Terius Behind Me (2018)

A Comical Spy-Thriller, Though Lacking In Character Depth..

‘Terrius Beside Me’ regurgitates the classic trope seen in dramas before when the “ tough and rough” agent ( So Ji-Sub) is launched into an unfamiliar and everyday environment in order to pull out exaggerated comedy and awkward scenarios . In the case of our main lead, this manifests through becoming the clueless babysitter for the two children of his kind-hearted neighbour ( Jung In-Sun). It is undeniable a generic and ‘’subtle’’ setup between domestic blandness and oddly light-hearted fluff, yet amongst the more angst-ridden moments of the show, the balance between action and the bittersweet experiences that the characters are subjected towards often felt lacking in greater characterisation and defining development.

Our main lead and agent Bon is a definitive example of this problem. Undeniably, So Ji Sub is a veteran within the acting field, and his ability to capture the stoic, yet comical brilliance of an agent stuck in the unfamiliar environment of everyday life helping to provide the majority of the comical elements of the show. As a character , Bon is an intelligence agent, used to appearing apathetic, cutthroat and struggling to emotionally reach out to others as a consequence of his traumatic experiences when he was active in the field. Bon’s “ mission” in the beginning of the shown to collect intelligence , also acts as his first chance in a long time to interact with individuals outside of his line of duty. This is what makes the show somewhat endearing in certain comical moments, as Bon learns to develop emotional attachments with the most unlikely characters ( the children and their parents who live in the apartments).

On the other hand, a major problem with the show’s tackling of Bon as a character can be seen through turning a slight blind eye to the evident emotional and psychological problems which arose as a consequence of his backstory. Although it was understandable that the show may have deemed this “ too dark” within Bon’s interactions with the children and it would take some of the more light-hearted moments of the series, it seemed odd and a poor plot point to bring in darker themes of death, torture and emotional manipulation, without the ultimately mentioning or developing upon the consequential effects for the individuals.

This naturally draws us onto the main female lead Ae-Rin; another defining example of a character who had many traumatic experiences , but ultimately seemed detached within her responses. Whilst it is hard to truly fault the brilliant talents of Jung In- Sun, her character’s emotional responses and actions throughout the show felt greatly mismatched towards her actual background as an “ everyday individual” unknowingly caught up in this odd conspiracy.

It is refreshingly noticeable that the show didn’t rely upon the typical trope of Bon and Ae-Rin’s relationship overtaking the main storyline. Instead, the romance between the two characters is noticeably more subtle, however, it soon becomes apparent for viewers that Ae-Rin’s responses and behaviour is oddly misrepresented by her responses to her surroundings.

For a woman who has lost her husband, looking after her children and struggling to find a job early on in the series, Ae-Rin seems to neither bereave, contemplate or be emotionally affected her scenario at all. This is not suggesting that instead Ae-Rin should have a “dramatic mess” as noticeably individuals do respond to grief in different ways. On the other hand,, after its initial use in the first episodes, the storyline never truly brought up or explored the realistic element of Ae-Rin’s actual response or time to contemplate memories with her husband. In fact, we learn very little about exactly Ae-Rin married him, how they met and naturally about her own experiences growing up at all in the series- elements which would have easily fleshed-out the female lead and touched upon the more realistic elements of the show.

There are other minor characters in the show such as Do Woon ( Sung Joo) and his evident lacklustre pairing with the other minor female character and agent in the series Ji Yeon ( Im Se-Mi). Although an undeniably “ sweet” relationship progression between the two characters, their interactions and lack of screen time didn’t really engage or motivate the viewers to feel strong emotions or responses to these characters as individuals.

The other centralised characters of the show also include Sohn Ho Jun as Yong Tae , the reluctant and minor antagonist of the series . Yong Tae is often played off comical relief for a major proportion of earlier episodes, yet he surprisingly has an intriguing backstory and a deeper sense of morality which oddly grounded him at times a lot more than our main characters. On the other hand, Yong Tae’s motives and reasoning sometimes felt a little half-baked. It was supposed to obviously dramatise the plot, but a lot of coherent reasoning behind Yong Tae’s actions often felt lacking in greater depth.

Ultimately the action scenes of the show in between the light-hearted comedy and jokes was often lacklustre. By default, this should have been prominent within an action-comedy, however, the fighting sequences were often lacking in greater suspense, and the outcomes for the leads are fights or dangerous situations was often too glamourised in order to offer a “ less explicit” censorship for the network.

So, is “ Terrius Beside Me” actually worth watching? The show ultimately acts as a fairly sweet comedy with light-hearted moments, fairly decent acting and intriguing plot, however, the more profound edges of characterisation, coherent plot line and unexpected, well-written twists were lacking during the show’s more profound and moving scenes. A generic action-comedy which is undeniably fun to binge-watch, but certainly not worth watching if you’re expected a memorable and profound storyline.

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