Mouse (2021)

Is it psychopath or the idea of psychopath that’s more haunting?

Blending barriers between the world of sci-fi and the realm of thrilling and gore-y realm, Mouse surfaces as somewhat a unique and intriguing Kdrama. As wild as it gets, the fantasy side of Mouse seems unrealistic by the books. Brain transplant is one of the surgeries that has never succeeded in real medical world. However, this drama excavate the uncertainty of that surgery into such damnable plots on top of wrecked plus wretched characters. In between those many many characters, the spotlight dims onto notable psychopaths (by genetics), which this drama revolves around.

Mouse started with a bang. The premise is rationally convincing although it is nowhere near realistic (psychopaths have hereditary genetics). Honestly, the pilot episode alone stood out and could've been a single movie. As the series jumped into the next 5 episodes, we began to learn our characters step-by-step although with murders going on. Things started to shift after Bareum's surgery. We were able to notice change in his behavior and surroundings being far fetched from the first 6 episodes. While his memory was still not fully intact, he's collecting puzzle pieces to be aligned, thus gathering everyone once again to reveal the truth.

As Mouse itself is a heavy plot-driven drama, it became a problem when the plot stuck with no progress. That was my problem during episode 7-13. These middle chunk of the series spread puzzle pieces like easter eggs through the bushes, many of them. Does it sound interesting? Yes. Was it actually interesting? Not so much. The problem is most of those puzzle pieces open new cases rather than adding new informations to the main case. It was all over the place. Well some of them were helpful and/or interesting: Dr. Daniel Lee, Oh Bongyi and Kang Duksoo, Detective Konam and cat tooth — the rest could be retold with a summary: Woo Hyungchul, Lee Jaeshik, and Kim Byungtae. I dragged myself watching those cerebral episodes as they didn’t really came off as entertaining. Thus being said, the middle part could’ve been trimmed and would’ve resulted a more compact 16-episode drama rather than a hefty 20.

The pacing of Mouse started to picked up again on the last third, reciprocating everything from the start. The creators were surprisingly consistent with the over-the-top delivery of the main plot (its backstory, recent past, and present). (Oh, watch Mouse: The Predator after Episode 15 by the way, most scenes are skippable as they were repeated but it gave new perspective). While I love the “main” twist and everything karma wise, something about OZ organization still irks me. The idea of “the bigger forces controlling things” felt cliched and unoriginal. Yet from that, the characters can step in and deliver the message to not spark a fire to the fuel. Psychopaths can be dangerous, but the people triggering them and protecting their crimes are worse.

Despite the consistency that Mouse centered on the seven deadly sins murder, the show had some subplots that were all tied yet felt dragged to be added. There might not be a room for romance here yet there were baits that can be seen as a filler within the main characters. Cho Hongju’s family plot felt not so remarkable as they dropped the premise and was remain untied until the very end. Some other psychopaths (as were mentioned before) felt like a filler. And The OZ, welp. Another thing, I found it a little strange that all of the psychopaths are male as the show did not explain in advance that the gene was only inheritable towards male individuals.

Now let’s talk about the characters, especially the main four. As this drama centered on Jung Bareum (Lee Seunggi), his arc was nearly terrific. The character development could not have been any better in this sci-fi thriller drama, and it would not have been delivered perfectly without his standout acting. (You can clearly sense his outstanding performance in Mouse: The Predator). Go Muchi (Lee Heejoon) is another amazing character. The tough main detective may have malicious intentions in the name of justice, but deep inside he was just a kind-hearted man. Contrary to the men, the female characters were not as spectacular. Most of the time, Choi Hongju (Kyung Soojin) and Oh Bongyi (Park Juhyun) only helped at certain parts of the drama and felt like a nuisance at other times. Nonetheless, the actresses delivered great performances.

Some supporting elements of the drama were accommodative but not so extraordinary. Most of the scenes happened in the dark (well, it’s a thriller one). I genuinely don’t have a problem with that but some times the shots couldn’t be seen clearly, especially during rainy dark scenes. The music is generally alluring and in line with the plot. They are thrilling but not to the point it was too scary like those horror jump-scare movies. Additionally, I genuinely appreciate the team to not harm any animals within the series and use CGIs that did not came off as tacky at all.

One thing that I would like to point out from Mouse is the ability for viewers to empathize with the psychopath. The writer did a great job in adding layers to pity “a mere” psychopath due to the suppressions that were put against them. Analogical to the real life, everything threatening can be reviewed. Is it really threatening or the idea of it is threatening. In the end, humans tend to go with the flow. Ironically, barked the wrong tree without knowing the real truth.

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Genetic psychopathy real or bluff?

Mouse was a very interesting show I was hooked from the very first episode! The show did a spin never seen before in crime kdramas and left me in suspense without a clue of what could happen which doesn’t happen easily so I loved that aspect! The entire plotline was very thought out and was executed in ways I didn’t even think of when brainstorming theories it’s definitely one of the best crime dramas this year. The entire concept of the show was something never seen before and it was very interesting to watch how they executed this plotline out. Watching this while it aired was definitely a great experience. Massive applause to Seunggi he really nailed the complex role of playing ba reum and it’s by far his best acting role. Ba reum was such a complex and tormented character Seunggi truly did execute the acting of his character very well . All other characters were also amazing! Including the child cast I really applaud all those included in the cast for they played their roles out really well. I loved moo chi and soojin’s character and so many others too :(( . I really think you can’t rate this below a 9.0 cause it’s that good, however, that doesn’t mean that the drama is perfect. I really did not like bong yi’s character and her romance with ba reum was very off putting because of the age gap. Their romance arc should’ve been left out or if they made her less annoying/ older this would’ve actually been a pretty good enemies to lovers (tragic). Also I feel like they could’ve made it slightly shorter (maybe 18 eps(?)) to reduce how some eps dragged a bit. Some people didn’t like how they added brain transplants as it wasn’t realistic,however, that wasn’t the case for me I actually really liked this aspect and it was very unexpected as for the unrealistic part the genetic gene thing was unrealistic from the start and this is a DRAMA btw so I don’t care for how realistic it is as long as it’s good :)) . Overall, it’s a must watch crime drama that you definitely should try out

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This is one of the best psychological thriller drama... Im rating this because it's absolutely deserve at least 9 ... Lee Seung Gi.......... I'm in love with his acting........ Everything in this drama was perfect ... The OST's and background musics are just wowwwwww........
I knew that from bringing that my poor yo han baby was innocent .... I'm thankful to writers and directors for the ending....
This drama didn't make me feel bored for a minute
The story was really good ..
I don't know what to say but one thing I know that this drama is a masterpiece

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My honest opinion

First of all, im a kdrama fan since 2016 and I love watching thriller, mystery, crime and suspense drama... Theres so many good dramas on my list but this one, this one really caught my attention this exceed my expectation! I thought it was just a simple crime drama but nah... This is a masterpiece even tho my head hurts a lot while watching this but in the end.... Its worth it!

. Theres this thing when you'll get tired of a kdrama in the middle because it gets boring BUT one of the biggest twist is what I LOVE FROM THIS DRAMA! I didn't know the lead will be the answer.

I salute to the writer of this drama! This needs to be so popular, and one thing I love not just the storyline but also the actors and actresses here. Lee Seunggi really portrayed the kind and also the killer one that makes me more scared of him. I love how the detective didn't save faces when acting... They're all great actors!

This is amazing! ♥

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spectacular! for me, one of the best dramas of this year!
you don't get bored looking at it!
I recommend watching it and after episode 15 see Mouse The Predator.
I think it's so important that he could have been part of the drama and not as a spinoff!
I loved how we see the world through Ba Reum's eyes!

the story goes on well, it has many plot twists and creates many questions.. in some moments I was confused because there are many victims and names to keep in mind LOL but it's ok!
many events follow one another but all well connected! they show us scenes that bring us doubts about what the role of that character is, how he is connected with others, how does he know some things .. and in the middle of the drama we see the continuation of that same scene that leads us to have a different point of view and clarifies our reasoning ..

an important point of this drama is the acting! they all did a great job! but I got goosebumps with Ba Reum WOW Lee Seunggi was awesome!
his eyes were so expressive, they went from angel to evil naturally! and when he starts to feel emotions .. I felt them all, they reach the heart! I felt the pain, the suffering and the fear as if it were all true!
this work was also done perfectly by Moo Chi (Lee Hee Joon) and BongYi (Park Ju Hyun) with their sad stories.
YoHan is a character that hits right away, he is so mysterious! interpretated very well by Kwon Hwa Woon, with this cold and serious but so fragile character! he didn't deserve everything he went through.
I felt very sorry for him and Ba Reum! YoHan, however, has the possibility of being loved by his girlfriend and his mother even if she has not been able to protect him. instead Ba Reum is seen as scary and remains alone until the end.

what makes their lives hell is the special gene! their mothers are influenced by this and it prevents them from totally loving and understand their childs and making them grow a peaceful and happy life! Daniel created the mess.. LOL!

however I loved everything! 10/10

and the OST! wonderful! I'm still listening a lot to Giriboy's "a rat in the trap"


thank you!

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Not a psychopath apologist but damn it writer-nim!

I love the plot. It spins my head plus I enjoy reading other viewers' theories/thoughts throughout the airing of Mouse. It was fast-paced at the first half which made us want to know what the hell was going on. The second half was more detail-oriented and focused more on that one main character which may lead to the growth of others but going through its ending, it actually made sense. Choi Ran wrote the ending of Mouse better than Black (probably because Black was more into fantasy and quite illogical). Overall, it set a good standard for an anti hero thriller. A heartbreaking closure!

The performance by every actor was phenomenal. Like, one of the best line-up starting from the main characters to side characters. Oh Bong Yi (Park Joo Hyun) was great, I love her despite of her status as a newcomer.

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A UNIQUE THRILLER KDRAMA AND IT WAS WORTH WATCHING

This drama is for you if you like intense plot twists. Every moment you should focus and remember, otherwise it would confuse you later. I guess this aspect also lead some people to dislike the drama and for some others to like the drama because it kept us on our toes on how every character and their actions are getting connected.

The drama is obviously a purely fictional story, where psychopaths are shown as people with no empathy and murderers. but to be frank, there are many people who have tested as psychopaths but in the real world, they live normal lives, they just don't have an understanding of emotions like the rest of us and live normally. but this drama has shown all psychopaths are murderers only. This aspect I didn't like at all, but since this a fictional story I let that slide and enjoyed the drama.

Overall this is a good entertaining drama after all entertainment is the only thing we expect from any drama and this one provides. it is worth watching.

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It's Perfect! (In my humble opinion)

I hate suspense and serial killers☺️ They scare the hell out of me and kept me wide awake at night🤣.

The only thing (or person) that made we watch this movie at first is LSG! And I'm glad that I did. The story is superb! The twists are mind blowing! Every week I'm always looking forward to Wednesdays and Thursdays as the ending of the eposides from episodes were cliff hangers!

It's hard to watch kdramas for a non-korean like me. Keeping up with the plot and remembering the names, especially the victims, are a bit challenging . But this drama is worth every migraine it caused me😍. So start binge watching MOUSE now!

The last episode where moochi and ba reum talked made me cry a river (no sarcasm intentnd) . It's sad that it has finally came to an end.

🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀

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A Disturbing Thriller That Feels a Little too Real

What started off as exciting and thrilling has escalated into relentless violence and disturbing elements. I am the type of person who is interested in psychology, so I found this show to be fascinating in many ways. However, I’ve decided to drop it because of the negative effect it had on my life.

As a Christian and a film major, I have to take extra care in the many films and shows I watch to check how they fit into my standards and mental well-being. If you are anything like me, I found the good in this show to not outweigh the overall evil feeling portrayed. The more I watched and thought about it, the less at ease I felt and less enthused I was to continue. I low-key have had several nightmares because of it.

“Mouse” is truly an intriguing show with psychological and sociological concepts spread throughout with the wonderful production. However, there is no breathing room. The struggle with morality and depiction of such disturbing violence towards adults, children, and animals pushes gratuity.

I made it pretty far, but it’s not worth it to finish; and that’s okay.

As always, my "rewatch value" is simply my entertainment value instead. I also rate not only music but sound. The production team has done a great job so far with this one, so I applaud them and the actors' hard work!

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Complicated but somehow satisfying

This was one complicated drama. It is the only drama that got my brain working too hard till I gave up theorizing.
But the ending and another ending on the special episode shine some lights into the questions I had for the last eps.

First, a standing ovation for the production crew and director. The actors said that the director was very precise on how the story will go on and how they act their characters (kudos to that).

Story wise: It was long , complicated and detailed. But after watching the interviews with the actors and the last extended ending, I get why they had to make it long and detailed. The story line was made so that viewers will be able to understand the whole story (it was told in many different perspectives).

All the main characters deserved standing ovation too.
Lee Seung Gi (Jeong Ba Reum) is really breaking barriers with his acting career. Him playing a serial killer is truly amazing.. the way he portrayed the serial killer sent shivers down my spine. Originally I though he will be the good guy but boy I was so wrong. He fooled viewers really well hiding behind the "good"character. His gazed and eyes when he was revealed to be the serial killer is truly scary.

Kwon Hwa Woon (Sung Yo Han) character was too mysterious and had everyone thinking he was the serial killer. But as we were revealed the truth later on, I took pity on him. He was one of the most pitiful character in the whole drama (the other one is Det. Sang played by P.O. who got wrongly killed off later towards the end). His acting was really good portraying a cold character.

Lee Hee Joon (Ko Moo Chi) scene when he witnessed his brother getting killed was truly heartbreaking. He deserved an award for that scene alone. I'm gonna miss his rough but soft heart character the most. He really is a good actor.

As for the girls... they portrayed their characters well. I sympathized with Bong Yi a alot and I think she forgave Bareum in the end as he was her first love after all.

Overall.. this is one drama that got my brain so tangled up in the theory of who is the real killer.
If you can stomach serial murders story then please watch this. True, all murders are cruelly described but was blurred completely so it won't be too visuals for people to see.
Although I won't watch it again anytime soon.
Hope other people will enjoy this drama as much as I did. ^^

PS: The OST hv some really good song. Check that out as well.

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