The latest drama to be adapted from a US show has hit the airways and for once it is actually being subbed. Which means we can check out Designated Survivor: 60 Days and see how they adapted the underling to president story line for an Asian viewer. So come find out if it is worth watching as I share my first impressions and unfiltered thoughts.
You can’t escape the correlations of the event in the drama to 9-11. Especially for all of us that lived through that day, the feels were way to authentic. That said, the longer the drama continues the more you wonder how a giant building exploding provided so little debris. That is the cleanest bombing site in the history of film.
For those of you who don’t already know the premise of the drama, an explosion takes out the South Korean President along with all his cabinet except for his Secretary of Environment Park Moo Jin (Ji Jin Hee). Moo Jin is a quiet man who doesn’t have any political ambitions, being a school professor before taking this position, and is stunned to find himself as the last person in line for the seat of president. He takes the job and must avoid war with North Korea while dealing with enemies all around him.
In my opinion, the best thing about the drama is Ji Jin Hee’s performance. His small nuances make this character stand out in a crowd, even as he tries to stay in the background. I look forward to watching him put the aggressive politicians and military leaders in their place.
There are a few things that do annoy me about the show. I am never a fan of the blame game that often comes with political dramas. Nothing is more annoying then people in power screaming that their underlings have to take the blame for things they couldn’t predict. With a terrorist event occuring, you can imagine how much this trope is being used.
I also feel that sometimes the intense moments are being dragged on a bit long. There were several stare downs that I kind of wanted to fast forward since they continued a bit to long.
So my final conclusion is that this is a solid concept that has a chance to be something great. I have also heard that this version is better if you have not seen the ABC version so keep that in mind. If you have watched and have different feelings be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments. The more shared feelings the easier it is for readers to make a decision on whether they want to give this drama a chance.
See you when I have my next unfiltered thought,
Kmuse
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi
I am such a fan of Ji Jin Hee since Dae Jang Geum, I’m looking forward to his performance here. He did not disappoint in the first episode!!! I never watched the American version.
I enjoyed the US version of Designated Survivor, so I’ve been excited to see the Korean take on it. I’m quite open to any changes since there are some that will just have to be made to make it work. Sounds like a promising start though 🙂
Finished the first 2 episodes….They are both over 1 hr long, but I was so engrossed it seemed to fly by. There’s a lot of characters and subplots. I have never seen the US version, so no comparison issues. If you want to see what a heroic introvert looks like, this show might be it! I love how PMJ uses logic and reason, even if no one else around him can because they all have some sort of agenda.
P.S. I want a navy blue KAIST hoodie sooooo bad now! I’d wear it all winter long…
I enjoyed the first two epsidoes, didn’t even know that it’s an adaptation. It gaves me feeling like when I started Forest of Secrets. I always consider myself as not a fan of political drama yet I enjoyed Punch, Secret of Forests (still one of my favorite drama all the time), and I did enjoy this pilot episode. It’s intriguing enough for me to spend my paid data to download the episodes, usually I wait to marathon the watching by copying from some internet cafe.
I agree to the previous comment, it’s 1 hour long drama yet I didn’t feel that long, it kept me wanting more, waiting Park Moojin to silently surprise me.
Looking forward to this week epsiodes! 🙂