As a lover of villain characters, this appeases me. I have been seated for this drama since it was announced. I’m glad the director confirmed we will see Baek Ahjin’s ruthless, vicious self and not some “woe is her” melodrama (Maybe it’s too early to say this, but I have hope reading this. Let’s see!).
Great movie, but it suffered from the same problems as Byeon Seonghyun’s previous works Kill Boksoon and Mantis. The start, setup, and premise were excellent, but the second act was too slow and stretched out. Still, I enjoy the quirky style of directing. Hong Kyung was great as usual.
Great first episode! There’s a good balance of seriousness and humour. I expected Taepoong to be a total brat, but he’s so nice! An ML we can root for in life, business, and love. Lee Junho’s acting is great, he can be cool and switch to emotional in a heartbeat. Kim Minha is giving life to a character who may seem “dull” from afar, but has a lot of heart and is smart. Can’t wait for the rise of Typhoon Family!
“so I thought we could give every country a fictional name. But if we did that, it would lack realism, and the audience wouldn't be able to immerse themselves,”
And yet they used a fake name for “Idisha”. Not brave enough, huh?
(I don’t have a problem with them naming actual countries, I rather respected them for it, but it amused me they still couldn’t use the actual name for “Idisha” haha.)
Should I watched Fabricated City Movie just to compare later on with this drama?
If you’ve never watched Fabricated City, I suggest NOT watching it first. Although FC and TM will have different stories, it may help you enjoy the premise and twists in TM more if you know nothing from FC, since some things will still be similar, just expanded more (observing from the trailer).
To me Kill Boksoon and Mantis were the same level of exciting and disappointing. Both had underdeveloped backstories and relationships, action was good in both (I prefer Boksoon a little more), directing was good (I could see the fight lines clearly in both), the setups were good but the payoff wasn’t that impactful (I prefer Mantis a bit more regarding this, Boksoon finisher was too quick). I found Cha Mingyu (previous MK leader) better developed than Dok Go (MK leader in Mantis). I liked the final scene of Mantis better. Mantis and Boksoon are both cool in different ways, I like both. I liked the angst between Hanwool and Jaeyi in Mantis better. Both are worth watching for the fight choreo.
If you want to watch this but are too lazy to watch Kill Boksoon first:
MK Enterprises comprises of CONTRACT KILLERS / ASSASSINS FOR HIRE.
GIL BOKSOON is one of their best assassins. She has a teenage daughter. She wanted to retire.
The head of MK was CHA MINGYU. His sister was CHA MINHEE. MINGYU likes and respects Boksoon. Minhee doesn’t like her. MINGYU wanted Boksoon to stay.
The assassins lived by a code - don’t kill minors, take missions assigned by your company only, and attempt each assassination (don’t abandon the mission).
GIL BOKSOON broke the code when she found out a dad wanted to kill his own son, and as a parent she couldn’t fathom it and abandoned the mission and lied about failing. A new intern assassin corroborated her lie. The intern and Boksoon were close.
The head CHA MINGYU tried to cover it up. The sister CHA MINHEE found out and created chaos, getting a fellow assassin of Boksoon to complete the job she abandoned. It was one of the conditions put forward by Boksoon that in order for her to stay and not retire, that mission must not be reattempted. There was a mission to kill Boksoon, Boksoon and intern got out alive.
This created an argument between MINGYU and MINHEE. Intern was killed to hide the truth. Boksoon got pissed because she had grown close to the intern and killed the sister MINHEE.
BOKSOON and MINGYU ultimately sparred, Boksoon won. MK head is dead.
Mantis, another great MK assassin, was on vacation the whole time and returns after these events, walking into chaos. The story continues from here.
I am SORRY about the CHAOTIC EXPLAnation. It’s the best I could do.
The poster!! This is the first time I’m seeing Jaewook look like a baby with those 🥺 eyes. He usually looks so tall, sharp, and rough in his dramas and photos. Of course he has to create a contrast with the other twin (or between a younger and older version of Doha) so that could be part of it, but I didn’t think I would ever see Jaewook look so baby-coded haha.
Her standing strong and having a very strong stance against getting back together is what made Eunjung a great…
The answer is in the drama. "By cutting these scenes, you're leaving out the important backstory. If you don't show their backstory, the audiences won't connect to the character's pain and breakdown later." - Eunjung said this during the work meeting in I think ep 10.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQotE_lCfwc
I fully expected him to trip on that area again and break his watch, but I think it would break him too much lmao so I’m glad it didn’t happen!
And yet they used a fake name for “Idisha”. Not brave enough, huh?
(I don’t have a problem with them naming actual countries, I rather respected them for it, but it amused me they still couldn’t use the actual name for “Idisha” haha.)
GIL BOKSOON is one of their best assassins. She has a teenage daughter. She wanted to retire.
The head of MK was CHA MINGYU. His sister was CHA MINHEE. MINGYU likes and respects Boksoon. Minhee doesn’t like her. MINGYU wanted Boksoon to stay.
The assassins lived by a code - don’t kill minors, take missions assigned by your company only, and attempt each assassination (don’t abandon the mission).
GIL BOKSOON broke the code when she found out a dad wanted to kill his own son, and as a parent she couldn’t fathom it and abandoned the mission and lied about failing. A new intern assassin corroborated her lie. The intern and Boksoon were close.
The head CHA MINGYU tried to cover it up. The sister CHA MINHEE found out and created chaos, getting a fellow assassin of Boksoon to complete the job she abandoned. It was one of the conditions put forward by Boksoon that in order for her to stay and not retire, that mission must not be reattempted. There was a mission to kill Boksoon, Boksoon and intern got out alive.
This created an argument between MINGYU and MINHEE. Intern was killed to hide the truth. Boksoon got pissed because she had grown close to the intern and killed the sister MINHEE.
BOKSOON and MINGYU ultimately sparred, Boksoon won. MK head is dead.
Mantis, another great MK assassin, was on vacation the whole time and returns after these events, walking into chaos. The story continues from here.
I am SORRY about the CHAOTIC EXPLAnation. It’s the best I could do.
I’m still not over the tension and chemistry between Kim Hyesoo and Ju Jihoon in Hyena. I’m looking forward to this pairing, they’re so fiery!
Lee Youngae is Melo Queen so she’s nailing that part, but I’ve watched her be out of it in Inspector Koo so I’m excited for the thriller parts too!
Art teacher/“James” is very attractive.
Everyone is “6 foot 2” until Kim Youngkwang stands beside them. I don’t think he’s 6’2” or even 6’3”, that man is TALL.
Cop team seems interesting too. The raids, chases and showdowns will be fun! 🤞🏼