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Forest of Secrets: Episode 1

With an intriguing story and the characters to match, Forest of Secrets is already off to a strong start. The prosecution office may seem like that small ray of hope for truth and justice to see the light, but unbeknownst to the outsiders, there’s a web of secrets tangled into this forest, revealing a darkness that our emotionless hero is about to find himself encased in – whether he likes it or not.

 
EPISODE 1 RECAP

A young boy lies unconscious on an operating table while a doctor explains that his brain is more developed than the average person’s. Unfortunately, that makes the boy more sensitive to even the smallest sounds, as we see in flashback that the bark of a dog could be like the crack of thunder to his ears.

The doctor declares that he’ll need a partial lobotomy, but because it’s the same area that controls his emotions, he could either suffer from extreme mood swings or not suffer any emotions at all.

After his surgery, it’s clear from questioning that he’s suffering the latter, as he responds evenly but lifelessly to any questions posed about things he enjoys in life. While he can remember flashes of enjoyment from his past, there’s no response in the present. He’s warned that he may still experience certain aftereffects.

We skip to the present day where the boy, now a grown man and prosecutor named HWANG SHI-MOK (Jo Seung-woo), is hit with an intense headache while in his car, effectively holding up traffic behind him.

He pulls himself together while en route to meet construction company CEO PARK MOO-SUNG, who’d asked to speak in private. When he reaches CEO Park’s neighborhood, he has trouble finding his house. Luckily, he runs into CEO Park’s mother, and she guides him to the right place.

She opens the door, wondering why it’s not locked, and nearly faints from the sight of her son lying on the floor, covered in blood. Shi-mok acts quickly and efficiently as he pulls Mom out of the house so he can investigate.

After making sure there’s no one else inside, he evaluates the wounds on the body. With two mild stab wounds and one fatal stab in the neck, he thinks the attacker could’ve resented CEO Park. Shi-mok remembers a scatterbrained CEO Park saying to tell “that bastard” that he would reveal something that wound end him, and that he wouldn’t just die alone.

Next, Shi-mok notices that the knife used for the murder belonged in the house, meaning that the culprit entered weaponless. He suddenly remembers a cable truck passing by when he’d walked up.

He picks up what must be CEO Park’s phone and dials the cable company, demanding the name, address, and a photo of the repairman who was supposed to come by after letting the operator know his name and rank.

Once the police arrive, Shi-mok fills them in on the basics of his findings. However, when CEO Park’s mother faints from shock, Shi-mok starts inching away, seeming uncomfortable. He then takes off inexplicably, pushing past policewoman HAN YEO-JIN (Bae Doo-na).

He ignores Yeo-jin calling out to him, jumps in his car, and speeds off. Cursing under her breath, Yeo-jin gets in her own car and goes after him, siren blaring.

Shi-mok thinks back to his first meeting with CEO Park again, and we see that they’d been introduced by another prosecutor named SEO DONG-JAE (Lee Jun-hyuk). He loses his train of thought when he sees Yeo-jin jump in front of his car, demanding that he get out.

He merely rolls down the window and calmly informs her that he’s a prosecutor and that he’s discovered the whereabouts of the only suspect, repairman Kang Jin-sub. He gives her the address before telling her to turn off her siren (since it could scare the culprit away) and then drives off again, a frustrated Yeo-jin not too far behind.

Shi-mok reaches his destination and finds Kang Jin-sub’s car. And approaching the car is Kang Jin-sub himself, who freezes at the sight of Shi-mok. The repairman turns on his heel and makes a run for it, prompting Shi-mok and Yeo-jin to pursue him.

The repairman successfully gets Shi-mok off his trail by throwing him through a pane of glass, but Yeo-jin refuses to lose him. She chases him all the way up to a roof, pulling out her stun gun to confront him. Kang Jin-sub seems trapped at first, and then he jumps right over the ledge, landing on a parked truck below.

Yeo-jin follows without hesitation, kicking him down to the ground. She swiftly cuffs one of his hands and then flips him over to cuff the other. As she arrests him, Shi-mok catches up and reaches into the repairman’s jacket to find a considerable amount of cash.

The three go to a pawn shop, where Yeo-jin looks over all the jewelry Kang Jin-sub had just sold. While she’s distracted, Shi-mok drags his suspect out and into his car, much to Yeo-jin’s dismay.

When she returns to the station, Yeo-jin swears to find this prosecutor. However, as soon as she leaves the room, Officer KIM SOO-CHAN (Park Jin-woo) receives a phone call concerning a laptop. Hmmm.

Yeo-jin shows another officer a (very) roughly drawn sketch of Shi-mok, though the officer laughs at how terrible her drawing is, ha. Soo-chan then comes out and insists that he’ll find the prosecutor instead and that she should stop by the hospital to see CEO Park’s mother. Yeo-jin and the remaining Officer JANG GUN exchange a funny goodbye, each imitating an overly hunched stature as they bow farewell, ha.

Shi-mok takes Kang Jin-sub straight to his office, avoiding all questions from his fellow prosecutors. Kang is adamant that he didn’t kill CEO Park – according to him, he did come across the body and took some of the jewelry scattered around the house, but that was it. Still, Shi-mok presses, someone had to have let him into the house.

When he tries to ask who would have let him in if CEO Park was supposedly already dead, Kang can only stammer that he’s no killer, even after Shi-mok takes off one of his shoes and finds blood on his sock. Shi-mok silently shows Kang a picture of both the Deputy Chief Prosecutor and Prosecutor Dong-jae, noting that Kang Jin-sub looks at the pictures in confusion rather than recognition.

The chief has Dong-jae sent in to reveal that CEO Park is dead, and that it was Shi-mok who had caught the culprit. The chief doesn’t think this is just a coincidence – surely, Shi-mok and CEO Park had been working together.

Even so, the chief points out, the dead can’t speak, and Dong-jae seems to be in step with whatever shadiness the chief has perpetrated. Without the relevant party present, the chief adds, Shi-mok won’t be able to do anything. The chief orders Dong-jae to have Shi-mok’s hoobae YOUNG EUN-SOO (Shin Hye-sun) handle Shi-mok, since she’d be easy to manipulate.

Back in Shi-mok’s office, Kang Jin-sub defends his past criminal record by saying he’s turned things around, especially since he has a wife and child to look after. He keeps insisting he’s innocent, but Shi-mok isn’t having it. He has Kang taken away.

Prosecutor Eun-soo receives a call about her promotion, and she’s eager to start her first case: CEO Park’s murder. Shi-mok pauses and turns to his hoobae, telling her not to touch this case. She asks if he doesn’t trust her, and he blankly replies that he doesn’t before walking away.

Dong-jae overhears this and approaches Eun-soo, smiling and suggesting they go out for coffee. Urgh… I don’t like this one bit.

Officer Soo-chan catches Shi-mok as he leaves the office, curious as to how he knew Kang Jin-sub was a suspect. But more than that, Soo-chan is curious as to why Shi-mok was at CEO Park’s house in the first place. Eyeing the officer carefully, Shi-mok replies that they were personally acquainted.

As the two part ways, Soo-chan asks if Shi-mok is really going to prosecute Kang Jin-sub. “Of course,” Shi-mok says as he stalks off. “The question is, what should I charge him with?”

Shi-mok heads back to the crime scene and notices a car with a black box parked nearby. He gives the car a good kick and sets off the alarm, making the owner pop his head out a window as he demands to know who’s responsible. Shi-mok shamelessly raises his hand, lol.

After asking the owner to cooperate with his investigation, he receives the video footage. He watches the footage with a pensive look, though we don’t get to see any of it.

He returns to the office later that night, walking in on Eun-soo rifling through the murder/case files on his desk. She quickly apologizes, though he just eyes her and asks, “You think you can do [the case]?” Eun-soo is confident that she can, so Shi-mok sits her down to put her to the test, asking her questions like how she would handle the culprit’s testimony that the victim was already dead when he arrived.

Eun-soo stumbles over her answers until he asks what evidence they would need. She looks up at him and replies that they would need proof that the victim was alive at the time of Kang Jin-sub’s intrusion.

At that, Shi-mok whips out the video footage. Eun-soo’s eyes widen as she watches CEO Park’s figure move by the window as Kang Jin-sub entered. “So Kang Jin-sub really is the culprit,” she says matter-of-factly.

The air grows tense as Shi-mok inserts the footage into a flash drive. Eun-soo stares at it nervously – almost desperately – and then tries to grab it, but Shi-mok firmly states that he’ll give it to her tomorrow.

When Eun-soo leaves for the night, Shi-mok reviews the footage again, thinking back to Kang Jin-sub insisting that he may have been a criminal, but he wouldn’t kill a person.

As promised, he gives Eun-soo the flash drive in the morning. She has him confirm that it contains the original footage and goes ahead and takes it.

Dong-jae (of course) finds her in the corridor, hoping they can discuss the case. He takes her flash drive, saying she should save decisive evidence like that for last, when it’ll be most effective.

Yeo-jin attends CEO Park’s funeral, giving her respects to his mother and his son (who’d come back from the army). Her eyes are heavy as she takes in the sad sight of the funeral, and she eventually takes her leave.

Two months later. Court is in session for CEO Park’s murder case. Shi-mok walks in just as Yeo-jin finishes giving her statement to the defense. He also notices a woman in the audience carrying a child next to a man he seems to take special note of.

Just then, Dong-jae bursts into the courtroom and approaches Eun-soo at the prosecution stand. He makes a show of whispering in her ear and handing her the flash drive, clearly performing the big dramatic moment he’d wanted Eun-soo to save for last.

So she informs the judge that they now have a new important piece of evidence that disproves the defendant’s claim of entering the home when CEO Park was already dead. She claims that they had been analyzing the footage until last night, which catches Shi-mok’s attention.

As expected, the footage makes a strong impact – Kang Jin-sub shouts that it’s all a lie, but the room is already taken by Eun-soo’s argument. With no other way to defend himself, he’s sentenced to twenty-two years in prison.

As the audience files out of the room, CEO Park’s mother leans on a wall, overwhelmed. Yeo-jin rushes over to make sure she’s okay, but is soon distracted by a phone call asking her to go somewhere.

Shi-mok runs into the man who had been sitting next to the woman and child in the courtroom, and it happens to be an old friend of his from middle school. They exchange quick greetings before his friend has to hurry off. Shi-mok then runs into Dong-jae and Eun-soo, but he’s in no mood (har) to congratulate her on her win.

CEO Park’s mother watches Kang Jin-sub being escorted away, and in a burst of rage, she tries to lunge at him with a rock. But then she sees Kang Jin-sub’s wife rushing to him with their child, and the two begin sobbing in despair as they’re torn apart by the guards. The sight makes CEO Park’s mother fall to ground, her eyes filling with tears.

Shi-mok finds her as she starts crying that she misses her son and that she so wishes she had been there for him when he was in pain. Her words trigger a memory within Shi-mok: His mother clutching his hands and saying, “Let’s go together, Shi-mok-ah.” She’d cried that they should just die together, and little Shi-mok had hugged her, desperately apologizing and promising that he wouldn’t misbehave again.

The friend Shi-mok had run into tells his colleague that they’d known each other in middle school. But as he turns away, his cheery smile eerily fades away.

Shi-mok later meets with the chief prosecutor, who finally asks why he’d gone into CEO Park’s house that day. Shi-mok stares the chief down and makes his own verdict: There was a third party involved in Park’s murder – someone that Park could’ve hurt by simply talking.

The chief wonders if Shi-mok plans to attempt to rid the office of the corruption they’re all surrounded in, but Shi-mok says that he knows better. He knows that you can never really get rid of something that’s rotten since it’ll just keep coming back, which he’s seen happen over and over again during his eight years on the job.

Shi-mok then notes that it was reaaally sloppy of the third party to break CEO Park’s TV and send a repairman who was a former convict. Even if Shi-mok thought that Kang Jin-sub was telling the truth about another culprit, the chief notes that Shi-mok was the one to disprove that hypothesis (with the video evidence).

The chief laughs dryly and patronizingly hands him some money for food, saying that CEO Park couldn’t be trusted either – he knows he only joined forces with Shi-mok to rub that fact in his face.

However, Shi-mok sees it differently. And he knows that it took the chief this long to ask why he’d been in Park’s house because the chief had wanted to know what and how much he knew. Shi-mok places half the small sum back on the chief’s desk and bows before leaving, promising to enjoy the food.

Yeo-jin visits a woman who had found her dog killed in the neighborhood. To Yeo-jin’s surprise, it’s the same area where CEO Park had been killed. Upon investigation, she notices something on the fence and takes a sample of what looks like smeared blood.

Yeo-jin is about to get the sample tested when Soo-chan insists he do it for her. Gah, no! But alas, she eventually agrees to hand over the sample, which Soo-chan pockets ominously.

Meanwhile, Shi-mok receives a letter that’s been mysteriously left in his office. Upon reading it, Shi-mok hurries out and calls the prison to warn them that Kang Jin-sub should be heavily watched.

In voiceover, we hear Kang Jin-sub narrate from the letter that he truly is an innocent man and that because he lacks power, connections, and money, he was turned into a murderer.

And in the prison, we see the guards race towards a distraught Kang Jin-sub. As they open his cell door, his final words are, “My death serves as an accusation. My death serves as a clear statement. I didn’t kill him.”

 
COMMENTS

Not bad, not bad at all. We’ve been getting bombarded with more than enough dramas about prosecutors and police officers lately, but hey, I say one more won’t kill us. I was initially on the fence about how to feel about an emotionless prosecutor, but Jo Seung-woo’s portrayal here is slowly opening me up to the idea. For one thing, he’s not a total robot – I get the sense that there was something there inside him, and that it may still be there.

On the opposite side, I was instantaneously charmed by our heroine, Yeo-jin. She’s a badass from head to toe, but past the cop exterior, she seems like a genuinely warm and bright person. We don’t know too much about her or Shi-mok, but I can’t wait to uncover more of their backstories. Thank goodness Jo Seung-woo and Bae Doo-na seem to be in a solid project so far, because the last projects I personally saw them in (God’s Gift – 14 Days and Jupiter Ascending) left a lot to be desired.

And thank goodness I took an instant liking to these two characters, because I already despise pretty much everyone else around them. I love the second leads as actors, but as characters? Nope. I can already tell who is too far gone in the chief prosecutor’s manipulation and who is just beginning to fall under. Shi-mok’s hoobae Eun-soo may be a new recruit to all the deceit, but now that she’s a part of it, I doubt she’ll have an easy time getting out even if she wanted to. She doesn’t seem like a bad person, but that drive to be a successful prosecutor may very well be her downfall, especially if she keeps taking advice from Dong-jae. For all we know, we could’ve already lost the chance to save her from corruption. The promos for this show certainly weren’t kidding when they told us that everyone is a suspect. I trust no one here. And I mean no one.

While this is a solid opening to the drama’s world and its characters, I’m not quite feeling that extra oomph that I wanted – that magnetic pull that I like every mystery/thriller to have. Frankly, it’s just not as fast-paced as I’d like it to be. The drama itself is gorgeous to look at, but if it could just move a little quicker, I think we could have a good one on our hands. Of course, we’re only in introductory territory now, so hopefully that pull comes soon. Thankfully, I do think this drama has the potential to break my heart. Seeing innocent people suffer for the convenience and comfort of the rich and powerful is the kind of stuff that brings out both the rage and the excitement in me.

It’s terrible knowing that so many innocent lives are being ruined thanks to the twisted happenings going on in the prosecution’s office, but I hope that this setup means that a certain prosecutor and policewoman can successfully slip past the grip of corruption and start making things right again.

 
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I am loving this so far, which is great news since I had hyped it up for myself. Nothing is worse than being let down after highly anticipating a new show.

On a side note, when Lee Joon-hyuk very first appeared on screen I totally thought he was Chansung for a second. I was like "it's him, no it's not, but it looks like him, but he's not in this, who the heck is that then" hahaha.

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Good, cause I need company!

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Oh Oh Oh I've been waiting for this! So excited!

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Well she I wanted to make an impression with her first case and that's exactly what she got... be careful what you wish for

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Yup, she was too naive and eager to please. Kind of feel bad for her.. but only a little bit.

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My problem is the writer seems confused between the idea of lack of emotion and lack of understanding social cues. I don't know if its the actor's protrayal or the writing. All I am getting from the character is lack of understanding social cues rather than lack of emotion. Episode 2 does a better job, but not by much.

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I understand where you're coming from. As a viewer watching Shi Mok,I was confused about the difference myself, especially in ep. 1. The character does seem to pick up on social cues in ep. 2, though it seems he ignores them when he chooses to. Also, he does display irritation, anger and impatience, same as everyone else.

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I disagree. I think it is more that he DOES understand them, he simply does not care.

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I think it might be understandable if he doesn't understand certain social cues. If he is struggling with feeling empathy, then he might not care about hurting people. In certain situations, he is possibly intentionally polite because it's necessary.

understand them, but maybe he's just a really apathetic person. Most of the time, he tries not to be rude, but he has a habit of being brutally honest and ignoring people, which pisses them off. I would definitely like to know more about his mental condition. If you struggle to feel empathy, you might not care about hurting people.

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Ignore the 2nd paragraph lol. I rewrote my comment without deleting my original comment.

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I thought that he might have some kind of disorder that would explain his lack of emotion etc. Maybe it's a personality, social, emotional or even autism spectrum disorder?

I think he is highly intelligent, observant and have creative imagination. The way he figured out what might have happened in the crime scene without being there was impressive.

Maybe he is purposely suppressing his emotion because it helps him focus. He works alone. Everyone on his way seems to be a distraction.

I don't know. Maybe I'm over thinking this.

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i see you point that autism ppl dont have emotion well i disagree with u my son is autism and he caring loving son when someone hurt or sick he worry alot and ask you over over again how u feel he cry with me when he sees iam crying its hurt when i see comment like this anyway good luck with heart u have ......

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I sincerely apologize if I offended you. I should have been specific. I was thinking asperger, like Doctor Reid from Criminal Minds. As in extremely intelligent. If I understand correctly asperger is under the autism spectrum.

I'm not heartless and I never meant it the way you are making it out to be.
So maybe you should give others the benefit of the doubt and not jump to conclusion.

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Intelligence is not a criterion for Asperger syndrome. There are many with asperger, like myself, who are just average :-)
Also Reid is not a good example of someone with it and is not really written to be one.

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It's written that Shi-mok's brain is really developped so he was extremely sensitive to his surroundings. So in order to suppress his problem, he received a lobotomy which removed his ability to feel. Yet some Dramabeans users are questioning whether Shi-mok is emotionless or rather someone who does not understand social cues because the drama writer does not seem to clear about his exact condition.

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Think about this maybe he knows understanding social cues is important to get the work done, to achieve his goal in mind, so he rolls with it when he needs it. But he doesn't use it for some sympathetical purpose, like friendship or socializing.

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I interpreted it a different way. I think Shi Mok understands social cues perfectly well. However, because of his partial lobotomy his ability to feel emotions is gone (or at least extremely dampened). So even though he recognizes social cues and emotions, he himself doesn't feel the need to always reciprocate them back or acknowledge them because he just doesn't experience it the way others do.

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this story is going to get so convoluted, i think my head will hurt -- but i am in it as long as i can endure! love the two leads!!

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I think so also. Already I am wondering what will happen with the far to eager to please naive lady prosecutor, and the at least semi-corrupt cops.

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The level of corruption with characters who are supposed to protect and serve, enforce the law - cops, prosecutors, attorneys etc - mirrors what's happening in the real world today.

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I felt quite the opposite. Cho Seung Woo's quiet demeanor and thirst for finding about the truth pulled me right into the mystery, so in no time I was invested into the whole wine-and-dine, blackmailing and the innocent man's poor fate. Also to me the music, the way the whole episode and how the story was shown from the prosecutor's POV makes me think that the drama will be a silent thriller with the mysterious vibe,resonating the mood of the drama title :forest of secrets. Also I will rant a little more about what a great actor Cho Seung woo is lol. It's not an easy task making viewers hooked to the mundane process of who killed who, but he does the job so convincingly that all I could do is follow his steps for the one hour. And goes without saying bae doo na perfectly contrasts his character and brings the much needed relief to the story. I'm still not sure if the prosecutor is on good side or bad, but maybe he still has some hidden motive we don't know about.

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I really liked this - thought it was the best opening episode I'd seen in a while. Great pace, well-made but never slick, and good leads. I've got the writer's The Uninvited in a too-watch pile and it's just made it top.

But - what is going on with drama after drama with corruption in the prosecutors' offices? Doesn't speak well for how the law is viewed.

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Agreed, this is a dim view of the law and seems to be reflected in a lot of dramas lately. One must wonder how corrupt their system is in reality?

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Well, Korea's president was impeached recently. I wouldn't be surprised if this is why corruption is such popular topic in korea dramaland.

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Same thinking here, there's like a rush of political or law relevant dramas because this kind of topic is whats hot and running within Korea right now.

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For sure, but I was referring to more the local level.

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Ditto - I assume the new film about the Seoul mayoral election will be the first of many on the political side. But this seems like a run of specifically prosecutorial corruption.

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Oh, the recap is here and SailorJumum is on board too. Double happiness! ????

. . . momentarily getting the flashbacks of all the fun back in the old days during ?The Liar and His Lover's? recaps . . .

The rom-com season had ended for me (?The Liar and His Lover's? you will be missed dearly).

With Circle and Forest of Secrets, summer ☀️? is the season of thriller. ????

Thanks SailorJumum for the awesome recap. ❤️

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This is a very lively post. ?

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He's well known in theaters but everybody ought to know how awesome Jo Seung-woo is, so I am happy he does dramas at the side, even if we have to wait every 3 years for it. On to the plot, I like is so much. I can't help comparing Shi-mok to Jang-hyuk's Lee Young-oh in Beautiful Mind but so far Shi-mok seems to be the colder, more logical one. I like the pace of the drama so far, it's not as tense as you'd expect from a procedural drama but I appreciate it because frankly this is not my favourite genre so I'm glad we are not bombarded with legal terms from the get go. My astigmatic eyes do have a problem with the dark filter of this drama though?

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I like Jo Seung-woo's portrayal of the character in this show. His quiet demeanor and his no nonsense dialogues bring a certain gravitas to his character. I am extra conscious of his presence whenever he interacts with someone else on screen. I like his take on the character.

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Really liking this so far. Much more realistic actual people behaviour than most police dramas, and so far seems to be absent all the usual cliches.

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I was surprised by this show, a nice surprise. I don't think the story itself is that interesting or new so far but the characters are A+, I love the calm demeanor of the male lead...somehow it gives me comfort, he is like a rock in the surf.
I also love the female lead, I like her slight pouty expression. ^^ She was cool when she caught the robber.
I'm happy I have a new addition to my thriller/crime/suspense drama list since Circle will end soon.

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I agree with you. I like the male lead's calm quiet demeanor too. I like his self assured way of going about his work. His maturity shows in his behavior. The female lead is a complete contrast to him. She is warm and friendly, and is prone to a lot of reactions. Haha. It must be hard and tiring for her to talk to a person like the male lead.

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He's a perfect prosecutor! Still water runs deep.. Loving this so far..

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What a great male lead in Cho Seung Woo. In a lesser actor, emotionless acting would be, well, [fill in the blanks with any number of green actors], but in experienced and seasoned hands, it comes off as nuanced, stoic, calm, but seemingly brewing with intensity underneath.

Agree with someone who said that rather than lacking social cues, he understands them, but doesn't care about how he appears to others. He is selective in this; in the presence of his superiors, he knows enough to go through the motions.

Unlike others, I'm still not feeling Bae Doo Na's character. The last time I watched her in a drama was God of Study, and she's channelling the same scatterbrained but warm feels.

The plot so far is gripping. Didn't think it was too slow. IN fact, the way we were plunged straight into a murder, with more questions than answers, worked to pull the viewer in.

And as a fan of thrillers and Agatha Christie mysteries, count me very happy.

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It really does have a traditional mystery vibe similar to Agatha Christie's works.

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I think it makes for a great litmus test of good/bad actors. Ask them to play a robotic, emotionless character and watch good actors make them interesting (Exhibit A: Lee Yoo-young in Tunnel), while bad actors will just turn them even duller. I'm glad to find out that Jo Seung-woo is very capable here. I watched him move around, doing minimal gesture and expression and yet was 100% invested.

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I am also very fascinated with the plot. I love how we are thrown right in the middle of a plot, with more questions raised than answers given, and we slowly work to get our answers to the questions.

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What a well-executed first episode! While nothing about the plot is new, watching a kdrama without worrying or cringing about one of the actors' acting is a rare experience nowadays. No weak link whatsoever in this drama. I think i'll be along for the ride! :)

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I liked this one from the get go so i hope it stays this good.

Thanks for the recap!

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Good episode, I liked Bae Doona's character. Well, playing kick-ass isn't new for her. Cho Seung Woo feels intriguing. Was he lying to his doctors post lobotomy that he doesn't remember the feelings?? Because he has memories of feeling emotions so what does that mean. As for supporting cast, they are good too. Eun Soo, she is way to eager to make a mark and naively stepped into the plans of the villains. Question is whether she'll break free or let this misstep take her further down the rabbit hole. I felt slightly bad for her. At any rate, she is competent and ambitious, I really have problems fully hating or loving the type of characters. I liked the part where she was being mentored by Cho Seung Woo. It was strangely funny and made Cho Seung Woo look a bit more human. I look forward to catching more of the show.

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Really intriguing so far. And of course I love Jo Seung-woo, so it's a given that I'll watch this.

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I love Bae Doo Na's character already! And Bae Doo Na nails the character really well.

Oh my, two Chungmuro actors with great acting capabilities. Even if the story sucks at least the acting will make up for that. Of course I hope the story keeps tight and gripping till the end.

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Jo Seung Woo--- and even more so-- Lee Jun Hyuk HOW I HAVE MISSED THEE <3 This seems like a solid opening, and I can't wait to delve more into the story and our characters. I'm hopeful and excited to see Shin Hye Sun in a more serious and meatier role, as I've only seen her in romcoms and family dramas, and I pray pray pray that she can deliver on a meatier role like this, especially a character who seems like will eventually have so much internal struggle with all that's happening around her and the choices she will have to make and have to justify as to why she's making such choices

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YES I been waiting on this review so I can come scatter my fangirl flowers because this is everything I wanted out of this show and more. The main characters are SO CAPABLE and there's an appealing quality to how mundane their lives are.

I'm perfectly content with the pacing of the show. If it moved faster there would be too much pizzaz and emotional toil and that bogs down the intricacy of plot. Because they don't keep trying to pull my emotional strings the world feels more real to me. Therefore, I'm more invested in what happens in this story because it feels real and therefore I super want the good guys to succeed.

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Hooked! Great actors and music is good. I had seen poster of this drama long ago and desided to watch in future. I had a feeling that it will be good and I watched Duel couple of weeks ago thinking this drama (too many new dramas) I was disappointed then I told my sister and she told me that's different drama. So I waited another week....cant wait to see secrets unfolding

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LOVE this! A lot of it has got to do with the lead character (there's something swoony about a character who's good at his job and is so calm and poised) and the way the drama is shot/directed.

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There're too much drama on my plate now and yet i'm rewatching the first 2 episodes so i think i must either be crazy in love with the drama o crazy in love with the lead actor. I think he's great in this role, real n natural. Dats the face i show when ppl ask me how i feel today but i feel nothing in particular. Though most of the time i will mask it with a smile n fine thank u but i don tink shi mok know how to mask it so for me the actor doin a great job now.

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I'm actually going to respectfully disagree about the pacing of the first episode and whether it had a magnetic pull or not. I felt that the pace was just right for an introductory episode on this type of drama. And the constant movement from scene to scene never felt slow. Even the scenes where Shi Mok was simply investigating flowed very nicely and at an even pace that neither felt rushed or sluggish.

That magnetic pull was there as well, particularly with the characters. I really enjoyed watching Shi Mok do his job and following along with his thought process as he went through it. It really allowed for the audience to be actively engaged in this world. As if we were little junior prosecutors following along and unraveling the story right along with him.

I can't wait to see how Shi Mok and Yeo Jin's stories continue to overlap. Both of them are such strong actors that it will be incredibly fun to watch. As for Eun Soo, I definitely enjoyed watching her interactions with Shi Mok. It was borderline a mentor/mentee relationship but not quite. There's this obvious wall up between them partly because of Shi Mok's inability to be personal with others and partly because Eun Soo feels that he sees her as incompetent. It's interesting because we can tell from this first episode that Eun Soo is passionate about being a prosecutor and truly wants to do good work and be efficient at her job.

But she's also at a stage where she is really feeling the need to prove herself. This is a vulnerable stage where she can be easily swayed in either direction with regards to her corruption or being on the side of the people. Both Dong Jae and Shi Mok play a role in how she sees herself advancing. Because while you can tell that she looks up to Shi Mok and wants his approval, Dong Jae is the prosecutor who is going out of his way to help her. What side she eventually leans on will ultimately depend on how strong her morals are and whether she is smart enough to smell out the dead rats in a trap.

I thought this was a fantastic starting episode and I can't wait to see where the story goes from here.

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I just finished watching this episode and I have to say that I really appreciate how much the show trusts its audience. So many KDs would start just like this one did, with Shi-mok finding the body and then go into flash back mode of who knows how many days, weeks, years. The fact that this show had the confidence in its story and characters to just move forward and trust that the audience would catch up is really refreshing.

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Good, intriguing premiere. Finally started this drama. I missed watching police procedural kdramas so I'm excited for this. I'm glad I like the good guys because everyone else seems shady af.

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Pretty! This has been an extremely wonderful post. Thank you for
providing this info.

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Anybody understood why Si-Mok asked Eun-Soo not to lick her lip (sort of) when they were discussing the footage? I'm sure it's an insignificant scene, but I trying to find out about Si-Moks personality. Anybody have an idea?

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isn't like (beautiful mind) very high intelligent man with some brain problem of lack of emotional connecting with others…

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One of the best(est)😉 k-drama I have watched. It's a treat for people like me who love crime-thrillers and stuff.. Superlative plot and a similar cast to give it a brilliant fiNish.......👌👌👌👌👌👌👍

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