Circle

I've been putting thrillers on hold whilst waiting for exams to end, because my overworked brain couldn't handle anything more complicated than romantic-comedies. So what better way to make this summer fun than to take myself on a metaphorical feeling roller coaster! Let's go!

Circle is an experimental drama with each episode split into two halves. The first is based in 2017, where university student Kim Woo-jin works to untangle a chain of inexplicable suicides and his brother's disappearance (which may or may not have something to do with the aliens he is obsessed with), alongside a girl too familiar to ignore. The second half is set twenty years later in a dystopian future where a fraction of the Earth live in 'paradise' where there is no crime - until a murder takes place, and a detective uses it as an excuse to infiltrate and unravel a mystery from his past.

Sci-fi drama is a rarer sort in Korea. Romance is probably the most common genre, and I'm in my element when I talk about it. But I want to rave and rant about things like Circle more often, because as nice as romance is, it's the mind-blowing and carefully crafted shows like this that have the biggest mental impact.

  The writing was so clever. It's obvious that the team went to great lengths to make sure this bite-sized show was well plotted and that all the little details had a place in the eventual conclusion. It's easy enough to pull a plot twist, but making the important revelations come gradually and consistently (without ever once being predictable) was something Circle did so well. Characters who I thought had insignificant roles grew over the course of the drama, to the point where almost no character introduced had a meaningless role, and that was clever because it took a surprisingly long time for the true villain of the story to become evident. Or maybe everyone involved in this sick experiment is the villain?

  The partitioning of episodes proved ingenious for a complex story told over such a long period of time. It meant all of the players got ample screen-time. Again, this highlights how attentive the writers were, since there was always enough plot for each half, and I was always left wanting more from one timeline once the other had started. Moreover, the lapse in time, and the lapse in the memories of the characters, meant that this split did nothing to show Circle's hand. Although the halves were only held together by a fibre of information at first, it was a great experience watching them slowly fuse together.

  Not only was Circle smart, but equally thoughtful. Ultimately, it took quite a few old controversial issues into a dark simulation. Am I myself without my memories? It pondered with the argument over whether or not human ethics should be put aside for the sake of making progressions in science, or whether greed and ambition is too dangerous a factor. I would elaborate, but it would spoil too much.
  I'm happy Yeo Jin-gu has finally landed a lead role in a drama so deserving of his talent. Orange Marmalade, for example, hardly scratched the surface of the emotional depth he's proved capable of showing here. Whilst he shone brightest, the acting was not a disappointment on any level. I was particularly happy with Gong Seung-yeon, who I haven't liked anywhere except here, simply for choosing unflattering roles.

  Sometimes, thrillers will sacrifice character growth for strong arcs, flashy directing and unique new concepts, but the best thing about Circle is that it had a warm human core. The heart of Circle, no matters how many layers and layers of detail cropped up, was two brothers separated across time who are desperate to find each other again. Their heartbreaking trajectory drove everything, and the little friendships they picked up along the way were equally adorable. I would love a second season to flesh out what Circle left open, but I'm perfectly happy if this is all we get.