A thrilling episode: I’m enjoying this 4th season almost as much as I enjoyed the first. Today’s episode reminded me of the movie Rule of the Game: Human Hunting, about a man who travels to an island to restructure his dark past, and while at the island, finds himself along with others struggling to survive a human hunting game.
That there was a case where humans hunted other humans for sport is so unfathomable that I wouldn’t have believed it if the drama weren’t based on actual events. But, regardless of which parts of the episode are based on actual events, a man deluded to believe he was a wild animal, hunting rare animals, or luring the grief-stricken into the forest; that any is true is beyond deplorable. It made total sense that someone affiliated with the Mountain Recreation Division would completely abuse a person like Kim Up Jin suffering from a convenient delusion to appease his psychotic appetite for sports, pleasure, and money.
Despite the horror of Kim Up Jin's actions, my heart went out to him for his backstory; for an adult to treat a child like they were an animal, what hope did he really have but to believe and act like he was one. As they say, when we treat people merely as they are, they will remain. When we treat them as if they should be, they will become what they should be. Credit goes to Kim Jung Hee for playing the role of a man transformed into a wild animal so compellingly. And, boy, was Derek Jo's compassion towards Kim Up Jin endearing. I so appreciate him treating Kim Up Jin like the human being he's always wanted to be rather than judging him for his actions. I loved it.
I will admit I wasn't sure whether Song Seung Heon would fit in a serial killer hunting series that showcased the likes of Jang Hyuk and Kim Jae Wook from the first season to Lee Jin Wook and Kwon Yool in the second and Park Byung Eun in the third, all of whom aren't strangers to dark haunting roles. But Song Seung Heon more than proves himself worthy by convincingly playing the role of a renowned LAPD detective born in South Korea but raised in the U.S. since his teens, Derek Cho, who is South Korea chasing after a drug lord when the Circus Man serial killer brutally murders his sister. He transforms from an elite detective to one consumed by the hunt for his sister's killer. I am kind of glad the show addressed and praised Derek's highly admirable restraint in the face of his most recent loss.
It's great to have some of the same teams from the past Voices especially 2 and 3 reprise their roles in this 4th installment from Call Center Team Leader Park Eun Soo (Son Eun Seo) to Dispatch Team Leader Park Joong Ki (Kim Joong Ki), and Detective Goo Kwang Soo (Song Boo Geon). I get the sense each episode case will somehow directly or indirectly tie into our main Circus Man case and a killer with the worst type of personality disorder. But what I am most excited about is seeing Shim Dae Shik (Baek Sung Hyun) return as a detective after his terrible ordeal in season one. Last but not least is Han Woo Joo (WINNER’s Kang Seung Yoon) joining the team as the Call Center's Cyber Invegistative team member. Lee Ha Na has outdone herself in this installment, playing the detective and the villain simultaneously. Kudos to her for keeping this series as interesting as it has been these past four years. Watch Episodes 3 & 4 here.