Queen Mantis: Blood Ties and Bloody Crimes.
Mother knows best? My thoughts on this new dark psychological thriller.
The recently concluded crime thriller, "Queen Mantis," is the Korean adaptation from the 2017 French TV series "La Mante", featuring Go Hyun Jung, Jang Dong Yoon, Cho Seong Ha, and Lee El. The story opens with a horrific murder which bears striking similarities to a series of killings committed two decades prior by "The Mantis," a notorious serial killer. As the police grapple with this copycat crime, The Mantis, serving a life sentence, offers her unique expertise to the investigation. Her offer of insight comes with a single condition: she'll only speak to her estranged son, now a police officer.
My initial impressions can be read here:
Nomad
The story itself is a dark and slowburn thriller that unfolds in a relatively short 8 episode drama, with each episode unveiling a new twist or even darker revelation. It explores heavy themes of child abuse, domestic violence, vigilante justice and generational trauma. I went in to the show with no prior knowledge of the original show, only reading the Netflix synopsis and a desire to watch some good acting after a series of sub-par performances and mediocre scripts from romantic Kdramas. Thankfully this drama delivered a gripping intense story which kept me on edge until the very last episode!
The ensemble cast features a compelling mix of seasoned veterans and newer actors, such as Jang Dong Yoon; I loved his character in Like Flowers in the Sand and My Man is Cupid, so it's exciting to see him act in a more serious role here. It was my first drama watching Go Hyun Jung, I didn't know of her prolific acting career previous to this show and was blown away by her dark psychopathic characterisation of the serial killer. I found her portrayal as Jung I Sin chilling and a little uncomfortable to watch (in an entertaining way!), her on-screen presence was honestly outstanding and I'm sure she will be nominated for awards in this role. I constantly debated whether she was genuinely aiding their investigation or if she was the true mastermind behind the "copycat" killings, subtly manipulating the police and her son. My suspicion of her motives persisted, even as more of her dark history slowly came to light, keeping me on edge until the very last episode.
Jang Dong Yoon plays the character of Cha Su Yeol, a detective and estranged son of the serial killer, is fighting his own demons at work as we see him being reprimanded for taking things too far, and in his personal life struggling with the fear of "inheriting" his mother's murderous tendencies which causes tension between him and his wife and the question of having children. I found it interesting that the show poses this question of nature vs nurture, which laid the foundation for the character's emotional journey having this conflicted identity; though I feel Jang Dong Yoon was acting his best in this role, I found his performance at times lacked the depth needed for the more emotionally complex scenes.
I often found the police's decision-making questionable and bordering on irrational at times. For instance, Lee El's character inexplicably unlocks a suspect's handcuffs while they are recovering in hospital at an attempt to get a lead on the investigation. She is portrayed as a experienced and savvy investigator, so I feel like she should have known she was being manipulated by the killer; furthermore after this misconduct, she didn't face any repercussions or dismissal aside from Cha Su Yeol reprimanding her in the immediate aftermath. Another example, Jo Sung-ha as Senior Officer Cha Soo-Yeol, seemed strangely passive for an authoritative figure. Despite his undeniable talent as an actor, his character felt somewhat bland and unresponsive, often silently observing rather than intervening when it was professionally warranted.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed unraveling the mystery of "Queen Mantis" and appreciated its deliberate, gradual pacing. While some elements of the police storyline felt questionable, the police team acting was solid, though I wished their characters had been given more script to truly shine. The rest of the support cast, in particularly the diverse array of killers, delivered superb and impressive performances. The undeniable standout remains Go Hyun Jung, her portrayal of The Mantis was nothing short of amazing, a perfect unsavory blend of bloodlust, vengeance, and deception which was strikingly juxtaposed with glimpses of maternal instinct and concern for her son.
My rating:🧋🧋 Great, I loved this.
