Amazing, I would for sure watch this again
The first thing I would like to say is that season two is needed!I very much enjoyed this series because the acting in it was excellent and because I think it had a fantastic storyline. It was such action-packed that it left me wanting to watch the next episode and waiting for it to come out every day. It's what I enjoyed watching after a hard weekend. I promise you that you will never get bored of this series in any episode. If your looking for something filled with action this is the series for you!
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You'll like it until you don't
This drama had so much promise, and IMO apart from ep 15 and 16, this drama can be easily rated a 9 or 9.5. Till ep 14, the story had a fast-paced, thrilling aspect, and the acting was superb. It looked like the drama was going to end with a bang, but how it decelerated in ep15 and ended on such a low note in ep 16 ruined the overall plot and fell short.If someone reads this review, I recommend watching the drama for its superb storyline and suspense. Of course, watch it till ep 14 with high expectations because it will keep you on edge. After that, please lower your expectations by a significant margin so that you will still be pleasantly surprised, unlike me.
Onto the shortcomings of the drama:
The most frustrating part of the finale was the lack of acting from LJS. It looked like he could not wait to just be done and over with the filming. The performance he delivers, in the beginning, is expected from a veteran A-list actor. Still, towards the end, it looks like he doesn't even care and seems to have put little to no effort into his scenes, especially when it calls for some serious emotional, messy acting. He looks like his pet rock died and barely sheds one tear, contrasting with how well he cried at the beginning of the drama. I don't know whether the blame is on the director or him. Still, either way, it significantly lowered the quality of the finale.
Another issue is how disgustingly the female characters were treated towards the end. ko mi ho and juhee are the two main female leads. Throughout the drama, the point the director seemed to be stressing is how "a good woman is someone who completely supports her husband." This did not sit well with me. Even without discussing the direction the director wanted to take regarding feminine and masculine roles, it still stands that only the female leads seemed to suffer in the end.
Simply put, they were used as Plot Devices to further the character development of the main male leads. I think a true fleshed-out female character can do wonders to make a drama more enjoyable. Take, for example (off the top of my head) the female leads from Happiness, All of us are dead, IOTNBK, etc., were all thought-out strong female leads that brought color and interest into the drama. They were not simply stepping stones for the male lead to reach his all-powerful state.
Finally, this drama was such a waste of talent. Look at the cast.
LJS lost credibility at the end because of the horrible finale where he underperformed.
Im Yoon Ah put up an outstanding performance throughout even with the decreasing quality of the storyline and IMO carried the drama through a lot of poor writing.
Kwa Dong Yeon deserved a more prominent and exciting role than some sidekick. He can act, and it's been proven repeatedly from his previous works (he caught my attention in Vincenzo, where he shined).
Even Oh Eui shik, who could have potentially been a massive part of the drama, all ended up being minor characters no different from the rest of the extras. It's sad because you have these talented and skilled actors, and you're paying them millions to just become extras?
I think the MVPs of the drama deserve to go to Kim jo hun (who plays Choi do ha-the main antagonist) and yang Kyung won (the character gong Ji hoon). These two did a fantastic job playing these roles, and Kim jo hun should win some kind of award for playing the most bad-ass evil, traumatized character on screen. LJS did not get outshined for sure, but in the end, he simply lost the aura he built up during the beginning, which is a shame. As a fan of his, and his first work after getting discharged, it is a good drama, but it isn't his best.
When it all comes down to it, the drama failed to deliver what it promised. The revenge wasn't sweet. The deaths were not as moving as they were supposed to be. The strings weren't tied up properly. Where does this leave us? Disappointed, angry, and confused. If I was looking to be disappointed, I'd look in the mirror.
One of the drama's plus points is the theme music. it brought out the suspense to a crescendo and fit smoothly into the drama.
The rewatch value is obviously going to be relatively low. I haven't felt this blue-balled since GOT. I loved this drama initially and will never forget the discussion threads with fondness. Reading other people's theories and comments made my Friday and Saturday much more enjoyable. Like someone said, "Maybe Big Mouse is the friends we made along the way." Turns out it's true. Hahhah *cries in disappointment*
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Worth every minute
This drama was honestly such a drive.Everything in this drama was intense. Every second was such a thrill as it provides everything. I feel like this drama has every genre you can think of.
The question of who’s big mouse was shocking and how each character drastically change from being good to bad and vice versa.
This is my favourite kdrama this year.
I’m really impressed how the writers made such an amazing plot line. It was honestly impressive. I did not expect it at all and this is the kind of new genre of kdrama I love to watch. I’m more of a rom-com but sometimes this genre really hit the point.
It was definitely worth every second & I would definitely re watch this drama again. I’m praying for this team to win numerous awards as they deserve it!
9/24/22 @ sk 11:28pm
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IDK MANNN
tbh,when this drama came out,i ask my friends for a telegram link because i don't even know how to watch kdrama back then,i've only watch 1 ep then the telegram group got shut down,it's been 1-2 years and now i have sources to watch it legallyLet me get straight to the point,first 10 episode is quite good,i meant we all know that big mouse is like a big boss with big brain and strong af with strong mentality and minions,changho did everything to catch this guy and its so intense to watch it,i agree that this story is good asf when they were in jail,i'll give it like 10/10 with the story and plot twist
But everything is ruined when the real big mouse is exposed,like wtf man how did that "BIG BRAIN" leader got blown up like that,like bro that's too easy man,the untouchable big mouse didn't even get that much screentime after he got exposed and then boom LOL,not too mention there is too much things that unsolved,like chairman park's son,who tf is that? that dr's wife got murdered,what tf happen to her then? dr seo paper,what tf happen to that paper then? what in the world is that paper,how tf people murdered each other for just a paper that can be forged anytime,what happen to the inmate that got blame for murder 9 people but he didn't do it,i knew that chairman park's son murdered that 9 people and blame it on that inmate,how is that happen bro? chain gang's leader,who tf is that? how did he end up in jail.. choi doha drowned but his cousin took his identity,how tf he do that brooooo
not to mention the ending,fck that ending bro,i'll rate it 8 if the ending is good but nahh man the ending is more suck,where is the changho's "punish by law" lmao bro can murder that mayor in a minute but chose the harder path instead and that made her wife died,talk about her wife,how tf did that shít spread too fast,in a week then died? like what the hell bro,that doesn't make any sense,everything that happen after changho got out from jail is nonsense,the creator can make it more intense with made a season2 or something but bro chose to end it in 5 ep and that made the whole story ruined,fck the creator
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came for lee jongsuk, stayed for yang kyungwon ?? (nah but forreal, just GO WATCH IT!!)
want a fast-paced, crime-centered drama focusing on a mysterious entity (with JUST the right amount of drama & light-heartedness sprinkled in to keep it fun)? big mouth's your show!i'll start this off by saying: i have SO many thoughts about this drama but i'll keep this review short and sweet.
i believe that big mouth is a 10/10 drama. YES, the ending is rushed and there are too many questions to truly call it a perfect show, but for me- the sheer fucking excitement that coursed through my veins every week when i was about to watch a new episode is what truly represents how good the drama was- not the fumbled ending due to a classic case of 'too much plot too little time'.
in any case, if the drama described above seems to be your kinda thing, i DEFINITELY recommend watching it- although the execution might not have been the best towards the end, big mouth was SO damn near perfect that i bet it probably won't even matter to you when all's said and done: just as it doesn't matter to me!
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they didn't even gave her a funeral
honestly I'm so shocked with the ending, they had a whole hour to wrapp it up but they decided to finished in the last ten minutes, overall the story was very entertaining, but I don't understand how they killed ko miho and gave us nothing no even the chance to cry as if she wasn't one of the main roles and chang ho literally act like nothing happened thing that doesn't make sense after seeing their relationship through the series that's the thing that upset me about this ending.Was this review helpful to you?
Rush Ending Ruin the Drama
My review echoes many other reviews posted here. There seems to be tale of the two dramas: first 10 episodes – intriguing, full of suspense, last 6 episode – rush and incoherent. The writers of the drama were too ambitious trying to create this huge balloon of excitement but couldn’t find a logical ending to close out the drama. The drama kept introducing many subplots and hoping for a big bang ending, but fell miserably flat at the end.Acting was decent and average by Korean drama standard. There was OST music to the show. It has a lot of cast members in this show, probably too many to keep a consistent drama in 16 episodes. Once the big mystery is revealed, there is really no rewatch value.
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I was so excited to watch this drama when it aired. I saw a lot of people talking about Big Mouth on every social media platform that I have. And when I finally had a time to watch this series, I understand the hype. From the story, all of the characters, the problems that the main characters are facing, to the gangs, and the curiosity to find out who was big mouse will really make you hooked on this drama. But as the drama near to its ending, I was so disappointed. They introduce more problems just for them to rush it in the finale. The story went to the top and straight falls down. It was so dismaying. Unless they will make a second season, the ending won't get the satisfaction it deserve. I also guess this is the reason why I only saw the hype until episode 10 when it was airing. I never saw people hyping it up when the drama end. They waste a good drama, actors and actresses just for a rush ending.
I'll give it an 8/10. Other than the awful finale the drama was good.
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Extremely entertaining, but an ending that might ruin it for you
I was pretty skeptical about this drama when I started it, but once I figured out what type of lens to watch it through I had a great time with Big Mouth! First off you have to throw away what you may know about the prison system or legal system and just go with the flow this drama introduces as the writers are not overly concerned with realism (I saw someone mention to think of the city in this drama like Gotham and that helped me get in the right mind set) . I also didn't get too caught up in trying to figure out who Big Mouth was, I was simply along for the entertaining ride. Therefore I wasn't super disappointed when Big Mouth was finally revealed like I know some viewers were since I hadn't really been endlessly speculating on the topic.Story
The writers of this drama certainly know how to keep the audience engaged! Plot twists and red herrings galore will keep the audience glued to the screen. Without getting into the spoilers, there are some really clever plot points and clues placed throughout the drama that I believe will stick out more upon a rewatch. I did find that I some points I was a bit confused as to what was going on but that never really kept me from being engaged. The big problem with this drama is the ending, where the writers undermined what they had been building for the previous 14 episodes. Some will feel this ruins the whole drama, but for myself those last two episodes can't take away all the fun I had watching up until that point.
Acting/Characters
This is a very well acted drama; certain actors play it straight while others go full camp with their characters but somehow it all worked!
This is Lee Jong Suk's first drama back from the military and it was a great one to remind everyone that he's an amazing actor, though he definitely shines more in the earlier episodes when Park Chang Ho first goes to prison. The character of Park Chang Ho and subsequently Lee Jong Suk's acting unfortunately fall victim to the writing in the final few episodes. Although on the plus side Chang Ho's suits when he wasn't in prison looked great!
I know some people really don't like Yoona as an actress but I thought she did a really good job playing Go Mi Ho. Go Mi Ho made some questionable decisions throughout the drama (especially near the end), but I thought Yoona portrayed her in a way that made the audience sympathetic to her. Also no character fell harder in those final two episodes than Go Mi Ho, it was almost unbelievable to watch. I felt bad that was the script Yoona was handed after doing so well for the rest of the drama.
The supporting characters all did a great job. Yang Kyung Won in particular was a highlight any time he was on screen. I found it hard to believe he's the same actor who played the guy who was always wearing a beanie in Vincenzo. Also, GIVE KWAK DONG YEON MORE TO DO! The character of Jerry felt a little wasted and almost pointless to me, especially because I know KDY is a great actor and could have handled more.
Music
I don't really remember any of the OSTs, but I do remember the opening and the score. Both were pretty dramatic and matched the vibe of the drama. I did find some music cues to be kind of abrupt and funny, like a character turns their head and all of a sudden you hear someone slamming the piano keys.
Rewatch
I think a rewatch could be fun to see the clues that were missed on the first watch through, but I have a feeling the ending probably will feel worse with a rewatch.
I do think this show fares better when it's watched week to week as anticipation and speculation enhance the mystery (this is how I watched it). I think it could be a little much as a binge. Overall Big Mouth is a really entertaining drama whose last two episode will bring the drama down for many viewers but for me were simply 2 bad episodes in an otherwise great drama.
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The story, at least for me, was interesting up until they revealed Big Mouse. Wanting to know who Big Mouse is, was the driving force for me to eagerly wanna watch the next episode. Still interesting to watch until the end though.I think the ending, although disappointing, is fair enough to wrap up the story. The whole disappointing feel for the viewers may be because they didn't get the justice by law despite Chang Ho wanting to bring Do Ha down without getting his hands dirty and Mi Ho's effort felt like it all went down the drain.
Best girl didn't even witness Do Ha's fall (like literally). I can understand that both Mi Ho and Do Ha's ending was inevitable though; without it Chang Ho wouldn't continue being Big Mouse.
About character development,
Chang Ho's felt like rushed? I mean he's an incapable lawyer so I assume that he's not that brainy but suddenly he can pull off being Big Mouse. Is it survival instinct?
Ju Hee's last minute development was already foreseen. Seeing that she's not totally evil, it's easy to read that she'll end up betraying Do Ha.
Yoon Gab is a bit questionable. I get that he's loyal to No Park but he seems like he wanted to be no.1 after his death instead of a newbie coming out of nowhere and suddenly claiming the throne which is fair because he's been a long time member and is in top3. I thought he'll end up questioning why Chang Ho continued being Big Mouse. Last ep was rushed though so conflict like this would prolong the story. Let's just say that he saw that Chang Ho is capable hence his approval.
I was waiting for Prosecutor Joong Rak to betray Ji Hoon and stick to whom he thinks got the power but surprisingly, he remains loyal to Ji Hoon.
Gong Ji Hoon is the main surprise for me here, he's a deranged, rich guy and I thought he is the worst character here. Never thought the twist his character will have. Who would have thought him and Do Ha would swap sides. He is the true winner here coz he didn't lose anything.
Jerry, on the other hand, got the character development but went from interesting character to unnoticeable side character when he became Big Mouse' lackey.
Still many questions left like that pyschopath, serial murderer. Kwang Yeon deserves his truth to be known, for me, his death is more tragic than Mi Ho's. He didn't get to save his mom despite being branded a psychopath until his last breath.
Hye Jin was forgotten, her husband deserves death penalty.
Did I miss it or they didn't clear Chang Ho's name about the 5 billion won bribe?
Didn't they question Do Ha's sudden death?
Even if Do Ha's dead, they should have revealed his true identity which is the reason why he killed the chairman. Old man doesn't deserve justice but I need Do Ha's true colors known to the public. Even the chairman's butler needs to be put on jail for conspiring with Do Ha.
Although many are saying that they wanted Season 2, that would be a bit of a stretch and might ruin the story.
Overall, the last episode was underwhelming but the whole series was a fun ride!
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it was okay…predictable though
I wasn’t truly interested till episode 10 before then I was able to tell every twist that was coming. I found the wife to be slightly annoying and too impulsive but in the end that worked out for her,till it didn’t. I get why there was a cancer plot, I just didn’t want it to exist. Episodes 1-9 I was intrigued cause the story itself was interesting I just wasn’t able to fully immerse myself into it. Also the end I really wanted justice for the people the mayor harmed and it was annoying that it didn’t happen. I really didn’t like not getting all the criminals court cases. I feel like we could’ve speed up the hunt for big mouse a bit had the run for mayor be the middle of the story and then seen him be active as big mouse doing good things and taking down the mayor and his minions I would’ve liked it moreWas this review helpful to you?
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In the end, despite being Big Mouse, he still remained Big Mouth.
I was going to give this a 9.5 or 10, but that last episode was a total disappointment. For the most part, however, the drama did keep me entertained throughout. There were many things I loved about the characters and their progress as well as the way the drama handled hints.One of the things I loved was seeing Changho's progress into Big Mouse. I loved how gradually it progressed. When he first got to prison, he was adamant in denying being Big Mouse. But even when he decided to take on the identity, he didn't instantly change overnight into a serious Big Mouse persona.
For the first several episodes after he assumes the identity, there were many instances where despite many promising fierce looks where you'd think "oh, he's really going to do sometimes now", they'd amount to nothing and you could still glimpse the unlucky lawyer Changho who loved his wife and father-in-law, and was scared of his wife's wrath. He was flustered and stumbled often in his new assumed role before he got settled into it. And the more challenges and situations he faced, the more he settled into the persona until finally we got a Park Changho who was clearly different from the man we first met. I loved that gradual show of his change in personality. That he didn't just wake up one day and was a totally changed man.
Another thing I immensely loved was the hints they threw prior to the many reveals. Some became clear in retrospect after big reveals and some gave you clear hints. For instance, after No Park revealed himself as Big Mouse, it made sense about his card reading talents, as well as how cards found their way easily to Changho even onto his bedding, and why he often hang out with Warden Park. Another one was about Soontae. After the footage taken through the camera in the Virgin Mary statue was edited, Changho pondered about it saying only himself, Miho, his father-in-law, and Soontae knew about it. At that point, Soontae became a good suspect, and further clearance by Jerry eliminating himself and Park Yoongab as the one's who insisted on saving Changho solidified Soontae as being a part of the organisation.
Special mention to Yang Kyun Won for playing the hell out of that role. He was nothing short of amazing as Gong Jihoon. And despite being villains, the three idiots, as I call them, cracked me up often. I loved their scenes and their camaraderie when together. Oh Ryoong as Lee Doogeun especially I thought was amazing. Kwak Dong Yeon and Yoo Tae Joo as Jerry and Tak Kwangyeon respectively, also caught my attention. Loved them! But overall, many of the actors and actresses did a good job with their roles.
Now onto the finale, I was very disappointed to see that despite knowing what Choi Doha was capable of and Park Yoongab even commenting on it, that despite having a powerful and capable organisation to help him plan, Changho did not think of having another plan except for fully relying on Juhee. His enemy's wife who until then had scorned them and shown no interest in helping them. You'd think the thing with Hyejin would have taught them something, not to mention he'd previously hatched his own counter plans to distabilise Doha's, but all that just went out the window. He couldn't possibly have been putting his trust in the justice system. He knew very well it didn't work that easily so what the hell was that?
It was also disappointing that in the end, his only way for besting Doha was to kill him. At that moment it felt like he was just someone who'd gotten in over their head and found out they didn't know how to deal with it. And that's why despite being Big Mouse, he still ended up being Big Mouth because all that talk about taking everything from them, about making their soul burn ended up being just big talk. In the end, except for losing his life, Doha did not lose anything. Even his death was too quick for him to have felt any pain like what he'd inflicted.
And then there's all the plots that were left hanging without proper address and/or closure. Big disappointment that ending was. It took away a lot of what the drama had built until then.
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