Search (2020)

Search was a great pick for me cause I couldn't find a good drama for a long time...
Anyway I was looking forward to this drama since last year when it was announced and I wasn't dissappointed!

This drama had everything. It made me laugh and cry, it had action and also some cute moments. I wasn't expecting some plot twists but they left me plesantly surprised.
10 episodes was a perfect lenght but I wouldn't be mad if they made it longer.

I would say that cast was really perfect. I loved Krystal and I think she potrayed Ye Rim well. In my opinion she's a good pick for these serious and mature characters. Jang Dong Yoon's potrayed his character Yong Dong Jin so realistically and he was blessing for my eyes (especially in first episode heheh). Yoon Park's character Song Min Gyu was a bit cold hearted but not gonna lie I'm going to love him whatever character he'll be playing. Chemistry in this drama was brilliant plus I loved the dogs!

The ending wasn't rushed and I was satisfied. I just wanted to cry because of Yong Dong Jin's father but he did a good choice. And not everything has a good ending (which I liked cause nothing is just bright and pink in real life).

To sum it up Search is a great drama that leaves you on the edge of your seat. I recommend it to people that want something shorter but thrilling at the same time.

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Drama, but it feels like a movie

This drama is about military missions and conflicts. If you binge-watch this drama, it feels like watching an action movie, feels short yet solid plot. If you're looking for a short yet full of action military drama, this is the best for you.

Pros:
- Strong women in the military. She won't cry or be afraid to do deadly missions. You will love their character.
- Every episode gives you a thrill and makes you curious what kind of target we are facing on.
- Long duration of action scenes, less time-waste caused by unnecessary scenes, no romance. This makes the drama looks so solid.
- Not merely a military drama. There's something mysterious you'll find it out later.

Cons:
- There's, still, a scene where someone is dying in front of the enemy with a pistol in his hand, but his comrades come to ask him "are you okay? hang on, we'll get you out" instead of taking the enemy down first. This is the biggest mistake in every action drama/movie and it's still there.

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Eerie, fast-paced thriller

Search was a well-balanced, perfectly paced, well written, adrenaline rush inducing thriller in typical OCN fashion. It doesn't fall under the horror genre but provides a handful of jump scares and gory character deaths. That being said, it's not scary, so do not be wary of this drama.

The first two episodes were by far one of the most thrilling I've watched in a good while. It was a perfect amalgamation of the eerie ambience, wary heroes, solid characterization and timely scoring. It hooked me from the start and managed to keep me thoroughly fixated till the end. The drama is short and succinct, having only 10 episodes, which means that the episodes are very meaty with almost no filler. Even the romance is briefly mentioned and takes a back seat to the panic-inducing chaos that occurs in the DMZ. There is no OST per se, but the background score is superbly ambient.

The cast did an outstanding job. Jang Dong Yoon's Yong Dong Jin is poles apart from his character in The Tale of Nokdu. Krystal does a good job as the cold, and competent Son Ye Rim. She was a badass from start to end- intelligent, agile and far from a damsel in distress. K-dramas tend to dumb down FLs who are initially intended to be strong, so I was delighted to see a female lead who was equally as capable as the MLs. Although Kim Da Jung irritated me with her nosiness, you can't deny that she's a strong character too. Yeon Woo Jin, despite barely having lines, blew me away and Yoon Bak and Lee Hyun Wook shouldered their roles masterfully. Yoo Sung Joo was undeniably fantastic as the cruel and power-hungry Lee Hyuk because he made me absolutely loathe his character.

JDY and Krystal have excellent chemistry, and while romance is certainly not the focus here, their longing gazes and words of comfort reassures viewers of their lingering affection for each other. Considering that they referenced it multiple times, I was hoping that the writers would have mentioned the reason for their break-up. But it never came. I can't help but wish that their love line had been more fleshed out. Regardless, they seem to get together at the end.
However, arguably the best couple in this show was YDJ and Mac/Leo. I would be lying if I said that Leo's death didn't induce some hurt.

It isn't flawless, however. There are some plotholes and logical fallacies. I could not comprehend why Jo Min Guk was the only one with green eyes. I initially assumed that the red eyes were a consequence of the mutation caused due to radioactive exposure and rabies. However, the finale detailed Woo Sang Min, the first infected, having red eyes. So why is JMG the only green-eyed one?
I found some of the elements poorly explained. For instance, some background about the radioactive material would have been appreciated and better explained how it caused people to turn into "zombies." I also felt that SMG's death was rather pointless. He was a grey character from the get-go, and I was half expecting his demise, but it felt so inconsequential.
For all his barbarity, I think that LH did not receive nearly as much as he deserves. His death was not satisfying. I truly wish that someone would've put a couple of bullets in him and have him publicly persecuted.


It's also a little predictable, but all is forgiven for having given me two days of blood rush and excitement. It was fantastic enough for me to wish I never watched it so I could rewatch and feel the thrill all over again. This genre is unconventional for K-dramas because it often requires quick pace and tight storytelling, a task that does not translate well into episode format. However, dramas like Search, Guest and Kingdom are a testament that it isn't impossible. Fingers crossed for more dramas of this genre.

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Feels like a classic sci fi series

Search is a rare gem of a drama. It's intense but not stressful. No boring moments, not a single weakness. There's action but the relationships between characters (including human-animal) are much more important. There are zombies but they have little screentime, there is a mystery to be solved. Zombie attacks are kept to a minimum so the suspense is more psychological than relying on shock effects. That makes it all the more interesting.

Altogether this has more a feel of a classic sci fi series (like the original Star Trek) than anything else. The characters are on a limited space, they have to fulfill missions, they are tested.

The crew of actors couldn't be better. An all-stars cast such as this is a rare and wonderful thing. They complement each other so well. Jand Dong Yoon is a great natural talent and it's great to see how much effort he has made to learn the dog handling. Krystal, Park Yoon, Lee Hyun Hook and Moon Young Hee - we gradually learn about their characters and backgrounds in a very satisfying way.

I didn't want to pause watching the series, it had me hooked for the full 10 hours. That was the perfect lenght too. The slowly revealed plot was well written. The romance is present as a possibility, it's not really essential to the drama. This is a decision that leaves a lot of room for viewers' anticipation and imagination which is more satisfactory often than showing explicit romance and using breakups as the sole plot moving devices. (The last sentence is a reminder to myself to look for similar OCN dramas).

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Whether it's the pretty poster, the cast or the impressive trailer, "Search" knows how to lure its viewers. And it has only 10 episodes, so even if it's not that good, you at least don't have to put through so many hours.

Watching the trailer, I knew I would definitely start this when I get the chance. Excitement, suspense and the hope of some good mystery (whether it might be supernatural or not) led me to the impression that I wouldn't waste my time with this one. Maybe you're going to watch the trailer now, maybe you already did and just decided to start the drama. Well, sometimes producers tend to put the most exciting moments into those two minute clips to attract a lot of people. Unfortunately that often results in viewers being disappointed because all the already known suspense is getting served in the first one or two episodes. There's a big chance your interest has been piqued by then but the further you watch the more sober you get about the plot and you just know that you won't develop the same gripping emotions you had in the beginning.

Does that make "Search" not worth the watch? Don't worry, it still does. But don't let your imagination and excitement run free, don't expect too much or set the bar too high.

The story itself is still very interesting and most times they did a great job telling it. You can guess one or two things and connect some dots along the road as more details come to light, intentionally or not. I don't think it's a bad idea to show pieces of the puzzle here and there (I definitely wouldn't call it predictable) because I for myself like to guess things and I'm happy when I'm right about it. And I really enjoyed the net that was woven. Even though the drama left me with one or two unanswered questions (I'm still really curious about those - i.e. the explanation for the "cause" was pretty vague), most things were explained in the end.

The cast did an adequate job, some more than others and in the end the acting was good enough for the story. I thought that Jang Dong Yoon (ML) would be my light of the day, but it was actually Moon Jung Hee and Yeon Woo Jin. Oh, and of course the dogs, Leo and Mac! They were trained so well. Makes me wonder whether they really used military ones.

Aside from a pointless romance that already ended before it had even started, the main problem for a plot like this was that they revealed too much physics of the main "thing" too early, which took out all the "mystery". Therefore the main force was pulled down right away and never rose again. That makes you start to concentrate on the side dishes and you discover small details that bother the flow if you put too much thought into it. For example, I'm no expert regarding military behavior, but how can they chat about private things in the middle of an operation. In the dark. With an unknown target. Like yeah, no. But don't worry, those situations are quite rare. And maybe it's just me who noticed those things which happened only once or twice.

Would I recommend this? Yes, I would. Despite its flaws it's still a good watch. And for people who don't nitpick about every tiny crack, it can be quite a show. I did feel entertained by it. My expectations were just too high right from the start.

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Worth the watch.

love it. What a great Drama it's full of excitement that exhilarating to end, it has funny parts ?and sad parts ? A troop of so korean men"owl" where on duty in the DMZ in 1997 when they come across a women with a baby near a baby. They wanted to defect from N Korea with her husband as they were scientists bring a secret but her husband was being hunted. Now face to face with N Korea they wanted her back and so she gave S korea her baby to raise and she went back. Then Lt Lee hyuk got nervous looking at N korea men and opened fire and that started everyone to shot. The Sargeant wanted to report what happened with the north but Lt lee hyuk shot him 3x and killed the rest since he needed to change the story and Lt. Han Dae shek was alive. They went back making themselves hero and stated that Cpt. Jo min gook defected and killed everyone. Now 20+yrs later there is a disturb ment in the DMZ so 5 men & 1 women are sent there to kill the rabbie infected dog(wolf) and from there so many different things happen. It's worth the watch

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Looking for a decent thriller? ‘Search’ no further.

Using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," & "nah," this was a “liked”.

Things I liked:
This was a relatively short and to the point thriller, mystery, drama. I found both the premise (radioactive mystery zombie-things) and the setting (DMZ) to be unique (to me, anyway). I had just finished re-watching “Descendants of the Sun” and was in the mood for some more Kdrama set in the military setting. I thought the characters were decently three-dimensional (though they never quite explained why ML was so happy to get out of the military) and those that weren’t did not have a huge role anyway. I liked the fact that our FL was a bad@$$, both at fighting and at thinking. She didn’t suddenly grow all weak just so ML could rescue her. I liked the inclusion of the villagers, including the former special ops soldier (though I kind would have liked her to have a bigger role in the final battle). I liked that it there was mystery, suspense, a decent conspiracy going on behind the scenes, and that the ending was (mostly) happy.

Jang Dong Yoon clearly spent some time working with the dog trainer. It was cute the way the second dog kept looking at him, she’d clearly been working with him a lot and she was always looking for his next command.

Things I did not like so much:
Honestly, there wasn’t much. There were a few inconsistencies here and there as there always are. I would have liked to have known for sure if the FL and ML got back together, but it was open to interpretation. I thought the cascading shot-blocking to protect the (invincible) radioactive dude was a bit cliché. And doesn’t their combat gear include bullet proof vests!? (Yes, I know the politician’s son was not wearing combat gear, but what about the sergeant who was going to get married? That was an abdominal shot, shouldn’t his battle armor cover that area?) And are there really congressman powerful enough in Korea to direct entire military battalions?

Conclusions:
For me, this was a decent, relatively straightforward thriller that had no plot holes big enough for me to give up in disgust. It was nice and short (10 episodes) and I, personally, thought it was worth the watch. Even if I did start because I thought the ML was Kim Soo Hyun, not Jang Dong Yoon (no idea why I thought that at first…)—despite that disappointment, I recommend it. :)

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Awesome

Awesome
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Good Enough

The main problem with the Korean Drama 'Search' is that it took up a lot of themes and storylines and had so little time to develop them.

The whole illness-zombie-animal-fy was not well explained, served only as a prompt for the search to start and sometimes it was left out of the story, in order for the latter to focus on the mystery. That said, the mystery case was pretty interesting and the drama had the thriller factor on full mode, which aided a lot. Another plus was the lack of romance, which would have shifted the mood of the drama to another, more cliche, level. Unfortunately, the family drama needed, too, more time to be developed, as did the characters, who were only introduced rushly to be thrown right into the action, thus, preventing the viewer from creating bonds with them, caring for them and actually feel the right emotions in the end.

Nevertheless, the performances, the setting, even the fantasy part, were all great, well performed and executed.

So, overall, 7 out of 10.

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Meh

It had a decent start setting up the atmosphere. The drama was shot nicely too, try to grab the UXN 4K version if you can. The action was good although it was scarce. There was a lot of downtime between each event which almost ruined the drama. It was clear they had an abundance of free time that they started supplementing it with slice of life/comedic moments which were straight up bad and unfitting. The story wasn't as engaging as it was at the start, it somehow lost its direction midway through. Too many plot holes to count even when excluding the supernatural elements. The drama lacked a meaningful connection between characters. The least you would expect from a military themed drama is some comradeship which this drama failed to show. It's a hard watch since the drama doesn't have much to offer other than a good cast.

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Can't stop thinking about this drama months later

I wasn't going to initially leave a review for 'Search' but I couldn't stop thinking about this drama months later. I keep wanting to return to it time and time again, and while I haven't watched it for a second time yet, I probably will soon.

First of all, you might be wondering why I gave it a 9/10 and I'll state right here this isn't a perfect drama. Are there some things I'd change? Certainly. But my criteria for myself is... if a drama is so fun that I can overlook its flaws and want to return to it, it deserves a 9 so this is a personal score for me.

But the truth is... I couldn't stop watching it. I was gripped by the mystery of this monster-suspense genre, constantly wondering what on earth was going and what the hell was going to happen next. I really enjoyed the plot and it was definitely something that I hadn't watched before, but I'm a sucker for a monster hunt drama/movie and if you are too, this won't disappoint.

I think though that truly propels this drama to as high a rating as 9 is the cast. Everyone was simply outstanding in their roles imo and I found all of their stories really compelling, like I could understand the motivation of everyone involved and that's so rare sometimes. There's not much more I can say on that without spoiling the drama but I thought every character was great and I enjoyed watching all of them on screen.

And I'm a serial "skipper" of scenes I don't like since dramas do have a tendency to drag on something that could be said in 2 lines, so I just skip ahead 5-10 secs (thank you Netflix!) at a time to get the plot going, but I don't remember ever skipping 'Search'. Maybe because it's already a rather short drama or maybe I just enjoyed every second of it.

I have to say though that while I came into this drama for Krystal, I came out of it a huuuugge fan of Jang Dong Yoon. He was the most perfect reluctant hero. He was charming, goofy, tragic, capable, loving, proficient, and kind. Something about his performance in this drama has made me an overnight #1 Fangirl. Truly a great actor. Also cute guy + cute dog? 10/10.

Anyway, I'd highly recommend if you are a fan of: cute dogs, action, mystery, monster hunts, suspense, military operations, badass women and tragic backstories.

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