3 : Still feel like the longest hour ever in my life.
Ep 4 : Why I am still watching ....
Ep 5 : Now things are getting interesting.
Ep 6 : We getting somewhere..
Ep 7 : Urgh. Not this obsessive woman again .
Ep 8 : Okay...

What this drama has :-

🔸️Contract marriage
🔸️Broken main leads
🔸️Toxic unhealthy marriage
🔸️Annoying unhinged ex-wife
🔸️Lot of stalking
🔸️Snailed-paced storyline
🔸️Okay mystery
🔸️Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun Jin who have great chemistry with each other

If you liked these elements in your drama well good news ,this is the drama for you.

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Boring, Bland, and Unfulfilling

What is there to say about The Trunk? Normally I start my reviews with a brief summary of the show so people who haven't seen it may know what to expect. But I have no idea what to put here because honestly this show is just...nothing. The official premises provided on MDL, wikipedia, and even Netflix promise a mystery show about unraveling murder and a powerful company. Yeah, no, don't expect any of that.

I think that is where a big issue of this show lies - it is not what it is promised to be at all. The fact that this show is advertised as mystery is to me, false advertising, especially in regard to 'a whirlwind of secret behind the NM company' when in reality the murder is really second fiddle, and the NM company is practically not involved at all. Instead the show focused on the twisted relationships between four people - the ML, the FL, the ML's ex-wife, and her new husband. The problem is that it's really not written well. The relationship between the ML and the ML's ex-wife is particularly written as though it should be complex, but instead it's infuriating. The ML's ex-wife's actions are bizarre, and unjustified, and considering she is the driving force between a lot of the show it's hard to enjoy it when she's constantly on screen being a terrible person.

The other selling point of this show is supposed to be the relationship between the ML and the FL. This has the same issues as the plot does in that is underdeveloped. This show clearly suffered from being 8 episodes - it either should have been shorter (like a movie) so it didn't meander so much or way longer (like 16 episodes) so it could actually explore what it wanted to. Instead its stuck in this in between where nothing it touches on really gets fleshed out, and man does it want to talk about so many things. The ML and the FL's relationship is especially rushed - we don't really get to see why they work for each other, why they click aside from that they help each other heal (kind of). It isn't unique to them - you could replace one of them with a different person and the love line could stay practically the same.

On the technical side I will say the cinematography is gorgeous - it is certainly a beautiful show to look at, but that's really the only thing about it I can say was positive. I was very disappointed by the soundtrack, especially because the ML is a music producer. Maybe it is on me for expecting that that would mean more care is put into the music, but there was nothing noteworthy about it. It would have been a great way to weave the technical with the story - if the ML is a music producer you can use music to symbolize his feelings, his life, but there is none of that. It's just another aspect of the show where you can see so much potential in it, and then its just...not used.

Speaking of potential, this feels like a real waste of good actors. I do think that Seo Hyun Jin is particularly stand out from the cast when it comes to acting - she was amazing in her role. On the other hand, I expected more from Gong Yoo. But I don't think that's necessarily his fault when he is given a character who's default mood is 'miserable.' I've seen better from him (even his cameo in Squid Game was more intriguing than this), but again, I think he did well for what he was given. The other actors are fine, but again, it feels like a misuse of a lot of talented people who could have devoted this time to far better projects.

At the end of the day The Trunk is immensely disappointing, especially if you went in wanting to watch it for the mystery aspect (don't even bother). If you watched it for the drama you may enjoy it more but even then things are so contrived and frustrating it's hard to get through. The only reason I can think of to watch this kdrama is if you want to be mad? Like if you really need someone to hate and get angry at this will be perfect, but otherwise don't waste your time - there are far better kdramas with these elements. There isn't anything unique to this drama that you can't find done somewhere else with more nuance and better writing.

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Boring, Weird, Deceptively Basic Plot

My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.

I wasn't sure about watching this. I'm not really into contract romances. However, psychological is my favorite K-drama genre... so I do like darker stuff.

Acting/Cast: A good cast with good acting. Although, two of the characters, I think, looked too similar. It may be confusing for people who are new to K-dramas. It was Jo Yi Geon (조이건), who for some reason isn't listed in the cast (the second female lead's new husband) and Kim Dong Won (김동원), who plays the stalker. When I was half paying attention to this drama I would get them mixed up. There's also some characters in this drama that I'm not sure why they're there. But, to be fair, I'm not sure why this drama is doing anything it's doing. 7/10

Writing: This drama is so overdramatic. They tease the hell out of us like it's such a crazy murder mystery and it's not. Literally, it's nothing. It's all a gimmick. This drama is more like a life drama that's trying to trick us into thinking it's a scary mystery drama. The villains are non-threatening and the motives are weak. Actually, the real villains are the cops because they refuse to lock up a psycho murderer until after he kills someone, but they have to catch him doing it on camera with his face showing clearly. So if the cops aren't going to do anything about this dude, then someone else will...naturally. The story is just very predictable and way overdramatic for what the plot actually is. By the end...well I wasn't really surprised by how dull the "revelations" were because I could see it coming, but it was pretty strange that there wasn't really anything to the story and that the contract marriage aspect to it was really just a gimmick. They could have told the same story without that and I think it would have been much better, too - there would be more at stake. The female lead doesn't make much sense. Even the whole thing with her and her ex was overdramatic and weird. The male lead was a decent character, though. I think he was the only decently written aspect of this drama (except if I had his trauma, I'd have a device on me at all times that detects hidden cameras). The ending...I haven't seen such a sudden dramatic change in a character before. It only made this whole drama feel even more pointless. 1/10

Direction/SFX/Music: The SFX is fine. The music is good, but it doesn't fit the drama. It just feels so dramatic for no reason. I wanted to say that this drama feels "over-produced", but when I looked up exactly what that word means, people said either it means you can't explain why you don't like a film or that there's too much meaning behind every little thing. But, I mean it in the sense that it feels really flashy (the music, camera work, direction, etc.) as if the story is going to be something really badass or scary or intricate, but it's really not. The production is gaslighting me. The direction is also confusing for no reason - making scenes appear as if they're dreams when they're not? Right? 4/10

Entertainment Value: I binged this drama, but not because I was liking it. It was because it's only 8 episodes and I just wanted to get it over with. I wish I didn't though. I feel like I wasted my time. Nothing cool happens; it just gets more dumb and confusing as it goes. 1/10

Overall, I gave this drama a 3.5/10. The production of it felt a lot like The Glory, but the writing was more like...Please Don't Date Him...yeah that's a good reference. That's another overdramatic drama that was really just a life drama that used sci-fi and mystery elements to make it seem like it was going to be something more interesting.

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mistakes pretentiousness for style

this drama definitely felt like it was at least 12 episodes long.

the pacing is GLACIAL. you'd think that a drama that opens up with (1) a suspicious-looking trunk getting fished out of a lake,(2) a murder, (3) a contractual marriage company with an unclear agenda, and (4) fucked-up character dynamics would have no lack of suspense and momentum. but the show does so little beyond unraveling the characters' dynamics, and it is, at best, mediocre at doing so.

the trunk really went for that understated, sad, cold, empty vibe, and THATS FINE BUT. the direction just takes itself too seriously and overestimates its own artsiness, leading to a plethora of unnecessarily drawn-out scenes. 2 seconds of silent brooding in a static shot (that is NOT in reaction to any event) is more than enough. we don't need 10 to get the gist. honestly, the cold color schemes, the emptiness of the house, and the glaring lack of background music/sounds are more than enough to establish the lonely atmosphere, so a LOT of these scenes feel self-indulgent and add literally nothing to style or characterization or plot or enjoyment. episodes 1-3 could have easily been cut in half and the show would have lost NOTHING while gaining a much more engaging pace. this drama is in desperate need of more editing.

the meat of the show is indisputably the interpersonal affairs of our main characters. ALL of them are deeply damaged by some past traumatic event and are consequently in varying shades of fucked-up. sometimes, it feels like the writer is just trying to one-up themself with the characters' traumas and twistedness. is gratuitous fucked-up-ness a thing? it sure does feel like it.

the plot is your run-of-the-mill, fucked-up people do fucked-up things and have intense emotional reactions kind of shit. the ex-wife did most of the heavy-lifting here, almost single-handedly advancing the plot with her antics, until the stalker stepped in and took that responsibility. none of it particularly stands out; we already knew these people were deeply damaged. i'm glad the leads eventually found healing in each other, but even that seems more like a bond formed over their collective efforts against the batshit-craziness of the ex-wife. speaking of, the ex-wife is adequately established as a pathologically controlling character, and while her motives are explained, her decision to force the male lead to re-marry never made much sense to me. why did she feel like that course of action was the best way to complete her interests? it's a counterintuitive move, for sure. this circles back to the observation that her derangedness is one of the very few driving forces for the plot, but plot devices are rarely good for characterization, and it's an even worse offense in a character-driven show such as this.

finally, let's talk about how much the titular trunk barely had any role in this show. look, i know the trunk + dead person symbolizes the main characters' dark pasts/emotional baggage. but what is the point of bringing this allegory to the screen if you're not going to elaborate on the metaphor further? the show basically treats this as a plot point in the most half-assed way, as an afterthought to all the character drama going on. it is honestly more like a badly handled plot point that ends up as a loose end than some thoughtful symbolism.

bottom line: a show that thinks it's much more profound than it really is.

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When Your favorite actors can't save an underwhelming story...

I was instantly excited when I saw "The Trunk" pop up on Netflix. Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun Jin are favorites from two of my most rewatched KDramas ever ("Coffee Prince" & "Another Miss Oh"), so I just knew this short drama would be a new favorite of mine. Their performances lived up to my expectations but unfortunately, this drama did not.

"The Trunk" is a romantic but melancholy thriller whose plot deals with heartbreak, manipulation, trauma, and longing, and yet the slow pace and convoluted story made this difficult for me to finish. I kept hoping as more of the plot was revealed that I would connect more with the story but I never did. Even the concept of the actual trunk, which seemed like a literal representation of the emotional baggage the characters carried with them, didn't live up to the importance the title suggested. Even as a melodrama it falls flat, despite the great chemistry between the leads. I hoped that the suspense would eventually make me care, but it didn't. The strongest message ended up being that marriages are transactions that don't always benefit both parties, creating resentment and regret.

Gong Yoo, plays a much darker character than the more comedic KDrama romcom characters he is usually known for in earlier dramas, which is nice to see. He plays Jeong Won, an addict who's obsessed with his ex-wife and consumed with childhood trauma. Seo Hyun Jin on the other hand plays a depressed and heartbroken character who is similar in some ways to her role in "Another Miss Oh" without the comedic moments. No In Ji is abandoned by her Fiance which leaves her detached emotionally and leads her to become a contract wife for hire. Both of these actors play well off of each other with chemistry that is undeniable but because these characters spend so much of this drama being either emotionally unavailable or melancholy, instead of being excited to watch their relationship develop I felt drained.

Then there is Jung Yun Ha as Lee Seo Yeon, Jeong Won's manipulative ex who is also a great character with a character arc that I just didn't get. It also doesn't help that this drama is told out of sequence which made her motivations even harder to follow and understand or empathize with. She and her Boy Toy contract husband had their own interesting chemistry but as the drama dragged on I became less and less interested in them.

Even the main villain, Kim Dong Won from another favorite of mine "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" was played well but was written to be so one-dimensional that his character was more boring than menacing.

If I'm honest I didn't care about any of the supporting characters or cameos, even though some talented well-known actors were nice to see.

Would I watch this again? No, or at least not without a full explanation that makes the story suddenly more interesting. This is meant to be part suspenseful crime drama but I could barely even understand what they were investigating and why. We experience that part of the story mainly through flashbacks, and we are meant to see situations from different perspectives. The Trunk is the catalyst but It also felt like a red herring. Maybe a second viewing knowing how the plot unfolds would make me like this more, but I still think the slow drawn-out pace would make it hard to actually enjoy. The two leads are the only reason I would even consider giving the drama a 2nd try.

Overall, this drama is beautifully shot and the actors are great, but it's a buzz kill. Maybe my expectations were too high, but where the acting and direction excelled the writing was a failure for me. This drama is heavy on symbolism and light on plot. If you're looking for character development or a thrilling mystery I think this drama missed the mark on both. The romance is decent if you like the premise of two dysfunctional people exploring love and healing past hurts but don't expect a satisfying payoff. Even the soundtrack tried too hard to be "interesting" and at times felt too over the top to take seriously. Even dealing with my own grief recently, I couldn't relate to these characters or their pain, especially through fragmented flashbacks that were hard to piece together. I also finished it in a day and a half but it felt like it took a week, which isn't great for an 8 episode drama. Binging shouldn't feel like work.

This drama isn't the worst but I can't recommend it, even for the performances. Maybe if you're just in the mood for something slower-paced, and grown up you will enjoy this more than I did. Seo Hyun Jin stoic poker face, and Gong Yoo's emo puppy dog eyes have their limits for me, so I think this would have been MUCH better as a movie with a faster pace. "The Trunk" as a drama left me frustrated and drowning in boredom and watching the time way too often. I like a good noir vibe but not a turn-out-the-lights-and-snore vibe. I struggled my way to the end which took a lot of patience and I wouldn't try to convince anyone else to do the same.

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Unique and subtle.

It’s good, a worth watch. But I felt something is missing. I could feel what the director wanted to show, but it sometimes came off guard. The editing is not good, with many things cut out due to fitting it into 8 episodes.

The first half was superb, well-engaged, but later it gets a bit dull as scenes became repetitive without much progression. There’s also an issue with the screenplay—it could have been more intact and expansive. Instead, it felt very congested, limiting the story’s potential. I think it really needed some unanswered questions to be talked upon, so Season 2 is a must.

By the way, I loved this series so much—that’s why I talked a lot about its minor problems. I absolutely loved the performances, the cinematography, the production value, the score, and the direction. Well, that’s it about it.

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Gag. Couldn't finish it fast enough

Some series are so bad I just stop watching them. Because this one was only 8 episodes I convinced myself to blaze through it in the hope that something good would happen. Nope. Train wreck. The uncensored sex scene didn't add anything cuz if I wanted that I know where to find it. The timeline bouncing around was a distraction. I feel like the writer has had a difficult life and this series represented some kind of catharsis. No likeable characters. Few happy moments. I guess there is an audience for this kind of show but it ain't me. Someone commented that it should have been a movie. I guess the powers that be recognized it sucked so it was limited to 8 episodes. One episode would have been plenty.

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Watching without expectation

I watched this without expectation whatsoever, just wanting to see Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun Jin.

The premise was interesting, and they executed it quite well. This drama is not everyone's cup of tea, but I truly enjoyed it. It might be not that extraordinary, plot wise, but acting wise, it was superb.

Gong Yoo and Seo Hyunjin really showed up and acted!!!! I also loved the one who played Seo Yeon, she potrated her role as a crazy broken woman really well.

Overall it is a good watch if you're looking for melancholy dark slow drama with adult romance.

Note: Gong Yoo be looking really so damn good here.

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Well-acted, beautifully directed story that fell apart due to poor writing execution

SUMMARY:

Strengths:
- There are some really subtly romantic scenes and moments + some really spicy scenes that had emotional weight
- Despite all the mental illness, the ML/FL/2FL/2ML dynamic was more refreshing and mature in its presentation than you'd fine in other dramas
- Gong Yoo.
- Stunning visual storytelling -- beautiful framing, colors, sets, lighting.
- The background and groundwork of the emotional arcs of the characters were interesting and well thought-out
- Explored the ideas of marriage and what it means to society in a thoughtful way
- Music was PERFECT

Weaknesses:
- Plot fell apart by the end, characters emotional journeys were rushed or sloppily handled and in the end unsatisfactory
- Some uneven acting at times (though not anything truly awful)
- Some use of silly cliche tropes that had no place in a mature drama like this
- The romance ended up feeling somewhat flat overall, and inconsistent, as sometimes I felt little chemistry and other times a lot
- The thriller plotline was not well integrated, and didn't really hold interest or have a strong place in the story

Watch if:
- You can easily get lost in visuals and ascetics (cinematography/directing/music/sets)
- Have a fat crush on Gong Yoo,
- Are interested in the topic of marriage and what it means to society today
- Enjoy romance with a slight thriller element
- Aren't as picky about the plots or character arcs being perfect, you're in it for some entertainment and to enjoy the ride
- Enjoy merely exploring emotions and what is underneath various mental illnesses or addictions or personality types

Skip if:
- A realistic emotional journey of a character is really important to you in a story
- You feel unsatisfied if the plot doesn't come together well in the end
- Don't like open endings
- You are looking for a squees and butterflies crack drama type of romance
- Not really into thriller or depressing themes like abuse -- OR really into thriller elements (as I don't think they were well executed here)
- You don't wanna see boobies on screen (there is one nude scene, though I feel it was used well as a way to highlight the mindset and emotional state of one of the main characters. Did not feel egregious).

DETAILED BREAKDOWN:

--Story: 5/10

This drama fell prey to a fatal flaw common to k drama romance/thrillers. Despite the writer framing the story as if they were tied together, the thriller/murder plotline was almost wholly unrelated to the relationship and characters emotional plot arcs. But the writer played out the drama as if they were inexorably intertwined. In fact, the writer could have taken the entire thriller plotline out, and not only would it not AT ALL have changed that main relationship or character plot-lines, it would have actually made the story BETTER.

What does this mean for the show? It means that when the plot-lines for the character arcs (for the FL it's fully grieving her fiance abandoning her, for the ML its coming to terms with his mother's suicide) naturally progress and resolve, instead of being able to move forward with their new emotional states and understanding the world, and move their relationship to some sort of new place because of it, the characters revert back and get stuck in the very same emotional states they should be past now. All because the thriller plot arc has not yet resolved, even though the tie to their emotional arcs is flimsy at best.

So we get silly tropes like noble idiocy and a FL who suddenly throws her entire emotional journey out the window to act exactly like she had at the very beginning of the show, before any growth had happened. And we get one of the main side characters going to prison instead of getting any sort of satisfactory emotional end to his character, all because SOMEONE needed to have killed the stalker. And that's where the show ends.

This all played out as a final third that fell so emotionally flat I stopped really caring about the characters. I was gonna write this review immediately after but genuinely forgot the show even existed for a week. It didn't leave an impact on me because of the way the writer mishandled the story. Which is truly a shame.



--Acting: 9/10

Gong Yoo's Jeong Won was so human, and I loved how he did not try and overplay him as an unrealistic suave ML character to make him appealing, but instead he tried to show the parts of JW that made him lovable, even if those parts were also what contributed to his weaknesses and flaws. Gong Yoo always brings such a great vulnerability and groundedness to his characters. He really was the heart of this show.

Seo Hyun Jin had some great moments, and is clearly talented, but I often found her portrayal too robotic in trying to show the withdrawn, coldness of No In Ji. I wanted to see more subtle moments of the fire and pain just underneath the surface, which we got sometimes but were blaringly absent at others. Without those I felt detached from her character, and really only felt her show her underlying humanity in scenes with Gong Yoo, I think because he brought out more warmth in her from his acting style. And really, their chemistry works mostly because Gong Yoo completely sold being madly in love w her. She often seemed indifferent to him, and again, without those little micro-expressions and tells that show she actually cares deeply but is hiding it. She also never seemed to really get a handle on her character, but I chalk that up in a big part to the inconsistent writing. By the end of the story she has not grown at all, which derailed the impact of the whole show. And I can't help. but think a different actress may have been able to bring it all together better despite the flawed writing.

Jung Yun Ha did a good job of keeping ex-wife Lee Seo Yeon from becoming a cliche psychopath crazy bitch character, she always kept the character grounded in deeply buried pain and sadness. I fully bought that she believed everything she was saying, and was deluding herself as much as everyone else. I felt enough sympathy for her to be able to enjoy her story arc, even if I still did not like her or approve of what she did. I also felt she was too ignored in the last few eps (because of the boring stalker plotline) and they wrapped her character up too quickly and sloppily. But the actress managed it well and her performance also stood out to me.

The other actors did fine in their roles, though no one stood out to me as going above and beyond. But no one was bad enough that it took me out of the drama. Overall the ensemble was well cast and performed well.

--Visual/Directing: 10/10

Truly gorgeous sets, framing, lighting, etc. I am glad I watched this show just for the beauty of the visual storytelling. I think it elevated the writing well above where it could have been in less deft hands. Truly a talented team working on this aspect of the show.

--Music: 10/10

Love the OST, really love the score and use of horror/industrial music. Flawless soundtrack overall.

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It's decent

The trunk is a mix of psychological, mystery, and melodrama. It deals with various complex themes such as mental health, loneliness, complex human relationship, and the meaning of love and marriage.

Pros
- Acting and cinematography are amazing
- Premise and initial character settings are interesting
- Chemistry is good
- I like the closure on FL & ML, they're both healing and they might find each other again if fate allows. It's a fitting resolution

Cons
- Mystery plot is not giving, it feels unnecessary and ruin the overall plot imo. The way it concluded was also unsatisfying
- Story feels underdeveloped
- Supporting casts feels underutilised and even the ex-wife got bland towards the end. I would prefer if she became the main "villain" until the end
- Pacing can be off at times

Honestly, it's a pretty decent show and I enjoyed watching it... but it does feel underwhelming. It doesn't leave much of an impression and I think I'll forget about it easily.

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