1
starflakes
U.S.
Boring, Bland, and Unfulfilling
What is there to say about The Trunk? Normally I start my reviews with a brief summary of the show so people who haven't seen it may know what to expect. But I have no idea what to put here because honestly this show is just...nothing. The official premises provided on MDL, wikipedia, and even Netflix promise a mystery show about unraveling murder and a powerful company. Yeah, no, don't expect any of that.
I think that is where a big issue of this show lies - it is not what it is promised to be at all. The fact that this show is advertised as mystery is to me, false advertising, especially in regard to 'a whirlwind of secret behind the NM company' when in reality the murder is really second fiddle, and the NM company is practically not involved at all. Instead the show focused on the twisted relationships between four people - the ML, the FL, the ML's ex-wife, and her new husband. The problem is that it's really not written well. The relationship between the ML and the ML's ex-wife is particularly written as though it should be complex, but instead it's infuriating. The ML's ex-wife's actions are bizarre, and unjustified, and considering she is the driving force between a lot of the show it's hard to enjoy it when she's constantly on screen being a terrible person.
The other selling point of this show is supposed to be the relationship between the ML and the FL. This has the same issues as the plot does in that is underdeveloped. This show clearly suffered from being 8 episodes - it either should have been shorter (like a movie) so it didn't meander so much or way longer (like 16 episodes) so it could actually explore what it wanted to. Instead its stuck in this in between where nothing it touches on really gets fleshed out, and man does it want to talk about so many things. The ML and the FL's relationship is especially rushed - we don't really get to see why they work for each other, why they click aside from that they help each other heal (kind of). It isn't unique to them - you could replace one of them with a different person and the love line could stay practically the same.
On the technical side I will say the cinematography is gorgeous - it is certainly a beautiful show to look at, but that's really the only thing about it I can say was positive. I was very disappointed by the soundtrack, especially because the ML is a music producer. Maybe it is on me for expecting that that would mean more care is put into the music, but there was nothing noteworthy about it. It would have been a great way to weave the technical with the story - if the ML is a music producer you can use music to symbolize his feelings, his life, but there is none of that. It's just another aspect of the show where you can see so much potential in it, and then its just...not used.
Speaking of potential, this feels like a real waste of good actors. I do think that Seo Hyun Jin is particularly stand out from the cast when it comes to acting - she was amazing in her role. On the other hand, I expected more from Gong Yoo. But I don't think that's necessarily his fault when he is given a character who's default mood is 'miserable.' I've seen better from him (even his cameo in Squid Game was more intriguing than this), but again, I think he did well for what he was given. The other actors are fine, but again, it feels like a misuse of a lot of talented people who could have devoted this time to far better projects.
At the end of the day The Trunk is immensely disappointing, especially if you went in wanting to watch it for the mystery aspect (don't even bother). If you watched it for the drama you may enjoy it more but even then things are so contrived and frustrating it's hard to get through. The only reason I can think of to watch this kdrama is if you want to be mad? Like if you really need someone to hate and get angry at this will be perfect, but otherwise don't waste your time - there are far better kdramas with these elements. There isn't anything unique to this drama that you can't find done somewhere else with more nuance and better writing.
I think that is where a big issue of this show lies - it is not what it is promised to be at all. The fact that this show is advertised as mystery is to me, false advertising, especially in regard to 'a whirlwind of secret behind the NM company' when in reality the murder is really second fiddle, and the NM company is practically not involved at all. Instead the show focused on the twisted relationships between four people - the ML, the FL, the ML's ex-wife, and her new husband. The problem is that it's really not written well. The relationship between the ML and the ML's ex-wife is particularly written as though it should be complex, but instead it's infuriating. The ML's ex-wife's actions are bizarre, and unjustified, and considering she is the driving force between a lot of the show it's hard to enjoy it when she's constantly on screen being a terrible person.
The other selling point of this show is supposed to be the relationship between the ML and the FL. This has the same issues as the plot does in that is underdeveloped. This show clearly suffered from being 8 episodes - it either should have been shorter (like a movie) so it didn't meander so much or way longer (like 16 episodes) so it could actually explore what it wanted to. Instead its stuck in this in between where nothing it touches on really gets fleshed out, and man does it want to talk about so many things. The ML and the FL's relationship is especially rushed - we don't really get to see why they work for each other, why they click aside from that they help each other heal (kind of). It isn't unique to them - you could replace one of them with a different person and the love line could stay practically the same.
On the technical side I will say the cinematography is gorgeous - it is certainly a beautiful show to look at, but that's really the only thing about it I can say was positive. I was very disappointed by the soundtrack, especially because the ML is a music producer. Maybe it is on me for expecting that that would mean more care is put into the music, but there was nothing noteworthy about it. It would have been a great way to weave the technical with the story - if the ML is a music producer you can use music to symbolize his feelings, his life, but there is none of that. It's just another aspect of the show where you can see so much potential in it, and then its just...not used.
Speaking of potential, this feels like a real waste of good actors. I do think that Seo Hyun Jin is particularly stand out from the cast when it comes to acting - she was amazing in her role. On the other hand, I expected more from Gong Yoo. But I don't think that's necessarily his fault when he is given a character who's default mood is 'miserable.' I've seen better from him (even his cameo in Squid Game was more intriguing than this), but again, I think he did well for what he was given. The other actors are fine, but again, it feels like a misuse of a lot of talented people who could have devoted this time to far better projects.
At the end of the day The Trunk is immensely disappointing, especially if you went in wanting to watch it for the mystery aspect (don't even bother). If you watched it for the drama you may enjoy it more but even then things are so contrived and frustrating it's hard to get through. The only reason I can think of to watch this kdrama is if you want to be mad? Like if you really need someone to hate and get angry at this will be perfect, but otherwise don't waste your time - there are far better kdramas with these elements. There isn't anything unique to this drama that you can't find done somewhere else with more nuance and better writing.
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