bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Pierce Conran

This article contains spoilers.
2/5 stars
There’s something to be said for sticking to your guns. Before their show even aired, the creators of serial killer thriller Mouse clearly laid out their intention. They wanted to realise a fantastical “what if?” scenario: what if a psychopath could feel remorse for their actions?
The resulting programme, a manic and maddening melee of murder and mystery, held on to that notion, which scrapped and heaved its way through the show’s twists, turns and puzzling detours.


In its opening flashback episode, Mouse presented the discovery of a psychopath gene, which can identify future serial killers before birth with 99 per cent accuracy. Beyond closed doors, high-powered figures narrowly vote down a bill to abort babies carrying the gene.
This episode also introduces us to two babies possessing this very gene – one, the son of a serial killer, the other not. In the present day, they become friendly neighbourhood cop Jung Ba-reum (Lee Seung-gi) and aloof doctor Sung Yo-han (Kwon Hwa-woon). We’re not sure who is the notorious Head Hunter’s (Ahn Jae-wook) progeny, nor do we know which one of the two is responsible for an ongoing serial killing spree.
Mouse midseason recap: serial killer K-drama devolves into gobbledegook
What follows is a convoluted tangle of investigations dovetailing the questionable methods of alcoholic and irascible detective Go Moo-chi (Lee Hee-joon) and the investigative reporting of TV show host Choi Hong-ju (Kyung Soo-jin). Ba-reum’s young neighbour Oh Bong-yi (Park Ju-hyun), who aggressively pines for him, also becomes increasingly involved.
Further complicating matters are several instances of pseudoscience relating to things like genetics and semi-brain transplants. It’s all outrageous poppycock that makes an already hokey murder mystery utterly bewildering. However, for those who had remembered what the show was initially setting out to do, it did set the stage for its eventual endgame.
That endgame involved a mysterious OZ group which has been closely tied to both Ba-reum and Yo-han for their whole lives, though they never noticed them. They’ve been responsible for some of the deaths around them and they manipulate other events, always covering their tracks with remarkable speed, sometimes erasing a murder scene within minutes.

The head of the group turns out to be presidential adviser Choi Young-shin (Jung Ae-ri), who was one of the supporters of the psychopath gene abortion bill from decades earlier. After identifying Ba-reum and Yo-han as babies with the psychopath gene, her nefarious plan has been to shape them into serial killers, all to motivate the public to pass the failed law. Her dream is a psychopath-free utopia.
The OZ subplot was a late-stage sidetrack and quite ineffective as the final villain, particularly as the group’s machinations undermine – for a lack of a better word – the horrific crimes of the show’s main serial killer, which turned out to be Ba-reum. The double-reveal is that Ba-reum was the Head Hunter’s son as well, since he and Yo-han were switched in their youth.
Six new Korean dramas to look out for in May 2021
Yet, since halfway through the series part of Yo-han’s brain was secretly added to Ba-reum’s cranium – by none other than the Head Hunter – when both were on the brink of death, the Ba-reum of the rest of the show is really a fusion of both characters.
Once he’s completed his mission to take down the OZ Group, Ba-reum ultimately confesses to the crimes the previous Ba-reum committed, and he accepts his punishment. And so we reach the endpoint the show has been striving for. Ba-reum, a serial killer, feels remorse for his actions and furthermore dies a painful death, owing to complications from his experimental surgery, while sitting in a church pew, presumably seeking salvation from the almighty.
It’s a fantastical and preposterous conceit, but damned if the show didn’t find its way there in the end. It’s so strongly suggested that this new Ba-reum is a different person that it’s hard to say what kind of remorse he’s feeling or whether his fate is some sort of divine retribution, but the closing images of the show are symbolic and thought-provoking.

For the only time in the show’s run, the finale takes things slowly and allows us to process what’s happening. Granted, the final episode is a whopping 100 minutes but, patience aside, it’s a compelling and operatic ending. However, it’s one that the show didn’t really deserve.
Satisfying as this endpoint should have been, the rest of the show has been so meandering, hysterical and illogical that it feels like its own kind of a cheat. The creators knew exactly where they wanted to go, but the journey to get there – all 27 hours of it, not even counting three specials – weren’t worth the trouble.

Mouse is streaming on Viu in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia.


K-drama The Haunted Palace: Bona, Yook Sung-jae lead spirited period drama

Netflix K-drama Weak Hero Class 2: Park Ji-hoon back for school fight drama sequel

Netflix K-drama Heavenly Ever After: Kim Hye-ja, Son Suk-ku lead afterlife fantasy romcom

K-drama Way Back Love review: Kim Min-ha, Gong Myung shine in fantasy high school drama

Korean drama reviews

K-drama review: Mouse – befuddling serial killer drama gets the operatic ending it doesn’t deserve

Lee Seung-gi in a still from Mouse.

Park Ju-hyun in a still from Mouse.

Kyung Soo-jin in a still from Mouse.

Lee Hee-hoon (left) and Lee Seung-gi in a still from Mouse.

Lee Seung-gi in a scene from Mouse. The bemusing serial killer K-drama got the operatic ending it scarcely deserved.

Netflix K-drama Mine: elegant and diverting drama fuelled by the whims and secrets of high society

The Netflix K-drama Mine follows the lives of a family of rich and powerful women. Kim Seo-hyung (left) and Lee Bo-young in a still from the series.

Ok Ja-yeon in a still from Mine.

A still from Mine.

Kim Hye-hwa in a still from Mine.

Cha Hak-yeon (left) and Jung Yi-seo in a still from Mine.

K-drama review: Move to Heaven – sentimental Netflix drama starring Lee Je-hoon and Tang Joon-sang

Death and family are the main themes in Netflix’s Move to Heaven, starring Lee Je-hoon (above).

A still from Move to Heaven.

Tang Joon-sang in a still from Move to Heaven.

Lee Je-hoon in a still from Move to Heaven.

Tang Joon-sang (left) and Ji Jin-hee in a still from Move to Heaven.

K-drama midseason recap: Sell Your Haunted House – comfort food series mirrors everyday Korean woes

Jang Na-ra in a still from Sell Your Haunted House.

Jung Yong-hwa in a still from Sell Your Haunted House.

Jung Yong-hwa (left) and Jang Na-ra in a still from Sell Your Haunted House.

Jang Na-ra (left) and Kang Mal-geum in a still from Sell Your Haunted House.

Han Hyo-joo, Park Hyung-sik lead survival K-drama series, Lee Hye-ri of Girl’s Day joins Joseon Era period drama

Han Hyo-joo is set to star in the survival series Happiness. It is one of a number of recently announced K-dramas.

Na In-woo in a still from River Where the Moon Rises.

(From left) Cha Tae-hyun, Jin Young and Krystal will star in the upcoming series Police Class.

K-drama midseason recap: Taxi Driver – revenge drama dispatches colourful villains with aplomb

Lee Je-hoon plays the cool and confident Kim Do-ki in the K-drama Taxi Driver.

Pyo Ye-jin in a still from Taxi Driver.

Baek Hyun-jin in a still from Taxi Driver.

Cha Ji-yeon (left) and Kim Eui-sung in a still from Taxi Driver.

Lifestyle

K-drama

Entertainment

Arts

Culture

Film & TV

K-Pop

For the only time in the show’s run, the finale takes things slowly and allows us to process the utterly preposterous storyline it has weaved until now
In a show that’s been so meandering, hysterical and illogical, its an endpoint which is nowhere near as satisfying as it should have been


The finale to serial killer Korean drama series Mouse was compelling and operatic, but that can’t hide how convoluted and ludicrous the whole experience has been.


K-drama news

What's hot in Korea

South Korean celebrities

Fame and celebrity

TV shows and streaming video

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

Review | K-drama review: Mouse – befuddling serial killer drama gets the operatic ending it doesn’t deserve

For the only time in the show’s run, the finale takes things slowly and allows us to process the utterly preposterous storyline it has weaved until now In a show that’s been so meandering, hysterical and illogical, its an endpoint which is nowhere near as satisfying as it should have been

For the only time in the show’s run, the finale takes things slowly and allows us to process the utterly preposterous storyline it has weaved until now

In a show that’s been so meandering, hysterical and illogical, its an endpoint which is nowhere near as satisfying as it should have been