[Drama Review] 'Missing 9' - Episode 2

AKP STAFF

Chanyeol, Yang Dong Geun, Jung Kyung Ho, Baek Jin Hee, Lee Sun Bin

Let the drama begin! (But that looks a lot like the camera and sound crew reflected in his eyes...)

In episode 2 of 'Missing 9', Ra Bong Hee (played by Baek Jin Hee) begins recounting what she remembers about being stranded on a deserted island after Legend Entertainment's plane crashes in the ocean. The catch with Bong Hee being the sole source of information about what really happened on that island, is that a lot of the people around her trying to get the answers from her, they just don't believe her straight on! Toward the end of the episode, when Bong Hee is getting another checkup from the doctor, even he says medically, it's improbable that she has memory loss.

Even from a viewer's point of view, I'm finding it a little difficult to completely take her story as real. My point goes along with the observation from episode 1, in that because a good part of the story is told from Bong Hee's memory, and memory tends to be selective and imaginative, even if Bong Hee doesn't mean to remember things the way she does, she could be leaving out important details. This is also a good time for me to again point out the slight difference in scene structure, with the two screen shots below:

In this scene, which is a foggy memory in Bong Hee's head, the screen becomes thinner, and you can see the MBC logo and the drama's title outside of the frame. When scenes become like this, how much of it is real?

This scene is a little tricky as well, since it is a scene that Lee Yeol (played by EXO's Chanyeol) told Bong Hee about instead of Bong Hee actually living it herself, but the main difference from the previous scene is that the logos sit inside the frame. The overall gray tone of the scene is still a big indicator to tell it apart from other scenes taking place in reality.

I hope I'm not getting too confusing with trying to differentiate the types of scene structures that the drama is using, because to an extent, this is just a theory on my part, that the production is using these methods to give readers visual cues.

Another element to bring up from episode 2 is the story's pacing. While in episode 1, I understood the importance of sequencing the storytelling from nearly the very end, to going back to various points through memory, I found the pace to be a little slow in episode 2. It first felt a little like they were dragging time when Bong Hee sat down with investigator Oh for what looks a lot like therapy sessions? Because for a good first half of the episode, Bong Hee was describing a lot of generic feelings, rather than more factual evidence of what happened. The production, I think, could be a little better about changing up Bong Hee's and investigator Oh's clothes as they get together for multiple "therapy" sessions throughout episodes, because while I understand that he's getting bits and pieces of her memory from many different sessions pieced together, it's harder to remember that when she suddenly decides she doesn't remember who the 5th survivor is at the very end of the episode. (Like, really?)

That alone brings up another discussion of whether Bong Hee is really telling the truth when she says she doesn't remember what happened. Does she have you guys convinced? Because for me, I'm still a little suspicious. If every other character in this story has a hidden agenda, then what reason does Bong Hee have not to?

Let's also remember that Jung Kyung Ho gets portrayed this grossly because it is through Bong Hee's selective memory... I'm sure Sooyoung's boyfriend is a very pleasant person in real life.

Also, I do apologize for not mentioning the necklace seriously in the review for episode 1. Clearly, the necklace was a possession of Yoon So Hee's before they plane crash, and Bong Hee has it around her neck constantly once she returns to Korea as the sole survivor. This necklace may or may not be very closely linked to So Hee's death, as we find out toward the end of the episode that So Hee is indeed dead, and prosecutor Yoon Tae Young (played by Yang Dong Geun) discovers her corpse first. We're barely a few days in on the deserted island, and the survivor group numbers a mere 5 at the end of episode 2. You see what I'm saying when I say the pace could use a little boost?

But I'm definitely not saying I don't enjoy this drama so far, because I do. The story has thus far been a fine mixture of comedy, drama, and mystery (comedy available solely thanks to the great performance of Seo Jun Oh, played by Jung Kyung Ho). Just like in episode 1, episode 2 leaves us with more mysteries than there were in the last episode, leaving us questioning every single character and therefore, no choice but to tune in next week. 'Missing 9' is receiving positives reviews from the Korean audience as well, the 2nd episode marking 5.8% in viewer ratings and falling in 2nd place in its time slot, thanks to 'The Legend of the Blue Sea' wrapping up soon. Hopefully, we'll have a lot more material to talk about and more of our questions answered next week.

Even in death, this guy's outlook on life is super positive!