Currently Watching: Chimera

Hi, guys! I present to you a new thriller-mystery crime drama from OCN: Chimera. 

(Attention: when writing this article, the drama just aired its 6th episode, so I will write based on the already aired 6 episodes with minor spoilers.) 

Chimera, is a thriller and mystery Korean drama from OCN with 16 episodes, and aired every Saturday and Sunday at 21:30 KST.

The drama is set in 2019 and follows a detective, a profiler, and a surgeon getting involved and trying to solve a current case which may have relations to the cold case that happened 35 years ago. In 1984, there are three (3) arson cases which indicated a serial killing as the arsonist (murderer) left a signature which is a Chimera symbol (on a lighter and on the wall) at the crime scenes. And the same cases as back then are now re-appearing in 2019, with the same MO (modus operandi), and the symbol of Chimera. 

Park Hae Soo as Cha Jae Hwan

Detective Cha Jae Hwan is a detective in Violent Crimes Team 1. He has a good intelligence and seems to be fit. His background is unclear as his mother forgot about the past after an accident which resulted in him not knowing about his father and other relatives. Well, kinda sus. He is close with his team captain's Chief Han Joo-seok who also is a father figure to him.

Kim Soo Hyun (Claudia Kim) as Eugene Hathaway 

Agent Eugene Hathaway is a former FBI anti-terrorism expert. Both of her parents are American. She dispatched for a year to South Korean Central Police Agency as a profiler. Her major is Social Psychology, and during a lecture she found something interesting about serial killers, and that is the reason why she ended up joining the FBI (do check it out, it is so creepy).

Lee Hee Joon as Lee Joong Yeop

Dr. Lee Joong Yeop, or Jerome Edwards, is a surgeon from England who graduated from London's Queen's College. He got transferred (scouted) here by the hospital's Director. Dr. Lee was adopted by American parents in 1984, after both his parents died. And he has a connection to the Chimera case that happened. He is suspicious, but his visuals are fine! (lol)

Cha Joo Young as Kim Hyo Kyung

A reporter. Interested in the burnt death case that is happening, & Chimera case in 1984.

Heo Jun Seok as Go Kwang Soo

A detective who is assigned to lead and solve the burnt death cases that happened.

Yoon Ji Won as Jang Ha Na

Team member of investigation team. She handles all the CCTV and videos stuff.

Kwon Hyuk Hyun as Lee Kun Young

Detective Cha's partner! He is cute lol.

The drama Chimera seems to revolve around three different timelines which are the present, year 2019, and year 1984. But from the first six episodes that already aired, the story is based/focused on the year 2019 with a few flashbacks from the year 1984. The present time only appeared in the very first scene, at the beginning of the drama, in episode one.

The drama starts with our main cast standing opposite each other which suggests they have different views, judgements, or standings. The intense air around them can be felt through the scene which immediately got me hooked for this drama after just 5 seconds in! It seems like this scene will appear again in the later part of the drama (maybe around the 2~4 last episodes, I guess) as it will determine the future for both of our main characters. 

I'm so nervous, thinking about what could happen that makes them encounter each other in the future. What do they have found and concealed so far? Is it the truth, or some other secret has yet to be found out? I want to know if this is the ending, or are they still on the journey to find out who is the Chimera? It's so exciting to think about where this will lead to, and I am expecting a lot of twists until we reach the end.

So, we are going back to the start of when our main characters first "met" and started getting involved together. August 2019 was the first time Detective Cha met with Agent Eugene. Agent Eugene was at a training ground (I supposed), where she was the anti-terrorist expert who explained and showed how a homemade bomb, called ANFO, is made, and how big that little thing can explode. And the story proceeds as Detective Cha encountered a case where a person got burnt to death without the cause of a fire. Because of this, Detective Cha meets with Agent Eugene, and that is when they start working together, and encounter the cold case Chimera.

As for Dr. Lee, he is a surgeon, and Detective Cha just accidentally bumped into him when he went to track down a suspect. But Dr. Lee gives off eerie vibes, and thus makes Detective Cha ask him if he knows about the victim and Chimera, the monster from the Greek mythology. And based on Dr. Lee's response, he somehow got convinced that Dr. Lee might be the possible suspect, thus he investigated more about Dr. Lee. And from here on, these three will be getting involved deeper into the past case of Chimera. Will they learn the truth of the past- and recent Chimera that happening now? Let's keep guessing while waiting for the next episodes!

In 1984, there was a serial arson case that happened in Macheon, Gyeonggi Province, which is also known as the Chimera Case. The case is named Chimera, because the "Chimera" always appeared at the crime scene, on a lighter; which can also be considered as the killer's signature. In this arson cases, three people were killed due to an unknown explosion, and the MO was unidentified, which left it as an urban legend case. The suspect (Lee Sang-woo) of the Chimera was arrested, but later the news reported he committed suicide.

Let's talk about the victims. All three victims have a connection, but I'm not sure if it is pure coincidence, or if that really is the reason for them to be burnt to death. As for the team of detectives who are in charge of the case and arrested Lee Sang-woo as the suspect, all three of them are still alive when the Chimera re-appeared in 2019. And it seems like the past (1984) holds a big hidden secret, and is connected to what happened in the present time (2019).

In 1984, we also meet Lee Joong-yeop's family, and it's so heart-breaking to see what the little boy had to face at the age of seven years. Later we know he got adopted and is now a surgeon. From here it seems like we don't know what exactly happened in 1984, and who the real killer is, the real Chimera. I guess the past will slowly unfold itself in the next episodes, episode 7 and 8. There are so many questions regarding the past, and I'm so excited to know what actually is the secret of the Chimera.

So far Chimera didn't disappoint me. It keeps me on the edge of my seat! It is interesting to have a drama focusing on an arson case rather than typical usual murder by psychopaths, here we got an arsonist! And on top of that, we somehow got to know a monster from the Greek mythology, which is Chimera! I love the concept of using the Greek myth and somehow relate it to biology, which in humanities can be defined as someone who has "two sides". Well, interesting how they brought that to us. 

The visuals and plotting are both pretty good, and the fires they give us are fine! Oh ya, this is an OCN drama, you should make sure before watching that you got your screen brightness on the highest level so you can fully enjoy it, hahaha. And yes, not to forget, we got to learn more about chemicals and stuff that can start a fire, so it is pretty fun getting to know those things along while watching. Well, science is fun and I do enjoy Chemistry, although I failed it haha. 

Chimera is pretty steady in giving us intense moments/scenes, and making us wonder how many ideas the writer has in store to keep this drama interesting, while being dramatic to watch. This drama can be a bit slow, but it is actually a medium-paced-thriller, so we can expect the drama to keep getting a lot more intense as it's going on, and giving us a satisfactory journey. Well, thriller-fans will agree with me and enjoy this as much as me! So many questions and puzzles in this drama, but the bigger question is: Who Is The Real Chimera? At the beginning somehow Dr. Lee is being introduced as he is the suspect, but is he really? Well, I cannot help but think there is definitely something up on the writer's selves, so I expect more twists and turns to come. 

So, my MDL friends, do add this to your watchlist and give it a try! I hope you will like this drama as much as I do!

Before ending this article, I would like you guys to check out other great works from our main cast. So here I listed some which I enjoyed watching, and I would like you to give them a try:

Park Hae Soo: Prison Playbook (2017) & Squid Game (2021)

Kim Soo Hyun (Claudia Kim):  Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

Lee Hee Joon: Mouse (2021)

 ^{Credits: All the pictures and gifs used are from OCN Official, and my own screenshots and edit; unless mentioned otherwise}