Behind Your Touch (2023)

I LOVE IT! Literally can’t recommend it enough!

Guys, please, do yourselves a favor and WATCH THIS DRAMA! Even if the gag comedy in the beginning makes you think it won’t be good, pleaaase give it a chance! This is literally one of the most perfectly paced, well-written, witty, and entertaining dramas I’ve watched in a LONG time! The cast of characters is amazing, all with neatly fleshed out stories and personalities that come together to create an absolute BANGER of a show! God bless the writers for creating this masterpiece!

Disclaimer: I’m writing this after ep 14, so I’ll update this after finishing, but I just had to write this all down while it’s fresh in my brain!

When I started this drama, the slapstick comedy made me actually laugh out loud (and I need more of that in my life) so I stuck around and kept watching. When the mystery part came in, I didn’t have any expectations, and just wanted more hilarity. I thought it would be a fun show where I could turn my brain off for a couple hours each week. Boy, was I wrong… This show is BRILLIANT! It kept me at the edge of my seat, and had me guess and second-guess myself all day! This is the most well done mystery I’ve watched in a LONG time, and a billion time better than all mystery K-drama I’ve watched (and better than most rom-com K-dramas too honestly). And while I was watching, this drama really brought people together, because we were all in the comments section theorizing about this mind-bending show. K-dramas normally help me relax and tune out, even the action-packed ones, but this drama made my head spin. I was losing sleep because I wanted so badly to solve the puzzle! And the writers put in such brilliant clues throughout the show that really made me think!

Some notes;
- They had to use butt-touching as the trope because it would be a lot easier to solve the mystery if she just had to touch their hand or face (which wouldn’t be much of a drama, now would it?)
- The writers said this is a “com-rom”, not a “rom-com”, so if you want a typical gushy, over the top, romantic k-drama, this is not the one for you. That being said, I preferred the romance in this show because it felt so much more authentic.
- The music!! Oh my god, the music and soundtrack of this show was just PERFECT!
- There is not a single character that is neglected in this show. Most K-dramas feel slow for me, with too many fillers and irrelevant moments. On the other hand, this show felt way longer than it was because of how jam-packed it was with amazing, fleshed out characters with their own special story.
- This show switched between nonsensical hilarity and DARK mystery in the snap of a finger, so if you can’t stand whiplash, I would say maybe give it a pass (though if you go in with that expectation, you might be able to get past it and actually really enjoy it :))
- Watch it!!! (Pretty please <3)

Read More

kinda weird, but laughs are guaranteed

Small town rom-com as its finest. It has the potential to become a very funny one (if the crime subplots don’t overlap and suck out all the fun. I hope someone die. OF FUN). I am not a fan of the genre, but i have enjoyed all the episodes so far. It’s easy to watch.

You can expect a lot of quirkyness and eccentricity from pretty much all the characters. If you are familiar with Lee Min-ki’s work, probably you already know this fits him like a glove. I can tell the male lead role is safe in his hands. Han Jimin is good too (I haven’t see any of her prior works, so I can’t comment much on her). Together they have a funny cat-dog like chemistry.

Started watching this mainly because i’m a big fan of who seems to be the second male lead, Kim Junmyeon (a.k.a EXO’s Suho). This is his first role in a netflix production so I had to give it a try! His screen time has been little, I expect to see him more in the next episodes. Suho’s last drama was a long time ago, i wanna see how much his acting skills have improved over time. Please, give lots of love to our junmyeonie. He’s been working extremely hard.

I’ll update the review once the drama reach its end!

Read More

Great to begin with, poor ending

I don't usually write reviews, but I felt compelled to write this.

The story begins strong with an interesting idea of a psychometric who can see people's and animal's memories by touching their butts. It's funny and quirky and I liked the idea that the main character develops a relationship with the second male lead instead of main lead for a change.

Towards the final episodes, things change drastically - the second male lead dies, killed by the serial killer.

Bong Ye-bun is rightfully angry at Moon Jang-yeol for suspecting Kim Sun-woo as the killer, yet doesn't feel so traumatised a little while later. When her grandfather is murdered by the serial killer too, again, such a traumatic and horrible event yet Ye-bun doesn't show that much of an emotional reaction.

When the serial killer is found out to be the shaman and Ye-bun challenges him, then sees the memories by touching him and then her final chase with Jang-yeol at the end, they are all cracking jokes and Ye-bun appears to be childishly mocking the shaman as he runs away and gets captured.

Honestly this moment ruined everything - Not only did I hate the fact that Sun-woo got killed (to be fair he was the best character in this series, he was kind, had a strong sense of justice, and despite the fact they tried hard to make him feel and say things that make him sound like the killer, we as an audience were on Ye-bun's side throughout the story as she always stayed by his side.
It annoyed me sooo much tha Jang-yeol would just assume things about Sun-woo and stop Ye-bun from being around him.
If you like her why not tell her? But nah, he pretends he doesn't care about her for a long time. I guess that's what makes it part of the comedic part of the show, but it really annoyed me.

Also, it made sense for Sun-woo not to say anything about the shaman as he would feel not only in danger but if he showed the knife to the police it would have just added to the suspicion even more!

The entire arc of shaman being a serial killer, murdering several people including Ye-bun's grandfather and love Sun-woo seems to disappear instantly as Ye-bun constantly acts like a child (she is a 30 year old for goodness sake, and she has seen SOME STUFF. LIKE, SOME REALLY, DARK STUFF.

She literally lost her lover, her grandfather, and let's not forget that her MOTHER was killed by the National Assembly of Mujin City and WRITTEN OFF AS A SUICIDE?

She literally watched Sun-woo die (as she ran to the scene and through shaman's memories) and as I said already, her grandfather died, and she was also in danger. She never got to know her grandfather's parkinsons disease problem, and did not realise that her grandfather was trying to help her. She lived her whole life aliented from him in a sense, being ignored
Heck, she should be traumatised, AND ACT LIKE IT! Not go up to the serial killer and say stuff like , "omg im gonna catch you now, whacha gonna do?"

Then proceeds to go back to her job as a vet, happily ever after, and gives off the idea that she likes Jang-yeol now.

The show seemed to lack real emotion at the end, so I wouldn't recommend watching it, as sadly the end ruined all the good moments it had in the beginnign stages.

Read More

Disappointing

OK, so I stuck this out as long as I could but I stopped watching before episode 15 ended. This series was already grating my nerves because of how slow each episode went but by the time the 15th episode came around, it made me feel like I wasted my time!
So the writer decides to pinpoint several people as killers to throw off the viewers which in point almost worked. I sort of figured it out around the 12the episode but my suspicion was confirmed by episode 14. I just wanted to know the reason for the killings and episode 15 let me know...it was just for fun...There was no reason behind the killings!!!

The MML and MFL were already annoying to begin with. The stupid things they did just made my eyes roll. It was already absurd by being able to see people's past by touching their butt because that's how the FML came into her powers. A meteor storm happened while she was examining a pregnant cow and was touching the cow's butt when the meteor hit. That cow gave three people powers but the doctor was the dumbest but I stuck it out because the first few episodes were cute and quirky sans the bully MML cop. How can you body slam a female and not get into trouble over that??

Anyway, when the protagonists starts dying before the end of the series it lets me know the very last episode will be a true waste so I seriously doubt I'll be missing anything. Each episode dragged on and on and I found myself pausing each episode about 2-3 times because I couldn't bring myself to finish the episodes all at once. This series did not lead me to binge watching.

I don't know what's going on with these Korean dramas. The last good Korean drama that led me to binge watching was First Responders season 2 and that was back in September...Haven't seen a good Korean drama since and I'm starting to lose my faith with these so-called Korean dramas. It's already hard enough as it is to find something worthy to watch without all that so-called swoon worthy romance crapola.

Read More

A Drama with a Great Premise that fails to Deliver

Behind Your Touch really caught my eye from the trailers I had seen of it and the lighthearted goofy tone it had promised really enthralled me. It did a fantastic job early on in the drama but it later failed on that premise going down a much darker tone while focusing too much on the main plotline's twists and the twists of the twists. With the cast it had, I expected much more but because of the writing's focus too much on the plotline twist, their performances were overshadowed by trying to deliver the twists.

The cast itself was perfect, every single actor and actress played their roles perfectly from the main cast to the supporting cast. Han Ji-min, Lee Min-ki, and Suho all did fantastic jobs with their main roles leaving nothing but the best performances. The supporting cast was also perfect, especially Kim Yong Myung the guy that called Ok Hui unnie always and dated her. He is probably one of my favorite recurring characters out of all of the dramas I have ever watched. I always looked forward to seeing him in a scene.

The story itself started out really great with its lighthearted tone with in the first few episodes which had spots of dark plot points here and there which was fine. But the drama quickly turned into an unnecessarily dark and violent plot. The story itself as well relies heavily on the major plot point of who the serial killer is leaving only slight hints here and there. I myself predicted the Shaman being the serial killer correctly but there could have been a bit more hints. The reveal for the serial killer was actually pretty well delivered I have to say though. Because of all of that the drama fails to establish proper relationships between the characters which the drama desperately needed. Outside of the investigation work, the two leads only interact about their own personal lives very little .

The drama itself however did deliver on the whole psychometric powers concept pretty well with how they use the powers and the funny consequence of using it too much. The music itself in the drama was pretty forgetful outside of the opening theme and the cinematography for the drama was solid. Overall, it's an okay drama that flip flops on concepts which personally for me disappointed because I would have liked it if the drama committed to one concept.

Read More

Interesting premise, compelling murder mystery but the other elements were sloppy chaos

7/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean Romantic Comedy, suspense and thriller drama. There are 16 ~60 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Bong Ye-bun (Han Ji-min) is a veternarian in a small community where she, much to her disdain, primarily cares for farm animals. Her life dramatically changes when a meteor strike imparts her with a rare form of pychometry. Embarassingly, she has to touch human or animal butts to get visions. A series of murders leads her to work with homicide Detective Moon Jang-yeol (Lee Min-ki) who was sent to the smaller community from Seoul after making an error with an investigation. When Kim Seon-woo (Suho) comes to town, Dr Bong is immediately attracted to the incredibly handsome yet mysterious stranger. Problem is the Detective has Seon-woo at the top of his suspect list for the serial murders. Dr. Bong has checked out Seon-woo and believes he is innocent. But if not him, then who and why are the bodies stacking up?

Review

Chaotic is the best way to describe it. My impression is the writers were not sure if they wanted it to be a slapstick, regular or dark comedy. The story also switched between romance, mystery, comedy and supernatural but not in a smooth manner. The serial killer mystery was good and I thought it was what made it watchable. If you like murder mysteries it is worth a watch for that. If you like "silly" comedy you may enjoy that element. The psychometry portrayed is different and if you like supernatural you may find this portrayal interesting. I am unlikely to rewatch it because I did not feel it was well written. There is a sad element that hits about episode 14 so if you are one that gets really attached to characters be aware there are a lot of murders. It is sad in parts.

Spoilers

The early episodes were the worste of it to me. They set it up as she is a veternarian who takes over her grandfather's clinic as if that will be an important element but it really isn't. After she starts working with the detective its as if she just closed the doors to her clinic. I guess it was so she had critters early on that would not care if she touched their butts so she was able to discover and develop her ability. They did circle back later where her whole pet psychic thing got her on the talk show circuit.

I felt like nearly all the characters were weird. She was weird because when

she discovered she had to touch butts to use her ability she went about it as if she somewhat enjoyed it. It was no wonder the detective thought she was a pervert at first. But he was also weirdly quick to judgement and violent. He was super violent with Dr. Bong at first. Even if he thought she was being a pervert the way he body slammed her to the ground on several occasions was completely wrong. And he had her do dangerous things on her own so he could get information. The chief was weird and rude to main guy from the outset. Main girl's best friend was also weird she was hostile to nearly everyone and mean to Dr. Bong. Her Aunt though was the weirdest of all. The weird way she acted to the Chief was cringy. Who locks someone to a bed frame then throws the key out the window?

I do not know who did wardrobe but it was horrendous. The best friend looked like she bargain hunted fashion items and sort of threw them all together whether they matched or not. Dr. Bong looked grade school sheik. And the collars on some of her outfits looked like she could take wing.

With all the early physical violence and him treating her so carelessly through most of the show, there was no chemistry with the detective and Dr. Bong. Her best friend's crush and claim on the detective was also ridiculous. No chemistry with Seon-woo because she looked like an old bag lady or a preschooler at various times. No one kissed either. So the romance element was thin.

I did not like how they portrayed her as an idiot. She is a vet, which takes a lot of really difficult coursework and yet she is too stupid to even render first aid when someone is hurt, She saves one of the victims from being stabbed but then stashes her in the vicinity while she looks for help. Then she runs into a bus load of men who could have helped but wastes time looking for the detective. Her absolute ineptitude allowed the killer to get the girl again. Then she runs away when Seon-woo is fighting the killer rather than stepping in to help. There is a scene where she fins what she thunks is the murder weapon, a knife covered with red chili from kimchi (looked a little like blood) and she ripuns down the street and even gets on the bus with the knife extended. When she gets to the police department and they ask if she ran all the way with the knife like that she says she did. A smart person would know that is not how you would take a murder weapon to the police.

The Shaman's son was introduced as if that was an important element of the story, but then he just drops out of the story line with no explanation where he went. I think the sole purpose was to allude he killed his wife and that is why the son was there. It was just weird not to indicate what happened with the son.

#HanJiMin

#LeeMinKi

#Suho

#JooMinKyung

Read More

Behind Your Touch Needs Retouch

I really enjoyed 'Behind Your Touch' for its unique blend of comedy, crime, and drama. It's one of the better Netflix dramas, and I had a great time watching it. But I have a few concerns about it, so beware of spoilers if you haven't seen it yet.

If you're a fan of detective dramas like me, this might not be the best pick for you. 'Behind Your Touch' relies more on supernatural elements and lacks strong detective work. Even the male lead, Detective Moon, admits that only the female lead, Ye Bun, can uncover the truth about the serial killings. While the killer possesses OP psychometric abilities, their methods are far from flawless, and a diligent detective should have been able to see through the sloppy murders. By the time I reached episode 12, I had already guessed who the culprit was, despite the show's attempts to mislead viewers by attributing Ye Bun's visions and scanty evidence to other characters. The killer's motive is kinda of lame too, now I think about it. It could've worked, sure, but the narrative and the personality of the character didn't align for me.
As with many dramas of the past few years, 'Behind Your Touch' suffered from a weak ending. Those last 10 minutes, which had a comedic tone, felt unnecessary. After everything the two main characters and those around them had been through, it would have been more fitting to end their story on a more heartfelt note.

Overall, though, I would still recommend giving this drama a watch at least once.

Read More

Good potential in this concept but unfortunately badly flawed by cliches and plot holes

Vet visits a farm to attend a sickly cow, and while she and the farmer are handling it, they are struck by a meteor, imparting each with psychometric powers to read the minds of any person or animal who they are touching in the same place as they touched the cow – him on the leg, her on the bum
A supposedly hot-shot detective is demoted from Seoul to the small town of Mujin where he is desperate for that single big case which will get him back to the capital.
After a predictable period of distrust, with him being especially hostile and dismissive, they begin to work together on a series of cases (successfully, leading him to trust her assessments/visions totally), and eventually on a number of brutal murders.
The drama is not awful and at times quite amusing. A certain amount of comedy 'business' is mined because she is obliged to find respectable reasons to touch random bums, and due to his complete ineptitude in the face of local customs and certain styles of communication among the natives. He routinely has to have his colleague 'read the room' for him and translate local euphemisms about his behaviour. Various other local characters are also good fun and relationships among the local people are often quite charming and engaging
The cases start off being quite lightweight, and there are a mixture of police investigations and vet work all resolved by her being able to read peoples' bottoms. The serial murder cases though are darker and there are hints that a number of tragic deaths in the families of protagonists many years ago may be linked with current events. So intriguing, but it looks like these are never going to be investigated, nor the link/s checked out.
For me a lot of potential in this concept, but petty ineptly applied by the writer and director. The psychometry s played too much for laughs, and hardly ever taken seriously – even when it is accepted as true.
Neither the vet now the cop are particularly professional. The vet often finds a dead or injured and bloody person and NEVER knows what to do! She goes straight to panic and whines to a man for instructions. Any medical scientist will look at a pool of blood and know immediately what to do and how to do it – and will do it while multitasking to call for help. Good grief even I can have a good stab at that (pun intended)
The hot-shot cop seems pretty incompetent. He ends up taking control of his police team despite the presence of a superior officer (who limply protests but not much), but leaps to a series of unwarranted conclusions about who the perpetrator is, based solely on suspicion or personal dislike and never even considers actual evidence. His attention bounces from one person to another and occasionally rotates round individuals in the group. This is frustrating and confusing - poor writing reduces my engagement with the central drama.
On the whole, this is an enjoyable little drama, but imperfect. Writing and plotting is somewhat perforated (there are holes) and I found the ending a little artificial. OK but far from the best. The best thing I can say is that the bad guy wasn't immediately obvious to me ... but I found his revelation badly over-played.
This drama also committed a few several pet peeves. Young attractive and intelligent female characters are styled to look just ridiculous. The pretty vet is in boxy jackets that are 5 sizes too big for her, chunky jumpers that swamp her, and trousers cut too short, making her legs dumpy. Her 'assertive' friend, notorious for having a mind of her own and a temper, is styled like a clown : but when she meets a man who unexpectedly tickles her fancy she suddenly tones down the make up and starts to look more human. Our FL's aunt, divorced and desperate to regain that lost love of her youth, dresses too young for her age, but looks good on it however, her demeanour is that of an aged fan-girl desperate for attention.
Meanwhile, our male actors are styled as normal males. Depending on their work role they are dressed for the part. They're neither fashionable, nor dowdy – unless they are oxter deep in a cow....
For me this kind of sexism in character styling makes me question the competence of designers and directors. It's unnecessary fancy dress - and actually gets in the way of me enjoying a drama unfold. It's all too common, though.

Read More

I had a very tough time getting into this show and thought about quitting it more than once. But I'm glad I stuck with it, as this is one of those shows that gets better towards the end.

Shows that revolve around a killer are very hit or miss, since ultimately the identity of the killer is always what makes or breaks them. Viewers spend 90% of the show trying to guess who the murderer is and their motives, so if the reveal is unsatisfactory, it kind of ruins the whole thing (or at least it does for me). Here, I wasn't mad about the shaman being the killer, but I wish his motives would have been something else other than "psychopath". Like, this guy never actually killed or hurt anyone before getting his psychometric powers, so was that what turned him into a murdered? It doesn't make much sense.

Personally, I think trying to combine a serial murder plot with plenty of comedic moments was ambitious, and for the most part, it worked pretty well. The only parts I really, really disliked were the ones about the aunt and the police captain's romance (particularly the scenes of their "teenage" selves). Honestly, their story line added nothing to the plot other than profound cringe. Conversely, I always laughed at the guy calling Ok Hee "eonni". They were also a little cringe, but in a purposeful way that actually meant to be funny, and that's why I think they worked better. Their storyline was so silly and ridiculous, that it became endearing.

The call back towards the end to Ye Bun learning arabic during the first few episodes was a nice touch. At the same time though, Seon Woo could have just called Ye Bun and told in arabic that the shaman was the murderer, or sent her a text. Kind of a plot hole, really.

Other than that, the acting was good, the OST choices interesting, and a whole bunch more people than I ever could have guessed ended up dying. For a comedy show, there were a surprising amount of tears.

Read More