Who can believe we’re already halfway done with “Big Mouth!! this calls for a first-half review.
Note: this will be a spoiler review of the said episodes in the title. This is a subjective review.
The plot
“Big Mouth” is written by someone named Ha Ram. I have checked a couple of websites and spent a good 20 minutes looking for who this person is and I can’t find information about them. So I am assuming this is their debut project.
To me, the most important part of a project is the writing and so far, I am enjoying Ha Ram’s style. “Big Mouth” has been one of the most interesting kdramas of 2022 thus far.
There are many reasons why this happened but it also depended highly on the writing. The writing style and suspension have you double guess yourself. Everything aside for a minute, its fun to guess who is big mouse. Its been fun to interact with people and share theories about who I think big mouse is and this has in turn made the drama so much more fun and interesting than it would have been if the identity of him was made known.
Thus far, “Big Mouth” writing has been mostly concise. There are many writing points I personally loved, this includes the use of tarot cards to convey messages. This is a brilliant idea and you can tell the screenwriter has looked into this to use it skillfully for the project.
We’re 8 episodes in and we still have no idea who big mouse is. The list of suspects is now down to basically zero because it appears none of them could be that person. I am personally leaning towards the idea that it could be a character we haven’t been introduced to yet.
With such style of writing also comes potential trouble. However, I am on the optimistic side, why? Because according to Namu Wiki, the drama wrapped up filming about 4 months ago. This means the screenwriter is not chasing people’s reactions while trying to complete the script. It could also mean they probably finished writing ahead of time to make room for the stunts planning stage, which has become more of the norm in kdrama land…. and I think its a good change.
This writing can potentially entrap the screenwriter. Meaning, they could easily stumble and end up making the decision to make someone big mouse when it doesn’t make sense or eliminate someone who could have been big mouse to further speculations and by that, anticipation. Padding the run time will exist in this case but it seems we have many side stories that can comfortably fill the run time.
The other issue is… the longer you try to delay the reveal of big mouse, the more people become invested in the story, this means more people will revisit scenes and re-watch to catch what they missed. You run the risk of people catching on to minuet details or details you wished they would miss. We’re yet to find out whether we’ll encounter plot holes down the road or not. As I said, I am optimistic this time around especially since it has been filmed a while ago.
I personally began seeing some things that could potentially become ‘slip-ups’ or potential ‘plot holes’ but I won’t get into them because they could well be intentional. I must wait until the identity is revealed to discuss this part in details.
The characters
“Big Mouth” has an ensemble cast that works wonders, setting the performances aside for the next chapter, I want to discuss just how much I love the writing for the characters.
Chang Ho definitely stands out, this character allows Jong Suk to show off his range and his acting capabilities proving once again he’s not just a pretty face. I sort of want him to become even more cunning and ruthless given the sh*t he went through in episode 8, such things can ruin people. So I hope we take this into account. If he becomes a villain, I would actually applaud the screenwriter because it would make sense. Even if I ended up hating his character, it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate good writing and good performance when I see it.
I like the mayor’s character a lot and I have a feeling he wants to bring them all down and is waiting for the right moment to do it. I also suspect he doesn’t actually love his wife and is using her.
I also love the writing for Dr. Han Jae-Ho who abuses his wife, its a very interesting mixture between wanting love so bad and abusing your wife because of deep unresolved anger issues. I also like the writing for the warden’s character and how he views himself as this ‘god’ for the prison.
Many supporting characters have interesting arcs and stories and I believe we’ll dive deeper into some of them in the near future even more. I am intrigued to learn more about the cutie Jerry and the mayor.
The performances
Lee Jong Suk definitely shines here, its been a while since he shined so brightly mostly because some of his past project has been on the calmer side. His commitment and dedication to the role can be seen through his eyes. I feel it and I’ve been enjoying him a lot.
Another person I am enjoying so much is Yang Kyung-Won who plays the role of Gong Ji Hoon. Such an underrated talent, he actually looks scary here which is a contrast from his most notable role in “Vincenzo.” I have so much fun watching him act, whenever he’s on screen I am excited to see how he’ll handle his lines.
Kwak Dong Yeon is SEVERELY underrated here and his character is poorly developed too. It took 7 episodes for them to give him some backstory. This dude is a marvelous actor and deserves so much more. I am still so surprised he took on this role, I expect he can ask for a better role given his status, and I expect he can also lead his own drama now but he’s still playing supporting roles. I can rant about this for one more hour but I’ll spare you the details. I hope there is a reason why his character is underdeveloped.
Kim Joo Hun also gives an amazing performance, he’s full of passion and I love watching him. He’s been super active this year.
YoonA does good as per usual and you can tell she’s doing her best to match Jong Suk’s energy. Hong Ji-Hee is also doing so well, she has potential, I hope more people realize her talent, she’s been under my radar for a while now.
Ok Ja-Yeon is doing well with the material she has but her character is under-developed and she’s one of the characters I expect we’ll see more of in the second half.
Conclusion
“Big Mouth” is easily one of the most interesting MBC dramas I’ve seen in recent memories and its also one of the most exciting things to watch right now.
I am a bit skeptic about the direction but I remain hopeful it won’t go that route. Even if it did, I would still call this one of the most fun kdramas I’ve seen this year because I’ve had so much fun guessing who big mouse is.
The drama is also doing immensely well in ratings, so congratulations to our cast.
Hope the second half is even better. I AM EXCITED.
So what about you guys? what did you think of the drama thus far?
