Semnal (2016)

I was told it was great.

And surprise, it turned out to be great.

It's hard to say what this drama is about without spoiling the plot. So instead of talking in detail about a spectacular, might-blowing story that made me cry on several occasions(I don't usually get emotionally invested in fiction), I'll talk a bit about the form, without spoiling the content like I usually do in reviews.

And the form is, of course, amazingly done too. This drama has some of the best cinematography I've seen in Korean dramas so far. The music, acting and pacing all combine to deliver an outstanding series.

Though speaking of acting....I'll be frank, I don't like Kim Hye Soo. I know she has many fans, but I seriously dislike her plastic face that can only play with overly large eyes and slight tilts of mouth. This made it somewhat annoying to watch the series at certain moments, considering how much screentime her character has. The fact that her character wasn't particularly likable(though she was written like that on purpose, so it's not a fault of the drama) adds the fuel to the fire.

But I digress. Both male leads were great, and the villains were actually hateable. Yes, I usually sympathize with villains in dramas. Usually, they do something bad, then get severely punished by protags, and if they happen to have some sad backstory, it usually makes me empathize with them even further. The only thing that usually makes me root for protags, and not sympathize with the antagonists, is when the antagonists are shallow/overly black/saturday morning cartoon caricatures. But then that means what I really hate is bad writing, not the characters.

But in Signal, we have some villains that are psychologically deep, complexly written, with multilayered motivations behind their actions, yet....at no point does the show make me sympathize with most of them or stop rooting for the main characters.

I also liked how the ending sequences showed the previews for the next episode....by showing scenes that would only happen many episodes later, or not happen exactly as they were shown at all. This added to the entire time travel and chronology confusion feel of the show, by playing with the viewer on meta-level. Well done!

In the end, some things weren't explained. But perhaps they weren't meant to be explained. Thematically, the show is about not giving up hope when fighting for justice, and putting down those who feel beyond law and punishment and making a mockery of police and innocents. It's also about cause-and-effect, and how we might not always get what we want. These themes are executed to a satisfying conclusion, and that's what matters the most.

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All in all; a very solid drama.


It was better than good but the time travel / time skip / change the past and future aspect doesn't agree with me.

I do not like watching the characters meet and form relationships, form my opinion on these characters and relationships, pick favorites and root for something and then towards the end the writers say; oh btw; these did not happen.

It may help the story, but I do not like it.

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Lee Jae han sweetest detective

They don't make policemen like this anymore. Lee Jae Han, sweetheart you changed the trajectory of my life.

Old style crime shows... There's just something about it I can't look away. Add a "talk with a radio to someone in the past" plot and it's gonna become my new personality lmao.
Every case is connected to another through different timelines making it a way bigger story. Piece by piece, the truth is revealed but till the very end, when u think everything is resolved u just get through it all again. Rare are the dramas the last episode isn't disappointing. Signal is one. BUT AHHHHH i can't believe ppl lived 8 years with this.
S2 coming ? they better give my bffs some happiness.

Special note also for Lee Sang Yeob's acting and character who broke me.

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Davvero un drama bellissimo,gli attori sono stati fantastici,la trama e bellissima e coerente con un carico emotivo veramente forte,indimenticabile.
Mi è piacuta moltissimo la performance di Lee Je Hoon di cui non avevo dubbio dopo aver visto lo splendido lavoro fatto in Tomorrow with you.
Devo aggiungere che Lee Je Hoon è veramente bellissimo.
Sono rimasta veramente stupita invece dal lavoro fatto da Cho Jin Woong e Kim Hye Soo di cui non avevo visto nulla,sicuramente guarderò altri lavori
Le musiche per me sono molto emozionanti specialmente ?????

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Important Review Must Read!

I have not finished watching but I had to do the review beforehand. The United States movie "Signal" was nothing like this movie but it had to do with a murder case. This Kdrama and the American movie Signal are both great. The KDrama had more of a story to it which I so appreciate. Lee Je Hoon whose character Park Hae Yeong was very strong and convincing as a profiler. I need to see more with this actor. Kim Hye Soo who played Cha Soo Hyun was also a strong and compassionate emotional female detective, she was also doing a believable job. I will let you know the rest as I finish watching it. I have not skipped any episodes because it has me focused on them. Now the bad part.

Important: I always research the actor's main lead and support.

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Drama policial demasiado excelente

Que sensación extraña cuando arrancas un drama por primera vez y antes del capitulo 3 ya te encuentras atrapado por completo sin darte cuenta, bueno signal lo logra en el primero y no te suelta hasta que llegas al ultimo donde no sabes que es lo que va a suceder de ninguna forma y te encuentras con que hasta ahi llego el drama........................ personalmente no me gustan los finales abiertos para una segunda temporada porque rara vez estos se dan pero siento que este final abierto (aunque por favor saquen la segunda temporada, la necesito) no estuvo mal sino que dejo como un final reflexivo y motivacional para quienes quieren plantarle cara a las injusticias asi que personalmente creo que es un muy buen final.
En cuanto a actuaciones no tengo nada malo para decir, es un excelente elenco con un muy buen desempeño pero si quiero hacer una mencion especial a lee je hoon porque me pareció excelente su trabajo, amo sus dramas y este es el más antiguo de el que vi y si lo conociera con este no podría hacer otra cosa que amarlo porque se supero proyecto a proyecto.
En resumen signal es un excelente drama fantástico/policial con actuaciones más que excelentes que te atrapa y no te suelta así que si quieren un muy buen drama para disfrutar, este es un candidato que cumple con todas las expectativas y más

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Signal was definitely a worthwhile watch, but the top review does highly overrate it. It is absolutely not the best storyline I've ever watched, although I do feel that K-drama storylines have recently become so trashy that this drama comes off as a ray of sunshine.

This is a crime solving story where there are 5 cases featured throughout the story with one big underlying "final boss" that the main characters are getting closer to identifying. There aren't many action or thriller moments but the suspense is great. There are a lot of flashbacks (there should be a category for rating the quality of flashbacks haha. side note: what's with the popularity of flashbacks these days? they're honestly so annoying to watch) but they're pretty well done and you don't feel like you're watching the same scenes replay over and over again throughout the entire drama.

Characters were pretty good! It was a great display of corruptions vs virtue and I think these traits were well written into the character. Lee Jae Han was the STAR of the story; you can't help but fall in love with him. He's so valiant and virtuous, storming towards justice yet stumbling through romantic situations. While this character is loveable, it is very overdone. That would be my one comment about this drama; it didn't feel "new," but rather you were watching a story and characters that you're familiar with play out in an expected but definitely interesting way. While parts feel a bit TOO clean cut, theres still that sense of you don't know who will live, what will change, and who will die.

Continuing off that, while the story isn't new, there ARE twists that are unexpected (but nothing too outlandish or surprising). I cried episode 5 which I didn't expect to happen so quickly.

TL;DR I'm a kdrama watcher in their eariy 20's, so if you're bored by over-the-top romantic comedies and looking for something more serious (and a story that follows a line and doesnt just implode on itself) then I would highly recommend!

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A miss, yet again.

I liked the lead actress and the past tense detective unfortunately that was not enough to keep me watching. I do not like flashbacks and nonlinear timelines in general but I could have overlooked that had the overall delivery been good but it really was not the case. The build up to the climax is great then it falls flat. It's seems like a pattern that many action/crime/thriller Korean dramas follow. It's really a shame because they have potential.
The acting bit is where it really did not disappoint. All the featured actors where anywhere from descent (the one that kidnapped the child) to great. I really did like the main actress a lot. The "female law enforcement character" is often a good one in Korean dramas that I must applaud.

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acting is a bit over the top

i was curious about this series because it has high ratings.. but now that im on episode 5, im still waiting for that reason that why i shouldn't stop watching this show. one of the main things that frustrate me is the MAIN LEAD, i feel so tired watching him act.. he talks like someone is chasing him... not sure if this is his character but i feel frustrated every time i see him on screen.

one word: over acting.
the female lead though acts naturally. the rest feels OVER the top.

I wish this male lead at least just acts naturally. in my POV i don't think someone acts that way in the middle of the case.... or while researching.

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too frustrating

I didn't expect things to be so frustrating from the very beginning. 1- people argue too much, there is no scene without a fight. perhaps this add some edging point to the story, but it's just too much. police officers fight against criminals, they fight against the victims' families, and then against their hierarchy and with each other. most of the time people don't understand each other because nobody listens. so I was already on edge from frustration, and then 2- they added the never ending flash back. I had the feeling things were going backwards.
the story was ok, but these 2 killed my patience. I dropped.

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