Signal Drama Review

Drama: Signal (시그널)

Director: Kim Won-seok

Writer: Kim Eun-hee

Created by: Choi Jin-hee and Park Ji-young

Based on: Frequency by Toby Emmerich

Cast:- Kim Hye-soo, Lee Je-hoon, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Won-hye, Lee Yoo-joon, Jung Hyun-sung, Jung Hye-kyun, Jung Han-bi, Kim Min-gyu, Chani, Hwang tae-kwang, Lee Moon-soo, Kim Hyun-bin, Son Hyun-Joo and others.

About the show:-

One day Park Hae-young, a Criminal Profiler, accidentally stumbles upon an old mysterious walkie-talkie. With the help of a voice from the other side of the walkie-talkie, he succeeds in solving an unsolved kidnapping case that takes place 15 years earlier. Due to the success of the above case, a cold case team is formed, led by Detective Cha Soo-hyun. Detective Cha is still searching for her mentor from her early career days, Detective Lee Jae-han, who has gone missing and who hasn’t been seen since the last 15 years.

Call it coincidence or fate or fortune, but the voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie is of Detective Lee Jae-han and the only person who can communicate with him is Park Hae-young. Deciding to use the luck, Hae-young takes the help of Detective Jae-han and solves the cold cases that are left unsolved for years. While Jae-han tries his best to help Hae-young solve the cold cases, the latter heps the former solve other cases so that they can prevent them from becoming cold cases in the future. When the past changes, the future is bound to change.

Are Hae-young and Jae-han ready to accept the consequences that arise because of the risks that they are taking? Is changing the past actions going to affect the cases in the future? Are Hae-young and Jae-han heading in the right direction with the solving and is Cha Soo-hyun closer to finding her long lost mentor or is it too late for everything to fall into place for the terrific trio.

(*This review may contain spoilers. If you have already watched the show, please continue reading. If you haven’t watched the show yet, you can still continue reading or you can come back to the review later.)

My views about the show and what I learnt from it:-

Brilliance = Signal.
After watching tons of Korean dramas and movies, Signal still remains my most favourite show and not a lot of shows have come close to dethroning it. It is the most gripping crime thriller shows that I have ever watched. Every episode holds you to the edge of your seat.

Lee Je Hoon, Cho Jin Woong, and Kim Hye Soo bring us the best fantasy, science fiction Thriller. Past meets present meets future genre, although it doesn't happen in reality, this Korean drama somehow makes it extremely believable. The show deals with a group of detectives and a cold case profiler and how they solve a series of cold cases with the help of another detective who lives in the past over a special walkie talkie.

Have you ever been asked if you regret the past and would like to change anything if you were given an opportunity? These days, I find myself pondering over this very question. If I ever get an opportunity to change my past, would I risk my present and my future over my past? I would end up regretting my present and future over trying to change something that has happened ages ago and over which I have no control.
This show brilliantly tackles this very debate. If the past is changed, the present changes and so will the future. And are we ready to risk it all?

The Actors, the Director and the Writer:-

Lee Je-hoon is in the list of my favourite actors from the Korean Entertainment Industry. I love how he doesn’t just act or perform or portray the character but becomes the character. When you watch him on the screen, you don’t see any traces of Lee Je-hoon. You see the character alone and he convinces you into thinking that he is indeed that character. He makes you wait for him to appear on the screen each time you watch a show he is in. Park Hae-young is smart, tactful, disciplined, dedicated and focused in his work. He is a workaholic and thorough in his job. Till today, I fail to realise that Park Hae-young is in reality just a character and he was portrayed by Lee Je-hoon. For me, Park Hae-young is real and out there performing his duty with precision. This is what Lee Je-hoon has done. He breathed life into Park Hae-young. He has made Park Hae-young real for me.

Kim Hye-soo is an inspiration. Cha Soo-hyun has always been timid and soft. But her own dreadful experiences has made her tough and fearless. Her mentor, Lee Jae-han, whom she looks up to is also a reason for her bravery. As a young new recruit, she is always running around with her doe-eyes, wanting to prove her worth as a detective to herself and to Detective Jae-han. But the young Soo-hyun has had to experience some of the most difficult incidents, a gruesome kidnapping being one of them and losing her mentor and love Jae-han being the another. The older Cha Soo-hyun is courageous, smart, fearless, daring, confident, bold, gutsy and heroic. Life has toughened her up. Kim Hye-soo as Cha Soo-hyun is what I call destiny. Soo-hyun’s character seems to have been written for Kim Hye-soo. Her portrayal of the character is sheer brilliance. She makes you feel proud to be born a woman.

Cho Jin-woong is what I would call perfection. If an actor can make you fall in love with not just his character but other characters and the entire show as a whole, then he is a complete actor. Cho Jin-woong performs not just for himself but for the entire cast, the crew and all the viewers. He doesn’t just lead the show. He takes all his fellow cast mates along on a journey of fulfilment. He makes you fall in love with dramas, films and the art of film making. Detective Lee Jae-han is a character full of complexities. He needs to be a part of the past, the present and the future as well. He is just one person but he needs to be different for the different timelines. The role is filled with intricate details and emotions. Cho Jin-woong amazes you with how beautifully Le Jae-han changes as the timelines change. The minute switch in Jae-han’s personality is perfectly visible yet easily concealed as soon as the shift in the timeline takes place. I have watched the show twice till date and both the times I was astonished with his performance. He is full of surprises.

The list of the supporting cast and the additional guest cast is extraordinary. They make the entire show feel like reality. Their performances are top-notch. The most experienced and veterans of the Korean Entertainment Industry have contributed to this show with their magnificent portrayals.

Kim Won-seok is one director whose work I am looking forward to watching. Signal is tops my list of favourite Korean Dramas and his vision and execution are the reason. I am now eagerly waiting to watch dramas like Misaeng and My Mister, to see more brilliance that he has managed to deliver.

Kim Eun-hee is one of the most intelligent and clever writers I have come across in the Korean Entertainment Industry. Though it is based on the 2000 movie Frequency, Kim Eun-hee has managed to transform the drama into a masterpiece of her own. She has the ability to create art from her writing. The writing is effortless, innovative and creative and the execution is thoroughly entertaining as well. Her work is one of the best that I have watched till date.

I am very proud of the Women writers of South Korea for their courage, their talent, their hard work, their determination and their devotion for their work and dreams. Kim Eun-hee is part of this list of writers and this work of hers has brought immense joy to me and I have great admiration for her.

At the time of its airing, the show gained immense attention for seamlessly blending actual cases into the plot. After the release of its final episode, it turned out to be one of the highest rated Korean dramas. The show went on to win numerous awards, including Best Drama, Best Writer for Kim Eun-hee, Best Actress for Kim Hye-soo, Best Actor Award and a Daesang for Cho Jin-woong at various award ceremonies.

The murders, the crimes, the cases are exceptionally well written and gripping. Every episode ends on a cliffhanger, which urges you to binge watch the entire show and by the end of it leaves you wanting for more. If I am to rate this show over 10, I would rate it as outstanding.