Oh ‘Money Heist: Korea’, what happened to you?
‘Money Heist: Korea’ was quite a quick watch for me. After posting my thoughts on episodes 1-3, I proceeded to finish episodes 4-6 and quickly found myself finished with the drama. All in all, I think the beginning of the drama was the most exciting, but I felt that the quality of each episode deteriorated as the drama progressed. The excitement and thrill from the first episode just wasn’t there anymore.
I think the drama founds its niche in the way that there was always an issue or multiple issues running rampant in each episode. These unexpected issues posed a threat to the overall success of the mission and there was this need to one-up the other team as seen with the Heist team going up against the negotiation/rescue team. From that perspective, it was interesting to watch the two groups try to outdo the other or watch the negotiation team catch up to the Heist team who always seemed one step ahead of everyone else. Just when you thought one issue was resolved, there always seemed to be another one. The chase was never-ending.
I think the biggest issue that ‘Money Heist: Korea’ suffered from was the lack of episodes it needed to give us a better rundown of everything. I don’t think I would have had as much of a problem with the characters or the amount of issues that was popping up in every episode if we had just gotten more time to get to know the characters better. For instance, I’ll admit that I was a bit baffled at Denver’s feelings for the hostage, Mi-sun, because their relationship just felt so rushed and his extreme care for her seemed a bit too random for me. I had no idea he would develop such feelings for her and then somehow their relationship was just sort of thrown at us and shoved down our throats. And it’s not that I disprove of their relationship; I wouldn’t have mind if only the drama was given more time to show the development and progress of their love story. By the end of the drama, they ended up expressing their love for each other inside of the building amongst a couple of other things happening and that was a bit shocking to see. Lol.
Or how about how Tokyo was given the reigns as the leader once Berlin was excused? What about Tokyo made Professor and the rest of the team feel as if she was the next best candidate? Why does Tokyo believe in Professor so much? Why does she listen to his every word and stick to his every step? Why is Tokyo so dedicated and loyal to Professor? I liked seeing Tokyo conflicted towards the end of the drama when she felt as if she wasn’t fit or suitable to be the leader; it was a more vulnerable side of her that she didn’t display much in front of anyone else. Having more episodes would have allowed us into the mind of Tokyo as the team leader as well as dive into her relationship with Professor. Given that the drama was only six episodes, there wasn’t a whole lot of time to do stuff or enough time to give us those slow nuances and bits of relationship building. There was just too much content to work with and the drama tried to shove everything as much as possible into six episodes.
And I get that this first part is to set up for the second part of the drama. As we saw with the end of episode 6, things aren’t quite resolved just yet and in fact, things are only beginning to escalate even more. Professor’s identity is now a complete investigation of its own, characters are starting to get caught up in their feelings which only blurs the boundaries between personal life and work even further, and the path to escaping the building seems so close but so far away. All the plans and back-up plans and solutions to possible issues that Professor had drawn up was of no use; too many unexpected incidents came up that the Heist team was not anticipating which threw everyone in a loophole. But as we saw in episode 6, Professor’s plan is quite the important one. It’s one that is necessary and crucial to the economic development and reunification of the Korean peninsula which explains for why he was so adamant on not killing anyone. This heist is not that type of heist.
What will happen to the rest of the Heist team as they inch closer to escape? What will come of Professor who finds himself taking desperate measures in desperate situations to stay unrevealed? Will any lives be lost in the process? What sacrifices will have to be made to succeed? Who will the winners be in this battle of life, money, and love?
MaryMeKpop 