12
11
1
1
1
1
1
9
1
1
3
3
4
This review may contain spoilers
Caught Between The Rat and The Real One.
It was interesting how all of this was inspired by the Korean folklore "The Rat That Ate Fingernails,” yet they turned it into a chilling psychological study of trauma, identity theft, and imposter syndrome without relying on supernatural tropes.
I had fun, ngl, and a lot of that was because of our duo, Noja and Moonjae. They had this bickering, humorous buddy dynamic despite being at odds with each other: one was a loan shark/private detective whose money was laundered, while the other was a traumatized writer.
Despite the duo being great with their deadpan comebacks, I couldn’t help but be impressed by Noja, portrayed by Sul Kyung Gu! He stole the show with his raw and chaotic energy. The rogue car fights where he landed some brutal punches on the paid goons, the insane police car chase, and the scene where he crawled out of the hole he was buried in were all so thrilling. He brought high stakes and grit to the story.
Ryu Jun-yeol brilliantly handles the dual roles of the 'Rat' and the 'Real' protagonist. He balances the imposter's bold, calculating nature against the genuine human's paranoid, guarded demeanor and slouched body language.
The directing also elevated my experience, especially in how they portrayed Moonjae’s panic attacks through the constant zooming in and out and swirling lighting.
However, Episode 9 was my least favourite from a directing standpoint. We spent about three-quarters of the episode in darkness because of the poor lighting during the nighttime chase in the mountains, which made the action scenes feel draggy.
The pacing also took a huge hit in the same episode, as the police were busy cursing in the dark and fighting amongst themselves, prolonging the chase and giving the criminals ample time to escape lol.
In the end, it was a fun watch, but the pacing dipped from Episode 8 onward. I loved the twists, the car chase, the amazing depiction of the cost of stolen identity, and the leads’ brief alliance.
I had fun, ngl, and a lot of that was because of our duo, Noja and Moonjae. They had this bickering, humorous buddy dynamic despite being at odds with each other: one was a loan shark/private detective whose money was laundered, while the other was a traumatized writer.
Despite the duo being great with their deadpan comebacks, I couldn’t help but be impressed by Noja, portrayed by Sul Kyung Gu! He stole the show with his raw and chaotic energy. The rogue car fights where he landed some brutal punches on the paid goons, the insane police car chase, and the scene where he crawled out of the hole he was buried in were all so thrilling. He brought high stakes and grit to the story.
Ryu Jun-yeol brilliantly handles the dual roles of the 'Rat' and the 'Real' protagonist. He balances the imposter's bold, calculating nature against the genuine human's paranoid, guarded demeanor and slouched body language.
The directing also elevated my experience, especially in how they portrayed Moonjae’s panic attacks through the constant zooming in and out and swirling lighting.
However, Episode 9 was my least favourite from a directing standpoint. We spent about three-quarters of the episode in darkness because of the poor lighting during the nighttime chase in the mountains, which made the action scenes feel draggy.
The pacing also took a huge hit in the same episode, as the police were busy cursing in the dark and fighting amongst themselves, prolonging the chase and giving the criminals ample time to escape lol.
In the end, it was a fun watch, but the pacing dipped from Episode 8 onward. I loved the twists, the car chase, the amazing depiction of the cost of stolen identity, and the leads’ brief alliance.
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