Two Cops

This one is a gem, folks. Even though there hasn’t been a lot of hype surrounding it and it didn’t get an outstanding rating on Viki.com, I absolutely loved this show! Get this… a dedicated cop and a swindling conman share much more than just a past in the comedy/crime Kdrama Two Cops.

After his partner is brutally murdered Detective Cha Dong-Tak goes after the man suspected of killing him, a crook named Gong Soo-Chang. When Dong-Tak finally catches the guy and is bringing him back to the police station, they are chased down and surrounded by a motorcycle gang. Although they try to fight, they are completely outnumbered and Officer Cha’s suspect is severely injured. Knowing they’d be killed if he surrendered, Cha chooses the only way out he can find – a jump off a bridge – he picks up Gong and together they plunge into the cold, dark water below. When the murder suspect awakens he is in a hospital bed. Imagine his surprise when he discovers he is now inhabiting the body of the man who arrested him – Detective Cha Dong-Tak – and his comatose body is handcuffed to a hospital bed! A strange woman informs the crook he only has 49 days to get back into his own body, giving him the impression the only way he can do that is to find out who is behind the plot to frame him for the murder of Detective Cha’s partner.

Detective Cha Dong-Tak is an amazing fighter, always eager to inform the bad guys that, “Korean detectives learn… taekwondo, judo, aikido, boxing, hapkido and kendo. We know many different ways of breaking an arm. Pick your choice. I’ll choose which part to break.” He is a loyal cop and expects the same from those he works with. When his partner is murdered on the job Cha won’t rest until the one who did it is behind bars. He falls for a feisty, fearless reporter, Song Ji-An, who is willing to help him by sharing any information she may have that pertains to the cases he is working on.

When he was a boy Gong Soo-Chang and his father were in a car accident that resulted in his father’s death. To make matters worse his dad was accused of causing the accident but Soo-Chang knows that wasn’t the case and has always wanted to prove his father’s innocence. He was raised in an orphanage and chose to become a pickpocket and swindler. As far as conmen go, Gong Soo-Chang is one of the best. He’s great at reading subtle nuances in people, which help him pull off his cons, although he does have a policy to not steal from poor people or pretty girls. Like Detective Cha he, too, falls for attractive reporter Song.

The truth – that’s what drives Song Ji-An. Her father’s death was ruled a suicide and he was accused of being a crooked cop, but Ji-An knows better and wants to clear her dad’s name. She is an ace reporter who would face any danger for a story. She’s tired of doing the research, writing the story, and having someone else read it on air. She wants her minute in the spotlight, too. It doesn’t take Ji-An long to fall in love with Detective Cha. However, she notices his personality drastically changes now and then, so much so that she has him listed in her phone as “Two Cops.”

Jo Jung-Suk was made for the part of Detective Cha Dong-Tak. He looks like a cop, sounds like a cop, walks like a cop, fights like a cop… it’s a perfect part for him. Jung-Suk began his entertainment career in theater. One of the many things he did was to play the title role in Your a Good Man Charlie Brown. I can just picture him as sweet, misunderstood Charlie Brown. I’ll bet he was awesome. After seven years on stage he turned to TV and then to movies the following year. You can read more about him in my Jealousy Incarnate review.

Kim Seon-Ho began his acting career in the theater genere in 2009. Last year (2017) he branched out to TV when he landed parts in the Kdramas Chief Kim and Strongest Deliveryman. At the 36th NBC Drama Awards Seon-Ho won the Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Drama and Best New Actor. Both were for his role as the lovable conman Gong Soo-Chang.

Lee Hye-Ri, who plays Reporter Song Ji-An, first came on the entertainment scene when she was scouted while still in middle school and debuted as the youngest member of the girl group Girl’s Day in 2010. Although her acting debut came two years later, in the weekend drama Tasty Life, it was her role in the 2015 cable drama Reply 1988 that shot her to critical acclaim. I’ve seen her in Hyde, Jekyll, Me and Entertainer, two very good Kdramas.

Jo Jung-Suk is no stranger to the body swap plot. He was the lead actor in Oh My Ghostess (in which a deceased outgoing young woman possesses the body of a sweet kitchen assistant), but this time around he’s the one who has to do the possessed acting. Not since Secret Garden have I enjoyed a body switch show so much. Jo Jung-Suk does a magnificent job acting like two different people. His facial expressions, the way he talks and walks – the audience can tell who is in charge of his body because he does such a great job showing us. It’s no surprise he received the award for Top Excellence Award, Actor (in a Monday-Tuesday drama).

The action and directing in Two Cops is first rate. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out Jo Jung-Suk did most, if not all, of his own stunts. He puts everything he has into those fight scenes, looking like someone who has trained in several different fighting styles all his life. The choreography reminds me of stuff Jackie Chan’s stunt team would do and every move is precise because we get to see some of the action in slow motion. One of the most exciting scenes is when Dong-Tak is fighting an entire motorcycle gang while being handcuffed to Soo-Chang! It’s just plain wow. There’s also a part where he fights a woman and, unlike some other men characters I’ve seen, he doesn’t hold back just because she’s female. He goes at her with everything he has. It’s great!

This Kdrama is based on a script written by Byun Sang-Soon which happened to be one of the winning scripts of the KBS TV Drama Miniseries Competition in 2016. The writing is tremendous. It’s peppered with hilarious moments of comedy, dreamy romantic situations, and spectacular fighting scenes that go hand in hand with its nail biting mystery and emotional drama. Anyone who enjoys classic buddy shows will love Two Cops.

As excellent as Two Cops is, I regret I have to report a major mistake. There’s an episode missing between 16 and 17. You see, the beginning of episode 17 isn’t connected to the ending of 16 at all. And in 17 there are flashbacks of things we were never shown. All I could think of was that I had skipped an episode, but I hadn’t. I went back to the end of 16 and played it again and then started 17 over from the beginning, going halfway through it before stopping, and sure enough, there is a gap. It’s not big enough to leave out anything that helps us solve the mystery but certainly big enough that we wonder in desperation, “What did I miss? How did it come to this? Why is he here?!” So brace yourself at the end of 16 and go into 17 forewarned. You’ll figure things out okay, even with the missing part because the flashbacks of stuff they never showed us helps piece things together.

The soundtrack for this drama is okay. I wish YouTube would have all the great instrumental songs that are on the show but I couldn’t find them. It does, however, have several of the songs that are sung. Fall in Love is my favorite – a pretty ballad made even better by Yoo Sung-Eun’s complimentary voice. Let’s Not Ask is more upbeat, a great sound to accompany a tough cop. Goo Yoon-Hoe lends his vocal talents to But What, a slightly uptempo ballad you can tap your toes to. There are several others but I didn’t find them good enough to mention separately.

The scenery in the show doesn’t look like it was planned at all. They go from place to place, like everyone working on the drama just coincidently showed up at the same spot because that’s naturally where the characters would have gone next. Indoors, outdoors – it all perfectly fits a cop show.

This drama has everything anyone could want – action, comedy, romance, mystery… Trust me, you won’t be disappointed with Two Cops.

 

Score: 9.5

The Good:
Excellent writing
Fun plot
Wonderful acting
Superb action scenes
Yummy romance and real kisses
Good directing
Very entertaining
A perfect mixture of comedy, romance, action, drama, and mystery

The Bad:
An episode is missing in between 16 and 17 (at least it is on the one I watched on Viki.com)