The South Korean action thriller Search is the best finale of the 2020 TV series year, with monsters, chaos, and some old-fashioned fights against evil. Sergeant Koo Dong-jin (Jang Dong-yun) lives a simple life as a sergeant in the South Korean armed forces. He had a close group of friends, his military dog Leo, and was leaving the army in a month. Everything seemed to go well until he was ordered to enter the demilitarized zone in the middle of the night to investigate some of the missing soldiers. Who was in charge of this expedition? His ex-girlfriend, Lieutenant Sun Yilin (played by Zheng Xiujing Krystal). In order to find the missing colleague, the two must let go of past friction. However, something was watching them in the darkness of the DEMZ, and it wasn't human.
Search is a must-see film that blends heart, action, and bone moments. It will make you fidgety one moment and burst into tears the next. OCN is known for its dark plot, and this show is no exception. With only 10 episodes, it's a fast, thrilling TV series that's easy to air on a cold Saturday afternoon. If that's not enough to draw you to the show, then take a look at the other reasons below why you should add this show to your list of wild looks!
A warm male protagonist
Gu Dongzhen broke the stereotype of the military's harshness and taciturnness. Like Liu Shizhen in Descendants of the Sun, Gu Dongzhen pays great attention to his feelings. He is caring and supportive of the team, and when he loses someone he cares about, he is not afraid to question authority or show emotion. In military dramas, it is especially good to have a character like Dong Zhen who is easy to support. As the conspiracy he discovers grows bigger and bigger, you can feel his pain and fear. If it's a less likable hero, say, a stereotypical and arrogant male protagonist, the connection between the character and the audience won't be so deep.
Zhang Dongrun is the best choice to play Gu Dongzhen. He has these expressive eyes that convey every emotion of the character. In the play, due to military regulations, Dongzhen often has moments to remain calm and not show any external feelings. However, as long as you look at Zhang Dongrun's eyes, all the feelings of Dongzhen will be naked in front of the audience. In the 10 episodes of the tense plot OF DRAMA, he successfully transformed the life of Gu Dongzhen, making people feel fresh and lifelike. Abs are the most important and he also loves his dog. What's not to like?
Glamorous fan girl heroine
Krystal brilliantly played the tough, nonsensical Sun Yilin. The role is completely subverted, and she is the first elite officer to raid into the demilitarized zone for night missions. She was very intelligent, receiving the highest score during her officer training and even going overseas to complete her training. This is definitely not a troubled teenage girl.
Cold female characters always have the possibility of being a little emotionless, but Ye Yuan is not like this. She was fierce, but she still had a heart. She can separate her history from Dongjin's work, and at the same time she can comfort Dongjin when he is injured. She saved his life many times, and the life of the team. In addition, she was also the first to find that there was something wrong with the dead soldiers found in the demilitarized zone, and it was not only the problem of rabies. Definitely the material for the sister.
Krystal is really good at portraying these somewhat cold but extremely capable characters, and always finds her own way. Ye Yuan feels like an officer in real life, and it's hard not to cheer for her toughness and cunning. She and Dong Zhen are a perfect match.
Slowly burning love
romantic. The invisible traction between the two people makes us all stare at the screen. Search may be a thriller, but it finds a way to weave a subtle romantic quaint between the two protagonists that feels organically and alive. Maybe there's monsters to fight, there's a conspiracy to uncover, but sometimes, there's nothing better than having a karaoke night with your ex-partner who has a crush on you. At least, Gu Dongzhen and Sun Yilin eventually did this, although not intentionally. The lingering affection between the two has given them a lot of affectionate gazes, longing eyes, and the fact that they have repeatedly saved each other's lives (because nothing can be more indicative of true love!). ）。
The romance conveyed by these two people makes people feel deep and organic. Not a heartwarming connection and shy gaze between a couple who have not yet come together, but a lasting connection between a couple who have had, lost, and wanted to return to each other. It feels like a mature romance that blends well with other plots. There is no whiplash of any kind here!
Thrilling high-pitched twists and turns
Search is a compact TV series. Sitting on 10 episodes, this show means pompous, and it is absolutely pompous! ! The first episode alone features the secret of birth, countless deaths, monster attacks, and an introduction to the conspiracy that connects everything. Each of the next episodes is a twist and turn, left and right. What's particularly thrilling about the show is that everyone has more information than the heroes. Gu Dongzhen and Sun Yilin and their party blindly ran into a place that was basically a death trap. Together, they must quickly defeat human and non-human monsters, while evil lurks in their own teams.
Many of the supporting characters have their own vivid and full stories, which will only make the game more exciting. There is the mysterious Captain Song Minkui (Yin Bo), who has been sent to court-martial for unknown reasons and is in danger. Despite his low status in the military, he was bizarrely given the opportunity to lead the Dongzhen and Yilin teams in exchange for exonerating all guilt. There is also Kim Do-jeong (Moon Jeong-hee), the former squadron leader of the all-female squadron, who did not quit the army until mysterious circumstances, and is now working as a tour guide at the DMZ Memorial Center. These people have a stake in the conspiracy around the DMZ, which makes people nervous and fierce!
Profound questions
Search raises some difficult questions. How far will you go to cover up your biggest mistake? At the heart of the show is an exploration of human psychology under duress and how past mistakes can radically reorient the future. The show explores the depth of greed in the character of Congressman Lee Hyuk, one of the soldiers who triggered the Cataclysm event that spawned the monsters lurking in the DMZ. For his own selfish interests, Li He concealed the truth behind the tragedy he had precipitated, and used this as a means to gain power.
However, it is not only Li He who is the mastermind behind everything. Search suggests that the monsters of this world may be closer than we realize, and Lee Hyuk's sinister evil imprint surfaces on the military and members of dongjin and Yilin team. The question, then, is whether it is possible to eradicate this evil without losing humanity. Search says yes.