Two Reviews Cafe Minamdang (2022) Cafe Minamdang is a silly but good-natured romp that positions itself within the tradition of slapstick buddy cop procedurals while conducting an uneasy dalliance with the serious side of criminal profiling. It’s no a marriage made in heaven as the ensemble hunt down an elusive serial killer who seems to be connected with the upper echelons of South Korean society. Indeed how does one successfully reconcile the comedic with the more serious elements? Not easily and the mixed results speak for themselves. Seo In-guk who plays former forensic profiler Nam Han-jun turned consulting shaman gets to display his comedic talents with shameless glee as he robs from the rich while trying to solve crimes with his partners-in-crime, Kong Su-cheol (Kwak Shi-yang) and sister Nam Hye-ju using their individual skill sets. Han-ju is reduced to grifting as a shaman in his popular cafe using his mentalist abilities because he was wrongly convicted for fabricating evidence in the aftermath of the murder of his bestie the late Prosecutor Han Jae-jeong. After serving time, Han-jun is determined to track down the killer while amassing resources earned through the cafe. It doesn’t take long before he starts to cross swords with Jae-jeong’s younger sister, Jae-hui (Oh Yeon-seo) who despite her rank is really a third-rate detective who investigates using her unreliable gut and is prone to emotional outbursts. In fact her entire team comprises of a rag tag of ne’er do wells that often have their rear ends handed to them by the unofficial sleuths from Cafe Minamdang (the front for Han-jun and Co.’s real agenda). Jae-hui misunderstands the flamboyant Han-jun but he prefers it that way especially when he doesn’t know who she is.
I enjoyed reading your non-spoiler review, friend. Thank you for sharing. My brain is not in the right head-space to properly comment anymore, but I remember loving what you said here, because I agree whole-heartedly. "The last 5 episodes notwithstanding, Love Like the Galaxy is undoubtedly one of the best C dramas I’ve seen." Despite having so much rage over it, I absolutely still think of the show and love most of it to pieces. I hope we'll cross paths as I've mentioned before, in another drama.
I enjoyed reading your non-spoiler review, friend. Thank you for sharing. My brain is not in the right head-space to properly comment anymore, but I remember loving what you said here, because I agree whole-heartedly. "The last 5 episodes notwithstanding, Love Like the Galaxy is undoubtedly one of the best C dramas I’ve seen." Despite having so much rage over it, I absolutely still think of the show and love most of it to pieces. I hope we'll cross paths as I've mentioned before, in another drama.