‘Through the Darkness’ Netflix Series Review - Revolutionizing the Police Force

Agui Maeumeul Ilgneun Jadeul or Those Who Read the Hearts of Evil or Through the Darkness is a crime thriller drama that is based upon a web novel. This drama contains the experiences of Song Ha-young, who is also the first Korean profiler.

In the first episode of the series, we are taken to March 1998 and are introduced to a man who wears a red cap and is a sexual offender. He’s been active for ten months, and so far there have been twelve victims. The Police Force is shown to be working till 3 AM, dressed as women so that they can catch him. We are introduced to Choi Hwa-yeon, a simple girl who is pregnant. She gets attacked by the Red Cap and is left naked after her murder. Choi Hwa-yeon died of asphyxiation and the suspect in her murder is her boyfriend, Bang Ki-hoon.

Parallelly, initiatives for forming a special unit are going on so that they can bring modernized techniques to catch the killer. Song Ha-young forms an important part of this team because he has to play the role of a profiler.

The title has been kept ‘Through the Darkness’ because as a child, the protagonist himself saw dark things, survived them, and later became a Detective. He saw the darkness and helped people move toward the light by catching the culprits. Also, another reason for keeping this title can be attributed to the various villains that have been shown throughout the entire length of this series.

There are a total of twelve episodes which last for more than an hour each. We get to see the Police officers spending their days and nights working hard to catch the culprits. The system wasn’t as developed as it is now. The story starts in March 1998 and ends in March 2007. The character of Ha-young is special as he saw a dead body floating in the river when he was just a child. This shaped his whole personality, he developed sympathy for the victims and their families and is dedicated to helping them. The methods employed by him are not just based on emotions as he doesn’t know what these are when he’s at work. It would be rare to even see this character smile because he knew too well the art of hiding things that go in his mind. Kim Nam-gil performed the role of this character exceptionally well and should be praised for the same.

In my opinion, Through the Darkness is a good watch. People interested in watching crime dramas should go for this series for its good suspense build-up. Several killers and the story of their victims have been told. Song Ha-young becomes the first profiler in Korea, and the way he used his logical thinking in catching the culprits is commendable. The series isn’t entirely focused on him, and this is one of the great aspects of the plot. Building up the entire series on the main character is a common thing. This thriller from SBS follows a unique road and chooses to show the stories of evil in human form. The audience will definitely like this series as realistic crimes have been shown. The themes of the crimes might not be for everyone, but crime drama fans will definitely like this series.

Final Score – [8/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
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