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Drama Reviews
Posted by eric_r_wirsing Thursday, April 2, 2015

[Drama Review] 'The Girl Who Can See Smells' - Episode 1

AKP STAFF
Yoochun, Shin Se Kyung

THE GIRL WHO CAN SEE SMELLS


Four years ago, Choi Eun Seol came upon the scene of her parents' murders. The killer chased her and she ended up in the hospital following a car accident. The murderer headed to the hospital to finish the job. As fate would have it, there were two Choi Eun Seols at the same hospital, and the killer got the wrong Choi Eun Seol.  Her brother Moo Gak made the decision to become a cop to catch the killer.

Not dead (cue the 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' jokes here), but on life support, the intended victim Choi Eun Seol awakens from an almost 200-day coma with three side effects:


1) She can't remember a thing.
2) She is afflicted with heterochromia (eyes are different colors)
3) She can "see" scents.


Detective Oh, the man assigned to the murder case, calls her "Cho Rim," and he takes on the role of her father. She, not knowing any different, assumes that he is.

Moo Gak, the brother of the dead Choi Eun Seol, is gunning for detective.  Cho Rim works at a comedy showcase. This switches to a comedy of errors quickly: she misses out on finding a partner to showcase a new skit because of her daydreaming; Moo Gak collapses from exhaustion while chasing a perp because of too many all-night stakeouts; and she hits Moo Gak with her car while fetching coffee and he commandeers her vehicle and wrecks it.



But apparently this is a blessing in disguise as she uses her powers of scent vision and helps him find the guy at a hair salon (apparently he was having a bad hair day) and arrest him. Later, at a cafe, she deflects his questions as to how she did this.  It becomes poignant again at the end: a girl walks up to her and asks her if she is her friend Eun Seol. Cho Rim denies it and Moo Gak halts at the mention of his sister's name.

This is hilarious because everyone appears to be so bad at what they do. Her job is in danger because of her reverie, and he's so exhausted he botches an investigation and gets reamed by his bosses. And the criminal can't even hit Moo Gak!

Now, if you have superpowers, you have to have a costume, so people don't figure out your secret I.D.:



Okay that's not quite what I meant.

Yoochun from JYJ plays the bumbling aspiring detective. He does a pretty convincing job, and I'm sure it won't be long before he's a competent, confident detective, working his way up to Chief of Police. Yah, right! Keep him the way he is. He's like a Korean Inspector Clouseau, fumbling his way from point to point. He doesn't even pause to mop the blood from his head wound (isn't that kind of basic, like wiping your nose?). It's a wonder he doesn't get tangled in his own cuffs.

The special effects are pretty nifty, even if the way they visualize the scents reminds me of Lucky Charms cereal. Green Clovers, Yellow Moons, and Blue Diamonds, anyone?



The chemistry between the pair is absolutely adorable. Cho Rim inserts herself as Moo Gak's assistant a little too fast, IMHO. I think I'd be cleaning myself up after the hair-raising car chase where some random dude (officer or not) wrecked my car, but that's just me. It still works really well; I think I see where this is going. He'll solve some amazing crimes, all with Cho Rim's help. Probably a budding romance in here, too. It's practically a K-Drama rule.

Based on a webtoon, this apparently was out in time for April Fool's Day, but the events are hardly a joke.  The dark undercurrent of this comedy is a series of traumatic events. It's kind of interesting because it turns from black to hilarious, and then sort of switches to a tear-jerker near the end. It's well-put together, and now I can't wait to see the second one. I'm waiting for subs! :)

SEE ALSO: Boycott against IU, Girls' Generation's Yuri, and NewJeans backfires, inspires fans to show even more support

  1. Yoochun
  2. Shin Se Kyung
  3. THE GIRL WHO CAN SEE SMELLS
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