Shadow Detective: Episode 1 (First Impressions)

by solstices

Starting off with just the right dash of humor, Shadow Detective introduces us to our tenacious and competent hero with a slightly out-of-the-ordinary day that quickly escalates into a tragedy. Am I intrigued? Most definitely.

Editor’s note: If there is sufficient interest, drama coverage will continue with weekly Drama Hangouts.
 
EPISODE 1 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

In an amusing opening, police lieutenant KIM TAEK-ROK (Lee Sung-min) casually barricades a scammer in a convenience store with a toy sword. It’s the perfect introduction to our protagonist, who’s highly observant with a keen sense of intuition. With all the blasé banality of suggesting a lunch menu, Taek-rok hands out advice to the coworkers who seek him out for help, easily leading them straight to the heart of each case.

Our detective may be a seasoned veteran, but all those years on the field haven’t been easy. Back in his cramped goshiwon room, Taek-rok takes medicine for his panic disorder, and we see a notebook filled with tips on how to prevent dementia.

Taek-rok is pragmatic, which means he’s not all too enthused when newbie SOHN KYUNG-CHAN (Lee Hak-joo) trails after him like an adorable puppy. Kyung-chan has just been assigned to Taek-rok’s team, and his first mission is to stake out a drug dealer’s lair without blowing his cover. Unsurprisingly, skittish Kyung-chan gets caught barely a minute in, LOL.

He’s saved from getting his eyes poked out when teammate LEE SUNG-AH (Kyung Su-jin) fearlessly storms in, wielding a chair and taking out the men holding Kyung-chan hostage. (Kyung-chan quickly runs to hide behind her, aww.) Sung-ah makes quick work of the other lackeys, while the drug dealer makes his escape.

Of course, Taek-rok is waiting outside, and he gives the drug dealer a casual wave that suggests they’ve done this maybe fifteen times before. A hilarious chase scene ensues, since they’re both not very fast, hah. Then the drug dealer’s phone rings with a call — it’s Taek-rok, asking him to stop because he’s out of breath, LOL.

Neither wants to stop first, so they both end up counting to three. The moment they stop, they wheeze in lungfuls of air, just barely ten feet apart, and I’m wheezing too because I can’t hold in my laughter. Then the drug dealer takes off again, and Taek-rok chases after him but gets into a minor collision with a motorcyclist.

That’s how we get introduced to GUK JIN-HAN (Jin Gu), who asks if the escaping drug dealer is the culprit, then takes off running after him. Hah, does that mean he could have stepped in earlier, but decided to sit back, enjoy his lunch, and watch the chase play out?

Jin-han catches up in no time, tackling the drug dealer to the ground for Taek-rok to arrest. (LOL, Taek-rok collapses to the ground afterwards, so completely spent that the drug dealer even asks if he ought to call an ambulance for him.) His work done, Jin-han walks off with a casual salute to Taek-rok.

That very afternoon, Taek-rok and Jin-han cross paths again — Jin-han is the new section chief of Geumo police station. The reason for his transfer? He got demoted for talking back to his superior, hah.

Jin-han doesn’t mince his words with Taek-rok either, disparaging his age and advising him to retire from the field. But Taek-rok’s no pushover, and he gives as good as he gets. The pair may take jabs at each other, but there isn’t any hint of malice. On the contrary, they seem to find amusement in their verbal sparring.

Meanwhile, police chief SEO GWANG-SU (Kim Hong-pa) is planning his entry into politics. He seems awfully chummy with his buddies, all of them wealthy men who owe him favors. It’s implied that Chief Seo has pulled strings to get his connections off the hook before, and I’m inclined to suspect that his path to politics won’t be all that upright either.

That night, Taek-rok gets an ominous phone call from an unknown number with no caller ID. The voice claims to be a friend, warning Taek-rok against going to his destination. Though the man’s tone is menacing, the lack of context doesn’t give him any credibility, and Taek-rok brushes it off as a prank call.

Taking no heed of the caller’s warning, Taek-rok meets superintendent WOO HYUN-SEOK (Kim Tae-hoon), who’s an old friend of his. Taek-rok cuts straight to the chase — Hyun-seok’s covering for the drug overlord Boss Cheon, isn’t he? The drug dealer had claimed innocence; he hasn’t been in contact with Boss Cheon at all, which means there’s someone else pulling the strings.

Hyun-seok denies it, but Taek-rok knows he’s joined hands with Police Chief Seo and Boss Cheon. Taek-rok entreats his old friend to turn back while he still can, promising that he’ll help take care of things.

Hyun-seok’s expression is unreadable, but before he can respond, he gets a phone call that interrupts the conversation. Hyun-seok steps outside to take the call, and when he returns, he tells Taek-rok that they’ll continue the conversation the next day.

Taek-rok returns home to his goshiwon room, where there seems to be someone just always out of sight. Ever observant, Taek-rok quickly catches on, and a little sleuthing reveals that it’s YANG KI-TAE (Kim Jae-bum). He’s the suspect of an arson attack who claimed he was framed, despite Taek-rok’s insistence that the evidence pointed to him. For now, though, he seems relatively benign, so Taek-rok lets it slide.

Just as Taek-rok’s about to sleep, he gets another call. The sinister voice tells Taek-rok to write down what he tells him, pointing out that he’s been forgetful lately. (Shivers.) His words? Woo Hyun-seok is dying.

The unknown man instructs Taek-rok to go to a cliff on Geumo Mountain, or else Hyun-seok’s death will be on his hands. With no other choice, Taek-rok sets off with a flashlight in the dead of night.

There, Taek-rok finds Hyun-seok bleeding from a head wound. Hyun-seok barely manages to eke out an apology to Taek-rok before losing consciousness, and Taek-rok is so anguished that he doesn’t notice someone sneaking up on him until it’s too late.

The next morning, Taek-rok awakens in his goshiwon room to the sound of his phone buzzing. It’s Sung-ah, who asks if Taek-rok met up with Hyun-seok the previous night. She’s at the crime scene on Geumo Mountain; Hyun-seok has been pronounced dead.

A look in the mirror, and at the bruises on his shoulders, proves that Taek-rok’s experience last night was very much real. Then a message comes in, from that same unknown person — calling Taek-rok a murderer.

Ooh, that was a strong premiere. It’s not particularly groundbreaking for a crime drama — a hero with a Past^TM, a friendship turned sour, and a manipulated murder scene — but the drama does a good job of executing it. It’s a lot more humorous than I expected, given its genre, and I hope it maintains its comedic touch even as the story turns darker.

We barely got to see much of their interactions, but I’m already so invested in Taek-rok and Hyun-seok’s friendship. Maybe it’s the way Hyun-seok still calls Taek-rok “hyung” — though their paths have diverged drastically, Hyun-seok seems like he genuinely treasures and misses the past. He doesn’t seem malicious, just someone who may have grown misguided in his rise up the corporate ladder, and found himself entangled in more than he could handle.

Taek-rok’s straightforward, no-nonsense personality is sure to have rubbed more than a few people the wrong way, not to mention the inherent danger that comes with his profession. Ki-tae’s motives may not be clear just yet — all he said is that he’s at the goshiwon to keep an eye on Taek-rok — but I wouldn’t be surprised if the caller recruited people just like him, who hold a grudge against Taek-rok.

It’s only been an episode, but I already like the dynamic between Taek-rok and Jin-han. More barbs and banter, please! It’s difficult to tell where Jin-han’s loyalties lie at the current moment, but it’s clear he has a sharp mind that could rival Taek-rok’s. That gaze at Hyun-seok in the police chief’s office said it all — Jin-han knows something’s going on behind the scenes, and I can’t wait for him and Taek-rok to team up and expose it all.

 
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