Cheo Yong 2 (2015)

I loved season one of Cheo Yong. The story was interesting and thrilling, the characters very likable. So, I was excited when I heard about a second season. But in the end I was rather disappointed.

Every case started with a ghostly incident and I admit that those were kind of creepy. Especially when you watch them at night, alone. Unfortunately each one of them couldn't hold the tension. Of course, they had their interesting parts. But I got bored many times during one episode and just wished for them to be solved already. The suspense falls by the wayside. Sadly, that pattern doesn't get better until most of the drama is already over. Only one third of it got me hooked, honestly.

It's a shame that the ghosts become something like bystanders who almost disappear after their introduction at the beginning of every episode. They should have gotten bigger parts, it's a drama about a ghost-seeing detective after all. That one student ghost who accompanies the police is just not enough. Though I like the actress and the character she's playing... She couldn't save the day either.

The main story is evolving almost too late, considering that the drama has only 10 episodes. The saddest thing though is that is has almost nothing to do with ghosts. Solely speaking of the basic concept of that certain case, it WAS interesting. But it still missed the point and had so many flaws in its execution. Again, it should involve ghosts... There was so much potential and so many wasted opportunities in the last episode where they could have integrated those things.

I had also a hard time with scene editing, story telling, sudden conclusions that appeared out of nowhere, confusing plot twists and the way they portrayed Korean police. Like there's only this one police squad of five people that doesn't call for back-up while storming a secret gathering? Or experienced officers who mess up a crime scene? Yeah, whatever... I know that it's somewhat like a drama cliché. But there are dramas where it doesn't look so bad.

Acting was solid most times. Not too bad, nothing special either. But I had a hard time with that new female member they introduced in this season. She had her good parts, too, but still couldn't win me over in the end.

I don't regret watching this since there were also some very funny parts, but all those flaws mentioned earlier didn't allow me to rate it any higher.

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As it has been said, Season 2 was fantastically better than the first season in several ways! How? To list a few off the bat it had: 1) More mysteries 2) Less Filler-like episodes and 3) Great pacing and never a dull moment!

Story
I totally prefer this season compared to the previous since this time; the mysteries are much more intense and interesting compared to the ones from last season. Every episode is a thriller- making you wonder who was murdered and what happened to them! To start off with; the first episode had me hooked just like the first season which was awesome. The pacing was great and never a dull moment!

The difference is that compared to the 1st season, the ghosts that are shown were not really revengeful 'I-will-kill-my-murderer-and-everyone' like, but rather- 'I'll-stay-silent-so-just-untruth-my-murder' kind of ghosts, therefore it wasn't as horror-based but rather mystery-based.

Compared to last season, there was less noticeable filler-like scenes. If you watched the first season; you would probably know what I'm talking about. If not; in a nutshell- the filler like scenes that were more noticeable in the 1st season included long scenes of Na Yeong (the ghost) possessing her best friend Sun Woo to go out eating and go shopping or just to play around and get out of the police station. It seemed that those scenes took forever and resulting in me getting bored easily.

Thank goodness there were less scenes of that in the 2nd season; of course Na Yeong still possessed the female lead (Ha Yoon) but it seemed that she possessed her more so that the cases could be solved faster or as if she was trying to retrieve the evidence since she knew where to look (courtesy of her stalking the murderers)

Acting/Cast
Most of the cast were from the previous season which I loved since they were all the best! (Too bad I didn't like Cheo Young's (played by Oh Ji Ho) hairstyle)... I still love Na Yeong (Jeon Hyo Seong) the best; her innocent yet trickster personality and funny scenes were a comic relief for me. The female cop lead this time Ha Yoon (played by Ha Yun Joo) was awesome- i would totally prefer her compared to the last female cop lead.

The reason why? It's because she's useful. Don't get me wrong, Sun Woo (1st season) was great, but I find that she didn't have the drive or skills to solve cases on her own. Ha Yoon is naturally smart and had great analytical skills so she was able to keep up and plus Na Yeong's possessing, they managed to solve cases quite quickly!

Na Yeong is an absolute gem in this season- since she wasn't bounded to the police station; she finally managed to use her ghost/invisible presence to her advantage and eavesdrop on people; gaining important information and teaming up with Cheo Yeong! I seriously love the two's interactions despite having zilch romance between them (unless you squint really hard)

*Special mention! I LOVED how the directors casted like 5 actors from Vampire Prosecutor as a cameo appearance! I watched that drama and when I saw them, I was ecstatic!! Even the main from Dr. Frost appeared as a supporting character and I loved that all these actors/actresses partook some sort of mystery drama prior to this one/ or had experience in the mystery department!

Music
A perfect 10 in my case. I LOVED the music in the drama; from its instrumental soundtracks to actual songs; all of them were the best and I have them saved and downloaded! All I could think of during the first few episodes were that 'Man, the music sounds fantastic in this drama!'

Rewatch Value
I would definitely rewatch this! First season? Not so much but second season is a must for me.

Conclusion?
There were some unsolved mysteries from the first season that the directors didn't seem to mention at all or hardly mentioned.

For example: What happened to Sun Woo? (Na Yeong's best friend). Sun woo knew the existence of her best friend's ghost, but no one mentioned her during the 2nd season. From what I know, Na Yeong is best friends with Sun Woo so why didn't even she mention her?

Or, what happened with Na Yeong? How did she become a bit stronger and does everyone just now accept her presence? Well these aren't a major plot-hole/mystery but I did often find myself thinking about this since the ending didnt address my curiosity. I only hope they make a season 3!!

Nevertheless, please give this drama a watch! 10 episodes is quite short so you have nothing to lose!

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