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Mouse korean drama review
Completed
Mouse
1 people found this review helpful
by goofball04
Feb 23, 2022
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 10.0
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10.0
This review may contain spoilers

A Flawed Masterpiece

*SPOILERS BELOW*

Mouse is an excellent crime thriller! You expect Mouse to be one thing, but it mutates into something else. It starts like any other crime thriller: two justice attaining detectives team up to catch a serial killer. Ko Moo-chi, a veteran detective, and Jeong Ba-reum, a rookie detective, have their eyes set on Seong Yo-han. They believe he is the serial killer that has brutally killed innocents because of his hatred toward God. When Ba-reum confronts Yo-han, he is struck in the head, and Moo-chi kills Yo-han. Ba-reum ends up needing brain surgery, which rids Ba-reum of all his memories. Believing they have caught the killer, everything seems to go back to normal; however, around 6 to 7 episodes in, the show shifts to focus on Ba-reum, whose personality has changed tremendously. A part of Yo-han's brain was transplanted into Ba-reum's head, and so it seems that Ba-reum starts to have memories of Yo-han and his killings. However, along the way, Ba-reum realizes he was the psychopathic killer all along. Because of the brain transplant, Ba-reum can now feel guilt and remorse. He now wants repentance for all the crimes he has committed.

Mouse is definitely a roller coaster full of mysteries and twists. You'll come up with a theory, and by the next episode, it gets torn to shreds. The possibilities in this show are endless, which keeps you coming back to the show wanting more! I will admit, I knew who the killer was before watching the show, yet the show still remained exciting and unpredictable.

While Mouse is indeed a masterpiece, it does not come without faults. But first, I want to start by listing the reasons why Mouse is a fantastic show, and then I will get into the problems I had with the show.

Likes:
- The concept is fascinating! I've never really seen anything like it. Memoir of a Murderer is the closest film I can think of that is somewhat similar to Mouse. If you haven't seen it, definitely check it out!
- Lee Seung-gi plays his character so well! Honestly, if it weren't for Lee Seung-gi, who plays Ba-reum, the series would've fallen flat. Seung-gi was able to seamlessly switch from the good cop that everyone liked to being confused about who he really is and then to murderous and finally wanting repentance for everything he had done. His flow from these different personalities was top-notch!
- The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. There were so many times when I should shout, "RUN!! OMG GOOOOO!!!"

Dislikes:
- There's too much yelling. Honestly, it kind of stressed me out. I feel like the yelling is typical in Korean crime shows, though.
- Everything is TOO connected. A couple of examples:
1) Ba-reum saw Bong-yi below the bridge where Kang Deok-soo left her to die. Mouse isn't the first drama to use a past connection, but it does get old always to see how two characters are connected.
2) When Bong-yi is being attacked in her house, I thought it was Kang Deok-soo because he had been stalking her as soon as he got out of prison, but it wasn't. It was another psychopath. Out of all the people he could've attacked, he choose Bong-yi??
3) Choi Hongju is connected to the Head Hunter, Han Seo-joon.
These connections lead me to my next point.
- Basically, the whole town where Mouse takes place is a mess. It felt like everyone in this town was a psychopath. I get it's a TV show, but I wish the writers could've made Mouse somewhat realistic.
- The psychology was not researched or done right. The writers try to portray all psychopaths as serial killers when that is not true. Sure, psychopaths can't feel empathy or guilt, but that doesn't mean they are all murderers.

Overall, Mouse is one hell of a ride! Though there are many ridiculous subplots, Ba-reums's character kept me watching, and Lee Seung-gi's phenomenal acting as Ba-reum makes up for these minor dislikes. I highly recommend watching this show if you're into thrillers, especially when the main character is a serial killer. The only main thing I would recommend is not to google anything about the show because there are countless spoilers.
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