[Drama Review] 'Missing 9' - Episode 9

AKP STAFF

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

Have you ever wondered, why people still make scary movies that make no sense? Why movie makers feel the need to make those movies where you know every character is going to die a gruesome death and the killer will escape, so that the next film can be made? Well, the answer is because no matter how dumb those movies get, people will still go and watch them. And somehow find enjoyment in them. Don't ask me any further, because I don't even remember the last time I watched a scary movie.

Moving on to the actual 'Missing 9' episode 9 review, we have this seriously uncontrollable mass murderer on the loose. At this point, it's literally impossible to pinpoint any sort of motive behind Choi Tae Ho's (played by Choi Tae Joon) character, other than, he wants to kill everyone who was stranded on the island, so that he won't have to go to prison and continue his acting career.

Before dying a gruesome death courtesy of our antagonist mass murderer Choi Tae Ho, reporter Kim leaves us with the important fact that Yoon So Hee was the person who tipped him on Choi Tae Ho's involvement with the suicide case. She was also aware of the fact that Seo Jun Oh (played by Jung Kyung Ho) did not commit a DUI crime, but that he was framed by Choi Tae Ho. With these pieces of the puzzle coming into light, we begin to realize that factors from Shin Jae Hyun's suicide case, Tae Ho's hatred toward Jun Oh, and fear that he may be found out, all before the plane crashed, play a role in Choi Tae Ho's demonic transformation. Earlier, it had seemed more that Tae Ho had been driven into killing due to the circumstances on the island, but with more and more pieces being handed to us each episode, this guy's grave just gets deeper and deeper. There's still an unanswered question left with Shin Jae Hyun's suicide case, with how the guy's body managed to fall off the building at the right time, when he was already dead from the head wound.

So did these production people just up and decide that Lee Yeol was never a person to begin with or what because since when was Dreamers a two-member group?

The escape from the island was unexpectedly quick and simple. By this point, the focus of the plot has zero to do with island survival. It has everything to do with building up Tae Ho's crimes, more and more, while little Ra Bong Hee (played by Baek Jin Hee) tries to fight against him with literally nothing to combat... I still have a hard time with the fact that prosecutor Yoon Tae Young (played by Yang Dong Geun) believes Bong Hee so unconditionally. I mean, I suppose the production staff had no choice but to leave one guy on Bong Hee's side, or else the plot would just cave in on itself and Choi Tae Ho would just kill everyone and get away with it...

Now now, Bong Hee, I'm sure you're not exactly the most fragrant person at the moment, either.

On the rescue boat, caught in a big storm, things start getting really gruesome. Choi Tae Ho has managed to sneak onto the boat, killing one of the boatmen, and shows up with a maniacal look in his eyes, plus a knife, which sort of came out of nowhere. Everything is red, from the inside walls of the boat, to a lot of blood on everyone's faces and hands, but still, these island survivors don't seem to be able to face the fact that unless someone kills Tae Ho, he's going to kill everyone else. Tae Ho aims for Bong Hee and ends up stabbing Jun Oh in the back. Bong Hee and Jun Oh somehow manage to find time to be sappy and all concerned for each other when Tae Oh is still right there, with the intent to kill all. And still, the fact that reporter Kim wasn't able to kill Tae Ho when he was unconscious on the island, and the fact that Jun Oh doesn't kill Tae Ho on the boat but knocks him out with a few punches, can only be received as frustrating mistakes by audience members like myself. He's killed too many people to have any sense of sanity at this point, but you're still going to let him go on killing more innocent people. These are the thoughts we can't help but have toward the protagonists and the other characters, because episode 9 have made virtually turned all of the protagonist-like characters of this story into dumb characters from a dumb scary movie!

As an audience member, I'm beginning to lose faith in these protagonists, I can't relate to their decisions and actions, which makes it that much harder to cheer them on, and in turn become engrossed in the storyline. As quickly as this story has managed to build up, it's erasing away all of it's good points, leaving it with blood and Tae Ho's evil plotting and sort of ridiculous cliff hangers like, 'Oh, Jun Oh is supposed to be dead but he called Bogn Hee on the phone'.

Bong Hee why you not answer my phone call!

Next episode, we'll have to see what Ha Ji Ah (played by Lee Sun Bin) and Jung Ki Joon bring to the table as the newly discovered survivors in the present moment. But, do you guys somewhat agree with me that this plot is making it harder and harder for viewers to focus and maintain sympathy for the characters?

At this point, this guy'll come back alive even if you slay him with the fire sword from 'Goblin'.