Hospital Playlist (2020) A Tribute to Ahn Chi-hong

I woke up this morning to news that Kim Jun-han will not be reprising his role as Ahn Chi-hong in Season 2 which I found difficult to believe considering what a huge role he had in the first season. They spent so much airtime building his character only for us to find out now that he was a one-season only character. I am not someone to get hysterical about these things. Nothing would be gained by that but it seems to me in hindsight that they made us fall in love with the character only to turn him into a rival for Ik-jun. 

Of course that does sound somewhat reductionist because the Ahn Chi-hong that we grew to love is much much more than that. His story is in actual fact an inspiring one. A career military officer who had achieved captain status only to find himself struck by a rare medical condition that would impede his ability to advance through the ranks in the army especially when he had been touted as a future general. It must have been a crushing blow. However, instead of wallowing in self-pity and taking the easy way out he goes into medicine opting for a specialisation in neurosurgery. The man has guts and is a great role model for his juniors. I was convinced that he would make a fantastic chief resident. 

Everyone who has read anything I've written about the show knows that he's one of my favourites. Partly because of his heroic trajectory, partly because he's a deeply caring individual. He has been to the school of hard knocks and come out swinging. In most ways, he's a much more fleshed out character than the likes of Ik-jun, Song-hwa and even Jeong-won. He's very down-to-earth, and as a clinician he is still finding his rhythm. 

I personally had no problem with his one-sided crush on Song-hwa. I thought it was thoughtful and sweet. Even if he was her "student", he was mature (only a couple of years younger) with plenty of life experiences of his own. He demonstrated a stability of character all throughout. Even Song-hwa praised him in front of Ik-jun, saying he was going to be a good chief because he was diligent and caring. I accepted the fact that Song-hwa wasn't interested in him that way but I certainly didn't think there was anything inherently wrong with his persistence.

There needs to be a balance in the way we understand characters. A well-written character (not talking about makjang here) should have their strengths as well as flaws and quirks. Just because they do things we don't approve of occasionally doesn't mean that they should be written off as evil people, unworthies or no-hopers. This kind of polarised approach was definitely an issue during the show's airing in the way some fans were discussing Gyeo-ul, Ik-jun and Chi-hong. 

Chi-hong crossing the line with Song-hwa and Ik-jun is consistent with his disposition and his military background. Surely a man with a spine should put up a bit of a fight. Whatever we feel about what he did, it can't be denied that his actions on those occasions were not beyond the pale. I don't like that he was demonized by viewers to the point where he was accused of thinking more highly of himself than he should. I can't agree with that. I never saw that and the show itself reminds us that his perseverance in life is praiseworthy, an example to others who find themselves in a similar position.

I am writing this because I think if we make enough noise he could be brought back in cameos and as a recurring character. That is certainly my hope because I believe the world of Hospital Playlist would a little emptier and poorer for him not being around.

Prison Playbook (2017-18) A Review

Those who know me well would know that I would get to this one eventually. I’m a broken record on this. It ranks highly amongst my all-time favourites… as close to a perfect drama as they come. It is an exemplar on how to get the best out of an ensemble cast. Whatever it does, either in storytelling or eliciting viewer emotions, it does superbly. It’s hard to believe now that it wasn’t something that grabbed my attention straightaway when Netflix was promoting it. To be frank, I wasn’t at all keen about watching a drama about prison life until I discovered that the wonderful Jung Kyung-ho was in it. I am forever grateful to him for bringing this gem to my attention. A gem that I have revisited several times since which is no mean feat considering each episode is 80-90 minutes each.

There is something inexplicably magical in this slice-of-life drama about the goings-on in detention centres and among their inhabitants. Perhaps it boils down to the crafting of the story. Props to PD Shin Won Ho and Writer Jung Bo-hoon for all their efforts in that regard.This prison backdrop seems to be an unlikely setting for a deeply moving and often hilarious story of male camaraderie. It isn’t all laughter and frolicking because the show doesn’t steer away from the darker side of prison life. The bleakness is undoubtedly felt but it is mitigated by a kind of gallows humour. Shin and Jung are indeed masters at playing with viewer expectations. The result being: I laughed a lot. I cried a lot. In fact I would often find myself on a rollercoaster ride of emotions from one moment to the next.

The show revolves around baseball sensation, Kim Je-hyeok, who on the eve of leaving for a career in MLB is charged with manslaughter for inadvertently killing his sister’s assailant. He is convicted and unhappily for him, lands in prison for a year. Much of the action sees Je-hyeok navigating life in two detention centres (pre and post trial) with the help of his longtime friend Jun-ho, now a prison guard. He is also aided and abetted by other fellow travellers playing the game of prison Survivor. As if things aren’t tough enough, there are villains in this. Genuinely nasty types whose mission in prison is to make life more of a nightmare for Je-hyeok than it already is. Fortunately for Je-hyeok, he gets a little help from his friends (even from unexpected quarters), making the trials and tribulations of prison life a tad more bearable.

The key to the show’s success, it seems to me, is the characters and the relationships. Long after we leave them (or when they leave us), we remember them. Their antics, highs and lows linger with us. Each story is told in flashbacks and we are privy to why those in Je-hyeok’s inner circle in particular end up in the slammer. There’s Min-chul, the cell boss who in his previous life was a gangster. During a nightclub brawl he ended up killing someone but escaped the hangman’s noose. In his early days in prison he finds God and in his spare moments, he reads his bible. Then there’s also Jean Valjean, his adopted prison “son” who stole a bread truck. Dr Ko, not an MD but a petition-writing former salaryman is a trusty colleague in the wood-working shop. Han-yang aka “Loony” is an immature but intelligent drug offender with Mummy issues that shakes the habit cold turkey in order to reconcile with his partner. Kaist the technical fix-it guy, and serial monogamist who is not exactly the nicest guy in the room has his story too. Some time later the former Captain Yoo Jung-woo, convicted of causing the death of a subordinate, joins them in that cell. Down the track, Je-hyeok is reunited with loyal fanboy Jailbird, completely living up to his nickname and the potentially dangerous Crony.

Even in a show like this there’s time to throw in a tiny bit of romance into the mix. Je-hyeok’s push-pull, on again, off again relationship with childhood friend turned girlfriend, Ji-ho which has been so much a part of his life is also given air-time in flashbacks. Love and baseball does mix. Even while she’s on the outside, she is no less important to his headspace as he bemoans the unfairness of life. It also explains why when Je-hyeok falls into a slump, it’s Ji-ho to the rescue. Nobody, not even Jun-ho knows Je-hyeok better than her.

One of the highlights of the drama is the way Je-hyeok maintains his baseball training in prison. I’m no fan of the game… a complete ignoramus in fact but I loved every single moment of those practice sessions where the men interacted and showed their growing affection for the one figure who brings them all together.

It isn’t all about the inmates. The prison guards play a prominent role in this as well. Most seem to be kindly gents who do their bit to make life less onerous for those behind bars. Officers Pang, Song, Jun-ho become pally with those in Je-hyeok’s cell. Even the chief warden has a hilariously transactional relationship with his beloved celebrity prisoner which is looked on disapprovingly by the martinet 2IC. 

Considering the subject matter, I daresay this is undoubtedly one of the funniest and most heartwarming K dramas that I’ve ever seen. It may start off slow for some but it’s not a bad way to waste 1280 minutes in any given week. I highly recommend it, my other half recommends it especially if you’re looking for something that doesn’t quite adhere to the usual K drama fare.

This is a repost of a review that I wrote for JangHaven Forums.

Stranger Season 2 (2020) Episodes 7-8

With the kidnapping of Dong-jae, the show has made a definitive shift at least in emphasis and pacing so there's a bit more clarity regarding where things are headed. As I've said I don't have problems with emphasizing the political side of things but I’m sure (judging from how well S1 was received) that there are better ways to get there. It is possible to have substance without sacrificing storytelling. I'm still not sure why there was such a marked shift in style this season... different people steering the ship perhaps... but if it ain't broke why fix it?

All that to say... Episodes 7-8 saw a marked improvement. A much needed injection of energy and intrigue which had been sorely lacking.

It’s heartening to see Si-mok and Yeo-jin working together again even if ultimately their goals don’t completely align due to their respective sides. In their own way, Si-mok most especially, they are finding their voices, articulating them within the context of a cacophony of perspectives. Undoubtedly, their kind of views are easily drowned out in a sea of pragmatism. It is important for them to assert themselves into the conversation even when it isn't convenient or when the leadership tries to shut them down. And there's plenty of reason... as we'll see ... for the leadership on both sides to prevent them from ruffling feathers.

This is not to say that people of good-will with common goals can't have different ideas about the solutions are. Or even that people motivated by self-interest don't have good notions. It's certainly the case with Dong-jae. Although he was a rabid self-promoter and an inveterate networker, was diligent about the law. He had genuine concerns about his work-life balance which motivated all that bootlicking. 

The conversation between Chief Kang and Si-mok about nepotism, cronyism in general and Assemblyman Nam more specifically is noteworthy in so far as it continues along this theme of the role of public servants/officials as representatives and upholders of our cherished institutions. That conversation and the one later between Woo Tae-ha and Choi Bit (who obviously know each other better than they let on initially) highlights to me how important it is that the general public be reassured that established institutions are working for the good of all and not just a select few. People need to know that the system is generally fair especially because life is hard. People need to know that having the right qualifications and working hard does get them somewhere. This kind of aspirational impulse is absolutely essential not just for individuals but it reaps innumerable benefits especially in innovation and agility in problem solving. It’s good for organisations and communities to have talented, capable people at the helm and at all levels. That’s why progressive societies discourage nepotism and cronyism because it is generally acknowledge that we want the best people for specific jobs regardless of who they know. Furthermore, one of the issues that arise from giving jobs to friends or relatives is the echo chamber effect. They are more agreeable and less likely to tell you things you need to hear rather than than what you want to hear. Chief Kang and the other more senior staff who have become cynical and jaded over time might believe that the system is broken and can’t be fixed. But that doesn’t inspire public confidence or boost the morale of those at the lower rungs of the public service ladder to believe that right behaviour is rewarded. Hence the vicious cycle continues. So what Chief Kang considers to be petty and trivial isn’t actually so in the long run. Turning a blind eye to unethical practices becomes a habit. Over time the habit becomes accepted behaviour. That is what Si-mok’s point is. It is the little things that tell you what’s really wrong systemically. Corruption doesn’t happen overnight. It is the accumulated effect of a whole range of things over time. 

After Episode 8, the other half and I were both in agreement that the kidnapper is someone possibly related to the suicide cases that Dong-jae was looking into but the culprit is an unknown variable at this point. I speculate that this individual has some kind of long-term grievance against the criminal justice system … and Dong-jae possibly happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

One thing's got my curious is the focus on Dong-jae's junior, Jung Min-ah. I wonder why. They brought her in to interrogate Team Leader Baek. She seems sharp and very much on top of things. The fact that she picked up on the Crime and Punishment reference is suggestive and it did take Si-mok by surprise. Maybe he was even a little impressed. I'm not sure if the subs I watched were accurate or if I understood what was being conveyed correctly but the pawnshop owner in Crime and Punishment was a woman.

 

What I suspect the show is going for … after 6 episodes of information overload on steroids… after 6 weeks of wading through political mumbo jumbo and stats… is really one extensive and exhausting diatribe about the rot that is festering in the criminal justice system. Which seems like an obvious things to say considering this is a K drama. While the rot is most certainly a problem, the bigger problem is that no one wants to do anything about it. Except to band-aid the cracks as much as possible and reflexively practise damage control. All the bluster about reformation is more about power grabbing and gatekeeping. No one wants to actually do the heavy lifting of overhauling the system. Despite the whining and moaning, people prefer to maintain the status quo in some fashion because once everyone's mired in the rut it’s just easier to stay in it. It’s also hard for people to acknowledge that they’re part of the problem because they had to learn the rules of the games being played and have become enthusiastic participants in some cases. To me that’s Chief Kang’s problem. One of them at least. He’s not a bad person (no one really is) but he’s so entrenched in the system that he's locked into a kind of survival mode. That seems to be the case for most of the big people calling the shots. I'm sure he wants to pick his fights because it would be exhausting to be constantly putting out fires.

There is an expectation… and a trust… that the system should work if the right processes are in place and followed. But the truth is “the system” is made up of flawed individuals who operate almost entirely on self-interest. Abuse is bound to happen. That’s why we have accountability structures in place so that no one person can hold too much power. One of the problems that arises out of cronyism is that power does become concentrated in the hands of oligarchs or autocrats. Yes, a person like Si-mok could be very annoying because he questions everything. Like the 4 year old that keeps saying “why?”. But every organisation needs people like that to keep them on their toes. To keep everybody honest. To keep remind the people in the organization why they have a job and what that job is.

This is an expanded post of one I wrote for JangHaven Forums.

Alice (2020) Episode 4 -- A Cursory Analysis of the Big Ideas *Spoilers*

I was amused and somewhat gratified to read Choi Won-young's latest character mouth the very same lines that I had written in my previous post. All the predictably good stuff about "just because you can doesn't mean you should", "this is an intrusion into the realm of the gods" etc etc. It's clear that the show is presenting him as an antagonist to the prevailing Alice narrative although it's unclear how much of that hostility plays out in actual violence. Seok O-won, the head of the Kuiper Institute of Advanced Sciences, believes that time travel is possible. A charismatic man of science to boot. He is the first one from 2020 to state that unequivocally but he also styles himself as a critic of it. It's a dangerous proposition and it's not hard to see from recent events that he has a point or two. Science is a tool, neither good or evil in and of itself but in the wrong hands, it can go very very badly not just for the person who uses it but for others around them. 

My fascination with Alice lies mainly with its philosophical underpinnings and explorations. The big ideas of life, that sort of thing. I don't think it does anything spectacularly different from a lot of sci-fi and perhaps visually some aspects of it might seem a bit cheesy. But the storytelling is very good and what it tries to do, it does well. Besides I'm always a sucker for a decent police procedural even if it takes a back seat to mind-bending sci-fi.

People are getting murdered and not all of them are mysteries.  The audience is privy to the ins and outs behind the bloodlust. The ones that remain unsolved up to this point and the ones whose motives are known. Both feed into the overarching moral dilemmas related to using time travel supposedly in the betterment of humanity's lot. The debate is this: Just because we can use time travel to do good (in varying degrees) there are costs... and trade-offs. Do the gains outweigh the losses? Are the gains offset by the losses? It's a crucial principle that should inform all manner of public policy on all levels. This is a point well-made during this season of Covid-19. To put it in medical terms, "Is the cure worse than the disease?"

When the head honcho of Alice, Ki Cheol-an says to a defensive Eun-soo's mother that by killing her 2020 self, she has now left her beloved Eun-soo without a mother. The show allows the full weight of that statement to land on the grieving mother. A gentle rebuke of her blind selfishness. Not too many will quibble with the fact that she loved her daughter and she was still grieving in 2050 that her daughter had died at 17 because of a single event. She blames her past self for being lax and complacent and thinks she would do a better job equipped with foreknowledge. But as the scenario plays out, the murder is inevitably discovered because let's face it the lady is hardly a criminal genius. 2050 mother is now on the run from 2020 law enforcement and needs rescuing. On top of that 2020 Eun-soo is now motherless and Dad is wifeles and grief-stricken. The future for them might arguably be bleaker than before. In a fit of emotional rage with no one to hold her back, Eun-soo's mother commits an irreversible crime. 

The incident also highlights the difficulty of prediction. It's almost impossible for us mere mortals to know what will happen. It is possible to look at history and make a few good, educated guesses about the big picture of where the world is headed. That's certainly not beyond the pale. But on an individual level, it's much harder. How many times have we said... or heard people say, "Never in my dreams did I imagine I would be doing XYZ" or "If you had told me when I was 20 that I would be in this position now blah blah blah"? If only I had $10 for every time I've heard it. Whether the outcomes are net positive or negative one can't be sure that while one is in a middle of living life if one's life is a tragedy.

With regards to Eun-soo's mother she was so fixated with the one event... the death of her daughter... that she forgot about the good times that they shared. In 2050 she was trapped in the past that was 2030. Revisiting the past could have been helpful in the grieving process but it was more about course correction which led to the overreach and then murder. In the end she swapped one form of grief for another.

The other so-called related moral lesson for all concerned is about how humans deal with suffering and grief. Again, universally and perennially topical. Again, this has long been the subject of science fiction. The film Equilibrium, a favourite after the manner of Fahrenheit 451 springs to mind. A stoic utopia "no place"... or more appropriately dystopia created with the underlying assumption that eliminating emotions is the only way to control human beings and gain a peaceful society. In Serenity, a similar project was also undertaken by the government to turn everyone docile except for the fact that it led to serious, deadly side effects to creating that brave new world.

To me history proves that our world is a fallen one filled with flawed, broken human beings. Death is a reality. History is replete with examples of how human beings make the same mistakes over and over again. Much suffering is tied to that. In some ways progress has been made over time but it doesn't take much for regression to barbarism to emerge. Lord of the Flies is a sober reminder that without constraints... legal, social and personal... things fall apart fast. Good intentions can end horribly badly.  Once again, I refer to Eun-soo's mother. She's the anthropomorphic metaphor here of those who grieve and can't move on. Perhaps there is even a certain perceived nobility in that... remembering, never forgetting. Like what Jin-gyeom says to his adoptive father and mentor, Go Hyeon-seok. You don't forget family. I doubt it's a statement that anyone who has lost family would ever disagree. But there comes a time of moving on which is not the same as forgetting. It means concentrating on living out the rest of one's life without the one that is lost. Overcoming it is a part of life. We all do it in different ways. At my mother's funeral we talked about her, we cried, we laughed and we hugged each other. It was very hard the first year but I credit my children for "compelling" me to focus on the moment, focus on what I had  rather than what I didn't. The belief in the afterlife, the hope that she was no longer suffering and that we'll meet again one day... all of that helped me to "move on" as well.

It's crucial to learn the right lessons from grief and loss. That was also the message of It's Okay Not to be Okay. Suffering can make or break a person. When someone grows stronger from it, resilience is the fruit.

Time travel seems especially important for people who have no hope of an afterlife reunion. I think the talk of church, religion and gods in this episode is suggestive. Those who pin all their hopes on science might believe that science has the potential to address all of humanity's problems. No one denies that the application of science across the board has brought a myriad of benefits.  But humans are more than bodies and science is limited in what it can do for the longings of the heart.

It's certainly not a new idea of science alleviating suffering or removing it altogether. I imagine that's why the pharmaceutical industry does as well as it does despite all the cynicism concerning its activities and the power that it wields. But what is the trade off of that? An unhealthy, hubristic vision of our ability to deal with things that are beyond our control? Pinning our hopes on something that can never satisfy? Or a risk averse culture that coddles the young?

Seok O-won's view of time travel is worth chewing over. From what I understand he doesn't believe that changing the past can change the present/future. What it does is create an alternate one. Essentially the past cannot be changed, only the future. So he seems to subscribe to not just the multiverse theory but also alternate timelines. The original timeline that the traveller comes from remains largely unchanged but at a certain point it branches off in a different direction due to the (inter)actions of the traveller. Like Star Trek 2009. So it seems there are no father paradoxes in the Terminator sense, just alternate selves living and making different choices due to different levels of knowledge. This could well be the underlying principle of Alice. 

That of course opens up other serious moral and ethical issues. It isn't just a case of going back and committing murder to change things. There is the issue of "rights" and authority. What are the implications for others when we do this? Who arbitrates this universe hopping? This is my problem with the Alice management. They've made themselves the Lords of the universe when they have no omniscience. This is exactly Seok O-won's point. It's a power that human beings can't handle. This is more dangerous than a ghost story where people complete unfinished business before going to the afterlife like in Mystic Pop-up Bar. 

All good stories are ultimately about family in some form. Families are essential, a headache and often a lifelong grief. Interpret that how you may. But they're a human impulse because it's a place of belonging. No one should be alone. Both Tae-yi and Jin-gyeom end up being orphaned at some point and are adopted by kindly souls along the way. Go Hyeon-seok and his wife lost their own son and they did what they could to make sure that he had a home after his mother death. Eun-soo will now be motherless. Min-hyuk who is picture of stoicism to his colleagues is adamant that despite being the poster boy of professionalism he is capable of grief. He grieved and is probably still grieving for the family he lost. Or more accurately, the family he doesn't know he has. Jin-gyeom was fatherless... and then he was fatherless and motherless before moving in with the Gos. The little girl at the beginning of the show Dr Jang's daughter was motherless apparently and then she was fatherless. She may or may not be the little girl who becomes the Tae-yi who grew up in the orphanage.

Min-hyuk finding out Jin-gyeom is his son is high on my list of things I anticipate. Especially when all they've been doing is facing off each other. Will it be anything like Tunnel? It's not clear at this stage why he believes that their baby died and who has been feeding him porkies in that regard but I wonder about Ms Controller in the operations room who is watching him with her big colour tv.

Alice (2020) Episode 3 *Spoilers*

This is my favourite thing on K telly right now. It has the potential to be a great show, one of the year's best. Will it be another Life on Mars? It's too early to say. I certainly hope so because good sci-fi is always hard to do but this one seems to have a better decent script guiding it. Let's hope and pray that it can be sustained right to the end. 

My favourite sci-fi... the best ones are thoughtful and inevitably philosophical. Whatever the tech and the context, preoccupations with the human condition are front and centre.

It's clear that Yoon Tae-yi's re-appearance in his life knocks Jin-gyeom off his general equanimity. As he wrestles with not just with her uncanny resemblance to his long deceased mother, spars with his birth father and grapples with the unfathomable possibility of time travel, his confusion about this new reality is exacerbated by inexplicable murders. Last week we had a future self travelling back to the past to kill someone who had wronged and embittered them. This week a mother kills her past self for not doing enough to protect her daughter and makes a failed bid to be a substitute. It goes beyond irony and paradoxes. She punishes and kills her past self for being inadequate as a mother in the belief that she, the future self, can do better because of hindsight and foreknowledge. Seems extreme. However, future Mum has brought something potentially life-threatening with her to the past. It does beg the question as to whether it is a result of the time travel or the collision of past and present or some new pestilence hitch-hiked from the past.

Of course there are consequences and the lesson seems to be... "just because you can doesn't mean you should." It's one of those things one learns as a child from the adults around us as a caution about leaping into places where even angels fear to tread. A cautionary advice against hubris and the breaking of fundamental moral principles. It's often been used against genetic modification of foods. It's a warning against playing God. It's the age old question of whether humans can really control nature without it coming back to bite them.

I don't want to be a wet blanket. Time travel sounds like fun. As someone who enjoys learning history, I've fantasized about going back to certain key moments in the past like in the drama to witness of events unfolding. But I've watched my Doctor Who and my Star Trek so I know that it is a bad thing to change the past no matter how well-intentioned. One doesn't know what happens to the thing called the space-time continuum.

I gather from the first episode that people have been time travelling for a bit with relative success. So why the anomalies of the last few episodes? I imagine that the show will provide the answers to that. Hot Dad aka Min-hyuk attributes it to a particular psychological profile. It may well be that. Or there could be much more to it.

For a project/ endeavour the Alice crew are a noisy lot bringing a lot of attention to themselves. Take the big gunfight in the library for instance. Some of it was having to clean up after somebody else's mess but maybe they're counting on the fact that no one finds the entire idea of time travel possible in 2020. I suppose they're setting up these confrontations between father and son in anticipation of some kind of reunion. Since this is still a K drama, I'm not expecting an Oedipus Rex scenario. 

With the time card now in Tae-yi's hands, I wonder if Jin-gyeom has created a time loop in the manner of the "hasta la vista baby" Terminator franchise. The quote at the start of the episode, "There is no coincidence in fate. A man makes fate itself before he meets it" sounds similar to Kyle Reese's "The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves."

Stranger 2 (2020) Episodes 5-6: Rambles and Grumbles

As much as I am reluctant to say this, I am really struggling with season 2 right now. There are several reasons for that. The pacing is the obvious factor. The window dressing is another and then there’s the relentless information overload. It almost feels like I’m watching an entirely different drama from the first season. It’s not as if I’m new to political or corruption dramas either. I watch them fairly routinely but there’s something about this script that makes the juggling act dizzying to watch. I’ve been following all manner of politics since I was old enough to read and understand newspapers but this season seems to have sucked much of the intrigue out of the franchise. I’m just not entirely sure what I did sign up for now.  The differences are all the more glaring as I rewatch the first season.

The theme, premise and messaging of the show come through loud and clear. It’s the laborious storytelling that’s taking some of the enjoyment away. Nonetheless, it’s not all bad. The leads are still doing what they do well. Although until Episode 6, it seemed as if they were being sidelined by more flamboyant, bombastic characters. 

The level of cynicism was turned up several notches in the last few episodes. It’s one thing to hear about all the political blackmail that bureaucrats play amongst themselves but it’s still startling to hear that kind of talk leave the lips of individuals with unfiltered frankness. Choi “Dirt Collector” Bit is very adept at it and I imagine she would have to be to get to where she is. I don’t doubt she’s a shrewd operator who’s running her own affirmative action programme with one hand but one gets the feeling that she’s offering Yeo-jin a Faustian pact with the other. It’s clear that she’s just doing what everyone in her position does not just for the organization but also for self-interest. Sure, it would be good for there to be more women holding top positions in the force if they qualify but from my perspective it might be more important to have quality officers on the field. This is the incongruity that I feel and I’m sure it’s deliberate. Just looking at the police as a public sector organization (and I don’t just want to pick on the cops either)  for instance, it’s clear that there are systemic problems… of nepotism, corruption and even bullying. In other words, it is a microcosm of all the problems of SK society. So it’s laughable… to me at least… that we have the cops and the prosecutors squabbling over investigative rights when both houses need a good spring clean. I imagine this is where the show is going with all of this (albeit at snail’s pace). Look, I’m sure there are good arguments to be made for either side of the debate. But the more the audience is privy to all the ridiculous political blackmailing that goes on behind the scenes, the more I’m convinced that neither side “deserves" anything. If anything, the powers of certain people should probably be curtailed. The entire criminal justice system is appearing to be one intricate extortion racket in arm twisting.

TBH I don’t know what to think of Chief Woo. While Choi Bit seems baldly ambitious, Woo Tae-ha seems much more enigmatic. On the surface he seems to play the game that everyone else is playing while giving the impression he’s running another game on the side. I wonder from time to time if he didn’t bring Si-mok in just for his “image”. He must know that Si-mok is something of a maverick and not easily manipulated. In fact, I feel that we’ve been plonked right in the middle of a gigantic chess game and the pieces are being shifted around at some unknown person(s) pleasure. 

Although I consider myself a realist, it is chilling to think that competent people are obliged to chuck their consciences at the door before they can reach the higher echelons of these organisations. There’s obviously full frontal gatekeeping going on. It's nothing surprising. Happens everywhere. But the egregious cynicism of Episode 6 even managed to send shivers down my spine.

It’s clearly the case that the likes of Si-mok, Yeo-jin and even Dong-jae are merely cogs in the machinery that they think they support. It’s not hard to see why Yeo-jin’s morale is at a low. She wants to support her organisation except that she’s having a hard time with what that organisation is. Is she barracking for a side just because she happens in it? She didn’t join a side necessarily to be a part of the war. After what she’s been asked to do she must be questioning on own reasons for being a cop in the first place. Is it her job to protect the police’s interest even if that goes against her own conscience or even that works against public interest.

It's rough on everyone (audience included) that Si-mok and Yeo-jin are seemingly on opposite sides of the investigative rights dispute. I don’t think they are, when all is said and done. But right now the line has been drawn by other people and they’re being forced to toe that line. However, they are individuals who have aspirations for themselves and their respective organizations but that comes into conflict with what the people who run these "cabals" are trying to achieve. That’s why our duo are clinging to self for dear life. Si-mok clings for dear life to his own sense of self in a way no one else does in that world. Si-mok, the most radical individualist of them all, is the textbook outsider. He is perceived as a danger because he can’t be controlled in the way he superiors would like to. He is the anti-social personality that doesn’t have the usual need to belong or to please. He’s not an idealist either. That’s why he can be the Dirty Harry of the prosecution’s office taken out of the proverbial drawer when needed. He does what he has to even if he offends all the right people. He beats to a different drum. Chief Kang knows better than most that someone like him is needed in the office because he is dogged to a fault. But he is wary of the potential for disruption that Si-mok poses. 

I am one of those who wouldn’t mind a low-key romance between the leads. The foundations are already there. While Si-mok maintains a certain level of aloofness with most, Yeo-jin is someone he clearly treats differently. His relationship with her is differentiated by his consideration for her as he follows up on orders dished out by Chief Woo related to Assemblyman Nam. He does his own legwork and then takes it to her for confirmation. He understands her dilemma only too well as talk about the restriction line surfaces in their late night chat. At times taking a stand doesn’t seem to make a difference in the scheme of things. Structurally nothing changes. But maybe what’s at stake is something much more personal.

The machinery of the organization corrupts but it’s a relief that not everyone is pulled into its dragnet. But they have to actively, intentionally fight against it. It’s easier to just go along with everything but there’s a trade-off. The longer the person plays the game, the more they lose themselves and all the reasons why they embarked on that journey in the first place.

I'm still waiting to see how the Hanjo power struggle fits into all of this in a more substantive way. I don't find battles between entitled rich people particularly compelling. I'm not really buying into Lee Yeo-jin's "Woe is me" act although it is important to see how her mind works.

I liked the way Dong-jae was humanized in these episodes. (Lee Joon-hyuk can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned) He wasn't my favourite person last season but he was always an interesting foil to Si-mok. But here he's much more than just a bootlicking social climbing public servant. He's also a husband and a father who is playing the game so that he can spend time with his family. I'm looking forward to what they do with his disappearance. It's the injection of the x factor that's been sorely missed after a rather prolonged set-up.

It is a strength of this drama (as it is with all good ones) that people aren't simplistically "good" or "evil". Everyone has things they care about and want to protect. But the reality is that often those things don't line up with what's actually good for the general public.

Life on Mars (2018) A Review

This post is an exact copy of a review that I posted at JangHaven Forums.

As someone who has a penchant for mind-bending, time travelling sci-fi, my view is that this is really one of the best from Kdramaland. I don’t think there are sufficient hyperboles in my vocabulary to adequately express my love for this… what could easily be termed… masterpiece. It’s not a word I use lightly or often but it is reserved for works of art that demonstrate thought and care. 

 

The drama, in my opinion, succeeds on many levels, as a uniquely South Korean historical crime drama and as an adaptation of the popular British series of the same name. It’s one of those rare adaptations that captures all that is good about the original while adding its own flavour in a spirit respectful to the source material. The main cast made up of Jung Kyung-ho, Park Sung-woong, Oh Dae-hwan, Go Ah-sung and No Jung-hyun is terrific but there’s no denying that the drama belongs to the talented Jung Kyung-ho who is fantastic in what he achieves here as a man out of time.

 

Central to this mind-boggling piece of science fiction is Han Tae-joo, a highly competent present day detective with a bent towards criminal forensics and chemistry. He’s a by-the-book-guy and is being “punished” for blowing the whistle on some shoddy policing. In an attempt to get back onto the field, he helps his prosecutor ex-girlfriend who is trying to nail a... yes… wait for it… a manicure-obsessed serial killer who is particularly adept at covering his tracks at the crime scene.

 

During a wide scale hunt for the killer, Tae-joo is shot for his troubles and then run over by a black vehicle. Like the BBC series, David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” plays in the background before he falls to the ground and succumbs to his injuries. When he wakes up, Tae-joo finds himself right in middle of a main thoroughfare in 1988 with a complete costume change. This also marks his first encounter with Park Sung-woong’s Kang Do-chul, his future frenemy at the police. The two butt heads from the word “go” and all manner of hilarity ensues when the two duke it out with words and fists.

 

The fish-out-of-water scenario is no doubt played up for every bit of humour as Tae-joo wanders around 1988, a confused lost soul, repeatedly questioning his own sanity when he hears voices, the sound of medical equipment, sees light flashes and when tv characters break the fourth wall. He can't work out if he's dreaming, hallucinating or sleepwalking. Moreover, 1988 South Korea is a different world to 2018. It is a place where “criminal forensics” is a foreign language, workplace sexism, as well as police overreach are par for the course. In other words, political incorrectness rules.

 

Tae-joo is kept busy by the seemingly anachronistic presence of the Manicure Murderer who seems to pop up like Wonderland’s White Rabbit leading him on an endless chase for the truth. As he pieces various clues from the era to solve the serial murders of the future, he is forced to confront fragments of his own childhood memories that have been unresolved until now.

 

As time progresses, Tae-joo gradually becomes attached to the people and place he calls home in 1988. The quandary becomes more pronounced as the voices in his head and his grudging affection for his colleagues enact an emotional tug-of-war in which he doesn't know where he stands.

 

The best thing for me in this drama as someone who watched the original is how the show draws on stories from the original and adapts them in accordance to actual South Korean events into the storytelling. In terms of how it draws the audience in emotionally, I’d say that this version surpasses the original.  Speaking as someone who was a teenager in the late 1980s, I adored the attention paid to props. It brought no small amount of nostalgia seeing typewriters and cassette recorders as part of the furniture.

 

Like the original this version keeps the audience guessing about what in the world is going on with Tae-joo. To avoid giving away too much I will say this. Just like the original, the ending of this will leave you wondering for days to come. The show can be interpreted in a multiple ways and I have my own views on this. Despite that I highly recommend this and it’s a journey worth embarking on.