Partener suspect (2017)

I didn't love it like everyone else

I have seen A lot of Ji Chang Wook’s dramas, this would mark the 6th drama I have seen where he’s the main lead. I haven’t seen any other K drama Actor as much as I have of him and let’s just say, I didn’t like any of those dramas. I pick up Ji Chang Wook’s dramas because of the high ratings, but every time I watch his dramas, I am ALWAYS disappointed with the overhype.

I’m so glad he left his old talent agency and I hope he can find better dramas. I will admit, Healer was okay, but I even fast forwarded some parts.

Suspicious Partner is a classic, so had I known it was a 40 (half episode) / 20 (Full episode) drama, I am not sure I would have picked it up. There is ZERO reason why this drama was so long. Sure, there are some side cases here and there to take your mind off of the main story, but half of the time the side stories were uninteresting.

I do like Nam Ji Hyun in Little Women and 100 Day Prince, but I always felt like her acting was underwhelming. She has the tendency to look like she is reciting lines when it calls for non-emotional scenes. She can act well if she needs to convey emotions, but when she’s simply doing dialogue, it’s very monotone and robotic, which made me feel hardly chemistry between the leads.

I thought a lot of the drama on the show reflects the kind of drama that was popular at the time. Just a bunch of characters making poor choices and therefore must face the consequences of their actions. Why wouldn’t the FL sing “I’m going to kill you” song? I mean, it’s just setting up for her downfall right?

Overall, I can appreciate the drama for what it is, but to me, it was not a hit nor was it a classic in my opinion.

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Started strong but fizzled out

The first episode was an absolute hooker!!!

First episode:
It had amazing chemistry between the leads. It had funny moments and finally it ended with such a surprising twist which made me really want to watch the next episode.

Episode 2 onwards:
To my dismay, everything just fizzled out. No chemistry. No funny moments. Just a lot of cases. I have to say the cases were interesting but everything else was meh. The last episode was just filled with funny moments which would've been better if they spread out the funny moments throughout.

Still a good watch but not for the romance.

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My first ever kdrama
The actors did so well and I don't believe that the plot dragged because of the smaller cases between each episode. I believe that was done well and the comedy side was fantastic. The chemistry between the characters was great, not completely amazing like others but it was still fantastic! I do recommend this as a first time k-drama watch as it was for me.

The best point of this drama is seeing the office members interact with each other and how well they got on. Also their reaction to the main character's relationship was very interesting to watch!

The friendship between Ji Chang Wook and Choi Tae Joon was another killing part for me. And talking about killing the antagonist was fantastic and deserves more praise. He was truly chilling!

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I have mixed feelings about this drama. I'm sure this applies to most people but I'm not really a fan of obvious plots. The main reason being it takes away the excitement of needing to know what happens next. And for me, that's the most thrilling part.

Don't get me wrong, I think this drama started off really well. But at some point, I felt as if they were only trying to complicate things to make the plot seem a little more interesting. Character growth is a little slow in as well, however, that can be overlooked. As far as endings go, though, I think they did an exceptional job at wrapping everything up and even leaving a nice bow on top of it all.

With a cast this talented, it's hard not to fall for this drama. But if you know me, you know that I've always appreciated a good villain. I even found myself sympathizing with the antagonist. Is that wrong? I mean, I just spent the last 40 episodes watching this dude dig himself a deeper and deeper hole. It's only natural that I would feel some type of way for him.

But I have to say, if there's one thing I love the most about this drama, it's their original soundtracks. I especially love it when the actors/actresses themselves take part in it as well because it gives the drama a much more significant meaning.

Overall, even though it wasn't a smooth ride from start to finish, I think this drama did enough right for it to earn the gift of being recommended. However, if we're talking about rewatch value, then that's a different story. Personally, I wouldn't rewatch it only because there was nothing that stood out to me or left me begging for more.

With that said,
Llama out.

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8/10

...cause if all the ends are tied at episode 38, don't make 40 episodes.

If you're considering watching this, this is what you should expect:

Great acting. All the actors did a great job portraying their characters. If you're a fan of JCW you will not be disappointed. Also a very special hats off to Dong Ha who plays the criminal in this drama. He was outstanding. I'll be following his work a lot more after this.

The sub story was amazing.
It really took me by surprise. I've never seen such a well thought out and executed villains plot and it was very deep and moving. They had all the right twists in the right places and I love that they put out subtle hints throughout the drama, warning you about the final twist, so subtle that I did not figure it out.

There's an on and off relationship.
The reason I'm calling it a sub story is because it gets over shadowed by the romance.
Indeed this is a romance thriller but I would have wished for more emphasis on the "thriller" part since that part of the story was so great. Although I love a bit of romance, I can only take in the right amount and when it's an "on and off" relationship like in this drama, I want to shoot the female character. Therefore I will not be taking my hat off for the lead actress. Because of her character and because I didn't really enjoy her acting.

There is also a few faint love triangles moving around but it was bearable. they lasted very shortly and all the female and male characters were all very cool about.

38/40 episodes.

They could have easily wrapped up the whole thing at 38 but they added 2 extra filler episodes. As if you didn't get enough romance through out the entire drama, the last 2 episodes will put you in their everyday, boring life, which, if you're anything like me, will make you hate the lead actress more than you did before. But you can end the agony anywhere you want. 38, 39, or 40. Depends on how much you care about their romance.

Overall this drama was very enjoyable, the acting was great, the characters were a piece of work but that really made them feel realistic. Hope this review was of any help to those who are still considering, instead of pressing play.

ENJOY!!!

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A little uneven, unsatisfying, and unfocused, but overall lighthearted fun

This is a great, lighthearted watch. The show won't blow you away in any category, but it's still good fun. Of the clear positives, Nam Ji Hyun is great as the earnest Bong Hee. I found Choi Tae Joon to be the scene stealer -- of his character Eun Hyun, you really want to hate him, but his motivations for doing less-than-honorable things are quickly explained and he helps hold the group together by playing love doctor, keeping them financially afloat, and supporting them in their main story investigations. Overall, the drama has some romantic moments that touch you and some thrilling moments that make you want more.

Unfortunately, there's some strong pacing problems. The thriller plot thread kicks off with a bang, but the story gets established, and the plot quickly gets confused about where it's going and what to do with itself. Similarly, the romance escalates quickly, settling into a "will-they-or-won't-they" equilibrium, but then quickly loses its momentum. Matching this, the last set of episodes felt really out of place, filled with filler to remind you that the show is supposed to be funny and romantic, while not really tying up the story together that well.

I think if the whole 20/40 episodes could be re-evaluated, re-shot and re-edited for its weak parts, this could be easily transformed into a 10 out of 10 show. There is a lot of potential here for a magnificent story, but unfortunately it doesn't all come together. As such, it's just an OK watch.

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I think that this drama did it pretty well for me! A lot of people have said that this drama started off strong for them but ended not so well. I kind of disagree with that because I throughly enjoyed it.
Story: 9.0/10
Now you might say that the whole murderer aspect, "who is the murderer" is the same old, same old. That's true but it was actually one of the reasons why I enjoyed it. Though the only thing that left me kind of questioning was, why did he do that? I still had many questions at the end. The romance in this one was good but not the best. It just didn't stand out that much to me but I still found some scenes cute between the main characters. I actually was more attracted to the second lead romance.Also another thing that I really liked watching was the office meetings. They were too funny.
Acting/Cast:10/10
Acting in this one was amazing. I've watched Ji Chang Wook in many other drama's but, I think I fell for him in this one. I couldn't stop staring at him. Nam Ji hyun was good too and her crying scenes felt so real.I'm so glad Choi Tae Joon plays a really gullible character in this because his character in missing 9 was not so pretty, and now I love him to bits. This is my first time seeing Nara and I must say, even though of what happened in the past with her character, she is my favourite in this. And finally the person that plays the villain... I won't say his name in case it's a spoiler but... I love him and hate him at the same time. He plays the villain so perfectly that I hate him but because he played it so perfectly, I loved it? Does that make sense? Idk XD
Music: 7.0/10
The reason why I put it at such an average score was because I haven't listened to the whole soundtrack yet so I'm saying it's not bad. Eye contact by Kim Ez acoustic version is so far my favourite song on the soundtrack. The sound effects during the episodes were also nice to but too bad their not actual songs.
Rewatch value: 5.0/10
I won't be rewatching this because I don't see the reason why and I always say this but I rarely rewatch drama's.
Overall: 8.5/10
I recommend this to you if you're looking for a sweet romantic comedy with a bit of a twist. By the way, the outfits in this drama were so eye-catching to me even though they were simple.

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Ji Chang Wook, who continues to practically ooze charisma from his damn pores, plays straight laced and uptight Prosecuter Noh Ji Wook opposite Nam Ji Hyun's chipper and plucky Lawyer Eun Bong Hee. Bong Hee works for Ji Wook, but when she's framed for murder, he ends up being the one prosecuting her (apparently conflict of interest is not a thing, at least in kdramaland court rooms). This all happens in the first handful of episodes, but the real story follows after the resolution of her prosecution for murder. The drama really follows them, Ji Wook's mostly estranged best friend (played charmingly by Choi Tae Joon, who manages to hold his own against Chang Wook's own effortless charm - not an easy thing to do), his ex-girlfriend/fiance (played by Nara), and his extended family/friends. Throw into the mix a serial murderer. The resulting recipe is a lot of fun to watch. The notes in this show are mostly up beat. They do trot out some dramatic family secrets, but even the sad and down moments are balanced out by bright and cheerful ones so you never come away from this feeling like you've had to slog through anything.

I'm pretty sure Ji Chang Wook's inherent charm is what keeps the Earth rotating on its axis.

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Plot bem conveniente, a história de todos os personagens estar conectada no final, o drama é bem enrolado e com momentos desnecessários, um vilão nada vilão é totalmente previsível, logo no primeiro ato dele, vc já sabia q ele era o culpado tudo, aquele sorriso dele só enganava trouxa, não curti tanto a moçinha, alguns personagens só estavam ali por conveniência de roteiro, serviram em um determinado momento ou para fazer peso na trama, de resto não eram nescessários, enfim, o drama poderia ter sido mais objetivo, assim sendo mais curto e teria sido bem melhor, mas geral foi um pouco acima de mediano.

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This drama start with a mystery and change into a cute and fluffy drama. I am not sure about Korean drama's trend these days or it is just because I happened to see a lot of drama with similar style (Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Healer, I Hear Your Voice, Pinocchio, etc). Suspense mixed with romance comedy drama with something either happen in the past or present. If you want a serious clever mystery plot like I Hear Your Voice, you wont find it here. I find the investigation part is really really slow (I mean, how slow they can be to investigate more of Hyun Soo's past??). This drama is strictly focused on the complex relationship between the characters , romance and fluffiness.

Although a lot of things in this drama can be cliche, all the elements works pretty well. I think the drama for 30 minutes for each episode works out well for me than the usual 1 hour length for 16 episodes or so. The pace of the romance is pretty reasonable. The fact that they start off with a wrong impression of each other and get to know each other step by step drawn me more. Ji Wook's trust issue (he was betrayed by his 2 most closest person after all), lost his beloved job, case with Jung Hyun Soo, and also the fire case which involve Ji Wook and Bong Hee parent brings a lot of turbulence into their relationship. And Love is all about timing. There are a lot of back and forth but love can only start with the right timing.

The story is pretty cute and fluffy. The main leads are not the only one who give out fluffiness. Tae Joon as Eun Hyuk is a total sugar candy. I nearly push him and Ji Wook as couple. They are adorable together. Another that is pretty interesting for me, somehow, I came to like the female love rival more than the female lead. Yes, Yoo Jung can be shameless (in term if betraying Ji Wook with his best friend and try to justify her act). But She is pretty cool too. I can see the reason why Ji Wook and Eun Hyuk fall for her. She is attractive and has a pretty cool personality. She does not scheme like the usual love rival. I find her pursuing Ji Wook is because she just being honest to herself. She knows she is wrong. But she cannot lie about her feelings. In addition, even though she was suspicious of Bong Hee (her love rival), she really put her 100% to the right job and investigate the case with professionalism. This remind me that not all people are 100% bad, but 100% good either. I find if both Bong Hee and Yoo Jung meet under different situation (without Ji Wook), they can be a pretty close friend.

Last note, I find Ji Chang Wook acts better here (He has more expression). He also has more chemistry here with the female lead than when he was with Park Min Young in Healer (Though story wise, Healer is way way a better drama.). I think this drama is a worthy watch for fluffy romance.

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