♥♥♥♥/♥
TITLE: He Is Psychometric [사이코메트리 그녀석]
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 3/11-4/30/2019
WIKI: http://asianwiki.com/He_is_Psychometric
SEASONS/EPISODES: 1/16, about 1 hour apiece
US AVAILABILITY (as of 2019-04-21): Viki (free)
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 3/11-4/30/2019
WIKI: http://asianwiki.com/He_is_Psychometric
SEASONS/EPISODES: 1/16, about 1 hour apiece
US AVAILABILITY (as of 2019-04-21): Viki (free)
The written teaser of this drama starts with something like "Lee Ahn is a boy with the power to see people's secrets with a simple touch. Yoon Jae In is a girl who'll stop at nothing to hide a traumatic secret. What will happen when their world's collide? A romantic thriller about how these two teenagers love, heal, and support each other through big and small events." I expected, from that, to watch a drama where the main characters are teens in highschool for at least most of the drama, and the female lead is either unaware of the male lead's power and the plot is forwarded by him not telling her he knows her secrets because she would freak out, OR she knows about his power and the plot is forwarded by how she avoids letting him touch her physically as they grow closer emotionally.
Yeah that's not how it actually went down. If you've been here since I reviewed Bride of the Water God then you know how much it bugs me when the trailers and written teasers are so far off base you go into it thinking you're watching one thing and find out after a short bit that you're actually watching a whole 'nother drama. Basically if the whole drama was Episodes 1-3, then the writeup would be somewhat accurate-ish.
Allow me the indulgence of a not-too-spoiler-y summary of the first 3 episodes, to show you what I mean. (If you prefer to avoid even minor, teaser-level spoilers in even the first 3 episodes, feel free to skip ahead to the Flow and Sequence section.)
In episode 1, we meet our main character Lee Ahn as a little boy. As he's heading out of the apartment with his overindulgent parents to reward his temper tantrum with a puppy, tragedy strikes: their apartment building suffers an explosion and fire. This is a tragedy that is referred back to a bazillion times throughout the drama, and it's a tragedy during which we are introduced to a lot of characters who we will find out later were more important than we knew.
10 minutes into episode 1, we skip ahead 11 years. Ahn is a ditzy and not terribly bright nor serious teenaged delinquent who has spent his life since the fire partially in an orphanage and partially raised by the older boy (Kang Seong Mo) who saved him from the fire. He's a serial truant and about to get kicked out of school permanently. He really wants to work as a psychic for the police, but at the moment he lacks the focus and maturity to actually land such a job. Meanwhile JaeIn has spent her entire life running away. She's a good student, serious and hardworking, but as soon as anyone finds out her father is in prison convicted of that apartment fire, she changes schools. She's sure her father is innocent, framed, and the horrible things people say to her and about him are too much for her, triggering severe panic attacks.
Meanwhile now-prosecutor Kang SeongMo's partner JiSoo (whom Ahn calls noona, and who also knows about Ahns power, and whom is not-so-secretly in love with the stoic and unemotional SeongMo since forever) isn't entirely happy with the resolution of their latest case. She can't get over the similarities between it and the apartment fire case from 11 years ago.
For the rest of the first 3 episodes we get flashbacks that flesh out some of the details of the day of the tragedy 11 years prior and some bits and pieces from the time in between then and now, Ahn and JaeIn go from enemies to friends-with-a-spark over the course of these first few episodes, and solve a school mystery together shortly before they are separated and we get one of those "2 years later" captions. (Which signals our leap to the present, and the beginning of the main story.) In the remaining 13 episodes, our main 2 characters are adults who mostly already know each other's secrets and are trying to unravel a tangled string of cases that tie together more people's lives than you might imagine...
So basically: a mere 3 episodes of like it says in the Viki description and then 13 episodes of no more of them being teenagers and no more of JaeIn 'stopping at nothing to hide a traumatic secret.'
10 minutes into episode 1, we skip ahead 11 years. Ahn is a ditzy and not terribly bright nor serious teenaged delinquent who has spent his life since the fire partially in an orphanage and partially raised by the older boy (Kang Seong Mo) who saved him from the fire. He's a serial truant and about to get kicked out of school permanently. He really wants to work as a psychic for the police, but at the moment he lacks the focus and maturity to actually land such a job. Meanwhile JaeIn has spent her entire life running away. She's a good student, serious and hardworking, but as soon as anyone finds out her father is in prison convicted of that apartment fire, she changes schools. She's sure her father is innocent, framed, and the horrible things people say to her and about him are too much for her, triggering severe panic attacks.
Meanwhile now-prosecutor Kang SeongMo's partner JiSoo (whom Ahn calls noona, and who also knows about Ahns power, and whom is not-so-secretly in love with the stoic and unemotional SeongMo since forever) isn't entirely happy with the resolution of their latest case. She can't get over the similarities between it and the apartment fire case from 11 years ago.
For the rest of the first 3 episodes we get flashbacks that flesh out some of the details of the day of the tragedy 11 years prior and some bits and pieces from the time in between then and now, Ahn and JaeIn go from enemies to friends-with-a-spark over the course of these first few episodes, and solve a school mystery together shortly before they are separated and we get one of those "2 years later" captions. (Which signals our leap to the present, and the beginning of the main story.) In the remaining 13 episodes, our main 2 characters are adults who mostly already know each other's secrets and are trying to unravel a tangled string of cases that tie together more people's lives than you might imagine...
So basically: a mere 3 episodes of like it says in the Viki description and then 13 episodes of no more of them being teenagers and no more of JaeIn 'stopping at nothing to hide a traumatic secret.'
Flow and Sequence:
First 3 episodes depict the baseline-normal for the relationships between the characters, something for us to compare to as the story grows and changes. (More on that in the Writing/Directing section though.)
The next story arc is episodes 4 to about 10 and this shows how the various relationships strengthen or deteriorate under the "normal" pressure of adult life plus Ahn's psychometric ability. Ahn and JaeIn are reunited of course, or there wouldn't really be much of a romance here. JiSoo still loves SeongMo but he still doesn't give her the slightest encouragement.
We start getting flashbacks of the original incident again now, the apartment murders and fire, but this time in reverse. First we get flashbacks of incidents in the last hours leading up to the event, then farther and farther back as the show progresses. Rather than feeling like we are getting farther ahead with these flashes, it's a case of the more we know the more we realize we don't know.
The actual storyline for this arc is still relatively lighthearted. It's more serious than the highschool intro arc and there are a couple shocking incidents, but overall still fairly fluffy. (Don't worry, we get into thriller territory soon enough.) JaeIn and Ahn solve small side cases together while putting together clues from the big overarching case in parallel with JiSoo and SeongMo.
This story arc comes to an end with some inevitable relationship fallout that we've seen coming for a long time.
Our final story arc, from episode 10 on, is the darkest one yet. All the dreadful hints we've been getting, all the fragmented clues, come to fruition or clarity. This is where the cute little Nancy Drew side mysteries are gone and we're fully into "thriller" territory. As we get more and more of the final pieces of the long history of which the apartment fire was only a step along the way, the villain is finally given a name and a face (which certainly does not lessen his scary-ness). We see the character development in Ahn; he's more mature, more serious, and smarter. The storyline gives us twists and turns, revelations that temporarily make us more confused rather than more enlightened, before finally dropping the last pieces of the puzzle into place.
First 3 episodes depict the baseline-normal for the relationships between the characters, something for us to compare to as the story grows and changes. (More on that in the Writing/Directing section though.)
The next story arc is episodes 4 to about 10 and this shows how the various relationships strengthen or deteriorate under the "normal" pressure of adult life plus Ahn's psychometric ability. Ahn and JaeIn are reunited of course, or there wouldn't really be much of a romance here. JiSoo still loves SeongMo but he still doesn't give her the slightest encouragement.
We start getting flashbacks of the original incident again now, the apartment murders and fire, but this time in reverse. First we get flashbacks of incidents in the last hours leading up to the event, then farther and farther back as the show progresses. Rather than feeling like we are getting farther ahead with these flashes, it's a case of the more we know the more we realize we don't know.
The actual storyline for this arc is still relatively lighthearted. It's more serious than the highschool intro arc and there are a couple shocking incidents, but overall still fairly fluffy. (Don't worry, we get into thriller territory soon enough.) JaeIn and Ahn solve small side cases together while putting together clues from the big overarching case in parallel with JiSoo and SeongMo.
This story arc comes to an end with some inevitable relationship fallout that we've seen coming for a long time.
Our final story arc, from episode 10 on, is the darkest one yet. All the dreadful hints we've been getting, all the fragmented clues, come to fruition or clarity. This is where the cute little Nancy Drew side mysteries are gone and we're fully into "thriller" territory. As we get more and more of the final pieces of the long history of which the apartment fire was only a step along the way, the villain is finally given a name and a face (which certainly does not lessen his scary-ness). We see the character development in Ahn; he's more mature, more serious, and smarter. The storyline gives us twists and turns, revelations that temporarily make us more confused rather than more enlightened, before finally dropping the last pieces of the puzzle into place.
Cast/ Characters/ Acting:
WOW. The actors and actresses in this did a phenomenal job! They really blew me away!
Jinyoung as Lee Ahn If you think "Idol singers can't act" then prepare to eat your words. I can't remember the last time I saw such fabulous character development either. I will be eagerly on the lookout for his future roles!
Shin Ye Eun as Yoon Jae In I wish there had been more character development for her character. I felt like I didn't get to see as many facets of her acting as I would have liked. When she smiles full-on (rare) she is breathtaking.
Kim Kwon as Kang Seong Mo Another unusually awesome example of character development. He needs to play lead in something like NOW. I'm already going through withdrawals... I was SO invested in his character!
Kim Da Som as Eun Ji Soo If only acting was as easy as she made it look! She wasn't just playing a character, she WAS the character. I liked her immediately and my affection for her character only grew from there.
WOW. The actors and actresses in this did a phenomenal job! They really blew me away!
Jinyoung as Lee Ahn If you think "Idol singers can't act" then prepare to eat your words. I can't remember the last time I saw such fabulous character development either. I will be eagerly on the lookout for his future roles!
Shin Ye Eun as Yoon Jae In I wish there had been more character development for her character. I felt like I didn't get to see as many facets of her acting as I would have liked. When she smiles full-on (rare) she is breathtaking.
Kim Kwon as Kang Seong Mo Another unusually awesome example of character development. He needs to play lead in something like NOW. I'm already going through withdrawals... I was SO invested in his character!
Kim Da Som as Eun Ji Soo If only acting was as easy as she made it look! She wasn't just playing a character, she WAS the character. I liked her immediately and my affection for her character only grew from there.
Lee Seung Joon as villain Kang Geun Taek He was utterly chilling in this drama!
Jeon Mi Sun as Seong Mo's mom Kang Eun Joo This lovely lady always changed roles so thoroughly she was like a chameleon. She was fully immersed in this role, a professional as always.
Choi Duk Moon as Kim Gab Yong the identity thief gangster A character you think is just passing by and later realize was more important than you thought.
Park Chul Min as Senior officer Nam Dae Nam I liked him better respectable and in charge than lazy and gross, but he pulled off both.
Jo Byeong Gyu as child Kang Seong Mo His acting was so good, so in sync with Kim Kwon's, that together their portrayal of SeongMo's younger and older self was absolutely seamless and believable.
Jeon Mi Sun as Seong Mo's mom Kang Eun Joo This lovely lady always changed roles so thoroughly she was like a chameleon. She was fully immersed in this role, a professional as always.
Choi Duk Moon as Kim Gab Yong the identity thief gangster A character you think is just passing by and later realize was more important than you thought.
Park Chul Min as Senior officer Nam Dae Nam I liked him better respectable and in charge than lazy and gross, but he pulled off both.
Jo Byeong Gyu as child Kang Seong Mo His acting was so good, so in sync with Kim Kwon's, that together their portrayal of SeongMo's younger and older self was absolutely seamless and believable.
Writing and directing:
As I mentioned above, the character development for the characters Lee Ahn and Kang Seong Mo were fabulous.
I liked the perfectly arranged flashbacks and the stairstepping story arcs: First a teen crush with an angsty mini-mystery... progressing into young adults trying to prove themselves to the world amidst Nancy Drew level sleuthing and a budding first love... then they've had to grow up and decide what's important, bonded stronger, faced terror and tragedy, and figured out their path to change the world.
In the world of fiction writing, there's a concept of setting a baseline-normal for your characters lives in some way, usually either by the first few chapters depicting their life-as-usual before things start to get dramatic, or (less common) by later flashbacks. The purpose of this is for the viewer or reader to have something to contrast and compare to later when everything's topsy-turvy and the characters are living through the inevitable drama-turmoil that seems to hit peak-boil about 3/4-4/5 of the way through the story.
The first 3 episodes, as I mentioned above, are just such an intro that is there to set the "normal" for the relationships between Ahn and JaeIn, and Ahn and SeongMo, and SeongMo and JiSoo. After that you're thinking you are watching this serial killer thriller and then when things are at their most dramatic, that's when you realize that what you're watching is (surprisingly) deeply about relationships, and you look back on the relationships as depicted in those first 3 episodes often, comparing and realizing things about the story by realizing and understanding things about the characters and their relationships.
I thought overall it was very well done, the writing, the directing, the acting. Everyone obviously gave it their all from beginning to end and it shows.
I liked the perfectly arranged flashbacks and the stairstepping story arcs: First a teen crush with an angsty mini-mystery... progressing into young adults trying to prove themselves to the world amidst Nancy Drew level sleuthing and a budding first love... then they've had to grow up and decide what's important, bonded stronger, faced terror and tragedy, and figured out their path to change the world.
In the world of fiction writing, there's a concept of setting a baseline-normal for your characters lives in some way, usually either by the first few chapters depicting their life-as-usual before things start to get dramatic, or (less common) by later flashbacks. The purpose of this is for the viewer or reader to have something to contrast and compare to later when everything's topsy-turvy and the characters are living through the inevitable drama-turmoil that seems to hit peak-boil about 3/4-4/5 of the way through the story.
The first 3 episodes, as I mentioned above, are just such an intro that is there to set the "normal" for the relationships between Ahn and JaeIn, and Ahn and SeongMo, and SeongMo and JiSoo. After that you're thinking you are watching this serial killer thriller and then when things are at their most dramatic, that's when you realize that what you're watching is (surprisingly) deeply about relationships, and you look back on the relationships as depicted in those first 3 episodes often, comparing and realizing things about the story by realizing and understanding things about the characters and their relationships.
I thought overall it was very well done, the writing, the directing, the acting. Everyone obviously gave it their all from beginning to end and it shows.
Happy Ending Factor?
Well for a thriller it did well for itself as far as the ending. I'd say it was probably a 7 out of 10 for happy ending factor. If you want an ending where everything's fluffy and perfect and everyone lives happily ever after, I'd suggest a rom-com. I don't really have anything bad to say about this drama, but realistically everything wasn't perfect rainbows and puppies and roses for everyone in the end.
All in all, not only would I say you should totally watch it, but I'd say your friend, your sister, and even your boyfriend or husband could get interested in this drama.
Check out He Is Psychometric on Viki!
Check out the He is Psychometric OST on Spotify!
**Above links based on US availability. Dramas may not be available on certain sites for certain countries. It depends who acquired the license for a specific drama for your country and who did not. Drama may be available on Netflix in your country but not even show up in mine, so check there if you have a Netflix acct. Ditto for Viki- may be available in your country but not mine.
Click HERE for a list (not mine) of legal Kdrama streaming sites and what countries they work in.
Check out the He is Psychometric OST on Spotify!
**Above links based on US availability. Dramas may not be available on certain sites for certain countries. It depends who acquired the license for a specific drama for your country and who did not. Drama may be available on Netflix in your country but not even show up in mine, so check there if you have a Netflix acct. Ditto for Viki- may be available in your country but not mine.
Click HERE for a list (not mine) of legal Kdrama streaming sites and what countries they work in.
Click HERE to request me to review a specific drama.
Kind, positive comments are always appreciated! :)
Kind, positive comments are always appreciated! :)
