Summary
Unmasked is an odd show that lurches between genres and storylines in Episode 1 and 2. It’s intriguing but remains too imperfect to recommend at this stage.
I have no idea what to make of Unmasked, which after two episodes feels like a comedy tripped and fell into a crime drama and nobody knew how to separate them. Genre-blending like this isn’t unheard of, of course, but insofar as Episodes 1 and 2 – “In This Beautiful World of Ours” and “Setback” – are concerned, there’s a sense of someone trying to have their cake and eat it too.
Side note: I’ve never understood that expression. What else would you do with a cake? But you know what I mean.
It turns out it’s hard to see the comical side of cat murder, which comprises a big chunk of this two-part premiere. It streaming on Disney+ feels like a bit of a coup; can you imagine what Walt would think? But, nevertheless, that’s where we are, with obtrusive Saturday morning cartoon sound effects occasionally cropping up in the background for no reason at all.
The general premise is fine. Unmasked revolves around a team of investigative journalists at a Korean network news station. Their show is called Trigger and is powered in large part by the relentless enthusiasm of team leader Soryeong, who takes her responsibilities to truth and justice and holding the powerful to account so seriously that she frequently risks the careers and sometimes lives of her team and herself to get to the bottom of a story.
Into this fray enters Han, a nepotism hire with a dodgy reputation for having squandered a promising directorial career on a urinary incident which may or may not just be a rumor. Han’s pretty principled too, as far as justice is concerned, but he’s not a team player; he prefers the company of animals – don’t we all? – and is pretty open about hating everyone in his general vicinity.
So, two characters, both of whom have the same fundamental goal but see the path to achieving it as wildly different. Gee, I wonder if they’ll get along?
Episode 1 of Unmasked revolves in large part around a drug-peddling religious cult named Haven of Truth, South Korea being as conservative about drugs as it usually is about sex, though to be fair this show can be a little fruitier than usual in that regard. Nevertheless, this introductory case is intended to show us how utterly reckless Soryeong can be and how much of a kicking she’s willing to take for the sake of the truth – and Han is dragged along with her.
Han’s not keen on this, understandably, especially in the 21st century when you can fly a drone around to get surveillance footage rather than risk life and limb. Different strokes.
Unmasked still | Image via Disney+
In the background of this episode, we’re also introduced to the vague idea of “Dr. Trigger”, a thus-far anonymous trouble-causer who is trying to sabotage the Trigger team – perhaps from within? – with evidence of an illicit affair. This is what I meant when I mentioned the show being a bit more cavalier than usual about sex. But it’s very much in the margins of this introductory two-parter, with the cult case taking precedence early and then ceding focus to another plot about an old man being framed as a cat serial killer.
I’m a cat guy, for my sins, so this wasn’t ideal for me. But it’s not ideal for the old man either. Within Episode 2 of Unmasked some more plotlines begin to emerge; Soryeong is still looking into the 20-year-old cold case of a missing idol whose discovery she thinks could potentially save Trigger from cancellation, and a couple of personal subplots also drip through. One involves Soryeong being in a relationship with someone else at the network, and another involves Gi-ho, one of the Trigger team’s junior writers, becoming increasingly frustrated with Han’s preferential treatment. One of my favorite low-key character beats in the premiere is when this guy really takes umbrage with Han’s apparent lack of interest in the job, since writing his own stories is Gi-ho’s dream and he’s striving against what he believes to be a rigged system.
Through a contrived series of events, Han also finds himself as the suspected cat killer, which leads him to the old man and then to the real suspect, but also an important lesson – he has to learn to function as part of a team. His tendency to push people away will only endanger himself, the others, and the story they’re chasing. It’s a bit ironic that Soryeong is pushing that idea given how she conducts herself, but it is what it is.
In the earliest stages, the unmistakable feeling around Unmasked is of a show that has perhaps bitten off more than it can chew. Between the cold case, two cases of the week, neither of which are completely resolved in Episodes 1 and 2, Soryeong and Han’s respective pasts, inter-office politics, and the whole Dr. Trigger debacle, there’s a lot going on here, and little evidence that the show can juggle it all appropriately, especially considering that it frequently lurches between genres without much thought.
I’m intrigued, though, and that should count for something. There’s potential in the characters – even though it seems like one of them may be a traitor – and that’s enough to sustain interest for a few more episodes. But I do hope that Unmasked starts to cohere a little better sooner rather than later.
