I finally finished watching the first season of The Good Detective, a Korean drama currently on Netflix
Scrolling through my Netflix recommendations, looking for something to watch, I came across The Good Detective. I knew I had watched it, but I couldn't remember the ending. That’s not an unusual occurrence; my memory isn’t great. Instead of just brushing it off however I clicked to read the episode summary. And guess what? Apparently, I had started the series but did not finish it. So I set out to finish it.
The Good Detective is a Korean Drama (K-drama), and just like the title implies, it is a detective show. I try not to spoil (at least too much) in my writings and reviews, but just saying there is a mystery involved is not going to give you guys enough info.
Basically a young detective (played by Jang Seung-Jo) arrives at a new precinct and is assigned to one of their Violent Crimes teams. A much older and experienced detective (Son Hyun-Joo), waiting for a promotion, is forced to temporarily to take the younger detective as a partner. Just as they are getting situated, a possible missing-person case shows up that ends up being more than it seems.
This may be a light spoiler, but it is something you’ll probably infer from a scene that plays almost immediately after starting the series, so I’ll go ahead and mention it. The series mainly revolves around the case of a man who was jailed for a murder that he claims he did not commit. How this ends up connecting to the missing-person case is part of the journey.
Another main character is a female journalist played by Lee Elijah (pronounced El-LEE-Yah). Her part in the story is focused on the press and the power-brokers in the background and how they are affected or influence the justice system.
Now, it’s tough to really give you a good feeling of the story without spoiling, but to be honest, it was kind of messy. This is, of course, with the benefit of watching the whole thing and knowing the whole story, but if you were watching episode-by-episode, it does draw you in. That is great if you’re watching it, but when you’re thinking about it after the fact, it doesn’t have as good of a weight. I think the writers tried to layer up a story – a mystery and conspiracy – while revealing it in an intriguing way, yet the whole thing felt messy. Again, it was entertaining while being pulled along, but it did not feel like it had the same forethought as some other series. It almost felt artificial in places. Although there is some depth and has some promise, some parts actually felt like they were written on the fly, and those parts that were more obvious tended to make the whole story a bit weaker.
What really helped sell the story, despite the weaknesses in the writing, was the acting talent on this show, including the non-main roles. The main-liners made the whole thing more believable and helped with the unevenness of the story. And each character seemed to be real, even in the minute interactions. The evolution of certain characters made the show feel more alive and organic. Instead of just a medium to tell a certain story, it seemed more like a world that was evolving, and we, as viewers, were just taking a peek at it. One of my favorite character progressions was the precinct police chief’s story. I know, sort of weird, especially how minor his character is, but somehow, that brought me a sense of satisfaction.
So, is this a watch? I think it is.
Although this series might not be one that you’d rush to watch so you could talk about it with your friends, it is more than entertaining enough to watch. And it was rated well enough in Korea to have a second season (which is currently airing in Korea on JTBC). Unlike your typical show, K-dramas do not usually have multiple seasons. So with the show having a second season, it means it did well. And honestly, I do want to see more of the characters and observe more of the little world they are in.
