TRIANGLE EPISODE 1

Three brothers were split up after their parents' death. However, as you might guess, their paths are destined to cross once more - twenty years later.

Dong Chul, the middle child, is a young rogue, living by his wits and trying to survive by gambling at casinos. He apparently has a temper and when things don't go his way, he makes a scene. He also has changed his name, apparently, as everyone refers to him as Young Dal. He is shirtless often; fan service, perhaps? Young Dal seems to constantly be down on his luck. Hotels won't let him stay the night and he only enters an illegal casino because the owner, Madame Jung, apparently has a soft spot for him. He manages to get himself in all sorts of trouble, gambling, stealing money, and sleeping with a married woman until they get found out by her husband. He drags his friend, Jang Soo, into most of these situations (except the intimate ones, of course).

The eldest, Dong Soo, is a detective, and apparently is a real loose cannon. He confronts a mob boss and tells him he's a murder suspect. As Dong Soo tries to lead the mobster out, a torrent of thugs rush through the casino to engage the detective and his team. In an interrogation room, he attempts to pummel a suspect until other cops enter the room and hold him back. He's even under investigation by the Korean version of Internal Affairs; a profiler, Shin Hye, is asked to evaluate Dong Soo's mental fitness. Shin Hye is Dong Soo's foster sister -- he was placed in her father's home after his parents' death. Shin Hye warns Dong Soo and suggests he needs treatment, but he blows her off.

Dong Woo was placed with a chaebol family. He now goes by the name Yoon Yang Ha. We don't see much of Yang Ha here, but the brief scene we see him in lets us know that he's afraid of something and he's on some sort of medication, whether for depression or anxiety, I'm not sure. His therapist is none other than Shin Hye, who must be both a therapist and a profiler and who questions whether his therapy sessions are of any use. Shin Hye lets him know that he will never move forward until he rids himself of the fear. The interesting thing to note is that his life doesn't seem to have the same explosive qualities as his other siblings. However, it's hard to assume he's much happier.

In the opening sequence, each of these men enjoy the strains of "Broken Promises" in their own way, one singing it while drinking, another performing it in karaoke, and the third listening to a torch singer croon it. That was a nice touch, although that's usually something seen among twins rather than brothers of different ages.

In the end we see one of the few humorous sequences in this melodrama, as Young Dal runs for his life in his boxers, his affair with the married woman cut short as he gets chased by a group of mobsters through the streets. Detective Dong Soo watches, having gotten a tip on some casino money laundering that brings him to the small town of Sabuk.  

Three times we see a young woman, Jung Hee, who undoubtedly will be swept up in Young Dal's life. We first see her as a greeter at a casino. Jang Soo tries to make small talk with her, but to no avail. We see her again at the police station, bailing out her younger brother, who pushes her to the ground. This is too much for Young Dal, who begins hitting the ne'er-do-well. Jung Hee calls him out for it and leaves. The third time, Young Dal passes her, running down the street in his underwear and the two seem to recognize each other.

'Triangle' introduces us to the players in this melodrama seamlessly, fairly dropping you right in the middle of the action. We get to know the characters through their interactions with others - organically. There's a voiceover in the beginning that talks a bit about the town, and then gets the heck out of the way so we can watch.
 
I like the threads that tie the brothers together. Shin Hye serves as friend and therapist to two of them. We don't see much of youthful Yang Ha, and I would love to find out exactly how he figures into all of this. Perhaps he's the heir to a line of casinos or just loves to spend some of his free cash that way. I'm assuming, down the line, we will have all the plot threads tangled together.

It seems all of them have some profound character flaws: one has a short fuse and a violent streak, another is a street punk who can't stay out of trouble, and one is a timid chaebol. Time will tell how and when these brothers meet, and what happens when they do. Given the connection they had in the beginning, I wonder if they will feel drawn to each other without knowing why.

We have a few familiar faces in this show. Young Dal is played by idol Jaejoong of JYJ while maknae Siwan of ZE:A fame portrays Yang Ha. We don't see enough of Siwan to really evaluate his performance, but Jaejoong puts a lot of energy into his character. He manages to convey emotions well without over-the-top antics.  We see him alternate between desperation to smugness when one of his schemes works. There's one actress that's particularly familiar to me, Park Hyo Joo; I enjoyed her antics in 'I Need Romance 3' and it's nice to see her back, though she seems to simply be a recurring character rather than a major player.

As it is the first episode, it's hard to tell where this will go, but I'm guessing they will all end up in Sabuk somehow. Two of 'em are already there, though Dong Soo's not particularly happy about it. The town appears to be fairly remote - in the Taebaek mountain range, a far cry from Seoul. I'm intrigued. Hopefully you guys will bear with me and we'll see where this is headed. If the first episode is any indication, the brothers' meeting will be anything but a quiet one!

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