"Missing Noir M" Episode 2
The immediate problem our intrepid detectives come up with this episode is simply a lack of suspects. It's like Soo-hyeon says- pretty much everybody in the picture is dead, so what exactly are they supposed to be investigating? As it turns out, there is one somewhat windy trail that eventually leads the team to the culprit. And as is usually the case with a well-crafted mystery, everything seems so obvious in retrospect I'm not actually sure why it took so long for the team to figure out what happened.
My favorite clue really has to be the footage from the press conference. It certainly doesn't look like there's any helpful information there, however much the tape is rewound- then the drama goes and points out a really obvious limitation and it's just, oh, duh. "Missing Noir M" really is an excellent test for lateral thinking. There aren't any gimmicks employed to keep the proceedings interesting. We receive information just as fast as the detectives do, and they mainly struggle to find the most plausible interpretation.
I use the term "plausible" in the fictional sense, of course. It's even mentioned at one point that the crimes being observed here are actually a little too perfect- indicating that the true perpetrator must be someone with an intimate understanding of the logisticial layout of the various crime scenes. Although even that clue ends up being rather simplistic, because it quickly turns out that multiple characters have secret agendas.
The ability of "Missing Noir M" to credibly reveal these secret agendas is all the more impressive considering that, once again, we have very few characters who can really be considered suspects. The game here is just to have Soo-hyeon and friends puzzle out the inconsistencies in the story. But this can only really go so far- in between this episode and the last there's actually quite a high body count, which skirts dangerously close to making our main characters look incompetent.
But then, the ending make a good point. Their job was to find a missing person- and that is in fact exactly what they did. However much the situation degraded, the detectives managed to save one innocent life and shine light on a rather disturbing long-ago case. The?big twist in particular putsKang Ha-neul's?tears from last episode in a?new light, inspiring decent empathy. While "Missing Noir M" isn't terribly original or amazing in terms showmanship, the second episode is the same strong, solid effort as the first, clearly cementing?the drama's status as an effective?crime procedural in classic, if sometimes gory style.
Review by William Schwartz
"Missing Noir M" is directed byLee Seung-yeongand written byLee Yu-jinand featuresKim Kang-woo,Park Hee-soon,Jo Bo-ah,Kim Gyoo-cheol,Park So-hyunandKang Ha-neul.
Source from :Hancinema