Missing 9
Soooo Gooood
Synopsis:
At the beginning of this drama, Ra Bong Hee is the sole known survivor of an entertainment company plane crash. Bong Hee doesn't remember anything that happened during the 4 months she was missing, but as the drama goes on she remembers what happened. We follow her journey from when she starts her first day at Legend Entertainment as a stylist through her rescue into China as she regains her memory.
The Legend Entertainment plane contains celebrities under the company's management, staff, and company executives. Bong Hee is from Jeju and her mother is a diver, who has also taught her how to dive. When the plane crashes, Bong Hee can only save one person and chooses Seo Joon Oh, a washed up idol she had been hired as the stylist for. Bong Hee is survival savvy and keeps herself and Joon Oh alive while they believe they are the only survivors on a deserted island. As the series goes on, they encounter other survivors from the plane crash on the island.
In the present, a dead body belonging to actress Yoon So Hee, one of the celebrities from the plane crash, is found. Her brother, prosecutor Yoon is desperate to find her killer and pressures Bong Hee to remember what happened on the island. Bong Hee falsely remembers So Hee falling off a cliff and not saving her. She confesses during a therapy session that she killed So Hee.
On the island, So Hee had witnessed actor Choi Tae Oh killing a staff member for food. She taunts Tae Oh by revealing that she knows what he did. He eventually strangles her to death. In his desire to cover up his murders, Tae Oh goes on to murder and attempt to murder people both on and off the island. He also accidentally kills (well we'll never truly know) his former group member Lee Yeol.
Back in Seoul, Bong Hee remembers Tae Oh's violence and is about to notify prosecutor Yoon when Tae Oh is revealed to have returned to Korea. Tae Oh goes on to publicly testify that Joon Oh was responsible for So Hee's murder. Bong Hee and Joon Oh had become particularly close on the island and Bong Hee refuses to believe that Joon Oh is dead or to let him take responsibility for So Hee's murder.
Bong Hee remembers being rescued by a Chinese ship along with the rest of the survivors. However, Tae Oh stabbed Joon Oh and the other survivors believe Joon Oh to be dead. Bong Hee receives a call from Joon Oh in China and helps smuggle him back into Korea where everyone must work together to place all of the murders back on Tae Oh.
The first murder Tae Oh believed he committed was his friend, Shin Jae Hyun. He accidentally broke his skull and received help from LE executive Jang Do Pal to frame the murder as a suicide. So Hee's cell phone evidence reveals, however, that Tae Oh's actions did not kill Jae Hyun and that CEO Jang killed Jae Hyun in cold blood. This generates massive regret for Tae Oh, who eventually confesses to his crimes.
Reaction:
I was initially interested in Missing 9 because the set up seemed obviously similar to Lost, which I loved while it was airing. Other than being about a group of people stranded on an island, the 2 series have little else in common. Never the less, I still love Missing 9 for what it is.
One of my favorite things about this drama was the writing. Most of the time when I watch a drama, I can figure out plot twists easily. Nothing is ever too surprising. But the narratives in Missing 9 were unreliable. I thought maybe Joon Oh had killed So Hee at some point, then I really believed that Bong Hee had failed to save her. Eventually it became clear that Tae Ho would be responsible for the death. I didn't know what to believe. I wasn't even sure who had survived off the island, even after seeing them on the Chinese boat. The writers did an amazing job of keeping the story covered in fog, revealing bits and pieces at a time.
I also loved that though there were romantic elements, the romance was not the focus of the story. Everything else was just too important! All of the moments between Joon Oh and Bong Hee were absolute gems. It was great when they were planning how to smuggle Joon Oh out of China and how to get a hold of So Hee's cell phone. Pretty much anytime they planned something together, they were adorable. A small part of me kind of shipped prosecutor Yoon and Bong Hee together though. I mostly just really wanted prosecutor Yoon to be happy because he deserved it!
Speaking of prosecutor Yoon, I found it really interesting that there were so many stakeholders in the events unfolding throughout the story. There was no good side and bad side. There were many good sides, grey sides, and dark sides. Prosecutor Yoon once perceived Bong Hee as his sister's murderer, and therefore his enemy, before they teamed up together. CEO Jang and Tae Oh were working together for a while before they began to distrust each other. Tae Ho Hang was all over the place throughout the drama. And then there was the Special Investigation Committee Chair Jo, a completely separate party with her own agenda. When attention turned to So Hee's cell phone, there were many different people desperate to get their hands on it first.
Lastly, the drama was full of mystery and suspense, but it managed to infuse the story with plenty of comedy, as well. There were many scenes that were difficult to watch, such as the scene in which CEO Jang truly kills Jae Hyun by knocking the life out of him. However, there were many scenes that were an absolute joy to watch. I cracked up when President Hwang failed to recognize Bong Hee at the beginning and mistook her for an island native. I also loved the scene when Joon Oh attempts to befriend his fellow travelers on the boat when he's sneaking back to Korea. He speaks in broken Chinese and announces his celebrity status, only to discover that most of the people on the boat are Korean and that they don't care who he is. The drama didn't fail to make me laugh.
This drama was so refreshing and really hope more just like it follow in the near future. Though there were some plot holes at the end (what happened to Yeol!? Why is Tae Oh not in jail for life!!?). Now that this and Introverted Boss are over, what will I do with my life??
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