365: Repeat the Year (2020) Episodes 3-4

This is shaping up to be an excellent drama. At least it can't be accused of being dull. The pacing is good and I'm usually on the edge of my seat. At times I feel like I'm being bombarded with information. Despite spewing out a whole heap of theories last week, I honestly have no idea what in blazers is going on. In a good sort of way. I've even started jotting down questions and notes just to keep up with things which I almost never do. This show is full of twists and turns so it's not really possible to be entirely sure about the mechanism that's at work here.

My general feeling is that we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg so far -- the show is still in setup mode. But after the last couple of episodes I think we are getting a glimpse of what's at stake. It does appear that everyone in the drama is operating as if they have been transported back in time. What's really fascinating, I think is that the assumption that a "reset"... another bite at the cherry as it were... is under serious attack here. There seems to be a tacit indication that it's a really bad idea in most instances. The crux of the matter it seems to me is that a second chance doesn't necessarily engender wisdom, growth or positive change of behaviour. That much is clear... for a show of this kind. It seems to be a consistent thread running through these early episodes. From the evidence presented, the show is saying that "reset" doesn't equal to "change for the better". For some a "reset" only means another chance to do the same thing while dodging the consequences. I don't think it needs to be overemphasized that human beings are self-centred creatures. We do what's best for us and those closest to us because there are immediate benefits to doing so. Few like change and few find change easy.

A peek into a mysterious "trophy room" on the other hand seems to suggest that there's an opposing force at work -- a serial killer perhaps on the prowl for unworthy candidates/recipients. My guess is that there's someone... at least one person who isn't keen on the whole "reset" idea because it is in essence a form of cheating fate. Take the lottery guy... formerly a security guard. He was prevented from bucking the system and enjoying his winnings. The stockbroker is stopped in his tracks before doing a runner. He doesn't get off scot free. He was going to continue with his double life and carry on the facade of being a family man. Someone is out to stop individuals from using "reset" in egregious lawless fashion apparently. So perhaps the Death Note reference made by the gamer lad last week is not beyond the pale. It is possible that the killer sees himself as a dispenser of vigilante justice. So who's sending the death blossoms?

Episode 3 in particular, with all its twists and turns led me to think of David Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner. The elaborate layers of deception in both the drama and the film leaves you wondering who can be trusted or if... it turns out... anybody can be trusted. Trust is an important foundation of our social interactions that it is often taken for granted. We don't assume people are lying to us when they tell us things about themselves. They could be, of course but that's not our default position. In an Agatha Christie whodunit... A Caribbean Mystery or Pocket Full of Rye... can't remember which... Miss Marple says something similar. These days particularly because there is generally much more movement around the world, long-term connections are not easily maintained. It's hard to be sure that what we see or here is the truth. We tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. Our institutions function for the most part in this way. 

In that vein, Hitchcock also came to mind. It's not surprising given the obvious psycho-thriller elements. "Who's going to be next?" has that kind of nerve wrecking buildup that the master of suspense was famous for. People are dying unexpectedly and now we have clear indications that there's at least one person behind the recent deaths. On the surface they look like natural causes or suicide but given the presence of death blossoms in each case, it's looking increasingly like foul play.

The Hidden Killer webtoon needs to be a consideration in all of this. Even if it isn't the key to why people are dropping off like flies, it should clue us in on why that particular cohort of participants came together in the first place.

Needless to say, the reset has a cost attached to it. The leads are feeling the brunt of it considering what they do for a living and their natural curiosity. It does feel like they were all sold a bill of goods. Their lives are now increasingly consumed by these mysteries. Not being able to tell people how and why you know things. Very awkward. Then the lies... one lie after the next. One lie to cover up another.

I like how the leads are written. They're hardly perfect as individuals but as a duo, they seem a good fit. The UST seems to be working. The perspective they provide on the entire mystery and their investigative partnership seems to be going from strength to strength. The lying was pretty clumsy at first but they're getting better at it. :P Romance is possible. I don't discount it entirely although murders are keeping them on their toes. Hyeong-Ju's colleagues are keen for him to be romancing his favourite graphic novelist. They keep needling him about spending so much time with her. I won't object if it means an overload of adorable LJH. I also noted that he was quick to pick her up for interrogation and I doubt it had anything to do with zeal for justice. ;) My opinion is that he did for himself because he was really worried that she could have done it so he needed to allay his own fanboy fears that his favourite webtoonist is guilty of murder.

As if there weren't enough guessing games to keep the viewer occupied for a while, the show throws a new element into the mix... "who is the person in the trophy room" :D

Miss Truth (2020) General Drama Review

This is an expanded review of the one that I posted at MyDramaList.com

This was the drama I didn't know I needed or was waiting for but I was hooked from the moment the FL jumped into the bath with the ML. None of us would ever be the same again. :D

There is so much in this drama that ticks all the right boxes for me. Old school, Golden Age style crime cases intertwined with classic wuxia elements. Check. Meticulous detective work and an engaging Bad Guy plotline. Check. Check. The show somehow even manages to throw in romance for good measure. Check.

At the heart of this crime solving drama is the love story between two larger than life personalities. It begins with an unexpected intrusion, then an almighty clash of wills. All that belies a meeting of minds and a passion for getting to the bottom of inexplicable occurrences that come their way. The two bicker their way to the autopsy table and there they become a formidable pair of ancient sleuths trying to uncover criminal activities and make sense of their growing feelings for each other while navigating a thorny love triangle that includes a former betrothed who has secrets of his own. The show also manages to thrust them into one of my favourite tropes -- the contract marriage -- in entertaining fashion. I admit to cringing at the thought of the leads nicknaming each other but once these names became second nature banter, they signified a unique, shared, intimate space from which no one (not even the highest in the land) could ever dislodge them.

The format of the drama sees our leads stumbling or being led into cases which may or may not have immediate relevance to the overarching Bad Guy plot. The pair with their combined abilities resolve them quickly but their exploits and romance soon come to the attention of larger unfriendly forces at work. What was unusual and fascinating was how these individual cases had immediate relevance for our pair as they grope around trying to find answers to the perplexing questions of the heart. In that regard perhaps we are led to believe that there are universal truths that persistently dog humanity about the complexities of love, evil and destiny.

The star of the show in my book is Xiao Song, a veritable Sherlock Holmes styled character whose knack for deductions earns him the appellation of being the country's premiere investigator ("The Sorrow of Chang'an's Ghosts"), a highly valued official of the Tang emperor's court. He soon falls for the sassy and skilled Ran Yan who is inevitably Dr Watson to his Holmes. Xiao Song is not one to do things by half. He lives large and loves large but desperate times bringeth forth the man, showing his true mettle. He is played by the wonderful and delightful Toby Lee whose versatility gives flesh to the character beyond the super sleuth template. At times he is the lofty official that throws his weight around barking commands, the next he is a mischievous suitor to his reluctant coroner pushing her buttons to get her to bend to his will. There is however, also a tender almost boyish side to him, glimpsed when showing genuine concern for the people he really cares about. Overall he is really the best written (arguably the best acted) character whose passion for the truth and for the woman he loves makes him someone you can't help rooting for.

I had not heard of Toby Lee previously and have been wondering about his casting from the start. In the early days of the drama his striking facial features evoked reminders of Sidney Piaget's Sherlock Holmes Strand magazine illustrations. Even now he reminds me of Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett and to a lesser degree Benedict Cumberbatch.

Newcomer Pinky Zhou plays the lovely, smart and strong-willed titular character who accompanies Xiao Song on his fishing expeditions ;) albeit reluctantly at first. It doesn't take long before she gets bitten by the bug and becomes an adept detective in her own right. Zhou gives an uneven although generally adequate portrayal. This is one of those occasions in which the script provides the necessary padding that makes up for the shortcomings of the performance. Admittedly I found Ran Yan a difficult character to warm up to early on. There's no denying her courage and strong sense of justice but the character carries a naive rigidity in her perception of the world... a judgemental disposition which undergoes serious refining through many trials. Mixing maverick men, malevolence and murder results in marvellously muddlesome mayhem.

Our main duo are ably supported by their motley crew made up of the doggedly loyal Bai Yi, Wan Lu (Ran Yan's maid), the cowardly but multi-talented scholar extraordinaire Sang Chen and Uncle Wu, Ran Yan's teacher and mentor. Occasionally when their interests intersect, the former fiance, Su Fu finds himself on the same side as his bitterest rival.

Su Fu played by Tim Pei is a curious character. Although he has been unkindly labelled "second male lead", he is in effect a foil for the leads. One of a gallery of antagonists. A dangerous weapon and tool for his masters. While he does fall in love with Ran Yan, his trajectory is in general opposition to hers which becomes more obvious as the story progresses. In saner moments, he too acknowledges the truth of that. Sadly he seems destined to operate under a different moral compass and his activities shrouded in deception. Still in some, I imagine, he is likely to evoke some measure of sympathy.

The scholar and sometimes comic relief, Sang Chen is also infatuated with our female coroner. The irony is that he a timid fellow and faints at the sight of corpses so it's clear that he's a non-contender in the bid to win her affections but he becomes a good friend and fellow traveller in the cause of justice. 

As a long-time fan of the genre, I really enjoyed riding on the whodunnit and whydunnit bandwagon following the mystery of the week while the couple bickered and completed each other's thoughts. But the single most important highlight was discovering the unerringly wonderful Toby Lee who was born to take on this role.

This drama is available with English subs at productiveprocrastination.site

Miss Truth (2020) The Marquis of Sui's Pearl

Spoilers ahead... Read at own risk.

I've been thinking about this and it did occur to me somewhere during the final straight that the Marquis of Sui's pearl or sui hou zhi zhu... was more than just the holy grail of an unholy gem hunt. Anybody and everybody... with the rare exception.. was moving heaven and earth looking for it. Not to mention the egregious stealing, killing and destroying in the process. Legend states that it was an object left behind by the previous dynasty's ruler, a key or map to a treasure of untold wealth. On the surface the drama seemed like a ridiculously convoluted treasure hunt. With each rewatch, however, I'm inclined to see the pearl as a recurring motif intertwined with the leads ongoing dynamic and resolution. For everyone else the pearl is about power and the promise of riches. However, for Xiao Song and Ran Yan, the pearl takes on a different dimension. For them it represents love and trust.

To my great delight and relief, the elusive pearl turns out to be real. Not a just a nebulous plot device as I had feared. The veritable carrot stick for the committed. Forged from a meteorite it possesses curative properties. One can't take these things for granted sadly. C dramas especially have a way of hyping the importance of rare, valuable objects, only for the endgame to completely let you down when on opening the chest, it's empty and apparently we're all suckers for wasting 40 something television hours waiting for the payoff. Thankfully it's not the case here. It gets found... much earlier than expected. Because finding it although important is not as important as having it in the right hands. Which means someone who doesn't want to start a war. Someone who cares about peace in the land. Someone who cares about the masses.

The fascinating part about the entire project is that if you've watched the drama up to Episode 26, we are told that our hero, Xiao Song has had the pearl in his possession since he was a boy hidden inside the tooth-shaped pendant that he carries around for luck. On hindsight it is a family heirloom credited for helping him survive past childhood. So this gem which every man, woman and dog has been looking for, for at least 12 years, has been in the custody of Chang'an's preeminent investigator unbeknownst to everyone, our hero included. The irony of course is that he was tasked in a top secret mission to track down the pearl by the emperor and is sent to another province to chase up on a clue that could lead to its location. This now becomes his dilemma because his grandparents were Sui loyalists and custodians of the pearl until such time when the Sui dynasty is revived. This has serious ramifications for the Xiao family in this current regime. Treason goes right to the top of the list. With all that to consider, Xiao Song is unable to surrender the pearl immediately and say, "Look Your Majesty at what I found when I stumbled into a secret chamber in the Xiao mansion that my grandfather built."

Now, when he first arrives in Suzhou, the whereabouts of the pearl is the nagging mystery but what he does find first are dead bodies and a gifted female coroner, Ran Yan, who later becomes his wife after the two become entangled in a series of misadventures and cases which involve the pearl one way or another. Judging from the way their trajectories intersect either by circumstance or by choice, their eventual meeting seems inevitable. He is an investigator of crimes, she examines dead bodies... it's a match that could only be made in heaven... as they say.

During the fourth arc he marries her in unseemly haste in part because he really does like her, plus the opposition is noticeably absent and in part to get her out of her family home where she has become the target of an in-house killer. (He has the knack of killing multiple birds with one stone) After a near-death experience the two afterwards discover that she is a beneficiary to a definitive clue that provides key information about the pearl. Before then she's largely in the dark about matters pertaining to the pearl. It becomes clear at that point that their fates are intertwined by the gem. On this occasion, he helps her reveal secrets behind her mother's death and brings the culprit(s) to justice. 

The villains of the piece are the Huo Qi Sect (Lit: Fire Flag Sect) and their agent is the enigmatic Su Fu who is incidentally Ran Yan betrothed. So at first he gets up close and personal because she's a conduit to the tight-lipped Xiao Song. He is one of the first to pick up the fact that Xiao Song has feelings for Ran Yan and is not backwards about using that to get a reaction, thinking it would cause the latter to make forced errors. The organization's primary goal is to grab the pearl for themselves, use that to find treasure in order to fund an army to overthrow the current regime.

Sometime later on returning to Chang'an, Xiao Song gives his pendant to Ran Yan when she becomes the subject of a contrived sex scandal. It is his way of staking his reputation on her reputation and publicly declaring that she is his wife. He asks no questions of how she gets into the predicament but hands over the heirloom as proof (and pledge) of his unequivocal trust in her. However, behind the scenes he finds the individual(s) involved and finds the time to shame them publicly thus restoring the lady's good name. Neither at this stage are aware that she's now the unofficial custodian of the elusive pearl. But it is another big moment for them because he proves... yet again... the lengths to which he will go to protect her.

As his newly re-contracted wife, Ran Yan becomes the key to his locating the pearl within the family manor when spies in the Xiao household lead her to uncover a family secret. She is also instrumental in shedding light on the mysterious deaths of Xiao Song's first two wives which we discover later are also related to the pearl expedition. They both agree amicably that he should take back the family fossil for safekeeping while working out how to hand the object to the emperor without implicating his family.

The couple's biggest trial comes when Ran Yan is manipulated into helping Su Fu retrieve the pearl from Xiao Song. It turns out to be an elaborate plot to entrap her and wreck his credibility. Xiao Song is led to believe that she betrayed him because of Su Fu, not realising that she had kept faith with him and the pearl was right at his doorstep.

Despite feeling like a betrayed sap, Xiao Song is still deeply in love with her. Even while keeping up the pretence of being indifferent, and having moved on, he is busy behind the scenes helping her with her latest predicaments. All this time he still thinks that she is still in love with Su Fu, driven to desperation for his sake. 

On her side, she thinks she has lost his love entirely when she was all set to start afresh with him after dealing with Su Fu's dilemma. She labours under the impression that his love for hasn't withstood the test of her misadventure with the Huo Qi sect and the ensuing political fallout. Hence the divorce. She doesn't know that it is the result of a royal decree. He on the hand uses the divorce as justification to keep his distance, possibly to protect her and himself from their enemies who are sufficiently unscrupulous to use their relationship to get at him. The pearl going missing doesn't enter into her thinking.
In a wonderful monologue that she gives while being held hostage by a deluded serial killer, in the presence of the man she pines for, she bitterly recounts her own experience of disappointment with love. In her mind a certain man promised her the world and built up her expectations of what love was like. He would love her for the rest of her life. But as soon as the crunch came, all the wonderful build-up went up in a puff of smoke. When she finally realised what love was and tasted the sweetness of its fruit, the transience of it left a bitter aftertaste. There is only longing from a distance because all efforts to close the gap lead nowhere but pain. Her despair and bitterness blinds her to what is plainly obvious to the rest of us. Despite everything he still loves her and his primary impulse is always to protect her even if it hurts him in every way.

When he's home nursing an injury, Xiao Song ponders over her cryptic comments wondering if he's misjudged the situation with her. Dad walks in and challenges him to act openly in concert with his heart. He sadly tells his father that "her heart is not with me". The older man returns the heirloom pendant and says that Ran Yan left it behind. Unfortunately Xiao Song still believes that she's given the pearl to Su Fu (and by extension, his enemies) so he doesn't bother opening the family heirloom to check.

Therefore, Xiao Song's search for clues regarding the pearl clearly parallels his journey to find true love. At the start of the drama we see that he has memorized the map of Suzhou city to give context to his mission. What awaits him is far more important to him personally, it is his own journey's map to grappling with a love that demands everything from him including his unquestioning obedience to the sovereign.

Therefore the fate of the pearl becomes analogous to his relationship to Ran Yan. As long as it remains hidden from his view, he thinks that love eludes him. When he finally rediscovers the pearl in his possession, he realises that he wasn't betrayed. He had her heart, her love all this time so the sacrifice to marry Ran Mei Yu feels much less onerous than before. Subsequently what he needs to do is trust her with his honour and his life.

As for Ran Yan, her moments of petty jealousy proved that she was gradually responding to his overt gestures. For the first time in her life she can see love in all its manifestations writ large with no strings attached but is hesitant of what the ramifications are for her.  She is genuinely angry when he sends her back to her cousin's place for safety. All that happens as she continues wearing the family heirloom publicly in plain sight.

She inadvertently interrupts a sting at the brothel and makes her first public confession. He's hers and nobody gets to lay a finger on him. And yes, he's unbelievably chuffed. And hopeful that better things are in store. ;)

Not long afterwards she leads him to a secret place in the Xiao manor where they discover the pearl's location together. This changes their dynamic. They share a secret about the Xiao family. It gives him hope that she would really become family finally.

She believed that she had his love for a time but thought she had lost it for good. A single mistake of being too smart for her own good cost her the love that had promised her the world, a love of a lifetime that would never let her go. So she thought. In reality she hadn't lost his love at all but his trust. Very Scarlet Pimpernelish. 

Although the Lady Dongyang had her own agenda in doing so, RY's eyes were opened to the reality that the love that she thought was lost to her forever was there all the time working in the background -- saving her, protecting her and helping her. Now with a new set of lenses she can see beyond the facade that he presents to her. So she goes to rescue him from a fate worse than death -- marriage to Ran Mei Yu.

In Episode 35 when he hands the pearl back to her for safe keeping if anything should happen to him, she is surprised that something so valuable should be placed in her hands but he tells her that he trusts her. Even when all the conspirators are out to get them there is a sense that now they are of one mind and heart, they are an unstoppable force of nature.

365: Repeat the Year (2020) Episodes 1-2

There is no way after that cliffhanger that I won't be continuing with the drama. :D

I'm hooked. And the lucky Nam Ji Hyun gets to be murder suspect #1 again. While I came for Lee Jun Hyuk, who is adorable in this by the way, I'm sticking around for storyline.

It certainly gives off a strong J drama vibe and my first sense of what it's aiming for was Liar Game. Not content wise necessarily but ambience and presentation.

Everything about the drama tells me that this is going to be quite the roller coaster ride with all its twists and turns. Already there are easter eggs all over the place including the title of the manhwa, "Hidden Killer". Frankly I want this show to maintain this level of quality from beginning to end because the premise is brimming with so much intrigue and potential. It would be an absolute waste of talent and plot if it went down the proverbial gurgler after such an excellent start. The designated 12 episodes might help in that regard.

The first thing that has me really curious is the mechanics of the "reset". As I grope around my ageing repertoire of sci-fi tropes, my first bit of speculation just based on an initial exposure to the storyline is that we have something along the lines of a Matrix type scenario. The dog named Maru had me thinking very early on of The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland because he seemed to be a point of connection between key people and events in the narrative. In the first Matrix (1999) film, Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass was heavily referenced as was the Wizard of Oz. Toto, Dorothy's dog journeys with her to Oz when Kansas "goes bye bye" during a tornado. My first inclination is to agree with the gamer lad that this is some kind of hidden agenda. That said, I don't really see how Reset could be a Death Note survival game. It's purely speculation on his part at this point because he was trying to account for the unexpected deaths. But that's his assumption the deaths work in similar fashion to Survivor or Big Brother. It could well be a red-herring. All it indicates so far is that he's a pop culture fan boy. ;)

He obviously knows his J pop culture. However, there's no Shinigami -- a grim reaper type demon, no magic notebook or any indication that Lee Shin or the people behind her are practising vigilante justice. None of the participants are repeat offenders or hardened criminals. Nothing about Reset screams to me that it's following the Death Note template.

For me The Matrix and Avatar parallels make the most sense at this point in time. And yes, I reserve the right to change my mind when we know more. It's a generational thing possibly but at this stage there's a strong case for believing that these people haven't actually travelled through time but are sitting in a room hotwired to some serious tech in a hugely sophisticated VR room making cognitive choices which see their actions play out. For example, in the post-original Star Trek iterations, there was something call the holodeck or holosuite which was essentially an interactive VR area that allowed for role playing etc. If memory serves there was a Stargate episode which featured members of the main team being held hostage by alien tech trying to learn how humans think and act. 

The other pop culture reference that came to my mind was Groundhog Day. That has to be the ultimate reset film to my mind. Sonny and Cher's I've Got You Babe blaring over the radio still cracks me up. The mechanics of that probably isn't the same but the moral is. Character is destiny. To change the past one must change oneself. Something along those lines I would say... 

The show certainly keeps you guessing in that Life on Mars sort of way.

Obviously it's still early days and during the course of these episodes I changed my mind more than once about the underlying mechanism driving the storyline. It could well be a VR role play type set up or even AR... but I'm not really up on the latest jargon. My thought is that something sophisticated could have been set up somewhere in that facility as a platform for playing out these scenarios. Another feature of interest that points to this is the hypnosis sessions and how Ga-hyeon accesses her memories through that. Then there's the hourglass. Why use an hourglass instead of a wristwatch or phone? And a really large one at that. That piques my interest as someone who has a thing for timepieces. Obviously timing is one of the keys to unravelling the hidden agenda of the psychiatrist and Zian. 

Moreover I wouldn't at this stage necessarily believe everything the psychiatrist Lee Shin says about time travel. However we can be certain that these individuals haven't been randomly picked. At its core, despite the psycho thriller window dressing (yay!) the police procedural elements (yay, yay!) this feels like a drama about healing. It is my contention, whatever the mechanics of Reset, it's an experiment of sorts to help people deal with grief and loss. To come to terms with the pain, trauma etc and hopefully move on.

Survivors of tragic and horrific events often second guess themselves... "What if I had... What if I hadn't..." The regret and guilt paralyses them. Whatever Zian/Jian Corp is... (I keep thinking of Janus for some reason because he is the Roman god of beginnings, transitions, doorways, endings etc. He is usually depicted with two faces, each looking respectively to the past and the future. Rather like the hourglass which has two symmetrical sides, perhaps?) they have a means by which individuals are given an opportunity to live through an alternate timeline from a decisive moment and then see the flow-on effects of that even when they have foreknowledge or tools by which they can change their future. My guess, based on what I've seen so far, is that knowledge is not the key to change... but character. According to the drama at least. Character, not knowledge, is destiny.

Take for instance, Ga-hyeon. Her best friend, however wrong she was, was on the nose about GH's attitude. I sensed it myself and even after the reset... she had the same arrogance, the same self-righteous attitude. She also lacked circumspection and discernment when dealing with Seo Yeon Soo. And patience. Even before what eventuated I had thought she jumped the gun on that one. And it turned out, I was right. She became easy pickings for someone eager to pin murder on her.

I also had a feeling about the boyfriend and the bestie in the "first timeline". While I agree that the affair was an ugly act of betrayal, GH once never stopped to think about why the bf and the bestie fell for each other behind her back. They don't seem to be individuals who set out to deceive anyone. We always sympathize with the one betrayed... it's natural... no one likes to be deceived. But affairs aren't usually things that happen overnight. It starts with the little things. Then there are comparisons made. A man and woman working so close together, left alone together for long periods of time finding solace in each other. None of this is helped by the presence of a grumpy, demanding fiancee. It's textbook ingredients for an affair. I can't imagine that she's an easy person to get on with or work with and it must have been worse after the accident when she lost the use of her legs... when she became embittered. 

Of course I'm not saying that bf and bestie weren't responsible for the betrayal. They were but GH, from what I've seen, had some contribution to make in that love triangle too. 

We humans often think that if we change our environment... our lives will change for the better. We can limit suffering and pain. I think we know that is seldom true just from case studies of lottery winners. Too often we're so busy trying to control all the external variables in our lives that we forget about the man and the woman in the mirror. 

Tell Me What You Saw (2020) Final Mutterings

Whatever the flaws of this drama might have been these past eight weeks, I went in expecting a police procedural and I got one with plenty of excitement to spare. These last two episodes like the previous few had me at the edge of my seat, wondering who would be left standing after all the carnage. I also liked how the show dealt with the death of a vital team member. It wasn't the gratuitously violent nature of his murder they focused (there was already plenty of that in earlier episodes) on but on grief, loss and regret. Moreover it was a crucial wakeup call for Team Leader HYY, the one she needed to stir her out of her fear-driven stupor that inhibited her ability to act.

If there's anything that I would take away from this it's the tension between the fragility of the human mind and the power of the human will. This is a timely lesson considering the panic and hysteria that has come about due to the spectre of COVID-19 all around the world. There can be general agreement that there's a place to be sensible and take precautions but to act in fear as we've witnessed in some of our supermarkets exacerbates the problem or even creates new ones. What we've certainly noticed in recent days is that it doesn't take a whole lot to spark the ugliness that lies deep in the heart of individuals.

Often we think of evil in the abstract. Or foreign to our nature. Sometimes we believe it is something that is only relevant to murderers. Until something that is beyond our control descends on us, we react and then we realise that it is very much closer to home. Fear can do that. Pride can do that too.

A person like KYH may be perceived as an anomaly... a freak of nature... even a monster. Yet we hold him morally responsible for his crimes. Why? Because at least on a pragmatic level, if we don't, lawlessness ensues. People die. People live in fear. The vulnerable are defenceless. It becomes a case of might is right. It's hardly surprising of course that he wants moral justification. If he's born like this... if this is the inclination of his heart then no one can blame him for what results. That's what his "big party" for OHJ was for: "You made me like this. You put the idea in my head. You are responsible for me. You made me." 

So he's Frankenstein's creature wagging an accusatory finger at his creator for the mess that's come about.

Someone like KYH is a also a test for the rest. How do you solve a problem like KYH? For his parents it was a case of abandonment and making it someone else's problem. Could he have been saved... his appetites curbed? Hard to say but it didn't seem like anyone even tried at all. He somehow managed to slip through the cracks of the system... being orphaned and then somehow finding his way into the police force which ironically became his cover and worst still, his refuge. The irony is not lost that the powers that be which run the organization, otherwise known as the police force, become a major obstacle to his capture. The very people who should have found and captured him, are as much the problem as the perpetrator himself. I don't know if the show is saying that Chief Choi or Chief Park are as bad as KYH but they are certainly morally culpable for aiding and abetting his evil deeds. Their evil is different but it has the effect of feeding other evils... whether it be KYH, whether it be HHY's need to coverup or their own coverup.

It certainly is a good metaphor for how corruption works. It doesn't start big or with blinking lights... "You are falling into corruption" It can even start with the best of intentions. Then the self-justification takes over. Before one knows it, their perception of reality is altered to fit the narrative that supports the agenda.

So what is Cha So Young's role in all of this? Why was OHJ glad that she decided to be a cop? Why did HHY tell her that she will be a good cop? SY, Ji Min and to some extent Tae-sung are the next generation... new blood that the organization needs an infusion of. More than that she brings a new way of seeing the job of the police. The organization is not supposed to a breeding ground for bureaucrats or to maintain the existing power structure. Or to play personal vendettas. It is there to help people... and save lives. That sounds banal and obvious but that's lost when fear and ego reigns. The police needs to return to its fundamentals and root out those who use it for their own purposes. Every so often, a bit of house cleaning is warranted.

There can't be much doubt that people see what they want to believe. It certainly explains why a dozen people can watch the same drama and come away with entirely different views. ;)

That's been a recurring theme of the drama. It's a thought worth exploring. It isn't that there is no reality or facts. I don't think that is what's being advocated here. What OHJ is saying is that we have lenses or grids by which we perceive the reality in front of us. Neuroscientists or cognitive psychologists may call it schema or stories.

For instance, I said a couple of weeks ago that there was something about KYH that rang false ... not just because the show is purpose about including him in the storyline but also that there was something artificial about the way he presented himself. He depicted himself as a simple country cop with few ambitions doing the barest minimum. SY in her simplicity believed that what she saw was what it was. Sunbae portrayed himself as a bit of a buffoon and a low achiever and she bought into that subterfuge. In her defence, that is part of her journey... to try and find that balance between trusting people and looking with investigative savvy eyes. There will always be those who deceive. There's no getting around that but one develops the necessary wisdom to navigate that in time. But trust between colleagues is a key element in getting the work done.

For OHJ, this final encounter was a test of his will not to become a murderer although he was clearly crossing the line trying to replicate The Guy's MO as advanced torture techniques. He managed to overcome... as some might say... his baser instincts and not completely lose himself in vengeance for a loved one. For him, SY was like a candlelight in a very dark place, restoring in him some small measure of faith in humanity. 

The drama also draws on two millennia of Christian preoccupations regarding the origins of evil. A character like KYH symbolizes the idea of original sin. He is the quintessence of evil in some sense, with no conscience and has no qualms corrupting others. Yet each is responsible for their actions... to whatever degree of evil that their will inclines them. To what extent is the human will free... that has been debated by theologians. All may agree that humans have a will but they might not be as free as they believe. There are internal and external forces at play that lead them to certain choices. That is to say that the will can be shaped and restrained because human beings are created in the image of God. Even after the Fall, for most there is a functioning conscience or a vague sense of what's right and wrong.

Here OHJ represents man after the Fall. He lives with guilt and shame and seeks redemption for allowing someone he loved to die. He finds it in the innocent, untainted SY who hasn't been corrupted by office politics or the evil that has infested individuals that have crossed swords with the devil incarnate.

Miss Truth (2020) Episodes 33-36

It must finally dawn on Xiao Song after all the push and pull, that despite the dangers that come from RY associating with him, she is still much better off where he can see her. (That's borne out in these final episodes) Even if he thinks that she's in love with another man or even if he values her freedom, it is impossible for him to stop worrying about her safety if she's out of sight. If he ever believed that her being out of his sight would mean her being out of his mind, he is well and truly disabused of it after she falls prey to those who have orchestrated Consort Yang's assassination. As he drags her off to the Xiao manor, she protests that she's already home at her cousin's place. In the voice over he insists that being right next to him is where home really is for her. There she returns to her tiny hovel, a chest containing newly purchased cloths that doubles as her fox's lair. ;)

It's a significant shift in their dynamic that even while she half-heartedly conducts a protest, she is pleased to be by his side at least. Because he frames the episode as a means of keeping her out of trouble, she has no expectations of him beyond his need to control her movements. At this point both seem to believe that love is out of reach for them even though they may be satisfied in the interim with being close together. Perhaps XS took his father's words to heart (in Episode 31) that perfect conditions in a relationship don't exist. Even if she doesn't love him wholeheartedly, it is enough that he wants to protect and love her.

To me it's always a lot more fun when the male lead falls for the female lead first because he does a lot of running around, moving heaven and earth to be with her... even bordering on stalkery behaviour which could be a tad creepy. But I'm an old-fashioned type and I think there's something a lot more natural when the man does the wooing. If for nothing else but demonstrate his absolute commitment to having a relationship with the object of his desire.

There's never been any doubt about XS' commitment to his beloved Fox. Even while she believed she was in love with The Other Guy, he was steadfast. He respected her need to be free... to choose but he was always looking out for her and protecting her. On hindsight, it was obvious that he would emerge victorious... to put it crudely. Of course he always wanted her. But as he stressed it again and again what he wanted was her heart because he knows that it is the rudder that determines where the ship ends up.

It's unnecessary perhaps to contrast XS and Su Fu very much especially in the home straight because SF was always really just a puppet for his masters even when he wasn't on the drugs. It was never possible for him to end up with RY. It was purely a pipe dream on his part and he pulled the wool over her eyes for a short time. Obviously there's no denying he liked her but he was deluding himself that a man who led the kind of life he did could ever experience any kind of normality. He was always firmly positioned in the antagonist camp and when he attempted some kind of shift, he put RY in jeopardy and became a permanent slave to his masters' bidding.

The genius of the love triangle is how it was integrated into the Bad Guy plot. It was in the interest of the villains to encourage it, to use it for their own end. Not just as a mechanism to effectively control SF as is revealed later but to weaponize it against the leads who would do anything for each other including risking life and limb.

Looking back it made sense for vested interests to highlight XS' finer moments that were hidden from RY... the myriad of things he did for her behind the scenes that weren't known to her at the time. I believe XS deliberately kept his good-doing in the dark because he didn't want her to feel obligated to him as she was wont to say. He desperately wanted them to move beyond their earlier quid pro quo dynamic because it became unsatisfying for a man who felt more. Earlier on he kept his distance because he genuinely believed for a time that she would be safer if his enemies were going so far as to use her as a way of getting information or the Marquis of Sui's pearl. If they severed all connection, then there was no bridge to cross over to gain access to XS' secrets especially if SF was still a part of the equation. Despite temporarily separating, she was still subject to the machinations of others because the reality is... the horse has already bolted. Everyone was well aware that those two had some kind of permanent bond between them that transcended the emperor's divorce decree.

What the villains did was to give RY hope and a reason to act on her feelings for XS. It was a double-edged sword. A high risk tactic. It's true that people in love can do predictable foolish things for love's sake but they can also behave unpredictably in undetermined ways as well. Moreover Very Smart People in love are another kettle of fish entirely. ;) All's fair in love and war, as they say but be prepared for some serious blowback if that kind of strategy gets deployed on people who don't always operate like ordinary people. The bad guys are smart... the plotting is very elaborate and their tentacles are seemingly ubiquitous but thankfully the good guys are highly adaptable especially when they present a united front. 

In this final phase of the Bad Guy plot, it becomes clear that all activity is directed at taking Xiao Song down. With XS around, the emperor, who is the ultimate target, is almost untouchable. The villains know that the country's premiere crime solver is almost invincible except for his Achilles heel, Ran Yan. He would do anything for her including marrying the nauseating younger half sister, Ran Mei Yu who is actually inane enough to believe that she's being backed by the mastermind to make all her dreams come true and get away with it. It shouldn't come as a huge surprise as she has a track record for this sort of stupidity. Although I don't care for the character much but her banter with XS in the latter part of Episode 33 was very well done. The rich irony that accompanied the underlying revulsion from him and the confidence glee from her was beautifully portrayed by both actors. 

At the start of the drama we know that XS has a reputation for solving mysteries so he is tasked to find a legendary pearl that is supposed to lead to some great treasure left behind by the previous Sui dynasty that could be used to build an army. With XS on the job, the conspirators have been hampered from reaching their goals at every point. Yes, they have their spies but XS manages repeatedly to get to the bottom of things and root them out. Unfortunately for him, his primary adversary, Su Fu first notes early on that XS has a soft spot for RY and uses that to get him to unwittingly reveal information. But of course XS seldom lets his guard down, easily using the enemy's stratagems against him for his purpose. While using RY as a conduit to XS, SF soon falls for her which ironically compromises his own effectiveness as a spy for his side. Consequently he undergoes an existential internal tug-of-war, which his handlers uses to their advantage by forcing him to imbibe a mind-control "puppet" drug.

Love is really at the heart of all of the resolution which explains the continuing push and pull. True they are first exploited by others but as always they adapt and manage to outwit the baddies at their own game. However, if it weren't for their willingness to openly sacrifice themselves for one another, or their ability to finally understand each other's intentions it would only remain on the level of emotions. 

Once she finally understands the motives behind XS' angry bluster, RY quickly makes up for lost time. She throws herself into the fray with characteristic boldness and takes his side unequivocally. Once she's in, she's all in. No longer is she just his partner-in-crime but his wife and lover.

Even the emperor understood the potential dangers inherent in this dynamic. On his own, Xiao Song is a formidable individual but coupled with Ran Yan, they are an unstoppable force of nature. Especially when he witnessed first hand what XS was willing to do for her... break laws at will and go against royal decrees. ;) So he forcibly separates them again only for us to see XS take matters into his own hands yet again at the end. I suppose we're meant to understand that what they have is something that transcends the norm that no convention, no human agency can hold back. :D

On top of all that, it was the love triangle that saved the day. For a moment SF broke free of his mind control and found his bit of redemption by sacrificing himself for the woman he loved in spectacular fashion. Oddly enough (or may be not), I don't grieve for him. He is a tragic character in a quintessential Bradleyan sense. He is the sum of his choices and is ultimately the architect of his own undoing. There's no denying though that he protects RY where possible but his trajectory ultimately diverges from hers. I always think that if he had just let go of her after she had married XS, he would have seen a different ending. Character is destiny.

It was also pleasing that the show paid tribute to XS' relationship with Bai Yi, his doggedly loyal 2IC. This is someone who knew the real XS even when RY didn't. Someone who has always cared about his master's good reputation and welfare, and would have defended it to his dying breath. As I always thought... and it was confirmed here... that they were more like brothers than master and servant. I've always enjoyed his adversarial relationship with RY, his feet planted firmly in his master's corner.

Revelations about the mastermind in the finale was shocking to say the least. It brought home more clearly as to how ugly and wicked the entire scheme was. The lengths that the individuals were willing to go to get what they want even sacrificing subordinates and relatives to their own ends was horrifying in its magnitude. Tyrants come and tyrants go but nothing is more frightening than someone who thinks that they are above the law... everything and anything is possible as long as they can reach their goals.

Forest (2020) Closing Comments

Although this show ended far better than it started, I don't know if this is something I would recommend unabashedly to any who cares about my opinion. True that it doesn't reach the same level of absurdity as Dr Stranger, to harken back to another PHJ outing that was a hot bubbling mess, but that's a comparison of the low hanging fruit variety. When one considers how decent- v. good his last 3 dramas were... Bad Guys, Cheese in the Trap and Man to Man... this is quite disappointing.

On paper somebody thought this would work. Certainly it has elements of a good drama. The cast is good. The cinematography is quite superb as many have pointed out and I too have a love for tree photography but good ideas alone don't make for a decent drama. Needless to say a good script matters. If nothing else this drama proves that it absolutely matters. If for no other reason than to provide a sense of cohesion and consistency.

Looking at the last 6 episodes I can't help but think that this is the show they really wanted to make... the man-made environmental disaster caused by Big Business and a psychopathic chaebol heir. All the other extraneous baggage about the rescue service, the childhood trauma, PTSD in high risk occupations, even the romancing ... all of that was largely filler to help pad the drama all the way to the end. Each of these elements could have been interesting subjects for their own drama but in the way it was pieced together here, it made the storytelling tonally inconsistent. I'm happy to watch a revenge plot unfold but at least do it with decisiveness.

In reality the show wanted to make mysteries out of things that really weren't real mysteries. For seasoned drama watchers, it was reasonably obvious where things were headed. It took a number of well-used tropes which isn't a sin in and of itself but it did nothing interesting with them. It's clear that KSH was meant to be glue that brought all the disparate elements together but had instead the unfortunate effect of turning him into a dissociative personality. The part of the show I really liked and was woefully underdeveloped was the rescue service. In the end it was relegated to the sidelines when at the start it was seen to be the biggest impediment to KSH getting that resort built. My opinion is that they should have approached this beginning with the rescue service. It should have been the glue. If they were going to spend a ton of money on hiring helicopters and doing aerial shots, this is where the show should have anchored its moral and emotional compass.

I never go into a drama wanting to dislike it. Even when I hear mixed reactions about a drama, I always keep an open mind. Sometimes I even find myself disagreeing with the majority opinion. In this instance I felt frustrated with this drama more often than not because it was always clear to me that somewhere in this hodge podge of ideas was a good drama waiting to be made.