Just Finished Watching "Suspicious Partner" (AKA "Love In Trouble")

It does really look like that the digital age can provide a lot of distractions, right? Yup, I decided to give Zenkaiger yet another pause to explore other stuff that I haven't watched last decade. I remembered watching Pride and Prejudice some time ago which was a combination of romance and legal drama. How does Suspicious Partner hold out in that regard? Some may think about the J-Drama and Anime-style humor entertaining here. After all, much of Korean entertainment is Japanese-inspired, right? At first glance, it may seem Mio Kudo and Erika Toda had a project together last 2017. Instead, we have Nam Ji Hyun (who looks like Mio) and Kwon Nara (who really LOOKS LIKE Erika) with the cast. I was thinking about how the show seems to a richly-flavored cake in contrast to how Pride and Prejudice was run. For some Filipinos, they watched it badly-dubbed sometime in 2019. 

The opening doesn't seem to focus on legal drama. Instead, we have the tale of cheating that opens it up. Eun Bong Hee (the leading lady) has a cheating ex-boyfriend whom she's later falsely accused of murdering. There's her leading man (who doesn't date her until later) in Ji Chang Wook as Noh Ji Wook. Ji Wook had a hot ex-girlfriend in Cha Joo-Young (Kwon Nara) but she cheated on him some time ago. Later, Ji Eun Hyuk (Choi Tae Jun) ends up as the love interest if Joo Young. There are some romantic tensions in the midst of a murder mystery as killer Jung Hyun Soo (Kim Hyeong Goo) has done a series of killings. 

I think the love story ins somewhat developed in this sense. Fate brings both Ji Wook and Bong Hee together especially in a pending case. I'm thinking about the corruption done by a head prosecutor who turns out to be the father of Bong Hee's late ex-boyfriend. It makes you think how some people could care less about the innocence and guilt of the suspects - just GET SOMEBODY PUNISHED. Filipino viewers might've thought of how Paco Larranaga (along with the other suspects) were wrongfully tagged in the Chiong Sisters case or how Hubert Webb (who was in the USA) was wrongly tagged in the Vizconde Massacre case. Meanwhile, the killer Hyun Soo is mistakenly acquitted over SEVERAL crimes that he really did. 

It's very hard to miss the blatant product placement of Papa John's Pizza. Yup, residents of Quezon City (where Mayor Sad Belmonte reigns) would probably get so familiar with that. Filipino fans would probably be quick to recognize the product placement. I still think about it that, hopefully, Papa John's will be open throughout the Philippines via a franchise or any other legitimate means. I was hungry for pizza just looking at the blatant product placement. It also reminds me of how Santa Claus: The Movie had used McDonald's in the product placement. 

What interests me throughout is how the characters develop. For instance, Joo Young starts to become a better person after her days as a promiscuous bad girl. It was interesting to see how Na Ji He (Kim Ye Won) starts off as a mean girl but she gradually becomes nicer as the show progresses. It would be interesting to how the criminal does have some motives. It also has an interesting scene that asks, "Would you do something illegal or stoop to the level of the criminal to see him punished?" It was interesting to see all of that fall into place.

For one, I think the way things wrapped in contrast to Pride and Prejudice can be compared to two kinds of cake. Pride and Prejudice can be compared to a chocolate roll from Goldilocks - a cake with much less icing and more cake. Suspicious Partner tends to add a lot of icing after the cake is made - you get a very rich cake with marshmallows and peanut brittle. Suspicious Partner makes its finale quote focused on the romance than the ongoing case. 

I think I'm probably biased here. I still think Choi Jin Hyuk has better acting ability. I still think Baek Jin Hee manages to deliver more spunk. Though, I can say that the cast of Suspicious Partner still gets the job done. It's pretty much like how Jin A Nana's acting isn't that good but she still manages to do her part. Just that, I felt that the cast didn't stand out. However, they're still worth some praise for getting the job done.