The Kidnapping Day 유괴의 날 [2023]

[abs-oluteM]

I watched both eps 5 & 6 , and I am so thankful that RoHee is the one doing the thinking . But I agree she's a brat @40somethingahjumma , and I think so much resources have been devoted to developing or harnessing her intelligence, that she's not been taught manners nor had the opportunity to learn proper social skills. That said, after the recent episodes, she has my sympathy because she's been viewed as an object , the product of some R&D and doesn't have a normal childhood. I can see why she clings to this bungling ahjussi since he is the only one who truly cares for her without wanting something in return. Which is ironic since he had every intention at the start to kidnap her for money.

Many things happened in these recent episodes. So as we had guess , the security guard was the killer but he only killed the father. If what he said was true , then it was more like manslaughter since he was defending himself.  Seems like the mother was murdered by the father. But I think it's quite clear he's not telling the entire truth. He is protecting Hye Eun who has been revealed to be Dr Choi's father's first adopted daughter. Dr Choi himself was adopted too. I wonder now how she fits in in the greater scheme of things.

 

We also can confirm that the investor ahjumma was indeed part of the group investing into Rohee's development. I don't think she has malicious intentions unlike the investor Jaden. Jaden is now working with Rohee's granduncle to have Rohee declared dead. Jaden wants to have "ownership" while granduncle would want back the father's assets. 

 

P/s I thought it amusing that Park Sung Hoon's cop character here is so much like the one Not Others . Even here he is a straight-up good cop who can't stand politicking within the force. 

[Chocolate]

14 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

Many things happened in these recent episodes. So as we had guess , the security guard was the killer but he only killed the father. If what he said was true , then it was more like manslaughter since he was defending himself.  Seems like the mother was murdered by the father. But I think it's quite clear he's not telling the entire truth. He is protecting Hye Eun who has been revealed to be Dr Choi's father's first adopted daughter. Dr Choi himself was adopted too. I wonder now how she fits in in the greater scheme of things.

 

I have doubts about his story. He may have killed the father, but the reason is not likely for the gold bars. He does not seem the greedy sort. There was mention that he had "returned" to doing installation work for the security company - think he and the ex-wife are working on a plan together. The curious thing is what are their intentions - do they just want to stop the experiments?

 

Kim Shin Rok is one the best korean actresses I've seen. I really like watching her. This is my favourite scene. 2 smart people going at each other. Wish it was longer.

 

 

Agree that Park Sung Hoon is one of the better parts of this drama. It's refreshing to watch a policeman with a clear head and good instincts, and not run after wrong clues/people. I was quite surprised as I didn't think he could ever be a good guy after first watching him in The Glory lol.

 

 

[peperomia]

On 10/1/2023 at 1:49 AM, Chocolate said:

I have doubts about his story. He may have killed the father, but the reason is not likely for the gold bars. He does not seem the greedy sort. There was mention that he had "returned" to doing installation work for the security company - think he and the ex-wife are working on a plan together. The curious thing is what are their intentions - do they just want to stop the experiments?

 

I agree he's not telling the whole truth and is likely taking the fall for Hye Eun. He must carry guilt from injuring her as a child and causing her to contract HIV. She wasn't his intended target and this incident made her lose her adoptive family and return back to the orphanage.

 

Detective Park found a framed photo of him and a teenage girl in his house. Is she Hye Eun? Her neck is covered up like it always is as an adult. If so, have they been on decent terms and keeping in touch all along?

 

Spoiler

 

Not sure what their intentions could be. Money or revenge seems to simple, but the others are looking for the secret genuis drug formula written by Ro Hee's grandfather/father. Park Cheol Won told Detective Park during the interrogation that he found strange documents in Dr. Choi's safe. Those documents might be the research and know-how for the drug. What's strange is if he and Hye Eun wanted it (to profit or destroy), he would've taken them. Hmmm...

- - - - - -

Oddly, I'm enjoying Yoon Kye Sang's performance the most, but I like all the characters. Well, except the new guy, Jaden. His smug face is so annoying. I agree Park Sang Yun is sound detective which is why his superior believes in him and doesn't take the case away. It would be nice if we got some kind of backstory of him though - like why he always has a cigarette but refrains from smoking it.

[abs-oluteM]

Anyone watch this week’s yet ? I will catch up tomorrow. Had a busy week , 

[peperomia]

8 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

Anyone watch this week’s yet ? I will catch up tomorrow. Had a busy week , 

 

Yes, me...it's the only show I have time for at the moment. I was bummed only 1 episode aired this past Thursday. Wednesday was taken over by a soccer match in S. Korea. I watched it that evening so don’t remember all the details, but it was a good one. Ro Hee and Myung Joon gained a few people by their side. I really liked the person who turned out to be the truck driver at the end. I think you might too. 😉 The next episode looks good too. It seems like Ro Hee will gain some important memories.

[ktcjdrama]

20 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

Anyone watch this week’s yet ? I will catch up tomorrow. Had a busy week , 

I waited for it on Wednesday night, and only realised then they're not airing any. But caught the one on Thursday. 

 

[abs-oluteM]

@peperomia @ktcjdramaEps 7 was very exciting especially the bit where they were negotiating with Jaden and the granduncle.. And I definitely loved that Det Park got involved at the end . 

 

It's clear that RoHee's intelligence is beyond book smarts - the way she came up with that entire plan to get them out of Jaden's clutches was not something even an intelligent adult could come up with. Anyway, I do like that they have the attorney and Dr Mo on their side. In the preview it looks like Myung Joon wants to help free her entirely from being part of this programme. But still I wonder, if someone like RH could even have a normal childhood. 

 

Though we finally got to see the ex-wife's backstory and what happened to her - a lot of what she told the cops doesn't seem to check out.  Still feels like RH's father's death is linked to her. 

 

In these stills, MJ is all dressed up to see his daughter one last time before turning himself in to the cops. But I don't think he it will turn out as he wants since Jayden is going to go after RH

 

[ktcjdrama]

Started watching ep.8, less than 10 min in... Sigh, I guess I'm in the mood/mode of nitpicking. Didn't like how everyone is pointing a gun so close to the person they're aiming at. I kept waiting for the time that the person will just shove away the pointed gun and lock the arm behind back.... I should probably just leave for now and come back to binge ep.8-9 together 

[Chocolate]

On 10/12/2023 at 11:52 AM, ktcjdrama said:

Started watching ep.8, less than 10 min in... Sigh, I guess I'm in the mood/mode of nitpicking. Didn't like how everyone is pointing a gun so close to the person they're aiming at. I kept waiting for the time that the person will just shove away the pointed gun and lock the arm behind back.... 

 

Haha me too! In fact, the whole of ep8, I was feeling that the show had lost its intrigue, then bam! at the end, something unexpected! Ep9 was slightly better. In any case, we are finding out some things:

 

Spoiler

- Hye Eun was a scheming b*tch since as a child! She stole Myeong Jun's IQ test results so that she could be adopted. But this means MJ is quite smart actually! I wonder why she ever married MJ.

- Ro Hee's father was really killed by the security guy. But the one placing all these pieces together is Hye Eun, think she's after the genius child info, so her ultimate motive is $$$?

 

I've got to say, aren't there any wiretaps that do not have a red blinkling light??? 🙄😂

 

Gosh, it's 12 episodes. Was thinking it should end at ep 10 lol.

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Chocolate

[ktcjdrama]

1 hour ago, Chocolate said:

osh, it's 12 episodes. Was thinking it should end at ep 10 lol.

I also think the story can be wrapped up in one more episode  Only then I realised that we still have 3 more episodes.

 

About that red blinking light... the police must only have outdated device because of limited budget  LOL... And since when a carpet can reflect light from that distance?  LOL... 

 

Spoiler

I don't think security guy killed the father. Ro Hee only saw him beside the body, but maybe he found him in that state already? 

 

I pity Hee Ae for having such a mother. Anyway, I think she's gonna die, killed by J. Her crying when meeting the security guy seems sincere, or is it another scheming act? 

 

I cannot decide who is the mole in the police... Is it the team leader? Or the partner? Team leader seems too obvious though, so it could be the partner instead... 

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by ktcjdrama

[ktcjdrama]

Gosh... that Jayden is one crazy person. And just like that, we lost 

Spoiler

Ho Young, the die-hard fighting machine...

 

With the first few shots and down the empty pool, I thought maybe he will make a comeback, but no, Jayden made sure he won't be able to come back by emptying the cartridge of his handgun. 

A cold-blooded person. He didn't hesitate at all to kill people in his way.

 

Hye Eun is another crazy person too. And how come it seems like Hee Ae doesn't recognise her as her mother? Was it just because she hasn't seen her for too long? Or is there some other unveiled secret? 

 

I thought it will be draggy, but ep. 10 turned out to be okay. Awaiting next episode...

[abs-oluteM]

@ktcjdrama ok since you say eps 10 is good I’ll continue. Haha . I think I was struggling at ep9 . But anyway I wanna see how it all ends 

[peperomia]

I think the story could've ended with maybe 8 episodes, not 12, as the plot got draggy at the middle. It got better when Myung Joon, Ro Hee and Sang Yoon finally meet each other. I've always enjoyed the relationship between Myung Joon and Ro Hee though. Emotions got real at the end of episode 11 and the two got me teary. I'm looking forward to the finale.

[abs-oluteM]

8 hours ago, peperomia said:

I think the story could've ended with maybe 8 episodes, not 12, as the plot got draggy at the middle. It got better when Myung Joon, Ro Hee and Sang Yoon finally meet each other. I've always enjoyed the relationship between Myung Joon and Ro Hee though. Emotions got real at the end of episode 11 and the two got me teary. I'm looking forward to the finale.

I am all caught up too and yes 8 episodes for the storyline would have been sufficient. It took such a long time for SangYoon to finally work with MJ and RH. 
 

I feel sorry for RoHee because without MJ, she really doesn't have an adult looking out for her - someone who genuinely cares for her. Where would an orphaned eleven year old girl like her go to ? She has that granduncle but we know he's a scum. Dr Mo? But she also has vested interests though she'd be able to take care of RoHee. So I can see why RoHee was so upset and didn't want to let MJ go.

 

That said, sometimes the plot of this drama troubled me. While it was cute initially how RH was like the adult here, and bossed MJ around, that annoyed me after awhile. MJ being the adult here needed to be less apologetic to her. I hated that they coerced Sang Hyun into helping them because troubling when an 11 year old is bossing 2 grown men around. Fortunately , SH didn't give her as much face as MJ did. No matter how intelligent she is, she really needs to taught a lesson in manners. My kid is around that age , and I would be horrified if he talked to me the way she did. 

 

[peperomia]

I'm excited...Kang Ha Neul will make a cameo in the final episode. I'm guessing he'll appear as a prosecutor.

Credit: Soompi

[ktcjdrama]

On 10/20/2023 at 7:02 PM, abs-oluteM said:

No matter how intelligent she is, she really needs to taught a lesson in manners.

I agree, but I can cut her some slack as I see this whole experience as part of her growing and learning. That's why I really like and appreciate the ending of this drama, where MJ made her do something that will surely help her live more normally. It's kinda endearing that though initially she would reject doing a lot of things, yet she ended up agreeing to it -- one eg. the pink hair clip, haha... 

 

I have enjoyed the whole run of this drama. There are of course some scenes execution that I can complain about, but I will let it slide because I love this drama enough. 

[40somethingahjumma]

That final scene in Singapore reminds me of that 1978 film, The Boys from Brazil. Ugh. Creepy.

 

I really wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. The premise was good but the execution was patchy. I don't remember the last time I was this frustrated with a show. This was definitely not a 12 episode drama. I'm not sure that it was even a 10 episode show. If it weren't for Park Sung-hoon's character Sang-yun, I think I would have thrown in the towel after Episode 8. 

 

Part of the problem was that we knew exactly who the culprits were fairly early on. If you're a seasoned watcher of murder mysteries, it was not that hard to work what's what by the end of Episode 2. It's actually a very simple straightforward police procedural. Sang-yun was on the right track from the first. When the audience is two or three steps ahead of the characters, there's no complexity only fillers and delaying devices. I desperately wanted Sang-yun, Myeong-jun and Ro-hee to work together from Episode 3 or 4 onwards. It took them far too long. I understand the rationale initially but it got a bit ridiculous after a while.

 

The other problem that I had with this show was Yoon Kye-sang's character. Yoon Kye-sang was terrific in the role but his character is too much of a pushover. He let himself get walked over by a 12-year-old. He's a dad FCOL. Regardless of whether she's a genius the dumb dad shtick got a bit old. It is supposed to be funny in an odd couple sort of way and it was... occasionally. But after a while, a child trying to patronize an adult especially in that context, breaks immersion.

 

The third problem I had with this was the research side of things. Okay... it turned out to be primarily a plot device to bring Jaden and reticent tattoo guy into the picture and send the cops into some kind of wild goose chase. The show made reference to the research and hinted at something explosive but everything seemed to fizzle out in the end. I guess they wanted to give Ro-hee some breathing space and normality so they closed the cases making no reference to it. 

 

It's a decent enough watch. At times I was put off by Ro-hee's behaviour but at least the show acknowledges that she's socially inept and despite her incredible IQ, she's still a vulnerable child in need of some adult supervision.

[Chocolate]

On 10/25/2023 at 3:57 AM, peperomia said:

I'm excited...Kang Ha Neul will make a cameo in the final episode. I'm guessing he'll appear as a prosecutor.

 

😂 He's the brother of Jayden's henchman, Ho Young, whom he killed. There seemed to be some camaraderie between Myeong Joon and Ho Young earlier, I had hoped he would turn good to help them but alas.

 

On 10/20/2023 at 8:02 PM, abs-oluteM said:

MJ being the adult here needed to be less apologetic to her. I hated that they coerced Sang Hyun into helping them because troubling when an 11 year old is bossing 2 grown men around. Fortunately , SH didn't give her as much face as MJ did.

On 10/28/2023 at 4:17 PM, 40somethingahjumma said:

The other problem that I had with this show was Yoon Kye-sang's character. Yoon Kye-sang was terrific in the role but his character is too much of a pushover. He let himself get walked over by a 12-year-old. He's a dad FCOL. Regardless of whether she's a genius the dumb dad shtick got a bit old. It is supposed to be funny in an odd couple sort of way and it was... occasionally. But after a while, a child trying to patronize an adult especially in that context, breaks immersion.

 

I didn't find MJ a very likeable ML character. There was not much to support as a "hero" of the drama except that he is a good person who protects the children and somehow seems to have above average strength. I thought he would grow some smarts later to contribute to resolving the situation (since he obviously had high enough IQ to be selected by the older Mr Choi) but...

 

On 10/28/2023 at 4:17 PM, 40somethingahjumma said:

That final scene in Singapore reminds me of that 1978 film, The Boys from Brazil. Ugh. Creepy.

 

Was it Singapore? I thought the lady spoke Thai... Anyway, I don't really understand the ending. Does Ro Hee have a twin or are they clones? What was Ro Hee trying to tell Dr Mo? 🤔😅

 

From the start, I thought the show harping on Myeong Joon surrendering himself for kidnapping quite tenous. Nobody had any proof of kidnapping - that video showed MJ just came across Ro Hee on a public road and she fainted. There were many ways to spin this and Ro Hee could say anything she wanted to help the situation.

 

My favourite scenes are those between Hye Eun and Ro Hee. So glad they ended with this. KSR is an exceptional actress - I think not many could have done this scene as well.

 

 

Edited October 29, 2023 by Chocolate

[40somethingahjumma]

23 hours ago, Chocolate said:

 

I didn't find MJ a very likeable ML character. There was not much to support as a "hero" of the drama except that he is a good person who protects the children and somehow seems to have above average strength. I thought he would grow some smarts later to contribute to resolving the situation (since he obviously had high enough IQ to be selected by the older Mr Choi) but...

 

 

Was it Singapore? I thought the lady spoke Thai... Anyway, I don't really understand the ending. Does Ro Hee have a twin or are they clones? What was Ro Hee trying to tell Dr Mo? 🤔😅

 

From the start, I thought the show harping on Myeong Joon surrendering himself for kidnapping quite tenous. Nobody had any proof of kidnapping - that video showed MJ just came across Ro Hee on a public road and she fainted. There were many ways to spin this and Ro Hee could say anything she wanted to help the situation.

 

 

They couldn't let him upstage Ro-hee at any point. Even Sang-yun who is on top of his game for most of the show wasn't allowed to upstage her.

 

I saw the Singapore flag flying outside the building and assumed it. But maybe the building is owned by the sinister Singapore company that Jaden was working for. The Boys from Brazil reference was to cloning. I expect that's what they up to in the end. The problem is I'm not sure what they hope to do with cloned geniuses or clones that get turned into geniuses. I'm disappointed that they spent so little time on this only to give us some kind of obtuse ending. Are they creating geniuses? Why? To what end? Probably not helping Down Syndrome kids. Why are they spending all this money on this kind of research?