Shiny Surface, Empty Inside
Flex x Cop — Season 2
Propelled into the police force against his will, Jin I Su (Ahn Bo Hyun), heir to a powerful conglomerate, continues investigating cases far removed from his privileged world. After the departure of Lee Kang Hyun (Park Ji Hyun), Ju Hye Ra (Jung Eun Chae) takes over as team leader and becomes his new partner.
The male lead, who brought much of the series’ charm through his presence, exuberance, and completely offbeat personality, is given far less room this time around. Even the directing and costumes, which were already sometimes poorly suited to his character in the first season, seem even less appropriate here, while close-up shots of him become much rarer. And yet Ahn Bo Hyun’s highly expressive, sometimes deliberately exaggerated acting is precisely one of the show’s greatest strengths.
The arrival of Ju Hye Ra, a much more serious, cold and cynical character, only reinforces this change. Jung Eun Chae brings plenty of elegance and character to the role; the problem is mainly the pairing itself, which never feels natural. They save each other’s lives and go through situations together that should naturally create some kind of bond, even a conflicted one, yet nothing genuinely develops between them. There is no subtle interplay, no light tension or playful edge to their exchanges, not even the kind of ambiguity that could have made their opposition lively and endearing.
Instead, Jin I Su suddenly comes across as almost childish in his rejection of his new boss. This attitude could have been a great source of comedy if it had been fully embraced as such. But the humor never really takes off. Some situations clearly seem designed to be funny, yet the direction never manages to make the most of them.
Jin I Su could easily remain extravagant and eccentric while still becoming the man for the job when necessary. Ahn Bo Hyun clearly has that range. It is the writing that seems to reduce his character to a form of inconsistency instead of making use of that contrast.
The plot then quickly shifts into a much more conventional investigation: serial murders, bodies, skeletons, clues… an accumulation of familiar police-drama devices without any genuinely fresh idea behind them. The problem is not the lack of realism — a story can perfectly well depart from reality and still be compelling — but the lack of creativity, and above all, the lack of rhythm.
The supporting characters never really manage to take over. By removing Jin I Su from the center of the staging in this way, the series loses the counterbalance that once allowed its police investigations to breathe. Everything feels heavier and more serious, without gaining any real depth in return. The result is strangely flat.
Even the directing seems less inspired than in the first season. The framing, the way the main character is handled, and the overall direction give the series much less energy and dimension. The music, which was already sometimes poorly integrated in the first season, follows the same pattern, with certain jazzy tones feeling more pasted onto scenes than organically incorporated into them. Instead of giving the series a distinctive identity, they sometimes blur its tone.
And yet, there was so much potential between Ahn Bo Hyun and Jung Eun Chae to create a genuinely compelling dynamic. Their opposition could have become one of the driving forces of the season. They had everything they needed to form a lively duo, playing off their differences and gradually developing the particular kind of chemistry that is so noticeably missing here.
Ahn Bo Hyun has the kind of presence that could have turned this police drama into something much more distinctive. With such an expressive character, there was plenty of room for the touch of madness that could have allowed the investigations to breathe.
Instead, this second season seems to have forgotten what made its character distinctive in the first place. It simply needed to give him more space and allow the series to play with what was most alive about it.
Propelled into the police force against his will, Jin I Su (Ahn Bo Hyun), heir to a powerful conglomerate, continues investigating cases far removed from his privileged world. After the departure of Lee Kang Hyun (Park Ji Hyun), Ju Hye Ra (Jung Eun Chae) takes over as team leader and becomes his new partner.
The male lead, who brought much of the series’ charm through his presence, exuberance, and completely offbeat personality, is given far less room this time around. Even the directing and costumes, which were already sometimes poorly suited to his character in the first season, seem even less appropriate here, while close-up shots of him become much rarer. And yet Ahn Bo Hyun’s highly expressive, sometimes deliberately exaggerated acting is precisely one of the show’s greatest strengths.
The arrival of Ju Hye Ra, a much more serious, cold and cynical character, only reinforces this change. Jung Eun Chae brings plenty of elegance and character to the role; the problem is mainly the pairing itself, which never feels natural. They save each other’s lives and go through situations together that should naturally create some kind of bond, even a conflicted one, yet nothing genuinely develops between them. There is no subtle interplay, no light tension or playful edge to their exchanges, not even the kind of ambiguity that could have made their opposition lively and endearing.
Instead, Jin I Su suddenly comes across as almost childish in his rejection of his new boss. This attitude could have been a great source of comedy if it had been fully embraced as such. But the humor never really takes off. Some situations clearly seem designed to be funny, yet the direction never manages to make the most of them.
Jin I Su could easily remain extravagant and eccentric while still becoming the man for the job when necessary. Ahn Bo Hyun clearly has that range. It is the writing that seems to reduce his character to a form of inconsistency instead of making use of that contrast.
The plot then quickly shifts into a much more conventional investigation: serial murders, bodies, skeletons, clues… an accumulation of familiar police-drama devices without any genuinely fresh idea behind them. The problem is not the lack of realism — a story can perfectly well depart from reality and still be compelling — but the lack of creativity, and above all, the lack of rhythm.
The supporting characters never really manage to take over. By removing Jin I Su from the center of the staging in this way, the series loses the counterbalance that once allowed its police investigations to breathe. Everything feels heavier and more serious, without gaining any real depth in return. The result is strangely flat.
Even the directing seems less inspired than in the first season. The framing, the way the main character is handled, and the overall direction give the series much less energy and dimension. The music, which was already sometimes poorly integrated in the first season, follows the same pattern, with certain jazzy tones feeling more pasted onto scenes than organically incorporated into them. Instead of giving the series a distinctive identity, they sometimes blur its tone.
And yet, there was so much potential between Ahn Bo Hyun and Jung Eun Chae to create a genuinely compelling dynamic. Their opposition could have become one of the driving forces of the season. They had everything they needed to form a lively duo, playing off their differences and gradually developing the particular kind of chemistry that is so noticeably missing here.
Ahn Bo Hyun has the kind of presence that could have turned this police drama into something much more distinctive. With such an expressive character, there was plenty of room for the touch of madness that could have allowed the investigations to breathe.
Instead, this second season seems to have forgotten what made its character distinctive in the first place. It simply needed to give him more space and allow the series to play with what was most alive about it.
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