Review: Life on Mars (2018)

A decade ago (my goodness, why does this term make me feel like I am already so old 😶) I did not find Jung Kyung Ho that much appealing, probably because I hated him a lot as Min in Time Between Dog and Wolf. But then Prison Playbook happened... Now, my impression of him has drastically changed and I find myself binge-watching every single drama that he's starred in, such as this. With that, I'm glad to say I've been a happy camper because I absolutely enjoyed watching Life on Mars.

Image via Tving.

A remake of the UK Television Series of the same title aired by BBC from 2006-2007, Life on Mars follows the story of Lieutenant Han Tae Joo, a leader of a crime investigation team who has risen up the ranks by relying more on data rather than people. While chasing after a serial murderer who was responsible for the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend, he meets an accident, and by the time he wakes up, he finds himself transported back to the year 1988. Now a detective for Violent Crimes Unit 3 at Insung Seobu station, Han Tae Joo must solve an eerily similar serial murder case so that he could go back to the present day.

❀ RAVES ❀ »•»

1) Jung Kyung Ho. I know I've originally started this show because of my new found love for Jung Kyung Ho, but dang, I did not expect to be blown like that. Jung Kyung Ho was amazing as Han Tae Joo, probably even better than when he was Lee Joon Ho from Prison Playbook (at least for me). Han Tae Joo was sort of a difficult character to play because more often than not, he was an aloof, stoic and by the book grumpy pants who had a bad habit of closing himself off from others. This required Jung Kyung Ho to cut back on smiling a lot, and because Han Tae Joo was curt in his responses and mum in expressing his emotions, Jung Kyung Ho had to be more precise in his facial expressions and body language so as to deliver Tae Joo aptly to the audience. And I absolutely love him for that. ❤️

One of my favorite deliveries of Jung Kyung Ho was this scene in Episode 8 where Han Tae Joo had to witness his father's death. It was already a roller coaster of emotion for Tae Joo when he found out that the hero dad he looked up to was actually a scumbag, a shady liar, and even a murderer. But of course dad was still dad, so when Tae Joo had to witness his dad get murdered in front of him thrice, dang, that was traumatic. But wow, how I laud Jung Kyung Ho for playing that overly traumatic scene really really well. As the scene of his dad's death get rewinded for a second and a third time, Tae Joo's desperation for not getting to him before the gun went off was perfectly embodied by Jung Kyung Ho in his nuanced acting. That's basically acting out the same moment with varying degrees of emotion, and if that didn't wow you, well, I don't know. Plus, Tae Joo went through so dang much in this episode. It was both amazing and heartrending all at the same time, and really, I just can't thank Jung Kyung Ho enough for being sooooo impressive.

2) Bromance. Tae Joo and Dong Chul's relationship was among my favorite aspects of Life on Mars. I love how Dong Chul is like a mother hen to Tae Joo, and that from initially disliking each other, they have come to a point where respect and trust is mutual. I also love that no matter how different their personality is or how opposing their opinions are, over time they learned to compromise and take into consideration, even admire, what the other person has to say. Dong Chul is the kind of brother that Tae Joo never knew he needed. Even if Dong Chul was brass and annoying at times, I love his genuine concern for Tae Joo and his well-being. It didn't help that Park Sung Woong was such an adorable bear and that he had an undeniable chemistry with Jung Kyung Ho, too.

3) Camaraderie. Oh, this is something I absolutely love—not just in Life on Mars but in most OCN shows as a whole. I think OCN has quite a number of shows where the sense of camaraderie is absolutely gratifying (Bad Guys, Squad 38, Player), and Life on Mars is no less different. I so much enjoyed Tae Joo's interactions not only with Dong Chul and Na Young but also with Yong Gi and Nam Sik. There was evident chemistry among the whole gang, and really, there's just something nice in seeing them get along and get along well at that. Watching them bond and solve cases together gives off the same vibe as if you've known them or have been friends with them for so long. It felt warm and strangely familiar, and I just can't help but miss them by the time the show has reached its end.

In Episodes 13 and 14, Dong Chul found himself helplessly at a corner after all of the evidences for Kim Young Pil's death pointed to him as the murderer. It didn't help that Tae Joo, Na Young, Yong Gi and Nam Sik were all assigned at different posts at the time. But even if that's the case, it was so nice to see how the gang secretly investigated and worked together to help clear Dong Chul's name. I also love how at the end of Episode 14, despite of all the voices that Tae Joo kept on hearing and Chief Ahn's nudging that his teammates were just "delusions" that keep him in 1988, Tae Joo still chose to run towards his friends anyway. That says a lot about how much his team has grown on him since Day 1.

Tae Joo: "Who you really are doesn't matter to me. I will believe... what's happening before my very eyes."

4) Officer Yoon's Character Treatment. 1988 was a time when women were treated unequal to men, which was why it was so pleasing to see that despite being given petty tasks such as making coffee at the onset of the show, later on Yoon Na Young gets to be treated as a police officer of equal caliber. She was soft-spoken and feminine yet at the same time had guts and intelligence. She takes pride and joy at the things she does, and I love that as Life on Mars progressed, she was able to become more than just being the team's errand girl by being a lot more empowered. It was refreshing to see how, in a world dominated by men, she was given the chance to shine and do real police work even if it meant risking her safety. She was never afraid to break out of the box, and I loved that all along, her teammates have learned to acknowledge her and value her for her worth.

I love how Tae Joo has always treated Na Young with respect. To him, Na Young was more than just an office assistant, she was a police officer and thus treated her as an equal. This is evident in the way he addresses her as "Officer Yoon" instead of "Ms. Yoon", and how he never asks her to make coffee for him but offers her a coffee that he has made instead, as seen in Episode 9. Aw, my heart.

5) Storyline and Ending. Now this is something I love and hate at the same time, but the hate part, let me talk about that later. Life on Mars was such a head-scratcher. It had a pretty complicated story, but it was complicatedly good, to say the least. I love the show's twists and how they kept me engaged and intrigued up until the last episode. The time travel aspect and its mechanism was something I still do not get up to this point, and I'm still not entirely sure what 1988 actually was either. Was everything only an alternate reality? Did Tae Joo really travel back in time? Was he in a coma? Or was he actually dead? Yet in the end, it didn't really matter. Even though the ending was left open to interpretation, it somehow didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth. In fact, I was extremely satisfied with the story, more so with Tae Joo's journey.

6) Humor. Although Life on Mars is not a comedy, it has quite a number of comedic scenes sprinkled here and there which help lighten the mood and balance out the overall tone of the show as a crime drama. Some of my favorites are those involving Yoon Na Young, such as this:

There was this scene in Episode 3 where Na Young went undercover in order to catch the thieves who steal women's IDs so they could purchase world credit cards offered by a certain shopping mall. When Na Young's cover gets blown after Nam Sik suddenly squeaked for her safety, a chase ensues. As Tae Joo and Dong Chul runs after one of the suspects, Na Young gets hostaged... and then the unimaginable happened—she flipped and restrained the suspect, giving him a nice kick in the butt. I was as surprised as Tae Joo and Dong Chul were, and that flinch? That was gold.

And this:

In order to save Tae Joo from the threat of Oh Jung Man's henchmen in Episode 8, Na Young took Dong Chul's car and drove through the scuffle, ramming several boxes in the process. It took Dong Chul a while to notice what happened to his car, and by the time he went berserk, Tae Joo and Na Young already broke into a run... which was hilarious. What's even funnier was how Na Young's shoe came off in the alley, with Tae Joo waiting for her to go back and get it before running off again. Ha. My goodness, these two! 😂

❀ RANTS ❀ »•»

1) Storyline and Ending. As mentioned, this was something I loved and hated all at the same time. The part that I hate was the confusion regarding Tae Joo's reality—whether everything was only an alternate reality, a time travel, an extremely realistic coma dream, or... whether he was actually dead.

Although I love that Life on Mars ended on a happy note and that Tae Joo finally reunited with his 1988 detective friends, the ending still left me kind of confused. I would like to think that Tae Joo, in reality, is dead. I'm pretty sure no one would be able to survive being ran over by a car after having been shot in the head. Which then makes Tae Joo's 1988 sort of a purgatory, and him going back to 2018 prior to jumping back to 1988 again the closure that he needed so that he could finally accept his death and move on to the afterlife. Or maybe... he really was in a coma but never got out of it at all, and that the 2018 timeline in Episode 16 was a dream within a dream, like him falling into a deeper coma? Because if he legit killed himself just so he could "go back" to 1988, the show would then be sending the wrong message regarding suicide and depression, and that would just be so wrong.

2) Repetitive Visual and Auditory Hallucinations. I get that this was needed to shake Tae Joo a little bit as well as add mystery regarding his reality, but does it really have to be shoved down our throats every single time? Because really... It does get a little bit cringey (and creepy) overtime I just... brrrrr

❀ RULING ❀ »•»

Despite the minor gripes, Life on Mars had been a fun and engaging watch during its entire run. I enjoyed following it through from Episode 1 to 16, the same way Tae Joo has enjoyed being with his 1988 detective friends. Recommended watch.

TAGS: Go Ah Sung, Jung Kyung Ho, K-Drama, K-Drama Reviews, Life on Mars, Park Sung Woong   Edit