Mentalista (2020)

Ripetitivo, pasticciato, elefantiaco

Iniziava così bene... I primi episodi erano così tensioattivi, adrenalinici, ti tenevano sul bordo della sedia con gli occhi incollati allo schermo. Riuscivi perfino a tollerare che fosse quasi sempre tutto così scuro, buio, tanto che spesso non si capiva cosa stesse succedendo e si era costretti a rivedere alcune scene più volte. I personaggi acquistavano spessore a poco a poco, i misteri si dipanavano uno dopo l'altro e tutto sembrava un gioco a incastro particolarmente ben riuscito.

Certo il fatto che gli attori fossero in gran parte così belli e bravi giocava la sua parte, e che la musica e gli effetti sonori fossero così adatti e contribuissero al crescere della suspense contribuiva alla riuscita dello spettacolo.

Solo che, a un certo punto, la storia ha cominciato a diventare ripetitiva. Matrioske, o scatole cinesi così numerose, alla fine, ti stufano. Ogni volta seguono una pista e sono sempre 10 passi indietro. Ogni volta credono di aver trovato il colpevole e invece no, è sempre qualcun altro. Ogni volta c'è qualcuno ai vertici che interferisce con le indagini. Ogni volta presentano qualche personaggio nuovo, e hanno tutti nomi simili e facce simili! Sono di media intelligenza, ma evidentemente non basta: non ci capisco più niente e, quel che è peggio, non mi importa nemmeno più di capire. Ad un certo punto, l'accumulazione è tale che si arriva non più alla noia, non più al fastidio, ma alla vera e propria esasperazione!

Sono arrivata a metà dell'episodio 12 e ho deciso di arrendermi. Ho dei sospetti, ma ormai non mi interessa più di vederli confermare o scoprire che mi sbagliavo. 4 episodi e mezzo... non ce la faccio più, né voglio saltare all'ultimo. Semplicemente, abbandono. Vado a cercare qualcos'altro, con buona pace di Yoo Seung Ho, carino finché si vuole, bravo finché si vuole, ma in definitiva non stiamo parlando di materiale da oscar che giustifichi da solo 4 ore abbondanti del mio tempo.

Purtroppo bellezza e bravura sono state messe al servizio di una sceneggiatura per certi versi troppo ambiziosa, ipertrofica, ripetitiva, senza alcun senso della misura. Come se non bastasse, alcuni personaggi si comportano ripetutamente in maniera idiota senza alcun motivo apparente. Il continuo susseguirsi di colpi di scena e un cast elefantiaco han fatto sì che l'attenzione, inizialmente calamitata dalle vicende, scemasse progressivamente, fino ad arrivare al punto di non ritorno. Abbandonare un drama simile dopo averne visto 3/4 è anomalo, ma indice di profonda insoddisfazione e di un problema di fondo. Rinunciare a scoprire il colpevole significa essere esasperati intollerabilmente. Pazienza.

So che molti non saranno d'accordo con me, ma non posso farci niente, io per prima sarei stata ben felice di veder finire questo drama con lo spirito di scoperta e l'entusiasmo con cui l'ho iniziato. Non è andata così.
Lascio comunque la sufficienza perché fino a circa metà era veramente tutto quello che mi aspettavo da un thriller soprannaturale. Hanno voluto strafare. Peccato.

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Just When You Think You Know What's Going On, You Don't, Or Do You?

First up I know a lot of people dropped this drama early on and at times I can see why but you're really missing out on the greater part of the drama by doing this. The actual plot line doesn't start up until around the end of episode 4. The first few episodes are building up to the actual plot line and while I do think it's needed I think they could've shortened this prologue of sorts to at least two episodes.
I know a lot of people also dropped this drama because there hasn't been any romance...yet I don't get why people came into this drama for romance when the tags clearly don't have that genre listed. Anyways on with my review.

Story/Plot:
Gets off to a slow start but it sets you up for this dark story of Dongbaek, a famous police officer who has the ability to see people's memories through touch. Cool right? Yes and No. There are people who love him and idolize him and then there are people who hate him and don't want him to touch them in fear they'll get arrested for something illegal they did years ago. Despite Dongbaek having the extraordinary ability to see people's memories he himself does not remember his childhood memories past a certain age. The only memory he can remember is someone murdering a woman he assumes is his mother. The plot moves forward to introduce to us our female lead Sunmi, she is the daughter of a man who was murdered by a serial killer who seems to have come back 20 years later.
However, not everything is as it seems. There is actually a serial killer out there dubbed as the Eraser, who like Dongbaek has a special ability in which they can erase/manipulate memories. Throughout the entire series you are left questioning who you can trust and you can't as you try and figure out who exactly the Eraser is. And like I mentioned in the headline just when you think you know, you really don't. (I had so many theories going the entire drama.)

Acting/Cast:
The acting is/was amazing. I am a huge Yoo Seungho fan and I'm really happy he took the role of Dongbaek. He plays him really well. I am also a fan of Lee Seyoung, I really liked her roles in The Best Hit and Vampire Detective. I personally really like her in badass female character roles. I also want to mention Jo Sungha is excellent as always.

Music:
Sometimes the music is not needed but honestly that's something that's typical in k-dramas. I did like the ending theme a lot though.

Rewatch Value:
I already sort of rewatched it. I watched up to episode 12 by myself and then later rewatched episodes 1 through 12 with my mom until she caught up with me. I recommend watching it twice you catch stuff you may have missed the first time through it.

Overall:
I personally think if the prologue part had been shortened 2 episodes it would've kept people more interested. I also think that episode's 13, 14, and 15 could've somehow been consolidated into 2 episodes at the most, it felt drug out. It almost seems to me that they were originally going to go a different route with the plot but changed it last minute, as there is a scene in one of the episodes previews that does not make an actually appearance in an episode. I think this drama could've easily been better off as a 12-14 episode drama. The drama is wrapped up nicely though, definitely worth a watch!

Don't let this get you down though, the drama plot is really fun to follow if you are an avid crime/fantasy watcher.

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FABULOUS STORY, POOR ENDING.

The best thing about Korean 'crime thriller/ murder mystery' dramas is, they focus more on showing the criminal psychology than anything else.

And what makes 'Memorist' more interesting other than the supernatural thingy is, the meticulous use of cryptology & cryptanalysis. I regret I misjudged it at first.

Being a semi-supernatural drama, it got a fabulous story, which is as expected heavy, since it's also a crime thriller. The lead actor, who got psychometric powers since birth but had to forget about his past in a tragic accident ends up joining South Korean Police force. He rejects plenty of proposals worldwide to get researched on once his superpowers are revealed worth millions of money. Motive: To find about his forgotten past. In this process he along with the profiler female lead, has to encounter challenges involving another superior power, namely 'the executioner' who creates havoc and gets away every time with them.

The direction, screenwriting, editing, connecting plots & events and the entire plot development are really really good. The crew has done an amazing job and the cast too did their respective parts well.

BUT BUT BUT
Let's talk about the ending.
It was DISAPPOINTING. The way the executioner was caught FUNNY and the person who turned out to be the main culprit behind everything, was an absurd end point to the drama. This drama being one of the best of 2020, had to ruin the ending like this. I was totally displeased tbh.

There's a proverb in Hindi language, "Khoda pahad nikli chuhiya" which translates, "dug up the mountain just to find a mice" means "Insignificant returns resulting from enormous toil".

The ending of MEMORIST felt exactly like that. Anyways, this is a must watch that I'd recommend to everyone.

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Thrilling experience!!

First let me tell you this drama is not for everyone, I mean if you like rom com, sweet, typical dramas you won't like it so those with soft hearted shouldn't watch it.

But it was great for me it was a thrilling journey and many unexpected twist and turns. I like that they didn't drag love story in it and only focused on genre action and mystery. Love the plot and acting was good indeed. Some scenes gave me goosebumps.

It's indeed worth watching if you are into thriller suspence dramas. I gave rewatch value less rating because from my opinion mystery dramas are not worth watching because you all know the mystery in it.

Overall it was a good drama!

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Memories are a Powerful Tool

Should a person's memories be toyed with lightly?

Initially, I thought this drama was a carbon copy of He is a Psychometric (2019), but it is nothing like it. It takes us into a head-scratching world of a labyrinth of mazes with no escape. The first few episodes were a hurdle for me, and then it was a cat and mouse game until the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, but some subplots felt out of place, yet it somehow came full circle connecting the dots. Serial Killer dramas are a hit or miss sometimes easily predictable that the suspense falls flat. Many people will criticize this work as an overused, unoriginal plot, and too many cliches, but I did not think so. Memorist was not your typical Serial Killer Drama by no means, and it kept up the tension.

At first, I debated how the drama would reach sixteen episodes because of the wild ride we take as the viewer. Some people mentioned it the plot might have switched last second towards the backend of the drama. I was losing my patience with the first-time screenwriters, but I persevered through the hidden walls in the mazes the screenwriters set for us. I will miss this little gem. Dramas are without their faults. My biggest pet peeve was the Female Lead wearing heels when she went out in the field pursuing a suspect, but she put herself in those situations.

I had the privilege to see the growth of Lee Se Young and Yoo Seung Ho from child actors to the young actors today in my seventeen-year K-Drama journey and counting. Lee Se Young’s character is smart and resourceful, that makes you believe she knows her criminology. The character development is well-paced, but someone viewing should expect road bumps crafting a story. A little tip self-educate yourself if you did not so already: The caliber of the character you hunger is not flawless. You may enjoy few shows from a select few screenwriters.

Yoo Seung Ho did a phenomenal job as a person with supernatural powers. The Director and Screenwriter put their twist on the Supernatural genre that intrigued me to some degree. Dong Baek is a character drama lovers will come to love and hate because of the screenwriting. He had a strange aura about him that almost screams danger approaching. In my opinion, A tremendous supporting cast that held up pretty well throughout. The drama based on a webtoon that I have not read, so I can comment on how closely it follows the webtoon.

I did not love the music as sometimes the OST fell flat or was unnecessary in the early episodes and scattered, later on, but I did not mind it. I especially liked one of the songs at the end of one of the episodes I felt appropriate called, "The End of the Story." The cinematography was above par to very good at times that kept me engaged the whole time, but you should not focus too much on the cinematography. I say go for it. I mean it a lot, but do not expect too much, and you get rewarded at the end. Preserve through the first five episodes, and you might end up relishing this TVN show. The world would be a colorless place without criticism.

My Final Rating: 8.63
Rewatch Value: I rewatched this twice already. Maybe watch it when there is a chill in the air.

What would you do if you cannot remember your past, but have Supernatural Powers?

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Thrilling and Gripping

This is replacing my old favourite crime drama Signal, that's saying a lot. (Also like Signal it's romance sits somewhere between 0-2%.) It's the most thrilling, suspenseful drama I've ever watched. Every episode ended in a plot twist I didn't see coming. I was on the edge of my seat the entire 3 days I spent watching it. I couldn't turn my eyes away for a second or I'd miss something and would have to rewind.

It was so well written and directed, every moment was used to drive the drama forward, towards the end though it was going a bit too fast for me to keep up. I would've liked a bit more explanation in the last quarter of the drama, I couldn't tell if I missed those quick segways or it was left out but I'll accept its flaw, whichever one it was. Regardless I would've liked some sort of throwback to the initial slow investigative period in the last quarter. My brain was barely keeping up at this point with all the plot twists and character introductions. I do think you have to take this drama with a grain of salt, it's about a psychic detective anyway so it's not like it was ever truly grounded in reality. But I question the 'how' of some of minor aspects of the plot.

Generally I struggle a lot if there's too many characters, from the giant list of teammates to the giant list of bad guys, but lots of side characters stood out and managed to make their own lasting impression which is hard to achieve, especially in a drama with such a big cast. Even not individual characters but the wider pack (eg the mass of minor policemen) made strong impressions. I hadn't thought of that as a possibility before now. I wish it was longer just so I could enjoy more interactive parts between the characters. I loved the twists of the many love-hate relationships and how much relational growth there was.

Dong Baek is a character I will never forget, his inner strength was amazing and inspiring. I love that instead of the usual fairly emotionless male character we got one that was so full of emotions he didn't even know how to hold back. From bursting into tears at the happiness of a fan letter, to empathising with all sorts of victims. Although he seemed thoughtless and highly emotional, he knew how to act when it counted.

Yoo Seung-ho is of course brilliant and while I've never been a fan of Lee Se-young, I'm loving her in this serious role rather than the comic ones I've seen.

It was brilliant and amazing. I would recommend it to anyone who can handle a thriller. My only warnings are that it's fairly dark in it's topics and to repeat, it basically has no romance, nothing on screen anyway. I can always dream.

Quote:
"Being able to remain as yourself is what proves how strong you really are" - Dong Baek

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Very good drama. The plot was well written. When you start watching it might seem slow at first but the plot picks up at about episode 4 and from then on you never know who to trust. Those who you suspect are not it and if they are it's for other reasons. The real master mind gets revealed right at the end of the story and you don't meet them until the last episodes. It was really shocking. I got to say this drama kept me at my toes and it wasn't predictable like other crime mystery dramas. Also although it's not heavily focused on romance you can still see how the main leads start to care about each other. I recommend this drama. It's a happy ending and none of our loved characters die.

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Repetitive until the end...

I, as an avid Yoo Seung Ho fangirl, was especially excited for this drama when I first found out about it. Although I rarely watch dramas without a romantic plot line, I was willing to give the drama a chance because I’m also a big Sherlock Holmes fan, and, come on, Yoo Seung Ho is in it. How could I not? Alas, this drama was very disappointing and continued to decline in quality the longer I watched it. Though I partially blame myself and my horrendous memory with names and faces which may have caused lots of confusion about the plot, I cannot deny that the repetitive nature of the drama also got quite dull toward the end. It went something like this: Baek gets lead on the eraser, he falsely accuses someone of being the eraser, the eraser turns out to be someone else. Rinse and repeat this sequence about 5 times and you’ve got just about the dullest crime drama in existence. I mean, come on, why are you even TRYING to convince me that they “revealed” the identity of the eraser on episode FIVE? There would be no drama if they figured out his identity so fast, and if the writers (I realize this is based on a Webtoon) really thought they could pull this stunt on me multiple times, they clearly needed to do a better job hiring. While this is obviously not a romance drama, I honestly didn’t feel any chemistry between the leads. It FELT like the fl (already forgot her name oops) was mostly babysitting Dong Baek the whole time rather than treating him as an equal which kind of made the vibe of the whole drama feel a little off. Overall, though, I have to admit that I was really engaged with the storyline up until the 5th or 6th episode, but, as I said, it got quite dull and repetitive toward the end. I honestly can’t say I would recommend this drama, as it lacks just about everything that makes a Korean drama great: a good soundtrack, good lead chemistry, and even an interesting/original storyline. Gotta admit though, I love both actors separately, and the side characters themselves were very well written.

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" Memorist " was a heavy drama, but with a nice mystery.

The plot was packed with action, twists, and drama that at some point it got tiring. However, the two main characters were dominating without overshadowing each other, or having a romantic plot to follow, which would have ruined their dynamics and the atmosphere of the drama. Actually, all the characters were complex and interesting.

The fantasy element was handled perfectly as well. And the mystery was unpredictable enough to keep things interesting till the very ending. The friendship of the police team was, in addition, a nice comedy relief.

Finally, the performances were great from all the members of the cast.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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WATCH IT OR NOT?!!?

Gonna keep is short as always. This drama is crafted pretty well considering how the story had soo many twists and turns throughout the whole of this drama. I would definitely say its is worth watching this drama if you are interested in crime, supernatural(with the limitations of human nature and other hurdles that the character has to overcome), and mostly thriller. This drama has a essence of delivering what you expect but with different results each time, each story-line twist was intriguing and quite unexpected at times, while some secrets were straight forward to discover without being given out in the drama the main drama itself is quite a suspense until the end, the amount of misleading quirky ways they use to misdirect the viewer is quite fun to watch and experience.

That's a short review, I personally would say its worth the watch, quite good in the sense of crime and suspense and the supernatural part makes it an even better ride.

EXTRA: THIS DRAMA IN NO WAY IS SIMILAR TO "HE IS A PSYCHOMETRIC"

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Memorist (insert dramatic dun dun dun).
Memorist focuses on the lives of Dong Baek and Han Sun Mi (played by Yoo Seung Hoo and Lee Se Young respectively) and their quest of unraveling secrets from the past as well as seeking vengeance for their loved ones. it also follows the lives of the people around them. a lot on the South Korean police force and minds of serial killers.

What a storyline, common yet unique, and the performances that were amazingly good. Yoo Seung Hoo and Lee Se Young unnie who gave such a thrilling performance to the drama. one thing that really stands out is their commitment to their characters and the way they added more into every plot twist, very emotional yet outstandingly thrilling.
Firstly on the storyline, there are like 70 serial killers, JK, but there are a lot especially in the first 8 episodes before everything focuses on one person. I really like the way they focused on one genre and led us through it with a bit of humor in one or two corners, it shows what the writers wanted their audience to focus on.

On the other hand, the plot twist at the latter episodes seemed a bit forced and unplanned. Out of nowhere a character would appear and weigh in on the decisions of the main cast without the proper background. The climax and reveal would have had more of an impact if the main antagonist was introduced or baited in previous episodes.
Overall, very action-packed with a lot and I mean a lot of plot twists. if you like gasping every 20 seconds I suggest you WATCH THIS!

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This was probably the most twisty-turvy drama I’ve ever seen. Just when I thought I had it figured out, it turned out I was completely wrong. And I had to pay very close attention to what was going on on-screen to not miss any clues.

There’s some really nice whump in this drama and the found family trope is positively glorious! Dong Baek’s, the main hero’s, team loves him like their son/older brother and they don’t doubt him for one second, not even when it looks really bad. They trust him with their lives. And Han Sun Mi, the main heroine! At first you don’t get why she’s the way she is, so seemingly cold, but as the story progresses you get why and you get her. And you realize just how much she cares!

Also, surprisingly to some, this drama has no romance. None. What the characters share is a genuine friendship and that’s all. So, if you’re looking for something sweet and romantic, this one is not for you. If you want a dark and twisty thriller about telepaths, then this one is for you for sure!

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