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OCN Drama "SAVE ME" Ok Taecyeon, Seo Ye-Ji, Woo Do-Hwan etc. *Thanks for watching, Saviors!*


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RECAPS EP. 1 & 2


 


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It takes a lot to make someone with my film experience feel uncomfortable and "Save Me" manages it. The premiere episode packs the kind of punch we rarely see in Korean drama. The atmosphere is oppressive, the production quality great and prepare a cold shower for how sullied you will feel after meeting some of these characters. Episode one is all about exposition and preparing us for the present.


Right off the bat, the series looks and sounds stunning.The camera angles, the use of light and shadow, the careful use of special effects, everything just works well and creates cinematic quality material. The director of photography in particular is not messing around here and while no visuals can elevate a messy story, they can definitely complement a decent or good one, which I hope "Save Me" is going to be.


 


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I simply love how slow and subtle, yet packed almost to the point of being stiffing this exposition is. Korean dramas are generally not good with characterization and establishing relationships with subtlety. Everything is exposed and in your face. "Save Me" shows us more than it tells us and therefore ends up saying a whole lot. It is the little things which do this, such as Im Sang-mi (Seo Ye-ji) holding her older brother's hand for his sake, rather than hers.


 


The creators trust their cast, which plays a big part in conveying a lot with very little. Most of the actors are great so far and even smaller roles contribute to the overall feeling of unease. Take the food delivery man, for example. His odd behavior at the car repair shop may just be because he is flustered in front of folks from the capital, but it still feels "off". "Save Me" makes sure that its townsfolk feel just suspiciously awkward enough to keep one alert.


 


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It also gives us good reasons to be alert. Just how many people of this town is the cult bribing? It is just locals or is their network bigger? The surely drugged tea and the money must be coming from somewhere. I have no comforting guesses about what or who is used in generating funds for this cult, because I hear the victims locked up in their basement loud and clear.


 


I have a lot to say about "Save Me" and I will let my thoughts mature for now. Details aside, I am impressed with the first episode's quality in production and writing. I doubt "Save Me" will do well in the ratings, it is not "loud" enough for drama fan tastes, but I hope it will be a work deserving of any love it can get.


 


 


 


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Heroes are rare and not all of them are powerful or successful. This reality is brought to the forefront through a grim incident in today's episode of "Save Me". Sang-mi's suspicions about the cult keep growing with every forced smile and every crack in the church crew's facade. The twins are under immense pressure and the group who can help them starts to drift apart.


 


I did not get a chance to talk about the characters of the drama in the previous review and it is time to correct this. Starting with Sang-mi (Seo Ye-ji), I am impressed by her demeanor and development as a heroine. She is smart, perceptive and essentially the head of her family, but she is not fearless or cocky. I know she will have to be colder and crueler to fight this and her journey interests me.


 


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While Sang-mi needs help against her powerful  opponents, our four young men are not the heroes she needs right now. I appreciate the series for being realistic about this. The men have differences in status, interests and skills, but they bond through their problems and fears. It is this fear which will haunt Han Sang-hwan (Taecyeon). He is not a good Samaritan like Seok Dong-cheol (Woo Do-hwan). He is someone who will be motivated by guilt and that is fine, because it is just as human.


 


However, assuming that his father is still a successful politician when we jump to the present, Sang-hwan will have help most people do not. This is where I assume the show's realism will end, albeit with a very harsh lesson. In a society where many turn a blind eye for personal gain or fear, it takes the very corruption of power to fight back successfully. Sang-hwan can help, because his father is privileged. If you lack backing, you are on your own.


 


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Which brings me to our villain's formidable empire. The series takes its time to portray the elaborate nature of creating a false image to prey on others. Con artists are great judges of character and they know exactly how to move people. Of course tea laced with probably psychotropic drugs "helps". There is no greater drug than religion, however and this makes it dangerous when wielded as a weapon.


 


The sight of Baek Jeong-gi (Jo Sung-ha) standing before the funeral portrait of a child he coerced to promote his brand is sickening. Sang-mi's dumbfounded reaction is the only appropriate one in this situation. It is my hope that while she does need help to escape this cult, she will ultimately be the one to destroy it. Heroes come and go, but those in need must stay and fight.


 


 


cr


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  • Rescue Me: Episode 1rescueme0100182.jpg

     

 

 

Balancing the creep factor of a religious cult against the sweet bond of a group of young friends is a tricky task, but so far, Rescue Me seems to be pulling it off. There’s enough heart in the core group to keep me wanting to learn more, and enough restrained chills from our cult leader and his followers to keep me nervous and on the edge of my seat.

 

 

 

EPISODE 1 RECAP

 

 

 

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It’s 2014. A truck travels down a desolate, rainy highway through the countryside of Muji County at night, while inside, a family of four looks out at the landscape, their faces somber. At the top of a nearby hill, a man we’ll come to know as Father BAEK JUNG-KI (Jo Sung-ha) leads a rousing sermon at his religious compound with the help of one of his devout followers, KANG EUN-SHIL (Park Ji-young).

 

Father Baek promises that belief in “New Heaven’s God†will free his follows from disease and misery, and the people raise their hands, chanting back, “We believe! We believe!â€

 

 

 

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We cut back to the family of four on the highway when their tire suddenly blows, leaving them stranded. Dad IM JOO-HO steps outside to assess the damage, while Mom KIM BO-EUN shields them both from the elements with an umbrella.

 

At the compound, Father Baek introduces his congregation to a man, Mr. Park, who he claims was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Father Baek announces that since Mr. Park was cruelly turned away by leading medical professionals in Seoul, he’s come to them seeking help.

 

 

 

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A pair of motorcycles pass the stranded Im family, only to swiftly turn around. The four riders dismount and approach on foot, their faces obscured by dark hooded ponchos. The Im family is apprehensive, and Dad nervously urges his wife back into the car with the kids. Meanwhile, Father Baek continues with his sermon, promising that while modern medicine may turn this man away, New Heaven’s God would never allow Mr. Park to die, and the crowd cheers while chanting, “Our wishes will be fulfilled!â€

 

At the same time, the bikers get closer to the Im family, peering at the flat tire, and Dad finally sees their faces. These are no tough bikers—just four gawky high school students.

 

 

 

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The shortest of the boys, WOO JUNG-HOON (David Lee) notes the flat in a long drawl and asks if everyone is okay. From inside the van, Dad’s daughter IM SANG-MI (Seo Ye-ji) rolls down her window to assess the boys as well. The boys get a glimpse of the new girl, each of them craning their necks for the best view.

 

Broody-looking SEOK DONG-CHUL (Woo Do-hwan) looks particularly interested, while our hero HAN SANG-HWAN (Taecyeon) observes his friend’s reaction before glancing back at Jung-hoon and their fourth bumpkin bike gang member, CHOI MAN-HEE (Ha Hwe-jung).

 

Jung-hoon calls a car repair shop for the stranded family and promises the driver will be there in thirty minutes, right after he finishes taking a dump. The boys chuckle to themselves at the toilet humor and this seems to break the tension completely, as Mom and Dad even allow themselves a grateful smile.

 

 

 

=== << Read more: http://www.dramabeans.com/2017/08/rescue-me-episode-1/>> ===

 

 

 

 

 

COMMENTS

 

We’re off to a pretty solid start. I was worried that this drama might be all serious and no fun, but the warmth of the bumpkin boys takes the edge off each chilling scene without straying too far from the overall dark and heavy tone of the show.

 

The arrangement with the police and Father Baek’s compound is so troubling. Not only is Father Baek preying on weak populations who feel abandoned by society like the sick and the elderly, but the local police are already complicit, not so much because of corruption, but because Guseonwon offers an easy solution to a tough social problem. I have no clue what the cult’s end goal is, since money donations don’t seem to be Father Baek’s major focus. He seems to be seeking numbers and loyalty, which could be a truly scary combination. Baek’s fixation on Sang-mi, Disciple Jo’s obsession with being “clean,†and Eun-shil’s belief in eternal youth draw the curtain back from the group’s supposedly selfless facade, hinting at the very personal stakes at hand.

 

I’m guessing that Sang-hwan’s governor-candidate father and Jung-hoon’s police dad will be important connections as we delve deeper into the corruption of Baek’s cult, and the strength of the relationship between these boys and their fathers may help or hinder their efforts to find help.

 

 

 

As for me, I’m a sucker for Dong-chul’s character already. Sad tough boy with father hangups and an endearing love for his grandmother is the perfect drama catnip for me, so I’ve pretty much declared my allegiance to Dong-chul as we head towards the rivalry and friendship fallout that I suspect is coming soon.

 

That said, Taecyeon’s take on Sang-hwan isn’t unappealing so far. I find that Taecyeon is at his most likeable when he gets to play a slightly goofy character who cares deeply about those around him, and while we’re still scraping the surface when it comes to Sang-hwan, I think the potential is definitely there.

 

My only quibble so far might be that dramatic cliffhanger felt a little contrived, as though no one could think of a better way for the boys and the family to encounter one another again. This town isn’t that big, so I feel like opportunities to run into each other are abundant without the need for a crash, but we’ll see how the consequences pay off soon enough. Otherwise, the mood of the show is enough to keep me looking forward to more.

 

 

 

Edited by FranCella
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  • Rescue Me: Episode 2rescueme02-00125.jpg

 

The events of Rescue Me continue to ensnare both its viewers and the residents of Muji County. Our protagonists find themselves in ever murkier waters as the cult draws even closer to the Im Family, who find themselves faced with seemingly innocuous gifts at first, only for those gifts to escalate in size. How is a family at the end of the line to say no and refuse such “kindness?â€

 

EPISODE 2 RECAP

 

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We open the episode where we left off, with the Im Family driving home from the church. This time, however, we see the scene from bumpkin biker buddies Sang-hwan and Dong-chul’s perspective, who urge each other into faster and more daring tricks as they ride on their motorcycles.

The whole thing is really just a high-speed game of chicken to Sang-hwan and Dong-chul, and just as it seems like they’re about to crash straight into the Im Family vehicle, they split paths at the last moment in front of the car and laugh at each other as they drive off.

 

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As the motorcycle sounds fade, the Im Family is left stopped on the road and shaken by the experience. “I need to get out for a minute,†daughter Sang-mi says, sounding like she might be sick.

Indeed, she collapses against a tree as soon as she gets out, and her mother comes out to check on her. When her mother touches her thigh—almost in the same place she was touched by Father Baek—Sang-mi responds with shock, and finally speaks her mind about the church and her misgivings about the situation. Her mother tries reassuring Sang-mi, but it has the air of telling a child that monsters under the bed don’t really exist.

 

=== << Read more: http://www.dramabeans.com/2017/08/rescue-me-episode-2/>> ===

 

 

COMMENTS

Oof. What a traumatic episode this was, for all members of the Im Family. I had felt uneasy since the bathroom incident early in the episode, but I hadn’t anticipated that it would escalate so far, so fast, nor did I foresee Sang-jin’s death in this episode. Until the last minute, I was still on the fence as to whether or not the show would let Sang-jin live, either by him coming down from the roof or being nursed back to life in the hospital. Rescue Me does a good job of keeping its viewers off-balance, so much so that I really believed for a moment that Sang-jin’s mother might follow her son off the roof.

Part of the reason it achieves this off-kilter sensation so well, at least from what I’ve seen, is the excellent use of sound. High strings or rumbling drums alert us to anything from a hand grabbing someone’s shoulder from behind or a seemingly innocuous religious gathering. Even the quiet moments of this show are sometimes woven with a sense of imminent danger, leaving us always on edge. In fact, there are almost no happy music cues in this episode except when the cult is singing in the service, and that’s one place we can almost be certain a layer of evil lurks underneath. Our protagonists just can’t catch a break. The editing also helps with the show’s tone significantly, especially in combination with the script. Both are executed with a deft hand, and the show flashes between scenes to build tension, especially with the church services. Sometimes the show allows us a conclusion to a scene, like the door shutting on Jung-hoon’s failed livestream, but it’s also fond of jumping away before a conversation is “officially†done. It’s like hanging up at the end of a phone conversation, but without saying goodbye. The experience is jarring but also trims away some of the unnecessary parts of the characters’ conversations.

More on our protagonists—I’ve said I was surprised by the escalation of Sang-jin’s bullying, but I also feel that I’m missing information on several points. Some the show may answer, like Sang-mi was referring to when she reassured Sang-jin that their experience in this town would be better, what Sang-jin meant by his last words, whether or not the pamphlet had a substantial impact on his final moments, or who closed the door in the bathroom. But, for example, the show didn’t satisfactorily explain why Sang-jin was bullied so heavily within several days of this new school, and instead only showed the senseless bullying and intimidation that was inflicted upon him.

 

I can accept that teenagers can just be that cruel, but the biggest question mark for me is Sang-jin himself. He didn’t get many lines before the fatal rooftop scene, and he displayed remarkably little agency. I do appreciate that his death has catapulted several characters into action and that it sets up a major catalyst for events to come, such as the family potentially being folded further into the world of the cult. But to me, Sang-jin was just a sketch of a character, and I never got to feel the stuff that makes him human.

Though the negativity that Sang-mi has brushed up against so far has been less outwardly severe than Sang-jin’s, her experiences in Muji are no less traumatic. Besides the tragedy that has just been dealt to her family, she’s also the recipient of several creepy and predatory comments/actions. The fact that she’s pretty is brought up multiple times in situations that gave me a bad gut feeling, which was only cemented by the church basement encounter with Disciple Jo.

I’m glad we’ve finally got a full picture of all the relationships in the town, even though several of the key players are still quite mysterious. The plot flows smoothly, and though the relationships are bound to change—clearly Sang-hwan and Dong-chul have split from each other in more ways than one—the current lay of the land is a useful benchmark for understanding what makes Muji tick. (Incidentally—why don’t the bullies and Sang-hwan/Dong-chul seem to know each other? It seems like Sang-hwan holds some type of reputation due to his father, yet the ringleader had to be fed an explanation on who Sang-hwan was.)

I also appreciate the small but consistent symbols like the tea and Disciple Jo’s perfume, and I’m curious to know more about them. Is the tea just a way for the cult to get their foot in the door with the local residents, or something more sinister? Oddly, the constant references to a paternal figure in the cult, Father Baek, are reminiscent of Sang-hwan’s father’s new campaign slogan: “I will protect you with the heart of a father.†I was prepared to write it off as coincidence, but Disciple Jo’s “We’ll protect you as if you’re our family†echoed it closely. Interesting.

It’s only Episode 2, so I have faith that Rescue Me will answer these burning questions with style, considering its fascinating setting. Though, as we can see from the show, faith can be a dangerous thing.

 

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Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching??

 

With all the new premieres, ongoing series, and backlogged shows on my plate, I sort of feel like it’s closet-cleaning time and I’m sorting through a big pile of possessions, figuring out what to keep and what to toss, and wondering how I amassed such a collection in such a short period of time. I could’ve sworn I was all caught up a moment ago! It’s like hoarding, the K-drama version. Is the cure… just watching them all? â€“javabeans

 

 

 

javabeans

  • Rescue Me: Ooh, I’m intrigued. For once OCN has a dark, gritty show that has nothing to do with criminals or serial killers; it’s all to do with the ugliness and cruelty of humankind. It’s an uncomfortable watch at times (often, in fact), mostly because the drama is so effective at making this insidious cult feel real and credible. I found it quite clever how, while clearly taking elements of existing religious practices, the drama has made it its own fictional thing. There’s such a feeling of terror-in-limbo in watching this cult prey on this down-on-their-luck family, and the drama plays up that agitation to full effect.

 

girlfriday

  • Rescue Me: This show is beautifully cinematic—it’s moody, suspenseful, and creepy in all the right ways. A+ for setting the perfect atmosphere in the first two episodes. That small town feels just right (sleepy, kind of scary for no reason), and the casting is spot-on. I really love the four neighborhood punks, who feel like real friends and real boys, not just drama characters. I’m terrified about where the story will go, but I don’t think I can look away.

 

HeadsNo2

  • Rescue Me: Ohmygod, I love it. I haven’t felt this much pervading dread since White Christmas, and I’m all about it.

 

 

LollyPip

  • Rescue Me: Wow. I mean, WOW. This show not only lives up to its promise to be good, but far exceeds it. It’s gritty and raw, and it’s not afraid to go to some ugly, painful places, and if this is what we’re starting out with, I’m both dreading and anticipating the depths of human depravity that will be revealed as we learn more about Father Baek and his disciples. I think I experienced every emotion possible in these first two episodes: from fear, to despair, to grief and terror, Rescue Me doesn’t shy away from the truth – that human beings are capable of visiting more horror on each other than any demon ever could.

 

cr

Edited by FranCella
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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Save Me" Episode 3


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"Save Me" once more proves that it does not cower away from difficult subject matter and this means that our characters get no breaks from their plight. Things keep happening which create more victims and more perpetrators and which reveal the true faces of the people involved. I do not know where the time jump will lead us, but it will not be a happy place.


 


The falling out between Sang-hwan (Taecyeon) and Dong-cheol (Woo Do-hwan) has been brewing for a while, but it is a bit more complex than I imagined it. For one, I am glad it does not happen over actual betrayal or worse, over "a girl", something fiction loves doing to demonize women. The misunderstanding keeps Sang-hwan honorable and sends Dong-cheol on his path. Uniting for a common cause after this hurdle can also strengthen their friendship in the long run.


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This group is one of four, however, which makes the development we see in Woo Jeong-hoon (Lee David) and Choi Man-hee (Ha Hoi-jung) all the more important as we look to the future. Man-hee has not been in the spotlight much, but we now get to see that he is very perceptive. He also reaches out to support Dong-cheol without becoming pushy, which tells me that he knows his friends well. Jeong-hoon is more simpleminded and naive, but he is clearly a supportive friend too.


 


Governor-to-be Han Yong-min (Son Byung-ho) was my hope for a good "adult" here, but now that I see what he is capable of to keep his position, I wonder how deep his actions go. Woo Choon-gil (Kim Kwang-gyoo) may have offered us some dark foreshadowing when visiting the cult in episode one. A plan for "taking care of" the homeless would make any politician popular with pseudo-caring souls and bigots who do not want the homeless around alike. Much to Sang-hwan's misfortune, I feel "Save Me" would go there.


 


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Speaking of the cult's work, while I suspected that our group were once a different type of criminals, I wonder how they are related. Most importantly, the mystery of whether Jeong-gi (Jo Sung-ha) believes his own lies deepens. Is he a pervert who never drops the act, does he want to turn Sang-mi (Seo Ye-ji) into a religious mascot for the church or does he truly have some twisted spiritual view of her?


 


"Save Me" piles cruelty upon cruelty and tragedy upon tragedy, even if those might make viewers very uncomfortable. We have to be uncomfortable. We have to see just how many people it takes to perpetuate corruption and injustice in Muji and therefore how important it is for our heroes to fight. Sang-mi is a victim, but she may also be the one to lead this fight.


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  • love changed the title to OCN Drama "SAVE ME" Ok Taecyeon, Seo Ye-Ji, Woo Do-Hwan etc. *Thanks for watching, Saviors!*

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