Gap Dong

Summary: Gap Dong is a 20 episode k-drama, loosely based on real events, produced for TvN. The central plot of the story involves the investigation into the serial killer Gap Dong, who is known to have committed 9 murders in the early 90s. Ha Moo Yeom (Yoon Sang Hyun), a child at the time, watched as his father was accused of the crimes and ultimately driven to commit suicide. 20 years later, Ha Moo Yeom has become a police detective living in the shadow of Gap Dong. When a new murder occurs that bears all the trademark characteristics of a Gap Dong killing, Ha Moo Yeom is forced to reconcile with his troubled past while searching for clues that will identify the "real" Gap Dong.

Recommendation: I am going to start off by saying that I really enjoyed this k-drama as a whole. It is a little difficult to write about it without giving away key details that will ruin the series for those that have not seen it yet. That being said, I will recommend avoiding my "Other Thoughts" as it will definitely contain spoilers. Without giving away too many details, I found the story to be complete, the acting good, and the treatment of the "catch the serial killer" genre very clever. It doesn't try to hide the identity of the villain(s) but still manages to maintain its unpredictable factor. As always, Yoon Sang Hyun is AMAZING. He is clearly the leading man and does his job well. But he is fully supported by an ensemble with a high level of talent. If not for the poorly written female characters, this k-drama might have scored better.

Other Thoughts (And Possible Spoilers): Overall, this is a great thriller with more than a few surprises. But it isn't entirely without flaws. Largely, it is the poorly written female characters that bring the show down a notch. I think I will reserve this topic for another post because it has become a trend to present us with obsessive, hysterical, and IQ deficient female characters lately. I'll admit that it makes me a little angry. Breathe in. Breath out. Relax...

Too bad he isn't a serial killer that kills other serial killers...

Instead, let's talk about a serial killer. You should stop reading now if you don't want to read a spoiler. It is hard to pinpoint exactly when it happened, but, at some point I was empathizing with the copycat Gap Dong, Ryu Tae Oh (Lee Joon). Yes, it is true that he's a very good looking serial killer. Who wouldn't wander off into the woods with him for an afternoon rendezvous? But, Lee Joon didn't rely on his good looks and offered the audience a complex performance. We see the character gradually shift from feeling powerful to feeling trapped. When he ultimately meets his fate, I cried. It was a sad moment!! Unfortunately, I was sitting on a train at the time so it earned me a few weird looks and I didn't think it was appropriate to explain, "I'm crying because the cute serial killer died."

So, I have my list of secret crushes (don't we all?). Though, I suppose referencing it on a public blog makes it not-so-secret. On my list, fairly high I might add, is Yoon Sang Hyun. He had me after Secret Garden, which happens to be one of the first few k-dramas that I ever watched. You can imagine my disappointment when neither DramaFever or Viki obtained licenses to make Gap Dong available in the States. I was forced to scour the internet for the episodes. Thankfully, I found them. Yoon Sang Hyun turned in a great performance and I loved seeing him in the lead role. I haven't seen his fully body of work but this role felt like a big departure from what I've seen in the past considering the darker nature of this script and the heavy action sequences. Ha Moo Yeom is stabbed, shot, and beaten before the series is even half finished. There are a lot of ways that this character could have been played wrong and Yoon Sang Hyun made some smart choices with it. Love him!

Let's end with the ending. The final scene of the series drove me a little bonkers. It felt like the writers had already clocked out and the actors were forced to deliver a PSA (Public Service Announcement) about the perils of being a serial killer. I think it is universally accepted that being a serial killer is a bad thing and I could have done without the discourse on being evil.