Naomi Necro
United States
Această recenzie poate conține spoilere
Tonal Issues & Poor Ending To an Overall Very Promising Series
*SPOILERS*
TLDR; Overall, as a huge fan of Joo Ji Hoon and Jun Ji Hyun, I enjoyed watching this show but felt like the execution and final episode were lacking.
The initial episodes had some tonal issues that bothered me. At the beginning of one episode, viewers are blasted with hard rock music to energize the rescue scenes of the mountain rangers and show how cool and daring they are. Then, not 10 minutes later, we're hearing eerie and beautifully ethereal Icelandic artist Jonsi playing throughout a slowed-down scene of a failed rescue. I loved the more eerie and instrumental songs that would play during extended reels of the forest and angles of smoke and mist. It added to the tonal portions of the show I liked the most (the supernatural side of it).
I feel like the director couldn't quite figure out if he wanted a procedural mountain rescue/murder-mystery type show or a suspense-supernatural murder-mystery type series and I wish it had meshed a bit better. I was also a little perturbed by the pacing of the series as well. The first quarter of the show is a character dump that I enjoyed, but they didn't give enough backstory to Kang Hyun Jo aside from his past military experience and the visions. Meanwhile, we're shown Seo Yi Kang's relationship with her grandma, her parents, her first love, and her childhood growing up. I was much more curious throughout the series over Kang Hyun Jo (despite being a fan of Seo Yi Kang's character overall and her spirited attitude).
I thought their chemistry as main leads were killer. I really wish the romance thread had been expanded a bit more. Especially during the last half of the series leading up to the accident - their chemistry was electrifying whenever they were near (when she touched his knee and he flirtatiously teased her by touching her hand to "make it even.") It was obvious he cared about her more than as just his Sunbae, and I could tell she felt the same during the 2nd half of the show (or perhaps the last quarter).
The reveal at the end was done well, but not surprising. I could tell he was the culprit as early as when Hyun Jo ran into him in the cave in Black Bridge. I may have even had some suspicion beforehand since I wasn't overly surprised. I liked that our conviction over the culprit was often tested when the show would suggest it could be someone else. I wish the series had spent less time showing extended scenes of the forest canopy and walking sequences of Hyun Jo's ghost walking around, and more time on his waking up/rehab-recovery/reunion with Seo Yi Kang. I kept wishing they'd reunite and the romance would have a chance to breathe before the series end, and instead, we're left with a ridiculously short scene of them reuniting on the mountain without a spoken word between them. I also wanted to see Seo Yi Kang's recovery as well, instead of just randomly getting better. I can understand Hyun Jo's recovery since it was the mountain that kept his spirit in limbo from his body to solve the mystery, but Seo Yi Kang got legitimately injured from her accident- how did she miraculously get cured?
Overall, I looked forward to this series and am happy to have watched it, but it did have some issues that left me still wanting at the end. If anything else, I really enjoyed watching Joo Ji Hoon and Jun Ji Hyun for 16 episodes. They're both beautiful, have strong chemistry, and are great actors. Special shout out as well to Oh Jung Se.
TLDR; Overall, as a huge fan of Joo Ji Hoon and Jun Ji Hyun, I enjoyed watching this show but felt like the execution and final episode were lacking.
The initial episodes had some tonal issues that bothered me. At the beginning of one episode, viewers are blasted with hard rock music to energize the rescue scenes of the mountain rangers and show how cool and daring they are. Then, not 10 minutes later, we're hearing eerie and beautifully ethereal Icelandic artist Jonsi playing throughout a slowed-down scene of a failed rescue. I loved the more eerie and instrumental songs that would play during extended reels of the forest and angles of smoke and mist. It added to the tonal portions of the show I liked the most (the supernatural side of it).
I feel like the director couldn't quite figure out if he wanted a procedural mountain rescue/murder-mystery type show or a suspense-supernatural murder-mystery type series and I wish it had meshed a bit better. I was also a little perturbed by the pacing of the series as well. The first quarter of the show is a character dump that I enjoyed, but they didn't give enough backstory to Kang Hyun Jo aside from his past military experience and the visions. Meanwhile, we're shown Seo Yi Kang's relationship with her grandma, her parents, her first love, and her childhood growing up. I was much more curious throughout the series over Kang Hyun Jo (despite being a fan of Seo Yi Kang's character overall and her spirited attitude).
I thought their chemistry as main leads were killer. I really wish the romance thread had been expanded a bit more. Especially during the last half of the series leading up to the accident - their chemistry was electrifying whenever they were near (when she touched his knee and he flirtatiously teased her by touching her hand to "make it even.") It was obvious he cared about her more than as just his Sunbae, and I could tell she felt the same during the 2nd half of the show (or perhaps the last quarter).
The reveal at the end was done well, but not surprising. I could tell he was the culprit as early as when Hyun Jo ran into him in the cave in Black Bridge. I may have even had some suspicion beforehand since I wasn't overly surprised. I liked that our conviction over the culprit was often tested when the show would suggest it could be someone else. I wish the series had spent less time showing extended scenes of the forest canopy and walking sequences of Hyun Jo's ghost walking around, and more time on his waking up/rehab-recovery/reunion with Seo Yi Kang. I kept wishing they'd reunite and the romance would have a chance to breathe before the series end, and instead, we're left with a ridiculously short scene of them reuniting on the mountain without a spoken word between them. I also wanted to see Seo Yi Kang's recovery as well, instead of just randomly getting better. I can understand Hyun Jo's recovery since it was the mountain that kept his spirit in limbo from his body to solve the mystery, but Seo Yi Kang got legitimately injured from her accident- how did she miraculously get cured?
Overall, I looked forward to this series and am happy to have watched it, but it did have some issues that left me still wanting at the end. If anything else, I really enjoyed watching Joo Ji Hoon and Jun Ji Hyun for 16 episodes. They're both beautiful, have strong chemistry, and are great actors. Special shout out as well to Oh Jung Se.
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