Stream K-Dramas at OnDemandKorea

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Whisper" Episode 2

Our heroine has no time to lose in involving the man who doomed her father. Dong-joon finds himself forced to help her look for the killer through his new masters. Episode two of "Whisper" throws us right into the dirty world of Taebaek and its top lawyers, who all seem knee deep in its criminal activities. With Yeong-joo's father feeling ill and time running short, our protagonist takes desperate measures.

Advertisement

I would like to briefly address the issue of the apparent rape at this point and say that its handling is quite disappointing. If the genders were reversed and a male lead did this to a female lead, there would have been an outrage. There are harmful ideas that the nonchalance with which the creators handle this perpetuates about the crime itself and the two genders, so seeing the scene used merely for shock value is truly sad.

Jeong-il using his father for supportSoo-yeon playing her games

Moving on to less disappointing things, our new key players are every bit as bad as I hoped they would be, at least for an introduction. Kang Jeong-il (Kwon Yul) is obviously the big company rival and probably the one involved in dark affairs of his own, but I am glad to see that Choi Soo-yeon (Park Se-young) is also a force to be reckoned with. She is not just a brainless heiress, that mask simply suits her goals. The woman is clearly talented when it comes to people and manipulation.

Manipulation is everyone's weapon and it is what fuels the push and pull of the blackmail happening between our leads. Dong-joon (Lee Sang-yoon) makes an attempt to fight back, but Yeong-joo (Lee Bo-young) uses the very fear and weakness of character which made him Taebaek's slave to put him back in his place. I do regret that the series did not explore his own character before bringing about his downfall, because more nuance would have made me feel more invested.

Yeong-joo visiting her fatherYeong-joo and Dong-joon getting down to business

At this point all I can think about anyone besides Yeong-joo whenever they suffer or fail is "Cry me a river". This is not new or inherently bad, most dramaland antagonists are very bland as characters, but I expect some Park Kyeong-soo magic applied to the ones in "Whisper" as we go along. The idea with these stories is caring for the wronged and enjoying the pain of the guilty, so I look forward to the start of that.

I do have some more minor complaints. I do not believe a company like Taebaek would not be monitoring all of its employees and offices. Yeong-joo becoming hired through a recommendation with no background check is ridiculous, but I hope these sacrifices of logic are done to get the story started. Episode two is an improvement, so perhaps this nice enough start will lead somewhere good.

"Whisper" is directed by Lee Myeong-woo, written by Park Kyeong-soo and features Lee Bo-young, Lee Sang-yoon, Kwon Yul and Park Se-young.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Watch on Viki

Note: Due to licensing, videos may not be available in your country

❎ Try Ad-free