Train is a sci-fi crime thriller about a detective (Yoon Shi Yoon) whose loved one (Kyung Soo Jin) is murdered by a serial killer, but he discovers an abandoned train station is connected to a parallel world where she is still alive and works to protect her.
Yoon Shi Yoon plays Seo Do Won. He’s a detective who has had to live with the guilt of a murder his father committed many years ago. His guilt leads him to try to help the daughter of the murder victim throughout her life.
Kyung Soo Jin is Han Seo Kyung. She’s been searching for her father’s killer for many years. She grows close to Do Won who stepped in and helped her when she most needed it. She doesn’t know he has a big secret though. As evidence begins to emerge related to her father’s murder, things take a deadly turn for Seo Kyung.
Well, Train ended up being a mixed bag for me. I think it really came down to a couple of things. It had the unfortunate fate of being the follow up drama to the best drama I’ve seen in years (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay) as well as being a style of crime thriller that I don’t tend to love.
Now that’s not to say there weren’t things I enjoyed. I was attracted to the series for its sci-fi parallel worlds premise with one of my favorite actors, Yoon Shi Yoon, at the helm. I love parallel worlds concepts, and this one creates two similar worlds where a few key events alter the course of our characters’ lives in very different ways. The Butterfly Effect is a fascinating concept for sure. The effects of a serial murder play out in each world and become deeply intertwined with each other.
I liked exploring how Do Won and Seo Kyung’s lives played out in each world. Do Won is on a mission to find the truth and protect Seo Kyung however he can. As he travels between worlds, he is able to piece together events that happened in each world to lead him closer to the truth. It was also very interesting to see the differences in relationships with not only him and Seo Kyung but also the other characters around him.
Yoon Shi Yoon was wonderful as he always is. He puts forth a fantastic performance in dual roles as the two versions of Do Won. I love how he goes all in and gives his characters so much life. I truly enjoy seeing him act, and he was a major reason I stuck around for this show.
Now what I didn’t like. Initially, I really didn’t care for the first episode. It dropped me into a story with everything very much already in motion as well as in the middle of action scenes that didn’t have much context at the time. I wasn’t able to connect with Do Won and Seo Kyung because of how their story was presented either.
This does improve over the next few episodes though as the back story comes together and we get a handle on the current day happenings. But as the drama settled in, I realized that despite being a serialized crime thriller, which is what I typically like, it leaned heavily towards an investigative style of storytelling that I don’t really care for.
There was just a lot of investigating and digging into the individual crimes that were connected to the big picture. Sadly for me, this feels very boring. Now those of you who enjoy the crime genre as a whole will likely not be bothered by this. It seems that most people really loved this drama, so this seems to be more one of those taste issues for me.
Now, the actual story in this drama is very compelling, and luckily, I found the second half of the drama to be much more interesting than the first. Although the investigative style does hang around, it tones down in the second half as the serialized story really comes together and everything becomes connected.
It also became easier to connect with our characters, especially Do Won. This guy faces some serious troubles, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for him as he does everything within his power protect Seo Kyung and catch the killer. He just couldn’t seem to catch a break though.
The drama also gains momentum as it progresses, and the pieces of the story intertwine and the suspense ramps up. There are several nice twists and reveals along the way too. Things come together quite nicely in the end, but I did think the ending was a bit messy and rushed.
So all in all, I had mixed feelings towards Train. I liked the overarching mystery thriller story, the parallel worlds concept, and Yoon Shi Yoon’s wonderful performance, but the drama’s investigative style of storytelling, particularly in the first half, really wasn’t to my tastes. It had enough going for it that I’m glad I did stick around for it though.
My Rating: 6.5/10
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