GYEONGSEONG CREATURE PART 1 – THE CHARACTERS (PART 2 OF 2)

Part 1 is here

The Characters:

The cast is uniformly awesome. Park Seo-joon’s character, Jang Tae-sang starts off as someone who is only concerned about saving his own hide but he infuses his character with so much heart that even in the initial episodes, you end up rooting for him. The show is, very much, his hero’s journey, going from someone who only cared about his own survival to one who’s willing to risk his own life to protect others.

Han So-hee’s character, Yoon Chae-ok was an absolute badass. She was more than capable of handling the shit that came her way. I loved that she was so confident of her abilities, she was excellent at her job. So-hee imbues her character with such deep emotion that you can tell that it’s always on the simmer, her desperation warring with the bone-deep dread that her mother is dead. And then the final straw is the soul crushing horror they’re confronted with when they infiltrate the hospital and find out what’s been going on.

I also liked how the relationship between Tae-sang and Chae-ok developed. They start off at loggerheads with Tae-sang mocking the loss of her mother and Chae-ok seeing him as a profiteer, an opportunist. In a desperate fight for their survival against both the monster and the Japanese forces, they’re forced to put aside their differences and work together and this is where they truly shine.

Their conflicting approach, where one is willing to die instead of surrendering and the other is willing to surrender to fight another day is what saves them. Chae-ok’s drive to fight and keep fighting even in the face or insurmountable odds is what keeps them going when lesser people would have turned back. Tae-sang’s drive to survive, to live is what keeps them alive when faced with near certain death. They fight for each other, taking the lead when the other falters.

I love that for people who seem so fundamentally different, they work so well together, perfectly complementing each other. I also love that when Tae-sang tries to save Chae-ok by asking her to leave, she refuses, she makes it clear that she doesn’t need a knight in shining armour but a partner who treats her as their equal.

The other cast members are equally good, especially Kim Hae-sook as Nawol-deak, Tae-sang’s 2nd in command. She’s his pillar, the only person he can trust to take over the reins in his absence and she more than rises to the occasion. Unlike the others, she’s unflappable, capable of thinking on her feet, weighing alternatives and wheeling and dealing the way Tae-sang does. She, like Tae-sang doesn’t trust anyone (except Tae-sang.) She knows, only too well, how little it takes to break people, having gone through it herself.

Did anyone else wonder if it was Nawol-deak who gave up information that led to Tae-sang’s mother getting arrested? Nawol implies that faced with relentless pain, people are willing to do anything to make it stop. That entire conversation and the flashback that followed, made me think if it was Nawol who finally broke and gave up information about her comrades.

Then there was Choi Young-joon playing Lieutenant General Kato, the most hateful character on the show, followed very closely by Hyun Bong-sik’s Ichiro. The absolute lack of humanity they exhibit is far more monstrous than any other monster they could create. I’m pretty sure Kato is a psychopath. His quest to make a monster has nothing to do with patriotism. His military rank is a means to an end, it gives him the power and authority he needs to conduct his experiments with little to no oversight. He doesn’t see other people as human beings, they are all, both the soldiers and locals alike, test subjects. The locals are used as lab-rats and monster bait while the soldiers serve to test just how much damage the monster can withstand, it’s killing power and finally whether it can think and solve problems. The only thing Gato sees as worthwhile is the monster itself.

I would not be surprised if, in part 2, there was increased tension between Kato and Ichiro. Ichiro sees the monster as a mindless killing machine while to Kato, it’s a like piece of art, it’s an extension of his own genius and he would not take kindly to another scientist taking over. We saw it in Part 1 when Ichiro tried to train the monster, taking a page out of Ivan Pavlov’s experiment, Kato’s displeasure at Ichiro inserting himself into his work. This is not a man who shares or tolerates interference of any kind. I see conflict brewing between them that will perhaps be the source of their own downfall.

The other person who was absolutely spellbinding was Kim Soo-hyun as Lady Yukiko Maeda. Her portrayal is just… so intimidating. She’s the perfect blend of gentility and menace. She has an ice cold demeanor that unsettles you even as her beauty disarms you and draws you in. By the time the show ends, there is no doubt who has the actual power in the Ishikawa home. This is a woman who will slit your throat and calmly drink tea and watch as you slowly drown in your own blood. it’s a chilling portrayal and I can’t wait to see more of her in Part 2.

I am excited for Part 2 to see how they close season 1 since season 2 is already in production. We do know that Chae-ok, her father and the rest from The House of Golden Treasure will launch a rescue mission for Tae-sang. I don’t think Chae-ok will be content to leave Tae-sang behind, not to mention her mother’s monster form is still inside.

Add to that, Myeong-ja is now infected and she will wreak havoc once she transforms (assuming she survives,) she is outside and she’s pregnant. With Chae-ok’s mother, we can see just how much the Najin caused her to mutate. I have a feeling that Myeong-ja’s baby will be a hybrid, even more dangerous than the monster inside the hospital. It’s also safe to assume that almost all of the antagonists will survive.

If you’re hoping for a clean resolution in the season finale, you’re in for disappointment. I have a feeling that the season will end with a broadening of the threat and our heroes will have to contend with not just those despicable scientists, Gato and Ichiro, they will also have the Japanese army after them after Kwon Joon-taek ratted them out.

I’ll be happy as long as the season doesn’t end with a cliffhanger. Season 2 is scheduled to stream in 2024, so on the plus side, at the very least, it’s not a long wait. For now, I shall patiently wait for Part 2 and hope for the best…

GYEONGSEONG CREATURE PART 1 – THE OVERVIEW (PART 1 OF 2)

Good news: I finished Gyeongseong Creature Part 1 last night, in one sitting.

Bad news: Now I have to wait till the 5th of January for the remaining episodes.

Plot: Based in Korea in the 1940s while it struggles under the Japanese occupation, a group of people enter a hospital to look for someone only to discover that a missing person is the least of their concerns with a literal monster on the rampage.

Cast: Park Seo-joon, Han So-hee, Wi Ha-joon, Kim Soo-hyun (Claudia Kim), Jo Han-chul, Kim Hae-sook, Ji Woo, Im Chul-soo, Choi Young-joon

The Overview

I went into this show pretty blind outside of the basic gist of the plot, I expected a run-of-the-mill creature feature and the show definitely delivers in that respect but it also gives us characters worth rooting for even if they don’t always agree with each other and strong and complex women across the spectrum.

I know there are some who are a little annoyed about the shorter season (10 episodes instead of the usual 16-episode season) and while I understand the frustration, I think the shorter season was the only way to handle a story like this.

Another thing that is a little frustrating is the decision to split the season into 2 parts, so part 1 dropped with 7 episodes and the remaining 3 episodes will drop on the 5th of January. I knew about the split going into part 1 and…. I don’t hate it. The way part 1 ends makes it bearable. It’s not quite a cliffhanger (on the cliffhanger scale, this was positively kind) And that way I can do a full rewatch and then watch part 2, making it a more complete experience.

There is no respite in this show, once the story gets going and it gets going pretty quickly, there is no break in the tension. There are no filler episodes. The pace is also consistent throughout the 7 episodes, so it feels more like a very long, stressful film instead of a 7-episode show and I think that works in its favour.

The narrative is also very streamlined, we have very clear narrative arcs that we’re following. The first episode opening voice over can be a little tedious but this is an original show (as in not based on a webcomic), so I could deal with that. The writer has done a great job balancing the time they spend with the people inside the hospital and those outside, coupled with competing motives even when people are seemingly on the same side. And the fact, that all of this easy to follow is no small feat. This is one of the tightest, most cohesive shows I’ve seen in a while.

Gyeongseong Creature has one of the most visually striking opening credits and it’s worth paying attention to. Outside of the visual appeal, there are a lot of clues/foreshadowing to be found there. The credits also add to the unsettling atmosphere of the show. 10/10.

The show takes place in Korea under the brutal Japanese occupation. I suggest paying attention to the language the characters use (Korean vs Japanese) because it can really give you insight about the character or the context of the conversation. When you’re watching the show, there are conversations, where if you’re not paying attention, you won’t understand why the atmosphere is so charged. To live in a place, where the mere act of speaking in your own language could mean getting brutally beaten became an act of rebellion. It adds a whole other level of nuance and I loved that.

The show also doesn’t shy away from the cruelty of the Japanese occupation, the sheer callous way that the local population was treated. It also brings in the medical experiments that the Japanese scientists conducted on the local people (both in China and Korea) Their attitude is perhaps the most chilling (I was cheering when the monster got loose)

It also makes you question who the monster actually is, the literal monster (the person who was turned without their consent) or the people facilitating this, the ones conducting these ‘experiments’. Everyone from children to old people were fair game in their twisted quest for progress.

More in Part 2.