A Pulpy Thriller That Doesn't Care About Logic
I'll admit I had a certain amount of fun watching this but in terms of quality - it's just not there. The show prioritizes melodramatic twists over logic and characters rarely have motivation for doing what they do. If you actually think about any singular "twist" on this show it falls apart.I also had issues with our female lead. She passive, reactive, and lacks skepticism entirely. She believes everything she's told at all times - even when the source is OBVIOUSLY untrustworthy. And she's TOLD a lot. She uncovers almost nothing on her own but rather the mystery unfolds as characters show up and explain things. The eventual reveals are shallow and - again - don't make a lot of sense if you think about them for more than a moment.
If you want to watch attractive people running around in a noir style show - this IS entertaining enough. But in terms of writing they weren't even really trying.
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For People Dazzled By Explosions , Gunfire, and Characters Jumping Out of Helicopters
As far as I'm concerned, a medical drama has two main points of focus. The main characters who are usually doctors and nurses. And the 'cases of the week' - patients who are often injured in dramatic, heightened, and forgivably unrealistic ways. I found this series to be a failure on both counts.Our hero is just that. Nothing more than a one-note hero who never makes mistakes and is never wrong. Egotistical to a fault (like many real and fictional doctors - I grant you), but never humbled by the narrative or faced with any hubris. He is the ONLY one who knows what's best and he breaks the rules constantly because he's better than safety procedures and protocols. I can't help but compare him to character like House, for example, who is constantly checked by other characters and forced to face his own god complex often.
Our other core characters are just as underdeveloped and one dimensional. No complexity, no layers, no internal lives. Our villains are laughable in their greed, also one note with no redeeming qualities at all. Not a whiff of nuance to be found.
And then we have the medical cases. For some reason, the patients are all but irrelevant on this series. We don't know them, we're not asked to care about them. We're only asked to care about whether our hero is 'right' in whatever dangerous decision he makes to save them. And of course he always is. It's boring, repetitive, and utterly unengaging.
If you're dazzled by explosions and gunfire and characters jumping out of helicopters then perhaps this show is for you. But if character and story matter to you at all, this show does not deliver.
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A Must-Watch for Thriller Lovers
I have to leave a review for this series because it's one of the few thrillers I've seen that actually made sense beginning to end. There are twists and turns throughout and the plot is perfectly paced with just enough story for 16 episodes. And there are no derailments into sci-fi nonsense (like a mid-series brain transplant for example...).The writers of this show had firm command over what to reveal when - playing with the audience just enough to keep the guessing game of who from the past is who in present day fun. I also loved the way this series explored brotherhood and what it means to be loyal.
I'm exceptionally picky with thrillers and this one delivered in a big way. If you like thrillers this is a must watch.
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A Beautifully Written Character Driven Journey
This is a show for people who like to pay attention and be rewarded for the effort. There are no car chases. No fight scenes. No twists. If you enjoy shows ABOUT people - who they are, what makes them tick, how connections are forged - this one will knock your socks off. But if you're looking for something where you can sit back and shut your brain off - this is not for you.This is a story about guilt.
When the story begins, our female lead is drowning in her own loneliness and misery. Those she loved most have all left her, and she's been abandoned in a house that was once full of life and love. Our male lead: he's the one who comes back. He regrets leaving. He regrets letting her win. But she's always been his weakness. However, her way has not been working. They're both suffering. They're two points of a triangle that is now missing their third. He wants them to face their guilt head on. She wants to run away from it. Her life is cold. He wants to bring warmth. He is a fixer. She prefers to hide away from things that need to be fixed. The whole plot is him trying to fix what went wrong as she continues to run from it.
Every aspect of this show was written with care and consideration. The metaphor of our female lead's cold hands, the summer and winter triangle, the revision of the term 'last summer' in the series' final moments. The writing is beautiful if only you pay attention.
It's sad to see just how many people can't enjoy a show like this. The claims that it's boring or confusing are disheartening and say more about the state of viewers than the series itself. If you like a character driven show, if you liked Melo Movie or Just Between Lovers or Our Beloved Summer, give this one a proper shot and trust that there's a reason for every choice the writer has made.
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Strong Horror With Tight Plot
Taking a handful of fun, tried-and-true horror tropes, Monstrous delivers a tight plot with engaging characters played by phenomenal actors. I watch a lot of Korean horror dramas and I am constantly disappointed by a lack of logic in terms of the supernatural mechanism. But this show did a wonderful job of setting up the rules of the curse and staying consistent with them throughout. It also had a tension filled closed door plot-line with a great villain. I had a lot of fun.VFX were laughably terrible though. Luckily they're only used sparingly.
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