Beyond Evil (Initial Thoughts)

In my previous initial thoughts post I mentioned that thriller dramas are something I'm trying to shy away from nowadays because of their intensity but I've already been drawn back in by a series I've been sitting on. A psychological thriller with murder mystery elements woven in, Beyond Evil (or directly translated to Monster) revolves around two policemen who will do anything, including breaking the law, to catch a serial killer. Along the way, they must delve into their own pasts and uncover secrets about those involved in the case, questioning not just everyone else's innocence but also each other's. Starring Shin Ha-kyun (Pied Piper, Soul Mechanic) and Yeo Jin-goo (The Crowned Clown, Hotel Del Luna) as male leads LEE DONG-SIK and HAN JOO-WON, this series has been fairly well-received all around, even receiving the second most nominations at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards. Without further ado, let's dive into this crazy series. 

INITIAL THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS (SPOILER ALERT)

I've always known this drama would be a huge shock to the system, especially considering both the title and the synopsis. This is also the first time I'm catching (the equivalency of) an M18 drama that was aired on a South Korean TV network (since The School Nurse Files was a Netflix exclusive) and I can honestly see why it was given this rating. The first episode alone has already greeted us with some amount of gore, with scenes of murder victims and shriveled decomposed bodies, which if the latter being present in this series' opening scene. 

Flashback to the year 2000, where we're introduced to the fraternal Lee twins Dong-sik and Yoo-yeon, who live in Munju Town. Although she's the younger twin, Yoo-yeon has far more accolades to her name than her brother, having gotten into the prestigious Seoul National University and being constantly complimented by others for her kindness. On the flipside, Dong-sik seems to be an irresponsible young lad who doesn't really treat others with respect, with his younger self (played by up-and-coming actor Lee Do-hyun) being fairly obnoxious right off the bat by hogging a live music café. However, under his boisterous exterior he seems to harbour some resentment about being constantly looked down upon by others for being "less capable" than his sister, bristling when such a comment is made by Bang Ju-seon, the daughter of the café owner. That night, Yoo-yeon receives a text from Dong-sik to meet him outside the house and on her way out, she hears a scream before the lights of the already dimly lit countryside road go out and she runs off into the distance. Next thing we know, we see Ju-seon's dead body in a reed field, with all 10 of her fingertip joints cut off and her legs tied together. As Dong-sik's mother goes out the next morning to collect the daily papers, she sees 10 severed fingertips near her doorstep, collapsing in shock. 

Fast forward to the present day in 2020, where we see that Dong-sik is now an Assistant Inspector at Manyang Police Substation in Munju Town, with a reputation for being a total nutcase. He knows the law very well and if provoked, is more than capable of following it to a T, to the annoyance of his fellow policemen and the townspeople. New to the station is Inspector Han Joo-won, the son of Chief Superintendent General Han Ki-hwan, a 27-year-old high flyer who graduated summa cum laude from the Korean National Police University. Dong-sik and Joo-won instantly take a dislike to each other but are ultimately made partners by the station's chief. As we're soon to find out, Yoo-yeon went missing 20 years ago and till this day, their family have never stopped searching for her, with Dong-sik putting up a missing persons banner. He also seems to have a vendetta against Ki-hwan, who seems to have been heading the investigation into Yoo-yeon's disappearance, which closed after only slightly over 4 months.

As the episode progresses, we see that Dong-sik's still involved with the Bang family, constantly helping to bring Ju-seon's dementia-suffering father Ho-cheol home every time he runs off. Something's clearly not right too, as Ho-cheol seems to have strong animosity for the police, running off when he finds out that Joo-won is a policeman. Much to Joo-won's suspicion, it also seems that Ju-seon's sister has "some dirt" on Dong-sik, which keeps the policeman in check. Joo-won's another strange character as well and is revealed to have been transferred to Manyang because of a mistake he's made, with his father telling him to lay low. He also hates when people bring up his father's name, probably because he knows people either just want to use him for his connections or think that his achievements are because his father's a high-ranking officer. 

We find out near the end of the episode that 9 months ago, Joo-won was part of an investigation to catch a serial killer, with a slew of female victims all with their fingertips chopped off and their legs bound together. Ju-seon was one of them and while her body has yet to be found, Yoo-yeon is assumed to be a victim as well. It's revealed that Dong-sik was the suspect behind Ju-seon's murder and Yoo-yeon's disappearance 20 years ago, with the assumed evidence probably being because he was annoyed at Ju-seon's belittling of him and how he told Yoo-yeon to meet him outside before she disappeared. Although he was probably proven innocent, Dong-sik's problems don't stop there as after his former partner died under unknown circumstances (which he himself wouldn't reveal), the once capable detective was demoted and transferred to Manyang. In the present day, we see that Joo-won is secretly investigating the serial killings, with Dong-sik still on his radar. 

Things are very tense between the new partners and it culminates at the end of the episode, when they're sent out together with fellow officer Oh Ji-hoon to find a runaway Ho-cheol once again. Ji-hoon stumbles upon a half-buried corpse and much to Dong-sik's horror, he sees that its fingertips have been chopped off as well, with him immediately stating that this is Yoo-yeon's body. When Joo-won sees the corpse, he recognises a ring on its finger and brings his flashlight in shock. The partners grow increasingly suspicious of each other, with Joo-won asking Dong-sik how he can identify the corpse's gender without even examining it, while Dong-sik asks him if the corpse is someone he knows. The episode ends with Joo-won straight up telling Dong-sik that he suspects him to be the serial killer and the two policemen stand face to face, with a wide creepy smile breaking out across Dong-sik's face. 

I already know that by the end of this series I'll be so emotionally drained and my stress levels will rise exponentially as I continue watching. One of my top 10 favourite dramas is Memorist and in a similar vein, this drama is another dark and disturbing crime thriller, with the final shot of Dong-sik's psychotic smile really creeping the hell out of me. As the drama progresses, I'm sure that we'll dive down a super deep rabbit hole that's going to blow our minds with countless twists and turns. I'm pretty curious too to find out what's the truth behind these murders and how our two leads tie in to all the madness. I fully expect this drama to include usual tropes that are present in crime K-dramas, including corruption within the police force and politicians, with my prediction being that Han Ki-hwan's probably in on this whole debacle. 

As of right now, the performances by our two leads have really captured my interest. Shin Ha-kyun was excellent in Soul Mechanic, where he played a psychiatrist who masks his PTSD under a jovial exterior, and I'm super excited to see his turn as this crazy cop. That last scene seriously gives me chills. As for Yeo Jin-goo, I enjoyed his performance in Hotel Del Luna as well so I think he'll be pretty fun to watch here. So far, our leads are both super headstrong and fearless guys so I think their interactions will be some of the most interesting parts of this drama, especially when it comes down to all the investigative elements present. 

This series has already been released on South Korean Netflix so imagine my disappointment when I found it still absent where I'm from. Nevertheless, I think this drama will be really worth the watch, especially considering how critically acclaimed it is, so I hope you'll join me as we follow their leads on their journey to uncover the truth Beyond Evil.