This review may contain spoilers
Blown Away!
Some shows you wonder if you should continue wasting your time watching them, hoping they'll get better. Some shows you are anxious to finish all your chores so you can watch them. I kept vacillating back and forth between wanting to forego my life just so I could watch one more episode, but then being sad in advance, knowing this wonderful ride was coming to an end. I was so thoroughly invested in this show, now that I've finished it, I have to say I'm really sad it's over.
STORY: A new village and a new set of people for our leads to get to know and come to care about. I'll admit, the long hair on Wook in the first few episodes really drove me crazy. But then I realized it really suited his kind of quirky personality. There were some new twists in this season, which brings me to the reasons that I gave this a 9 rather than a 10 - and here are the spoilers:
- Really, the whole thing is a suspension of disbelief, which is what I loved about it, but the reason (or lack thereof) for the captain not being able to leave her village didn't make any sense.
- Too many loose ends at the end. Which is fine, if there ends up being a season 3 (though PLEASE don't make us wait two years!)
- Mentions of other villages. Great concept but again, I didn't like that it was just setting up for another season. Because if it doesn't happen, then we're all just disappointed.
- Main bad guy - he was able to get away?! Please, don't have him in the next season. I don't ever like to feel like the bad guys are untouchable and that nothing can stop them. Plus, one of the things that I appreciated about this show was that the police knew what they were doing - I'd like to feel that they'd plan for any eventuality.
- You had BETTER NOT kill off Detective Shin. A mine field, really!?!
But other than that, I thought that this season was just as good as the first. I'll say again, what I said in my review for season 1, I love found family. Again, it was in the village, with the team, with the detectives, and I loved the addition of Bo Ra, and when Wook was explaining to her what it means to be a family, that summed it up perfectly.
The Oh Il Yong storyline - it was brilliant. I didn't get a good vibe from him in the beginning, which is what was supposed to happen, but his storyline was powerful and surprising. And I loved the relationship between him and Wook.
I loved that Jong A played a more integral role, as well as the fact that she stepped up to make herself more indispensable and figured out how to find more missing children. Gotta be honest, the potential for her to see ghosts is exciting, but there is something to be said for having someone on the team that is a little bit out of the loop. You lose some of the elements of surprise if everyone knows what's going on.
This season, the detectives were starting to figure out that there was something different about this team. I like that Detective Shin knows, but the others don't, but they know that there is absolutely something strange going on. That, to me, was amusing.
ACTING/CAST: Stellar. I was glad to see Thomas, even though it was too brief. I continued to be impressed with everyone in the cast, but this time around I have to give a shout out to Lee Jung Eun as the Captain. She's one of those actresses that I love her in everything she is in. That sweet/beautiful face and smile, her short, round body (I mean that in the best possible way - don't you think that she would give the best hugs?), I'd love her to be my grandma, but then I remember I'm old and she'd have to be my sister, but still. I liked the clothes that the costume designer put her in, Peter Pan collars, knit comfy sweaters, long loose skirts and sensible shoes. She just seemed so approachable. And to have her be the first person you see when you enter the village and have her say that she's made food, come in and she'll explain what's going on - she was the heart of the village. Jung Eun's acting is normally understated, but there were times in this show that her pain, anger and loneliness were almost palpable.
And that was the conundrum for these villagers, especially those that had been there for a long time. You want the children to be able to move on, but it's heartbreaking when they do.
MUSIC: I especially loved the theme song, I found myself humming it - I loved hearing it at the beginning of each episode, but at the end I didn't like it so much because that meant the episode was over.
REWATCH: For me, this isn't the type of show I would rewatch again, because I know what is going to happen.
However, if someone asks me for suggestions for well-written shows, with good character development, excellent chemistry between all actors and that have sucked me completely in, to the detriment of my "real" life, I'd definitely suggest Missing: The Other Side, Both Seasons one and two. You could probably watch only season two and figure out what is going on, but season one really does a good job of laying the groundwork for season two. Really, to be honest, I'm afraid that this show has set a bar so high for me that I'm doomed to be disappointed in other shows, especially since, as a romance lover, there has been so little good to choose from.
STORY: A new village and a new set of people for our leads to get to know and come to care about. I'll admit, the long hair on Wook in the first few episodes really drove me crazy. But then I realized it really suited his kind of quirky personality. There were some new twists in this season, which brings me to the reasons that I gave this a 9 rather than a 10 - and here are the spoilers:
- Really, the whole thing is a suspension of disbelief, which is what I loved about it, but the reason (or lack thereof) for the captain not being able to leave her village didn't make any sense.
- Too many loose ends at the end. Which is fine, if there ends up being a season 3 (though PLEASE don't make us wait two years!)
- Mentions of other villages. Great concept but again, I didn't like that it was just setting up for another season. Because if it doesn't happen, then we're all just disappointed.
- Main bad guy - he was able to get away?! Please, don't have him in the next season. I don't ever like to feel like the bad guys are untouchable and that nothing can stop them. Plus, one of the things that I appreciated about this show was that the police knew what they were doing - I'd like to feel that they'd plan for any eventuality.
- You had BETTER NOT kill off Detective Shin. A mine field, really!?!
But other than that, I thought that this season was just as good as the first. I'll say again, what I said in my review for season 1, I love found family. Again, it was in the village, with the team, with the detectives, and I loved the addition of Bo Ra, and when Wook was explaining to her what it means to be a family, that summed it up perfectly.
The Oh Il Yong storyline - it was brilliant. I didn't get a good vibe from him in the beginning, which is what was supposed to happen, but his storyline was powerful and surprising. And I loved the relationship between him and Wook.
I loved that Jong A played a more integral role, as well as the fact that she stepped up to make herself more indispensable and figured out how to find more missing children. Gotta be honest, the potential for her to see ghosts is exciting, but there is something to be said for having someone on the team that is a little bit out of the loop. You lose some of the elements of surprise if everyone knows what's going on.
This season, the detectives were starting to figure out that there was something different about this team. I like that Detective Shin knows, but the others don't, but they know that there is absolutely something strange going on. That, to me, was amusing.
ACTING/CAST: Stellar. I was glad to see Thomas, even though it was too brief. I continued to be impressed with everyone in the cast, but this time around I have to give a shout out to Lee Jung Eun as the Captain. She's one of those actresses that I love her in everything she is in. That sweet/beautiful face and smile, her short, round body (I mean that in the best possible way - don't you think that she would give the best hugs?), I'd love her to be my grandma, but then I remember I'm old and she'd have to be my sister, but still. I liked the clothes that the costume designer put her in, Peter Pan collars, knit comfy sweaters, long loose skirts and sensible shoes. She just seemed so approachable. And to have her be the first person you see when you enter the village and have her say that she's made food, come in and she'll explain what's going on - she was the heart of the village. Jung Eun's acting is normally understated, but there were times in this show that her pain, anger and loneliness were almost palpable.
And that was the conundrum for these villagers, especially those that had been there for a long time. You want the children to be able to move on, but it's heartbreaking when they do.
MUSIC: I especially loved the theme song, I found myself humming it - I loved hearing it at the beginning of each episode, but at the end I didn't like it so much because that meant the episode was over.
REWATCH: For me, this isn't the type of show I would rewatch again, because I know what is going to happen.
However, if someone asks me for suggestions for well-written shows, with good character development, excellent chemistry between all actors and that have sucked me completely in, to the detriment of my "real" life, I'd definitely suggest Missing: The Other Side, Both Seasons one and two. You could probably watch only season two and figure out what is going on, but season one really does a good job of laying the groundwork for season two. Really, to be honest, I'm afraid that this show has set a bar so high for me that I'm doomed to be disappointed in other shows, especially since, as a romance lover, there has been so little good to choose from.
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