Trolley

An incident from the past returns to haunt the wife of an ambitious politician which could falter his career. The series is very well acted as each episode exposes a new truth which leaves you wondering who are the good people and who are the bad. It all begins with a tragic incident involving their son and the plot goes on to twist and turn and draws you in. The side stories are interesting and the cast all do an excellent job as your initial opinion of some of the characters over time changes as their true nature is exposed. It is well written and I enjoyed the pace and the main character played by Kim Hyun Joo shows great strength as her life unravels.

I loved this story, every twist and turn of it. Wonderful writing, beautiful cinematography, and performances all around that knock your socks off. Where does Korea train all of their splendid actors? The woman playing Hye Joo is remarkable, with a performance so nuanced it breaks your heart. Themes of deception masked by earnest faces resonate, as do the explorations of people with initial good intentions losing their way in the thicket that is politics. Teenagers' passion, quests for what is true or real, play an important role in this drama, again handled exquisitely by the young actors. The treatment of sexual assault which motivates much of the action is raw and powerfully depicted. It's not "too much" as some might claim. Just ask anyone who has experienced this trauma, as have 38% of my friends and acquaintances and students. (And yes, when the ME TOO movement started, I took a random survey.) The casualness which the assaulters display about their actions falls in the "what's the big deal" category and is sickening. This is wonderful psychological thriller, carefully deliberate in pacing because these issues, and difficult, sometimes impossible, choices , require deliberation and a slower paced production.

Everything about this S Korean drama is top notch. The story moves along with no slow boring bits, actors are believable and really invested in their roles. Camera work is nothing spectacular, but then again, this isn't an art house film. Technically, 100% right.

The story, which is basically all a movie/series needs to keep the audience invested, is well written, with intelligent, believable conversations even while watching with subtitles.

I won't go into all the details of the two main families, but it's all twisted political intrigue, with flashback explanation helping carry the story.

Episode 12 - the last: Reality. I found myself shrieking at my TV. OMG NO!! That did not just happen!! Why, but hey, that's good TV. Worthy of the 12 hours you'll invest and the 9 stars I gave.

The moral of the story is that the truth is never wrong and you can't trust a man!! Was curious to watch this drama after watching the SBS Award Shows for K-Dramas and K-Drama Actors that was just held live on December 29, 2023 (you can still view it in it's entirety on Viki), and this particular drama was up for many awards - mostly for the acting parts of supporting actors and actresses. I watch a lot of dramas and this one escaped me somehow so after seeing so many nominations and some wins I had to watch it. Actually I was disappointed in the drama as a whole, but I can definitely agree with the 2 supporting actresses (the 2 young ones) Choi Myung-bin and the older girl who was pregnant and living with the assemblyman and his wife as being recognized at the SBS Award ceremony for their excellent acting. The drama was introduced at the award ceremony as a drama for middle agers which kind of offended me because it was so slow going and overly calm..........what do they think about middle agers? They are too slow so let's make this in 1/2 time? I didn't like a lot about how the main FL handled the infidelity episode - so calm and reserved, no emotion from her whatsoever until only the sea scene. There was no surprises; you could guess the ending way from the beginning due to the theme of the drama and clues all along - I guess the middle agers must be too slow to get a real twist so there is no real surprises so rating a 7 but kudos to the award winning actresses.

So far everything about this drama is just so gripping. I watched Park Hee-Soon in 'My Name' and absolutely loved him there (and the drama as a whole) he has not let me down in this drama either. I've only watched two episodes so far, the acting is fabulous, so much so that I actually don't know which actor to trust and believe are genuine. Can we also take a moment to appreciate the OST too. This drama is the first time I've come across Kim Hyun-joo, also great acting and I'm keen to find out what her secretive past is all about. All in all, if you like a drama that's a thriller, not too fast paced and definitely not too slow, showing a strong bond between husband and wife - this drama is for you!