[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Tunnel - Drama" Episode 12

Our two killers finally meet and Jeong Ho-yeong starts a new game upon his departure in episode twelve of "Tunnel - Drama". The police close in on Mok Jin-woo's identity as he also closes in on who Gwang-ho really is. Just as things are about to become solved, another impossible occurrence surfaces, leaving our hero with new obstacles for the next episode.

Advertisement

Before getting to the good bits, I have to say that the series is struggling with its plot logic lately and this makes some things less enjoyable. Jeong Ho-yeong's (Heo Sung-tae) clue of "Noel" is too cryptic and the characters' conclusion of it being a catholic name too far-fetched. Mok Jin-woo (Kim Min-sang) remembering a face he saw in the dark thirty years ago and the police somehow excluding him from the list of suspects are also sloppy writing.

These errors are particularly visible and regrettable, because the series does take the time to construct the logic behind some other plot points. For example, the prison visitor logs take a while to appear, but the creators deliver them and also Mok's excuse for his visit. Given our killer's motivation could be related to his belief in a higher power granting him challenges, his instant acceptance of time travel does not seem too contrived either.

The aforementioned time travel is a topic I have many thoughts on. One thing which has been nagging at me throughout the series is the absolute acceptance of Gwang-ho's (Choi Jin-hyuk) return by Seon-jae (Yoon Hyun-min) and Seong-sik (Jo Hee-bong). I wish the characters contemplated the repercussions of messing with time and existence. Gwang-ho's return to the past generates many questions and I wonder if the writing will address them.

There are two possibilities I can think of where we can still experience the known present largely unaltered, but the first would not sit well with audiences. If we go by the many-worlds theory, Gwang-ho returning to the past will put him in a new timeline, meaning his actions will not have consequences in our current one, in which he had disappeared in 1986. The versions of our characters we know would never meet again.

If there is only one timeline and Gwang-ho returns to a previous point in it, then the present as we know it disappears. I cannot think of a logical way for us to see the present remain mostly the same as Gwang-ho's actions in the past influence it. This leaves me wondering whether the creators will boldly erase everything we have experienced or whether they will take creative liberties to wrap things up in a neat little bow.

"Tunnel - Drama" is directed by Sin Yong-hwi and Kim Seong-min-I, written by Lee Eun-mi-III and features Choi Jin-hyuk, Yoon Hyun-min and Lee Yoo-young.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Watch on Viki

Note: Due to licensing, videos may not be available in your country