Black Out

Not a pleasant watch

First of all, this is a copycat of Beyond Evil. In both series we have a small village, a murder of a teenage girl(s), a friend group of teenagers, a young guy who gets blamed for the murder, a corrupt police chief, an involved higher political figure. Sure, there is the difference, that in this series the boy was convicted and went to jail. In Beyond Evil they said, that regarding Korean law, no one can be convicted of murder if there is no corpse. In this series, it wasn't the case. He got 10 years without ever finding the dead bodies. I have no idea which series got it wrong, but that was one big difference. Sure, in Beyond Evil, the one who was accused of the murder became a cop himself, but overall, those two series are very similar. So I knew pretty fast that the police chief wasn't trustworthy at all, and the crime involved adults with higher social status and wasn't done by young boys on an impulse.
Well, my issue with this series, though, and I know this review is a mess, the characters were extremely annoying, even the mother of the wrongfully accused boy. In Beyond Evil they managed to make all the character likable, even the villains and the mentally ill friends. It was such an emotional roller coaster, while this series just got me annoyed.
I liked how the rather brute cop was fair enough to listen to the wrongfully convicted murderer and helped him solve the case. I liked their "bromance", but I also have seen better ones. Nothing really got me attached to those characters or their pain.
The main character did a terrific job with his acting, but that doesn't save much if every other character is just lame. Him crying about his dead friends got me emotional, just to find out later that those two girls were some annoying b*tches. The friends were rapist. The other one was sitting for 10 years beside a decomposing body.
Ugh.
I regret watching this, sorry guys. I still try to be fair with my rating.

EDIT: Apparently, this is based on a German novel. I know the author, since I am German, though I didn't read the book. Still, this is very similar to Beyond Evil in so many aspects that's the comparison is justified. I'm also sure they changed many things to fit the Korean police system and politics.

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Finest Mystery Thriller

Black Out: Snow White Must Die

This was one of the finest mystery thrillers i have watched this year. It started off with a bad impression due to its low production quality but the tightly woven mystery plot kept pulling me in more and more, to the point where i forgot about the cheap production. The story just kept getting better with each passing episode until the end.

The show also made my blood boil with its infuriating characters. What made it even more frustrating is how real they felt. They werent inherently evil like the typical psychopaths in crime thrillers, instead they were ordinary people trying to cover up one crime, only to commit more and more in an effort to save themselves.

Byun Yohan's acting was stupendous. He is an actor i usually dislike or at least he doesnt draw me to his projects but here his portrayal of a man falsely accused and unjustly punished for 10 years was outstanding. The way he conveyed the pain and suffering through his performance moved me all the way to the end. Even the supporting cast did so well that i wanted to jump into the screen and punch them.

The show started with a modest 2.8% rating and ended with 8.8%, which says a lot about how it grew on the audience. Like many others, i was initially disappointed but the script and story changed everyone's perception of the drama.

I loved this show and im really looking forward to the director's future projects. Hopefully, he gets a better budget for his upcoming work.

I would have given an extra 0.5 points if the production quality were better but i will still give a solid 9/10 to this excellent mystery thriller.

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Taking out the trash

This is a great mystery but almost every character made my blood boil.

The beginning is genuinely so sad. We see Joung Woo getting arrested, mentally tortured and blamed for two murders he very obviously didn't do. He suffers in prison, he suffers when he gets out of prison. Everyone hates him, everyone blames him. No one is on his side.

He gets almost murdered every episode and he is reckless and naive but I like that about his character. In the shitty town where everyone betrayed him and his family, he was holding onto hope that they are his friends. But with friends like that, who needs enemies?

The shitty characters ranked:

1. Fake detective friend - super shitty bastard. I can't explain how much he annoyed me. THE ENTITLEMENT, THE AUDACITY. WOW. He thinks he is the victim. He hasn't apologized even once to Joung Woo. I'm glad he is suffering and his life is falling apart but I wish we saw more. For example, his life in prison should be hell.

2. Chief's minion/lab rat - everytime he opened his mouth I wanted to slap him across face. He should be a fantasy novel writer, not a detective. He acted all righteous and mighty ignoring he put an innocent man behind bars. Also a coward.

3. Chief - this man never stopped and tried to reflect on his actions. He never apologized, he never admitted his mistakes. He just manipulated people and tried to save his own skin. He might say it's for his son's but it was never for them, only for himself. Absolute human garbage. He tried to die but he doesn't deserve that, he should suffer living with all the things he did.

4. Actress stalker - she is insane. Just because she couldn't have Jeong Woo in a romantic way, she decided to destroy his life. If he said he doesn't like her, he doesn't like her. That's it and she needed to accept it.

4. Father duo - they were the ones that killed the first girl but they tortured Jeong Woo and his family and pretended like they are the most righteous people in the world. The most important people. The best. Their son's are precious while someone else's son and daughter can die and go to prison. THE ENTITLEMENT with every word they say. The fact one father asked Jeong Woo to write the appeal letter. I couldn't believe what he was saying. Absolute trash.

5. Min Su/nurse - coward trash.

6. Doctor - a creep sleeping with minors. He can't yell at his rich, successful wife so he yells at every other woman that he thinks is below him.

7. Congresswoman/Doctor's wife - she is super fake.

8. BY mother - hypocrite. They are all hypocrites. When it's about them, it's one thing. When it's about someone else, it's another.

Decent characters:

1. Joung Woo - they set him up because he was loved, rich and successful. They were jealous.
It was super satisfying to see him get a not guilty verdict at the end.
A cutie pie.

2. The detective - awesome character. Very smart and cool.

3. Med intern/girl - nosy but cute.

4. Why did the wife beater turn out to be the only one to feel guilty, apologize and reflect on his actions?

5. Geon Oh - he was a coward, he came too late but he tried his best and he was the only person to show some remorse, guilt and to apologize sincerely.

6. Jeong Woo's parents - the fact they hid his car and believed in him till the end.

Best line: Why does everyone keep dying without saying anything?

The best scene in this drama is the ending of ep 3 where Jeong Woo finds the first girls corpse. It's so sad.

Overall, very interesting, very stressful, everyone sucks.

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A Suspense Thriller At Par With the Best

I started this show with zero expectations so it was pleasant surprise and also shocking!

Adapted from the novel “Snow White Must Die” by Nele Neuhaus, the show dives headstrong into two murder cases right off the bat. Before you gather your wits and question the inadequacies in the investigation, our protagonist is sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Starring an ensemble casting which includes Byun Yo Han, Go Jun, Go Bo Gyeol, Kim Bo Ra in lead roles, the show is a crime thriller which is simply egregious. The show circles around the main lead, Go Jeong U. He as someone stuck by circumstantial evidence, doesn’t remember anything about the murders that he supposedly committed; as he was drunk and the psychiatrists tagged his scenario as a “Blackout”. The show leads us through a journey where Go Jeong U retraces the steps through the murders that he was accused of. Shockingly bizarre truths unfold as he discovers that he was betrayed by his near and dear ones, people he trusted implicitly. Let’s dig deeper and learn more about his story!

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2024/10/06/black-out-series-review/#more-1237

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Great Drama

If you look for a thriller/mystery drama ...this it is.
For me one of the best dramas until now of 2024. Beware although, a lot of frustrating characters, but as you go deeper into the intrigue you will see why all act like that, yet most are hypocrites.
The story revolves around a man who is falsely accused of murdering his girlfriend and a friend of his. After 10/11 years the truth slowly came out, helped by a detective which was transferred there.
Might find him annoying at first, but he his sharp and notices fast that things don't add up... as they investigate they create a nice friendship bond too.
To be honest the last two minutes made me teary. I think his real friend he had, beside si-oh, was his twin brother, but his father decisions made his life a living hell.
He could just ask back then, not assume things and things might take another direction,
Anyway.
Great acting from all, the plot was good (I liked more the drama than the novel- because here he didn't fall in love of his stalker to put like this and who knew all], ost was good too. The main characters actor delivered his emotions very good.

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Underrated and gripping

I watched Black Out in March and yet I can't stop thinking about it. It was my third thriller after Beyond Evil and Strangers from Hell and I believe that it's painfully underrated.

Black Out is based on the German novel "Snow White Must Die". I haven't read the novel therefore I don't know how accurate the series is. But that's irrelevant to me because the drama had me hooked from the very first episode.

Black Out is the type of slow-paced thriller I enjoy. It took it's time to introduce the audience to the story and the characters. When you thought you knew everything about them, the series would hit you with some revelations that would shatter what you knew until then. I was able to predict some of the plot twists but in some cases, I couldn't predict what would follow next. It was a nail-bitting experience, especially towards the climax.

The main character, Jeongwoo, won my heart. Byun Yo-han did a fantastic job at portraying him and in my humble opinion, his performance could have been nominated for some awards. At first, the series really made me flirt with the idea that he really was the culprit but I quickly abandoned my theory because Jeongwoo was far too kind of a person to do that. He is one of the most tragic characters I've seen in a kdrama series, he was basically abandoned by everyone and seeing him being mistreated really made my blood boil from anger (although I could excuse people's prejudice and fears).

The relationship between Jeongwoo and Sangcheol was one of the highlights for me. Definitely one of my most favourite bromances. They didn't get along due to Sangcheol's hatred towards Jeongwoo because he thought him as the culprit and yet their chemistry blossomed so much. Their interactions were so soft and reassuring and I loved every single scene between them.

Sangcheol himself was a very interesting character and Ko Jun did a fantastic job to bring him to life. He was grumpy, clever, sarcastic and yet he always made sure to do his job right and help Jeongwoo.

The rest of the casting did an equally magnificent job, everyone played so well. The series is full of great deliveries, there were moments which made me tear up or made me want to strangle some of the characters. Trust me when I tell you that this drama might frustrate you when it comes to some of the characters, I couldn't believe how some people could do the things they did to Jeongwoo and his family.

The relationships between the characters were well-explored and as the story went on, everything made sense and how some parts connected with each other. If I could point out a complaint of mine is the amount of times Jeongwoo and Sangcheol's plans were jeopardized and that sometimes, the plot dragged (but not to the point it made me want to drop out).

If you haven't watched the series, please give it a chance. I don't want to write more but I really hope I expressed my opinion as clear as I could.

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Don't drink, kids

Started this purely on recommendation and was completely sucked in. The events of the story are a bit too crazy and coïncidental to be believed, but it's telling such a compelling case study about guilt, shame, and envy that I couldn't look away. I even guessed the main culprits and plot a few episodes in and still was not a minute bored. It's also not relying on psychopathy for once, showing that you can tell a very dark murder mystery without it (well, you can make a case about one of them but this character is not the murderer, interestingly). If I had to make on criticism it's that they don't let us doubt one second that our hero is 100% innocent, it's obvious from the start he was framed, and I wish that we did have a little more uncertainity about it, it would have make some characters' arcs much more compelling. Byun Yo Han and Go Jun were great, I liked that the show didn't try to make them super cops or soulmates or something, and let their partnership grow naturally. Extended cast was amazing, so good that I forgot they were acting.

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Black out - good premise questionable execution

To start things off this K-drama is by no means bad it just could’ve been so much better.

Firstly i loved everything up until the culprit(s) reveal. The fact that every one was guilty for the 2 girls murders was just ridiculous. It felt like the writers were just adding more and more people as culprits just for shock value. If the culprits were just the 2 boys ( min su and byeong mu ) as well as the Doc without bringing in literally the entire cast being accomplices to the 2 boys it would've been sooo much better.

Here’s what i feel like should’ve happened instead, Geon oh (the police chief son) Byeong mu, min su and Boyeong were drinking then they get into the fight etc after she dies. Goon oh tries to call his father but is stoped. Byeong mu, Minsu and Geonoh load Boyeong’s body in Jongwoo’s car and the events play out same way as they did for Minsu and Byeong mu’s fathers (they crash the car and hide the body in the abandoned school) Geonoh helps cuz the other 2 tell him that the police wont believe him if he were to snitch. Later Da run dies by the hands of the doc.

There was literally no reason for some of these characters to be involved in the crime, the biggest example of this is Na Gyeom they tried to make her this super evil mastermind and had her be involved in literally everything and the writers failed so bad with the execution of her character especially. Both the boys fathers also did not need to be there.

As for the Chief and how Jongwoo will be framed, what could’ve happened was shortly after the crime has happened and the investigation began Geon oh could have incoherently told his father privately. His father (the chief) wanting to do anything to protect his son covers up any evidence and ends up framing Jongwoo etc.

And by far the most ridiculous part of this all was the location of Da eun’s body. Her body had no reason being there. Im sorry but when that reveal i found it so ridiculous. One again merely there for shock value, the matter with her body could be easily handled by having the doc hide it/bury it somewhere with the help of his wife, and later it gets found when he ( the doc) gets caught.

That isn’t to say that i was bad, there were many things that i liked in it too. I absolutely adored Ha seol as a character as well as the Mc, Jongwoo, i also liked how Dong min (Boyeong’s father) character was done, i felt bad for him but i also hated his guts at the same time. I also loved Detective Noh and his character development especially with Jongwoo. Su-ho & Geon oh were also characters i ended up loving so much, cant say the same for their dad tho. Of course there are other things that i liked in this too but I’ll end it here.

Over all would I recommend this kdrama to someone? Probably
Solid 8/10

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Good Plot, Slow Paced, Solid Acting

I really really enjoyed the acting in this. I barely recognized Byun YoHan from Misaeng, because he plays such a different character and does so good at it. Ko Jun also did amazing per usual. And, a special shoutout to Lee GaSub for playing two different characters executed amazingly.

I enjoyed the plot very much, but things do drag some due to going overboard in foreshadowing. It was painfully obvious when a character was “suspicious” and it caused the reveals to be dull. I don’t know if it was intended to be obvious, but I personally enjoy some good shock value.

The congresswoman did not need that much screen time. Her husband is the one that committed the crime, and she just assisted in covering it up, yet she seemed to have more screen time than him. I honestly started skipping through her scenes because it was just a repetition of her using her status to control things being covered up.

I feel like they made JungWoo a little bit too chill for the fact that he just spent 10 years in prison for being falsely accused of murdering his best friend and girlfriend, and also the way people treated him knowing damn well they’re the ones that actually did it. Maybe I’m just temperamental, but I feel like most people would’ve crashed out way harder. Though, maybe he would have if he didn’t have Detective Na to keep him grounded and focused.

Speaking of Detective Na, I wish they would have shown us what happened with his wife.

All in all, it was a decent watch, but could have been 8-10 episodes and could’ve had more shock value. I probably won’t re-watch it, but I don’t regret giving it a watch.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Black Out '' or '' Snow White Must Die '' is a crime mystery drama about a man's quest to find the truth.

The drama is thrilling from start to end, with many twists and many layers of the mystery that keep things interesting and fresh.

In addition, the characters were also interesting, though some of them were too much of stereotypes, especially the 'bad guys'.

Still, the puzzle was well crafted and the result unpredictable.

Finally, the performances were all great by all the actors and actresses of the cast.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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A Solid Mystery Buried Under Bad Decisions and Dragging Pacing

This drama had potential but ultimately falls short. It’s predictable, drags on far too long, and is filled with characters who make one questionable decision after another. Almost everyone behaves like an asshole at some point, and a few moments border on outright unrealistic or just plain dumb.

What saves it from being a total miss is the cast, they do their best with what they’re given and manage to keep things somewhat engaging. The central mystery about what really happened is intriguing enough to hold your attention, but the story should’ve been shorter and sharper. It had the foundation for a solid thriller, but too much filler and poor writing weigh it down.

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