Grade: A
Category
Mind-bending time
travel
What it’s about
After the death of
his troubled brother, Sun Woo decides to make the person who
destroyed his family pay. But his quest for vengeance is complicated
by the nine magical incense sticks his brother died trying to
find—each one offers a chance to travel twenty years back in time.
Sun Woo eventually gives in to the temptation to use them in an
attempt to avert his family’s tragedy in the first place. As anyone
who’s ever seen a drama or movie about time traveling can predict,
all hell immediately breaks loose.
First impression
I can just hear
the pitch for this show now: the nostalgic charm of Answer Me,
1997 meets the mind-bending time travel of...well...every other
show on Korean television in 2012. Nine has
excellent an pedigree, at least—it was made by the
creative team behind last year’s
wonderful Queen In-hyun’s Man. Like
QIHM, Nine’s first few
episodes suffer from overwrought editing that feels
desperate to make an impression. But as of episode 2, the series has evolved into an
intriguing, fast-paced mystery.
Final verdict
Although it arrived late to 2012’s time travel party, Nine is
without a doubt the guest of honor. It’s a thrilling,
noodle-baking action drama that engages both heart and mind.
Nine’s execution is nothing short of splendid—its acting
is strong, its plotting is twisty, and its universe is fully
imagined. The story’s forward momentum is sustained from beginning
to end, with the deft revelation of hints and clues that carry the
narrative inexorably toward its conclusion. And unlike the other
Kdramas about time travel, it feels thoughtfully prepared, as if its
screenwriter was actually smarter than the audience. Rules for time travel were set up, and followed. (Well. Not always. But certainly more often than most similar shows.)
For all that, Nine does have some weak points: its central
romance could have been stronger, and its midsection is a bit
flabbier than it should be. I’m also not sure what to make of the
ending. The structure of the thing works for me—it’s open ended,
but provides enough closure so you don’t feel cheated of a
resolution. A few of the details don’t seem to work, but I guess that might
be me missing something rather than a flaw in the show.
And speaking of missing something: this is not a series that Dramabeans
recapped, which is important to note before you start watching.
Whenever something is this thought-intensive it’s nice to have
backup in case you missed something, and Dramabeans is usually my
first stop for meaningful discussion of the things I watch. Don’t fret, though—a number
of other great sites have covered this show. Here are some
links:
—My own spoiler-heavy ramblings about the finale, posted over on Tumblr
—Recaps of episodes 3 through 20 on Jomo’s Findings
—The Talking Cupboard’s dissection of the series, with emphasis on the finale
—Ongoing episode
recaps at Crazy for Kdrama
Random thoughts
• Episode 1.
Three minutes in and this show is already insanely derivative,
and I haven’t even gotten to the time traveling part yet. I liked
its opening scene better when it was in Hyun Bin’s 2006 sudser Snow
Queen, and the old-fashioned pocket watch running backward was
cooler in last fall’s Nice Guy.
• Episode 1.
Thanks for the most unnecessarily graphic barf scene in television
history, show. Much appreciated.
• Episode 1.
Don’t governments exist to protect us from the horrors of the
world? For example, the female lead’s haircut? I’ve been paying
taxes under that assumption for a long time, but here we are. (Also
troublesome? The Dorothy Hamill cut seems to destroy brain cells.
That’s the only logic I can come up with for the female lead’s
behavior.)
• Episode 1.
I think the editing staff that works on tvN dramas must have some
sort of bet going about who can squeeze the most cuts into a single
split-screen phone conversation. All these flashes and position
changes are making me dizzy.
• Episode 1.
That incense stick was clutched in your dead brother’s decomposing
hand for six months. Call me crazy, but I suspect its smell would
have been effected.
• Episode 1.
You can really tell this show was (over-)directed by the same guy who
did Queen In-Hyun’s Man. I’m sure all these crazy cuts are
intended to make his dramas feel young and fresh. But they just make
me feel bad for epileptics, because man are they ever flashy.
Sometimes less really is more, you know. [Finale note: After the
first few episodes, the insane cuts pretty much disappeared, allowing
the show to settle into more traditional editing.]
• Episode 1.
The Back to the Future poster on his wall is a nice, subtle
touch. On the other hand, no boy in the history of the world liked
NKOTB. (Including its members, probably.) Nothing says early 90s like
a Hangin’ Tough poster, although the album actually came out
in 1989.
• Episode 2.
One of the comments about this drama translated by Netizen Buzz
says: “Nine was amazing. It was like watching an American
drama.” As an American who has all but given up on her country’s
television programming in favor of Korean shows, I’m trying to
figure out what’s so “American” about Nine. Its production
values are high and its plot seems to move forward more quickly than
most Korean shows. But what makes an American show American, and what
makes that “great”?
• Episode 2.
You’ve clearly seen Back to the Future—you should know
better than to be a blabbermouth about this! You’re going to end up
killing your grandfather or something, and then where will you be?
• Episode 3.
Dude. I don’t remember people in 1992 being so truculent. Also,
why not carry the incense into the past with you if you’re so
worried about it blowing out?
• Episode 4.
This drama sure loves to show people’s faces reflected in
freestanding mirrors. I think it has happened at least once per
episode.
• Episode 4.
Why do the best cliff hangers always come right at bedtime?
• Episode 5.
This episode would have been a lot more poignant if I didn’t
hate the female lead. You can do better, Sun Woo!
• Episode 5.
Take it from Ashton Kutcher: The
butterfly effect is a bitch.
• Episode 7.
I love Jun No Min, the actor who plays the older brother in this
show. That boyish smile is a real killer. And Lee Jin Wook isn’t
too shabby, either—but like Joo Won, stills never do him justice.
You have to see him in action to really feel the full effect of that
lovely face.
• Episode 7.
Korean cable shows are getting awfully good at handling commercial
breaks. They used to be awkwardly shoved in with no relation to the
story in progress, but this drama is actually set up to have a
cliffhanger before each block of commercials.
• Episode 7.
Reason 8,000 why I’m glad I’m not the director of a Korean
hospital? I prefer to be home in bed at 12:30 (having spent the last
several hours watching Kdramas), not toiling away at work.
• Episode 7.
The great thing about this show is all the forward momentum in its
plot. There’s no padding or unnecessary wank—it’s always moving
forward and always engaging. (Still hate the female lead, though.)
• Episode 9.
This “sliding scale”-style time travel is genius—because
both timelines move forward in tandem, it solves lots of the
traditional time travel conundrums, like why the lead doesn’t
already know everything about his travels from his exposure to it in
the past.
• Episode 10.
Okay. Time for somebody to happen across an enchanted air freshener
in the shape of a tree. This show has gotten kind of dull since it
moved away from its time travel premise.
• Episode 10.
Good thing your mother has dementia—if she were in her right
mind, she’d kick your ass for defacing her house like that. I can
just hear the resale value plummeting with every letter.
• Episode 10.
Ah, I have such fond memories of Whitney Houston’s greatest
hit, “L Will Always Love You.” Wait...that’s not quite right. I suppose I shouldn’t mock the English writing skills of the
person who created this prop; I can’t write anything at all in
Korean. (And maybe it’s a subtle nod to L, of the Kpop band
Infinite?)
• Episode 11.
It’s cute that this episode’s big couple scene happened in the
shadow of a red phone booth just like the one in Queen In-hyun’s
Man. I wonder if these phone booths really exist in Korea, or if
it’s a nod to the previous production? There are other reminders
of the good old days, too—later in the show, a character spends a
lot of time in front a poster for the band Queen.
• Episode 12.
Here’s an eye-opening glimpse into Korean perceptions of America: A
mother tells her young daughter, “If you wander around after dark
in America, you’ll get shot.” Ouch.
• Episode 12.
It’s interesting how Western the pop culture is in this show.
While practically all the nostalgic music, movie, and TV references
in Answer Me, 1997 were Korean, Nine showcases more
Western things. NKOTB, Back to the Future, and “I Will Always Love
You” much?
• Episode 12.
Seven words that should have been said in this episode: “Clean
up your own mess, Hyung.” And four others would have been a nice
addition, too: “Leave well enough alone.”
• Episode 14.
It’s not like he’s Woody Allen, for Pete’s sake! Couples with
bigger obstacles are always getting together in Kdramas. (And usually
then dying of cancer, that henchman of the heavens. But still.)
• Episode 16.
The guy who plays Choi is really dragging this show down—his hammy
overacting would feel more at home in a cheesy fusion sageuk than it
does here, a drama filled with reasonably naturalistic performances.
We Americans have a saying that seems fitting for the occasion: close
your mouth or you’ll catch flies.
• Episode 17.
I bet I’d go to my church more often if its stained glass there
showed cute little lambies frolicking like this instead of the boring
old stations of the cross.
• Episode 17.
I hope nobody’s happy ending ever depends on me remembering my
phone number in 1993. If it does, they’re out of luck.
• Episode 17.
Or maybe you could pretend the phone worked, dummy.
• Episode 18.
The pacing is kind of screwed up in this drama—this episode feels
like a super padded, pointless finale. I hope they’ve got some
narrative tension left to carry the plot through the remaining two
hours. [Note from myself two episodes later: Don’t you worry,
Amanda. The rest of the story has more to offer than an extended
victory lap.]
• Episode 18.
So the office lunches and dinners in Kdrama are paid for by the
company? That’s amazing—even for special occasions, we pay for
our own meals at my office. We’re having a going-away lunch for
someone this week, which means we all buy our own lunches and pitch
in to cover hers. I guess that’s what working at a threadbare
not-for-profit in a dying industry will get you.
• Episode 19.
I’m delighted that I waited for this show to finish airing
before I watched it. It’s way too good at excruciating cliffhangers
for live viewing. (On the other hand, I missed out on a lot of fun fangirling along the way.)
• Episode 20.
Did they outsource this script to fanfic writers or what? Thanks
for finally selling me on the lead couple, show—but I’m going to
hate you forever if you don’t have a serious rabbit to pull out of
your hat in the next twenty minutes.
• Episode 20.
I sure hope Sun Woo washed his hands really well after he picked
up that arm.
• Episode 20.
Dramabeans, how could you abandon us and stop recapping this
drama after episode 2? I need you to tell me what to think about what
just happened!
• Episode 20.
I was all “But why are people making such a big deal about the
ending? That thing he said before getting on the plane with the key
to the show.” Then the credits rolled...and then WTF! Excuse
me. I need to go rewatch several key scenes. For more involved discussion of the finale, see my Tumblr.
You might also like
Queen In-hyun’s Man, for its breezy time travel. (In spite of QIHM’s more compelling romance, I think Nine is the better drama.)
The
character-centered nostalgia Answer Me, 1997
I'm with you on the romance. I kept asking myself WTF does hunky Sun Woo see in this infantile woman?! And that hairdo certainly doesn't do her any favours. But overall I must say I enjoyed QIHM much more. I wasn't as engaged with Nine and disliked the ending which felt like a cop out.
ReplyDeleteOoh! I haven't heard much about this drama, but I am excited to watch it! I remember seeing the lead actor in I Love Romance 2012 and a few other dramas, so it's nice to see him again! Can't wait to watch this drama!
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed this drama and was surprised that Dramabeans didn't do recaps. It's an intelligent, thrilling drama. In fact, it's one of those dramas where even without the compelling romance, I still really liked it. So glad you are giving it some shout-out for it!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about giving this another shot so I decided to do some readings on others takes on it before diving back in-I watched a few episodes but it was too ...tense and I was not feeling the tense. Plus the female love interest made me want to barf, and the male lead made me want to barf in scenes with her.
ReplyDeleteI still think it is just not going to be my cup of tea. Thanks for the post, some of it just cracked me up.
I really enjoyed this drama. I would recommend others too watch it too.
ReplyDeleteAnd about the incense sticks,they are called "Pae"(this might not be the correct spelling,i wrote it how it sounds in tibetan in nepal) and extremely fragile,even if you hold it a little tight it snaps.So its a wonder that the(dead)hyung holds it for months and still its as strong as ever.Haha. Apart from this not so imp detailand the villians overacting and owl-like expressions,it was a gr8 drama.
Love this drama! I actually liked the lead couple a lot. I thought the way they interacted was rather endearing. Definitely don't think she's the coolest heroine, but I enjoyed her as his love interest because she always said everything on her mind and had him all bewildered. It was cute. It might be that I went into it expecting not to like her because someone else hadn't and then...well I did like her. Actually now that I really think about it, I liked her quite a bit.
ReplyDelete