L.U.C.A.: The Beginning (2021)

Experimental Science

Intriguing plot… innovative concept… poor execution… but great music. This sums up for me the entire experience of watching this drama and why I rated it a 7. For more details, please read on…

LUCA: The Beginning is based on the premise of scientists creating a new species of mankind by integrating the DNA of several different animals that makes this breed of humans stronger, faster, more resilient to the ravages of time and nature, along with superpowers to boot. These experiments are backed by a shadowy entity, called “The Establishment”, with seemingly unlimited resources and broad influence that stretches far and wide into the upper echelons of government and subsidiaries in various industries. One such subsidiary fronts itself as a “Church” where its mysterious cult following is headed by a villainous woman who styles herself as the prophet for the second coming of “Messiah” – the new human hybrid. Enter Zi-O, the first of such hybrids.

The drama chronicles Zi-O’s journey from being a lab experiment to escaping the clutches of this cult while adapting and finally learning what it truly means to be human. Along the way, he encounters the intrepid policewoman Gu Reum, with whom he shares a connection to their past. Armed with the knowledge of the synopsis and having seen the captivating trailer, I started this show fully expecting a similar approach to Scarlett Johansson’s Lucy. It turned out rather differently, with mixed results.

The drama is decently-produced, reasonably well acted for the most part, but the plot and characters are quite inconsistently and illogically written. The special effects are nothing to write home about but generally well-rendered, in a minimalist manner, and mainly used to depict Zi-O’s electricity-charged superpower, and pyrotechnics for certain scenes. The production team is led by the hugely experienced director Kim Hong Seon, no stranger to dark thrillers, who helmed notable shows such as The Guest, Pied Piper, and Voice. The screenplay is written by Chun Sung Il, who mainly specialises in comedy with Chuno being the sole non-comedy tagged production in his repertoire of works. The cast contains a number of familiar faces the likes of Kim Rae Won, Kim Sung Oh, Kim Sang Ho, Park Hyuk Kwon, Ahn Nae Sang, and Jin Kyung. Look out for memorable guest appearances in the form of Lee Won Jong at the very beginning and Jung Eun Chae who had a more prominent role towards the end.

The drama starts out brightly at an engaging pace that’s filled with sporadic moments of thrills and intensity. Both leads’ backstories and shared connection are revealed little by little in every episode via numerous flashbacks. The tags for this show are spot on, where here we have mystery, melodrama, and romance in addition to the science-fiction and action. Watching this turned out to be quite an attritional viewing experience from around episode 3 onward and a pretty wild ride overall in what has been an emotional roller coaster, beyond what I had initially anticipated. It’s the kind of show where the good guys persistently get outwitted, take the (numerous) hits, fall down, get back up and repeat. Over and over again, like the wash cycle of a washing machine.

The scenario of our leads being incessantly chased by the same team of bad guys and the FL consistently getting beaten up and having her head bashed against the wall does get tedious up to the halfway point. As it turns out, for a normal female human without the additional exotic DNA, her skeletal structure is in no way less durable compared to the human hybrids because she emerges unscathed every time with nothing more than superficial wounds. As for the ML, given his inexperience in combat and lack of control over his superpowers, he ends up being constantly overpowered by the battle-hardened and ruthless professionally trained villains.

The pace slows down for three quarters of an episode just past the midway point where the FL temporarily ceases to suffer needlessly and, together with the ML, attain some much-deserved rest, among other questionable events that transpired. The momentum picks up again soon after and reached its zenith in the business end of the show where action, tragedy and more plot twists blended to produce the impetus for a thrillingly breath-taking and bitter conclusion to Zi-O and Gu Reum’s story arc as well as the overarching plot. Many viewers felt that the ending is an open one with a possibility of a second season but personally for me, it represented adequate closure where we allow ourselves to write our own epilogue to this whole affair.

I feel that the storytelling would have been more compelling with less episodes. The backstories and the plot set up dragged out more than was necessary, and included too much of the ceaseless running around and fighting (getting beaten up, more like) and meaningless sub-plots with unfulfilled romance undertones. Even with 12 episodes, certain character arcs remained unexplained and plot holes were littered throughout.

As far as the acting is concerned, Kim Rae Won and Lee Da Hee each gave a commendable portrayal of the main characters which were quite poorly conceived, in my opinion. The individual character development, (excessive) pain, and agony along with superfluous misunderstandings between them were frustrating. In particular the FL Ha Neul Ae Gu Reum (why they came up with such a long fictional name in the first place is beyond me) was written to be infuriatingly lacking in any common sense, or even the street-smarts as befits a police detective of her experience. This character continuously places her life and the lives of others in danger, and favours brawn over brains. The depiction of her taking on swarms of villains alone in unarmed combat throughout the entire show is utter nonsense and unrealistic.

The villains are an eclectic mix of characters. For me, Park Hyuk Kwon nailed it with his version of the unscrupulous and conniving NIS official Kim Cheol Soo. Whether as a protagonist or antagonist, he’s always enjoyable to watch due to his versatility and range. The award-winning Kim Sang Ho, as usual, is one of the best supporting actors in the industry. His characters are always layered and brilliantly portrayed, as is the case recently in Sweet Home and now here in this drama as the conflicted cop, Choi Jin Hwan. Jin Kyung’s cold blooded false prophet, Hwang Jung Ah, is rather theatrical and OTT at times but quite convincing especially when spouting sermons from the pulpit. Ahn Nae Sang’s role this time is a little more understated, as the lead scientist Ryu Joong Kwon. Kim Sung Oh’s Lee Son is largely one-dimensional with the stoic and cold exterior, except for that singular moment of tragic loss, a clichéd plot device, that he experiences towards the tail end of the show. Other than that, his main role is simply to inflict physical pain on others. Jung Eun Chae’s Attorney Jung is a scene-stealer, despite her limited guest role, and is actually rather fun to watch.

One of the very few pleasing aspects of this show which is done right, is the soundtrack. I thoroughly enjoyed every song in the album, in particular both the original and acoustic versions of the hauntingly evocative song, Your Eyes. Track listing as follows:
1. Sun Woo Jung A - Your Eyes
2. Jemma - LUCA
3. Lee Da Hee - Your Eyes (Acoustic)
4. KLANG - Gone

This show had so much potential to begin with, being based on a concept that is both innovative and refreshing. The entertaining and riveting start was unfortunately proven to be a false dawn. The production is hampered by the lack of quality screenplay and the resulting downward spiral of the storytelling finally culminated in a hugely incredulous and dissatisfying end.

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This Series Would Probably Have Been Put Together Better By A Single-Celled Organism...

With Kim Hong Seon, PD of masterpieces such as Voice and The Guest behind the works of the show , an ensemble of fairly talented actors ( not least Kim Rae Won, Kim Sang Ho Lee Da Hee and Kim Sung Oh) taking up the personae of screenwriter Chung Sung II ‘s characters( The Package,Your Honor), everything in relativity about “ L.U.C.A; The Beginning” screamed out " masterpiece" . Then, not even several episodes into the actual story, we find ourselves going down into the previously mentioned rabbit hole of cataclysmic screenwriting, which only seemed to crumble further into the abyss as the series went on...

The premiere episode of ‘ L.U.C.A’ did initially introduce some fairly innovative story writing techniques. The most evident offering hope for viewers to grow alongside our protagonist Zi O ( Kim Rae Won). Like our amnesiac main lead, we know little about Zi O’s world, identity and his mysterious link to detective Gu Reum ( Lee Da Hee). This should have by default allowed us to become attached to Zi O emotionally, had our hearts pulled out when he confronts the terrible and clandestine truths about his past and felt broken-heartedness to part with him and Gu Reum in the finale also.

Instead, trying to become attached to Zi O as a character even later on the show was fairly out of bounds for viewers . This is mainly because the characters lacked the innate, individualistic core of profound personality flaws and traits, rather than cliche plot mechanisms in order to keep a poorly-paced storyline motivated.

Whilst dramas often like to take the approach of the “ wild card” rebel trope in order to keep audiences entertained, this approach to Zi O soon began to collapse when every episode would follow this expected , fundamental structuring of Zi O having “ lost control of his powers again” or “ gone into a fit of rage” over a small (and often trivial) issue. It is not necessarily always a terrible approach to a character, but normally a show tends to foreground why this personality transition should be so shocking or surprising for viewers. Naturally, as we know little about his past, this aspect of knowing more about his identity , is drawn out of the question until later episodes. On the other hand, it is still interesting to note how Zi O’s character slowly begins to fall into the cesspit of lacklustre characterisation, even from his initial introduction in episode 1.

When Zi O is first introduced, he is notably marked as being “ different” by screenwriter Chung Sung II. He had few qualms over animal abuse , but somehow easily allowed his emotions to boil when someone who had grown close to him such as Gu Reum, was injured. This is not saying that Zi O should have remained an emotionless android in the drama, but it did seem peculiar for a character who struggled with emotional and psychological isolation over the course of the series, to suddenly see Zi O transitioning into emotional outbursts and tantrums. This can be mainly sourced to the problem of having few focal points over the course of the series which allowed Zi O to come to grips with his state of mind or mature as an individual.

It is important to address the controversial dilemma of miscasting for Zi O as well. Before anything else, it is important to state that Kim Rae Won is a good actor. However, Zi O as a written character respectfully felt slightly younger that Rae Won. This is not claiming that a “ fresher actor” would have been better at the role( as anyone would struggle with what was given to them by screenwriter Chung Sung II).Again, this is more the fault of poor casting than Won’s ability as an actor, however, it will certainly raise eyebrows for viewers to see a man nearing his 40s taking a temper tantrum as his character onscreen before storming off in order to ‘’ cool down’’.

This naturally draws us onto what led Gu Reum from being possibly one of the most profound female characters in a TVN drama, to a senseless cardboard cutout not even several episodes later. Gu-Reum is a character who was initially established as the “ advisory cop” archetype with a prolonged desire to find out what happened to her parents. It wasn’t honestly an original backstory, but it did bring the potential to explore Gu-Reum as someone caught in the crossfire between duty and morals over the course of the drama, who learns to becomes stronger as a consequence of her enmity towards Zi O.

Instead, Gu Reum seemed to have been a female lead drawn into this unexplained cliche of having an inferiority complex against her male associates in early episodes before being completed reverted into a “ damsel in distress” who faints, or gets clunked over the head by an object in the later storyline . Da Hee certainly was quite a good actress in the show, however, it was hard to take her role seriously when her character transitioned from intelligent cop to unintentional comic relief in seconds flat , especially due to with her relationship with Zi O.

The “ enemy to lovers” is a popular trope amongst dramas and given the right storyline and characterisation, this can work incredibly well. Yet, “ L.U.C.A; The Beginning”’s problem can be found by the sudden and illogical transition from Gu Reum being at Zi O’s throat in early episodes and Zi O “ accidentally” pushing her around with his powers, to Gi Reum suddenly eloping and holding his hand affectionately like a shy school girl not even several episodes later . If you think it can’t get worse than this between the two characters and their “ affections”, then (without any spoilers), it is important to confirm that it certainly does. Although this was necessary to the storyline, there’s little sense of actually building up the characters , let alone pairing them off from enemies to lovers in nearly seconds flat.

Whilst the pacing of the show was quick in parts, a major issue with its sudden fast-pacing can be found through the myriad of plot inconsistencies which arose throughout the drama. Whilst there are some evident reasons explained in the plot behind this, it naturally draws more concern how Zi O, a mutant who has never been registered for official residence was able to not to be caught as a figure of interest amongst CCTV footage after initial reports in the past as well as not legally queried over his job entitlement as well. Whilst minor, it often subjugated the drama’s “ unintelligent violence” without deeper meaning, or at least unique film techniques to make these fight sequences more than a brawl, but fine art.

Arguably our show has several “ main antagonists”, however, the most reoccurring and prominent “ puppet working for the brains” in the series appears as the gruff former-solider Lee Son ( Kim Sung Oh).With an interesting and personal motive behind the reason for getting back at Zi O, Lee Son had the potential to be a fairly well-crafted, Machiavellian antagonist with actual depth due to his experiences in the field and profounder reasons for working for nefarious scientist Ryu Joong Kwon ( Ahn Nae Sang). Instead, Lee Son turns more into the classic “ brainless and inhuman combatant ” than a worthwhile or interesting opponent, often resulting in his actions coming off as more “annoying” than “baleful” .

On the other hand, the one character in the show who was surprisingly intriguing came in the form of Choi Yoo Na ( Jung Da Eun). Although Da Eun hasn’t received as much credibility in performances as some of her costars , she did surprisingly capture interest within her well-performed role as the mysterious and laidback Yoo Na; a young woman who became a field agent for Jong Kwon’s organisation after the initial operation upon her leg ( as shown in the first episode). Yet like most side characters out there, Yoo Na didn’t really have the opportunity for viewers to see her character grow or deepen over the course or the series.

Meanwhile, the ending of the show took a cliffhanger approach rather than particularly “ bittersweet” or “ happy”- appropriate for the genre, but nevertheless a little disjointed and arguably anticlimactic rather than an ending which felt complete and worthwhile.

“ L.U.C.A; The Beginning” can probably be seen as the epitome of the recent problem of “ throwaway” dramas emerging out of the action genre in South-Korea. With notable recent predecessors such as “ Alice” (2020) and “RUGAL” (2020) also suffering from the same fate of being high-budget extravaganzas, but often lacking screenwriting quality , it is probably fair to say that “ L.U.C.A; The Beginning” is the type of show to watch if you’re bored and want to binge-watch something with mindless violence without a second thought . However, “ L.U.C.A; The Beginning” greatly suffers from its own demise as a memorable and well-written show due to poor characterisation, miscasting, plot inconsistencies, deeper meaning and plot incoherency as well. A shame for a drama which had potential to be one of the best dramas of 2021 .

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biggest disappointment of this year

I started this drama loving it because the plot was interesting enough and the casts were amazing, most especially the chemistry between the main leads.

Look at where we're at now... the title of my review says it all.

It was going pretty good till Ep.8 and I KNEW it was just the calm before a fukken storm, scratch that, a fukken apocalypse! Why'd they have to ruin it like that?? What were the writers thinking??!! Forget the whole story, what was that ENDING?????!!!

Zi-O was labelled a "monster" cause if were to look at this in the perspective of a mere mortal, he was indeed one. He was a "monster" 'cause he was not "normal". He had superpowers and was made up of all sorts of things and animals. He just wasn't human. Thus, he was a monster. He kept to himself after he ran away from the organization, and one way or the other tried to blend in and live on as normally as he possibly could. But there's only so much he could pretend when the moment his emotions get affected, blue lightning-like powers zap from his fingers? Normal is hard, normal is impossible. He realized so when the organization tracked him down and began chasing after him, creating chaos in the midst. He's a monster, through and through.

But then comes in the female main lead with the most unique name I've ever seen or heard; Ha Neul Ae Gu Reum. When I saw her for the first time, I though she'd be different. Far from the normal portrayal of female leads. Isn't that what we hope for getting into a new drama? A female lead against the stereotypes. She seemed so to me, but then she kept getting knocked out... and I'm confused. Is she also not a human being? Does she has superpowers too? How is it that she keeps losing consciousness every time there's a fight? She's a god-dang cop, no less! None of the other police officers fall as badly as her, let alone pass out! There was just too many too count. And the last fall she took, it was really the last one. She never woke up... And that's why I despise this drama so much!

Ep 1 to Ep 8, they got our hopes high, they got us feeling good, like the world has finally been set right. But come Ep 9 and onwards, it's simply hell. Zi-O became corrupted, he became the villain, ha! What a joke... so he really took his role as a "monster" so dang seriously.. And Gu Reum was just heartless. So different from how she was in the beginning of the show. I now people tend to change, but for a person like Gu Reum, I didn't think she'd forget her true self so easily... She was just cold, especially to her "husband" Zi-O (yeah they got married can you believe) I saw no love, no emotions, no chemistry after Ep 8. It was all gone.

The biggest peeve I had was the in the last episode. Gu Reum begged (some emotions finally cracked) for Zi-O to stop his horrendous plans and to "please come back" but he refused. And then she got shot and her final words to him were still "come back" and you'd think he'd AT LEAST try to see what wrong he's done and to finally COME BACK to who he was when she fell in love with him... BUT NOOOOO he goes ahead with his plans and creates a gazillion copies of his "baby monsters"... wtf.

And that's how the drama ends.

Disappointment is an understatement.

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Ode to Unchangeable,Unstoppable Nurture.

Humans will be Humans, it's either you trust them or you don't. This drama was filled with action and very entertaining however i would have preferred a different ending.

Looking back from episode 1 all the way to 16 I would really like to applaud Gu Reum, this incredible woman was a hard worker, persistent, stayed true to her self and a very good fighter, however I honestly think she was never genuinely happy. What she didn't realize was that you can't change people, people only change if they choose to and on their own terms and free will.

The fight for justice for her parents, being left alone from a very young age and the battle of being alone and lonely was all too much for her. I was deeply saddened by the way things ended for her. The little happiness she got was quickly taken away from her.

Zi-0 being born by a form of genetic mutation and genetically modified was incapable of feeling emotions until he met Gu Reum and like her he was alone & lonely and even more so always on the run escaping death.

I believe things would have ended differently if he went through therapy, to me he changed his perspective on life again because he was never free from the mental chained state he was in since childhood and then meeting the same people again who put him through hell, calling him a monster led him to believe that that is who he really is.
To free yourself from mental slavery, you must go through a form of therapy, sadly he did not and the result was a reflection of that.

People will only cry help and say they're changed only when death are at their doors, humans are evil selfish beings that worship money and just like those from the drama they lack humanity and never changed.

This drama is a little gem, there will be frustrating scenes that will have you wanting to drop it but I personally think it's worth a try. Not a ending I was hoping for but it is what it is and somewhat realistic.
8.5/10{overall}

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Human Evolution

What a fiery opening scene to LUCA. I have to say everybody looks exceptional; Kim Rae Won, in particular; he looks fantastic; I've missed him and his captivating voice, truly glad to have him back. The same goes for both Lee Da Hee and Kim Sung Oh; they look great, if not better than the last time I saw them. Good to have them back as well. An explosive first episode with amazing OST. The OST reminded me of the drama The Cursed. I've had my eyes on LUCA for a while now, and I am pleased to see it was definitely worth the wait. And the fact that this drama is based on Charles Darwin's proposed theory of evolution, that species can change over time, and that new species come from pre-existing species share a common ancestor -- descent with modification. Now, if this premise is not interesting, I don't know what else it would be. I, for one, am beyond exhilarated; I get the feeling this will be an action-filled, roller-coasting great ride. I like that it also gives me Awaken vibes; it feels good to have the continuation of sorts as I was not ready to bid Namgoong Min farewell in that drama.

LUCA is impressive not only in its visual effects but also in its storytelling, and despite it only being the first two episodes, it does promise to be outstandingly good. The fight scenes are so very well-choreographed, especially those in tight spaces like elevators, and great directing and editing. I like that Ji-ho (KRW) has a nemesis in Choi Yoo Na (Jung Da Eun looks fantastic, I love the red on her). And there is no denying that Kim Sung Oh is a formidable villain; he looks imposingly great. That said, he will forever remain the creepy younger brother from The Man from Nowhere to me. I guess it's a good thing Ji Chang Wook turned down the role as Kim Rae Won surely owes it. I cannot wait to explore the fated connection/relationship between Ji Oh and Gu Reum (Lee Da Hee is brilliant in her role too) and how they change, if not better, each other's lives. I am already on pins and needles until the next episode.

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The Story so far... & Conclusion

L.U.C.A. The Beginning is a story about the evolution of Species and all the moral issues that arose from such an action. This Evolution doesn’t happen in Nature, but it is engineered in a lab under the authority of a Cult. The corruption in the series is tremendous.

The Cult has connections to a scorned scientist that his ideas were condemned from the scientific society. They have also ties within the Government, the NIS and several other Institutions making them powerful to what they do to people in order to succeed their cause.

Ji Oh is the main protagonist and the result of a genetic experiment. He is a human / animal hybrid the first of his kind and he managed to flee from the lab when he was a kid.

He lived a live where he was alone, with no memories because of his “gift” or “curse” as he calls it, being hunted down repeatedly by people who doesn’t remember.

The whole series concentrates in the humanization of Ji Oh.

He is being seen by others as a “Monster”, but in fact from the beginning of the series until the Episode 11, Ji Oh has been more humane than those who are called human beings because of their genome.

Goo Reum is the only human being who sees that Ji Oh is a person indeed and not a monster, hence their encounter changes Ji Oh bit by bit.

After many ups and downs, Ji Oh eventually starts a family with Goo Reum. Ji Oh loves Goo Reum fiercely. They both love each other deeply.

Their real problems start when Goo Reum and their baby will be abducted by the bad guys and GR is being manipulated to think that Ji Oh killed her parents and that he is indeed a monster. Goo Reum's reaction to all these is a mixture of postpartum depression, fear for her baby, shock that the man she loves killed her parents and tiredness because they don't let them be.

Ji Oh has been a fugitive all his life. Goo Reum doesn’t know what that means and she wants them to run away, but Ji Oh finally realizes that he cannot run away any longer. They cannot overcome the powerful Organization.

Hence his decision to become the “monster” in order to protect those who loves dearly. For Goo Reum that is unacceptable. She thinks that Ji Oh is losing his humanity and they are the reason for it. So, in the end of Episode 11 she is abandoning him.

Τhe Conclusion.

The Writer-nim stayed true to what he wanted to write. His goal was to underline the moral issues of Science playing God.
He succeeded in that.

It is obvious that he didn’t have in mind any romance, neither for JiReum or Yi Son and Yoo-Na, nor a character development of Goo Reum.

He also ended the Series with the worst-case scenario the audience would have dreamed of, a sad but realistic open ending for a possible Season 2.

For the Writer-nim, Goo Reum represented humanity while Ji Oh was the generated hybrid who had to choose how to proceed with his life.

So, should someone watch this show?

IMHO, Υes, watch with curiosity, keep the didactic lesson and move forward.

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The Bad Outweighs The Good

I was drawn to watch this being a Kim Rae Won fan, I was looking forward to seeing him again after Doctors and Black Knight. I also like Lee Da Hee’s previous work in WWW and The Beauty Inside. I think they had really good romantic chemistry here in LUCA. The cast did an amazing job at acting. The soundtrack/scoring is also great, I enjoyed them. However, the acting and the scoring are the only praises I can give to LUCA.

I was hooked on all episodes until the barn. That’s when it started to become ridiculous that you just couldn’t give it a fan pass. Everything became a hot mess, a big one at Gu Reum’s character regression. Zio’s character gave me an Anakin Skywalker turned Darth Vader aura and plot.

I don’t think I’ll be able to recommend this show. I enjoy sci-fi themed-dramas but this one. LUCA, along with Alice, is one I won’t look back. The ending is open-ended, too. If they are gearing on coming up with a second season, I am no longer interested to watch. There are a lot of good dramas coming out this year that will be worth my while.

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A total worth thriller

That was a superb thrilling experience, the biggest thing was it only has 12 Episodes. From the first frame to the 12th Epi end the whole story moving with many complicated situation and science which make this drama a good sci-fi thriller. I don't want to talk about the science behind this. Also not so sure about the logics of the things they are dealing. So all am very glad about the way the story moving on to you, it has so many emotional moments and also very interesting plot changes.

I have to mention the background score and Track's that playing every time throughout the whole journey of this drama. Just brilliant, that itself made this into a different experience for sure, so OST played a big part here and the way they managed the story in a very intriguing in some point and that kept the viewers curiosity at its peak was also superb.

Also that one Episode the plot change was very sudden but they brought a new track to the story which was completely sensible i don't exactly remember that Episode number but so many things happened in that single Episode which was very wondering. From there on the whole mood was totally different and even more thrilling..

Just 12 Episodes is perfect, already knew there will be a wide ending with something left behind for a second season, climax scenes were very promising...

This drama is a complete treat for thriller supernatural drama lovers. A Must watch one

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When the writer makes the main female lead faint in EVERY SINGLE ep, you know there's something wrong here.. for one she's a COP, so one would assume she could atleast try to take cover but nope, she's the target of any and all "accidents"
I am dropping this at ep4 but even after ep6's teaser I saw yet another pic of Ha Neul Ae Gu Reum with closed eyes...


now people could make up all the excuses they want but the ML is miscast, or horribly written. we can assume he's in his mid 30s to early 40s, and since the younger vr seemed to be kinda in a similar age group as the fl, 35 is as young as he could pretend to be.
but imagine, a grown man is so incompetent, the way he reacts to things makes it seem like he's in his teens. he's confused, lost, brooding and worse he loses his temper and storms out like a kid.. ooh yeah the WORST part was when he pushed the fl then also broke the bus station's glass that cut her face and neck.......
I have seen many many "supernatural" themed shows and movies, maybe I even watched teen focused superpower genres even more and non of them act as childish as this 40 year old man
I won't say he's not acting it right, he is pulling off that horrible character but they don't fit each other. if they casted a teen or someone in their early 20s then maayyybe, but I hate that type of character it's just a cheap out of a real in depth struggle


on the other hand I don't get the obsession the FL has with the ML. sure she wants to know about her parents, but he's practically a dead end, there's no need for her to risk her life for him when she could try to arrest him.. he's acting too pitiful and she's way too invested


I actually enjoyed the "evil minions" story more, Choi Yoo Na and Lee Son's convo in ep4 was more interesting than anything else, granted though everything from ep1 till ep4 was a boring repetitive circle.
the evil guys find zio, they have an over exaggerated fight and then they run and run and run, then the fl faints while the ml pouts..


Lee Da Hee, Jung Da Eun and the OST were the best part, though at some points the OST is too flashy as if they're trying to say "look at us, we're a fancy fantasy"

now I'm only dropping this for 2 reasons, one I can't take dahee fainting one more time and two I now have 5 better ongoing shows so I don't need to waste my time on this, though I might pick it up after it ends and skip all the running and whining ;D


I technically dropped this at ep4 (lucky me) but I had my eyes on the ending and they killed both FL and SFL?! WOW, did the writer hate female characters? tbh the FL was so badly written that I new this writer can't write female characters, it's surprising to see that they also wrote the Pirates, but anyway...
what's worse they killed her off by taking a bullet for the ML? that's legit my most hated trope...

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Hot Garbage

I'm going to keep this review short and cut to the chase. L.U.C.A. is a train wreck. It's a fairly interesting and good idea that was poorly executed on every level except acting. The forced relationship between 2 unlikable characters was befuddling and unnecessary. What makes sci-fi work is that there is some believability about it. L.U.C.A. never makes you believe nor does it make you willing to go along a journey with it. It's more like being kidnapped by Jigsaw.

If it wasn't for my love of those scene stealing Kims (Sang Ho and Sung Oh), I would have dropped it after episode 1 or 2. I have no love for Kim Rae Won, but he did his best with this jacked up story. Honestly, I think Lee Da Hee should stay on the variety circuit. The music was eh. The love theme was overused and annoying. I grew tired of hearing it. Re-watch is in the negative. I will never watch this again.

Overall, L.U.C.A. is poorly written, edited, and directed. It's a complete waste of time and energy. If you're watching, drop it. If you haven't started, don't.

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I don't know how to sugar coat this so I will say this plain and clear, this drama sucks. Bad is not even close. I did watch all the 12 episodes hoping it will get better but hell no!! it just gets worse!! episode 8 and 9 was good but then the story kept on declining. The production is good and the OST is super good but that's pretty much it. The plot is all over the place, and the characters in the story are just annoying. not only the bad guy are annoying( bad guys are annoying ) but even the good guys in the story are annoying. The main character just blows up like an angry bird everytime he gets annoyed, like please writer give up a break??!! I would have understood if it happened ones or twice but no, he keeps blowing like a fuse gone bad. Although the acting is good but I still don't like a choice of casting but that's entirely my opinion.

I guess the more hope I had for this drama, the more disappointed I got.

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