If you've watched "Signal" (if you haven't - what are you doing?!), you might think that the premise sounds a bit familiar, though the dramas don't have that much in common. In my opinion, "Signal" was a better crafted drama with less plot-holes/the-police-is-too-dumb moments, however "Tunnel" is still a drama that deserves a chance.
One of the things that stood out to me in this one was the main female lead, something that I've disliked with OCN's dramas are their stupid and useless female characters (though, to be honest the rest of kdramaland is no better), however, Shin Jae Yi has been the exception for me. Sharp, smart, and unrelenting, she was a great female character that held my attention alongside the male duo.
This drama's weakness comes towards the end, just like "Voice", it began to fizzle out, with too many police stupidities and too many instances of Park Kwang Ho, the main character, just yelling "bastard" over and over. It was hard for me to get through episode fourteen but I'm glad I did. The ending wasn't as sharp as it could've been, and it wasn't unique like how I would've wanted it (but I do like sad and torturous endings), but it was a heart-warming one.
"Tunnel" is not a perfect drama but it's a good addition to the ever-growing crime genre in Korean dramas. I recommend giving it a try, but be ready to be at the edge of your seat each episode, and be warned that you'll probably spend sixteen hours in front of your screen because it's hard to stop watching one you start.
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Now, don't get me wrong. Each episode from 1 to 7 wasn't bad; they just didn't add up into a good 7-hour experience for me. They were good one-by-one. If you have seen American series (police or crime series in particular), you'll know how they start an episode with one case and ends it within that episode, and nothing from that episode will affect the next episode at all. As soon as our main detective Park Kwang Ho arrives in 2016, Tunnel plays that card.
For character introduction purposes, not touching on the main plot for a short while is totally okay. However, the length of 7 episodes of doing that is painfully long – 44% in and there's still no progress whatsoever. That point kept bugging me all the way. Apart from that, the main characters are good at their job, so the one-case-one-episode is averagely fun on its own.
I believe that the story picks up around episode 8. From then on until episode 12, the pace of the drama suddenly changes in a good way. These are the most exciting and suspenseful 4 episodes in my opinion. There is a surprising amount of improvements from character development to story revelations. The last phase of the drama, episode 13-16, cools down a lot, but it still keeps playing with the main story. For me, it was fine. By the end of the series, I was more satisfied than I thought when I went through the first half.
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It's still too bad that after all those satisfying second half, I still don't see the point of making this a time-traveling drama. Of course, the "tunnel" and the time-traveling play a part in this story. I just think that they could've made use of this theme much more – or dropped that idea completely.
The main character who time-travels lacks a lot of "oldies" qualities I expected to see from its premise. By this I mean that he could've possessed old-school yet surprisingly useful methods that help with the modern crime-solving process, or rather appear really countrified that he looks funny. Instead, he adapts to the modern world so well. If this wasn't a time-travel drama and this character was a detective from the present time, it'll still work just fine. It feels almost as if the writers are using this "time-traveling" trigger word just to call for attention.
At the same time, Tunnel cannot escape a lot of clichés in making their characters and criminals, and even situations. A lot of things were revealed by words rather than actions. Many mysteries are solved in a blink of an eye after dragging them for so long. It's like when things build up to a certain degree and you're almost excited, the next moment it becomes "Oh... That's it?"
The cast and their acting really save the entire show. They're extremely great in every given situation, although again, you'll have to get to the second half of the show to see so. I rated their acting a 10/10 although some small side characters are so-so because they don't have much impact anyway.
The background music and sound effect cues aren't awkward, so I gave it a 7/10, but they mostly just went through my ears instead lingering around for more impact. This is the genre that doesn't need emotional OSTs to play at heartbreaking moments anyway. I still wished I ended it with one or two songs to keep listening to. I ended up with none.
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Final thoughts: I wouldn't suggest my friends to watch this for the time-traveling. I would suggest them to watch simply because it's a good crime drama with good acting. I liked it – don't get me wrong after I point out all those cons. I didn't regret watching this show. Also, I barely rewatch dramas, and a crime drama can be either too predictable or too gruesome to rewatch, so I gave that part a low score.
Overall, it's a 8/10 for me because it does only 75~80% of what it initially promised to do. This score is not to be compared with other dramas, especially the ones that are not from this genre.
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This review may contain spoilers
Honestly, when I started watching Tunnel, I had no idea what to expect. I knew it had a pretty loyal following, but I had no idea how this show would take me captive. Thus far, I haven't been very impressed with dramas this year. Tunnel is a great crime and mystery drama, but its best asset is its characters. This drama features rich characters with thoughtful story arcs and amazing chemistry. Choi Jin Hyuk who is cast as the main protagonist delivers a great performance. I was really able to follow all his ups and downs as he tries to figure out life in 2017. Again and again, I am so drawn to Yoon Hyun Min. He is by far my favorite actor to provide as second for any bromance. His role as the young, misunderstood Sun Jae is something of legend. When I first saw Lee Yoo Young's character, she honestly freaked me out a little. The slow burn romance between these two is absolutely delicious. Their subtle advances are soooo deeply satisfying, and I felt this greatly complimented the show.
Tunnel features great story telling. Throughout the drama it unravels a well thought out and intertwined plot. This story had me clinging to my chair the entire time. I felt like every episode revealed another layer to the story. While some have stated that it was too predictable, I pretty much equated the predictability to all the spoilers I accidentally saw when it aired.
I strongly recommend watching Tunnel. It really takes you on an amazing ride. My only regret is that I wasn't able to watch it when it aired.
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- The second part of the drama felt messy
- Characters at the end got annoying ->their deduction skills started lacking at the end of the drama
- Very predictable story
- Could have been a 12 episode drama
- Many flaws to the story - some parts were not explained properly
- Choi Jin Hyuk's acting was so-so
What I liked:
- The bromance
- Lee Yoo Young's acting was great
- The supporting actors (police squad)
- First part of the drama was more enjoyable to watch than the second
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I didn't had much expectation going in. Because I didn't thought the story will be this much addicting as it was. I waited until it had enough episodes out, before starting to watch it. And thank god that I did. Because I watched those 12 episodes in one day at a stanch. I just couldn't stop. Can't stop.
Waiting for the last four episode was a misery.
I like all the episodes. The story goes a little slow at first but the second half is somewhat mind-blowing. And then the ending. Some will say, that the end wasn't nice. They didn't liked it. But I personally think that it was perfect. I loved it.One of my favorite ending, ever.
Some time the sad-slow ends are what we need.
The story has some holes in it. It is a time traveling story and this type of stories always has some thing like this. So that was not unexpected. And because of the amount of Time-traveling drama is around right now, not many people will feel good about it. And then there is 'Signal' and I am sure a lot of people are comparing this with that one.
Don't do that. They are not same.
The story in it's self is different. Every thing was resolving around a case that starts 30 years ago. One giant mysterious case. And it's our cop's job to solve it.
But the little one around it is what I loved about it. They just didn't show you the murders but what it does to the people around that victim. They are suffering, their pain. And I loved how they honored them in the end.
Because it's always about saving life not the thrill in catching the culprit.
I love all the people in the cast. They are all new to me. But I didn't mind. They drew me in. I liked how they portrayed their characters. Specially Lee Yoo Young. Her character was smart, cold, controlling and no where near the 'sweet-innocent-damsel in distress' type and I loved that about her character. And she pulled it off with an ease.
Choi Jin Hyuk ( welcome back!! ) and Yoo Hyun Min were amazing in their roles. The little bickering and bromance (Though it should be called something else. 60 year old and 27 year old man romance'?) between them just lightened the dark-gloomy scenes a little.
Though most will complain that Choi Jin Hyunk's character had some 'issues' in the last episodes. I just want to state that no one is perfect. So isn't a character. Their flaw is what makes them different form another and special. For Kwand Ho it was calling bad guys 'Jerk'. His a 1980's cop. Cut him some slack will ya'?
Kim Min Sang. I have only one thing to say about his character and about him. This is how a ** should be like.
I am going to re-watch this because I love the love story in this drama. Yes there is one. And I am not talking about Yoo Hyun Min and Lee Yoo Young's characters.
But about Park Kwang Ho and Yeon Seok. Their longing, their pain, their love for each other is one of the best thing about this drama. That sweet little love story twirled in to the bigger story, some how complemented the whole thing. It was the motivation that both of this characters needed. And I love those type of stories.
For those who are thinking if they should watch it or not. I would like to tell you to give this a try. Trust me, you are going to thank me later.
So watch it!
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Watch this if you're in the mood for a crime drama. The first half are more procedural and more enjoyable to watch, as the second half is focused on wrapping up the major storyline.
Unfortunately, this drama doesn't make it to the top of my list for the following reasons:
- Lack of logic in dialogue. Many moments where I'm scratching my head wondering why people aren't more suspicious.
- Why do they never wear gloves at the crime scenes?
- Some parts were not fully explained and one supporting character dropped off the show with little explanation.
- Some of the "reveal" scenes made me laugh because they were overdone (yet satisfying)
Highlights:
- Strong acting. It felt like the actors made the most from the script.
- Unique premise. I love the fantasy aspect of traveling forward in time and discovering while new technologies have been formed, the human psyche hasn't.
The loveline in this drama was well done for its subtlety, which is fresh in the kdrama world.
I haven't watched that many crime dramas yet, so I see there is a lot of potential in korean dramas. Overall can't quite compare to CSI and the like due to plot holes but stronger than American TV shows in the character development and overarching plots. Looking forward to watching more of them!
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I don't mind the similarities. I enjoy watching murder mysteries and crime dramas as well as romance and sci-fi/fantasy. Also, a lot of American shows (like Elementary) follow a similar format where individual cases are framed by an overall story arc. The fact that Tunnel had similarities to Signal this way just meant that there was more of the same type of drama I liked.
I also love it when characters from the past get to visit the future and be all amazed at how times have changed. Watching the male lead Gwang Ho get confused with all the technology available to him was a highlight of Tunnel. That, and the sweet relationship he had with his wife Yun Seuk, the bromance with character-opposite Seon Jae and the hilarious antics he had with the rest of the detective team...these unique facets are what distinguish one crime drama from another. And it is in these things that Tunnel excels. The lightness of these moments made a great contrast to the grim realities of the crimes taking place. All the characters were likable and had you wanting for them to come out okay- if not, alive.
What prevented me from giving this a higher score (which I really* wanted for it) was that a lot of the individual cases were boring. They were so boring that I almost gave up on this midway. Since most of the drama is composed of these individual cases, it made the watch less exciting. But the overall arc was decent. Serial killer reveal. Good performances and heartwarming relationships (not to mention, relationships that came as a pleasant surprise along the way) made it a worthwhile watch. I'm just not sure if they were enough to make up for where it lacked, but I am glad that I chose to stay and made it to the end, as I really like how all the relationships developed and how things were tied up. If only the crime stories were better.
Creating this drama was a step in the right direction and I hope to see more of these but as of now, I'll have to continue to look for something that gives Signal a run for its money.
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Flaw #1.- There were times I thought the characters' thought process did not make sense.
Flaw #2- I was able to guess what was going to happen very early on. However, it was probably because I have seen so many dramas, but the plot seeemed to really mimic Gap Dong at times, which is what I kept thinking.
Flaw #3- There was one inconsistency that really bothered me, though I can see how it would be missed by some, especially if they watched it while it was airing. In the very first episode, a certain object is shone in one location. However, later on, it is changed to be in a completely different location, which changes the story.
Flaw #4- The ending does not really explain itself. You are left wondering what happened for it to end that particular way. It could have been on purpose, but I think that the writers could have done a better job at explaining.
Besides those flaws mentioned above, it was a really good watch. I would still highly recommend it to fellow drama watchers.
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Interesting premise destroyed by bad writing
Please ignore the MDL rating (8.6 at the time of writing in 2023)!The very basic premise (time-traveling detective and serial killer) of this story is interesting. But the writers did a great job of destroying the potential. In two ways:
- All the characters are unbelievably stupid, except the murderers.
- The time traveling aspect is not used at all, it is rather a weird fact on the side.
To come back to the stupid characters: do you know those dramas where there is one lead character who always knows everything in advance and before everybody else, just by being super smart and of course they are also the best in every practical aspect? They can get annoying. Well, in this drama you get none of that :) Everybody is just so unbelievably stupid and incompetent it hurts. When a good detective's skills are 100, the average person's detective skills are maybe 10. All the detectives in this drama are a 1. And that's generous! No common sense at all. And they repeat their mistakes over and over again, and drag this very simple story out into 16 episodes. Some examples:
- When you want to catch a suspect, sneak up to them until you are 10 meters away, then shout at them, so they can run away from you without you being able to catch them.
- When you found out in which house a suspect is hiding, go to the house with 4 cars, all with full sirens! Then storm the house from the front without covering the back door.
- When you are a ML in a team of two and a great revelation comes to your mind, don't tell anyone and storm off angrily to get yourself in trouble.
- When you are a weak vulnerable FL, speak to a serial killer in code via TV and lure him into a dark forest where you wait for him all alone to be his next victim. Don't tell anyone of your police friends about it.
Then the time travel: time travel stories never fully make sense and that's fine. But here's a question for you: when you are a time traveling detective, would you try to catch a serial killer when he is young (in the past) or when he is old (in the future)? And as I said, the time traveling aspect is just there, it is not really relevant for the story, it just makes for some confusion and funny scenes. For a better use of time travel in a detective story, check out the K-drama Signal from 2016!
Ignore the bromance tag on this! It lasts two seconds, is super weak and can't save this train wreck.
I guess I should also say some positive things. The acting is generally quite good, except maybe the time traveling lead who has a limited set of faces. And the character development of the FL was a bit too much: for most of the drama she has the facial expression and emotional warmth of a stone and then suddenly in the end she meets a certain person and becomes normal quite instantly.
Ignore the rating and positive reviews and skip this one!
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Though personally I am not a fan of Choi Jin Hyuk's acting even with the other dramas of his I've seen he was not that convincing and most of the time I ended up cringing during his scenes. I love Lee Yoo Young's acting here, most of her scenes gave me the creeps. The acting as a whole was great.
This drama may be lacking in some parts but I think this deserves a try atleast.
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As for myself, a one time watch is more than enough.
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