Siren's Kiss: Had Such Potential But Ultimately Lacked In Execution

This Amazon Prime drama follows the story of Cha Woo-seok (Wi Ha-joon), a righteous insurance investigator whose recent case brings him to the world Han Seol-ah (Park Min-young), a beautiful and intruiging art auctioneer. All of her past lovers have died under mysterious circumstances, begging the question: is she a victim or a cold-blooded killer? While trying to prove she's a murderer, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to her.

I was super excited for this drama, fully invested in what was promised to be an interesting plot. Unfortunately, it didn't really deliver for me. I think a large part of that was because the writers ultimately chose to victimize Seol-ah's character. Since the audience was supposed to sympathize with her, it seemed like the drama lost most of its edge. I think it would've been much more interesting if she was guilty, instead delving into the mind of an incredibly prolific female serial killer. However, the safer (and therefore more boring) route was chosen instead.

There were a few other reasons that this show didn't hit right. The leads didn't have that much chemistry to me which was super disappointing, especially since there was such an emphasis on romance. It was also really unexpected coming from a Park Min-young drama, the Korean actress known to have incredible synergy with every male lead she works with. The spark was lacking, mostly overshadowed by an insanely convoluted series of events that kept unraveling worse and worse. There were so many confusingly interconnected details that if you blinked, you'd lose the plot for the next four episodes.

The ending was my last straw, coincidentally good since the show was over. There were implausible events that didn't make much sense topped off with a rushed timeline and an unecessary proposal. For a show that leaned into dark thriller and melodrama aspects so much, I was a little turned off by a suddenly cringy and optimistic ending. It just didn't really match the tone of the show. Overall, I expected more from a Park Min-young drama. She's still a phenomenal actress, however since she doesn't typically play darker, more villainous characters, I don't think this was the right project for her.