The Lies Within (2019)

I admit that the first major half of the series I was actually invested, and I wanted to continue, but there were so many little things that kept bugging me. I'm listing them as follows:

1) The Characters and the Insufficient Backstory: I couldn't sympathize with most of the characters because there was just not enough depth in flashbacks to make me feel for them. For example the relationship between Seo Hui and Sang Hun seemed really empty to me, considering he had spent so much time abroad, and when he returned he didn't live with her. He kept some heavy, HEAVY secrets from her and she was basically clueless about everything. If their relationship was that bad, I can't see why she was so desperate to find him, especially if she even suspected that he was cheating on her. It just didn't add up. The relationship between Sang Hun and his step-father wasn't really explored in depth either. I don't know what made Sang Hun think that his stepdad would care much if he got kidnapped or mutilated. I mean the old man basically stopped caring after the eye was discovered at the news agency, and he was ready to shut down the investigation for the son. The relationship of Yeong Min and Seo Hyun (the reporter) was so out of the blue, unnecessary and superficial that I didn't know what to think. The relationship between Yeong Min and Sang Hun wasn't satisfactorily pursued either, since Yeong Min's feelings were actually very complex but not explored at all.

2) The Disbelief in the Storyline: I'm sorry but I just can't imagine that any human being, any sane person, even a dying man would willingly suggest that his limbs be cut off, and that other 'sane' human beings, especially a brother-like relation would agree to do it. I can't believe Sang Hun would do it thinking it would help stop his stepdad who clearly stopped caring at one point. I also can't believe he would make his own wife undergo this torture, keeping her in the dark about all of this, knowing how she would feel upon discovery of his severed foot, hand, eye and then the heart. That last organ was a bit too much. What friend/brother can take out his brother's heart? without the proper tools or the know-how? I mean, is it that easy to extract a human heart that any lay person can do it without going stark raving mad? I can't forgive that Sang Hun made Seo Hui undergo all of this just so that the bill would be stopped and there was no guarantee that it would be stopped. And that last minute 'oh Sang Hun is dying anyway so it's all good' was very offensive I mean it was just meant to make it all convenient.

3) The Cliche: Corrupt old men covering up their corruption, cruelties, and greed while using henchmen who would go to any length to serve them is getting really old. Also the corrupt insiders in the police, the erased CCTV footages, the insufficient evidence to convict the obvious killer. Please stop it.

Little things kept bothering me, like the fact that I just couldn't get how Seo Hui could be such a dumb clueless person, who never tried to investigate just what it was that was bothering Sang Hun, why he didn't want to work in the company, what he did in his secret time away from her, and what was on his mind. You're his wife! How can you be so disinterested? She did good acting, but the character wasn't very likeable. I mean, girl, your laptop got hacked once, why are you using it again to check out a secret USB which you know will have top-secret content?

It was an overall meh drama. Lee Min Ki is amazing in his acting though.

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Honestly, I found this show to be just okay.

The main issue with this show is the writing, which felt uninspired and lazy at times. Characters would find answers/clues sometimes too conveniently to move the story along. Thus as a result, the investigation did not feel super compelling to me. Additionally, Seo Hui was criminally underwritten. That character had an underwhelming amount of development/growth, and wasn't given much to do. Also, I didn't like how in the beginning the (only) female detective was often the comic relief as a result of her foolishness. I've seen this type of humour is older dramas and thus it felt stale to me, and a little offensive to still be seeing token female characters in male-dominated work environments portrayed like that nowadays. That being said, the show definitely had its moments that were either intense or intriguing.

The acting is really the best part of this show. Lee Min Ki gives a great nuanced performance as a character completely different from his most recent drama work, thus further proving how exceptional he is of an actor. Lee Yoo Young was good as well with what she is given, I just wished she had more to work with. I also really liked Kim Shi Eun as Jin Kyung and Yoon Jong Seok as Ho Gyu, who both were endearing and truly earnest. This is probably just me, but I didn't really like Seo Hyun Woo as In Dong Gu, as the performance felt one-dimensional and it really felt like he was "acting".

Music was alright, I like the 80s inspiration. But also it didn't really suit the style and tone of the show, thus it felt like a superficial attempt to be "trendy".

Reading this over, I sound a little harsh but I just wished the writing/story could have delivered the same level as the cast did.

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