Jour Et Nuit (2020)

Great cast and director; weak female character development

This is a good series, but it does sag occasionally because the sequencing can be too long and limp for the actual plot and character development. Not enough attention is given to developing the female leads or the relationships between characters. It puts more emphasis on plot than on character development, but even then the writer leaves too many holes that she continues to spin, and not effectively. However, the series can definitely be recommended for its terrific cast and directors who keep the audience’s attention throughout despite the writer’s occasional oversights.

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Worst drama this year?

ml is like an ex macchina and the only powerful person there , FLs are portrayed as useless af. FL aka seolhyun can't act to save her life, it's actually very unbearable, Jamie aaaah what a waste of Lee chang ah but yeah her character is so badly written that even she can't save it. Definitely would have liked to swap her with 1st fl. For me it's the worst drama or at least in my top 10 but I see some might enjoy it with its flo
aws you just have to skip so much. So really you decide. The best thing about it is that it has come to end. If you are looking for a good solid drama don't waste your time here. Go look somewhere else!

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For lovers of genre

I watched "Awaken" based on VIKI's introduction, expecting a crime thriller maybe in the style of "Flower of Evil" or "The Devil", two series I really adored
At the beginning, I followed with good expectations, thanks to a rather impressive incipit and with intriguing subsequent suggestions, even though the typifications of the main characters were not particularly original (the usual typecasting of the variegated team at work always reminds me of certain Japanese robot cartoons of childhood with the leader, the beauty, the clumsy and the nerd, those things, in short...).

However, as the episodes went on, I began to have more than one doubt about the direction of the series with a growing sense of annoyance, a red alert for a scenario completely different from the initial perspective; getting to the point, the expansion to Sci-Fi and things of this nature I had not really planned for and at that point the interest really dropped exponentially...
I mean, it's not that the story is particularly boring, it's reasonably elaborate and repeatedly tries to revive the attention with impactful cliffhangers, but the problem is that 'Awaken' really does come at a very late stage and smashes open doors from so many previous ones...

With everything we ‘ve had, from 'The X-Files' to 'Stranger Things', via 'Dark Angel' and their many epigones with 'special kids', it's a moment's notice to find yourself in such trite situations that you're able to understand much of the unfolding almost immediately.

The usual secret labs, the usual child-guinea-pigs, the usual mad doctors, between Dr. Frankenstein and the many crazed demiurges in a delirium of omnipotence, perhaps even parents of the aforementioned lab subjects
In overall terms, for fans of the same genre, it is certainly something that can intrigue and involve, but at the same time, for the aficionado with a little knowledge of the material, it is impossible not to notice the incredible accumulation of references, clichés and tired stereotypes that make the nose twitch, as well as the usual holes in the logic that often screw up the elaboration and development of many situations...

And it's a pity, because in my opinion the moral dimension of the story should have been highlighted more, thanks to the excellent performance of the main character Namkoong Min, capable of casting for several episodes the classic shadow of doubt on his true nature; it's also a shame for the little in-depth analysis between our super-child and the really disturbing mad scientist-mother, limited to the last episodes; the same goes for the police-daughter/father-scientist relationship, with an always excellent Kim Chang Wan in a role that would have deserved a better deepening, but then the police daughter (who we are told is also of great merit) really knows practically nothing about her father's work, for all those years! ?

The lead character in the guise of a wanted possible multiple homicide who calmly drives around the city, in defiance of roadblocks, checkpoints, camera recordings or phone interceptions (as seen in so many dramas or movies) is inexcusable, as is the Terminator-turn with the relative moving of trucks with his hands (but why?), with sudden and opportune super-powers...

A comic anthology is the three days wasted by Jamie (by the way, she, Lee Chung Ah, really beautiful -nda) and the nosey reporter waiting for the rain to cease so they can go by boat to the island-laboratory, and then the two 'super-boys' who come and go in a flash, at night, and how do they do it, maybe flying!?

It gets to the end rather tiredly due to the too many twists and turns of the drama with a pretty predictable and practically inevitable ending that leaves that inevitable sense of déjà-vu and general discontent quite marked...
Personally my rating is 7/10, fairly generous, more for the first part of the story and for some of the acting performances:
Of course Namkoong Min who certainly doesn't need me to tell him that (he's a class actor!) and something in the minor characterisations but at the end of the whole affair there are no particular desires left for second viewings...

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Good but lacks some elements that would have made it great

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2020;2021 mystery, action thriller with 16, 70 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

28 years ago an odd series of murders happened in a village that were labeled the “white night” incident. They never fully unravelled why people were committing murder in a gleeful melee. It is happening again and Do Jung-woo (Namkoong Min) who leads a special task force of homicide detectives, is determined to unravel the mysterious events unfolding currently and determine how they tie to the past occurrences. Jung woo is brilliant but unconventional and yet has the admiration of those around him for his ability to discern the nearly indiscernible. At times he knows things that FBI profiler, Jamie Leighton (Lee Chung ah) grows to suspect could only be known by the killer. Jamie was born in South Korea but adopted into an American family and only recently returned to South Korea. She is hired to help the special team in investigating and profiling these unusual cases. Not all is as it seems and as the two very different detectives work together they remember a shared connection they had as children.

Review

This is a good addition to this trope and if you are looking for something that focuses more on crime, mystery and action than romance this is it. It is fast paced and kept me interested the whole way through. I would recommend this to someone that likes crime shows with a supernatural component. It ends well and happy.

Spoilers

The start of the series is very complex with a lot happening so that if you can’t focus completely on it you are likely to miss things. It would lose me sometimes just because I am not one that likes to have to focus that intently for such a long period. For some that complexity would be part of the charm.

The former FBI team member from the United States was not entirely credible. She spoke English well but with such a heavy accent it was hard to believe she spent such a significant amount of time in the United States. It may not have been as big of deal but they emphasized her “Americanness” enough that it highlighted t and not in a good way. I think the script would have been fine if they made it so she went to the US but didn’t make it like she was essentially American.

I was a little irritated that Jamie, and other team members, would not let go of their suspicion that Jung Woo was the culprit when virtually every fact pointed away from him. They were like “yeah he wasn’t there but he probably did it remotely.” Based on what? How did they come to believe so strongly that the lucid dreaming could be influenced remotely?

I get that South Korean ‘s are very filial but totally looking away from a parent that commits the murder of hundreds of innocents? I don’t think even a child that lived in a culture where respect of elders is key could forgive and accept that. And they kept saying/implying if you show remorse then things can just be forgiven. No they can’t. Having seen over 300 Asian series at this point I have seen several where the parent has done something so egregious the children write them off. If committing mass murder isn’t one of them I don’t know what is.

They set a bomb or series of bombs to go off at the secret research facility with a timer set for five minutes. Why? They knew their people and others were in there and should have suspected something could go wrong where they couldn’t get out in that timeframe. There was no program kill switch? These people were brilliant and yet they can’t figure out how to abort the bomb detonation? I found that to be not bey believable as the super geniuses from the program should have been smart enough to undo that trigger and/or to foresee that things could go wrong.

So the super genius level scientists can’t figure out that there is no plan to use their work for the betterment of humanity but rather for a few very elite people? If they had just portrayed that they were really super evil and didn’t care at all that would have been one thing but they made it out like they really thought their work would do good. So they tried to make them more sympathetic characters than I felt they deserved.

It did end well and mostly happy but I really wanted to see the young woman detective and our main guy get together. It was so obvious they had feelings for each other but they danced around that possibility with the plot. And, at the end, she sees him and goes chasing after but he is gone. Like smoke. So it is obvious it is being left open for another season. I don’t like that. Make another season or don’t. Holding your viewers hostage or making them decide how things went after, I don’t like that. I don’t think it was enough to say don’t watch it, but I definitely find the more nebulous endings annoying. I don’t want to tel the story myself, I want you to tell it to me screen writers.

#Awaken

#LeeChungAh

#NoomkoongMin

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Intense, well-written and a bit disturbing

This is a rather intense show to watch. The story is well-written, with a good flow that keeps you hooked. It has a slight sci-fi element to it, and the kids-parts can be a little disturbing.
Note: The synopsis here on MDL is a little inaccurate, I would say.

Brief synopsis per my POV:
30 years ago a village on an isolated island was struck by a terrible tragedy. Now, a series of mysterious deaths of rather prominent people ends up being investigated by police special task force led by Do Jung Woo. He has a brilliant mind, but a rather controversial appearance and behaviour. Criminal profiler Jamie Leighton is called in from the FBI. It turns out both she and Do Jung Woo has a hidden past, and who is really behind the events unfolding, and the deaths? Can the past be "set right"?

Cast:
Namkoong Min as the male lead (Do Jung Woo) is brilliant. I can see similarities in how he portrays this character and his role in The Veil. There was also one scene in particular that made me think of his character in Beautiful Gong Shim. I guess all the roles I have seen him in so far have been characters that are strong individuals and doesn't necessarily conform to society's norms and expectations. As for his portrayal in this series in particular, I found he balanced it well: The thin line between "genius or crazy".

Kim Seol Hyun as police officer Gong Hye Won is convincing. She shows the right amount of righteousness, and more tender moments with her family.

Lee Chung Ah as FBI agent Jamie Leighton was a bit weaker, in my opinion, but that might be due to how her role was scripted. I just found her a bit "too flat" – not all the time, but enough to not be "wowed" by her acting.

Yoon Sun Woo as Moon Jae Wong was good, although his part was somewhat smaller. The shift was just spot on (will not elaborate to not give spoiler).

As for the other supporting cast, there are several strong actors and good performances, so I won't mention in detail.

The storyline:
It is a rather intense story, with some different hints and clues keeping your interest and weaving the story together, sometimes by small surprises. Sometimes more is revealed when scenes seemingly are repeated, so do not skip!
The sci-fi elements to the story isn't apparent straight away, but becomes more prominent as more comes to light.
The story shows how wicked people can become in their quest to pursue own goals.

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? MK Ultra ⚗ Korea Edition °8.7° °Excellent°

“If you take one more step, you will see something so terrible that you will never forget it.” Too late, I'm pretty much there.

Wakey wakey.

28 years ago, under a burning orange conflagration, it opens. There's fire, mayhem, & bodies, strewn everywhere. A boy wanders through the chaos appearing oblivious to the carnage. White Night Village is no more. “I did this...” the boy declares. “I have partial amnesia just like you. All I know is something terrible happened there,” we later hear from a survivor.

🅰 is a 2020 release that is rated 89 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 70-minute episodes. DANGIDY DANG. This show is good. It's the watch that can't be wrong.

The next scene is current day insanity involving 3 box trucks and a police chase. Apparently, some nefarious unknown tipster (“The Architect”) has been auguring about what's about to go down. He appears to be behind a series of 17 robberies.

The robberies were to fund his next endeavor: Murder. Someone's going to die at a party at a nightclub tonight, the note reads. The police aren't able to stop that, either. Is it murder, though? These guys are killing themselves. They weren't suicidal, and they're killing themselves in very strange ways, often by a method that normally frightens them most. Oh, and there's the warning notes. The deaths always follow the cryptic missives. The police believe it's murder.

Namkoong Min (My Dearest) is Do Jung “Woo”. “I see a deep darkness in your eyes,” one cellie opines. He assumed he was talking to another criminal. Woo is a police officer, he's just a little different. He likes to catch a nap in the holding cells every now and then. I haven't seen this actor before. I want to watch something else he's been in to see if he sports that I'm-cool-slouch all the time or not. Someone get this guy a good dentist! He must go through a dozen 🍭 a day. (With Supt. Do around, the bad guys will all be licked). Strangest of all, when Woo causes trouble, why does the General Secretary of the Blue House get involved? Woo is associated with the #113. K-writers don't randomly assign ###; there's always a deeper meaning. 113 is associated with progress, optimism, communication, personal freedom, curiosity, intelligence, adventure, self-determination, sensuality, and self-reliance.

Lee Chung Ah (Because This Is My First Life-7.7, Celebrity, Northern Limit Line) plays the OCD afflicted Jamie Leighton, a special investigator/criminal scientist from 🇺🇲 If you aren't used to East Asian programming, it's common for them to feature people, supposedly from 🇺🇲 who clearly speak with a heavy accent. Her English is completely unconvincing, but that's a minor thing to have to ride along with. She suspects Woo immediately. His intuition is so good that he's more likely to be the culprit. Woo says: ‘Rightbackatcha, babe. That's just what I was thinking about you.’ It's obvious they are drawn to e/o as well, though not on a conscious level at first. On top of that, they each have lost memories from childhood, they are both orphans, and they each have a darkness inside of them. Her # is 114, which extends to family, Independence, exploration, focus, harmony & self-reliance.

Kim Seol Hyun (Summer Strike, My Country: The New Age) portrays Gong Hye Won, one @$$-kickin girl. I love her. She loves Woo, & she actively resists this truth. When she starts to suspect him, she has a conversation with her father, who replies, “We can never truly understand the minds of people… You can't truly know someone, so believe what you want to believe. People's hearts can't be fixed. It's not like your heart does exactly what you tell it to do. Based on every decision we make, everything keeps changing. When people say that everything in life changes, I don't think that it only applies to good things. Even bad things change. If you believe in someone, that can turn a bad man into a good man.” The more I think about that, particularly in the context, the more interesting it gets. The first half of the statement is shown to be entirely true in 🅰, the rest, only partially so. Yoon Sun Woo (Hot Stove League, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart) plays Ryeo Moon Jae Woong/127, a # associated with great intelligence, Exploration, Self-determination, Independence, Self-reliance & Teamwork. He goes through lots of changes and the actor handles them well. Kim Won Hae (Revenant, Black-9, Signal-8.6, Sunny, and so much more) gets to play angry police brass - Deputy Chief Hwang Byeong Chul. I'm a fan. I don't believe I've ever seen him rant on screen before. It was a new look. Baek Ji Won (Be Melodramatic-8.7, Mad for Each Other-7.7, Dream) is Lee Taek Jo, Info Mgmt Director. She gets lots of work because she's good as a strong career woman - not the type to be trifled with. Choi Dae Chul (Ssanahui Sunjeong, Vagabond-8, Inspector Koo-8.4) plays one of the cops. He impressed me enormously in The Golden Spoon-8.1. Lee Shin Young, the pretty boy from Crash Landing on You-9.1, is also on the squad as Ofr Jang Ji Wan.

Choi Jin Ho (The Heirs-7.3, Beyond Evil-7.4) is Son Min Ho. He usually doesn't play a good guy, so it's no surprise he's a big baddie here. Kim Tae Woo is the high level government official of the series, Oh Jung Hwan. He improves every production he's in: He's so SO good. I've seen him in That Winter, the Wind Blows-7, Black-9, The Spies Who Loved Me-4.5, Romance Is a Bonus Book-7.9 & Mr. Queen-9. He always impresses. Ahn Shi Ha (The King: Eternal Monarch-8, Longing for You) plays Ms labcoat, Jo Hyun Hee. Well. She's creepy. The actress indwells her roll to the point of the viewer's unease They actually seem to blacken her eyes in some scenes to make them look like black holes. In ep14 as it closes, she shows up in a vampire red coat. It's super-duper icky.

I think it's a law in Korea that Woo Hyun appear in ½ of the shows made. He plays Jung Soon Gu here. The directors are Jo Soo Won (Pinocchio, Doctor John) and Lee Soo Hyun (Sh**ting Stars). The screenwriter is Shin Yoo Dam of Marry My Husband-7.5.

One theme is that it's the quiet ones you need to watch the most, but the main theme is that we cannot trust powerful people. Power invites corruption and a feeling of superiority. The rules don't apply to superior people, do they? This goes double for politics. “Get this off the trending news and pull down the blinds!” “Then, even fools will know that something is off. If all the information they were reading disappears, it will backfire and they'll become obsessed with it. We are currently managing all the posts on active online forums. It's important to make them think that they're seeing everything. Will gradually take the related items off. Once they are off the list, we'll make sure no one can access them online. We can distract the people without making it look so obvious… Making this story disappear should be easy. There's so much else to see.” The powerful have a discussion on how to distract the public from the truth. And the show is titled: Awaken. A work of fiction? Not all of it. History is riddled with stories (and proof) of heinous corporate and government programs. We'd like to think that's all in the past, but is that truly the nature of people and power? Ask some Africans. They will tell you illegal drug testing on children is a regular occurrence there, they firmly believe.

I grew up firmly believing the 🇺🇸 was a force for good in the world and people are basically decent. I'm not convinced anymore, though. Most people have a sense of decency, but too many don't. The world is full of sociopaths, psychopaths and damaged individuals who hurt others. I'm currently undergoing a serious reevaluation of how I see government and the world. There's so many rumors, reports, and recollections like the ones in this show. People also love attention and love a good story - they'll lie for attention. It really is difficult to sort it out. “Ominous feelings are never wrong,” the show reminds us. The world feels ominous.

🅰 goes even deeper, right into lucid dreams: Believing dreams are real and reality is a dream. Is the author trying to tell us something? “Dreams were meant to be achieved,“ we hear from one of the most coldly /eee-ville/ players. The kids escape the island by using lucid dreams. By causing the adults to believe they were dreaming they opined that some adults would actually want to let the kids go, that they would know what was happening to the kids was wrong and actually help them ~ in their /dreams/ at least. But these adults had let themselves become so depraved, they'd forgotten about the kids long ago! What they were concerned about was resentment and hatred over their own hurt pride. When they thought they were dreaming, they started attacking eachother! It's a very interesting look at the evil side of human nature. It doesn't feel like fiction.

From science and physics and dreams, how can we leave out faith? “Faith is deemed unscientific. But the question is what separates the scientific from the non-scientific? In 1814, Laplace said that if someone could determine the location and momentum of every atom, using physics, they'd explain everything that happened in the past, what is happening at the present, and what will happen in the future. The areas which most people deem unscientific are considered to be within a realm of science to the people who realize this. That's why I'm going to take a scientific approach.” 🅰 covers it all, primordial soup to lollipops.

There aren't many survivors of the fated inferno that wiped out the facility 28 years back. Woo meets one who is in dire need of medical treatment. “I'd rather die than have them take me back,” she moans. The underlying premise of the show is heartbreaking. One of these poor, lost children decides to be an enforcer for his oppressors when he's older. He's decided to side with power; what he thinks is the winning side. “You decided to become their hunting dog,” Woo accuses. 99 is associated with this person and corresponds with humanitarianism, compassion idealism & tolerance. Will this person change course? He's become a plantation overseer. Unfortunately, this mentality is too common for weak and selfish minded individuals. If we all stood up together against evil, it wouldn't have a chance. Weak decision makers like this are those who enable evil. “You gave up seeing right and wrong. Who's going to respect that?” Our ML doesn't parse words.

When 2 individuals with a combined IQ north of 350 have a conversation, we might learn a new word or two. 🅰 teaches us a great new word: floccinaucinihilipilification, which is the estimation of something as worthless & making something worthless by evaluating it as such. For u word geeks out there: “floc·ci·nau·ci·ni·hil·i·pil·i·fi·’ca·tion” or “floxy noxy nih hill ih pill ih fih ‘cay shun”. I can't wait for the chance to use it! There's some laughs, though probably not enough. They have typical fun with typical jokes about the ME and the autopsy room. “Can we disregard rank for a moment?” Woo’s underling wants to know. Then she slugs him😅. There's a love story tucked in there. It's beautiful.

🅰 isn't beautiful, but it's deep, layered, and meaningful programming - the good programming meant to counter the bad programming. I recommend a heavy dose.


QUOTE📢

Death is the only thing that's fair to everyone.

Once you decide you're going to lose you don't get mad at anything, anymore.

That's a mental illness, you know. You think you're some important person when you're just being exploited. I guess since you got nothing going for you in life, that'll keep you sane.


〰🖍 IMHO

📣8 📝9 🎭8.5 💓6 🦋🎨7.5 🎵/🔊8.4 🔚8 🤗6 ▪ 🌞3 ⚡6.8 😅3 😭5 😱8 😯3.5 🤢5 🤔10 💤0

Age 16+ The subject matter is very serious and could be disturbing, especially for kids.

Rated TV-15


Re-📺? All-in


In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

💘:
Mad For Each Other-7.7,
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
Oh My Ghost 10,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Because This Is My First Life-7.7,
Law School -8,
Anna-8.1,
My Mister 9.5


⚡/🚀 -
Flex X Cop-8.5,
Big Mouth-7.4,
K2 8,
Han River Police-7.4,
Private Lives 8.1,
The Golden Spoon-8.1,
Inspector Koo-8.4,
Uncanny counter season-1 only °S1-8.4 S2-4,
Vagabond-8,
Sisyphus 8,
Beyond Evil-7.4,
Tunnel 8.5,
When the Camellia Blooms-8,
Signal 8.6,
Why Her?-8,
Mine-8,
Blood Free-8.5,
D.P.-8.4,
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
Mother-8.8,
Iris-8,
Parasite-9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
The Wailing-8.8,
Black 9,
Squid Game 8.4,
Kingdom 8.3,
Sweet Home 8.4


Dark government programs -

🇺🇲:
Death to Smoochy-8.8
Stranger Things-8.6 (S1-3)
Split-7.8
Gattaca
Altered Carbon S1-9

🇯🇵:
Assassination Classroom-9
Psycho Pass-8.6

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Ups and downs in an overall decent drama

This drama goes through essentially 3 different stages so it's hard to talk about it as a whole. The first part is the classic murder mystery with a serial killer who seems to be able to do the impossible. It's pretty interesting and I liked how the story was evolving case by case. After about a third of the drama, the story changes and it becomes very fractured. Essentially it's like the table was flipped and now the pieces are all scattered. Characters get moved around and the status quo is broken in order to have some of the characters discover things on their own. Eventually they come all together for the last third of the story in a somewhat solid resolution. The last episode has some issues that trip it up and logically there were different ways for the story to unfold in the finale. Overall I would say that the first half is pretty interesting, second half also has some good plot reveals and twists, and the third half barely is able to make it all wrap up. My biggest critique is that there weren't palpable stakes. The actions of any of the villains were always against a third party or another villain. Very rarely were they actually acting against the main characters and there were very few moments where I felt there was real danger.

Another thing was that I just finished Kill It which had some very similar themes to this drama. That was a mistake in my opinion as I started getting details from both dramas mixed up.

Surprisingly I would say this is one of Nam Goong Min's weaker acting performances. There were moments where he shine or was given room to actually perform. But the moments where he was acting smarter than everyone else started to get boring for me. Seolhyun wasn't amazing but she gave a decent performance. Nothing to noteworthy besides Lee Chung Ha as I thought she has some really unique character traits in the first half of the drama. It got kinda lost as the story started centering mainly around Nam Goong Min's character.

Overall, solid watch and a good drama. Things could have been different or better in my opinion. If you want something that has a little bit more of a punch to it, dramas like Stranger are far superior in mystery and stakes.

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A Good Series That Missed The Opportunity To Be Truly Incredible!

“Awaken” is a series with an interesting premise. One that seems to be part James Cameron’s “Dark Angel” and part horror of Nazi Germany where some of the most horrific medical experiments were conducted on Jews and other races thought to be inferior. While the series works as a whole, for the most part, it teeters between being a mystery/thriller and being a “moral compass” for those who commit unspeakable atrocities against others for the sake of science. And in some ways, the series comes up short on both.

Superintendent Jung Woo Do is a brilliant detective who heads the Police Special Agency’s special unit. At first, we’re given a glimpse into a man who’s quirkiness is merely the superficial layer of a man who’s like a Jason Bourne: he’s always thinking several moves ahead of everyone else. And while, we admire his intelligence, we also find that there’s a reason for it.

Go back 28 years to White Night Village, a locale on a remote island where horrifying medical experiments were conducted on orphan children for the sake of finding a drug that would slow/eradicate the aging process. Thanks to a young Jung Woo Do, he destroyed the village with only a few survivors as we find that Jung Woo Do is a man with more than a few exceptional abilities. Still, the very idea of scientists experimenting with children should be more than enough to stop anyone’s blood cold.

Jump to the present, and we find that the experiments from 28 years ago are being conducted again with top politicians and people in the higher echelons of society are also taking part for the hope of the miracle drug that will grant immortality.

Dr. Jamie Leighton is a Korean American who is a part of the FBI’s BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit), and one of the FBI’s elite. She finds herself summoned back to Korea to investigate a series of bizarre murders. Unfortunately, she also ends up being the weakest character of the series. She makes amateur mistakes that no FBI agent would ever make, not to mention that her English is heavily accented, which would also be an issue. Especially for someone who essentially grew up in the U.S. It seems that she’s more of a liability than anything else as she’s captured three times throughout the series. By the end of the series, we’re left to wonder what the point of her character was—aside from being a survivor of White Night Village.

To complete the trio, we have Lt. Gong Hye Won, who is a very capable police officer. She’s rash and has a hot temper. She’s also quite effective in hand-to-hand combat. It also becomes clear that she has feelings for Jung Woo Do, despite the fact that he really doesn’t feel the same. Gong Hye Won soon finds out that her own father is one of the principal scientists involved in the medical experiments. At first, she follows him, trying to figure out why he’s always at work. But when she finds out what he’s really up to, and that children are dying because of his experiments, she tries to talk to him. This is understandable—at first. I’m not exactly sure how Gong Hye Won’s character becomes so skewed, as she’s far more interested in trying to be diplomatic with her father than forcing him to account for the murders of innocent children, even after it’s more than apparent that her father doesn’t feel the slightest remorse of his actions because he firmly believes it’s all in the name of science. Nazi German doctors all but said the same thing. That didn’t make them any less of the monsters they truly were. Gong Hye Won is a huge disappointment where this is concerned. If the murders of children aren’t enough to get you to do what’s right, then I’m not sure what could.

While the immoral actions of the murders of children are addressed, it ultimately ends up taking a backseat to Jung Woo Do trying to discover who’s behind the experiments rather than trying to save the children as being in conjunction with the overall mission. There are a few scenes where Jung Woo Do—of all the characters—displays the most concern and outrage, but not much is done beyond that to try and save children who are still being slaughtered.

Namkoong Min (Jung Woo Do) is easily the best actor of the series, turning in a marvelous performance as the extremely intelligent and often quirky superintendent. The series takes some delight in making the viewer wait to see Jung Woo Do’s full complement of abilities, which makes him out to be like a superhero. He reminds me of Max from “Dark Angel.”

The end of the series is a little far-fetched and a slight letdown as Jung Woo Do and everyone confronts the mastermind and the scientists behind the experiments. And yet, there is really no acknowledgment about what was going on to the community at large. We have the reporter who leaks the story, but there are no scenes of public anger about what has happened or anything describing the experiments and the cost of the lives of so many children. I was even waiting to see if the Blue House would make some kind of announcement. Instead, the end was more about Jung Woo Do’s disappearance, Dr. Leighton finally going home—for all the good she did—and Gong Hye Won’s promotion.

The writers had a real opportunity to address and acknowledge the atrocities of the story, but they didn’t have the courage to go there, which is a real shame. This series could have been thought-provoking and asked for some serious soul-searching, but this doesn’t happen. All in all, the series is certainly entertaining, but it misses out on the chance to delve much deeper than it ended up doing.

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Mediocre, Had Some Fun Moments

Lee Shin Young and Woo Hyun's characters took the cake for me: Jang Ji Wan was the ditzy but well-intentioned crybaby sidekick that I find really endearing when juxtaposed with competent female colleagues. I'll admit it helped that he's horribly cute. Meanwhile, Jung Soon Gu was such a silly, over-acted character and I couldn't help but giggle at his facial expressions. The plot was somewhat novel to me, with the whole White Night Village experimentation and lucid dreaming thing.

Besides that, I found a lot of the drama fell flat. The acting from main guy, third child, and American girl were pretty rocky, though a lot of that could be due to bad directing. I didn't find Seolhyun's acting too bad, but that might be my affinity for her in AOA speaking. The characters weren't that interesting nor had much depth, including the villains. Do Jeong Woo was such a cocky, annoying character that I never really cared about him. I felt like the story got convoluted and uninteresting after around the middle. Ending was jarringly unsatisfying, though maybe that was amplified by how they did not leave time for you to take in the emotions of the quiet last scene before blasting full volume right into that cheesy outro song and stills from the show.

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