gela
This review may contain spoilers
Good effort, overcrowded plot
The Sign is a very ambitious project by Idol Factory and I have to give them kudos for their efforts. The efforts aren't wasted either, most of the series was highly enjoyable, and you can feel that this was made with passion. However, this series is overcrowded with ideas that the execution for each doesn't feel 100%.
Here are the good:
- Amazing chemistry between Billy and Babe. I was not familiar with their game before this but now I am hugely obsessed because of how electrifying their chemistry is on screen. Even from the very beginning where they had minimal physical contact, they've always maintained an amazing amount of tension that keeps the viewers going.
- Their first case as detectives was actually interesting. Honestly this was the more interesting case compared to the main case that they worked on - it was also presented better. I was actively rooting for the murderer to succeed because of how good they sold the motives to me but also I didn't end up hating the cops either. They showed a good balance of humanity for both sides which made an interesting watch.
Room for improvement:
- Premise is super interesting but you need moderation with everything, including excitement. The reincarnation, detective case, and the whole folks tale/fiction thing proved to be too much for one series. The plot is overly crowded and I wish they toned it down slightly or expanded it over a longer series. 12 episodes and 1 special episode is not enough to properly contain all of these stuff.
- Some characters are not written with enough purpose. What was the purpose of Dai? What's the purpose of the last scene with the murder of the employee? What was the reason that the first death happened in the training area? I get that they are used to progress the plot but I wish there was better writing around this.
- I do wish that the handling of the one case with a mentally unwell suspect was done with more sensitivity. The doctor was actively feeding incriminating answers to a mentally unstable suspect and the detectives just let it be. I think it's important in crime series to highlight that people with mental illnesses are way more likely to be victims than perpetrators. This series did manage to kind of relay that in a not so obvious way, but the initial hammering and emotional pressure they put unto the suspect was quite triggering.
The bad:
The acting of the girl who played Dai really needed huge improvement. All lines delivered were stiff and felt like she was reading off a teleprompter. Surely there were better actresses.
Overall this isn't bad but it's a case of flying too close to the sun with this one.
Here are the good:
- Amazing chemistry between Billy and Babe. I was not familiar with their game before this but now I am hugely obsessed because of how electrifying their chemistry is on screen. Even from the very beginning where they had minimal physical contact, they've always maintained an amazing amount of tension that keeps the viewers going.
- Their first case as detectives was actually interesting. Honestly this was the more interesting case compared to the main case that they worked on - it was also presented better. I was actively rooting for the murderer to succeed because of how good they sold the motives to me but also I didn't end up hating the cops either. They showed a good balance of humanity for both sides which made an interesting watch.
Room for improvement:
- Premise is super interesting but you need moderation with everything, including excitement. The reincarnation, detective case, and the whole folks tale/fiction thing proved to be too much for one series. The plot is overly crowded and I wish they toned it down slightly or expanded it over a longer series. 12 episodes and 1 special episode is not enough to properly contain all of these stuff.
- Some characters are not written with enough purpose. What was the purpose of Dai? What's the purpose of the last scene with the murder of the employee? What was the reason that the first death happened in the training area? I get that they are used to progress the plot but I wish there was better writing around this.
- I do wish that the handling of the one case with a mentally unwell suspect was done with more sensitivity. The doctor was actively feeding incriminating answers to a mentally unstable suspect and the detectives just let it be. I think it's important in crime series to highlight that people with mental illnesses are way more likely to be victims than perpetrators. This series did manage to kind of relay that in a not so obvious way, but the initial hammering and emotional pressure they put unto the suspect was quite triggering.
The bad:
The acting of the girl who played Dai really needed huge improvement. All lines delivered were stiff and felt like she was reading off a teleprompter. Surely there were better actresses.
Overall this isn't bad but it's a case of flying too close to the sun with this one.
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