Search (2020)

Search is a quintessential OCN drama, which means that it's a fast-paced and slickly-edited action drama that pulls you in and keeps you interested - at least until the zombies show up and the bad guy starts smirking.

As far as the genre goes, Search is a pretty good example with excellent performances by the wonderful Jang Dong Yoon as the military dog handler Yong Dong Jin and a strangely (but welcomingly) sombre and cerebral Krystal as the military forensic scientist, Son Ye Rim.

The two used to date - a fact that is utterly superfluous to the plot and could have been jettisoned without us noticing - but end up in a joint operation in the demilitarized zone after there are reports of a disease spreading in the area. Jang Dong Yoon is an amazing up and coming actor who clearly wanted to branch out after his two previous roles (both performances of which were extraordinary) and does very well with the role. Krystal is also good in a natural and understated performance with none of the apparent "I am acting!" quirks and ticks that a lot of Idols seem to pick up.

While the show benefited both from being only 10 episodes and from good casting, direction and production, the script suffered from some usual OCN weaknesses. There was a lot of people in uniforms and identical haircuts running around shooting at each other in the dark and one day somebody will learn this is NOT good television. A lot of good character beats were introduced and then forgotten, like a Chekhov's gun that did not go off (why DID Ye Rim suddenly and unexpectedly break up with Dong Yoon a year ago? And if it's not important why dwell on it so much?). And some of the editing seemed more about fooling the audience or confusing them with time jumps than anything else.

The final episode was unfortunately utterly ridiculous. And while the show successfully walked that fine line between our suspension of disbelief and falling off a cliff for most of its run, it leapt into the chasm at a full jump in episode 10.

So while I enjoyed watching Search quite a lot, I can't declare it great television. But for a bit of mindless fun and quite a good example of a classic OCN drama, it's worth a binge.

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A Well Perfectly-Balanced Show.

Search came out at the right time for me. I was having a hard time getting over another drama (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay), when Search came along. This drama has been in my radar since last year and was curious by how it will turn out.

It is a fast-paced drama since it only had 10 episodes. Each episode was really entertaining. I knew that this drama will be a military-thriller but the romance, comedy, birth-secret, hidden-identity was a surprise for me. They’ve really made a well-rounded show.

The casting was perfect. Jang Dong Yoon is so natural. I watched some of his previous works and I can really say that the he really emerges into the characters he portrays. Just the transition from Jeon Nokdu into Seargent Yong Dong Jin is amazing. Jung Soo Jung casting was a little surprise for me, I only saw her in The Heirs and I can’t imagine her playing Son Ye Rim however, she really did pull off playing a cold, strong female character. I was actually surprised by JDY and JSJ’s good chemistry. Their banters were so funny and sweet that it’s making me ask for more scenes of them. I hope JDY and JSJ can work again together in a Rom-Com. Another good chemistry was between JDY and the dogs (lol), their scenes displayed his love for dogs.

The scoring was also good that it became a very intrinsic part of its thriller/horror genre. The eerie sound in the intro really represents what the show is all about. Search may not have an ost but their song choices in some “romantic” parts of the drama were perfect.

The ending was not rushed and was very well-executed. It was thrilling up until the end. I thought there should have been Season 2 but, all the story lines were tied and everything already explained.

All in all, it is a very engaging. I recommend this drama, despite some bad CGIs in the beginning. It has a perfect pace and has multiple genres. If you’re looking for something different, go watch this one.

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Mediocre drama

I really enjoyed this drama until about a bit more than half way. I felt that this drama was too predictable. I predicted most of the drama by episode 4/5. So, in my opinion, it was a bit bland and the climax' weren't really amazing. The climatic scenes at times weren't produced very well. So I didn't feel that 'wow' factor when i watched those scenes.

Certain scenes were cringe-y, lame or unrealistic. I know that it is a drama but there are certainly alot of dramas out there that can maintain the realism whilst simultaneously producing an amazing drama.

The casts and their acting were superb and i really enjoyed their acting. I did get put off by Krystal's acting at times but it is understandable since she is a singer turned actress.

Overall, a mediocre drama.

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Search markets itself as a Military Suspense Horror Thriller Mystery, and despite it having many elements, it fails to be phenomenal in any of those categories. Search has the potential to be great, and for those who aren't familiar with many of these genres, you might find this to be great. But for those who are fans of mystery, horror, and suspense, you might find this to be average and dull like I did.

The plot follows Dong Jin, a military dog handler a few weeks away from his discharge, who doesn't seem quite fit for the military because he's far too opinionated and doesn't know how to listen to authority. He wants to quietly leave before his discharge, but unfortunately, he is called on a mission after someone goes missing. Cue the cool lurking monster and a suspenseful thriller mystery? Unfortunately, no.

Even in the first episode, I found myself underwhelmed and was waiting for something interesting to happen with this concept, but it's never more than an average horror thriller. The not-zombies of this world (I call them that because the drama is constantly reminding us that they aren't zombies, but they don't do anything unique with them to distinguish them from zombies either) are not interesting, or well utilized in this, and that's because they feel more like an afterthought to make another storyline that was set years prior before the events with Dong Jin thrilling.

I never really brought into these two storylines that the writers were trying to tie together, not individually or together. The writers don't get the chance to properly flesh them out because they are focusing on both, and these two storylines are connected by the thinnest thread. I was probably 7-8 episodes in, wondering if one of the storylines was necessary before its connection became clear, and even still, it felt forced. There's a huge part of me that thinks if the not-zombies were taken out, and they had focused on the initial events prior as the mystery, along with the corruption within the military which would work perfectly with Dong Jin's character, who didn't fit in the army because he wasn't good with following authority, then this would be twenty times better. I guess that just goes to show how lackluster I thought the not-zombies were.

But ultimately, what Search lacks mostly comes down to execution. This plot is something best made for a film, not a 10-hour plus drama. It's stretched incredibly thin at times, to the point that there are really dull boring moments throughout the show with the characters meandering about in an equally boring small town. The romance is another thing that is boring, but it's mostly because it feels unnecessary, and without it, the story wouldn't have changed. Nothing is particularly thrilling or mysterious because of how the story is told. We practically know everything from the first few episodes, so the mystery is gone there. And everything else is pretty predictable. The not-so zombies lost their thrills pretty quickly.

I thought the cast was good, and everyone did a good job. It's just that their characters are dull. Despite having 10 episodes, and ample enough time to flesh them out, considering the many moments of practically nothing happening, they don't give these characters much more than basic one-note characteristics, and it shows. It's hard to connect to them, and even their interactions with one another seem slightly stunted. Dong Jin is the only character who has more than the basic one-note characteristics. But unfortunately, I never truly connected to him, nor did I ever truly fear for his life or the other people there. Plot armor was working great for them in the beginning of the drama, and despite them being in close quarters with some of the not-zombies, it seemed that all they liked to do was throw and toss people around, making the not-zombies effectively lose their thrills and lowering the stakes.

Search's greatest offense is that it adds nothing to the horror-thriller genre. It's does everything that other horror thrillers have done before, but not better. Technically, it's not terrible, but because it's so incredibly average despite having a cool concept, it made it terrible for me.

Overall, Search is just best described as average. This should have never been more than a 2-hour long movie or a 3-episode mini-series because the story doesn't have enough meat to push past that. The not-zombies are not interesting enough, nor are they horrifying or mysterious. Watching them go through the forest searching for them, over and over again, was boring. Search has an interesting premise but is poorly executed.

I recommend this for people who aren't too familiar with the horror-thriller genre. It will feel like a new fresh concept to you, and you'll probably enjoy it. But for those who follow OCN dramas, or are fans of thrillers and horror in general, this will probably just be okay to you.

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A GOOD THRILLER-DRAMATIC DRAMA

STORY LINE : Its quite blurry for what is happening on the first place, but i think that is how they tried to put SYR n YDJ (should i write JDJ?? Its ok) in the same time n how they hooked with each other. as time past by the story is getting clear n clear each ep.. As we goes by the ending i think its pretty satisfied as we got our happy ending though.. well its a given for someone to die..

ACTING/CAST : Its a really good cast for me as there is no awkwardness i see from them.. each n everyone of them play their part well. well act i was quite surprise on how Jang dongyoon change from Nokdu to YDJ here but he really did well..

Music : Well as for this i would say that music did play their part well in the drama to show their suspense or happy.. but for me the early music are to eerie for me thus i did not really like it.

RE-WATCH VALUE : DEFINITELY! I will re-watch this near future for sure!

OVERALL : A great story line with a great and different concept that really make u enjoy watching. but i would comment on negative side would be the CGI part. it quite unrealistic though. but for someone that really like a different type of genre n story line u can come for this drama.

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basically great acting, mediocre directing and horrible writing ;)

since the start I was really "confused" about what happened in 1997, why did that guy kill everyone? what did they want with that "mysterious" box, what was the point with everything? and they only answered it in the last few minutes of the final ep when they showed a recap from someone's pov so basically no one really "knew" what happened till the end.

I still don't get why that dude not only killed everyone but also came back to kill everyone, even his own son ;/ and then he cried about it... and yoon park was so obsessed with the "object" that he went off to a hole and died too..... basically cheap deaths for a final blow...


so to recap what I did get, a group of SK soldiers went to look for a box of "mysterious" object. they discovered a NK female holding a baby and a male holding the box. the NK's wanted to go to SK (presumably with that box) but one SK soldier suddenly massacred them? and he killed his team becasue they wanted to save the baby? and he shot his friend in the back for reporting him.. (and miraculously the baby became the fl)
then box NK guy becomes a nuclear zombie and drags "one" of the guys (who turned out to be the ml's dad) because box guy was angry and he causes an accident that killed him and turned that SK guy into a radio active zombie. later on a dog bites him, turns into a dog zombie and infects two more people.
and this is where the story starts, the group hunts the "target", the psycho SK guy comes back to kill more people (like how did anyone even follow his lead) and people died while nuclear zombie dad blows up the place which leads the normal SK people wondering where more than 10 people disappeared too... and no one but the mains knew the truth.. like the "government" didn't care they were like here's your secret records deal with it yourself?


yes, to summarize it it did not need 10 eps at all! it only needed 2, 5 max.. like nothing happened in those long long eps. there was not enough character growth, there was not enough character base tbh they really wasted the actors potential..

also the director was not any better, the recaps drove me crazy, 1- I do not need to be reminded of what happened 5mins ago and 2- the back and froth between the time lines and the overall feel of the drama felt flat.


I do love the actors though, especially JDY and he did an AMAZING job, the rest also did great. for ost tbh I don't think they even had any beside JDY singing ;) and I never rewatch stuff, I hope this opened up more doors for the cast though

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stop treating me like i'm stupid

there are many things to be said but this drama isn't worth the breath. i'll admit i was hooked initially, but i quickly got over that upon realizing that this drama was gonna play me like i can't form a logical thought. there are a lot of plot holes. like, A LOT.

after a while, i just had to shut off my brain and try not to think to deeply. i hope the screenwriters sit in on a workshop because this show was not so great.

i felt a lot of things while watching it but i don't even got it in me to express. don't waste your time on this. there are better ways to waste 10 hours.

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Un titre prometteur et décevant

Depuis "Descendant of the Sun" je fais une fixation sur les séries avec des militaires (un fantasme de jeunesse et Song Joong ki doit y être pour beaucoup). J'avais beaucoup aimé "Crash Landing on you" (ma crise d'hystérie d'ado n'a pas encore atteint son summum) c'est donc avec joie que j'apprend qu'une série type militaire était planifiée. Et pourtant, je vais devoir déchanter très vite...
La série n'est pas mauvaise en soi mais pas assez prenante pour que j'y ai pris un réel plaisir. 10 épisodes étaient peut-être, de manière assez contradictoire, insuffisants. Il y avait encore tant à raconter, tant d'interrogation inachevée...
J'ai apprécié le côté SF du scénario, assez intéressant sans être d'une grande originalité (le coup du virus est assez classique). Mais tout cela a été selon moi sous-exploité. Et beaucoup d'incohérence, de non sens dans le scénario.
Je n'entrerais pas dans le détails afin de ne pas gâcher le plaisir de ceux qui veulent le voir. Mais une petite équipe qui est loin d'être l'élite se voit assigner une mission à haut risque avec des cibles surhumaines? Hum, j'ai eu du mal à adhérer (mais pourquoi pas).
L'histoire de la caméra : pourquoi? quand? comment? (ou alors j'ai raté quelque chose en allant à la pause pipi...). D'ailleurs, mon mari me disait "j'espère qu'ils ne vont pas nous faire le coup du caméscope dans l'eau qui fonctionne encore 23 ans plus tard", cela n'a pas loupé.
Que faisait la cible dans le village, qui était-elle? Pourquoi des couleurs différentes? L'ennui est donc qu'on nous pointe dans une direction et puis, plus rien. C'est plutôt frustrant.
La relation entre les personnages est très loin (TRES) d'être forte, réelle, fusionnelle...L'alchimie entre Yong Dong Jin et Son Ye Rim est proche du néant. On nous montre trois fois rien, on ne sait donc ni comment et ni pourquoi il y a eu une relation entre ces deux là. Ce qui a pour conséquence un manque d'empathie de la part du spectateur. Je m'attendais à plus de bromance entre les soldats, un peu comme dans 'Descendant of the sun" et puis, non, un semblant d'amitié.
Suis-je un peu dure? insensible? peut-être, mais je n'ai pas réussis à m'attacher à un seul des personnages, et à ce niveau là, il m'était donc dur de sympathiser avec eux. Et puis il faut avouer que les vilains de l'histoire manquent cruellement de charisme et d'intelligence...Bref, un drama qui avait du potentiel et qui au final s'est un peu cassé la figure et qui ne restera pas dans ma mémoire longtemps.

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bon départ mais on s'essouffle

un peu trop vu et revu comme scénario, les effets spéciaux des derniers épisodes sont pas terribles ils étaient mieux dans les premiers épisodes, ce qui m'a donné envie de poursuivre d'ailleurs. je trouve dommage que le chien soit quasi inexistant dans les 5 derniers épisodes, dommage, pour un maitre chien !
le jeu d'acteurs est correct, manque un peu de conviction. certains rôles n'apportent rien.
des flash-backs qui, à part une infime partie d'entre eux, étaient inutiles, c'est dommage car on se lasse du coup.
Les effets spéciaux sont bien réussis dans l'ensemble, dans la forêt, mais à la fin ça dérape....
concernant le scénario, des points de l'intrigue manque de développement, certains passages sont incohérents ou improbables

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Gripping stuff!

Gripping from the first episode. Excellent characters with perfectly fitting cast of actors. I really liked that they chose an actor who had similar features to Dong Jin, to play his father.
I loved the camaraderie between them as soldiers and the relationship between Dong-jin and both his canine partners was very believable and realistic.
There was no overacting, but lots of tension and mystery. Tiny bit of romance, which didn't get in the way of the main plot, but actually added to it.
I also really liked actress Moon Jung-hee and her more mature but tough yet understated character. We need more like that!
I feel it's a shame there were only 10 episodes though, as I am not clear on exactly what happened to the item being searched for. I thought it was found and handed over, yet it eventually appeared not.
An investigation should have been filmed to at least round up things a bit more clearly, which would have benefited the drama as a whole. The ending was quite abrupt for some of the story line, which is a shame.
Having said that, I found the 3 different elements of the story really intriguing and binge watched the whole series! There was far more I loved than didn't and it's one I'd happily sit through again.

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Lost and Found

In a nutshell, this show is about a group of SK soldiers who committed an unspeakable act way back in 1997, then covered up the whole incident with a blatant lie and moved on with their lives (those who survived anyway). Fast forward to the present day, the cover up resurfaces to bite them in the ass. Add in a couple of story arcs regarding a revenge plot aided by rabies mutation, a NK defector baby who grew up to become a SK soldier that happens to be romantically linked to a conscripted dog handler, both of whom get drafted into a Special Forces’ team filled with team mates serving various hidden agendas, for searching the source of mutated rabies infection. This is set in a sleepy village full of generic countryside folks except for an ex-commando housewife with very lethal skill set and a troubled past, situated right next to the DMZ. All this transpires amidst an underlying political conspiracy during the SK Presidential elections. Sounds convoluted? That’s because it really is.

The premise of Search is certainly not new and bears very close resemblance to the 2016 SK movie, Musudan. The main differences being the fleshed out romantic entanglement, involvement of military combat canines, the presence of a highly skilled civilian and the inclusion of the politics. This drama might as well have been designated the sequel to the parent story.

This is a typical OCN drama that deals with a dark subject matter. It’s generally well made with visibly high production values and reasonably good acting by the main cast. I found the show relatively entertaining for the most part over the course of only 10 episodes. There were some really good moments that were off set by certain things that could have been done better.

The Positives
The main cast comprising Jang Dong Yoon (the “pretty girl” in Tale of Nokdu), Krystal, Yoon Park, Lee Hyun Wook, Moon Jung Hee (Vagabond’s Jessica Lee) and Yoo Sung Joo acted their roles well enough, with the script they were given. Yoon Park and Hyun Wook’s portrayal of complex multidimensional characters with questionable allegiances and motives were particularly intriguing. It’s never easy depicting conflicted “semi-antagonists” as opposed to protagonists or outright villains. Krystal did a good job playing a strong and smart female soldier (technically KCST), and I always appreciate strong FL characters being depicted in dramas.

The action sequences, including the confrontation and shootout with the NK border patrol, the hunt for the “target” and the subsequent set-up of the ambush, as well as the search and rescue of a missing person, were well executed with military precision, via the coordinated use of dramatic BGM, frantic pace, (surprisingly) steady camerawork and the sheer display of firepower by the soldiers.

The scenes involving the extremely gorgeous military dogs (Dutch Shepard breed, if I’m not mistaken) Leo and Mac were fantastic and refreshing to see. Most of the time, they steal the scenes from their human counterparts.

The Negatives
For a drama this convoluted and running at only 10 episodes, there were moments where boredom seeped in. The plot and sub-plots were not that complicated to follow but felt dragged out more than was necessary. There was even time for some fillers and goofy humour in between the action and dramatic events. Apart from some induced scare moments, the momentum from the intensity of chasing the target(s) wasn’t evenly sustained throughout and hence sorely lacked any prolonged sense of suspense.

The characters weren’t sensibly written. I could accept the ridiculous storyline and go with it for entertainment sake but the unrealistic portrayal of the SK military is quite annoying. No doubt a conscript is not part of the regular personnel, but repeated insubordination and blatant disregard for the chain of command, and worse still, the tolerance of it makes the so-called Special Forces a joke, even if it’s fictional. Many people have been conscripted for military service and nobody behaves in such a manner, because it is simply not tolerated and tantamount to court martial. Worse case scenario, such indiscipline might even cause irreparable harm during any military op.

SK has one of the most technologically advanced weaponry and combat-ready forces operating in one of the most volatile borders in the world. Instead, in addition to the earlier mentioned insubordination, we also have personnel who wear make up while on active duty in a combat situation, the CO and his deputy frequently debating operational decisions in front of the entire team before/during/ after an op, equipment that either doesn’t function or breaks down in the middle of an op, border guards who fail to prevent a 7 year old kid (at least, that’s what I think her age is) from walking right into the DMZ, among other observations. If the military really was this inept, NK would have no problems launching a successful invasion. But then again, the NK soldiers in this show were depicted as even more incompetent, so I guess that evened out the odds after all.

Episode 3 is a strange one - it is the only episode that attempted a flashback sequence to add to the dramatic effect. This is quite common especially in US sci-fi drama series which usually works well because it is written in a series episodic format (eg a story arc within an episode). The problem here is that the plot is serialized (the story arc covers more than just the one episode) and it attempted one flashback too many. The timeline kept flashing back and forth to the point everything was messed up and confusing as heck. I’m just glad this attempt was made in only one episode instead of the entire 10 episodes.

Overall
Despite feeling somewhat letdown by the weak script, illogically written characters and the predictable outcome, Search still kept me entertained especially once I stopped taking it seriously from episode 4 onward. The key lies in managing your expectations and suspending more than a modicum of disbelief while you’re watching this.

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