Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
A slow enticing mystery that ends on a disappointing note
If you love slow-moving mystery stories with cinematic visuals, this drama would probably catch your attention. If there is anything that could distinguish this drama from others, it would definitely be the directing style and camera work. The unusual camera angles, the entry to each scene, the dark and sometimes black and white perspective to indoor settings but the colorful charming perspective to outdoors, especially "the garden where secrets lie" were thoughtful and do serve the scenes and the story well. I won't call it beautiful but it is satisfying to watch. It also helps in sending eerie signals here and there, along with the soundtracks, although that mightn't last because of the exceedingly slow build up of events that needed more escalation at times to spice up the mystery (having only 8 episodes could make up for this though).
The performance of the three leads counts as well. The silent beauty of Joo Ran (Kim Tae Hee) who sounds like a docile housewife but still gives off a mysterious feeling that keeps her persona in question. The character of Jae Ho (Kim Sung Oh) who keeps you thinking back and forth of whether he is a faithful good or a controlling bad husband. and the sly portrayal of Sang Eun's character who sounds too pitiful but at the same time too spiteful to sympathize with, honestly, Im Ji Yeon was my favorite here although I'm not necessarily a fan. So, characters were quite well-written however not always well-developed (like her neighbor's)
The story itself is not new, it kicks off with a weird stench coming from the garden of a wealthy family's house then it digs into a possible dead body, murders and extortion but it does offer interesting themes like physical and emotional abuse and the hostility between the rich and the poor; some people even mentioned parasite and it really gives off a similar feeling at times.
All those elements kept me invested in the story and waiting for the final reveal which was rather dissatisfying.
*This part contains spoilers*
And here we go to babble about the downside of this drama, so many whys and a seriously questionable behavior of Joo ran in the finale that just wastes the potential of whatever her character was supposed to be!! why did she do what she did??? what were her true intentions? to kill her husband? to get rid of both him and sang eun? did she just change her opinion midway? no plausible answer can get to my mind and no answer comply with the final message or with how she was actually trying to save Sang Eun cause both of them could have easily got killed. I believe the writer could have conveyed the same message with a smarter and cleaner ending. That's all? no. There were some real stupid police moments all along and how come the husband was charged for Yun Boem's murder at the end when there's absolutely no evidence against him? Why is Ju ran even blamed for her sister's murder? I don't get it. I'd have also loved if there was more elaboration on the tension between Jae ho and his father and the context of him getting closer to and marrying Ju ran which would have gave us better understanding to the nature of the relation between them and how they came to that state, and guess what? there was more than enough time to reveal that.
All in all. The drama could be enjoyable for those who don't get easily frustrated by slow-burns. I would recommend it if you want to watch something a bit different in mood than most dramas, but I still can warn you of a bit underwhelming resolve.
The performance of the three leads counts as well. The silent beauty of Joo Ran (Kim Tae Hee) who sounds like a docile housewife but still gives off a mysterious feeling that keeps her persona in question. The character of Jae Ho (Kim Sung Oh) who keeps you thinking back and forth of whether he is a faithful good or a controlling bad husband. and the sly portrayal of Sang Eun's character who sounds too pitiful but at the same time too spiteful to sympathize with, honestly, Im Ji Yeon was my favorite here although I'm not necessarily a fan. So, characters were quite well-written however not always well-developed (like her neighbor's)
The story itself is not new, it kicks off with a weird stench coming from the garden of a wealthy family's house then it digs into a possible dead body, murders and extortion but it does offer interesting themes like physical and emotional abuse and the hostility between the rich and the poor; some people even mentioned parasite and it really gives off a similar feeling at times.
All those elements kept me invested in the story and waiting for the final reveal which was rather dissatisfying.
*This part contains spoilers*
And here we go to babble about the downside of this drama, so many whys and a seriously questionable behavior of Joo ran in the finale that just wastes the potential of whatever her character was supposed to be!! why did she do what she did??? what were her true intentions? to kill her husband? to get rid of both him and sang eun? did she just change her opinion midway? no plausible answer can get to my mind and no answer comply with the final message or with how she was actually trying to save Sang Eun cause both of them could have easily got killed. I believe the writer could have conveyed the same message with a smarter and cleaner ending. That's all? no. There were some real stupid police moments all along and how come the husband was charged for Yun Boem's murder at the end when there's absolutely no evidence against him? Why is Ju ran even blamed for her sister's murder? I don't get it. I'd have also loved if there was more elaboration on the tension between Jae ho and his father and the context of him getting closer to and marrying Ju ran which would have gave us better understanding to the nature of the relation between them and how they came to that state, and guess what? there was more than enough time to reveal that.
All in all. The drama could be enjoyable for those who don't get easily frustrated by slow-burns. I would recommend it if you want to watch something a bit different in mood than most dramas, but I still can warn you of a bit underwhelming resolve.
Cet avis était-il utile?