Busted 3 (2021)

I personally prefer crime scene and the great escape more as a theme, here it's like a stiff improve acting class and the line between drama and variety shows blurs
like the ending credit with their real goofey self was way better but this too was a new sort of theme so I did still like it, though I have to say their villains were the most obvious people xD

I especially like how sehun, sejung and minyoung were in this since they're not the usual faces seen around in varieties and it was really great to see them solve cases and show their smartness
I really want to see minyoung and song jihyo act as villains tbh, I feel like they can pull off the deadly assassin character welll

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A very disappointing third season - very sad

Everything within this review is MY opinion, so please keep that in mind - I am not looking for a fight.

So now we ended up here, the third Season of "Busted". After really good marks for Season 1 (9 / 10) and mediocre ratings for season 2 (5.5 / 10), we are now confronted with this mess. It has the lowest rating to date with a mere 4 out of 10 and the season I am, understandably, most disappointed in.

As already criticised in Season 2, the cast once again was strongly pressed in very rigid stereotypical roles. I had the feeling that this time they were split in "completely hopeless" (I don't want to say useless), "pretty helpful" and "detective-material" which made it pretty boring to watch after a few episodes since you already knew what to expect from each of them.

The cases felt lukewarm at best, like they saw them being pulled off successfully somewhere else and just added them to their own show to fluff out the season. Nothing felt innovative or even remotely new, even though it did have it's interesting moments - not gonna lie about that. But those moments were few and far inbetween. There were things that kept happening over and over and over - like self-locking doors trapping someone somewhere, which became predictable and boring REALLY fast. Especially when it was used multiple times in the last episode.

And now let's come to the biggest fail of the season - the ending. Once again the ending is what ruined everything for me. After a really interesting ending (season 1) and a meh ending (season 2) the ending of this season is just a joke. Unoriginal and pretty predictable. They sadly seem to like rehashing old concepts since every ending so far has gone for shock-value more than actual decent story-telling and finishing a story. Yes, the ending episode referenced the previous seasons but like I already said in the review of Season 2, it was more a "thought and gone" moment. It seems the show forgot how to write good, interesting endings after season 1. Once again the ending was highly unsatisfactory.

Season 3 felt like melting down Season 1 & 2 and picking out random pieces before watching the result. The end of the last episode gives us reason to assume that there might be a season 4, so I guess we will see if they can get a better rating next time or if they are damned to end up in 1-star territory

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More Violent Than Before

While I really like the 1rst season, I understood that it was new and most of the cast weren't used to working together in that capacity. I looked forward to improvement in season 2. When Kwang Soo couldn't return, I lowered my expectations. Season 2 was still enjoyable, but it was very random and seemed to lose itself. I still was looking forward to Season 3. This last season was a big surprise in that it's fairly graphic for what is essentially a variety show. I feel like they were trying to go more in the direction of a crime drama and less with comedy this time around. There were some pros and cons to this. While it did make the episodes more cohesive and tied up loose ends of the other seasons a little, it was incredibly scripted. For all the manufactured "dangerous" situations, there was so little sense of urgency from the cast members that it made it annoying. If someone is at risk of dying and needs to be saved, why would you casually stand around as a group outside to discuss the clues you found and how they led you to where you are now? Also, they focused a lot on one particular person and I don't understand why. Won't mention who cause it feels like it would be a spoiler somehow. I need to check if they had a drama coming up, lol. Despite how scripted it was, not much was predictable which was the best part. There were plenty of surprises. While there were less funny moments, the ones that were there were hilarious. If you're looking for this to be like the first 2 seasons, they you probably won't like this one. But if you enjoy the ride of watching this cast work their way through various puzzles, you'll probably enjoy it.

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60% Drama, 25% Detective and 15% Variety

I've been waiting for Busted Season 3 since the Season 2 ended. My thoughts about the 'final season' is that it's still a great show but I felt like it has been too different from the previous seasons. It has it's own charms so it's hard to compare it really. Nevertheless, I still love it.

This season focused more on the drama aspect so it felt a bit more scripted than the other two. Also, the grand scale set of challenges that made it a 'variety show' are noticeably lesser. They replaced it with crime scene investigations like on a detective show format. It's not that I hate it because I also love detective shows but seeing the first 2 seasons I can't help but compare and notice that Season 3 is a bit more different.

As for the casts, it has still the same 'Busted vibes.' Lee KwangSoo is back however Ahn JaeWook is no longer in this season and hasn't been mentioned on the series. Their characters are still there but since it became more serious due to the drama side, less jokes has been played. Most of them improved their deduction skills like JongMin and KwangSoo. They are no longer the fools of the team.

The guests are still high-end as usual. They actually invited a lot of interesting guests and also a lot of familiar faces. Tae HangHo is almost a fixed guest on the show since he appeared on Season 2. But I seriously love it. The plot twists of the drama storyline reminds me of makjang dramas. Also every episode there's a social issue that's being featured which leaves a meaningful message for the viewer.

If you love Busted 1&2, I'm sure you'll love this as well with it's unique charm. Season 3 has it's own story line so even if you don't watch the previous seasons it doesn't really affect the story but of course, for the full experience I still recommend to watch the first 2 seasons.

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Great season, I’m totally satisfied!

I’ve been a fan of Busted since the first season came out, and it never disappointed me. People said that this show became more and more scripted, but I don’t think that’s the case. This show is getting more and more epic in my opinion. There were more unpredictable episodes, there were more awesome guests and most importantly, more victories! I was quite disappointed at the second season since almost all of the episodes ended rather unclear, and the detective team always ends up losing, but this season brought back my spirit!

I really really hope there would be another season. Please make my wish come true, Mr. Director! I need to see more of the team. Overall, a great and entertaining watch, *SPOILER* Tae Hang Ho is my all time favorite character, thank you for bringing him back!

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I've watched this since season 1 only for Kim Se Jeong and Park Min Young.
But I have to admit that the 3rd season is much better than the 2 previous seasons.
In season 3, the members' detective instincts are sharper than in the previous season.
The one that stands out the most is Park Min Young.
Kim Jong Min is a bit invicible in the first 6 episodes of season 3. But it started to appear since episode 7.
Too bad if Busted had to end.
But after seeing the season 3 ending, hopefully there will be a continuation in season 4.
The idea of ​​combining drama and variety shows is quite interesting if the packaging is like this Busted Season 3.

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PERFECT MIX OF DRAMA AND VARIETY!!!!

YES! You need to watch the first 2 seasons in order to understand this show and fully enjoy it. Busted 3 has a lot more interesting episodes/plots compared to season 1 and 2. Adding a bit of comedy here and there, it makes it more enjoying and fun to watch. Also it has Yoo Jae Suk and Kwang Soo aka KOREA BEST COMEDY PAIRING.

People that dislike this show is probably confused as to whether it is a scripted drama or a real variety show. It has a role playing essence to it but the reactions and outcome are real. If you love games like AMONG US, CLUEDO, WEREWOLF and MAFIA then this show will be perfect for you.

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Too much drama, not enough variety.

In my eyes, season three repeats the same mistakes season two made. Everything felt scripted, even the jokes and fun interactions between the cast.

While in season two the plot presented at least seemed interesting, and separate cases were for sure fun to follow, here... I couldn't care less. The crimes were not exciting, the games were not entertaining. I was left with close to nothing.

I'm not gonna lie, there were moments when I could not stop laughing, but they were few and far between. More often than not I wished the episode would just end and I wanted to skip some scenes.

One thing that truly took me aback was the amount of violence in this season. Some in the form of jokes and some part of the plot. I get it, it's a crime driven show, but it does not mean we need to witness someone getting killed (mostly shot) outside of the investigation, aka the dead bodies that were the source of cases. Not to mention the recurring "slapping" joke. It was funny the first time, but after that, it was too much.

I still love the cast, some of their interactions were amazing, but the script was weak and the overall flow of the show depended too heavily on it. The best and most memorable moments for me would be the traveling between houses in the last episode. It felt organic, natural, funny and not painfully rehearsed and scripted.

Since there will be no season 4, I am truly confused why they included the last scene in episode 8. They wrapped it all up quite well, just to open a new door that will never be closed.

Unless someone is a big fan of the cast, I wouldn't really recommend watching it.

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The cherry on top

The third season of Busted, sadly the final season of the series, was just like the cherry on top of a delicious cake. The scale was elevated, it was quite dark and tied up the loose ends. If you were following the series since its beginning, you won’t be disappointed. If you are interested in only watching the newest season, there are still some episodes that could be considered as standalones, but otherwise you would miss quite a lot of world building established in the previous seasons.

This time around, Busted is heavier on the drama element of this hybrid genre. The classic variety games, although still featured, are not as significant in this season. The world gets so immersive, that by the reactions of the cast, you can see that they are really into it. Some episodes especially feature some high scale events a locations, that even you forget that this is not a drama.

I would also like to comment on the fact that despite this season being filmed in the middle of the pandemic, it does not feel constricted at all. It still features wide locations and there are still many secondary characters who keep it fresh and new. It also seems that they might have so much footage this time around, that at times the editing is very rapid, and you simply must pay attention.

The members are by this time a well-oiled machine and you can see that they are very close with each other. The previous seasons made them so efficient in solving the riddles and problems, that some of the members are catching now to Park Min Young level and they move through the stories of the episodes very quickly. Especially the SeSe siblings are on fire this season. The comedic element is very strong this season as well, the repeated addition of Lee Kwang Soo is very welcome.

The secondary characters are something else. They elevated the scale of the season – basically, if you watched any popular dramas in the recent years, there is a high chance that Busted 3 features a character from those in its run.

Story wise, not trying to spoil anything, Busted does a good job in involving untrustworthy characters since the beginning and you pay so much attention on dropped hints and clues right away. Still, there are major surprises down the line, as per usual.

I will miss this show a whole lot (although, to be honest, after marathoning it after its release, being a fan of Busted consisted mostly of waiting for another season) and I will probably rewatch it a lot, like I did the previous seasons. It had a good run and I don’t regret my time invested in it, it’s worth it and I highly recommend for you to watch it too.

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WE NEED SEASON 4

First off, I just would like to commend the build up of the story line from the Season 1 up to Season 3. I honestly did not like it that much at first because it was kinda confusing to me, and also because I was not familiar with a tv show mixed with drama elements like how it is heavily scripted compared to usual tv shows. But then again, I've learned to like this show as I keep on watching. In Season 2, I was impressed by how they leveled up the missions and the mysteries that need to be solved. Same is true with Season 3, actually more refined and connected that's why I like it the most. I also love the little laughs in between because honestly, I started this show for Jaesuk and Kwangsoo and I'm not disappointed because they made me laugh lol. Likewise with the other members, they were super fun to watch too that's why I learned to love them. With that mentioned, I also would like to commend how the casting was made. It was perfect! There were actors, comedians, and idols, this diversity of characters brought more interest in the show. The teamwork also is awesome and how they emit chemistry despite being different from each other. The only thing I didn't like probably were those confusing moments and questions left unanswered. Overall, this show was a great watch. I recommend checking all seasons and also hope to have Season 4!!

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I watched for Ahn Bo-hyun and was NOT disappointed ;)

I feel a little bit like a phony writing this review. I was not at all familiar with this show until I heard that Ahn Bo-hyun aka my husband was going to be guest starring in S3 so I pretty much watched this season just for him.

I have never seen S1 or 2. I have no idea if they follow the same format. While I was watching this season I was confused by what kind of show it was lol. When Bo-hyun came on screen, I couldn't care less and focused all my attention on my handsome man. I thought it was hilarious that they made him a villain again especially since he played the same roles in Itaewon Class and Kairos. The first role I ever saw him in was in Her Private Life with Park Min-young. I shipped their characters so much but of course he was the second lead
Sorry guys, that is pretty much all I can say about this show because I only partially watched it for my man. Oh and seeing Bo-hyun fly through the obstacle courses especially the ones that involved balancing or heights; just made me love him a billion times more hahaha

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