I've just started and this show is a hoot! I enjoy it more as a period piece than a police procedural. I was expecting this to be more serious but the laughs keep coming. It reminds me of the 80s US detective shows I grew up. I adore the Mancini style theme.
This is a show where the parts were better than the sum total. I knew after the first couple of episodes that this would require a great deal of suspension of disbelief. I didn't mind it as much of it was entertaining but some time after Episode 8, the show made less and less sense. And the pacing was off. It was also asking something of me the viewer that I couldn't accept. It's one of my least favourite plot devices -- characters refusing to 'fess up about their identity so as to prolong the big reveal. It's a delaying tactic which is used by a lot of Tik-Tok short dramas ad nauseum. To see it done in a high quality production like this is frustrating. For me the cracks that were evident in the first half were exacerbated in the second. The lack of cohesion being the biggest issue. This would have been better as a 10-12 episode. And someone should give Lee Jung-eun a medal for being the consummate professional.
15 episodes in and I'm enjoying Part 2 as much as Part 1. All's good and I don't even really notice the lack of fight scenes. It might be because I enjoy the notion of politics as theatre, the role of optics in governance and what makes for good leadership. What's also come under scrutiny is the purview of intelligence agencies -- who watches the watchmen, what are the checks and balances lest they become a law unto themselves. These are contemporaneous issues. I particularly enjoy Fan Xian relationships with his "fathers" -- that's always been the highlight of the series for me. I like what he brings out in each of them as much as what each bring out in him. The dynamics are unerringly fascinating. I am missing male centred shows so much and this one hits the spot.
That said I enjoyed Episode 12 for its humour but also for the layers of subtext as it pertains to marriage by decree. I also find the oldest prince and the Bei Qi princess quite adorable.
"There are two options" Heh. I imagine that will be his signature line. Although the spotlight is on the auditors it is really like a police procedural. The first two episodes were more about quality control rather than forensic accounting. And of course, since it's a K drama there's a power struggle in the background. Shin Ha-kyun plays a Sherlock Holmes type of investigator that's brought in to clean things up in a chaebol construction company. I'm somewhat reminded of Hot Stove League in that regard. I really liked what I saw in the first two episodes and SHK's decisions generally don't disappoint.
A good police procedural is difficult to write but a police procedural with an array of great layered characters with competing motivations is even harder to do well. This show succeeds on multiple levels while being a very effective cautionary tale about corrupted desires. Aspects of it remind me of Justified, one of my favourite tv shows ever made.
4 
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/are-you-the-one-2024-review-and-ramblings
https://open.substack.com/pub/40somethingahjumma/p/are-you-the-one-2024-episodes-1-11?r=kq410&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/are-you-the-one-2024-talking-tropes
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/sweet-home-3-2024-ramblings
https://open.substack.com/pub/40somethingahjumma/p/kingdom-2019-20-reflections?r=kq410&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/my-week-with-dramas-12-aug-2024
I knew after the first couple of episodes that this would require a great deal of suspension of disbelief. I didn't mind it as much of it was entertaining but some time after Episode 8, the show made less and less sense. And the pacing was off. It was also asking something of me the viewer that I couldn't accept. It's one of my least favourite plot devices -- characters refusing to 'fess up about their identity so as to prolong the big reveal. It's a delaying tactic which is used by a lot of Tik-Tok short dramas ad nauseum. To see it done in a high quality production like this is frustrating. For me the cracks that were evident in the first half were exacerbated in the second. The lack of cohesion being the biggest issue.
This would have been better as a 10-12 episode. And someone should give Lee Jung-eun a medal for being the consummate professional.
That said I enjoyed Episode 12 for its humour but also for the layers of subtext as it pertains to marriage by decree. I also find the oldest prince and the Bei Qi princess quite adorable.
Nice to see the entire gang again.
Although the spotlight is on the auditors it is really like a police procedural. The first two episodes were more about quality control rather than forensic accounting. And of course, since it's a K drama there's a power struggle in the background. Shin Ha-kyun plays a Sherlock Holmes type of investigator that's brought in to clean things up in a chaebol construction company. I'm somewhat reminded of Hot Stove League in that regard. I really liked what I saw in the first two episodes and SHK's decisions generally don't disappoint.
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/connection-2024-early-impressions
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/the-double-2024-episodes-15-17
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/the-double-2024-episodes-19-25
Happy reading.
He really needs to take on some classic wuxia roles.