Suspicious Partner, undoubtedly, was a good story but the script failed it. Fortunately, the direction and performances were good which makes you want to watch the series till the end. If you are a romantic at heart, you will watch it for the adorable love story that unfolds between the lead pair, Noh Ji-wook and Eun Bong-hee. Though there shouldn’t be any comparison, I liked Nam Ji-hun’s portrayal of Oh In-kyeong in Little Women more than her portrayal of Eun Bong-hee in Suspicious Partner. In this web series, when she stands with Ji Chang-wook, he is flawless, especially when it comes to emotional scenes. Not just the emotional scenes, he has carried comedy so well that you literally laugh and cry with him. I am not saying that Nam Ji-hun wasn’t good enough but she could have done better when it comes to emotions and romance. In Little Women, I was more involved and interested in her character than any other as she played Oh In-kyeong so well. Maybe I had high expectations from her as I had already seen her performance in other kdrama which is why I thought that the performance she delivered is slightly below her actual potential.
The romance and performances are actually the best part of Suspicious Partner otherwise, it is a highly disappointing show. You can call it a Korean Balaji Telefilms drama. The plot was great, in fact but the sub-plots that were added ruined it all. So, here goes the main story.
Eun Bong-hee joins Noh Ji-wook as a trainee. Before joining, she is shown to be dealing with the betrayal of her ex-boyfriend. She is shown to be getting into a fight with him in a restaurant where Noh Ji-wook, a stranger to her then, comes to her rescue as he has also been cheated by his girlfriend. He understands what Eun Bong-hee is going through and for the time being, plays her romantic interest. While all of this is unfolding, we see Eun Bong-hee’s boyfriend murdered in her apartment. The interesting part here is that she was not in the apartment when all of this happened but still, she becomes the primary suspect.
Her only hope is her boss, Noh Ji-wook. Since he is the prosecutor and fights against criminals, he requests his ex-friend, Ji Eun-hyuk to handle Bong-hee’s case. Having said that, it is Noh Ji-wook who proves her innocence. First, he proves that she cannot be held responsible for the murder as multiple weapons have been found near the scene of crime. Later, years after Eun Bong-hee is released, Noh Ji-wook proves that she was innocent and the real murderer was a psychopath who has murdered quite a few.
How Eung Bong-hee and Noh Ji-wook fall in love after being distant for years is interesting to watch. Similarly, the sub-plot where the protagonists’ past is linked was also intriguing. The story went astray when it comes to the murderer and Eun Bong-hee being the prime suspect. It was stretched to a point where the entire track starts to irritate the viewer. It’s very foolishly done. The writer has taken too much liberty and twisted the story as per her convenience. The murderer first becomes the Noh Ji-wook firm’s client, then kind-of their friend, and then again a suspect. Then they chase him. While all of this is happening, we keep wondering whether there was no right legal way to do this. Did a proper police investigation of Eun Bong-hee’s ex-boyfriend, Jang Hee-joon, who was also the son of the District Attorney and an influential man, Jang Moo-young never happen? Why was only the lead characters getting all the evidence and others didn’t? In that case, did none of the murder cases get closed? Were all the cops so inefficient? Why did all the related cases keep coming to the lead cast and their firm? Were there no other prosecutors, lawyers, and police in the city? This is where the story lost its charm.
If the writer would have focussed entirely on a single plot or to widen the scope of the story, ended this plot on time and then worked on other plots, Suspicious Partner could have done a lot better when it comes to the script. One tiny mistake and they lost the show.
Having said that, I wouldn’t say don’t watch this series. I have watched only a few K-dramas till now but their plus point has always been good performances, dreamy romance, and gripping direction, so you can definitely watch it if there is nothing else on the list.
Coming to the language part of the web series, I watched the original show on Netflix in Korean with English subtitles. But this k-drama, Suspicious Partner is also available in Hindi on MX Player. All the episodes are dubbed in Hindi and are available for free.