DrKay
Underwhelming.
Midway through the series, one of the characters remarks, "...going around like a headless chicken," and that single expression seems to fit the whole show. If the drama had really been a thriller, the description might have been excusable, but Undercover neither has any "thrilling" elements to it nor does it attempt to build any during the course of its run. It's a shame because the story was overflowing with the potential to be a tightly packed game of wits. Instead, it ends up being a chase between two mice, both of which fall drastically short of their own apparently spectacular credentials. There is almost nothing that works for the story and it is only in part because the makers had to stretch the 6 part British original into a 16 episode drama.
I won't be exaggerating if I said this show was made for Kim Hyun Joo. Ironically, her character and her portrayal of it are the primary of the show's many downfalls. It's debatable if she was a bad actor here, or if the writing itself was dumb. Or both. Several times during "each" episode I nearly pulled my hair out in frustration because, "Mr./Ms. Writer, that is not how the "Director of CIO" behaves!" There is always a lot of talk going around about how Choi Yeon Soo is amazing, how she's best suited for the job, how she's the only one who could be trusted, how she has an impeccable record and how righteous she is. She's faultless enough to be appointed and complimented by the President himself and formidable enough to intimidate the evil guys before she even steps into the CIO. Then she goes on to make some of the silliest mistakes of dramaland, and not just once. Which begs the question: Who is the reassurance for? Us or Choi Yeon Soo or Kim Hyun Joo? It also makes us wonder how she won her cases for 20 years. She doesn't seem to realise the magnitude of the task before her even after being repeatedly hurt/duped. Each time she said "How did this happen?", my inner Baek Beom screamed that it was the wrong question. Also, and this detail was never mentioned anywhere, she can't recognise faces. Yep!
Adding to the story's woes is its pacing. In plain words, it's slow- not the methodical kind of slow where the plot doesn't move forward due to some reasonable doubt, but the sluggish kind where it is just trying to fill the allotted time frame, 60-90 min here. Perhaps it was necessary when they had very little material to go on and yet fit the show to the Korean standard length. Or maybe, they could have used the ridiculous amount of time they had on some actual investigations and confrontations. The glaring blunders not withstanding, Choi Yeon Soo is dull and tired most of the time. The sluggish air around her is more pronounced than in other characters and by so much that at one point, I felt myself imbibing her laziness. It's endlessly painful if you, like me, watch this in the hopes of some racy and nail biting stuff. This unhurried pace wouldn't have been nearly as frustrating if we were either given something to chew and ponder on or if it wasn't illogical in the sequence of events but even with a deadline approaching, Choi Yeon Soo and the story go at their own languid pace. It's unending and frustrating.
The story itself is dull and rather simple. The good guys and the bad guys are revealed pretty early on and there are no deceptions monumental enough to sit up and take notice. One can just lounge around on a couch, eat some chips and say, "Yes, I thought so," when the reveals happen. It's not a new concept by any means and the handling was also poor. I expected some absurd rationale in this like Stranger or Designated Survivor 60 days, but that was all wishful thinking. There's no bad guy here whom we haven't seen as a baddie in some or the other drama, and it kind of kills the whole dark vibe the story aims to give. We've seen how bad they can be, so we'd like it to amount to something here. The good guys are incompetent and keep making the same erroneous moves time and again and they win only because the baddies fail to capitalise on these errors. There's a sequence in episode 12 or 13 where it looked like the show would probably get on the track finally and save itself, but it doesn't last. There are more sighs and pursed lips than there is any action in the story and I was about ready to smack Choi Yeon Soo if she had smacked her lips one more time.
All the loopholes are glossed over as being a part of a well thought out plan and I wonder if the makers sat after each episode's preview and took notes of what all needs to be patched up in the next one. Some are not even explained and left to rot. There's a lot of unnecessary and illogical physical abuse which was the second biggest turn off for me.
The actors did a good job, though. If Ji Jin Hee's character was supposed to be alternately confused and struggling, then he did well. Kim Hyun Joo's emotional scenes were the best part of her role. The villains were bad enough for me to want to strangle them. Yoo Sun Ho and Lee Jae In ace their roles like seasoned actors. Yeon Woo Jin and Han Sun Hwa are excellent too, both in terms of how much they resemble the older cast and in understanding the characters as well. Yeon Soo's teammates are wasted in every sense of the word, but none more so than the fifth person, whose name and face remain unknown and who was only there to fill the chair next to Mr.Bae. They are given their quirks, however, and the actors all give decent performances. The characterisation was overall a big failure and that's all there is to say about it. And here I feel sorry for both Choi Yeon Soo/Kim Hyun Joo because they suffer the most.
The only shining moments are those involving the family dynamics and the sibling duo of Seung goo and Seung mi. The father-son relationship is a treat to viewers, much like the brother-sister bond. Music is another thing the drama gets right and thank God for it. I can't imagine how the show would have turned out otherwise. I will not be watching this again because once was already frustrating enough. Truthfully, Seung goo, Seung Mi, Choo Dong Woo and Song Mi Seon would have solved this case faster. These 4 need a drama of their own.
A pro tip: when you are face to face with someone you want to catch and they are trying to make a run for it, please respectfully move aside and make way. Also, where did Bo Ri and the chief prosecutor disappear to? And why was Go Yoon Joo even there?
I won't be exaggerating if I said this show was made for Kim Hyun Joo. Ironically, her character and her portrayal of it are the primary of the show's many downfalls. It's debatable if she was a bad actor here, or if the writing itself was dumb. Or both. Several times during "each" episode I nearly pulled my hair out in frustration because, "Mr./Ms. Writer, that is not how the "Director of CIO" behaves!" There is always a lot of talk going around about how Choi Yeon Soo is amazing, how she's best suited for the job, how she's the only one who could be trusted, how she has an impeccable record and how righteous she is. She's faultless enough to be appointed and complimented by the President himself and formidable enough to intimidate the evil guys before she even steps into the CIO. Then she goes on to make some of the silliest mistakes of dramaland, and not just once. Which begs the question: Who is the reassurance for? Us or Choi Yeon Soo or Kim Hyun Joo? It also makes us wonder how she won her cases for 20 years. She doesn't seem to realise the magnitude of the task before her even after being repeatedly hurt/duped. Each time she said "How did this happen?", my inner Baek Beom screamed that it was the wrong question. Also, and this detail was never mentioned anywhere, she can't recognise faces. Yep!
Adding to the story's woes is its pacing. In plain words, it's slow- not the methodical kind of slow where the plot doesn't move forward due to some reasonable doubt, but the sluggish kind where it is just trying to fill the allotted time frame, 60-90 min here. Perhaps it was necessary when they had very little material to go on and yet fit the show to the Korean standard length. Or maybe, they could have used the ridiculous amount of time they had on some actual investigations and confrontations. The glaring blunders not withstanding, Choi Yeon Soo is dull and tired most of the time. The sluggish air around her is more pronounced than in other characters and by so much that at one point, I felt myself imbibing her laziness. It's endlessly painful if you, like me, watch this in the hopes of some racy and nail biting stuff. This unhurried pace wouldn't have been nearly as frustrating if we were either given something to chew and ponder on or if it wasn't illogical in the sequence of events but even with a deadline approaching, Choi Yeon Soo and the story go at their own languid pace. It's unending and frustrating.
The story itself is dull and rather simple. The good guys and the bad guys are revealed pretty early on and there are no deceptions monumental enough to sit up and take notice. One can just lounge around on a couch, eat some chips and say, "Yes, I thought so," when the reveals happen. It's not a new concept by any means and the handling was also poor. I expected some absurd rationale in this like Stranger or Designated Survivor 60 days, but that was all wishful thinking. There's no bad guy here whom we haven't seen as a baddie in some or the other drama, and it kind of kills the whole dark vibe the story aims to give. We've seen how bad they can be, so we'd like it to amount to something here. The good guys are incompetent and keep making the same erroneous moves time and again and they win only because the baddies fail to capitalise on these errors. There's a sequence in episode 12 or 13 where it looked like the show would probably get on the track finally and save itself, but it doesn't last. There are more sighs and pursed lips than there is any action in the story and I was about ready to smack Choi Yeon Soo if she had smacked her lips one more time.
All the loopholes are glossed over as being a part of a well thought out plan and I wonder if the makers sat after each episode's preview and took notes of what all needs to be patched up in the next one. Some are not even explained and left to rot. There's a lot of unnecessary and illogical physical abuse which was the second biggest turn off for me.
The actors did a good job, though. If Ji Jin Hee's character was supposed to be alternately confused and struggling, then he did well. Kim Hyun Joo's emotional scenes were the best part of her role. The villains were bad enough for me to want to strangle them. Yoo Sun Ho and Lee Jae In ace their roles like seasoned actors. Yeon Woo Jin and Han Sun Hwa are excellent too, both in terms of how much they resemble the older cast and in understanding the characters as well. Yeon Soo's teammates are wasted in every sense of the word, but none more so than the fifth person, whose name and face remain unknown and who was only there to fill the chair next to Mr.Bae. They are given their quirks, however, and the actors all give decent performances. The characterisation was overall a big failure and that's all there is to say about it. And here I feel sorry for both Choi Yeon Soo/Kim Hyun Joo because they suffer the most.
The only shining moments are those involving the family dynamics and the sibling duo of Seung goo and Seung mi. The father-son relationship is a treat to viewers, much like the brother-sister bond. Music is another thing the drama gets right and thank God for it. I can't imagine how the show would have turned out otherwise. I will not be watching this again because once was already frustrating enough. Truthfully, Seung goo, Seung Mi, Choo Dong Woo and Song Mi Seon would have solved this case faster. These 4 need a drama of their own.
A pro tip: when you are face to face with someone you want to catch and they are trying to make a run for it, please respectfully move aside and make way. Also, where did Bo Ri and the chief prosecutor disappear to? And why was Go Yoon Joo even there?
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