"Remember" Episode 5 recap

Writer Yoon Hyeon-ho seems pretty committed to the melodrama angle. Jin-woo's first on-screen case is barely even a case at all, he just storms into the courtroom, makes his argument, and then there's a big dramatic tearful moment on the courthouse steps where good and evil and justice and heartlessness are contrasted with the reality of the legal system. That's not even getting to the very violent high-strung violin music, which hits its harshest point in the final scenes.
I've mentioned before that writer Yoon Hyeon-ho's main work to date has been in film. It's for that reason I'm surprised he's basically writing a daytime revenge soap opera. "Remember" is the kind of story that comes to mind when people make fun of Korean dramas. Multiple characters had their lives changed by car crashes. Crying histrionics appear on a regular basis. The lead character has an elaborate chart detailing every individual person he needs to take vengeance on.
By the way, if Jin-woo has perfect memory, then why does he need a chart? This marks the second straight episode where Jin-woo doesn't use his ability of perfect recall- here he just comes off like a smart well-prepared lawyer rather than a whiz kid with a special power. So much for the drama's high concept. While I'm sure that plot point will come up again sooner or later I can't help but feel like next time it's going to come off as a deus ex machina.
This is mainly because the corporate conspiracy is still as powerful and invincible as ever. Am I really going to have to watch Nam Goong-min strut around acting all unjustifiably cocky again? He was irritating enough in "The Girl Who Sees Smells"- which is admittedly not the actor's fault. The scripts for these two dramas are flawed in completely different ways. The internal logic was what ruined "The Girl Who Sees Smells" for me- in "Remember" the issue is more regarding genre conventions.
And that might well be enough for some viewers. For all its blatant clichés "Remember" really does look pretty great- check out the camerawork for the boardroom scene, or the classic "blurred image turns into visible coherent one". Director Lee Chang-min-I is definitely working for his paycheck, and I can commend the production team for putting in proper work. Unfortunately, it's becoming less and less likely that I'm ever going to enjoy "Remember" on subjective merits.
Review by William Schwartz
"Answer Me 1988" is directed by Sin Won-ho, written by Lee Woo-jeong-I and features Seong Dong-il, Lee Il-hwa, Ra Mi-ran, Kim Seong-gyoon, Ryoo Hye-yeong, Hyeri, Ko Kyeong-pyo and Ryu Jun-yeol.

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