Burn the House Down (2023)

"Don't give up-it's a galactic message!"

If you're looking for a taut suspenseful thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, Burn the House Down may not fulfill your desire. More family mystery than vengeful thriller, two sisters determine to clear their mother's name regarding a fire from thirteen years ago by taking on their greedy stepmother. Think Scooby Gang rather than The Quiet Family.

Very minor spoilers:
Anzu and her sister Yuzu are convinced that Makiko, their mother's ex-friend and father's new wife burned down their childhood home thirteen years ago and destroyed their family in the process. Their mother who admitted to causing the fire is currently hospitalized with a case of amnesia and they are desperate to find evidence proving she is innocent hoping it will help her to heal. Anzu uses her best friend's name to get hired on as maid at Makiko's house. She's forbidden from going upstairs, exactly where she's hoping to search for evidence the hoarder might still have. Anzu is shocked to find Makiko's eldest son from a previous marriage is secluded in his room upstairs as he is thought to be working at a prestigious job out of the country. Kiichi suffers from agoraphobia and a really bad wig. The younger son, Shiji, is a med student and clueless and naïve Yuzu works on getting close to him. Their friend, Claire, is a computer geek who can breech any cyber security. The sisters' spineless and absent father hasn't contacted them in 13 years so Anzu's secret identity isn't hard to keep.

Burn the House Down had all sorts of plot devices to keep the story moving along: Revenge, amnesia, surprise allies, setbacks, character growth, red herrings, a little romance, and a couple of good slaps. Anzu's relationship with Kiichi was complicated and at first I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a Flowers in the Attic complication or Hannibal Lector wanting to eat her liver situation. As it turned out, Kiichi had his own guilt and burdens from the past that had crippled him. When they were children, Kiichi had given Anzu a compass and told her that the stars were always watching and they were telling her "Don't give up. It's a galactic message." Resilience and redemption were leading themes in this drama, right behind finding out who was behind the grotesque mask or in this case ugly sweater.

The sisters found out the hard way if you had to trust a shaggy looking guy who believed the stars were cheering us on or their father who hadn't sent so much as a birthday card in thirteen years, you'd better take your chances with the intergalactic messenger. As awful as Makiko was, and she was thoroughly unlikeable-a thief, egomaniacal, a homewrecker, liar extraordinaire, and completely lacking in compassion-their spineless father was even more repulsive. With the exception of Makiko and the father, the rest of the characters came in shades of gray and were mostly good people trying to find their way in the world, over and around the obstacles thrown in their paths.

As much as the drama was about discovering the truth regarding the fire, it also dealt with how people use social media to manipulate public opinion and how devastating doxxing can be. It also showed the addictive nature of having fans and needing positive affirmation from strangers. Both sides used the social media and netizens to their advantage. Makiko enjoyed having a reputation as the perfect wife, mother, cook, and housekeeper though none of those things were true. The Scooby Gang used the internet to help close in on their investigation and bait their quarry.

Despite the complex relationships and subterfuge, the drama managed to avoid falling into heavy melodrama or over the top makjang. It was a mostly light and easy thriller with a few surprises along the way. Anzu was able to put together a Scooby Gang made up of friends and family who became quite formidable. The guilty party might have gotten away with the fire if it hadn't been for those meddling kids who took the galactic message seriously and never gave up.

7/13/23

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What was that ending?

This review is going to mainly focus on the last 2 episodes. When Makiko was finally confronted and they just decide apologizing to their mother was what they wanted had me ??? After all that, they just wanted her to say sorry and continue on with their lives? Then Kiichi jumps out of the window for some reason ??? It was so over dramatic and random. I also don't get why they didn't immediately turn her into the police when she admitted it, they just let her sleep tight and create more lies not to mention Osamu is a sorry excuse for a father.

Now we get to Kiichi turning himself in which watered down Makiko being as bad as she was but then nope it was actually Shinji and it turned out to be an innocent accident and Makiko will not get punished for anything even though she still had their moms stolen possessions (which is also a plot hole because how did she return all of her things before the house burned down but still have so many of her stolen items???). And she's clearly a terrible mother who psychologically abused her sons but that was glossed over and the two never went against her or really confronted her even after she admitted to starting the fire. And when Shinji confessed to the mom, the whole grudge thing was??

And to top it all off, everyone has a happy ending. Anzu pleads to take Kiichi with her and cook for him and take care of him which was embarrassing honestly. Going back to the beginning, Kiichi definitely acted abusive towards her and we're supposed to be like yes, he's perfect for Anzu. Then Makiko gets back to being famous, Shinji gets a second chance and its clear he will probably end up with Yuzu and their mom plans on moving on with her normal life. None of it sat right with me. It just felt like a cop out ending where nothing really changed and no lessons were learned.

The end.

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