Which is why I ultimately felt the need to write a review to justify my rating.
An extremely detail-oriented drama with incredible and emotional acting is how I would describe it. Each episode felt like a rollercoaster ride with new twists and turns you did not expect nor have time to anticipate. Settings, props and extra characters were used so purposely and artistically that by the end of watching this drama, I looked around my study area to see what bits of evidence and signs of my daily life I leave behind each day. Of all the police/detective dramas I have seen so far, I've never truly wanted, NO wished more for these characters to be real, to come out from my laptop screen and solve the cold cases in my world.
As other reviews have commented, the acting was phenomenal. From the main cast to the very young actors portraying difficult roles to the nearly insignificant extras, the ENTIRE cast's acting was so palpable, so tangible and so utterly perfect.
I'd be hugely mistaken to leave out the script or the writer in this review. A part of why this drama is so beloved is because of the storyline. Everything is planned out in such organized detail I cannot even begin to imagine how long it took to come up with the script and how many times they must've checked it over and over to make sure everything aligned. All of the cases investigated cover the hot issues often involved in cold cases. These hot issues in part are a reason we as the public are so enthralled by cold cases. "How on earth did ____ get away with such a horrible crime?!" The drama does a good job of sticking up for the little guy, avoid victim blaming and placing responsibility is those that need it, all the while offering us a tantalizing investigative thriller.
Where could this drama improve? A very difficult question to answer, but one place they could start with is allowing their characters to have human memory. I noticed that the characters had very good memory (for the most part, excluding the depression-serial killer arch and the surviving witness...). In fact, their memory was so good that they were able to remember infinitesimal details in their surroundings that eventually gave them clues and leads. It was just jarring enough for my suspension of disbelief to fall through occasionally. But I suppose one could argue that they are detectives and are supposed to be on the look out for these kinds of things anyway.
One other thing, and this is just coming from my feminist nit-pickiness but Cha Soo Hyun, though a notable cop in her own right, was never all that critical to the storyline. In the beginning she had a substantial role but near the end she was almost just a love interest? If they took her character out entirely, the storyline as a whole would not have changed too much. She did not help propel the story forward substantially and acted mostly as a support role despite being a main character. I just wished she had as much impact as the two male leads did. (Message me if you disagree, would love a second opinion!)
I also did not give the re-watch value a ten because often times, investigative thrillers are so thrilling because you don't know what will happen next. But I still gave it a high re-watch value because there are so many other reasons for why it would still be interesting to watch a second time through, one being that you could notice the little details planted in each scene you may not have on the first watch.
Finally the OST: the signature old-timey theme was complemented so well with the musical choices and even now, weeks after having completed the drama, I still get chills listening to the theme song.
It's funny because this is a drama I kept looking at and saving in my "plan to watch," but never actually starting. I don't know why I was so apprehensive. If you are feeling the same way, just dive in. I promise, you will not regret it.
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This review may contain spoilers
quite consistent for a drama that involves an elaborate past and present timeline
most of the dramas that ive watched which revolves around a past and present timeline confused me, there were obvious plot holes, or sometimes the older/younger versions of the characters were inconsistent but in signal i didnt really felt that way. i find it satisfying how they connected things that happened in the past and the future. i was kinda afraid when i realized that they might be reviving some characters that are already dead or killing characters that were originally alive because things might start not making sense but i think they did a good job navigating those part of the story like everything still fits even after the changes. i also like the way they presented (?) the cases because sometimes in dramas that involves crimes they give off documentary vibes and i dont really appreciate that way of direction. im very heartbroken for haeyoung's brother because the real culprit behind the crime that he was framed for was never punished. imo, not only the main villain (kim bumjoo) but a lot of other wrongdoers in this drama were not punished enough and that's really the only thing that i didnt quite liked about this drama. when it comes to jaehan's character for me i will be glad if he survived or even if he didnt. both scenarios makes sense to me. tho it was a very open ending so i kinda want but also not want a second season. all in all, i highly recommend this drama if you havent watched it yet tho its very heavy emotionally and mentally so just take it slow maybe.Was this review helpful to you?
A very good plot with decent social commentary
Okay, before I get crucified for the 6.5, I still did enjoy this. The three leads were fantastic, the social commentary was good, and as a lover of all time-related media, it was really exciting to see how everything was tied together.But I think my expectations may have been a little too high.
While the first episode did grab my attention with the mystery and tension it instilled, the pacing slowed down afterwards. I was most interested in the points where the stories were personal — the first case, the kidnapping reveal, and the overarching disappearance of Lee Jae-Han. While the social commentary was decent and well-written, it really does just scratch the surface and kind of just iterates the same commentary about corruption and power. As a result, I enjoyed the other cases but think they could've been shortened, which would have given us more screentime for the main plot about Lee Jae-Han and more importantly, more time to wrap up the story.
With that being said, I think my favorite part of time travel and time manipulation stories are moments where you get to see alternate timelines, and I don't think the show ever explored the possibilities to its fullest potential, opting instead for small changes. Instead, they did that common kdrama thing where they have the big plot point happen in the penultimate episode. It was only until the 15th episode where I finally saw what I wanted to see, and I didn't get nearly enough time with it.
Now, with THAT being said, the ending. I found myself, unfortunately, watching the clock the entire last episode, wondering how they would be able to wrap it up in the little amount of time left. As the minutes ticked by I started dreading that they wouldn't be able to. And yep — the ending unfortunately left a lot to be desired.
Ultimately, I didn't really emotionally connect to this story as much as I wanted, though I still definitely give the actors and writers all their flowers. Like I said, the three leads were great, but I didn't really feel the sense of camaraderie between the entire team (which I loved in other dramas like Tunnel and Life on Mars), and as someone who cares a lot about endings, it feels less like an "open ending that lets viewers use their imagination" and more like the show was missing an episode.
Overall, still a good watch, and if they do a second season, I'd be completely down for it.
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The Good:
Signal expertly weaves a story that spans decades. The writers use a circular narrative structure to pull the audience in while not revealing too much about the past while the audience and main characters are in the present. Had they not done this I don't think the time manipulation that is so central to what makes Signal work would have been effective. The plot in general is well structured and well crafted. Every episode left me waiting impatiently to start the next and the way the different cases were interwoven gave the audience much to figure out as more details were revealed. The cinematography too is excellent. The mood, tone, and ambiance of the drama is expertly achieved and adds to the storylines by alerting the audience to a scene's overall feel before any dialogue is spoken. The acting too is excellent on almost all fronts. The three main leads especially deserve praise for their emotionally impactful and gripping performances. Personally, I felt that Jo Jin Woong carried this drama. He was beyond amazing as Lee Jae Han and without his performance I don't think the drama would have been as successful and popular as it is.
The Bad:
My main gripe with this drama is with its villains. Early on there are hints of a bigger bad guy than just the perpetrators of the crimes being investigated in each episode. When he is finally revealed it was not shocking and that was okay with me as I felt that he has been built up and foreshadowed well by the writers and so the audience was already predisposed to dislike him. However, this character remains so one dimensional throughout the drama that I felt like I was watching a villain from an old James Bond film. I wanted to know more about his motivations, his character, and maybe see some growth or doubt. None of that came. The character remained stagnant with no deeper motivations or character traits beyond greed. The villain was also strikingly immoral in a way I feel that few actual human beings are. What made the villain stand out as being poorly written for me was how well the writers had done with portraying the inner worlds and motivations of the lesser villains. The perpetrators of the weekly crimes had more interesting backstories and story arcs than the antagonist. This was evidence to me that the writers could write bad guys well and simply failed to do so with our main antagonist. I also took issue with the way Park Hae Young's profiling technique was utilized. His prowess for catching the bad guy was almost otherworldly and to pin all this skill on his talent for profiling seemed highly unrealistic. He was just too good at his job for it to be realistic. I felt that Lee Jae Han's detective techniques and skills were much more realistic and better fit the realism of the story.
Overall Signal was great. It was well written and gripping. However, the antagonist was poorly written and plot devices to move the story along sometimes were too obvious. I would recommend this drama to anyone who likes both the crime and time travel genres. It is not a thriller but it is well paced and leaves you feeling satisfied with its conclusion.
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A masterpiece.
That's it. That's the review. Signal is a masterpiece. Anything which follows is flavour text.If I were asked to recommend a show to someone who had never seen an Asian drama before, Signal would be the recommendation. I'm at a loss for how best to even describe it, as I don't feel like any of the words I could give would do the series justice. In my opinion, Signal has one of the most unique stories I believe I have ever come across on television - definitely within the crime/detective genre, anyway - and it paces itself so well and so confidently that I'm worried it's set the bar too high for me to appreciate any dramas I watch after this.
Every single actor - lead, side or extra - gives every scene their all. You feel your gut wrench or your heart pound as characters are thrown again and again into these intense, impossible situations that sometimes do not have a fairytale ending. You may have seen other reviewers talk about how much they cried watching this, and I am no exception. Some of the cases the detectives are tasked to solve are harrowing, particularly when they are of personal importance to a main character. But the acting is so stunningly good that you cannot help but empathise completely with what each character is going through, regardless of the morality or soundness of their decisions.
For me, this series is a perfect illustration of why it's so important to give more older actors lead roles. The level of acting you are treated to is just unparalleled, and I firmly believe that this series would not have been the same without the seasoned, top-level performances that these veteran actors brought. The lead actress in particular won several national awards for her incredible performance in this series.
Although I wouldn't listen to the OST outside of this drama, I've given music a 10 as each song fit its selected scene like a glove. You can tell a lot of care went into the placement of the music throughout this series. Rewatch value is the only non-perfect score at 9.0, as to me the final episode started to outstay its welcome towards the end. However, this alone was not enough for me to drop any of the other scores from perfect.
TL;DR Signal is, to me, the true definition of a masterpiece. I enjoyed every second of it, and hope you do too.
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Signal excels the most in two categories: the plot and the characters.
The plot was surprisingly deep, well-written, and was executed brilliantly. The time manipulation aspect was not corny or cliched.
The characters took some time to develop and to understand completely. The show does a great job of showing perspectives of other characters and revealing backstories to create character depth.
The only weak aspect of the show was the slow pacing, which works well for character development, but not so much for plot progression. Some of the aspects of the main plot are easily forgotten after being dragged on for several episodes.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this show!! Check it out and let me know if there are any other shows that are similar.
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time travel emg memusingkan.
oke ini aku nikmati banget si. cuma aku suka sama yang kasus kasus beda gitu, lebih excited aja gitu rasanya dan juga time travel masih bisa dipahami walaupun kadang agak ga ngeh ini tuh jaman kapan. nah kalau untuk kasus yg utamanya, aku agk kurang suka. belibet banget karena time travel nya. aku gapaham, misal adegan 1 ni trus ke adegan 2 eh balik lagi ke adegan 1. jujur ak tak paham betul-betul konteksnya. trus terakhirnya ga terlalu dijelasin detail bgt kejadiannya. hppy ending sbnrnya cuma mungkin bisa ditambahin minimal mrk jumpa lah dan menurutku penulis mengakhiri hidup villain tu kurang tepat, ak sm skli ga ngarepin hal itu. aku harepin dia dapat hukuman di masa depan yang kek menderita banget. tapi setelah aku pikir” kl dia ga mati di jaman 2000-an, pasti banyak kasus yang diusik sm tu org. so yaudalah ak terima. but, terlepas dr main problemnya, kasus kasus kecil jg bagus jalan nya, ada plottwist nya juga.Was this review helpful to you?
2016 is something indeed...
Wow. Honestly I don't even know where to start with this drama. It has been an age since I last wrote a review, but this work is that good to remind me I have an account here to convince anyone on the fence to WATCH THIS RIGHT NOW.There has been talk that 2016 was THAT year for kdramas. From Goblin, to Weightlifting Fairy and Scarlet Heart...I can't believe it took me this long to watch SIGNAL.
Having DNF'd a few dramas lately, I decided to go with this on a whim having seen the poster in passing many times, and now recognised Kim Hye Soo from watching Juvenile Justice the year it was released, and Lee Je Hoon from Taxi Driver. Ended up being hooked at the end of the first episode.
The premise is unique, and it's not your typical crime drama. Being able to suddenly communicate with someone in the past immediately serves a large hope and brilliant possibility for tragedies to be prevented. Anyone would cling on to it for dear life. The drama does address this and more, but never in black and white. There are choices and consequences, courage and morality, and above all, what it means to be in a team, and the value of time with those around you.
There were more than few occasions I was so overwhelmed and yes, there have been tears (which happens rarely in my case personally, and it had been unexpected in a crime drama). I love SIGNAL and think it's one of those where it will likely stay with me for a long time.
The switch between past and present is weaved so seamlessly in the storytelling, I found myself marvelling at the incredible writing and structure, and again, reminded why kdramas are the absolute GOAT. It does take some time to wrap your head around what is happening, and changing, and I ended up pausing just to digest these details as the episodes progressed.
There's inevitable layers of complexity involved when it comes to a past/present plotline, and I half worried it might end up being too messy at some point, but SIGNAL remained brilliantly consistent in quality and requires a bit of work on the viewers' part to make it make sense.
Honestly, it is worth it, and I will spare you the essays regarding the world class acting. When you witness Kim Haesoo's stellar performance, it's no wonder she won Best Actress at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards (equivalent to Oscar in Kdramaland).
Highly recommend if you haven't seen this gem yet, absolutely unmissable if you are a fan of the crime genre.
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This review may contain spoilers
Mixed bag
I've read so many raves about Signal and am aware that the drama garnered best drama at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards, so I was really looking forward to it. I like gritty detective stories, particularly Scandinavian noir and this sounded right up my alley.Ultimately, I found myself disappointed in the drama. There was a lot of good, but some lazy storytelling marred the series.
First, the good:
Interesting premise: the idea of a walkie talkie that could connect detectives in modern-day (2015) Seoul with a detective in the past was intriguing and generally well used. I liked seeing detectives work on a case in both timelines--and the effect that solving a crime in the past had on the present. I was particularly intrigued in one episode where using the walkie talkie led to tragic consequences. It wasn't used as a device that magically solved all problems.
Tie in to actual past crimes in Korea. It was interesting to learn about some of these past crimes; I found myself googling the particular crimes to learn more about them.
Character development: I especially loved Detective Lee Jae-han and his commitment to doing the right thing. Park Hae-ye's storyline was also interesting, as we learned about his past family tragedies.
The not-so-good:
The romance between Lee Jae-han and Kim Hye-soo. She seemed mostly a bumbling, enthusiastic rookie with a rather immature one-sided crush on her superior officer. Her behavior seemed inappropriate to me; she kept chasing him even when he expressed his disinterest.
The crime solving relied on coincidence and the hunches of the profilers far too often. In one episode, the detectives in 2015 Seoul are trying to track down the victim of a crime who had lied about her attacker. Park Hae-ye uses his profiling skills to deduce where she might work, and then just happens to see someone walking past him and figures out that it is her--based solely on what? He's never seen her before, but yet she walks past him in the street? Similarly, in the final episode, Lee Jae-han determines that a perpetrator has thrown away a crucial piece of evidence at a rest stop near a particular pharmacy. But by the time he arrives, the trash has been collected. We next see him at the landfill tearing through bags, only for a homeless woman to walk by him with the very item that he needs.
I was willing to suspend my disbelief for the main plot device, but the crime solving aspect was just too far-fetched.
I still give this drama a fairly high score because it was well-directed and well-acted. If only the crime solving had been a bit more thoughtful, this drama would be an "A", instead it's a B, maybe a B-
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The story was well-created and told in a way that it would keep your interests throughout the show, in which they mislead you with different plot twists and side stories, which eventually were connected to the main story itself. By dealing with several crime/rape cases. the producers and directors approached each crime in a different way. For example in one crime, you'll know the culprit immediately, while in others you did not. They did even hire the perfect actors/actresses for specific roles as all three of them exceeded my expectations with their performance, especially Lee Je Hoon's role as Park Hae Young impressed me.
So I definitely recommend you all to watch it if you haven't watched it as of yet. It is totally worth it.
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I love it from the start ! I even watch it with my parents who love it too !
The writer did an amazing work ! The actors deserved their awards especially Kim Hye Soo I completely fell in love for her acting !
You must watch if you're hesitating.
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This review may contain spoilers
Definitely a must watch!
Definitely the best Kdrama, no scratch that, one of the best dramas ever made!I have read mostly great things about this drama and wanted to keep it on my watchlist in case I ever needed particularly good entertainment. After almost 6 years this moment arrived. I finally watched it! And I’m not disappointed one bit. Well the last was a lie, the ending is making me kinda nervous.
First two important things:
* All of you who have been watching this series on a weekly basis while it was airing must have nerves of steel. Teach me your ways Senpai!
* And even worse, you were waiting for season 2 since 2016... HOW EVEN??!?
My review:
The drama has everything one needs! Definitely a must watch! Probably no potential for a rewatch, as the suspense is very important for such a crime series.
Positive:
* Great story, acting, music, vibe, suspense, cinematography, pacing, message, characters and villains (I hated them, which is a good sign for villains).
* The 3 leads were charismatic, intelligent and were of different ages which is so refreshing! Oh and the female lead was finally normal (strong enough and still had feelings/empathy), what a surprise!
* The motives and behavior of all characters were believable and kinda human. They all had weaknesses and strengths.
* It has a lot of realism (without being boring/annoying) with a cool scifi aspect to it and a pinch of a love story (no forced “they have to kiss once at the end” and not really a 2nd lead).
* It has no unnecessary CGI or stupid overdone fights (everything felt real and yet exciting).
Negative:
* On a contrary to many, I like the ending, it fits the whole vibe. But it makes me nervous, so I can’t say it is a great ending. I need season 2 to be able to sleep better. Is there any hope we will get one?
* Up until the end I wasn’t 100% sure if what they portrayed between Park Hae Young and Cha Soo Hyun was only respect/friendship or should show some kind of one-sided love on Park Hae Young’s side or the start of a new love between them both. I loved their friendship and wish it was meant that way/will stay that way. However, at moments I felt conflicted, because they would make a great love pair... I would have preferred they would not have given me mixed signals tbh. Does anyone get me or am I the only one seeing things? Maybe I'm just having a permanent 2nd lead syndrome. :(
* If you are watching this for a love story, then you will be disappointed. It’s not the main driver of this show. It’s just a nice touch to it.
Trigger warning:
* This is not a deal breaker for me, because it is needed for a crime series to be good. However, some of you might not like the violence and themes of the crimes they try to solve... Not much is shown, but still, some of you might not be comfortable watching this.
Now, guys go watch it if you haven’t and if you have please talk to me. Tell me it’s going to be alright!!!!!
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