DramaAjumma

Episode 7 feels like an entirely different show. Not necessarily a bad thing but yeah... obvious plot holes. I think I'll take everyone's advice and bail now.

None.

Decoy's pretty good.

But the serial killing was a blind for another scam that NSC was pulling behind the scenes to get back to SK and his gold. The guy lies all the time.

Well, we don't know if he did go off scott free. Maybe he did. He's not a known entity to Detective Gu but he is known to some people in the "conspiracy".

But is that necessarily "wrong"? Isn't it the case that not everybody gets caught?

For me Joseph Chang's portrayal of a high functioning ASD individual was pretty good. One of the best IMO. I also liked Tiffany Hsu's reporter who actually turned out to be his contrast.

I don't think there was any change in direction. Part 2 only showed you what was really going on Part 1. The serial killings were just a blind for something else.

I suppose the show didn't meet your expectations but to me Part 2 is a very logical explanation of what Part 1 was really about.

The Stewart is the conduit between all the bureaucrats and the President. That's clear from the first part.

If anyone is wondering if this show is any good, I'd say go for it because the rating doesn't reflect the quality of this script which is unusually disciplined . This is a good K drama. In all likelihood it's one of the best we'll probably see this year considering the misfires and mediocrity we've been hit with the last two plus years.

Of course Part 2 can't exist without Part 1 but Part 2 feels more assured because it demonstrates in clear terms how masterful the plotting is. I'm chuffed that that my speculations were right (it was only logical) but I have to give the show a lot of credit for the better-than-average plotting. Moreover the show boasts a fantastic antagonist -- one of the best I've ever seen in K drama and that I think made all the difference.

Love how the male lead Guo Xiaoqi is written and portrayed.

What a great finish. The last few episodes were really good and did a decent job tying up the entire season. I did prefer the backend of the season to what came before.

Shin Jae-ha -- what a performance. He's evolving into quite the versatile actor.

My review
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/decoy-part-1-2023-a-review

Heo Sung-tae's Mandarin is not bad actually.

I enjoyed S2 almost as much as S1. Even with the different relationship dynamics. Teared up every time someone left.

The premise does remind me of James Cameron's True Lies film so I'm expecting this to be lots of fun.

On top of that it does feature my favourite SK actor.

Well-plotted if convoluted noir detective series revolved around scams. It does go a little overboard with the non-linear storytelling but the plot is solid.

I'm trying to work out who the demographic for this show is. It feels like it could be adapted from a manhwa for kids or teens. Some of the characters are very cartoony. Is the Investigation Bureau so hard up that they hire just anybody? I like the ML but it's so obvious that they use his speed ability very inconsistently.

Episodes 11 and 12 were really good. Comparable to the first 2. I think the Black Sun arc will be interesting.

My only real beef with this season is the fact that they're taking 2 episodes to resolve an arc rather than just one or one and a half episodes. This definitely has affected the pacing. Otherwise I'm fine with the cases and Shin Jae-ha's arc.

Zhou Yutong is a really good performer. She is one of the best C actors.