‘Stealer: The Treasure Keeper’ is such an interesting show. I actually was debating on whether to drop it or not because I wasn’t as impressed as I wanted to be with episodes 1 and 2. Then episodes 3 and 4 felt lacking and underwhelming and I wasn’t certain if I wanted to keep up with the drama, especially given that I’m watching multiple other dramas at the moment. At one point, I thought: I’m probably gonna end up dropping this drama, huh? But then I told myself to stay patient and to wait until at least episodes 5 and 6 to make my final decision on whether to stick with it or not. After completing the two most recent episodes, I have to say: I think I’m gonna keep this one.
I waited until episodes 5 and 6 to make the decision because these two episodes finally focused on the teamwork and collaboration between Team Skunk and Team Cultural Heritage Team. Everything up until that point had been foundational and introductory; our two teams doing their own things separately while the villains also made their own separate moves on the side and the drama introduced the Joseontongbo as our primary artifact. Plus, I felt as if there was just something missing in the drama that I couldn’t quite describe. It’s as if there was an ingredient missing which caused the drama to feel bland and dull when really it should have been exciting and entertaining. Then episode 5 finally happened and it highlighted the agreement between our two teams to work together. We got our first glimpse in episode 6 of this cool teamwork. They all traveled to Jeju Island together in search of one of the Joseon brass coins (the Joseontongbo) which they successfully found in the end. It was fascinating and entertaining to watch each of our team members play their own roles and contribute in their own ways to the overall discovery of the coin. This was the part in the drama that I had been waiting for which is why I didn’t want to give up on the drama just yet until this part unfolded. And it sure was fun and did not disappoint.
I’ll be honest in that I’m not as invested in the antagonist portion of this drama as much as I am in watching our Team Karma do their thing. I care more about the teamwork and the collaboration and the secret undercover missions than I am watching Mr. Kim and Huin-dal keep their secrets or kill people. It was so cool watching Min-woo fight the bad guys who tried to kill her and then to watch Skunk swoop in to help rescue her during a dangerous and intense fight. It’s also been fun and hilarious watching Skunk (AKA Dae-myeong) attempt to keep his two identities a secret from the rest of the team. They all refer to Skunk as if he’s a separate person from Dae-myeong so it’s been funny watching Dae-myeong go along with the joke and keep the two identities apart. Speaking of funny, I enjoy some of the comedic highlights and scenes in this drama as well (which there have been plenty of which is nice). Jo Han-chul who plays Team leader Jang has always been great with his comedic acting and Min-woo (played by Lee Joo-woo) is also great as well. I love that our characters aren’t taken too seriously and that in between the intense and action-packed moments, there are also comedic highlights to balance everything out.
I’m interested to see if the drama explores the possibility of a love line between Skunk/Dae-myeong and Min-woo. I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary and even the drama itself seems to be teetering on the edge as to whether to invest in it or not. But I will admit that the scene of Dae-myeong worrying about Min-woo who got abducted and then later on transforming into Skunk to rescue her (when he didn’t have to and wasn’t supposed to) was pretty swoony. Plus, Chun-ja teased him afterwards and poked fun at the idea of him having a crush on Min-woo. It definitely made me think a few things and made me feel a certain way and I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of a love line between the two characters. Min-woo has proven that she’s more than capable and competent in handling herself and doing her job but it also wouldn’t hurt to have extra help and some romance along the way. Hehe.
Now that our two teams are working together, I assume this is where the drama will pick up the pace and where the real adventures will happen. It felt like forever to arrive at this point in the drama, but I got what it was trying to do and I’m excited to see more. Since ‘Stealer: The Treasure Keeper’ isn’t at the top of my list in terms of K-drama priority, I don’t anticipate that I will post weekly reviews about it (like how I’m doing with ‘Joseon Attorney’). Assuming that I don’t drop the show as it’s airing, I might just post an overall review once the drama concludes. But I’m liking what I saw so far with the most recent episodes so I hope there won’t be a reason for me to drop it (though the cuts of Dae-myeong’s face under his mask that are awkwardly interjected in between the scenes of Skunk’s missions is coming reeeeeal close. I’m asking the drama to once again please stop doing this LOL). ‘Stealer: The Treasure Keeper’ might not be a treasure or a keeper (just yet) but it’s definitely stolen my interest and attention with its most recent episodes in a fun and surprising turn of events.
MaryMeKpop 