Figgo
Florida
Subtlety is Key in This Drama's Synergy
My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.
Surprisingly, the many different interplaying facets within this drama work extremely well together and make for a highly enjoyable watch.
Acting/Cast: The acting was probably the strongest aspect of this drama. The male lead (played by Yoon Gye Sang 윤계상) quickly became a likeable and endearing character for me. The acting of the cop (played by Park Sung Hoon 박성훈) also stood out, which didn't surprise me because I had recently seen his exceptional acting ability in The Glory. As for the child actress (Yuna 유나), her acting felt very believable given the circumstances of her character. The cast had great chemistry together, as well. This was especially important for this father-like kidnapper and daughter-like victim plot. It was fun watching the interactions between the "kidnapper" and the "victim" with their opposite and exaggerated personalities. 10/10
Writing: The plot is right up my alley - a little bit sci-fi, a little bit hostage situationy. It's not just another cliché filled rom-com with an emotionless male lead, so, personally, it's a breath of fresh air. The writing balances out the different themes in this drama extremely well. The plot itself is very dark, involving child abuse, but the writers manage to keep a lightness about it that doesn't feel as though they are minimizing the seriousness of the plot. They were able to do this through humor sprinkled throughout the drama - just enough to break the tension and to keep things from getting too dark. It made for more of a fun but dangerous action hero adventure vibe rather than a terrifying and hopeless vibe. The corrupt police in cahoots with the villain cliché (or completely incompetent police cliché) is something that I have been sick of and this drama unfortunately has that. However, the writers kept my frustration at bay by writing in a good cop character that isn't undermined at every turn, as well as a team of good competent cops backing him. I really liked how the ending was handled by the writers. I was worried about it since the beginning of the drama, but I think they were very fair with all of the characters' fates. The court scene at the end packed quite a punch as well, which is something that was missing from Mother (a drama with a similar but darker themed plot). I felt satisfied after completing this drama as opposed to how I felt after I had completed Mother. Another thing that I was worried about was the possibility of the highly intelligent child character coming across as irritating, condescending, obnoxious, and just overall unlikeable. However, she was written extremely well; she seemed like a typical kid while also coming across as intelligent and dignified. The writers and her actor did well portraying these different facets of her character. Now for the negatives: The mystery aspect of the plot is barely there; it's pretty predictable. Instead, the real focus of the drama is the relationship between the two main characters, the importance of love and family, and healing from childhood trauma. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but because the mystery is weak, the villains are as well. I mean if you think about it, the real big baddie is disposed of in the very beginning. Another complaint I have is that I feel as though some subtlety was beginning to be lost towards the end in regards to the portrayal of the unusual relationship between the "kidnapper" and "victim". The interaction between them became a little overdramatized when in the presence of the cop character, which made it begin to feel a little cheesy. 7.5/10
Direction/SFX/Music: No major complaints here. This is definitely a well-produced drama. I can say that the music didn't stand out to me personally. I thought it neither improved nor hurt the drama. A strong, distinctive OST would have made this drama even more memorable. 8/10
Entertainment Value: I began watching this when it was still airing, so I couldn't binge it. If I could, I would have. Watching the relationship develop between the two main characters was fun and the humor was great (and unexpected). There was a nice small twist in there that I really liked as well. The mystery is pretty obvious though and doesn't add any suspense to the drama. Also, the lack of a really intimidating villain doesn't do any favors for the entertainment value either. 9/10
Overall, I gave this drama an 8.5/10. It was a very entertaining and unique drama with great acting. I wish that one of the villains (I won't say who) had more of a character arch/ redemption arch because I thought he was an interesting character that could have had some complexity to him. I think they kind of did him dirty.
Surprisingly, the many different interplaying facets within this drama work extremely well together and make for a highly enjoyable watch.
Acting/Cast: The acting was probably the strongest aspect of this drama. The male lead (played by Yoon Gye Sang 윤계상) quickly became a likeable and endearing character for me. The acting of the cop (played by Park Sung Hoon 박성훈) also stood out, which didn't surprise me because I had recently seen his exceptional acting ability in The Glory. As for the child actress (Yuna 유나), her acting felt very believable given the circumstances of her character. The cast had great chemistry together, as well. This was especially important for this father-like kidnapper and daughter-like victim plot. It was fun watching the interactions between the "kidnapper" and the "victim" with their opposite and exaggerated personalities. 10/10
Writing: The plot is right up my alley - a little bit sci-fi, a little bit hostage situationy. It's not just another cliché filled rom-com with an emotionless male lead, so, personally, it's a breath of fresh air. The writing balances out the different themes in this drama extremely well. The plot itself is very dark, involving child abuse, but the writers manage to keep a lightness about it that doesn't feel as though they are minimizing the seriousness of the plot. They were able to do this through humor sprinkled throughout the drama - just enough to break the tension and to keep things from getting too dark. It made for more of a fun but dangerous action hero adventure vibe rather than a terrifying and hopeless vibe. The corrupt police in cahoots with the villain cliché (or completely incompetent police cliché) is something that I have been sick of and this drama unfortunately has that. However, the writers kept my frustration at bay by writing in a good cop character that isn't undermined at every turn, as well as a team of good competent cops backing him. I really liked how the ending was handled by the writers. I was worried about it since the beginning of the drama, but I think they were very fair with all of the characters' fates. The court scene at the end packed quite a punch as well, which is something that was missing from Mother (a drama with a similar but darker themed plot). I felt satisfied after completing this drama as opposed to how I felt after I had completed Mother. Another thing that I was worried about was the possibility of the highly intelligent child character coming across as irritating, condescending, obnoxious, and just overall unlikeable. However, she was written extremely well; she seemed like a typical kid while also coming across as intelligent and dignified. The writers and her actor did well portraying these different facets of her character. Now for the negatives: The mystery aspect of the plot is barely there; it's pretty predictable. Instead, the real focus of the drama is the relationship between the two main characters, the importance of love and family, and healing from childhood trauma. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but because the mystery is weak, the villains are as well. I mean if you think about it, the real big baddie is disposed of in the very beginning. Another complaint I have is that I feel as though some subtlety was beginning to be lost towards the end in regards to the portrayal of the unusual relationship between the "kidnapper" and "victim". The interaction between them became a little overdramatized when in the presence of the cop character, which made it begin to feel a little cheesy. 7.5/10
Direction/SFX/Music: No major complaints here. This is definitely a well-produced drama. I can say that the music didn't stand out to me personally. I thought it neither improved nor hurt the drama. A strong, distinctive OST would have made this drama even more memorable. 8/10
Entertainment Value: I began watching this when it was still airing, so I couldn't binge it. If I could, I would have. Watching the relationship develop between the two main characters was fun and the humor was great (and unexpected). There was a nice small twist in there that I really liked as well. The mystery is pretty obvious though and doesn't add any suspense to the drama. Also, the lack of a really intimidating villain doesn't do any favors for the entertainment value either. 9/10
Overall, I gave this drama an 8.5/10. It was a very entertaining and unique drama with great acting. I wish that one of the villains (I won't say who) had more of a character arch/ redemption arch because I thought he was an interesting character that could have had some complexity to him. I think they kind of did him dirty.
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