Early Access: Confession E10 (Patreon)

E10. Well, this is the episode where Show makes it clear that it's leaning hard into the Heightened Melodrama side of things, which kinda necessitates that it lean away from the Crime Thriller side of things.

What I mean is, much more suspension of disbelief is required than at first, because more and more things don't make sense. And the music is amping it all up to an almost dizzying degree.

The question is, whether you decide to roll with where Show wants to go, or pull the plug.

From my perspective, it really kinda feels like we're dancing on the edges of makjang now, with the way things are going.

And, the gorgeously dramatic music, pulsing and swirling around every pivotal scene, just amps up the drama of it all, even further.

Sometimes, it feels like the music is so large that it kind of draws me away from an analytical space, into a more emotional one. Which, I suppose, is the whole idea to begin with.

For the record, I do still like the music very much. It just.. feels different, now that I am seeing Show in a new light.

I do enjoy makjang on occasion, when it's done well, so I'm planning to adjust my lens and keep on going, with Show. It's just.. I would've never guessed that Show was makjang to begin with, and a bit of warning is, well, kinda helpful. 😅

One the biggest things that makes me roll my eyes, this episode (and last episode too, really), is how we're expected to believe that Cho Ki Tak had kept No Sun Hoo's camera and camera bag all these 10 years.

That's so very unlike him, honestly. This is a guy who's meticulous - METICULOUS! - about not leaving traces behind. That's the reason he steals the Ministry of Justice vehicle and sets it on fire, after all.

And we're expected to believe that he'd kept the camera and the bag, for 10 whole years? And then, when he KNOWS that Chun Ho and Do Hyun are on to him, and about to search his house, he leaves the camera and the bag there, for them to discover, and hold against him?

No, really?!? 🙄😆

If, for some bizarre reason, he'd chosen to keep that camera with him, I'd expect him to at least destroy it, while cleaning up his house and preparing to leave.

The fact that so many things hinge on the fact that Cho Ki Tak had that camera in his house, and the fact that it's SO UNLIKELY that Cho Ki Tak would have left the camera there, makes it all quite laughable to me, honestly.

The way Do Hyun and Chun Ho conclude that Cho Ki Tak had bugged Do Hyun's phone is also extremely convenient. It's like their analysis made a giant leap forward in logic, and they happened to land on the right conclusion.

At the same time, I'm relatively happy to roll with this one, because I'm not that interested in seeing them puzzle over how Cho Ki Tak's so in tune with their investigative progress.

I'm still not super clear on Mystery Lady and who she works for, but I get the general idea, that she's got enough power to decide to whom she'd like to offer the deal, and that she tries - but fails - to place her bets on Park Si Yang, instead of Bigger Gun.

That whole thing, where Park Si Yang acts all rude to Bigger Gun on the phone, only to turn around and unveil Bigger Gun at the restaurant where Mystery Lady's ready to talk shop, smacks of makjang, in its execution. Which made me giggle.

I'm not at all surprised that Secretary Hwang would turn on Cho Ki Tak, since Cho Ki Tak knows far too much, and is, on top of that, becoming a nuisance with his rogue behavior and unreasonable demands.

It does strike me as very unlikely, that Chun Ho doesn't know the passcode to Nurse Cho's apartment, since he and Do Hyun have visited together already, while investigating the case together. I'd have expected that to have been a piece of information that Do Hyun would have shared with Chun Ho almost immediately.

That scene, where Cho Ki Tak dreams that he gets smothered at the hospital, feels so plausible to me. Surely he knows that this is a distinct possibility, given how the big guns roll.

No wonder he becomes more amenable to discussion with Do Hyun. His own lawyer probably wants to put him away for good.

This thing, though, of baddies negotiating with Do Hyun with promises of information on his dad's case, in exchange for his representation, is becoming a bit of a running gag in this show. By the time Cho Ki Tak does it, it feels like Do Hyun's faced this multiple times already.

However, to Show's credit, the way Do Hyun reacts, is also rather sardonic. That shows that he's not amused by this repeated approach either.

And, at least Do Hyun's skepticism actually causes Cho Ki Tak to offer up the memory card from No Sun Hoo's camera, if only to prove that he does have something that's worth Do Hyun's change of mind.

The way Chun Ho gets all worked up at the prospect of Do Hyun representing Cho Ki Tak does feel a bit overly melodramatic, which, I suppose, is in line with Show's chosen path of Heightened Melodrama.

I just hope that this doesn't put Chun Ho and Do Hyun on opposite sides again. I'd been so happy to see them working together as partners. 😭

That entire thing, where Mystery Lady waits for Secretary Hwang in the bedroom of his apartment, with the door slightly ajar, leans so melodramatic, seriously.

It makes absolutely no sense for her to set herself up in the bedroom of the apartment, because Secretary Hwang could very well just go into the apartment, get his money and passports, and get outta there, without ever seeing her.

Her dramatic entrance hinges solely on the possibility of Secretary Hwang spotting that the door is ajar, and then moving in to investigate.

The idea that Secretary Hwang could've left Mystery Lady sitting in that room in a futile attempt to have a dramatic entrance, just makes me laugh, honestly. It's so silly. 😂 But, like I said, a makjang lens solves it nicely, and makes it entertaining instead of stupid.

The final scene between Do Hyun and Madame Jin is really nicely done, I have to say.

I really appreciate the parallel that Madame Jin draws, on how, as a doctor, she couldn't choose her patients, and would treat them, even if they were murderers, and how she therefore understands Do Hyun's prerogative to represent Cho Ki Tak.

I do find it very problematic that Madame Jin had been the surgeon to do Do Hyun's heart transplant, for the very fact that the donor had been her own son. Surely that's not proper protocol, because that's a bad idea in every sense of the word?

Mainly, the risk of her having an emotional breakdown partway through the surgery is so high, that it should be deemed unsafe for her to participate in the surgery?

However, I really appreciate Junho's delivery of the shock and confusion, morphing into dawning realization, in Do Hyun, as he starts to realize what Madame Jin is saying to him.

And, the way those tears spring forth like that, as Madame Jin walks out the door, is so believably reflexive, like they take Do Hyun completely by surprise. That makes the moment feel so real.

SO well done by Junho, seriously.

I'm not sure where Show's planning to go next, but I'm pretty convinced that it's going to be Heightened Melodrama with a side of makjang, from here on out, so I'm buckling in suitably, for the ride.

Next episode notes will be out on: Friday, 1 Apr 2022!