PurpleStream
somewhere where time is meaningless~
This drama already has so many reviews and I honestly don't think I have much to add on in comparison to some of the other ones. But I have never given a drama a rating of 10 on my first watch. Sometimes, if I rewatch a drama, I'll bump it up to a ten but dramas have NEVER gotten a 10 on the first watch from me...until now.
Which is why I ultimately felt the need to write a review to justify my rating.
An extremely detail-oriented drama with incredible and emotional acting is how I would describe it. Each episode felt like a rollercoaster ride with new twists and turns you did not expect nor have time to anticipate. Settings, props and extra characters were used so purposely and artistically that by the end of watching this drama, I looked around my study area to see what bits of evidence and signs of my daily life I leave behind each day. Of all the police/detective dramas I have seen so far, I've never truly wanted, NO wished more for these characters to be real, to come out from my laptop screen and solve the cold cases in my world.
As other reviews have commented, the acting was phenomenal. From the main cast to the very young actors portraying difficult roles to the nearly insignificant extras, the ENTIRE cast's acting was so palpable, so tangible and so utterly perfect.
I'd be hugely mistaken to leave out the script or the writer in this review. A part of why this drama is so beloved is because of the storyline. Everything is planned out in such organized detail I cannot even begin to imagine how long it took to come up with the script and how many times they must've checked it over and over to make sure everything aligned. All of the cases investigated cover the hot issues often involved in cold cases. These hot issues in part are a reason we as the public are so enthralled by cold cases. "How on earth did ____ get away with such a horrible crime?!" The drama does a good job of sticking up for the little guy, avoid victim blaming and placing responsibility is those that need it, all the while offering us a tantalizing investigative thriller.
Where could this drama improve? A very difficult question to answer, but one place they could start with is allowing their characters to have human memory. I noticed that the characters had very good memory (for the most part, excluding the depression-serial killer arch and the surviving witness...). In fact, their memory was so good that they were able to remember infinitesimal details in their surroundings that eventually gave them clues and leads. It was just jarring enough for my suspension of disbelief to fall through occasionally. But I suppose one could argue that they are detectives and are supposed to be on the look out for these kinds of things anyway.
One other thing, and this is just coming from my feminist nit-pickiness but Cha Soo Hyun, though a notable cop in her own right, was never all that critical to the storyline. In the beginning she had a substantial role but near the end she was almost just a love interest? If they took her character out entirely, the storyline as a whole would not have changed too much. She did not help propel the story forward substantially and acted mostly as a support role despite being a main character. I just wished she had as much impact as the two male leads did. (Message me if you disagree, would love a second opinion!)
I also did not give the re-watch value a ten because often times, investigative thrillers are so thrilling because you don't know what will happen next. But I still gave it a high re-watch value because there are so many other reasons for why it would still be interesting to watch a second time through, one being that you could notice the little details planted in each scene you may not have on the first watch.
Finally the OST: the signature old-timey theme was complemented so well with the musical choices and even now, weeks after having completed the drama, I still get chills listening to the theme song.
It's funny because this is a drama I kept looking at and saving in my "plan to watch," but never actually starting. I don't know why I was so apprehensive. If you are feeling the same way, just dive in. I promise, you will not regret it.
Which is why I ultimately felt the need to write a review to justify my rating.
An extremely detail-oriented drama with incredible and emotional acting is how I would describe it. Each episode felt like a rollercoaster ride with new twists and turns you did not expect nor have time to anticipate. Settings, props and extra characters were used so purposely and artistically that by the end of watching this drama, I looked around my study area to see what bits of evidence and signs of my daily life I leave behind each day. Of all the police/detective dramas I have seen so far, I've never truly wanted, NO wished more for these characters to be real, to come out from my laptop screen and solve the cold cases in my world.
As other reviews have commented, the acting was phenomenal. From the main cast to the very young actors portraying difficult roles to the nearly insignificant extras, the ENTIRE cast's acting was so palpable, so tangible and so utterly perfect.
I'd be hugely mistaken to leave out the script or the writer in this review. A part of why this drama is so beloved is because of the storyline. Everything is planned out in such organized detail I cannot even begin to imagine how long it took to come up with the script and how many times they must've checked it over and over to make sure everything aligned. All of the cases investigated cover the hot issues often involved in cold cases. These hot issues in part are a reason we as the public are so enthralled by cold cases. "How on earth did ____ get away with such a horrible crime?!" The drama does a good job of sticking up for the little guy, avoid victim blaming and placing responsibility is those that need it, all the while offering us a tantalizing investigative thriller.
Where could this drama improve? A very difficult question to answer, but one place they could start with is allowing their characters to have human memory. I noticed that the characters had very good memory (for the most part, excluding the depression-serial killer arch and the surviving witness...). In fact, their memory was so good that they were able to remember infinitesimal details in their surroundings that eventually gave them clues and leads. It was just jarring enough for my suspension of disbelief to fall through occasionally. But I suppose one could argue that they are detectives and are supposed to be on the look out for these kinds of things anyway.
One other thing, and this is just coming from my feminist nit-pickiness but Cha Soo Hyun, though a notable cop in her own right, was never all that critical to the storyline. In the beginning she had a substantial role but near the end she was almost just a love interest? If they took her character out entirely, the storyline as a whole would not have changed too much. She did not help propel the story forward substantially and acted mostly as a support role despite being a main character. I just wished she had as much impact as the two male leads did. (Message me if you disagree, would love a second opinion!)
I also did not give the re-watch value a ten because often times, investigative thrillers are so thrilling because you don't know what will happen next. But I still gave it a high re-watch value because there are so many other reasons for why it would still be interesting to watch a second time through, one being that you could notice the little details planted in each scene you may not have on the first watch.
Finally the OST: the signature old-timey theme was complemented so well with the musical choices and even now, weeks after having completed the drama, I still get chills listening to the theme song.
It's funny because this is a drama I kept looking at and saving in my "plan to watch," but never actually starting. I don't know why I was so apprehensive. If you are feeling the same way, just dive in. I promise, you will not regret it.
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