Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Starring: Im Si-Wan, Lee Dong-Wook, Lee Jung-Eun, Lee Jong-Ok, Park Jong-Hwan, Lee Hyun-Wook, Ahn Eun-Jin

Streaming on: Prime Video/Netflix

Runtime: 1 season, 10 episodes, 1 hour each episode

Language: Korean (Prime Video’s subtitles are better)

To watch or not to watch: A must watch for people looking for a true mind-bending psychological thriller

Yoon Jong-Woo is a young man who has moved from his hometown to Seoul when he lands an internship at a company run by his school senior. Seoul also meant being in the same city as his girlfriend Ji-Eun and being away from home with struggling single-mother and sick elder brother. Jong-Woo is looking for a cheap accommodation where he can adjust for a few months, while saving money for his family and security deposit for a flat. He ends up renting a room at Eden Studios, where the neighbours are strange to say the least and the landlady who appears friendly, is a miser and has her own secrets. The relationship with his girlfriend is also less than ideal and is not helped by his work situation, which is filled with jealousy, suppression and harassment. In the parallel is the dentist Seo Moon-Jo (Lee Dong-Wook), who is everything that is successful, charming and friendly – only on the surface. The rest is Jong-Woo’s struggle with life and how it all comes to a head.

It is one of the best in the psychological thrillers genres. It subverts the tropes in that it doesn’t play big on blood and innards. It keeps the audience at the edge of their seats by playing the show-not-tell rule perfectly. We go back and forth in time when Jong-Woo was in the military and had to deal with unruly subordinates. It keeps us guessing about the truth about Jong-Woo, and what drives him. Then we come to Moon-Jo, the one normal functioning around Jong-woo, and how he fits in with the rest of the residents of Eden Studio. Another important character of the story is So Jung-Hwa (Ahn Wun-Jin) who doesn’t have a high run-time but is critical in joining all the plot points to make a comprehensive whole.

The series is near perfect, starting from scenes telling us about his search for a dorm and how sequentially Jong-Woo compromises on the living standards for cost. The scene where he visits Eden Studios has subtle hints on how he gets signs that living there will be difficult like his luggage trolley loses a wheel and he has to lug it up a flight of stairs to reach the dorm. It wins hearts right there. We also feel sorry for the protagonist as he has to tackle everything at home and work, not helped by the lack of support from his girlfriend as she has her own problems to solve. The soundtrack is subtle and well done (underrated part of production but critically important). The end will keep you guessing, and that’s all there is to say about it. Highly recommended to watch at one go, not to lose the beat. Keep something light-hearted lined up to watch after to help get over it. It is that good.