Famed biologist Charles Darwin once proposed a theory that all life forms evolved from the same progenitor, the sole primordial entity that all life as we know it sprung from. This theory has come to be known as the "last universal common/cellular ancestor" aka LUCA. While not necessarily the first life to ever exist on Earth, the LUCA is the only organism from a prehistoric time to have any living descendants. If you're wondering why I'm rambling about a scientific concept for a K-drama review, that's because this is a central idea behind L.U.C.A.: The Beginning, a crime drama shrouded heavily in science fiction. Starring Kim Rae-won (The Doctors, Black Knight: The Man Who Guards Me) as male lead ZI O and Lee Da-hee (The Beauty Inside, Search: WWW) as female lead HA NEUL-AE-GOO-REUM, this drama revolves around a strange man possessing an unexplainable power and a detective seeking to solve the mystery of her parents' disappearance. The pair will end up crossing paths and together they'll uncover the secrets that blanket both of their lives. Let's dive in.
INITIAL THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS (SPOILER ALERT)
It's made very clear to us from the start that Zi O isn't an ordinary human. He's spent a better part of his life on the run from an unknown party, waking up everyday with no memories of anything that happened before. While only briefly shown in a flashback sequence, we see that Zi O is capable of manipulating electrical energy on a massive scale, strong enough to cause blocks worth of damage and incapacitate multiple (seemingly) trained mercenaries, even killing them. He has had these powers since he was little more than a newborn, creating an energy wave strong enough to slow down a fall from a great height and bringing an entire structure down around him. Fast forward a year ahead and Zi O is now no longer on the run, working as a gig worker for a biological waste management company.
On the other hand, female lead Neul-ae-goo-reum (who we'll refer to as Goo-reum, both because her name is too long and that's what she is referred to in the drama) is a detective formerly from the Major Crimes unit of Juan Metropolitan Police Station but was demoted to Violent Crimes because of a mistake she made. While not expanded on in episode 1, the drama's synopsis tells us that Goo-reum has spent the past 9 years investigating her parents' mysterious disappearance in her childhood and we know that for now she's working heavily behind the police's back, conducting her own investigations behind a string of linked murders to find out what happened to her parents. This brings her onto the trail of Human Tech, a biological research company that while on the surface seems to be bankrupt and closing down, is actually a front for potentially illegal experimentation, seeking to create a powerful organism.
As we delve into the secrets of Human Tech, we uncover a vast network of ungodly crime, quite literally too, as the leader of a strange cult in a church-like setting dangerous plans in motion, mentioning that the unborn babies of 101 mothers have been offered as sacrifices for an unknown reason. It's pretty messed up stuff, especially when you realise that the National Intelligence Service's (NIS) Deputy Chief Kim Cheol-soo (played by Park Hyuk-kwon) is in on the plan and the cult is working together with Human Tech. As we explore Human Tech's secret lab, we see them conducting experiments on all kinds of animals, ranging from cows and dogs to even more exotic animals like dolphins and gorillas, all in the hopes of creating something new. Looking into director Ryu Joong-kwon's (played by Ahn Nae-sang) office, we see jars upon jars on his shelf, with foetus-like organisms floating inside each of them, all except one empty jar, labelled "Z-0".
So now we get a better idea of Zi O's origin and powers, for he is the escaped test subject from Human Tech, the product of their first and only successful experimentation. Joong-kwon is now threatened by Cheol-soo and the cult to either replicate the experiment or capture Zi O within 1 week, if not the lives of his entire research team are forfeit. A desperate Joong-kwon then turns to second male lead LEE SON [Kim Sung-oh (Fight For My Way, A Korean Odyssey)], one of Human Tech's hired mercenaries and part of the first team to chase down Zi O. Unfortunately, Lee Son's entire team was killed by the enraged superhuman, with Lee Son being the only one to escape with his life, albeit with his entire right arm ravaged on a cellular level by Zi O's electrical discharge. He now requires injections every fortnight for the rest of his life to prevent his arm from rotting and becoming useless, causing him to have a strong hatred for Zi O, who he considers a monster.
Goo-reum and Zi O cross paths when the former was chasing after a criminal only to get hit and killed by an oncoming truck. Being at the scene of the accident, Zi O attempts to resuscitate her through CPR but fails before deciding to use his powers to pump an electric charge into Goo-reum just like an AED, finally kickstarting her heart. It is in this moment that we see a young Goo-reum having experienced a similar charge in the past, indicating that the pair have met before. We also saw prior to this that Goo-reum's personal investigations include old reports of a child with glowing blue eyes and strange powers, evidently a young Zi O. With videos of Zi O using his powers circulating the web, Joong-kwon sends Lee Son to bring him in, resulting in Zi O's coworker Man-sik being tossed into the incinerator.
Goo-reum heads to the waste management plant to thank Zi O for saving her only to find Man-sik's burnt body. With no way to identify the charred corpse, the Violent Crimes team is dispatched to both worker's homes to find the murder suspect, with Goo-reum being sent to Zi O's home. As our hero tries to escape from Lee Son and his new team, the chase ultimately attracts Goo-reum's attention, causing her to join in as well while completely unaware of the situation at hand. The chase ends with Lee Son cornering Zi O on a rooftop, just like in their first showdown. This time, Lee has the upper hand, savagely beating down Zi O who desperately tries to get away. With no memories of his past, all Zi O wants to know is why he's being hunted down and just before Lee Son can knock him out, Zi O's instincts take over and he prepares to use the same attack as last time. Fearing for his life, Lee Son kicks our male lead off the building, with Zi O's yells revealing his location to a nearby Goo-reum. As he falls, the same thing that happened to him as a baby repeats itself, with a massive energy wave emanating from Zi O's body, slowing his descent and destroying the blocks in the vicinity, shattering store windows and blowing cars up. The destruction is insane and a look of understanding crosses the detective's face as she realises that Zi O is the same man from her past.
This drama has gotten real interesting real fast. While I might not typically be a huge fan of detective or crime dramas as they normally get too intense for me, I like series that somehow involve superhuman abilities, with previous dramas like Memorist or The Uncanny Counter being in the same vein. I think this drama will also focus heavily on philosophical concepts as well, specifically what it means to be human. It's clear to us that Zi O is a genetically engineered organism and his abilities are a source of fear for others, with Lee Son specifically referring to him as a monster or a beast. Even Zi O himself questions his status as a human, knowing full well that he's something different even if he's unclear about his own origins. I feel like the drama will also do a good job of exploring Darwin's LUCA theory, considering how Human Tech is experimenting on all kinds of animals in order to recreate a second Zi O, obviously believing in the concept that all these organisms can be traced back to the same ancestor and as such, are somewhat similar. I'm also curious as to what Lee Son's backstory is and how he came into Human Tech's employment although that'll definitely be expanded on as we progress through the series.
Lastly, I find the cult's involvement to be very suspect. Do they believe in mysticism or are they people of science? That's an interesting question that I find would be very intriguing to delve into. I'm pretty excited about where this drama is taking us, considering it's been a while since I've gotten into a pretty intense drama, I think I'll really enjoy being kept on the edge of my seat as we delve into Zi O's story as well as Goo-reum's past. I hope you'll join me as we continue to watch L.U.C.A.: The Beginning.
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