MaryMeKpop

OHHHH YEAH, this one I think I’m going to stick with.

OCN’s ‘Player’ recently just premiered this past Saturday, September 29 (AKA on my birthday!) and I caught up with the first two episodes. To say the least, this drama is one that I’m probably going to watch until the very end.

‘Player’ stars Son Seung-heon (Black) as Kang Ha-ri, a swindler who recruits three other members to be a part of his investigative team. Together, the quartet work together to hunt down criminals while taking a fair share of money and rewards for themselves as well. Rounding up the team is Krystal of f(x) (Prison Playbook) as the professional driver and thief, Lee Si-eon (Live) as the hacking professional,and Tae Won-seock (Prison Playbook, Return) as the strong built fighter. It’s a perfect assemble if you were to ask me.

Episode one was already a great and entertaining hour long watch, but it was really the ending to that episode that made me realize just how much I loved it. It was fun watching the four use their strengths, skills, and talents to take down the bad guys, but it was even better that we learned a little bit more about each of our team members. When I think about past dramas that are similar to ‘Player’ such as ‘Mad Dog’ or even ‘Criminal Minds’ where you have a group of team members come together to defeat the antagonists, you don’t really get any context or details on who is making up the team. In ‘Player’, we gained a little of details on our team members which made things easier to watch and understand. Who are each of our team members and what are their skills and assets? How did they get there? In episode one, we witnessed our team take down the bad guys and it was fun because you know who was who and what their talents were. Big bonus points for that.

The directing to ‘Player’ also makes the drama a lot funner, better, and more entertaining. It’s as if you’re joining the quartet on their journey to defeating the villains; as a viewer, I felt like I was the fifth member of the team. You feel as if you’re accompanying the team throughout their wild and fun adventures and I never really felt like I was an outsider.That was how engaging and fun ‘Player’ was and that’s a good sign of good directing. My only concern would be the editing which I felt was a bit choppy at times, but it wasn’t too huge of an issue to the point where it was distracting. It was just a minor issue, but I still greatly enjoyed the rest of the episode.

Once again, I went into this drama without knowing anything so I had no expectations whatsoever of this drama. I’m so glad to say that I finished the first two episodes with such a good impression. I was surprised to see Kim Won-hae in here since he’s also in currently airing drama ‘The Ghost Detective.’ He’s currently in two different dramas so he must be a busy busy guy (and he’s probably tired too), but I can see why he has time to do both dramas. He’s not really utilized in ‘The Ghost Detective’ so he also decided to be in ‘Player.’ He plays a prosecutor in ‘Player’ so it’ll be interesting to see what his character is like in here.

My biggest surprise with the drama would probably have to be the appearance of Kim Sung-cheol who appeared in the first two episodes of the drama. I first saw him in ‘To. Jenny‘ as the cute, adorable, and musically talented Jung-min and he was an actor that I became a casual fan of. I had no idea he was going to be in ‘Player’ so I was seriously so shocked when I saw him in the first episode, lol. In ‘Player’, Kim Sung-cheol plays an evil, malicious, and immoral son of a CEO who basically abuses and sexually assaults girls. The contrast in this character to the first one I saw him in which was ‘To. Jenny’ is huge and it was difficult to believe that he could switch up the roles so well. While I found Kim Sung-cheol’s portrayal of his character in ‘Player’ a bit awkward at times, I did think he did decent overall. I fully believe that he has the acting chops to do more supporting roles or appearances like he did in ‘Player.’ I’m not sure if Kim Sung-cheol’s going to keep appearing in the drama since it seems like his sub-plot concluded by the end of episode two, but it was great to see him in another drama again after ‘To. Jenny.’ Of course, I think it’s important to note that I’m not supporting the character Kim Sung-cheol was playing, but rather Kim Sung-cheol the actor himself.

Also, why didn’t anyone tell me Yoo Seung-ho was going to make a cameo in the first episode?! I was just casually watching the drama and observing Son Seung-heon smoothly execute the team’s plan and then I saw Yoo Seung-ho and my mouth literally dropped. My mouth widened immediately and I paused the video upon seeing him. I had to double check that it was Yoo Seung-ho I saw and not just another actor who looked like him. Lol. I had no idea that he was going to make a cameo so I searched the first episode for any details about his cameo. Sure enough, it was Yoo Seung-ho. It was such an unexpected but awesome surprise and I wonder if there will be any more surprise cameos (more Yoo Seung-ho will be awesome of course!).

It seems like the drama will be procedural for now which I would actually be okay with. It seems like the quartet are going to be chasing down a bunch of bad guys with the police and prosecutor team also right behind our team so it would make for an interesting and fun watch. I’m not the biggest fan of procedural dramas, but with such fun and entertaining directing as in ‘Player’, I don’t think I’ll have a problem sticking around. While watching this drama, I couldn’t help but think about ‘Mad Dog’ and imagine that ‘Mad Dog’ should have been the type of drama that ‘Player’ is. Both are similar in the way that both dramas have their own set of teams who are going after criminals and chasing down the bad guys, but ‘Player’ is executed and filmed in a much more funky, wacky, and entertaining way. ‘Mad Dog’ was more slow, straight-forward, and direct with its directing and writing while ‘Player’ spins around in circles and takes you places. While I enjoyed ‘Mad Dog’, it didn’t necessarily reach its potential to be as fun and amusing as ‘Player.’

With the casting, I have to say that I’m enjoying our four main characters so far. Granted, I’m liking Lee Si-eon and Tae Won-seock a little bit more than Krystal and Son Seung-heon. Lee Si-eon is great in anything because he’s just that talented of an actor and I really like the character that Tae Won-seock portrays in ‘Player.’ Krystal and Son Seung-heon is great and I enjoy watching them be so badass and cool in their own ways (Son Seung-heon is so suave and smooth in this drama he’s so attractive. AHHHHH). They’re each playing their individual roles well respectively so I don’t think I’ll have any issues or concerns with their acting.

‘Player’ is looking great so far and it’s definitely a fun drama to watch. The drama addict in me is tempted to recap this drama, but I’m holding myself back from doing so because I’m reminding myself that I need to just sometimes sit back, watch, relax, and enjoy some dramas instead of recapping them. Who knows, maybe I might take on this drama and recap it after I finish next week’s episodes. It’s a drama I’m probably going to stick with until the end anyways so why not?