Shark Episodes 1 & 2 Review

Top left: Yeon Joon Seok as young Han Yi Soo, Top right: Kyung Soo Jin as young Jo Hae Woo
3rd row left: Kim Nam Gil as Han Yi Soo, 3rd row right: Son Ye Jin as Jo Hae Woo

I am starting off the month of June with the new Korean drama Shark (aka Don't Look Back: The Legend of Orpheus/ Hangul:상어 ). What attracts me to this drama is the revenge plot. I have recently become a fan of revenge melodramas because of their utter lack of restraint in pulling out all the stops for drama (hello makjang!) and the often complicated story lines. Shark seems to follow along with the same dreamy aesthetic of I Miss You and That Winter, the Wind Blows through soft camera lens filters and muted color palates while featuring a more aggressive revenge plot like those present in Ice Adonis and Innocent Man.

So far only two episodes have aired, and they were mainly back story focusing on the two main leads Han Yi Soo and Jo Hae Woo when they were teenagers. I think they did a great job casting for the young actors because they actually look pretty similar to their adult counter parts. I Miss You didn't succeed in this aspect, but I think Shark has. In fact, I really like Kyung Soo Jin (she was Moon Hee Joo, Hee Sun's older sister, in That Winter) who is pulling off Son Ye Jin's laugh and smile very well.

The back story so far reveals that Hae Woo's grandfather and father are both evil and deceitful rich men who own a luxurious Hotel (here we go again) and have entangled Yi Soo's family with their issues. We, as viewers, aren't privy to all of the mysterious details of Yi Soo's father's involvement yet with Hae Woo's family or the full extent of her grandfather's apparent con that has fooled all of Korea, but the little information that has been revealed is enough to guess where this drama is headed. Yi Soo became a prosecutor in order to reveal the truth to clear his father's name and seek justice for his father's death. And, based on the fact that his own sister didn't recognize him when he appeared at Hae Woo's wedding means he's been gone for many years while studying law abroad, I assume. It seems he is about to reappear in their lives and wreak some havoc.

Now, the main couple appear to have many obstacles to overcome before they can be together, but when Hae Woo asked Yi Soo what he would do if she disappeared, he seemed pretty serious about looking for her until they were both dead. It's still too early for me to be excited about this couple, but I love the idea of Son Ye Jin and Kim Nam Gil together so I am hopeful. Overall, I have a good impression of this drama so far. It fulfills everything that I am currently looking for in a Korean melodrama: a hit-and-run accident being framed on someone else, a smart and attractive person seeking revenge on evil rich people, a twisted story line involving wide-sweeping and long-running deceit, and an ill-fated romance. Here's hoping it keeps the momentum all the way to the final episode.

Watch Shark with English subtitles on DramaFever.com