Beyond Evil (2021) 괴물
Written by Kim Su-jin and directed by Shim Na-yeon, starring Shin Ha-kyun as Lee Dong-sik and Yeo Jin-goo as Han Joo-won.
Written by Kim Su-jin and directed by Shim Na-yeon, starring Shin Ha-kyun as Lee Dong-sik and Yeo Jin-goo as Han Joo-won.
Watched 17 October - 11 November 2024 — 16 episodes (VIKI PASS)
Lee Dong-sik (Shin Ha-kyun) was once a capable detective. He now works at the Manyang Police Substation in a small city and does all the tedious chores at the station. His life is quiet there. One day, Detective Han Joo-won (Yeo Jin-goo) is transferred to the same police substation. He is assigned to work as Lee Dong-sik’s boss and also his partner. Han Joo-won is an elite detective and comes from a distinguished background. His father has a good chance of becoming the next chief at the National Police Agency. Han Joo-won also has a secret. A serial murder case takes place in the small, peaceful city. The case is the same serial murder case that took place 20 years ago and changed Lee Dong-sik’s life. The two detectives work to catch the killer. (Synopsis: AsianWiki)
(Beware of some spoilers!)
*Finished this great crime series yesterday. Show lives up to its famous reputation for being one of the best crime K-dramas of all time and having the best bromance. It definitely deserves the praise and awards it received, securing seven nominations at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards and winning three of them — Best Drama, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor. Shin Ha-kyun knocks it out of the park with his stellar and nuanced performance and deserves his Best Actor Award.
*Watched the first five episodes with my sister, but I wanted to immerse myself in the story and didn't want to wait until we could continue watching the show together. So I binged it by myself and sped up the pace of watching. I'm so glad I did because this show is worthy of one's total dedication.
*If you google K-drama bromances, this series always comes up. Not so surprisingly because Shin Ha-kyun as Lee Dong-sik and Yeo Jin-goo as Han Joo-won have great chemistry, and though their bromance develops slowly and is more of the subtle kind, they have a strong bond. It's evident that after the initial mistrust they respect and support each other and want the other to be safe. They also do a tiny bit of flirting, telling the other they're cute. I also like how flawed and grey their characters are, with both of them bending the law.
*Overall the characters are well-drawn and layered. Love the two female lead characters, Choi Sung-eun as Yoo Jae-yi and Kim Shin-rok as Oh Ji-hwa. Also Choi Dae-hoon as Park Jeong-je is very good. I've seen him in One Dollar Lawyer. Here he has a challenging role and I like his deer drawings.
*The story is tightly plotted and well-written, with many twists and turns. I love that this show doesn't have an episodic nature but that we're dealing with one case where everything is connected (the serial killer case and the higher-ups). Considering this is a serial killer crime series, I had expected more gore and blood. But most murders have already happened in the past and it's more about finding the bodies and unraveling what exactly happened and exposing the culprits.
*I sensed a bit of a Twin Peaks vibe. The popular American series from the 1990s is also about a close-knit small community with townspeople knowing each other well (yet harbouring secrets of their own) and with a law enforcement agent (in this case a FBI Special Agent) called in to investigate the murder of a local teenager.
*Show delivers consistently with all episodes. The finale is satisfying and all loose ties are wrapped up neatly. I don't even think I was left with a single question unanswered. It was great to see how everyone served their time, also Lee Dong-sik and Park Jeong-je.
*I cried with the emotional scene in the final episode where Han Joo-won struggles to arrest Lee Dong-sik and put handcuffs on him. I think it will be hard not to be emotionally affected by that scene.
*It's predictable there was going to be a time lapse since Lee Dong-sik was sentenced to prison for a year. Once he was released, he's meeting Han Joo-won and the others again, and this made for a great ending.
*The final goodbye scene between Lee Dong-sik and Han Joo-won on the bridge made me a bit emotional after having spent so much time with their characters. They both go their own way but I hope their paths will cross again in the future.
*Noteworthy is that both director and screenwriter are female.
*Great OST and cinematography!