1
starflakes
U.S.
I Have No Idea What Happened Here
Grid is a 2022 Sci-FI mystery set in a world where a mysterious grid protects humanity from danger. Created by a so called 'ghost,' the main characters seek to track her down after she re-appears in present day and stops a murderer from being arrested. Penned by Lee Soo Yeon, the mind behind Stranger, the show sounds like an exciting and interesting watch. There's one problem however: it's not. Episode by episode this show spiraled into an utterly confusing mess (and that's not even talking about the ending)
Grid starts out with a very promising first episode, but from there slowly drags its feet until about halfway through episode six. Sci-Fi is one of the main genres of this show, but honestly I felt that for the first six or so episodes it was really a pure mystery show. It was slow paced, and the Sci-Fi elements that did exist, didn't really seem to impact the show all that much. Of course this changes drastically half way through episode six and suddenly theres *so* much Sci-Fi that it's hard to grasp the plot line, what is going on, and where the show is going. This also has to do with the pacing of the show being sort of all over the place, and I'm not quite sure what the reasoning behind it was. The sudden sharp veer into more Sci-Fi doesn't serve to further the plot, only make it more baffling. Perhaps this is for Lee Soo Yeon's lack of experience in writing non-realist k-dramas, but her unfamiliarity with the genre really shows.
That gripe aside, the main issue I had with the writing is that the characters always know more than the audience. This can be done well in shows, it's even done in Lee Soo Yeon's other show Stranger, but it works there because the main character discovers things with the audience, and also because that show is literally about deceit and lies. Grid on the other hand is a Sci-Fi show where the ML seems to be one step ahead, and other characters know things or accept things so fast that the audience never gets an explanation. In other words, we're very much hung out to dry. Mystery shows do this some time with the intent of allowing the audience to figure things out on their own, but even then some information must be given to the viewer so they have somewhere to start. Coupled with the more than wacky and abundant Sci-Fi, this means that the show is nothing short of downright confusing. Each episode pushes this chaos further rather than seeking to solve it, culminating in a very disappointing final episode.
The merit in Grid lies in basically every other aspect but storytelling. The acting is superb, Seo Kang Joon always seems to knock it out of the park, and he plays a really interesting and compelling character here (aside from the writing flaws). Kim Ah Joong, Kim Mu Yeol, Li Si Young, and Kim Sung Kyung are also great, as are the rest of the cast, who do their best to salvage their characters from the writing they've been given. Who again, always seem to know more than we think, and act very odd because of it. Many of the characters felt relatively 2-D or had hard to understand motivations behind what they did and said. The music is fun and the other technical elements are fine but not too stand out.
As someone who likes a good Sci-Fi, especially when it comes to murder and time travel, I was really looking forward to this show. And for the first two episodes I was actually really happy. While it was slow after that, I was still quite content watching it, but the sudden plot and pace changes halfway through episode six really lost me. Honestly I probably would've enjoyed this show if it had chosen to be consistent in it's pacing and Sci-Fi elements, whether that had been the more realistic but slow paced first half or more Sci-Fi but fast paced second half. But this show can't decide what it wants or what it's trying to say, and in doing so it jerks its viewers around episode by episode. The real dealbreaker is how this show withholds information from the viewers, so you never really know what's going on even when the characters do, making you feel like some random bystander on the street.
You may consider watching this show for the actors alone, or for the pure chaos of it, but don't be surprised when you're left beyond confused. It's a shame, Grid really could've been great, but it just got out of control.
Grid starts out with a very promising first episode, but from there slowly drags its feet until about halfway through episode six. Sci-Fi is one of the main genres of this show, but honestly I felt that for the first six or so episodes it was really a pure mystery show. It was slow paced, and the Sci-Fi elements that did exist, didn't really seem to impact the show all that much. Of course this changes drastically half way through episode six and suddenly theres *so* much Sci-Fi that it's hard to grasp the plot line, what is going on, and where the show is going. This also has to do with the pacing of the show being sort of all over the place, and I'm not quite sure what the reasoning behind it was. The sudden sharp veer into more Sci-Fi doesn't serve to further the plot, only make it more baffling. Perhaps this is for Lee Soo Yeon's lack of experience in writing non-realist k-dramas, but her unfamiliarity with the genre really shows.
That gripe aside, the main issue I had with the writing is that the characters always know more than the audience. This can be done well in shows, it's even done in Lee Soo Yeon's other show Stranger, but it works there because the main character discovers things with the audience, and also because that show is literally about deceit and lies. Grid on the other hand is a Sci-Fi show where the ML seems to be one step ahead, and other characters know things or accept things so fast that the audience never gets an explanation. In other words, we're very much hung out to dry. Mystery shows do this some time with the intent of allowing the audience to figure things out on their own, but even then some information must be given to the viewer so they have somewhere to start. Coupled with the more than wacky and abundant Sci-Fi, this means that the show is nothing short of downright confusing. Each episode pushes this chaos further rather than seeking to solve it, culminating in a very disappointing final episode.
The merit in Grid lies in basically every other aspect but storytelling. The acting is superb, Seo Kang Joon always seems to knock it out of the park, and he plays a really interesting and compelling character here (aside from the writing flaws). Kim Ah Joong, Kim Mu Yeol, Li Si Young, and Kim Sung Kyung are also great, as are the rest of the cast, who do their best to salvage their characters from the writing they've been given. Who again, always seem to know more than we think, and act very odd because of it. Many of the characters felt relatively 2-D or had hard to understand motivations behind what they did and said. The music is fun and the other technical elements are fine but not too stand out.
As someone who likes a good Sci-Fi, especially when it comes to murder and time travel, I was really looking forward to this show. And for the first two episodes I was actually really happy. While it was slow after that, I was still quite content watching it, but the sudden plot and pace changes halfway through episode six really lost me. Honestly I probably would've enjoyed this show if it had chosen to be consistent in it's pacing and Sci-Fi elements, whether that had been the more realistic but slow paced first half or more Sci-Fi but fast paced second half. But this show can't decide what it wants or what it's trying to say, and in doing so it jerks its viewers around episode by episode. The real dealbreaker is how this show withholds information from the viewers, so you never really know what's going on even when the characters do, making you feel like some random bystander on the street.
You may consider watching this show for the actors alone, or for the pure chaos of it, but don't be surprised when you're left beyond confused. It's a shame, Grid really could've been great, but it just got out of control.
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