LJE
This review may contain spoilers
I really wanted to love it as much as Stranger 1.
Lee Soo Yeon does not disappoint and delivered yet another masterpiece of a crime/political drama. Despite my header, I still really enjoyed the show, with it's actions, twists and drama. However, in my opinion, every aspect is definitely lacking when compared with season 1.
Plot wise, the overall story was definitely less tight-knit. Story telling wasn't great (it wasn't obvious to follow and link together all the different cases). There were lesser shock reveals, twists were somewhat expected and most of all, the protagonist was (imo) too weak. It was obvious from the get go that WTH was no LCJ. He lacked the charisma, the brains and the personality to fill in those big shoes. I felt like too much time was used building up the base premise of the Prosecution-Police Rights discussion (which could be an important topic in Korea) and on SDJ digging into police power abuse cases (to get into the team). In fact, by the end of it, no real resolution was reached (except that both sides do not deserve to have exclusive rights). Pace in the first half was slow but it quickly picked up in the 2nd half with SDJ's disappearance, which I would rather the drama had started with. The ending felt rushed and I would have preferred the last few episodes to have spread out more. Many arcs were not closed out well such as, with Hanjo Group, LYJ's secretary's being suspicious, potential Kim Sa Hyun involvement, Oh Ju Seon, Segok Police Case etc. Overall, I felt the writer was trying to do too much in too short of a time. Maybe season 3??
Cast wise, I thought everyone played their part well but again, WTH's character was (imo) too underwhelming when faced with LCJ. LYJ as well did not compare up to her father. In fact, no mention was made about the status of her father by the end of the show, which I thought was pretty suspicious considering he could be used as one of the masterminds of these plots.
Overall, still a very enjoyable drama. Perhaps a slight tweak by the writer, aiming for a more philosophical style with more dialogue. Would have preferred more action/strategy like in season 1, which is what I fell in love with Stranger for.
Plot wise, the overall story was definitely less tight-knit. Story telling wasn't great (it wasn't obvious to follow and link together all the different cases). There were lesser shock reveals, twists were somewhat expected and most of all, the protagonist was (imo) too weak. It was obvious from the get go that WTH was no LCJ. He lacked the charisma, the brains and the personality to fill in those big shoes. I felt like too much time was used building up the base premise of the Prosecution-Police Rights discussion (which could be an important topic in Korea) and on SDJ digging into police power abuse cases (to get into the team). In fact, by the end of it, no real resolution was reached (except that both sides do not deserve to have exclusive rights). Pace in the first half was slow but it quickly picked up in the 2nd half with SDJ's disappearance, which I would rather the drama had started with. The ending felt rushed and I would have preferred the last few episodes to have spread out more. Many arcs were not closed out well such as, with Hanjo Group, LYJ's secretary's being suspicious, potential Kim Sa Hyun involvement, Oh Ju Seon, Segok Police Case etc. Overall, I felt the writer was trying to do too much in too short of a time. Maybe season 3??
Cast wise, I thought everyone played their part well but again, WTH's character was (imo) too underwhelming when faced with LCJ. LYJ as well did not compare up to her father. In fact, no mention was made about the status of her father by the end of the show, which I thought was pretty suspicious considering he could be used as one of the masterminds of these plots.
Overall, still a very enjoyable drama. Perhaps a slight tweak by the writer, aiming for a more philosophical style with more dialogue. Would have preferred more action/strategy like in season 1, which is what I fell in love with Stranger for.
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