Review "Return" (Dramapassion): a sublime Korean drama set against the backdrop of a poignant thriller!

To start the month, we offer you a dive into a K-Drama released a few months ago. Our choice fell on Return whose plot had excited us when we discussed it in a previous article.

The series is also to be discovered via the streaming platform Dramapassion and this in its entirety.

Warning, this review contains spoilers. To be read at your own risk. Some scenes are violent and aimed at an informed audience.

Return

Original title: 리턴

Gender: Action – Thriller – Drama

Country: South Korea

Episodes: 17 (34×35 minutes)

Broadcast channel: SBS

Year of release: 2018

Broadcasting platform: Dramapassion 

Synopsis :

Choi Jae Hye is a lawyer who grew up in a poor environment. Today, she is master of ceremonies for the legal TV show "Return". One day, a body is found on the highway. Choi Jae Hye is assigned the case and names four suspects who are all people from high society. With the help of detective Dokgo Young with a strong character, Choi Jae Hye will try to solve this murder.

Spring: Dramapassion

Main cast

Of Dark Designs

Return is one of his dramas that grow in power as the story progresses. So don't necessarily rely on the synopsis to get started. Initially, it is about the life of a fairly bourgeois residential area and four friends: Tae-Seok, Hak-Bom, In-Ho and Joon-Hee. Only, the return followed by the murder of Mi-Jung, an old acquaintance common to the boys who will dig up the corpses of their closets, will upset everything. 

The tone is then set and many questions emerge. Who killed Mi-Jung? And why? Any viewer as he is is then forced to suspect In-Ho, who had an extramarital affair with Mi-Jung before she died. Dokgo and Dong-Bae, in charge of the investigation, think the same as the spectators. 

However, this is not going to be such a simple murder case and this is what makes the story taking through this chain of trials that the characters will go through. False leads and revelations from the past will tell us a lot about the universe of the series playing on our heartstrings. And then, the arrival of the lawyer and presenter Ja-Hye in the life of Na-Ra, wife of In-Ho, will not improve the situation on the contrary…

Broken masks

We cannot miss a brief presentation of the protagonists, unique in their kind and who made a strong impression on us.

To open the ball, let's talk about Kang In-Ho.The actor surely plays the most suffering character of the quartet. His life is a real novel that has not finished surprising you and making you go from surprise to surprise. It is surprising to note that the more the frame progresses, the more detestable it becomes…Frankly, we salute the actress playing Na-Ra because in her place, we would not have managed to last so long! It is quite interesting to see the relationship of this perfect couple eventually fade and disappear in the face of the mistakes made by the husband.

Let's move on to Oh Tae-Seok who is for us the most disturbing and neurotic character of the four. This man who owns a big company hides in him, a great manipulator, cruel, remorseless and self-centered. The ideal shadow part to make him the great villain of the drama and his acting is sublime !

Then we have Kim Hak-Beom who we could easily rank just below because of the deranged and uncontrollable character of this man. A hero who has nothing sympathetic because subject to violent anger, excessive impulses and ready to do anything not to fall from his pedestal. His relationship with Tae-Seok is surprisingly perfect, sometimes unhealthy, disturbing, full of rivalry and tension.

The last of the group, Seo Joon-Hee is perhaps Celi who is most aware of the harm they have done. Initially considered a doctor drugged to the eyes, a certain event will make him understand that he is not on the right track. A character who is abused, submissive, indecisive but realizing the gravity of his actions and seeking redemption.

Erroneous judicial system

If it is mainly around the clan of four that the pitch turns, our lawyer Choi Ja-Hye is not left out either. This woman who seems normal also has a special interest in her men and not least.

We had to point out that this character has two different interpreters, not by choice of script but following a professional disagreement (director and actress).

Some will therefore be skeptical, disappointed or appreciate the change. For our part, we apprehended this transition but, in truth, it goes very well and remains consistent with history. The character takes a new decisive turn and it's enjoyable.

Finally, small disappointment on Dokgo Young, our policeman friend who fulfills his role but brings nothing to the drama. Finally, we thank Kim Jung-so, Tae Min-Young and Kang Young-Eun for their support of the main actors!

A great show

We were impressed by the rich universe of Return, offering a human fresco close to a certain realism and a surprising darkness. Instead of being content with one or two stories linked together, we follow several parallel stories, mixing past and present. We find protagonists more real than life who sublimate the drama, making it additive. Sometimes immersed in a manipulated daily life, sometimes in the legal field, money still holds the highest part of the conflict.

The series projects us into a scenario of the most complex and well thought out, while dragging us into dead ends to complicate everything. The rhythm is thus heavy, teeming with discoveries, truths and revenge. The realization is clean and crisp sticky to the rest. It is still necessary to have the heart well hooked because some passages are unpleasant, violent and rich in emotions.

The finale is a perfect continuation of the story while denouncing topics such as adultery, concealment of evidence or the consequences of laws. Clearly, we expected this ending both logical and concludes the plot wonderfully.

The Korean drama Return is another of our favorites for 2018! Its storyline, characters and atmosphere make it a first-rate thriller. We can only advise you to watch it on Dramapassion, if you haven't already!

Return trailer:

https://youtu.be/IhNiMNLCkpI