I've watched now 50+ dramas .
Reviewed most of them .
I am a vivid watcher .
I pay attention to everything with precise detail .
If you're into K dramas , you must be familiar with how they are .
If it's a typical crime drama or anything , it will end how you're familiar with .
But
'STRANGER'
is just out of this world . Mind boggling .
I didn't expected it to be this exceptional .
The synopsis might not seem that great but the drama is .
This drama had the highest quality of acting so far .
Each and every character played as just smoked their everything .
You can't even flinch something at someone in terms of acting .
The plot has it ups and downs .
It's just awestrucking till episode 7 or 8 but then it slows down a bit .
Near the ending you'll feel a bit uninterested but hold you beer right there .
The ending episode takes your breathe away .
If you're human . If you're interested in reality . Then this is for you .
Stranger has the most sensible and harsh ending .
But still it tells you not to lose yourself , your hope , your righteousness .
PS : Jo seung woo , I've seen his only earlier drama God gift's 15 days .
And I knew he's an acting GOD .
I can easily say he's the best actor male of the K-drama industry .
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Contemporary Crime Drama
StrangerK-Drama
Ep 32
Two Seasons
PG-13
I like Contemporary stories and Crime / Murder mystery so when I heard this was a mix of both I was excited!
Sadly it was just okay for me.
This show had great actors and 97% of them played morally grey characters. The only exception were the leads!
Let's do some pros & cons
Pros:
◇The acting
◇How it wasn't as dark and gory as it could be 👌 (Definitely PG-13)
◇The Leads
Cons:
◇It felt like it dragged at times
◇The plot twists were okay
◇The writing at times
◇Wanted more friendship & chemistry
Over all I am happy I watched this show. Would I recommend? If you like slow crime dramas then yes, if you like fast past thriller type then maybe not.
REWATCH? No
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Because viewer is very slowly eased into what’s going on. For most of the time, we’re not entirely sure what’s about to happen. And it’s because of two things. First of all, characters are absolutely unpredictable. We don’t really know much about them aside of what’s happening. There’s very little voiceovers and close to none exposition, so we don’t know what they’re thinking and what they’re planning next. For most of the time, they’re wild cards, especially main character. We don’t really know who’s on who’s side, are they ally or and enemy. Even when Si Mok assembles task team, we hope that he’ll finally find someone to trust, but soon we figure out that the team is mostly made up of his enemies or people who work for them.The other reason is that events are not really explained. Once again we know exactly the same as our characters and sometimes even less than that. For like 90% of the time we don’t really know what the characters are up to. This all adds up to very interesting murder mystery/ thriller story. But you need to follow is carefully not to get lost.
Let’s talk about main character, because Hwang Si Mok (in this role absolutely fantastic Cho Seung Woo) is a type of the guy who is hard to like, but you’ll absolutely learn to love.
Again, we don’t know much about him, some random facts, some glimpse about his private life, mostly rumours circling around. His biggest trait: he lacks emotions, completely. And because of that for most of the time we have no idea what goes through his head. Is he honest or is he just bluffing? Plus, he really doesn’t have anyone on his side, which he openly admits. He’s not liked in his work environment and gossips that surround him just pour more fuel on the fire. This drama is the reason I have trust issues because at one point I has questioning everything and I even starting suspect Si Mok of committing murder.
We have main plot line that revolves around murder of a person, who as it turns out had a history of bribing highly situated people, including some prosecutors. Obviously a lot of people wouldn’t mind his death, so there’s a lot of suspects and very few proofs. And the thing is that no character is really black or white. No-one is completely good or absolutely bad. All characters are somewhere is between moving closer towards one of the sides. And then there’s Si Mok, without emotions operating in absolutes. You did something bad, you’re not a good person, you need to be punished. His judgement is absolutely objective, there’s no place for personal input.
And because everyone seem to be guilty of something, finding out about another crimes stops being a surprise, really. More often it’s a question of what rather than if.
Characters are absolutely fascinating here and I’m not only talking about the main ones. It seems that everyone has a unique story or some secret that we don’t know about.
About the plot, there’s obviously main murder theme that is somewhere in the middle of the action, but what we really focus on is politic play that surrounds main characters. So before we get to the solution of the main case we get though so many issues that sometimes this murder seems almost secondary. Especially that we cannot be sure of anything. Even if the case looks like it’s solved there’s always possibility of something happening. Even when somebody admits to committing the crime we still cannot be sure that he really did it.
The pace of the show is rather steady. It’s a suspenseful thriller, not action packed drama.
I have to admit, I’ve started watching is for Cho Seung Woo, after his performance in Sisyphus, but I’ve absolutely stayed for how amazing this drama is. All characters are masterfully played (kudos to Bae Doo Na and Yoo Jae Myung among many others) but let’s be honest, from this cast we could only expect the all the best.
Plus there’s one good thing about this drama, it has a second season!
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Delicious pie crust, no filling
I'm definitely in the minority with this one! When Stranger first aired in 2017, it was easy for me to look past, because I wasn't watching many crime thrillers or suspenseful mysteries at the time. But then, Stranger made it onto the New York Times' end-of-year round up of the best international television, and my fear of missing out set in. Had I overlooked something exceptional? After skimming the overwhelmingly positive reviews on this site, I can see that the hype for Stranger is as strong as ever, even six years later.I tried to get into this three times, and it was only the last try that stuck, which probably says everything you need to know about my ultimate reaction to this drama. I forced myself through it, constantly holding out hope that I'd see why everyone enjoyed it so much, but spoiler alert: I didn't.
While I was watching, I didn't notice any huge area of weakness. The writing, while occasionally convoluted or over-baked, was solid. Directing, acting, and editing were great, and as you can tell from the promotional material alone, this drama looked amazing, in its dark and naturalistic way. I had complaints about the pace, but that's such a common issue in Asian dramas, it's barely worth mentioning.
No, my big block was how hollow this story felt. Stranger is certainly sparkling and competent on the outside, as it excels in every category we usually use to evaluate the quality of a drama, but it was persistently vacant on the inside. It left me empty, emotionally and intellectually, and thus failed to capture my interest in any genuine sense. Of course, I realize that this is a story that intentionally focuses on an emotionless protagonist, and I don't have any qualms about his characterization or Cho Seung Woo's subtle and sophisticated performance of Hwang Shi Mok. But I don't think his presence at the center of the narrative is a justifiable excuse for the void at the center of this drama.
And, please don't get me wrong, I don't think every show needs to present an intellectual debate or deliver a huge emotional punch. For instance, some romantic comedies are purposefully built to be fluffy and fun, and thrillers may be emotionally shallow to better blitz through a lightning fast ride of unforeseen twists. However, I don't think that these goals were the ones Stranger set up for itself. It's meant as a "serious" show to be taken "seriously" by its audience, as prestige television. I'm 100% on board with its plan, but the distinction raises my expectations, since that god-tier level suggests Stranger will be bringing something extra to the table, either emotionally or intellectually. Yet, it doesn't. There's no THERE there.
Sure, it's a great show, but no one orders pie at a restaurant expecting nothing but a delicious crust.
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This is a series that speaks volumes on what quality action drama should be, at least according to my taste. The stakes are high and the tension escalates from the story itself, which although fictitious it can easily be a portrayal of real life cases...which is what makes it both terrifying and satisfying to watch it unfold.
This is not a show for those that need action packed, explosions, car chases or overly dramatic sequences to be entertained. This show is for those that want to be challenged, that want to solve a mystery together with the protagonists, someone that values intelligent writing over dramatic writing. I loved every second of it and you can be sure that I will watch it again soon. Looking forward to Season 2 soon!
Give it a chance and you'll be surprised!
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So many twists and turns
I'll start by saying that I'm not big on corruption stories. Give me a romance and I'm all over it, but watching a show about many, many people being bad and doing bad? Not so much. However, for me, this show was excellent. It requires a lot of attention, and I wouldn't advise binging it. I was exhausted and my brain hurt after every episode.ACTING: Excellent! I have to call out Cho Seung Woo especially, as prosecutor Hwang Shi Mok. He had brain surgery in the past to control his violent temper and now doesn't have the capacity to feel emotions. We've all watched actors where they have to convey emotions only with their eyes or their body language. Here, he had to display NO emotion. I was fascinated by this character. I could feel his loneliness from being out of step with absolutely everyone else. Everyone else was good as well. There were some obvious villains and some surprises as well. The relationship between Shi Mok and inspector Yeo Jin was really interesting to watch, and I liked how they worked well together and came to depend upon each other. And, I don't say this often, but THANK YOU for leaving out the romance!
MUSIC: The music was good, there was music that really brought out the tenseness of the scenes, but it didn't crowd out the dialogue or the action.
CAMERA AND MAKEUP WORK: The coloration they used was slightly blue, which really gave the impression that these people basically lived in the office and had no lives. They also showed a lot of closeups, and they didn't make much of an attempt to cover up flaws. That contributed to the gritty feel of the show.
I can highly recommend this drama. Just when you think you've figured it out, in comes someone else that's corrupt!
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I had my misgivings, but this drama proved me wrong.
I am pretty picky when it comes to the kdramas I genuinely rank high. Seeing the high praised reviews, I was still skeptical. Upon starting the drama, I was debating on whether or not to see it through even as I reached episode 3-4. This is not to say I wasn't engaged or enjoying the plot, but a part of me felt hesitant. In spite of my reservations, I couldn't bring myself to drop it, and as the show progressed I really found myself loving it. I understand why this drama is so well regarded. It doesn't follow the typical trend I see with dramas that hook me; with cliff hangers leaving you to just have to click the next episode. The progression is a steady momentum, but it keeps you intrigued throughout. I really wanted to know what was to come.I am always a little apprehensive when I find a protagonist's character is intended to be the more cold, nonchalant, unexpressive type. A lot of the times I feel like the actors tend to lean too heavily into that in a way that its hard to like the character; they come off as more try-hard and almost cheesy. The character in that sense feels more limited. Big props have to go to Cho Seung Woo who plays our protagonist. I truly grew to adore his character, and his performance was superb. Our female protagonist was also so refreshing. Loved them both and their chemistry.
I say give this drama a shot. You'll likely find it not easy to put down.
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A STORYLINE THAT WILL SUCK YOU IN AND YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
I LOVE THIS SHOW!!! Season 1 was so interesting. This was my first time watching this kind of more serious drama. I usually watch the rom coms so the closest thing would be vincinzo. The story in the first season was a little confusing but got explained well.I have no beef with the second season except that I HATED the Hanjo storyline. I get how it connected overall… but I feel like too much time was spent on it where we could’ve been focusing on more interesting (and likable) characters.
I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR HWANG SIMOK AND HAN YEOJIN
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The cast was excellent. This was the first time I've ever watched Jo Seung Woo, Bae Doo Na, and (the first time I've noticed) Lee Joon Hyuk. They all impressed me a lot. They all had a subtlety and charm about them. Yoon Se Ah as Lee Yeon Jae did a fantastic job - totally bought her being on the edge.
If you enjoy these genres, this drama should be on your short list!
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Let's start with the story:
The writing is exceptional, I didn't feel any episode fell flat or didn't add to the story overall. With each episode puzzle pieces fell into place. I kind of had a feeling what was going to happen but it definitely wasn't obvious and really I was skeptical if what I thought might happen would actually happen. I was pleasantly surprised how it all turned out. The main crime drama part of the story line really got me hooked and surprised us through most of the story. What really held it together was the amazing cast though.
Characters:
I won't go through all of the characters just a few of my favorites.
Hwang Shi Mok played by Jo Seung Woo was such an amazing character and to me felt like a superhero. I know, a man with hardly any emotion being a superhero you say, well I had a hard time seeing him any other way. Someone who was incorruptible in a nation full of the corrupt, battling these people when all odds were stacked against him. I mean you can't get any more superhero than that. I also loved the fact that he wasn't capable of feeling emotions like other people so when he did show the smallest sign of emotion it was very powerful.
Han Yeo Jin played by Bae Doo Na. Wow I really loved her character. She was simply amazing in the role. Not only was she a badass to me she seemed very vulnerable and human as well which was the perfect mix to add to Shi Mok's character. I loved how towards the end Shi Mok would call her when he had something on his mind, they definitely had a special bond.
Yeong Eun Soo played by Shin Hye Sun. What a touching character who I loved throughout the series. She was that tragic part of the story that just made you feel pain. I think she really was a pivotal character in showing that Shi Mok wasn't emotionless. In fact seeing his pain was very revealing.
Those were my 3 favorites but I could definitely go on but I would be here all day writing. The characters really were the shining star of this drama, no doubt.
I could gush all day over this drama and would recommend it wholeheartedly. I am so stoked about season 2, I totally can't wait!
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I strongly recommend this show and its OSTs.
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