8392225
First, I felt uneasy looking at Cha Seung Won, he was such a repulsive bad in Athena, LOL. Seriously, the main problem was that the 1st episode cast (the mother, the son, the girl) was hundred times more likeable than the cast we got to watch for the next 19 episodes. And that cast had Lee Seung Gi. Enough said...
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.
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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