Story: The basic premise of the story is simple. Nine coworkers from an entertainment company end up on a deserted island together and have to rely on one another to survive. But as it turns out, that's not even half the actual story. The plot jumps around in time and we get the uncover pieces of mystery slowly which was both confusing and intriguing. In the end I felt happy with the development of the story and the way it was concluded but I found myself doubtful on quite a few occasions.
Acting & Cast: I have no complaints. No one stuck out like a sore thumb, everyone did their part and some were simply sublime.
Jung Kyung Ho / Seo Jun Oh: A lovable, misunderstood character. I rarely like the main characters the most in a drama but this time there was no question. Jun Oh was cute, smart and funny, a very well built character. I don't know why I've never watched Jung Kyung Ho before but that's about to change, dammit. He was absolutely wonderful.
Baek Jin Hee / Ra Bong Hee: I used to not like Baek Jin Hee but she changed my opinion of her with this drama. What an awesome female lead! Strong, quick, smart and cute, there's nothing she can't do. Baek Jin Hee's acting was, in my opinion, flawless. While looking conceivably innocent, she packs a better punch than all the men in this drama combined.
Choi Tae Joon / Choi Tae Ho: I love Choi Tae Joon, I hated Choi Tae Ho. That goes to tell you how good he was. I was afraid they were going to completely neglect this character and leave him to be an empty shell but that wasn't really the case. The character wasn't great but they managed to somehow scrape the pieces together by the end.
Oh Jung Se / Jung Ki Joon: Such a sweet ahjussi. Trustworthy and caring. Again, great acting, and chemistry with Lee Seon Bin was great.
Lee Seon Bin / Ha Ji Ah: Now I finally understand why she is called the ultimate girl crush. She is beautiful and acts well, sings well, dances well. I'd date her. Ji Ah was also one of my favorite characters in the drama, she was stubborn, but loyal and strong-willed. I love how we got to see many strong female characters.
Ryu Won / Yoon So Hee: I didn't like her but I don't think I was supposed to. She was an important character for the development of the story but her presence still felt rather insignificant to me.
Yang Dong Geun / Yoon Tae Young: This feels like the first time I've ever seen a character like this one. A very interesting portrayal of a distressed brother and a professional prosecutor by Yang Dong Geun. I ended up enjoying his performance more than I thought I would.
Park Chan Yeol /Lee Yeol: From the beginning till the end, he was the most insignificant character in the drama. Without him everything would have turned out in the exact same way. Chanyeol's acting seems to have improved a little but his part was too small to draw any concrete conclusions. He was cast only to get viewers, let's accept that and move on.
The characters were definitely the driving force of this drama. Although the plot was quite dynamic, on its own it would have been completely disappointing. A successful casting was in the end the strongest point in this production. There were so many characters that I honestly can't bring myself to write individual comments on all of them. Kim Sang Ho and Kim Pub Lae were great as expected as was Tae Hang Ho. Song Ok Jook made me hate her passionately so I'll give her credit for that. Some of the actors in the smaller roles were hilarious and really freshened up the mood of the drama.
Rewatch value: I might consider watching this again because there were some really cute moments that made me laugh. The story in itself wasn't mind-blowing but the acting and humor made up for it quite well. I might recommend this if you're a fan of some of the cast or if you really enjoy light suspense with some comedy on the side. It's an easy watch, you won't have to think too hard.
In a nutshell this is simultaneously a frustrating and juvenile, but quite whimsical and fresh drama. I'm glad I watched it but I'm also glad it's over and I can move onto other things.
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I could give it a lower rating, trust me. But I'm trying to hold onto the good things about this show so I don't turn out being unfair because, when it's all said and done, Missing 9 isn't THAT bad - the huge problem is that it had potential to be the BEST DRAMA in the last 10 years but all that potential was slowly being flushed down the toilet as we watched. As many others, I had hude expectations set for Missing 9, expectations that were given to me BY the show itself, in its first couple episodes. I didn't have a clue where I was poking at when I started watching this show but I LOVED what I saw and all that mystery got me addicted effortlessly. It's only natural, then, that I got EXTREMELY disappointed to have all my theories shattered mercilessly one by one, apparently done on purpose too, like this evil plot was set by the writers from the very start.
Around halfway I lost all interest and strength to keep watching the torture Missing 9 became but since we were so close around the finish line, I kept pushing myself forth... and TRIED to watch it from a different perspective but... it didn't work as expected. Nonetheless, I was able to finish and now, that I'm no longer angered by such a waste of fine art, I can talk about it objectively, so let's start by what's GOOD about this drama:
1) ACTING:
Some people complained about the prosecutor being a bad actor but I was pleased by his natural performance. It's not the actor's fault if the character they're given doesn't have a coherent reply to one thing or another (if you look closely, the same happened to most characters). Everyone did a great job with what they had at hand and made it quite believable. Except maybe for Chanyeol. I was biased of him once and even then I never bought his acting so don't come throwing rocks at me.
2) COMEDY:
On spot. When they decide to be funny it's always a success! It's an innocent, silly kind of comedy - my favorite. For most part unexpected too so, when you're hoping for some depth... they explode on your face with comic displays that couldn't be any more displaced. And yet... you can't help but laugh.
3) SHOOTING:
Dunno if that's the right name to call it. All that deal with angles, action, timing, image, et cetera. Should I call that production? I'm torn because production failed in many aspects so I really dunno but... what I'm trying to say is that it's a nice show aesthetic-wise. (?)
4) MYSTERY:
Even though all that smoke clears around episode 5 or 6 and leaves you thinking "That was it?!", they did a great job with those cliffhangers, making us wonder and create crazy theories about every damn thing, from all the beige they wore at start to the colorful lights in the forest we found out to be... garden dwarfs, probably.
5) POTENTIAL:
Yes. Why not? If you watch it you'll figure out at least 3 different lines Missing 9 could've followed to be the next best thing in Korean entertainment. But no. Of course they would've pushed it downhill. No kidding, man. That can't be normal. I'm starting to think someone might have paid the producers to screw things up that bad just so some other show would remain on the spotlight. And who the heck would that be, considering SM is involved, huh? I'm thinking JYP... oh. That would turn out to be a great drama to watch!
Now... let me get to what's TERRIBLE about this show.
[ WARNING!!!!!! ~~~~~~~ BEWARE OF SPOILERS LMAO ~~~~~~~ RETREAT NOW IF YOU CARE ]
[ Synopsis ] So we have a group of spoiled ass lil idols in beige and they ALL survive a plane crash because they're basically immortal although they're good for nothing weakling humans and we'll prove that to you by all means needed.
1) (and this ONE may get lengthy, so forgive me beforehands;) STORYLINE:
How do I start? Missing 9 had a great start, really. But as the plane crashed down, so did everything else. Honestly, everyone knows "no dramas are realistic" - yes, yes - but there's a tolerance level that can be sustained and this drama completely disrespected its viewers by kicking those basic logic standards to the moon. I already went on how MIRACULOUS it is to survive a plane crash even if you follow all security protocols and shit but ALL of our leads made it out UNHARMED even though they were shaking inside that huge can like alive sardines on a frying pan. They even managed to survive several days alone before finding each other and they barely even get dirty or messy at all - funny, eh? I'll leave all the illogical character profiles for later so, moving on... they're lost in a deserted island and nothing feels aggravated, not even when they find out there's a killer among them, not even when they find out WHO the killer is. Everything is peace and pancakes, jokes, colorful clothes and what not.
Later on, they ALL manage to leave the island and while Bong Hee was found alone, it took several days to find the others all at once and... didn't they all leave together? What the hell happened? They were in the same freaking boat, they all went to the same freaking hospital and yet... nothing makes sense. NOTHING.
And then everyone's suddenly back to their regular lives as if nothing happened, all the trauma Bong Hee expressed in the beginning is only justified due to her lack of memories because, clearly, to everyone else, all that horror was nothing but spring vacation and now they're undergoing a new kind of nightmare under big bad boss who could've easily anihilated the rest of them one by one but after being too smart, he was acting too dumb. And what's with that sudden head shave? Wtf? They made it seem like it was such an important event, lol. And there we have again the psycho crazy villains, right? And now that we're back home we should try and make them pay for their crimes so we can live.
Damn... should've stayed in that island, man. The good guys can only win where there's no money or power. (Unless they have money and power, ofc.)
Summing up, back at Seoul, Missing 9 became a total different drama leaning towards political, investigation and law themes, the same old same we are sick of watching in all the others.
And that ending... we're clearly missing MORE than "nine" here. This drama is clearly about how they are all dead and delusional. I mean, that's so clear after that final scene. Who in their right minds would laugh like fools while painting each other in a big after party INCLUDING the person who tried to kill them all (but that's so easy to overlook, right? NOT.) and who was supposed to be locked away in a mental facility? Well... we can only conclude they ALL joined him there as we were suddenly back to all the beige... patient's wear. The writers are just too genius to leave all that in between the lines. Got it? *smug grin*
2) CHARACTER INCONSISTENCY:
Most character also make no sense at all. We have Bong Hee, the belated professional stylist who was fearless and conveniently a PRO at living in the wilderness. She could fish, make a fire, a tent, swim, save people, patch wounds, she was in her right mind all the time to save food and water, she was so strong for someone the size of a peanut (she even takes out Tae Ho in a fist fight with much ease!), she never got sick despite all that, always in a good mood... there was nothing she could not do! I'm surprised she didn't sneak into the control room to avoid the crash in the first place.
Then we have Joon Ho, a shallow good for nothing too-old-to-be-an-idol person everyone's so keen to avoid. He's so selfish to the point of eating all the food and letting the girl do everything by herself but at the same time he's too good to be human I can only assume he's Jesus reincarnated. I mean... he's so quick to forgive a criminal who literally stabbed him on the back, killed some of his friends, framed him and ruined his career, tried to kill his beloved and a couple sentences from him was enough to make the assassin repent... sigh. Suuure.
Tae Ho. When we think he's trying to survive (and that's understandable), he reveals he's completely broken and abnormal. Everything he does proves that he is a psycho and yet sometimes they break him out of the blue and make him look normal and just... ????????? Make up your mind! Someone can't be psycho and sane at the same time! That just doesn't happen!
Ji Ah. For someone with such a strong personality, she's too passive at times and fades in the background with ease for a main character. I missed her development. She's been made useless by the writers.
So Hee: Too stupid for a smart fox.
Good CEO: Immortal.
Evil CEO: ?????? Cartoonish? We still don't know if he was the one behind the crash or not but that's a long shot for a plan, don't you think? It would be so much easier to kill Sohee and Good CEO if all he wanted was to take over business. He just doesn't make sense.
Investigation Committee: LOL what a messy joke. They kept making evidence out of statements, turning the whole thing upside down as soon as a new survivor came around, just... *rolling eyes forever*
Prosecutor: At some point he completely forgets all about his dead sister and replaces her with Bong Hee.
3) PRODUCTION:
They must've be low on budget because you can easily spot they're in no forest - it's a garden; no ocean but a pool (it even echoes terribly); the toy boat in a tank; the storm with no wind; the burning plane parts on the shore after it crashes into the ocean; colorful lights in the forest that should be crazy dark to justify the lamps everyone was carrying; domestic bunnies in the wilderness and many, many, maaaaany others.
4) PLOT HOLES:
Was the plane crash a coincidence or not? It is said to be cursed????????? Nothing was explained. Did their time in the island matter at all? If you take it out, nothing would be harmed. It all started because of Jaehyun so the island deal is just... pointless. It's what they used to make it look new when it's not.
5) LOGIC HOLES:
Apart of everything that's already been discussed, the sea brought everyone safely to the island, as well as their conveniently packed with food luggage but had no problem taking Yeol far, far away so that he was never found again; a boat that could only accommodate 4 people, LEFT with 4 people to rescue another 2 and managed to return safely with everyone on board. Tae Ho desperately needed the boat and destroyed it. We have a killer among us but hey let's let him sit with us and laugh together. I was just stabbed on the back and the killer is still perfectly fine but this is the perfect time for a romantic song to play while a sweet talk this lady before me (who's still in danger, let's not forget that). I'm being accused in this trial but no one tries to stop me when I stand up and walk away in the middle of the whole thing. Speaking of... a TRIAL? Perfect time to play this sexy song match for sensual scenes because why the hell not!
Oh boy... I could go on forever... trust me, I could. But I'm sick of typing at this point and you are sick of reading, I'm sure of it. At least now you get it why I said I could rate it lower, considering I haven't even numbered ALL the reasons why this is crap. Because, in the end, it's not. Gold comes out from muddy rivers. Missing 9 isn't a shitty drama, after all. It has its value, yes it does. But it's not a good drama either. Not average at all considering all the craziness. It's like a soup you make saturday night containing the left overs from all weekdays prior - comedy, tragedy, mystery, romance, political, law, investigation, survival, suspense, action... a mix of way too many genres that kept outshining each other, just like flavors that, despite being unquestionably delicious, when put together result in something that tastes like shit and has no identity. Yes. I trust that metaphor wraps it up quite well.
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I had so many wtf moments watching this for example everyone keeps reappearing in the most unlogical ways and whenever something traumatic and horrible happens next thing I know is that they carry on living as if nothing has ever happened. Their mourning moments are rushed and overshadowed by random comedic scenes with a need of making this drama funny - even if it was totally inappropriate at that time. Am I the only one that didn't even have one character they completely liked? Rushing the plot made me suspicious about every single character since you couldn't really tell what they were thinking and planning on doing.
Also wtf were they trying to do with constantly making Taeho look like a complete psychopath but then wanting the audience to feel sympathy towards him near the end. Ain't nobody going to like him if he keeps getting rid of the whole community? And some tears are not going to change this. He needs to repent but instead they just wanted to evoke pity towards a handsome protagonist even though he doesn't deserve it? I couldn't help but feel a bitter aftertaste after seeing that.
Needless to say, even if they wanted to make the plot seem fancy and well thought out, they failed miserably in the end. 16 episodes were far too many for what was presented it was like they kept repeating the same old shit like surprise! someone! else! is! dead! but no one is getting smarter about handling the issue! They didn't use their screen time wisely, rushed when it was neccessary to slow down and drifted off into scenes they should have better left out.
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This drama had me excited all the time and when there were no new episodes I was so curious as what would happen next.
The story is well written in my opinion. There are three main arcs, I'd say. The past, the island and the present which was very enjoyable. I was already scared they would make the plane crash into a little flashback and build up the story from there but it wasn't like that and that was what made me really like the drama.
The acting and cast was perfect for this story. Baek Jin Hee was simply such a cutie and probably the best in this drama was our dear Choi Tae Joon. He really proved his acting skills in Missing 9, wow.
After the show ended I immediately searched for the instrumental OST because it really blew me away. For every scene they had a fitting piece that build up the emotions even more. Plus, the OST was very well done which is almost the most important thing for me after the story.
Even though so many people don't like this drama that much, I do. That's why you should maybe try to watch this for yourself as everyone has a different taste.
PS.: All my friends who watched this, enjoyed it a lot! So maybe it's a country thing... haha.
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The parts that I loved were the friendships forged and the comedy that came with it. You could really feel the genuine care that most of the characters had for each other which is why overall the cast did a pretty good job with the material they were given. Jung Kyung Ho is one of my favorite actors so it was nice to see him both be funny and intense. Lee Seon Bin and Oh Jung Se were adorable and I could watch a whole show with just the two being clueless.
The parts that I hated were the parts where the overly dramatic music cued RIDICULOUSLY stupid plot developments. These stupid plot developments mostly revolved around Choi Tae Ho and started out a little thrilling and ended up just laughably absurd. I kept on waiting for the motivations for the "bad guys" to make sense and while explanations were given, very little made sense. It's like the writers for the show saw Lost, watched an episode of The Office, read an Agatha Christie novel, and said YES I WANT THAT. The repetition of this vicious cycle of nonsensical plot developments also made the show pretty boring in the end.
To summarize, I really really wanted to like this show because of the unique premise and the actors involved, but it was just too much of a mess to enjoy. It started out strong but just devolved as the plot became more and more absurd.
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it's more like 'friendship' genre. this movie teachs me that 'forgiving' is the best way to keep the friendship.
BUT THIS DRAMA IS TOO CRUEL, IT LOVES TO MAKE ME CRY :')
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What let down a potentially great thriller were the times it slid into being ridiculous. From how clean people and their clothes were, to characters wandering around on their own once a killer was potentially back. The amount of beatings some could take, together with surviving drowning whilst badly wounded, on more than one occasion, was eye rolling.
I liked the resilient character of the main female too, who was also pretty independent and capable.
There is also the usual shady prosecution service, most of whom are more interested in finding the path to increasing their position and wealth, than to the actual guilty party.
We find out who the real culprit is, but trying to prove it is difficult and the cat and mouse episodes are very watchable.
If only they'd kept that momentum going, instead of including some very lazy scenes instead.
The end of the final episode was just bizarre and I have no idea why it was included. It was almost like the ending to a children's story, where the kids are told the moral of the tale, although how a mass murderer got to be included was beyond me.
The deaths of several characters was often brought up, but one in particular was noticeable by their absence. It wasn't until that odd last scene, that they suddenly got a mention. Months stranded, months back and episodes later, it was like a quick add-on; "Oh and we won't stop searching for xxxx".
If you can forgive these shortcomings (which to be honest I could), then it's not a bad watch.
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Story-7.5/10: The plot was not the best in execution. But the characters were well written. There were parts throughout the drama that I felt was a little random. But there were moments that were very satisfying to watch. There the suspenseful scenes were well done.
Acting-9/10: This was the best part of the drama. The actors/actresses were doing their character justice. The chemistry between the cast was fantastic. I give praises to Jung Kyung Ho, Bak Hee Jin, Choi Tae Joon, Lee Sun Bin Oh Jung Se and Kim Pub Lae. They were the best characters and best acted out of them all. There were a few others, but these were the ones I paid attention to most. Bong Hee was such a strong, awesome women. She can kick some butt. Seo Joon was cute, smart but also intense(when it came down to it). Tae Ho was super intense, scary and a bit vunerable. Ji Ah was a sassy but strong character as well. Ki Joon had a great back story. He was a comedic, caring type of character. Do Pal was intense, creepy and sly character. Everytime Do Pal and/or Tae Ho were on screen, I was scared about what they would do.
Music-9/10: This was also the best aspect of this drama. What I liked about this OST was that most of it was BGMs(background/instrumental music). A lot of the this OST really set the tone of the scenes and it was in the right place each time.
Re-watch or not?: Nah. It was a roller coaster ride. Regardless of the plot, it was intense, suspenseful drama.
Overall score-8/10: You should watch this drama for the character development, the actors/actresses, and the survival type of drama.
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1. Quality of filming and sets
A LOT of work was put into this drama... Its sad how a lot of people rate it low. As someone who loves creative work, this gets me a little T.T. From their clothes to the sets- everythings was carefully planed. It really deserves to be praised, can some of you even imagine... wait you can see in the special episode what conditions the actors and staff had to work in.
2. Cast/Acting
The cast is amazing, its full of great actors :) !!! If you pay attention some times you can notice things- like you can see in the last episode how Ji Ah is holding her wrist( if you watch you will know), you know things like that. For real you can watch this drama just for the cast.
3. The story
Its REALLY interesting. Normaly if watch Kdramas you listen to Kpop too, right? The drama, might give a better view of some things in the ent.industry, its not all rainbows, smiles and abs. It shows how politics handle and view the public. It has all of it media, politics, law, crime, drama, a LOT of mystery, some silly moments too( which really get to you T.T).
Dont let others stop you from watching it, because overall is GREAT only the last 3-4 min were what got the rating down :(
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Where is justice when a monster all throughout the series is included in the ending scene with a happy vibe? I'm sorry, but I just can't accept that.
It was good, great even, except for that scene. What was the writer thinking giving people that ending?
What a major let down!
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