By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
October 10, 2020
☆☆☆☆
Hwang Si-Mok (played by Cho Seung-Woo)
Han Yeo-Jin (played by Bae Doona)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.
There’s a lot of inter-office political backstabbing going on in this second season of “Stranger.” While it didn’t hold as much dramatic tension as the first season, the one-two punch of the series stars, Bae Doona and Cho Seung-Woo (as a righteous detective and a prosecutor, respectively), made it must-see viewing.
Pay close attention to the first episode — which centers on the drowning of two drunken college students. The scriptwriters cleverly lead viewers into thinking we actually know what’s going on, when in reality most of us will have been thrown off track by clever plot twists. As the series unfolds, you may want to revisit these earlier episodes to catch what you may have missed on the first go round.
There’s so much lying going on that it’s difficult to figure out who’s truth is real — except for Si-Mok and Yeo-Jin, who are inherently wired to do the right thing. But some of the characters are so good at adjudicating for themselves that you’ll almost be convinced that what they did wasn’t so bad after all. And herein lies the problem. There are so many players convinced that their own criminal acts are for the betterment (cough cough) of Korea’s economy and future that they should be given a pass on their own wrongdoings.
There are a string of cases that seemingly are unrelated, but end up tying up loose ends that seemed unsolvable. What does a police officer’s suicide (or was it a homicide?) have to do with a college student’s death? What does an elderly prosecutor’s heart attack have to do with corruption? And how is a tenacious prosecutor’s kidnapping related to any of this?
One of the intriguing aspects of casting is that Si-Mok is supposed to be younger than many of his superiors. And it’s not that the actor necessarily looks as old as them, but he conveys the persona of an old soul. To hear him drolly addressing them in honorifics, while doing what he damn pleases, is fun to watch.
Bae Doona and the formidable Jeon Hye-Jin (“Search: WWW“) — who played her superior, Choi Bit — shared some of the series’ strongest scenes. (Trivia: Jeon is married to “Parasite” actor Lee Sun-Kyun.) The level of respect the two women had for each other was palapable and, at times, heartbreaking, when they realized how their actions would affect the other. As two of the few high-ranking women in the police department, they knew how any perceived mistakes would be used not only against them, but other women wanting to climb up the ranks.
“Stranger” has proven that a K-Drama doesn’t need a second lead syndrome — or any romance, for that matter — to hold viewers’ interest. Yes, some viewers are invested in wanting to see Yeo-Jin and Si-Mok get together. Me? I like them just the way they are. Not everyone needs a romantic partner to complete their life.
As for the ending, it’s left open ended, which suggests to me that if offered, the cast and crew would come back for a third season. Fingers crossed!
Airdates: Sixteen hour-long(ish) episodes aired on tvN from August 15 to October 4, 2020. Read my review of the 1st season here.
© 2020 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
season 1 tremendous. this season was miss from the start. everything seemed off. the storyline was convoluted. with an ending so poor it truly felt a let down. chief woo moved a body. and lied about it. yep that’s it. and i committed 16hrs for that big reveal. he moved a body. what a poor storyline. and to top it off chief woo’s boss tell star hwang shi mok to not go after your superior and let him go. which basically happens. maybe create a season that doesn’t repeat the first two esp season 2 where the narrative is the same prosecutor goes after the department.