grace
ABSOLUTELY MIND-BLOWING & MUST-WATCH!
so i’ve never written a review on here before, in-fact i just got into kdramas within the last month and have only watched a handful so forgive me if this isn’t the most “together” or intellectual review but all i have to say is WOW.STORY — i can’t speak highly enough about the story. the fact that this was written and directed by women!! heck yes!! i typically get bored with things extremely quickly and tend to go on my phone and this didn’t happen once with this drama. every single scene meant something. there was nothing added just to fill up time. everything was important. everyone was important. every single character was vital to what went down throughout the sixteen episodes each in their own unique and intriguing way. the way the writing, directing, and acting showcased everything perfectly is absolutely mesmerizing. there wasn’t a single weak point in the show. i also liked how even though there were subplots with side/supporting characters, as i said, they weren’t there to just fill up time, but ending up playing a huge part into the overall story in the end. the parallels that ended up coming together in the episodes (especially the first few episodes versus the ending) were MIND-BLOWING.
ACTING — i could go on and on and on about the acting in this show everyone did phenomenal but there were four people who specifically stood out to to me:
shin ha kyun: as i said im new to kdramas but did this man blow my mind??? oh my goodness. the emotions he portrayed as such a tortured man dealing with so much. he delivered every line perfectly. AND THE SMILE. you know the smile. insane. i heard he got nominated for a big award. so deserved.
yeo jin goo: another mesmerizing performance by the other lead character. absolutely phenomenal i loved to see how much his character evolved as the story went on and how different circumstances changed the way he ultimately ended up. his acting in the last 3/4ish episodes some of my favorite in the entire drama. he killed it.
choi dae hoon: i’ve watched this actor in CLOY and FOE and if i’m being honest he didn’t stand out in those to me - i barely noticed him if im being honest. however, in BE he blew my mind. genuinely one of the best performances of the show. he had so much he had to do and the role was such a heavy one and the way he portrayed a character dealing with all of the emotions he was and making you sympathize with him was so crazy and he deserves all the praise!!
choi sung eun: she was phenomenal. another actress i’ve never seen before but her whole demeanor was amazing. i loved her character a ton and i want to say its all thanks to the actress. each emotion came across perfectly and i felt like i could somehow relate and understand every single one of her actions. i hope to see her in more projects!
special mention to lee do hyun he was great in his few scenes and as a fan of his, it was nice seeing a familiar face!
OST — im quite new to this but i loved the soundtrack. i loved the whole vibe and it fit extremely well. left me unsettled and intrigued as if i was one of the characters.
REWATCH VALUE — i can guarantee once this has sat for a little bit i will be rewatching. the plot-twists were great and i can’t imagine how cool it will be knowing everything ahead of time. i might have to make someone watch this with me and then i watch their reactions for the first time because i was a mess on multiple occasions.
OVERALL: i’ll put it simply. if you are on the fence about watching this - WATCH IT YOU WONT REGRET IT!
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a star needs their universe
didn’t go into this thinking it would be as good as the first season because dramas rarely are but man am i blown away. fantastic scriptwriting, acting, directing… you name it!
majority of the season was angst and there is no denying that - but these characters are broken people and with that you’re going to have them react to things because of their pasts and their own personal issues. however, you also get to watch them grow not only individually, but also because of each other. the conflict wasn’t unwarranted either. we saw in season 1 how different these two are from one another and how much they both struggled individually so anyone that says it was just added for the sake of conflict is dead wrong. it was peak realism.
i have to commend the acting from both of the leads here. seo woohyun was amazing in carrying seojoons sensitive and emotional nature. when he smiled everything around him lit up, and when he was crying it was like a storm was arriving on a once sunny beach. kim kangmin was just as fantastic. he spent the majority of the front half stone cold and upsetting to watch and that takes great skill. still, though, you could pinpoint glimpses of hope, sadness, anger, relief. the second half he really got to shine with some more emotional scenes and i just have to praise him because of one scene in particular (you’ll know the one). amazing acting from the both of them.
the music in this drama fit so well. i need the OST on repeat right now!! the technical aspects were all around great. pay attention to the “flashback scenes” because all i can say is you will be wowed by the time you reach the end of the drama. every scene in this drama carried such weight, no matter how big or small.
overall such an amazing watch. i don’t want to lose these characters but I am so satisfied with the ending.
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a one of a kind in its genre!
through the darkness was an absolutely must watch drama in my opinion. this is only the second drama i’ve written a review on; the first being beyond evil (which i also loved) so that just goes to show how much i enjoyed this drama.here’s the thing, though, this drama definitely wont be for everyone (is any drama for everyone, though?) it veers in the very hard to watch category especially in the second half. as someone who is a huge fan of the crime/thriller genre and has watched tons of media from multiple countries of the genre i’d like to say im well adjusted, but, alas, i was wrong. the antagonists in this drama are so evil and they show that to the fullest extent possible that can be showed on a korean channel. i had to pause my fair share. each of the twelve episodes deal with very hard to watch topics and any potential viewers should be aware.
first of all i love the way the story in this drama was presented. there wasn’t one overarching villain the whole duration, but it also wasn’t really episodic. it was something in-between. plus, at the core the drama really was about song ha young’s evolution as not only the first korean criminal profiler, but as a human being. i have to mention it was also refreshing to not see the normal rough around the edges, borderline alcoholic with anger issues as the protagonist of a crime/thriller drama because more often than not that’s the case.
the profiling aspect, aka the main point, was so intriguing and it was so relieving not to see dumb and incompetent police. too often you see that and its extremely frustrating. however, at the same time solving cases wasnt overly convenient for them. they used their brains to figure out what needed to be figured out. yeah, there were dumb mistakes here and there, which is to be expected by anyone in any profession, but it wasn’t the same mistake repeated over and over again.
another thing worth mentioning is the fact that most, if not all, of the killers presented in this drama are based upon real life cases. i believe even one of them is modeled after the infamous raincoat killer which has a documentary series on netflix available for watch.
the true highlight of this drama was the acting, specifically by kim nam gil. he gave a performance that is going to be on my favorite performances list and i hope he gets a baeksang nomination for all he did. the supporting cast was also phenomenal in their own right, but the second biggest stars next to kim nam gil would be the criminals themselves. some of these suspects had lots of scenes, others had maybe one or two but they were all absolutely amazing. seeing familiar faces from other dramas that have portrayed sweet characters play these utterly despicable human beings with zero remorse was such a sight and they deserve SO much praise.
overall i do recommend this, just not for everyone. don’t go in expecting an action packed thriller full of jumps and twists and turns. this drama doesn’t have plot twists where it turns out the person you’ve trusted all along is actually a killer. instead, it goes deep into the minds of song ha young and the criminals he and his team work hard to catch. at this core this drama is about the hearts of humans and what leads us to do the things we do, whether that be help people or hurt them.
side-note: the rewatch value is so low because, though, i could eventually see myself rewatching in the far future, it is a very draining and emotional ride that i don’t see myself being ready to watch again for quite some time.
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