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Big Bet: Episode 1 (First Impressions)

With such a star-studded cast, it’s clear that Disney+ has made a Big Bet (heh) on its latest release. I’m still not quite sure what to expect, but the drama is confident enough about its tale to set a leisurely pace in telling it.

Editor’s note: This is an Episode 1 review only. For a place to chat about the entire drama with rampant spoilers, visit the Drama Hangout!
 
EPISODE 1 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

“Big

We open in 2015, in the Philippines. Two men drive down a road, looking mighty shifty as they pull up outside a building labeled Min’s Consulting. As the driver jams to a jaunty tune in the car, the rider heads inside. Several gunshots later, the rider rushes out with a paper bag containing something worth a man’s life, while the sole witness — mercifully left alive — runs out screaming for help.

In contrast, our leading man CHA MOO-SHIK (Choi Min-shik) is enjoying a leisurely drive with his sworn brother YANG JUNG-PAL (Lee Dong-hwi). Or perhaps “enjoying” isn’t the right word to use, because Jung-pal misquotes a saying, much to Moo-shik’s exasperation. Jung-pal’s carefree nonchalance has Moo-shik heaving a long-suffering sigh, ha. And then I’m sighing too, because this is the only scene of Lee Dong-hwi that we get in this episode.

“Big

In any case, Moo-shik arrives at his usual restaurant, where he soon realizes something is wrong. His sharp intuition doesn’t fail him — it’s a trap, and policemen swarm in to arrest him for the murder of Min Seok-joon. Moo-shik swears at them in both Korean and English, but the handcuffs still end up around his wrists.

Later, at a press conference, Moo-shik displays an impassive placidity as he ignores every last one of the reporters’ inquisitive questions. He’s staunchly adamant that he isn’t responsible for the murder, but if that’s the case, how did he end up in this position?

“Big

To answer that, the drama rewinds to the past. Very far back to the past, in fact, because we’re taken to Moo-shik’s childhood days in Yangsan. Unable to escape from the clutches of poverty, his mother has no choice but to temporarily leave him to an orphanage. There, Moo-shik spends his days with his best friend Jong-hyun, getting up to all sorts of mischief together like catching fire ants for a small fee (and getting bitten all over).

Against all expectations, Moo-shik’s mother returns for him, but we soon see that life at home isn’t all that pleasant. Moo-shik’s father is a gangster with a violent disposition, and he frequents the prison cell like it’s his second home. Still, he does care about his son — when Moo-shik’s teacher complains that he’s miles behind his peers, Dad takes it upon himself to tutor Moo-shik.

“Big

Unfortunately, a leopard never changes its spots. Dad runs a gambling business in their living room, which means he soon ends up back in prison for beating a cheating gambler up. He’s sent to a prison in Daejeon, and both mother and son follow to eke out a living there.

A coincidental run-in has Moo-shik joining Jong-hyun in selling newspapers — and it soon becomes clear that Moo-shik is shrewd beyond his age. Not only does he upsell the newspapers so he can take a larger cut of the profits, but he’s also remarkably astute in targeting and convincing potential customers. Before long, both boys have sold a whole stack of newspapers, with the merry clinking of coins in their pockets to prove it.

“Big

Decades later, Moo-shik is now the founder of an English academy. He’s soon approached by old pal AHN CHI-YOUNG (Kim Min-jae), whose slot machine business hasn’t been generating the profits he’d envisioned. His buddy Jong-hyun — now grown up and played by Lee Moon-shik — advised him to seek out Moo-shik, and so Chi-young is here to make a proposal.

Moo-shik is very much intrigued by the casino business, and a visit to Busan — involving many, many games of baccarat — soon convinces him that there’s untapped potential in this field. Alongside Chi-young’s right-hand man LEE SANG-CHEOL (Heo Dong-won), Moo-shik buys a building, recruits dealers, and commissions carpenters. Moo-shik’s gathering all the ingredients for his very own casino, and he certainly isn’t cutting any corners or skimping on his investments.

“Big

And so, the premiere episode ends there, with Moo-shik gazing at the seeds of his future empire. We’re still nowhere near the opening scene, and I don’t know whether to feel excitement or trepidation about that. The drama is certainly taking its time to delve into our protagonist’s past, and while it’s certainly an interesting backstory, it does slow down the pacing quite a bit.

As such, I can’t quite decide how I feel about Big Bet so far. I’m very much endeared by little Moo-shik, but that doesn’t quite carry over to adult Moo-shik. The time jump between both was so wide that I can’t quite connect the two, even if they both display that razor-sharp business acumen. Perhaps the gap would have been better bridged with an appearance by Lee Kyu-hyung, who’s slated to play Moo-shik in his younger days — or maybe that’s just my fangirl side talking!

“Big

On that note, the other downside to the extended flashback is that we don’t get to see the rest of Big Bet’s impressive cast just yet. With names like Sohn Seok-gu, Ryu Hyun-kyung, and Heo Sung-tae attached to this project, I’m sure many viewers — me included — were looking forward to seeing them, but alas.

Of course, that just increases the anticipation for the following episodes — but the question is, are we motivated to get there? Unfortunately, I’m not quite sure. The premiere was decently entertaining, but it didn’t build up enough intrigue or emotional investment for me. Perhaps I might drop back in if I hear good things along the grapevine — I’m curious whether this big bet will pay off, after all.

“Big

 
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Thanks for the weecap @solstices but if Work later, drink now 2, with the fan club it has, can’t gather many comments, I can’t see this being worth a drama hangout. I will be interested to see if anyone even bothered to watch it and if they did if they are part of the lurker community or someone likely to comment. I think it will be a victim of this time of year as so many people are travelling so may save dramas like this for a binge watch when it’s finished airing and things are quieter in the new year.

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I can’t believe I forgot to lead with the show being doomed to tumbleweed in the comments section because it’s on the channel that no one can access.

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If you live in the states it is on hulu.

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and on other streaming sites....
it's very good actually.

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Such a shame! I'm highly biased because I've been a CMS fangirl since Old Boy, but after seeing the trailer for this drama, I'm tempted to change my screen name to High Roller. I've not started watching this yet, but I feel like this could be the grittier version of the American Oceans movies without as large of a star-studded cast.

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Now there is a discussion section you have the space you wanted 😊 it will be good to see who joins you in commenting on this drama.

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Have you finished watching this? I'm still trying to finish up another before starting but it will likely be an easy one for me to get through. Hopefully it turns out to be as good as the trailer :)

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I didn’t start watching it because it’s not my type of drama.

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I will check thia out since this takes place in my country and kinda hyped a bit here. I showed the trailer to my dad and he did mention that the events are kinda based on an issue that happened a few years back.

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@solstices you are right about feeling the gap from kiddo Mu Shik, adult Mu Shik to middle aged Mu Shik because slicing flashbacks instead of having them in tandem takes away the connection to the characters and makes the story disjointed. Also, the whole gambling thing brings back "Insider" Kdrama memories where the story declined in the second half.

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There is no declining of the story in the second half, at least not through the latest episode. I was so excited about the all-star cast of this one, so I started it before the entire drama finished airing and now have major cliffhanger syndrome.

While there is a huge gap from kid and teen Mu Shik (both of whom I liked instantly for his scrappy and charasmatically industrious character), I actually thought the flashbacks helped the character development significantly (otherwise present-time Mu Shik is just another violent criminal). Without understanding where Mu Shik comes from, it's impossible to understand who he's become. In fact, without the backstory, I'd never be able to like his character at all, much less sit through some of the very violent scenes (while not gratuitous, its realistic portrayal and gruesomeness was such that I had to close my eyes on some of the scenes).

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i agree. i had to rewatch the beginning eps to get the story and people straight in my head. i just watched ep 7 and it is really good, in a creepy way that Mu Shik has his hands in everything, everywhere, "all at once"...

i'm watching it for the stellar cast, and they are not disappointing!!!!

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I'm waiting until the last episode next week before I watch the last two. I can't go through another week of cliffhanging before getting a resolution to the story. So glad to hear it's continuing to be much better than expectations!

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I watched it. I actually didn't mind it. However, they did another thing I hate. He is a 60 year old man playing someone half his age and it is obvious. Lee Kyu Hyung is an almost 40 year old man playing a teenage to 20 year young man. WHY?? I get wanting to utilize Choi Min Sik, but he looks to be in his late 50s and early 60s, having him play a 36 year old is nonsensical. It takes away from the drama. This wigs are also bad, but that is old hat, lol.

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I understand the backstory and flashbacks, but it was so boring. I also wanted to see the rest of the cast, but it never came. I might come back when we're back in present time, but for now I'm dropping this.

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...are we motivated to get there?
Truthfully, I'm not. I didn't know what to expect but I sure wasn't expecting whatever it is that is the first episode. I easily got lost somehow. The flashbacks and timeline and all, I really don't know what time it is I'm in and I just couldn't keep up.

I'll look out for the next week's episodes to see if I'll stay on this ship.

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My husband likes this genre so we watched.. and I must say the acting level here is as expectedly excellent. There are so many cameos from strong character actors aside from the already all - star cast. I havent seen Son Seok-Ku yet but noteworthy is Lee Kyu Hungs performance as young Mushik - troubled soul is already perfected by LKH. Anyways, the directing is a bit choppy so I get why people might find it confusing or boring. Also, the characters and location might be fictitious but against the backdrop of the level of corruption and gambling related incidents portrayed in this show, unfortunately for me and my countrymen, this is indeed based on reality.

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i am, just tonight, starting this series... i am drawn to it first and foremost for the CAST listed. the particular storyline doesn't interest me, but the cast lineup most certainly does....

i'll check back in later...

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yup - as i said above in response to emsel and wheguhreh - im hooked!

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Having just finished this, it should've found a way to end at the 7th episode. The last one fizzed its way straight to the finish line. I didn't realize until recently that there was a second season, and I can't imagine what outlandish nonsense is going to bring Mu-Shik back after a disappointing first season finale.

As for the cast, RESPECT. CMS takes the drama to new heights before the narrative took a downturn. I've always been fascinated by the strange mixture of gravitas and eccentric lightness in his cinematic acting, and he brings it in this drama. Too bad the storyline didn't do him justice.

Still, despite the 5 stars for the drama narrative, I give a solid 8 stars for the cast. Most of the prominent ones played completely different characterizations from their previous roles, proving their impressive talent range. The actors/actresses really prevented this from being a complete disaster at the end, but otherwise worth a watch if you're into this genre.

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