So as a viewer, one thing that interests me is who will I identify with during the film, which character would I relate with the most. It didn't take long for me to find detective Seo as the man for the plan, his reasoning was my reasoning and therefore I had this link with the character as the plot went on. I could be wrong by saying this but I would assume many viewers would also relate with this specific character. Now what interests me, is his definite shift in "personality" or rather, actions, from beginning to end. In the beginning detective Seo comes off as a man of honor, who respects regulations and believes in following ethics while working professionally. The "good" guy right? He is also picky, as a detective should be, to make choices for him isn't as simple as it is for detective Park, he needs certainty and no traces of doubt. Only one thing bugged me about his character and it had to do with his certainty that "documents never lie". I would argue that documents, while being written and "set in stone" can be forged and manipulated, so that is one flaw I found within detective Seo. Though he remains adamant throughout the investigation that documents are truth, except towards the end, when his stance seems to waver and therefore destabilizes him. He seems so sure that he caught the murderer that once he sees the document saying otherwise, he decides it must be a lie, it can't be true. From that point on, his will is shattered, he is broken, the truth he sought suddenly becomes blurry, his perspective on regulations, ethical manners and documents being undoubtedly true is rocked by his decision which was to blame the mysterious Hyun Gyu.
When I watched the film, in my head I felt like detecive Seo caught the real culprit, and I only wanted to shout "It's him omg! Make him pay!!" Afterwards, I composed myself, and I had to rethink about what the director had done. No way in hell I was the only one thinking like this a tthe end of the film. The director effectively made the audience (those who truly believed Hyun Gyu to be the murderer) into monsters. We would go along with Seo and blame this guy who was scientifically proven to be (PROBABLY) not the murderer. The shift in Seo's actions and beliefs is also a shift felt by the audience and we all became so frustrated towards the end, we WANTED to find the murderer, but we didn't. We build up this hatred which needs an outlet... that once we think we truly found the guy, we are willing to unleash all that hate onto him. But we were robbed of that wrath and so, are left empty-handed, facing the truth which is that we haven't found the murderer... and we hold on to the little thread of possible justice that may or may not be.. some day.
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