I started to watch this show because I am a big fan of Lee Seung-gi, only to find out that he doesn’t join the cast until halfway through season 2 (I blame Netflix for false advertising!) Well, I am glad I watched the show because I got hooked from the beginning. My nephew (7 years old) started watching this with me because he found it so enjoyable, even with reading the subtitles. And slowly, we got more family members into the show.
I love the chemistry between the actors and how much they worked off each other in each episode. It is refreshing to see women (Kim Se-Jeong and Min-Young) as the top contributors to solving the cases and showing no fear in dangerous and scary situations. The males had no problem acknowledging the women for their bravery or giving them kudos for their smarts and letting them lead the team when needed, which was great to watch. The team leader is Jae-suk, who makes sure everyone knows where they are going and keeps them on task. Sehun is quiet and super competitive. Competition and Lee Seung-gi seem to bring out the fun and quirky side to him. He also steps up when he realizes that no one else is willing to do a task and will get his hands dirty to get the job done. Kwang-soo and Jong-min are the comedic relief and have their moments of genius once in a while. Detective Ahn watches everyone quietly and will contribute when needed. It is a well-crafted team, with each person contributing something different.
Season 1 starts rough. Though the episodes are entertaining individually, as a collective, the plot and logic fall short. They connected all the pieces in the end, but I felt like they didn't explain the connections properly. The second and third seasons are amazing, and they did a great job on the plot. Everything that was lacking in season 1 they fixed in seasons 2 and 3. Even when episodes seemed random, in the end, they fit together in the overall plot. And they would reference season 1 characters and episodes to connect all three seasons. 2nd and 3rd seasons felt like a whodunit mystery where you know the killer has to be one of the characters on the show, and you are looking at and finding clues with the team. At the end of seasons 2 and 3, with the killers' identity revealed, you realize all the clues present throughout the season hinting at the answer. And I have to say the people producing, directing, and shooting the show do a great job of showing you clues and reactions of the characters without you getting suspicious. But looking back, you realize all the signs that you ignored.
A great watch that is super lighthearted even though you are solving murder mysteries. It focuses more on the detectives and the puzzles rather than the murder and violence aspect of it.
