Only at episode 2 and loving it.

This drama blew my expectations out of the water in the first two episodes! I was not expecting to laugh, not expecting to like all the characters and get through the story at a fantastic pace. I suppose my expectations were coloured by prison break and I was expecting something similar but this was far better in my opinion!

The contrast between the friendly behaviour of inmates and guards and their past behaviour and true motivations is excellent, bringing a real feel of insidiousness to the situation, echoed by the frequent reminders not to trust anyone.  When the lead started to manipulate situations to his advantage, despite being painted in episode 1 as rather slow I was delighted, particularly as the writers didn't reveal what was happening until the consequences were felt.

I am excited to start the next episode!

Leggi di Più

The Second Episode

Some may think that the drama is a little fast paced and I admit to certain extent, but I don't see it in a bad way. I like the way the drama doesn't dwells on unnecessary drama doesn't deviate from the main story.

The second episode keeps on where the last one was left with the very well thought dark humor, this second episodes makes sure to add more personality to the Kim Jae Hyeok, making sure to not betray his calm and collected personality, often told as dense, but making sure to let the viewer know that he has his limits and how he manages to keep himself as it is, playing the role of a dense person just so the others won't look at him with neither pity nor hurt.

Something impressive they're keeping up with so far is the feeling of dubious moral conduct on characters. Dramas often make sure to manipulate the viewers judgement by being quite predictable sometimes (most of the times) by showing who's who in the drama, who to trust, who not to trust and so on, however, Prison Playbook, as far as this second episode, did something quite unexpected of what drama would usually do and always remember the viewer that's a prison facility, that people can be deceiving, that things happen unexpectedly and nothing should be blindly trusted.
Of course, there's the usual good and bad guys, but, so far, they're not all-powerful and though there are quite some amazing stunts played here and there with an amazing timing, I must say, it's subtle and quiete, without too much hassle.
The characters motives are well-set and, so far, well-developed, so their actions are not outrageous and unnecessary just to impress the viewer.

Though, so far, there isn't unnecessary drama playing out, this second episode does introduces a possible side-plot that might or might not be a supporting story and be treated as a filler in the future, or else, be treated a part of the main story and that is something to worry about or look forward to.
Something to be looked at is how, despite being set in a prison, the drama doesn't feel too claustrophobic, most probably because of the humor relief and the little amount of scenes that are actually played in the cells.

So far the OST didn't really caught my attention, so that's another downside to it, but the comedy works just fine, same goes for the directing. Shin Won Ho seems to know very well what he's doing, beautiful shots, very good camera work and the acting sync is on point. The cinematography is not superb but not average too.

There's something dangerous about the story, though, this second episode proved that it can end up being predictable with time, it also has the possibility to feel draggy at some point if Jung Bo Hoon doesn't take good care of where the story is going and loose himself in the same thing over and over, because, in the end, this is very simple. Bo Hoon should be able to see this story with many possibilities now and hopefully he'll take the right lead. This is only the second episode, there are fourteen left ahead and, in the end of the day, a prison is just a prison. There's no need to go berserk, but the story can't be accommodated either.

Leggi di Più