This review may contain spoilers
I feel like I was being conned
Into Episode 4 I felt like I, the view, was on a wild goose chase trying to solve the case of who killed the woman in the sewer. That was such an awful, sad scene, I could hardly look at her. That scene and many others just speaks to how well the production was in this drama.
I love thriller/mystery/crime/legal/medical/and similar dramas. I take notes sometimes to keep things straight because, like most likeminded people, I try to figure it out before the big reveal. I even took a picture of Prosecutor Hwang Si Mok’s whiteboard, in Stranger S1, of his collection of suspects and all their possible connections so I could follow and stay on top of the story. That made that particular drama most enjoyable.
The Art of Sarah was a straight-up thriller, with an interesting plot, and was very well acted. BUT it left me with a unsatisfied feeling in the end. The chronic deception and twisting of names and identities was almost over the top. I felt we were introduced to Kim Mi Jeong a bit late. At what point of the story was Shin Hae Sun not Sarah Kim /Kim Eun Jae? Or was she SK all along?
All the related supporting characters identified her as SK or KEJ. Never did we see where a related supporting character identified a different female in their story telling, the girl named. Kim Mi Jeong (Lee E Dam), as SK. So when we are introduced to Kim Mi Jeong, the writer eventually wants us to believe she is actually Sarah Kim?!?! I realize this is a vain of thriller storytelling, but the story got convoluted and I gave up trying to figure out who she actually was and just let the story play out - which in the end didn’t tell me anything. Hence, the unsatisfying feeling. Even though confusing a couple times (I know, they were meant to be), the interrogation scenes between Park Mu Gyeong and ‘Sarah Kim’ were well done. He wasn’t going to be conned. But did he succeed?
It was difficult to have much empathy for the real person behind Sarah Kim. Her justifications for how she ended up where she was were beyond having to pay back a loan shark. To me they were rooted in FOMO. Coveting the very thing that brings momentary pleasure (not even happiness) blinded her and was only going to be her downfall. I think Sarah Kim knew the length of her journey was not going to be long, though.
I did get tired of all the lines of ‘wisdom’. I suppose it was the writer’s intention to show what a flawed sense of superior intellect does to a person’s psyche.
All that aside, the acting was excellent. Shin Hae Sun and Lee Jung Hyuk were great!!! They are both exceptional talents and it was a pleasure to see them together in a drama again. Shout out to Jung Jin Young and Kim Jae Won for their great performances also.
The music fit the story for the most part. It didn’t distract me. While I don’t feel the need to rewatch it, I do recommend it to those who like a thriller.
I love thriller/mystery/crime/legal/medical/and similar dramas. I take notes sometimes to keep things straight because, like most likeminded people, I try to figure it out before the big reveal. I even took a picture of Prosecutor Hwang Si Mok’s whiteboard, in Stranger S1, of his collection of suspects and all their possible connections so I could follow and stay on top of the story. That made that particular drama most enjoyable.
The Art of Sarah was a straight-up thriller, with an interesting plot, and was very well acted. BUT it left me with a unsatisfied feeling in the end. The chronic deception and twisting of names and identities was almost over the top. I felt we were introduced to Kim Mi Jeong a bit late. At what point of the story was Shin Hae Sun not Sarah Kim /Kim Eun Jae? Or was she SK all along?
All the related supporting characters identified her as SK or KEJ. Never did we see where a related supporting character identified a different female in their story telling, the girl named. Kim Mi Jeong (Lee E Dam), as SK. So when we are introduced to Kim Mi Jeong, the writer eventually wants us to believe she is actually Sarah Kim?!?! I realize this is a vain of thriller storytelling, but the story got convoluted and I gave up trying to figure out who she actually was and just let the story play out - which in the end didn’t tell me anything. Hence, the unsatisfying feeling. Even though confusing a couple times (I know, they were meant to be), the interrogation scenes between Park Mu Gyeong and ‘Sarah Kim’ were well done. He wasn’t going to be conned. But did he succeed?
It was difficult to have much empathy for the real person behind Sarah Kim. Her justifications for how she ended up where she was were beyond having to pay back a loan shark. To me they were rooted in FOMO. Coveting the very thing that brings momentary pleasure (not even happiness) blinded her and was only going to be her downfall. I think Sarah Kim knew the length of her journey was not going to be long, though.
I did get tired of all the lines of ‘wisdom’. I suppose it was the writer’s intention to show what a flawed sense of superior intellect does to a person’s psyche.
All that aside, the acting was excellent. Shin Hae Sun and Lee Jung Hyuk were great!!! They are both exceptional talents and it was a pleasure to see them together in a drama again. Shout out to Jung Jin Young and Kim Jae Won for their great performances also.
The music fit the story for the most part. It didn’t distract me. While I don’t feel the need to rewatch it, I do recommend it to those who like a thriller.
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