“Sisyphus: The Myth” Is Off To An Intriguing Confusing Start- Episode 1 And 2 Review
“Sisyphus: The Myth” aired the past week and is the newest JTBC blockbuster drama about a time travel story between a genius engineer named Han Tae Sul (Cho Seung Woo) and his savior from the future Kang Seo Hae (Park Shin Hye).
There was a lot of buzz surrounding the drama considering the interesting premise as well as the star-studded cast it includes.
I am here to share my thoughts on “Sisyphus: The Myth” and discuss why I am on the fence about it.
Note: this will be a spoiler review of the said episodes in the title. This is a subjective review.
The premise
The idea behind “Sisyphus: The Myth” is good. I think 2021’s theme will be time-travel since we have many dramas about this airing at similar times with more in the making.
“Sisyphus: The Myth” premiere was intriguing enough to spark curiosity about next week. The plot is all over the place considering how massive the theme is, but I know, the drama will become more clear as time goes by.
I did find it a bit annoying the overly used exposition scenes and I didn’t like the introductory scenes either. Let me explain.
The situation where Han Tae Sul is working to ‘fix’ a plane so he could save people came so out of the blue and felt so unreal that I just couldn’t take it seriously. I was laughing at certain scenes because of the absurdity of the situation.
At many scenes during the premiere of the drama, I was reminded over and over again by “Iron Man,” which is not good, because the more it progressed the more it felt like Han Tae Sul was the Korean version of Tony Stark and it didn’t have the impact I think the creators of this drama want on me.
A ladies-man who is mega rich, he is super smart and standoffish. He causes trouble to his company with his shenanigans and its reaching a boiling point. Meanwhile, he also has mental health issues he must face.
I must this say overly used generic character outline doesn’t surprise me or excite me anymore. I don’t like or hate his character thus far and I don’t find it in any way or form special.
Kang Seo Hae’s introductory scene also started off well but then weirdly ended with her being on the top of a train, how on earth did she escape them? it’s not like they’re dump enough not to look up. I just found that odd.
Aside from that, “Sisyphus: The Myth” evoked questions. This could also potentially become the next big hit for JTBC, and the ratings are already on the high. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with it especially since it’s a pre-produced drama.
The time travel part- can they pull it off?
Since it’s a time travel drama, continuity will be the hardest thing to pull off. Luckily, it is a pre-produced drama. I’ve been talking about how PDs should do time travel projects ahead of airing them completely and I am glad they did it this time.
It appears to me that they want to go big. Even if we’re dealing with future technology, I hope the two screenwriters realize the importance of trying to maintain common sense and logic.
I think in the case of 85% of all the time travel dramas I’ve watched, I rarely see people pull off the theme well. Most of them become very messy and illogical by the second half and the more questions you ask, the more the plot falls through. I am so curious to see if the unknown screenwriters will be up to the challenge.
Two people are better than one in such a theme. I am interested in what next week brings. I think it’ll have a better chance at being convincing if they don’t attempt to make the characters go back and forth in time, that would reduce the error margin by a lot and will be helpful to the writers.
Pairing Park Shin Hye and Cho Seung Woo
I know I will get flack for this, but please read it through before you attack me.
I don’t like the pairing at all and I am so worried they’ll be paired as a couple which seems to be the direction it’ll take later on.
I genuinely thought that Cho Seung Woo was in his 50s prior to this, and for the first time in a while, I overestimated how old a Korean actor was. Turns out, he’s only 40 years old but looks old enough to pass as Park Shin Hye’s father or uncle. I still can’t believe he’s 40.
Not that it affects his performance in the drama whatsoever or that its bad he’s been cast but the pairing looks very odd. When I saw the marriage photo, I was like ‘NOOOOOO.’
Also, the way they’re styling his hair, it appears to me that they’re trying to make him look younger. This is a hairstyle Korean stylists usually apply to actors to make them look younger, specifically for school days scenes. In his case, it just looks weird.
I just have trouble with them inserting a love line into the story. I understand why they’d do it, but personally speaking, I don’t like the pairing. And yes, I know, Park Shin Hye is only 10 years younger and she’s in her 30s, but she looks younger than that and overall, I am not that eager to see their love line.
Even by looking at the marriage photo, if I didn’t know any better. I’d say he’s her father walking her down the aisle.
I know many of you will say ‘you didn’t even see them in a scene together,’ but through the teasers alone and the overall atmosphere, I am not that excited for it to be honest. I know they’ll do their best and won’t disappoint, but this is just my taste. I know some people are loving this pair. But I am here to share my honest thoughts.
And honestly, seeing her with Chae Jong Hyeop, I thought they shared good chemistry. If they continue to make their characters overlap and insert his character into the story even more, I am afraid I’ll begin to love this pairing a lot more.
So these are my thoughts on “Sisyphus: The Myth,” so what about you guys? did you like the episodes? let me know what you thought in the comment section below.