[Confession] Missing 9 Episode 1
Before anything else, I would like to define my drama reviewing:
First, I won't be posting episode recaps for dramas because i don't trust my character - I tend to get lazy when I have routines to accomplish and
Second, sometimes when I decide to watch a drama, I depend my continuance on the first episode. So if ever I am interested in a drama, I will watch the first episode and I will review it just to see how it goes. If I liked it, I'll have a continuation review after I finished the whole thing.
Kke, let's go! :D
After finishing a tragic historical drama, I put myself for a test to watch something suspenseful and tragic at the same time - Missing 9. Yeaaaaah. So actually I begged myself to pause the drama just to write this review. I didn't plan on having a break but this urge to share it now broke that promise! Haha! I was wondering if Missing 9 will be a mystery-thriller-survival drama in the same vein as Lost. I've never watched it but I'm hopeful for an exciting ride ahead. Wiiii
Here is the synopsis of the drama:
Nine (9) people from Legend Entertainment fly on a private plane to a concert. The 9 people consists of entertainers Seo Joon-O (Jung Kyoung-Ho), Choi Tae-Ho (Choi Tae-Joon), Ha Ji-A (Lee Sun-Bin), Lee Yeol (Chanyeol), Yoon So-Hee (Ryu Won) and staff members Ra Bong-Hee (Baek Jin-Hee), Jung Ki-Joon (Oh Jung-Se), Hwang Jae-Kook (Kim Sang-Ho), Tae Ho-Hang (Tae Hang-Ho). The plane then becomes involved in a mysterious crash. The 9 people survive, but are stranded on a deserted island.
4 months later, Ra Bong-Hee returns to South Korea as the only survivor & witness from the plane crash, but lost her memories.
Missing 9 wastes no time dropping us right into the action, and I have to say, I was gripped from the very first moment. The cinematography is fantastic, and the music underscores and informs the action perfectly without being distracting. The characters are compelling and sympathetic, and the story is as heartbreaking as it is terrifying. I went into this show cautiously optimistic and I think we’re in for an incredible ride.
I was immediately hooked the moment I saw its synopsis but I had to control myself that it had to be finished before I jump in. These days I've been too engaged in new dramas that I bore myself and leave it halfway, only to resume after its final episode. So I wouldn't want to be uncertain in watching this until I see that it's come to resolution. And coming full terms with it this morning, I am so glad I patiently waited because I can't think of anything else but to finish this as soon as possible! That's how absorbing it was.
I really enjoyed pretty much everything about this first episode, from the film work (it’s strange to say, but the way the plane crash was filmed was absolutely lovely), to the music that perfectly enhances each scene, to the backstory that ties all of our castaways together and binds them through a shared loss. I thought the humorous and the serious moments were very balanced, neither distracting from the other. The show is definitely here to tell a dramatic story, but it doesn’t forget that life can be funny even in the midst of catastrophe, and shifts between the two seamlessly.
I like it that they separate flashbacks by cut scenes and it didn't confuse me as much. But there were times I had to think if it's the present time or just the storytelling part. I immediately felt sympathetic to the characters during the time their plane was about to crash - moments of their life flashed before their eyes: struggles to reach their dreams, life-changing moments, and things they regretted the most. That made the viewers relate instantly.
The entire show seems full of loaded moments and hints of more interesting discoveries to come, and I think we’re going to get a lot more than just “plane crash survivors rough it on a deserted island.” There’s so much more I could go on and on about, but it all boils down to this: Watch this show now.