Drama Review: I Remember You Episode 1

Greetings to the good k-drama enthusiasts of K-Drama Central! Username is ILostThePlot | Xtinagogo, but you can call me Xtina. I am your reviewer this evening, so sit back, relax, and learn to love begrudgingly ingratiating dramas tropes, as desperately as I am.

Though a bit late to start, we are here to break down the comings and goings of I Remember You, starring the hunk, in suits, Seo In Guk, puppy-eyed nation’s 2nd 1st cousin, Jang Nara, and Satansoo, aka D.O. of Exo, bravely appearing as himself for the first time in a drama.

Originally titled, Hello Monster, I Remember You is billed as a "thriller featuring the complicated love story between a criminal profiler (Seo In Guk) and an investigator (Jang Nara)", which assumedly translates to makjang smeared with copius amounts of fluffy rom com moments (Soompi). From the beginning, the show sets out to make Lee Hyun (Seo In Guk) as an enigmatic genius. Cha Ji An (Jang Nara) and her team of investigators roll up to their murder site looking for their team leader, only to find Hyun condescendingly vagueing it up in some sexy business attire.

Not alone in enjoying the view, Ji An challenges the depth of wide-eyed puppy stare, soliloquizing that she has been waiting for this man forever. Everything is so subdued and understated. Never comes off like a play at your local community theater.

Not surprisingly, the real man for the job, Kang Eun Hyuk (Lee Chun Hee) arrives, leaving Hyun to make a leisurely escape (he is so above breaking a sweat), as Ji An sprints after him as the rest of the team stands in place befuddled. The lack of professionalism could be seen as endearing, but comes of as frustrating in the proceedings.

Is the pope catholic?

A mouse and cat chase ensues, and we grasp that Ji An has been stalking Hyun since elementary school. He is the Luhan to her Exo-L, and like Luhan, he has no idea that she even exists (presumably). Ji An handcuffs her idol, and brings him down to the station for further questioning/intimate pat downs. It is discovered that he is a criminal law professor at a university in New York City (before we progress, let’s all remember his apartment. There is no way he can afford something that grand on a college teaching salary, unless it’s just a studio and he sleeps under his desk). Hyun agitates everyone by highlighting their weaknesses and flaunting his knowledge of their murder case, because, from Indiana Jones to House, that is what cocky geniuses do.

Unable to keep him detained from a lack of evidence, as well as given an approval of dismissal from the Police Commissioner, the investigative team is begrudgingly forced to release him. Once again, interrupting Eun Hyuk’s failure of an introduction, Ji An chases down Hyun, this time cornering him in an elevator. Ji An is super psyched for the fact that her childhood hobbies finally crossover to her work, hashtag blessed.

In order to bring us to the real meat of the story, Hyun returns to the now abandoned house of his youth where, in 1996, he lived there with his father and younger brother. An anonymous person has sent him the murder case file, and he senses a relation with his own personal history. As the flashbacks start, it is quickly understood that all is not right, as we see a young Hyun is burying dead dogs in the family’s front yard.

Unfortunately, Hyun’s father, Lee Joong Min (Jeon Kwang Leol)  cannot escape his potentially unsettling homelife, as his job is to record criminal’s statements (he might be a therapist, but that is unclear). As he enters the meeting room at the penitentiary (police office?), he notices the guard on the floor in handcuffs, as D.O. (D.O.) chuckles by the window. Apparently guards and policemen of all eras are incapable of doing their jobs.

Through out all his scenes in this episode, D.O. brings it; his menacing glare, pleasant expression, and vacant voice captures a true killer. While everyone is walking in the shoes of their character blurb, D.O. brings the childlike psychopath to life. It’s a shame he is only booked for two episodes, since he is the most provoking character in a drama that is supposed to be about a stalker and sociopath falling in love.

Which begs to question, is the present day story even needed? A slow burn of a family drama detailing a criminal therapist realizing that his son is potentially a serial killer, would be a knock out of a show. Someone pitch this to AMC; it would totally fill the vacant Breaking Bad hole in our hearts.

Struck by a similar coldness he witnesses in D.O. and Hyun, Joong Min begins to fear for the worst. He asks his son to behave more his age, to which the kid quickly responds with a, “That’s cool, I’ll just stop bathing lil’ bro, making you fresh espresso, picking up your shit, and generally doing everything you refuse to do, and just play with robots like an idiot.” Hey, Joong Min, ever think that your baby boy is this way because all the pressure of a stay at home mom is resting on his shoulders, as well as any post traumatic stress from not having a mother at all (they never clarify on her whereabouts)? What Hyun needs is a nanny.

Meanwhile, in the present, Team Leader Kang finally succeeds at properly introducing himself, and if he could pat himself on the back, he would. Thankfully, he does the smart thing and suggests involving Hyun in the case, much to to Ji An’s drooling. She suggests luring him in with her looks, to which everyone groans (oh come on, there is no way we are pretending that she is not the nation’s first puppy). Ji An phones Hyun, and surprise surprise, he has deduced why she is calling, and how their lack of any police skills means they got diddly, and desperately need him. He agrees to consult on the case, but declines to meet in person, because he loves to control her by denying his dick.

A live reenactment of their meet cute.

Back to the past, Hyun hurries to meet his father at work, because he has left his briefcase at home. Before they can bring the child to his Dad, however, the officers have Hyun solve math problems and guess how many matches are in a jar. They then proceed to count the matches to see if the boy is correct, leaving Hyun to walk the hallways unaccompanied. The lack of professionalism exhibited by everyone in this drama is infuriating. To be honest, I am not sure if this is a penitentiary, or a Police Office (that houses mad serial killers?), but you do not let a child run around freely.

Before anyone comes at me that all the criminals are behind bars, there are guards everywhere, etc., Hyun straight up walks into the unlocked cell of Satansoo. Why would the door of a noted killer, who has handcuffed guards, and again, murdered people, be unlocked? Oh that’s right, Joong Min needed to take a break, because shit was getting too real for him with D.O., so he strolls through the grounds with his lady friend/present day police commissioner (also conveniently going through a divorce).

D.O. and Hyun have a heart to heart, with D.O. being all like, we’re just different, parents just don’t understand, and I see a lot of me in you, like serial killer-ness. Oh, and don’t freak out, I just un-handcuffed myself. Psshhhh, now I’m gonna tell you a secret.

When Joong Min finally gets his act together, and finds his son, he is understandably freaked out. Before he can take Hyun home, D.O. calls out, saying that he will see Hyun again, and that’s a promise. To be frank, D.O. has shown the most interest in the kid’s life, and Joong Min should take notes. As Joong Min starts to leave, D.O. wonderfully tries to wind him up; saying that he and Hyun are alike, and that his suspicions about his son are true.

This, of course, sends Joong Min into a tailspin, but before heading home to try and fix his life, he beats up D.O.'s face (spoiler alert, D.O. liked it). At home Joong Min has to comes to terms with the fact that his son is different, and what can he do as a parent to protect his son (hug him more, seriously, it will help him learn love and empathy). After deliberating, he comes across a sketchbook filled with disturbing drawings (the two headed figure also comes up in present day, ;p). Going to his youngest son, Min, he learns that they are Hyun’s, and Min says that, while he does not fear his older brother, Dad should totally not trust him.

Hyun, too, is processing his words with D.O.. He comes across his father’s notebook, and, crestfallen, reads his dad's fears that he might be a monster. Tension runs high in the home, and the next day Hyun is summoned to the basement. Walking down he sees a bedroom with all his things. Joong Min, welcomes him, and says that he will remain here for the time being. In hopes to protect his son, he is trapping him in a dark basement, metaphorically in a cage (eh not so metaphorically), like a monster. Swell.

Before I end, a note on the tone, if you all would be so kind. Oscillating between the past and present, I do not think that I am not the only one here who is starting to get a tonal whiplash. Clearly the more thrilling show takes place in 1996, but all the deliciously sinister atmosphere it generates is completely erased with the inept bantering and fluff of the present. Balancing the morbid and sitcom-esque traits can be a tricky act to pull off; Pushing Daisies is the best success story of this mix of clashing tones, and even Angry Mom was able to accomplish this. However, the lead characters were grounded in their emotional believability, as opposed to Hyun and Ji An, whose cute banter seems to contradict the root of who they are.

Alas, this is just the first episode, and there is still time for the intense character study of an obsessive saesang and the psychopath she stalks that I know we all want.

Skip the Boring Bits

• Shame DO is not the star. Hopefully, he can shine in a classic Korean revenge flick coming to a torrent near you.
• Apparently, there is a plagiarism scandal and to be honest, sounds like a more intense/interesting show.
• Not to be a complete stickler, because I used to work in props/production design in TV, but nothing on the show looks like 1996. The first shot is a closeup of the Dad’s shoes, and I think those came out last year. 
• Hyun spots his Dad's serial killer photo collection, and besides D.O., they are all white American murderers. Are there no South Korean serial killers?
• Curious about Children psychopaths? Here is a great NY Times’ article on the subject .
• Jang Nara is annoying me :’’’’[ I will try not to let me being an anti affect my opinions of her character.
• Min, the younger brother, is totally the killer right? Every scene he is in, he either talks about coloring, or is coloring. That coloring book is his!

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