pyeong
The writers did not know what they wanted to do with the story.
This pretty much sums up Watcher, contrary to most thrillers, Watcher actually starts off on the wrong foot and gets somewhat better towards the ending. The story is not as gripping if you were to judge it from the first episode, however, as the story continues, you'll find more reasons to stay and wait for the story to unravel.
The characters are not the best written. It was evident that the writers wanted to make appealing, smart, and sophisticated characters. However, as each episode passes, I felt like I was watching a new character; their personalities were inconsistent and they were too unreachable to be realistic and believable. They were too good to be true. In addition to this, there would be no semblance of community, or affection between this group of people. They were simply individuals who worked together, it was only up until the end that I felt like they were actually a team.
Plot-wise. I really loved the story's general gist, how this fiasco could be true, as there was a nice foundation laid out for the antagonist organization. It was coherent and believable, and the timelines made sense. It was far better as compared to other corruption dramas. Which is why I was so disappointed with how they made use of it.
Watcher is also awfully "slow-feeling". This is something that I noticed with the drama, it uses so many cuts of the main characters randomly walking, flipping through pages, and staring at whatever was on the horizon, I felt like they wasted too much time using these cuts. The music didn't help, it was way too stimulating, to the point that I could hear the leather seats as they conversed with one another. I think these are aspects that could have been prevented and could be changed to make something that was less documentative feeling.
Lastly, Seo Kang Joon and Kim Hyun Joo played their roles wonderfully. As for Han Seok Kyu, I really don't know how to feel about the casting decision made with him, and the decisions that they made for the character he portrayed. Do Chi Kwang was someone who was extremely dull, and overall unenthralling. He wasn't a character that was clouded in a mystery that you'd be gripped with his persona, no, in fact, he just appeared awfully shady throughout the series. The very few moments where he actually had a personality were so scattered and delivered far less impact than what I was hoping for. I don't know where the issues lie, would it be the actor or the way he was written?
As for my verdict, I would say give it a shot. On the other hand, I wouldn't say you'd be missing out if you skipped past this drama.
The characters are not the best written. It was evident that the writers wanted to make appealing, smart, and sophisticated characters. However, as each episode passes, I felt like I was watching a new character; their personalities were inconsistent and they were too unreachable to be realistic and believable. They were too good to be true. In addition to this, there would be no semblance of community, or affection between this group of people. They were simply individuals who worked together, it was only up until the end that I felt like they were actually a team.
Plot-wise. I really loved the story's general gist, how this fiasco could be true, as there was a nice foundation laid out for the antagonist organization. It was coherent and believable, and the timelines made sense. It was far better as compared to other corruption dramas. Which is why I was so disappointed with how they made use of it.
Watcher is also awfully "slow-feeling". This is something that I noticed with the drama, it uses so many cuts of the main characters randomly walking, flipping through pages, and staring at whatever was on the horizon, I felt like they wasted too much time using these cuts. The music didn't help, it was way too stimulating, to the point that I could hear the leather seats as they conversed with one another. I think these are aspects that could have been prevented and could be changed to make something that was less documentative feeling.
Lastly, Seo Kang Joon and Kim Hyun Joo played their roles wonderfully. As for Han Seok Kyu, I really don't know how to feel about the casting decision made with him, and the decisions that they made for the character he portrayed. Do Chi Kwang was someone who was extremely dull, and overall unenthralling. He wasn't a character that was clouded in a mystery that you'd be gripped with his persona, no, in fact, he just appeared awfully shady throughout the series. The very few moments where he actually had a personality were so scattered and delivered far less impact than what I was hoping for. I don't know where the issues lie, would it be the actor or the way he was written?
As for my verdict, I would say give it a shot. On the other hand, I wouldn't say you'd be missing out if you skipped past this drama.
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