The journey is finally over and all has been revealed. I have many mixed feelings on this show, so it took me a while to figure what to say. It's always awkward when you watch a popular show, but don't fall in love. Yeah, each person has their own opinion, but it still makes me think that maybe I missed something.
Anyways! Let's get to the review.
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Tunnel Kdrama Review
In 1986, Park Gwang Ho works as an excellent and enthusiastic detective. His life changes when he’s pursuing leads in a serial homicide case and then passes through a time portal, which transports him to present day Seoul. He meets a new partner Kim Sun Jae, an elite detective who happens to be a bit eccentric, but is one highly skilled investigator. The detective duo will also find help in psychology professor, Shin Jae Yi.==========================================================================
The Police Force
This was my first complaint. The characters were funny and great as a team, but they made bad cops. Sadly the cast falls victim to the police-are-stupid cliche. Touching evidence with bare hands, disrupting crime scenes, letting victims of crimes go home alone with no police protection, and the list just goes on. They obviously didn't watch enough CSI. Besides the main characters, I really liked Sung Shik. He and his 2 lackeys didn't stand out but they served as great comedic relief!==========================================================================
The mystery
The mystery did a good job of catching my attention. In both a bad and good way. The Good: After so many episodes you thought you had the whole story about the murders, but then new pieces to the story kept arising. Plot Twist! Yay! The Bad: Some of this information was stuff the police should've noticed or discovered quicker. They figured out the complex stuff quickly, but then they would skip over the simpler details. This where the show seemed to fall victim to another detective show cliche. The case felt like it dragged on too long (they didn't catch the criminal until halfway through the final episode)!===========================================================================
The Romance
The part I was so excited for but got so little in return. The main couple Kwang Ho and Yeon Suk made me feel all sorts of emotions. Their romance was simple, but it was beautiful. I love how they were always longing and thinking about each other. My problem started here, with the other (semi) main couple, Seon Jae and Jae Yi. They were so cute together! With their similar personalities and careers I thought that they would be like peas and carrots. My main complaint was that could've been more romantic scenes! All we got was a budding romance that felt one-sided at times (Seon Jae seemed more interested than she did). But it was cute watching them soften towards each other. It seemed like a real relationship was going to develop, but that was just a false alarm. I wish there had been more development (or a kiss scene) or that we could've seen them get a happily ever after. If the writer wasn't going to invest more time in them, I wish he would've left it out. This show probably would've been 2x better if their relationship hadn't existed.============================================================================
The Ending
The show was going strong, but during the last few episodes, it started to go downhill. Most of my problems began once the mystery was solved, and it was time for Kwang Ho to go home.At first, once the killer's true identity was revealed I kept wondering why he didn't go back to the past. I understand that he couldn't go back at will, but the point of him going to the future was so that he could find the culprit, right?
I didn't get this answer until the last episode and while the message the show was trying to deliver was beautiful I kind of wish it had played out differently. The murders had occurred. Even if Kwang Ho had gone back to his time the women would still be dead, and since they didn't have all the modern resources, there would be no way to tie the culprit to the crimes. Kwang Ho going to the future was a way to finally put an end to a forgotten tragedy, and bring closure to the families affected.
Beautiful, but I still wish it had a better ending.
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Ending (Rant)
I was expecting the ending to be a glimpse at the new future. What do I mean by that? (These time traveling shows are always a hassle to explain but I'll do my best) Kwang Ho is finally home and living his life with his wife and daughter. Doesn't that mean the future changed? Now that he's been to the future and has met Kim Seon Jae as an adult shouldn't that have encouraged him to see baby Seon Jae more?Didn't the future change?!!
It seems as if Kwang Ho came home and just acted like the case never happened. He changed and grew as a person, but I wanted to see more. I understand, there is nothing he could do at that point to solve the case. But I still felt he should've done something for Seon Jae, or to prepare for the future. I would've like to see how the future affected his actions once he returned to the past. And how his actions in the past effect the future. They did a good job tying everything together, but they also left some mini cliffhangers (leaving for space for a season 2, even though that probably won't happen)
I mean we discovered how the other Kwang Ho (N) was related to him! The older Kwang Ho should've been teaching baby Kwang Ho everything he needs to know so that in the future he could help capture the culprit ( cuz by then older Kwang Ho, would actually be old). I don't care what, but do something!! I mean I was expecting the ending to go like this:
EXAMPLE ENDING:
They capture the criminal in ep. 15, and Kwang Ho goes back at the end of that episode. In episode 16 Kwang Ho is doing things in the past to help prepare for the future. We watch as his life continues and the changes that occurred. We see the true killer being taken in handcuffs (again)And we end with a cute scene where we see a happy (still a cop) Seon Jae marrying Jae Yi. An older (retired) Kwang Ho and Yeon Suk smiling as they watch their daughter getting married. All their fellow detectives (past and present) unite for this happy event.
Or something like that.
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