Love Wins

I've been resisting writing a review of this, because I...don't know how to? Inspector Koo's charm lies partly in its outlandish premise and plot, it's zany, theater-esque screenplay and performances, and mostly in its self-aware, utterly joyful enjoyment of its own absurdity. It's a show that's deeply painful but also absolutely hilarious; a show about being women in a post Me Too, post truth, post-everything world; when our species is hurtling towards its inevitable end, is there any point to an individual pulling themselves out of a landfill? And that too, for some arguably quaint- perhaps even archaic- idea of justice? Koo Kyung-yi (Lee Young-ae) and Song Yi-kyung (Kim Hye-jun) are harlequins in our late-capitalist theatre; beneath their comedy is unspeakable tragedy, truth that's only palatable if you approach it sideways, or in secret, private places, in dark woods, or in dreams where you throw yourself from a moving car or face it with a shotgun, (like Kim Hae-sook in a mindblowing performance as Director Yong). "Rookie" writer team Chung So-yi and director Lee Jung-hyeum barely make a misstep in the show; the performances are uniformly engaging, with a special shout out to Kim Hye-jun who's an actual movie star; Lee Young-ae's years of experience show in her equal parts-wacky-yet-restrained and deeply emotional performance, and oh, yes, my fave fave fave Kwak Sun-young gets to shine as Koo Kyung-yi's best friend, co-conspirator, sometimes-betrayer and love interest (fight me!). In short- if there's one kdrama you're going to watch in the last three days of this year, let it be this one!