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Circle korean drama review
Completed
Circle
1 people found this review helpful
by cassey
Jun 28, 2020
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
Amazeballs. Kdrama scifi---scratch that--- scifi at its finest. I got used to kdramas losing their steam halfway or you stare blankly at the closing credits, and there's no decent explanation at all for everything (I love you Alhambra, but I'm looking at you). Circle is brilliant, it's confusing at first as timelines are jumbled and as setup of mysteries are, but as it slowly unravels, it pays off big time.

Spoilers to follow:
Every episode is in two parts: 2017, as we figure out what happened in the past, between the two brothers, and 2037, as we bridge who is who in the future, which is my new fave trope. This is kbromance at its finest. In 2017, you sympathize with Yeo Jin Goo's Woo Jin as he carries the burden of what's happening to his brother. Then switch to 2037, and you wonder what in the world happened in between those years, and it's now the older twin Joon Hyuk looking for the missing Woo Jin. That's refreshing, usually the viewer will only follow one sibling's point of view the whole story.

What a great ensemble cast helmed by Yeo Jin Goo (who was so amazing here) and Kim Kang Woo, to great discovery gorgeous Gong Seung Yeon, she's suited to be a badass action movie star. Lee Gi Kwang and Ahn Woo Yeon also did well. They're all so good I didn't even miss that there's just subtle suggestive romance between the four leads lol.

That penultimate episode when finally "the two worlds", 2017 blended into 2037, and we discovered Woo Jin has already died, was simply heartbreaking. I didn't know whether to applaud or cry. So sad yet so well done. A tragic ending for all the suffering the twins went through. Yes, they did a cop out and he still lived through a clone, but it's not the same. It's a fascinating question the drama tackles about clones but there's just not enough time.

I'm a bit blue this show is underrated, it deserves more hype than it had. This scifi thriller tackles a lot of ethical questions in the field of progress and science, and is a must watch for all scifi and kdrama fans out there. Looks like there's no follow up project yet from the Circle PD's, but I'll definitely be waiting for more from them.
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