[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Whisper" Episode 5

The cat is out of the bag and now four leads get to engage in backstabbing pleasantries for episode five of "Whisper". Dong-joon is looking for allies in an effort to keep himself safe and conquer Taebaek. Il-hwan tries to help for his own revenge, but his pull is limited by his daughter's affiliations. Yeong-joo is pushed into a corner and makes some desperate decisions upon receiving bad news regarding her father's health.

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The setup of "Whisper" dove into the main story pretty quickly and in order to keep the pace brisk and the happenings exciting, we are dealing with a cast of characters who simply do not take breaks or contemplate for long. The series has episodes to fill, however, so we are in for a lot of situations where everyone almost reaches their goals before being foiled. I hope that those will remain exciting throughout.

There are interesting dynamics here, because while everyone aside from Yeong-joo (Lee Bo-young) and her family are willing to do everything in order to get or protect what they want, there are characters around who can keep everyone on their toes as their allegiances​ shift. Il-hwan (Kim Kap-soo) is such a character, because his thirst for revenge with Dong-joon (Lee Sang-yoon) as his tool is as big as his weakness for his daughter.

I hope the story will continue to give power to Dong-joon, because as nasty as he is, he is also the only one who is in any position to bring Taebaek as it currently stands down. Jeong-il (Kwon Yul) has his father and a wide network behind him, but Dong-joon's days as a supposed beacon of impartiality leave him with only enemies. Il-hwan will not help him forever and neither will Song Tae-gon (Kim Hyung-mook), if he feels threatened.

As for Yeong-joo, I am glad that her morality is being tested and I am glad that Dong-joon picks up on it. The scene where she sees herself in mourning as he once saw himself incarcerated is very impactful. I am not convinced of his little epiphany, however. I know the series wants to sell a deeper connection, but I wish Dong-joon's softening were more gradual and convincing.

Speaking of the pair, the ending kiss is a hard one to stomach and not just because of the contrived escape causing it. I suppose a relationship baptized with betrayal and rape continuing with kiss-gagging is consistent, but I worry about where this is going. I can see it working as long as it is treated honestly, but this is Korean drama and so I will not hold my breath.

"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'

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