I could give it a lower rating, trust me. But I'm trying to hold onto the good things about this show so I don't turn out being unfair because, when it's all said and done, Missing 9 isn't THAT bad - the huge problem is that it had potential to be the BEST DRAMA in the last 10 years but all that potential was slowly being flushed down the toilet as we watched. As many others, I had hude expectations set for Missing 9, expectations that were given to me BY the show itself, in its first couple episodes. I didn't have a clue where I was poking at when I started watching this show but I LOVED what I saw and all that mystery got me addicted effortlessly. It's only natural, then, that I got EXTREMELY disappointed to have all my theories shattered mercilessly one by one, apparently done on purpose too, like this evil plot was set by the writers from the very start. Around halfway I lost all interest and strength to keep watching the torture Missing 9 became but since we were so close around the finish line, I kept pushing myself forth... and TRIED to watch it from a different perspective but... it didn't work as expected. Nonetheless, I was able to finish and now, that I'm no longer angered by such a waste of fine art, I can talk about it objectively, so let's start by what's GOOD about this drama: 1) ACTING: Some people complained about the prosecutor being a bad actor but I was pleased by his natural performance. It's not the actor's fault if the character they're given doesn't have a coherent reply to one thing or another (if you look closely, the same happened to most characters). Everyone did a great job with what they had at hand and made it quite believable. Except maybe for Chanyeol. I was biased of him once and even then I never bought his acting so don't come throwing rocks at me. 2) COMEDY: On spot. When they decide to be funny it's always a success! It's an innocent, silly kind of comedy - my favorite. For most part unexpected too so, when you're hoping for some depth... they explode on your face with comic displays that couldn't be any more displaced. And yet... you can't help but laugh. 3) SHOOTING: Dunno if that's the right name to call it. All that deal with angles, action, timing, image, et cetera. Should I call that production? I'm torn because production failed in many aspects so I really dunno but... what I'm trying to say is that it's a nice show aesthetic-wise. (?) 4) MYSTERY: Even though all that smoke clears around episode 5 or 6 and leaves you thinking "That was it?!", they did a great job with those cliffhangers, making us wonder and create crazy theories about every damn thing, from all the beige they wore at start to the colorful lights in the forest we found out to be... garden dwarfs, probably. 5) POTENTIAL: Yes. Why not? If you watch it you'll figure out at least 3 different lines Missing 9 could've followed to be the next best thing in Korean entertainment. But no. Of course they would've pushed it downhill. No kidding, man. That can't be normal. I'm starting to think someone might have paid the producers to screw things up that bad just so some other show would remain on the spotlight. And who the heck would that be, considering SM is involved, huh? I'm thinking JYP... oh. That would turn out to be a great drama to watch! Now... let me get to what's TERRIBLE about this show. [ WARNING!!!!!! ~~~~~~~ BEWARE OF SPOILERS LMAO ~~~~~~~ RETREAT NOW IF YOU CARE ] [ Synopsis ] So we have a group of spoiled ass lil idols in beige and they ALL survive a plane crash because they're basically immortal although they're good for nothing weakling humans and we'll prove that to you by all means needed. 1) (and this ONE may get lengthy, so forgive me beforehands;) STORYLINE: How do I start? Missing 9 had a great start, really. But as the plane crashed down, so did everything else. Honestly, everyone knows "no dramas are realistic" - yes, yes - but there's a tolerance level that can be sustained and this drama completely disrespected its viewers by kicking those basic logic standards to the moon. I already went on how MIRACULOUS it is to survive a plane crash even if you follow all security protocols and shit but ALL of our leads made it out UNHARMED even though they were shaking inside that huge can like alive sardines on a frying pan. They even managed to survive several days alone before finding each other and they barely even get dirty or messy at all - funny, eh? I'll leave all the illogical character profiles for later so, moving on... they're lost in a deserted island and nothing feels aggravated, not even when they find out there's a killer among them, not even when they find out WHO the killer is. Everything is peace and pancakes, jokes, colorful clothes and what not. Later on, they ALL manage to leave the island and while Bong Hee was found alone, it took several days to find the others all at once and... didn't they all leave together? What the hell happened? They were in the same freaking boat, they all went to the same freaking hospital and yet... nothing makes sense. NOTHING. And then everyone's suddenly back to their regular lives as if nothing happened, all the trauma Bong Hee expressed in the beginning is only justified due to her lack of memories because, clearly, to everyone else, all that horror was nothing but spring vacation and now they're undergoing a new kind of nightmare under big bad boss who could've easily anihilated the rest of them one by one but after being too smart, he was acting too dumb. And what's with that sudden head shave? Wtf? They made it seem like it was such an important event, lol. And there we have again the psycho crazy villains, right? And now that we're back home we should try and make them pay for their crimes so we can live. Damn... should've stayed in that island, man. The good guys can only win where there's no money or power. (Unless they have money and power, ofc.) Summing up, back at Seoul, Missing 9 became a total different drama leaning towards political, investigation and law themes, the same old same we are sick of watching in all the others. And that ending... we're clearly missing MORE than "nine" here. This drama is clearly about how they are all dead and delusional. I mean, that's so clear after that final scene. Who in their right minds would laugh like fools while painting each other in a big after party INCLUDING the person who tried to kill them all (but that's so easy to overlook, right? NOT.) and who was supposed to be locked away in a mental facility? Well... we can only conclude they ALL joined him there as we were suddenly back to all the beige... patient's wear. The writers are just too genius to leave all that in between the lines. Got it? *smug grin* 2) CHARACTER INCONSISTENCY: Most character also make no sense at all. We have Bong Hee, the belated professional stylist who was fearless and conveniently a PRO at living in the wilderness. She could fish, make a fire, a tent, swim, save people, patch wounds, she was in her right mind all the time to save food and water, she was so strong for someone the size of a peanut (she even takes out Tae Ho in a fist fight with much ease!), she never got sick despite all that, always in a good mood... there was nothing she could not do! I'm surprised she didn't sneak into the control room to avoid the crash in the first place. Then we have Joon Ho, a shallow good for nothing too-old-to-be-an-idol person everyone's so keen to avoid. He's so selfish to the point of eating all the food and letting the girl do everything by herself but at the same time he's too good to be human I can only assume he's Jesus reincarnated. I mean... he's so quick to forgive a criminal who literally stabbed him on the back, killed some of his friends, framed him and ruined his career, tried to kill his beloved and a couple sentences from him was enough to make the assassin repent... sigh. Suuure. Tae Ho. When we think he's trying to survive (and that's understandable), he reveals he's completely broken and abnormal. Everything he does proves that he is a psycho and yet sometimes they break him out of the blue and make him look normal and just... ????????? Make up your mind! Someone can't be psycho and sane at the same time! That just doesn't happen! Ji Ah. For someone with such a strong personality, she's too passive at times and fades in the background with ease for a main character. I missed her development. She's been made useless by the writers. So Hee: Too stupid for a smart fox. Good CEO: Immortal. Evil CEO: ?????? Cartoonish? We still don't know if he was the one behind the crash or not but that's a long shot for a plan, don't you think? It would be so much easier to kill Sohee and Good CEO if all he wanted was to take over business. He just doesn't make sense. Investigation Committee: LOL what a messy joke. They kept making evidence out of statements, turning the whole thing upside down as soon as a new survivor came around, just... *rolling eyes forever* Prosecutor: At some point he completely forgets all about his dead sister and replaces her with Bong Hee. 3) PRODUCTION: They must've be low on budget because you can easily spot they're in no forest - it's a garden; no ocean but a pool (it even echoes terribly); the toy boat in a tank; the storm with no wind; the burning plane parts on the shore after it crashes into the ocean; colorful lights in the forest that should be crazy dark to justify the lamps everyone was carrying; domestic bunnies in the wilderness and many, many, maaaaany others. 4) PLOT HOLES: Was the plane crash a coincidence or not? It is said to be cursed????????? Nothing was explained. Did their time in the island matter at all? If you take it out, nothing would be harmed. It all started because of Jaehyun so the island deal is just... pointless. It's what they used to make it look new when it's not. 5) LOGIC HOLES: Apart of everything that's already been discussed, the sea brought everyone safely to the island, as well as their conveniently packed with food luggage but had no problem taking Yeol far, far away so that he was never found again; a boat that could only accommodate 4 people, LEFT with 4 people to rescue another 2 and managed to return safely with everyone on board. Tae Ho desperately needed the boat and destroyed it. We have a killer among us but hey let's let him sit with us and laugh together. I was just stabbed on the back and the killer is still perfectly fine but this is the perfect time for a romantic song to play while a sweet talk this lady before me (who's still in danger, let's not forget that). I'm being accused in this trial but no one tries to stop me when I stand up and walk away in the middle of the whole thing. Speaking of... a TRIAL? Perfect time to play this sexy song match for sensual scenes because why the hell not! Oh boy... I could go on forever... trust me, I could. But I'm sick of typing at this point and you are sick of reading, I'm sure of it. At least now you get it why I said I could rate it lower, considering I haven't even numbered ALL the reasons why this is crap. Because, in the end, it's not. Gold comes out from muddy rivers. Missing 9 isn't a shitty drama, after all. It has its value, yes it does. But it's not a good drama either. Not average at all considering all the craziness. It's like a soup you make saturday night containing the left overs from all weekdays prior - comedy, tragedy, mystery, romance, political, law, investigation, survival, suspense, action... a mix of way too many genres that kept outshining each other, just like flavors that, despite being unquestionably delicious, when put together result in something that tastes like shit and has no identity. Yes. I trust that metaphor wraps it up quite well.