A well-rounded gateway drama suitable for beginners!
I don't know why, but as soon as I finished this drama, it instantly became a favourite that I always looked back on fondly. I really enjoyed the story and the manner in which they wrapped up the drama definitely enhanced my overall appreciation for it. I loved the characters, their development, and their interactions. The story had a bit of everything and was woven together in a way that, to me, made perfect sense—a good balance. At the time I was watching this, I was more accustomed to watching movies with a mix of genres, so seeing the action, comedy, friendship, romance, mystery, and detective elements all fit together didn't feel out of place or overwhelming. The drama also included tropes I really enjoyed, like enemies-to-lovers(ish), hidden identities, slow-burn romance, found family, and a strong female lead who remained consistent despite occasional naivety.I had previously seen Lee Seung Gi in another drama before this and didn't have a strong opinion of him since I thought his acting was lacking somewhat. However, my impression of him changed here because he portrayed a stronger and more complex character that he handled exceptionally well. As for the rest of the cast, specifically Cha Seung Won and Go Ah Ra, this was my first exposure to their work, and I found myself genuinely impressed with their performances, as I thought they all portrayed their roles convincingly.
Considering that this drama was among the first few Asian dramas I completed, I believe I enjoyed it for what it was at the time. I still remember the emotions I felt watching this! I don't plan on rewatching it in order to preserve those positive feelings because, having seen more nuanced dramas in this genre since then, I know I would be more critical in my evaluation now. I think viewers watching this drama for the first time in 2023 might find it average and not deserving of its higher score here on MDL. However, I'll keep my original score because it had a significant impact on me as a newcomer to kdramas, serving as one of the gateways into the genre and helping me discover some of the tropes I still enjoy to this day.
(Completed: 2016)
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Really, it is entertaining, but the story... And the low level of police work is so obvious that it almost hits kids' series level. Fortunately, the characters develope quickly after the first 4 episodes and some actors (like the Team Leader) are just awesome.
It is a very sympathetic drama "for in between".
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Not for me!
Im afraid I found the performances of all to be vastly over acted - especially the FL! Ive liked her in other dramas but I found myself fast forwarding through her scenes! Overly dramatic facial expressions to everything! Her character bever really made sense to me and she took far too much from the ML. The ML for most of the drama I disliked- I know he was emotionally damaged but he was so cold and rude and just downright offensive.Far too many emotional angst scenes - just get on with it!
20 episodes was far too long for essentially a rather convoluted story that actually was not that interesting!
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I started to watch because of a review that someone made to this drama and i absolutly don't regret a thing! Loved and enjoyed EVERY episodes in this drama!
The story is amazing. The acting..wow the acting is perfect! Lee seung Gi and Go Ara acting was tottaly perfect, essentially as a couple!
> A Great story, a great romance and great music!
> Lee Seung Gi can kiss <3
> Action
> ALL episodes made me begging for the next episode!
I really loved this rama and recomend to all of you!
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Do me one favor. Don't die in front of me - Eun Dae Gu
নিজের চোখের সামনে মা-কে খুন হতে দেখে জুনিয়র হাই স্কুলের এইটথ গ্রেডের ছাত্র Kim Ji Yong। যে ডিটেক্টিভ কে বিশ্বাস করেছিলো সে, Seo Pan Seok, সে-ই সম্ভাব্য খুনী কিংবা খুনীর সহযোগী। হামলা হয় তার উপরেও। মনে প্রচন্ড ক্ষোভ নিয়ে মায়ের মৃত্যুর দিনই নিরুদ্দেশ হয় সে। পালটে ফেলে নিজের পরিচয়, নতুন নাম নেয় Eun Dae Gu। এরই মাঝে পার হয়ে যায় এগারো বছর।এগারো বছর পর Dae Gu ফিরে আসে ডিটেক্টিভ হিসাবে। যোগ দেয় আরো চার জন্য নতুন ডিটেক্টিভের সঙ্গে ক্রিমিনাল ব্রাঞ্চে, রুকি ডিটেক্টিভ হিসাবে। উদ্দেশ্য, তার মায়ের হত্যাকারীকে খুঁজে বের করা, এগারো বছরের আনসলভড কেসকে সলভড করা। কিন্তু এখানে তার বস তারই আজন্ম শত্রু Seo Pan Seok, যাকে একবার বিশ্বাস করে ভীষণ ভাবে ঠকেছিলো সে। এখন Dae Gu কি পারবে এগারো বছর ধরে দমিয়ে রাখা সমস্ত ক্ষোভ পুষে রেখে স্বাভাবিক ভাবে দায়িত্ব পালন করতে? নাকি যে কোনো মূহুর্তে বিস্ফোরণ ঘটাবে সমস্ত ক্ষোভের?
ফিরে এসেছে এগারো বছর আগের তার মায়ের খুনীও। সে এখন খুন করতে চায় Dae Gu-কেও। কিন্তু কেন? তার মায়ের খুনটা কি আদতেই সাধারণ কোনো খুন ছিলো? ডিটেক্টিভ Seo Pan Seok কি আসলেই খুনীর সহযোগী? না হলে খুনীর সাথে তার কিসের সম্পর্ক?
Lee Seung Gi আর Go Ah Ra দুজনেই আমার খুব পছন্দের। তবুও ড্রামাটা কিভাবে এতদিন বাদ থেকে গিয়েছিলো জানি না। কিন্তু এটা ফেলে রাখার মত ড্রামা না। যথেষ্ট ফার্স্ট ফরোয়ার্ড ডিটেক্টিভ ড্রামা, কোথাও ঝুলে গেছে বলে মনে হয়নি। রোমান্সের পরিমাণ খুবই কম, যতটা না হলেই না, ঠিক ততটায় আছে। কিন্তু থ্রিল আর সাসপেন্স আছে যথেষ্ট পরিমাণে।
ক্রাইম/মার্ডার মিস্ট্রি/ডিটেক্টিভ জনরা যদের ভালো লাগে, সবার জন্য সাজেশানে থাকবে ড্রামাটা! :)
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My Rating: 7.5
In Short: A great cast which made this a very watchable show, though not as suspenseful or funny as it could have been given the great comedic potential of our leads.
Pros: Not the silliest portrayal of police work I have ever seen, and the cast definitely sold it to create a high level of cute.
Cons: Disappointingly one-dimensional villains, and some plot holes that I couldn't quite get my head around. The fun premise and great cast could have been taken better advantage of.
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The story was quite good, the mystery of who killed his mother was very suspenseful until the very end. Go Ara and Lee Seunggi had great chemistry, but Seunggi looked so weird not smiling and upbeat like we normally see him on tv. One of the funny scenes of the drama was when Seunggi came out the shower and Go Ara runs into him and her face smacks right in the middle of his chest, their reaction is hilarious..
Would definitely recommend it, it was better then the other dramas that were on around the same time.
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A light hearted drama which will make you smile
It was a light watch and the comaradrie between characters is amazing. They grow from rookies to good detectives and are there for each other.There is suspense, thriller, comedy and romance. It's an amazing watch.
The story progressed at just the right pace among 20 episodes. The cast is not only good looking but also delivered justice to their characters.
The comic timing is very good ............... ................ ................ ................ ................ ............. ................ ................ ................ ................ ............. ................ ................ ................ ................ ............. ................ ................ ................ ................ ............. ................ ................ ................ ................ ............. ................ ................ ................ ................
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I started it because I wanted to see everything my boy Lee Seung Gi's is in, and the plot description didn't seem too bad. But honestly this drama can be described in one word: cliché. Boy oh boy is it frustrating when it’s exactly what you’d expect and you could practically write the show yourself.
This drama is your basic crime-mystery plot, with the heroes vs the Corrupt Company/Authority.
Everything is connected, and with every developing plot line it’s like "oh OF COURSE this person is related to this" and "of coURSE this tragic past incident is connected to the other person's past trauma"
Even the romance is cliché in every possible way. He’s the cold but mysterious male lead and she’s the cute, clumsy dorky one in the squad. They knew each other in their childhood, I could go on. And I really disliked his treatment of her. He belittles her, calls her ‘birdbrain’ and ‘freeloader’ when she’s been nothing but nice to him. Even by the end of the drama I still couldn't support the couple because they had barely any screen-time so I couldn't get attached to them.
I’m just in a constant tug of war between 'not enough romance' or 'pls! no more forced/unnecessary romance thx'. Like why couldn't the writers make it more natural? The romance scenes feel separate from the rest of the show, almost like switching genres. It adds nothing to the plot so I guess they just added it every now and again to say 'Oh but there's romance too!' It's so bizarre, a ‘romantic’ scene happens, aaaand then it’s back to the plot the next scene. Back to normal. Idk, it’s just a weird way they’ve done things???
To explain what I mean (minor spoiler:) The couple had like 6 mini scenes during the whole drama (and half of them are just them looking at each other while they're sleeping), and didn’t even have a REAL mutual kiss until the last 5 minutes of the last episode, what kind of bs? It's like, include it in the story or DON'T!
Not only is it predictable, the entire plot just goes around in circles. The reason behind the tragic crime at the beginning of the drama keeps freaking CHANGING. UGH the entire plot is stretched out sooooooo unnecessarily long. Even I was like “wait there's MORE??? WHEN WILL THIS TRAIL OF CORRUPTION AND LIES END?!!?!” I'm as emotionally exhausted as the characters. I pity the male lead so much. He's at the centre of everything and just when he overcomes yet another heartbreaking truth, there's another truth bomb around the corner. You’re All Surrounded? More like 1001 ways to hurt Eun Dae Gu. So much pain for one man, yikes.
Although I did love when the show called themselves out:
“Why do these kinds of things only happen to Team 3? This stuff only happens in dramas.”
He’s right and he should say it.
Or his other famous line "This team is bad luck! Hostages! Attacks! And your mother was assaulted! And now yet another attack!” lmao he is my spirit animal
Yeah so, save your time. If you're after an actual DECENT Heroes vs the Corrupt Leaders drama, watch 'Healer' or 'Pinocchio'. They're made in the same year and everything.
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As for the "police procedural" side of this. You'll forgive me if once I again I'll focus strictly on the fun element in the series, as there is no basic logic in either episode 1 (how was the single woman supposed to be protected if no one protected her?) or episodes 2-20 (what good is to have whole group of rookies who equally know nothing?) so this NEEDED to have a LOT of good scenes to make up for it.
Episode 1 was excellent. Simple and powerful story, great characters, superb acting. It was funny, thrilling and emotionally engaging even though one could smell the ending from a mile off (as mentioned in the paragraph above). It was like a fresh run, with no stopping and waiting, or skipping a single 1 minute with an annoying side-character or side-scene you wanted to pass.
Episode 2 starts limping. Not only is the purpose of several rookies joining 1 station nonexistent, all of them are annoying. Usually I like Lee Seung Gi, but he's trying to be all hardass here and I would prefer to keep watching the 14-year old actor. Scenes you partially want to skip begin. Scenes you generally want to skip begin. I haven't watched korean drama for a while now, so everybody shouting loud enough to shatter glass approx. 50% of all conversation and general over-acting was something I had to get myself atuned to again, since the second episode...
Though I had to abandon the high standard expectation set by episode 1 to stay with the series further, I did at least appreciate the basic premise. The story of a new rookie - joining in hope to get revenge on a person whose mistake cost his mother dearly, only to discover himself how easy mistake is made even with the best intentions - IS enjoyable. There is a price to pay for each rookie to become a really good cop. The price is paid by an innocent civilian. The debt is then re-paid by the cop giving back to society by doing their job better next time, and the next time, and the next (this often becomes the true motivation to stay in the job, not the promotion, not the salary). That's the cruel truth each rookie should be aware upon joining. They should never join lightheartedly. But, of course this cruel truth isn't something that can be openly said to them on recruitment...
We watch Lee Seung Gi's character gradually understanding this. Now he's becoming a detective himself, he senses how the cruel circle works. That without committing a mistake that WOULD seriously harm someone really innocent, the detective will NOT go through the necessary personality change, after which he/she becomes really good detective. Then, realizing the price which was paid for them to become good, they are obliged to dedicate their skills in risky job, helping as many other victims as they will be able. They know that crying and committing suicide won't help anyone. Money and resources were spent in their training and they did learn hell of a lesson on a top of that. What they now have to do is give back for the rest of their lives: that is, if they are moderately decent/moral people. Unmoral people are NOT uncommon so naturally police forces don't solely consist of members thus depicted, there ARE those just seeking career and power:) Not all people go through the same story or the same magnitude. But he now realizes such people ARE indeed present in the force's backbone.
Cha Seung Won's character is an example of such a backbone member of the police force. So, his dislike of naive, greedy & incompetent rookies has reasons deeper than just annoyance. As I've previously pointed out, him handling a whole bunch of rookies at the same time has not much sense. Just for the dramaturgy purpose of this drama, where we get to watch him as a mentor figure of the contrasting members and their difficulty/camaraderie, I accept it.
Knowing this background of the story, Lee Seung Gi & Cha Seung Won's scenes are way more intriguing.
No matter the silly side-characters, their conflict IS dramatic. And if there is something I enjoy about k-drama despite the annoyances I mentioned, then it is DRAMA:) Luckilly, there were both dramatic and funny moments in this series.
I was glad we got something more squeezed out of the - at first really unimpressive - characters of the rookies. I must praise the music, too (it's amazing, and the track called "Justice For All" turns your blood cold). And I enjoyed the bits of romance, the more they were set into something meaningful.
In the end, I really enjoyed this and grew to like all the characters. And I did NOT like any at the beginning (except Lee Eung Do, perhaps:) Not even the lead girl. It was great that no one was just one-dimensional good guy/bad guy here and we were able to move past the initial conclusions about the characters. At 3/4 of the series it was all nicely settled in and I was enjoying all the funny group-scenes with them all together. Despite - or maybe even because - each of the characters knew great pain, loss or heartbreak. Then we shifted from the "case of the week" more to the main story final drama, and it was VERY enjoyable.
Everything and everyone had more than just one layer and there were many moral questions. Which is what a good drama should have. On the other hand, it was tight on one central case and did not try being hundred things at once, that's why it was so good (that's why most of "procedural" crime series are). Music was stunning (I mentioned:) The characters went through so much. Like Cha Seung Won's character. The actor has my respect. He completely transformed before my eyes. His character (and not only his character, there were others who had quite poignant fate) went through so much pain in many levels, and in the end there was still a funny side to him. This was admirable. Perfectly represents the whole 'You're All Surrounded' show, which by the look at title or the the poster (or the synopsis) might not look like much. This was SO dramatic, yet no one overplayed it to melodrama, and it was perfectly balanced by humour. It was ENJOYABLE.
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Come and Enjoy the Wild Fun Ride of Cops and Bad Guys
The only reason I wanted to watch this Cop K-drama was because of the 2 main male actors - Lee Seung Gi and Cha Seung Won; they were also in A Korean Odyssey and I loved the crazy funny bromance between these 2 guys. I have finally marathon-watched You're All Surrounded last weekend, and it was a wild ride. I think this is one of the best cop drama I have ever watch; felt fresh, not so boring, and has few good OST. There were lots of twists and turns, deep conspiracies and mysteries (mainly relating to why Eun Dae Gue/Kim Ji Yong's mother was murdered - the basis of this drama), complex villains, plus bits of romance thrown in. The chemistry between all the casts were great, especially between the 2 main lead couples. There were also many sad instances that brought lots of tears too. However, I have only 1 disappointment, that is, how the ending was rushed and wrapped up. I wished they have spent more time on how the main villain finally get punished, and less time on one unnecessary side-character (over-the-top loud shrieking Criminal Section Chief).Overall, I really enjoyed this k-drama and I wished they made Season 2 immediately after Season 1 ended. I really miss these guys - Detective Seo Pan Seok and his 4 rookie detectives.
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The right to quit is only given to those who try to the end.
''You're all surrounded'' starts with a bang and ends with a bang. It's a drama that gets you hooked from the first episode and leaves you satisfied when you finish it. It was a very enjoyable ride for me... at least till the last few episodes.STORY:
- The first half was perfect. It mainly focuses on solving cases and I started watching the drama to see this. The new rookies in the violent crime unit lacked enthusiasm to be detectives, while the leader of the team, who is very arrogant and rude, wasn't really happy to teach them. But despite this fact, with each episode, they were starting to act like a team and that was my favourite part of the first half. The rookie detectives started to realize what is to be a detective and what responsibility it carries. While solving cases, which were very emotional and well-written, the characters developed a lot. Seo Pan Seok - the leader of the team realized that the rookies have the potential to become real detectives and he was very proud of them, while the they stopped complaining about their job and started working hard. If I had to rate only the first half, I would give it 9/10.
Now, the second half. It almost felt as if I was watching another drama. While the first ten episodes focused mainly on solving cases and character development, the remaining ten focused on Dae Gu's story and family problems. There were almost no cases. Honestly, I couldn't care less about his story. I mean, it wasn't that bad at first, but then it got too complicated and messy, I was bored as hell. When I'm watching investigation dramas, I prefer the plot to be mainly focused on the investigation part. Of course, side plots are welcomed, but in You're All Surrounded, these side plots were tedious. Everythig was developed horribly. I mean, when you are watching the first half, you think that everything will finish when Dae Gu catch the killer. Simply as that. But noooo, they had to drop a childbirth secret and useless villians, it's a korean drama after all. What saved the second half for me was the romance between Dae Gu and Soo Sun, they had some very sweet moments. The bromance scenes with Dae Gu and Pan Seok also helped, I got Hwayugi vibes. If I had to rate only the second half, unfortunately, I would give it barely 4/10. It got too dragged, too repetitve and the ending was too rushed.
CHARACTERS:
- Okay, I liked the characters. But, if I have to be honest, if you go and watch 10 dramas, at least 7 of them will have pretty much the same characters. A main lead who has a trauma from the past, very kind-hearted, although he acts coldly; a very emotional female lead who works hard; a dumb and funny character; a calm, veeeery good-looking character and a villians who have absolutely no freaking reasons to act like this. In a setting like this, characters like Pan Seok and Chief Kang were very well welcomed. Well, it's not like I adored Chief Kang, for me she was just a bad person, but it was easy to sympathise with her. Kim Sa Kyeong was so useless, why did she have to be there? Oh, yeah, for Pan Seok's side story. Villians like Yoo Ae Yoon and Yoon Moon Bae are also pretty common for korean dramas. They were there to be evil. That's it. Cho Yeong Chol was the more interesting character.
ACTING:
- The first thing I really need to say is how impressed I am with Go Ah Ra's acting here. She was very good, I was completely shocked. Girl, what happened with you in Hwarang and Black? I think she knows only one way to act and the uses it with every character she plays. And here, her way of acting suits the character and I think that's what happened in Miss Hammurabi, too (she played pretty much the same kind of character there, a judge version of it). She made me love Soo Sun and she even made me almost cry and that means she really did a great job. I think all the actors did well... okay, except for Ji Woo who played Soo Sun as a child. Her creepy eyes are present here too, I am not surprised. Ahn Jae Hyun was quite monotonous here. It's not like his character requiers a lot, but in some particular scenes, he wasn't very stable.
Overall, You're All Surrounded wasn't a bad drama, there are many enjoyable and emotional scenes and I do recommend it. It has everything - comedy, drama, romance (not much), action (not much), mystery (which sucked lol), and they are all combined quite well... at least in the first half.
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