The thread is open.
If you want to join @swiss_postscripts in this kdrama, here’s your thread. The show is on Disney+.
From @swiss_postscripts:
I’m liking Shop for Killers so far. It’s a “coming of age” drama – we’re all in Jian’s shoes – trying to find out exactly who her uncle was, his ecosystem and his intentions, all the while trying to figure out friend from foe and keeping herself alive. (Jian is the niece protagonist to Jinman her uncle, the antihero: played by Kim Hye Joon and Lee Dong Wook respectively.)
The pacing is quite uneven, jumping to and fro various time periods – but I think it’s deliberately intended to mimic the patchy Jian’s memories of her life. Sometimes the pace simmers, sometimes things all happen at a go. And there’s always a twist somewhere – keeps me at the edge of my seat. It’s also grisly at times with the weapons and fighting going on so I do skip over it when I can’t bear the bloodshed and violence. The cinematography is deft (having also watched Moving and Vigilante on D+ I have also come to expect a certain look and feel to the camera work for D+ dramas).
As I mentioned before LDW is at his most dour and ratty here, so a nice change from his other dramas. Jinman is the discipler and as the story unfolds, it’s clear that he took it upon himself to prepare himself and Jian for a certain eventuality. I’m not so sure LDW is the most convincing in this role but it’s not awful. KHJ on the other hand is a star! She *is* Jian. Out of the supporting cast, Kim Min, who plays a migrant chef doubling up as Jian’s Muay Thai “sabu”(/teacher) is one to watch. I’ve never watched him elsewhere before but he’s charismatic and I enjoy his scenes too much.
Only at ep 5, still more to come so I’ll update when I can 🙂
Thanks, @swiss_postscripts!
It seems to be an interesting show. There’ s no romance involved. The heroine uses her brain. I like the premise of an ordinary teenager being drawn into a world of killers while relying just on her intellect and her dead uncle’s advice to survive. She isn’t like “Strong Girl NamSoon” (2023) who had extraordinary powers and unfair advantage.
Too bad is on Disney Plus.
Enjoy the show.
@packmule3, I hate Disney+. Does the US feed have this drama? I have the feed but it does not show K content except for music. Dramas appear on Hulu,that I don’t have. I have enough feeds to keep me busy. I’ll check to see if I have it but I am not optimistic. My very best Asian drama source is Viki Rakuten. It’s yearly subscription is well worth it. Amazon Prime now has ads but I find them to be pretty unobtrusive. Netflix is also a good source for these dramas. My feed is curated in all three so I get most of these dramas. I don’t have paid YouTube but what I have gives so many highlights and programs like award shows and movies with subtitles. There is a lot out there if you know how to look. I won’t let FOMO send me to more providers. I need to get sleep too!
thanks so much @pkml3!! *hearts* i saw from the other thread that some other BODers are also watching the drama.
I’ll be savouring ep5 over these two days until the next two episode drop on Wed and will try to give a lowdown then. Btw it’s the beginning of the Lunar New Year week for all of us celebrating, so blessed new year in advance!
I’ve been watching it too! It was quite suspenseful and nerve-wracking at some points that I went to read some recaps so that I wouldn’t suffer a heart attack 😅
I’m really curious about how he pivoted to be an arms dealer, with codes that ensure his and Ji-an’s safety all these years. Also, how did Min-hye become an assassin too?
Do you think there’s any snowball chance in hell that Jeong Jinman faked his own death? It’d be too crazy, right? What with all that blood, mortuary, and cremation…
I’m hoping that the story will have a non-hair-tearing ending!
Hiya L, yaaa I keep asking myself if Jinman really did die, because I want to see uncle and niece team up to fight off the baddies… but it think it will be totally not in character or plot if he faked it. The murthehelp is an “inheritance” so I think that’s that.
Btw L, we’ll get some of the answers for the questions you ask in ep6. Jinman’s life before Jian unravels more fully in the episode. The bloodshed and violence goes up a couple of notches as well…. So I had to fast-forward a couple of times.
[some spoilers]
My own questions – how did he get so estranged from his own family? And only to return back to them eventually (with all the consequences he (should?) have foreseen? And how he became the “righteous” mercenary – bale (quite rightly) pointed out the contradiction – and how that factors into his later occupation as arms dealer and his discipling of jian.
side note: the actress playing Minhye (Geum Hae-Na) does a great job of speaking mandarin in the episode. she sounded better here than in the earlier episodes when we first saw her in jinman’s house. and finally LDW does kick some ass in coiffed hair although it’s shortlived.
Thank you @Packmule3 for the thread!
It is not open on our Disney Plus and it is a shame really. They haven’t opened any new K-Content since Moving. I am planning to binge watch this since it is 8 episodes!
@cleopatra- I hope it goes to your D+ soon. The D+ K-content accessible from Singapore (where I’m watching from) is growing steadily. I’m hoping to watch the Impossible Heir featuring Lee Jae Wook on it!
@Swiss_postscripts!
I am going to watch The Impossible Heir not matter what! I am not going to miss uri Lee Jae Wook!
Yes, generally in Europe they don’t give us enough K-Content. They should have Netflix as an example, but nope…
@cleopatra- hehe 😜 cross fingers and toes it gets released on D+ Europe (or wherever else!) the last two eps for the Shop for Killers drop tonight – I wonder what’s more in store (apart from a lot of blood I suspect).
i watched this drama, thinking that it is a spin-off of drama “A Murderer’s Shopping List” starring Lee Kwang-soo and Seolhyun. but I was dead wrong. hahaha. anyway, i ended up liking this series. though the violent scenes are not everyone’s cup of tea, it also has it fair share of comedic timing, especially when Pasin the Thai operative was around with Jeong Ji-an. whenever i look at Seo Min-hye (Geum Hae-na), she reminds me of actress Cha Chung-hwa, the ahjumma from CLOY, Mr. Queen and SYIMNL 😆. and i like that Kim Hye-jun is getting a lot of attention now. she’s my favorite character in Just Between Lovers, the dongsaeng of Lee Jun-ho’s characrer.
WTH was the last part about? Did he fake his death to fight Bale or was he in hiding? Was he so confident that Ji-an could survive the onslaught of killers sent by Babylon with only a couple oi allies to help her? Is there going to be a bonus episode which explains everything?!?
I have no words. I take back what I said, L! Bonus ep(s) please. Big loops need to be tied up! I need to see Minhye alive! Is the taxi ahjussi also a code something? Who is going to take out the General and Bale? Now that murthehelp is thoroughly exposed do they need a new Batcave? Ahhhhhhhhhh