Rookie Cops (2022)

Life is about uncertainties, indeed!

I wasn't ready to expect anything from this. The most recent youth dramas, especially another drama of the exact same theme that came out last year, didn't let me to anticipate much out of this. The sole reason I wanted to watch was the cast and the "coming of age" tag to the profile. But, as I finished this, a sudden realization hit me, and I was left with awe. Will explain further.

Created by Studio&NEW and broadcasted on Disney+, "Rookie Cops (너와 나의 경찰수업)" is written by Lee Ha-na and directed by Kim Byung-soo. The drama is one of the five debut projects of Walt Disney Korea, as the production giant follows the current trend of K-content.

It might not seem so at first, but "Rookie Cops" truly justifies the "coming of age" genre through it's storyline, screenplay and various elements. The young first-year freshmen at Korean National Police University (KNPU), who are passionate about their campus life, strive to grow and learn while facing challenges and tackling them together, in order to become full-fledged police officers. Keeping at centre, the lead couple, this show, in actual, puts a group of students on the pedestal, which the main couple are a part of. This should be enough to gist the story, I feel.

Given the genre and storyline, I don't think I should be writing detailed character description, as the show is hugely character-driven, emphasizing on individual growth. The group of best friends at the KNPU include Wi Seung Hyun (Kang Daniel), Ko Eun Kang (Chae Soo Bin), Kim Tak (Lee Shin Young), Gi Ha Na (Park Yoo Na), Woo Joo Young (Min Do Hee), Shin Ah Ri (Chun Young Min), Yoo Dae Il (Park Sung Joon) and Seo Bum Joo (Kim Woo Suk). The lead couple pairing is obvious but I suggest you should not guess the rest till the latet half of the show, haha. There are so many other familiar faces and mentioning them will take a while so I will just leave it upto you, to go check in the above section.

Plot development is the best thing about the drama. Let me tell you that the development is not steady, that is, it doesn't have a primary goal towards which the drama is leading; doesn't that what coming-of-age mean? The way new elements come into the scenario, get flourished and finally getting submerged into the overall essence, is what I loved about the show. The pacing was good and elements weren't really consistent, given that aspects like romance and thriller come into existence in different times and during later episodes. Nevertheless, I liked it from beginning to the end.

The freshers life in the campus, that too a specialized school like KNPU, was the primary topic, keeping senior-junior culture and school bullying at centre. As the students successfully bridge the generation gap and move forward, that's where the romancs starts, but even so, I'm glad, that part wasn't obviously showcased. The soft romance (sometimes wild, haha) was engaging and enjoyable. Also, there are more than one couple and all of the relationships depicted a healthy exchange of love, warmth and affection, including friendship and elderly as well as family aspects. Moving forward, as they throw light on academia and investigation, the thriller parts gradually start unfolding and becomes obvious much later in the second half, whilst, they had been throwing shades to it in the manner of laying a background, since the beginning of the show, if you could notice. These led to drastic events towards the ending (in the last 4 episodes). Through all these, the only thing that was constant, that was comedy; the fun elements were entertaining and it involved all the characters.

This is probably the time Lee Ha Na jakkanim sets out to continue creating amazing scripts like this. Given that she's been there for almost 8 years, this should be a breakthrough in her career. Her previous works were decent pieces but this, given to it's unique outcomes, should bring her recognition, I wish that truly from my heart. The storyline, the screenplay writing, the elements used, the character arcs and their development, and everything else has been drawn beautifully. It's a mixture of genres; romance, campus, youth, melo, thriller, family, mastery, etc. The most notable fact about the show is the appropriate proportion of different elements, placed at different portions of the story; like right thing at the right time. I feel, the writer should be praised and applauded for that.

Kim Byung Soo is a master director of the industry, having more than 10 popularly acclaimed dramas in over 15 years. All these have been reflected in this particular show, contributing to it's skills. The screenplay management, organization of elements, screen-editing, sequencing of events, cinematography, etc are well taken care of. The cinematography was apt for the campus story and slice-of-life elements with bright pallettes and shining hue. The camera work during monologues and peak moments, were of particular impression. The pacing was perfect.

Osts

What i liked...

# The slice-of-life elements...
# Breaking the barrier elements... The show introduced many elements and topic that are untypical of Kdrams, thereby initiating conversation, even so for a lil extent.

# Bromance... Not just between Seung Hyun and Kim Tak, even Daeil and Woo Seok were a part though the former were the main focus.

# Apt proportion of everything at right time... This is one of the best reasons for me which led me to like the entire show. The writer is greatly aware of what the audience wants.

# The campus romance
# The character development
# The equal emphasis on side characters

What I didn't like...
# The acting of the main culprit... I didn't like. It felt like he was overworking himself to fit into the typicality of a Kdrama psychopath business
# The one last event, which could have been avoided, it was so so so unnecessary. It doesn't really ruin the drama for me or anyone else but it's so sad, I wish that didn't happen.
# There are other things I didn't like but let's take them as immature decisions by the characters. We can't really blame the writer for those bcs those events could be one of the possibilities in real life too. So I would refrain from considering them while rating the show. (let me mention them in the later half of my review.

Final remarks... The "Rookie Cops" is overally a very good drama with perfect balance of everything, and should be watched everyone. The cast could be the primary reason you opt the show but I am sure you'll be encaptured by the story, the elements, the characters and most importantly the messages, because it's worth investing your time into. MUST WATCH.




SPOILERS AHEAD!
You can come back to read this once you're done with the show.

1) Daeil's death, something you'd imagine at the very least. It was actually unnecessary. I am happy his part of story was given proper exposure but just WHY?

2) Eunkang asking SH to handover the laptop to his Father.

3) I understand the video could not be shared but even the dumbest person will make a clip themselves from a playing video, wtf.

3) SH going to Hansol to warn him about getting him behind the bar. I didn't think he'd turn out to be this dumb.

4) Hansol inviting Kim Tak to tell him about Hyunsoo's death. It was rather funny.

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First Disneyplus original Korean drama exceeds my expectations

This show is significant. It’s one of Disney+ first original Korean production, in which they aim to win market share over their competitors. They also managed to get the idol Kang Daniel who is well-known for his dedicated fan base in Korea to star as the male lead in his first acting stint.

Rookie Cops has a strong ensemble cast consisting of different personalities. I found it very interesting that the MBTIs of the characters were released before the show - Wi Seung Hyun – ISTJ, Go Eun Gang – ESFP, Ki Han Na – ISTP, Kim Tak – ISFP, Yoo Dae Il – ENFP among others. It’s very relatable in that we see how these different personalities react in such diverse ways in situations and makes for a fascinating study into human nature. Go Eun Kang is very likeable as the female lead. Despite my doubts about idol-actors, Kang Daniel does hold his own in this cast. He manages to have varied expressions yet he does not overact. From the first episode to the last, I can see the improvement in his acting.

I do like the plot as well. It’s not just all fun and laughter shenanigans by students. There are some intriguing threads in this show, such as the beautifully filmed very violent death scene right at the start of episode one, and I thought they did a commendable job tying everything together in only two episodes.

I found this to be a meaningful show with its memorable lines as well as study of institutional police corruption. The show stays consistent to the theme of how friends come to the rescue when all seems impossible and it was touching when ML talked about banging their heads against the wall together.

However, it was a pity that they did not go further into the ML’s family background. There were some allusions to strained relationships between the ML and his busy police commissioner father, which was in contrast to the warm dinner ML and his best friend shared with Professor Cha. I would have loved it if more time was spent developing his backstory. Instead too much time was wasted on the FL saving the day through various small incidents, and it felt unbelievable and repetitive after a while. Like really, why does she need to be in the police academy if she already has all the skills?

I thought the action scenes in the final episode saved the entire series with the right mix of plot twists, adrenaline and humour. I love it that the squad came together with a plan. I would have wished for a longer action sequence, with Kim Tak and Kang Daniel together facing their opponent in keeping with the theme of friends helping each other.

Nonetheless, the action scenes were still enjoyable. I was impressed by Kang Daniel, since he did not need stuntmen in doing those action scenes. He also showed impressive nuanced acting in the final scene with his father. I feel he has a bright future as an actor! He’s also a good kisser (which is important if he wants to do romantic scenes). Somehow, his kiss scenes are not cringey but heart-fluttering.

I would watch this show again for three main reasons. First, the chemistry of the ensemble cast is great, not just between the male and female leads but all 8 of them are very likeable and relatable. You are likely to recognise yourself or your friends in at least one of them. Second, it has some of the most meaningful lines from kdrama imbued with positivity (e.g. “humans can do anything”). Third, the cinematography is the best I have seen in kdramas. Lush green landscape panoramic shots, gritty close-up shots- it has it all. Overall, it’s an enjoyable show.

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