A suspenseful Korean drama ‘Mouse’ centers on the key question, "What if we could sort out psychopaths in advance in the mother’s womb using foetal genetic testing?" And if the child in the womb is a psychopath, will it be wise to have that child?
‘Mouse’ is a 2021 action-packed crime thriller drama on tvN which is based on the concept of the ‘psychopathic gene’. In this drama, a brilliant geneticist named Daniel lee (Jo Jae-Yoon) discovers psychopath genes that can make people future serial killers. And not only that ,they also can be identified before birth with 99 per cent accuracy. But that left out 1 per cent can surely be a genius. Beyond closed doors, high-powered figures narrowly vote down a bill to abort babies carrying the gene. As far as a country is concerned, rejecting the birth of a child with this gene will prevent the country from producing new geniuses. What impact this choice will have on the future of the world is a difficult issue to conclude.
The choice in the play is to allow children with psychopathic genes to be born. The protagonists of the plot are two children with psychopathic genes. In the beginning of the series, we are introduced to these children. One of them is the son of ‘Head Hunter’. A famous neurosurgeon named Han Seo Jun (Ahn Jae Wook) was the head hunter, who brutally killed 20 innocent ordinary people. And the other child’s father sacrificed honorably to save strangers. And that’s why they can’t take a risk, what if one of them turns out to be a genius?
Many years after the ‘Head Hunter’ was sent to jail, murders started again. Police found a dead body of a woman in a sewer. She was attacked by a killer in an alleyway. A crazed serial killer’s ruthless murders have left the entire nation gripped with fear, and chaos reigns. Always one step ahead of the authorities who chase him, the only sign the cops have of the killer’s presence is the grisly trail of chaos left behind. Determined to find this killer and bring them to justice, Jung Ba Reum (Lee Seung-gi) a rookie police officer and Go Moo-Chi (Lee Hee-Joon) a homicide detective whose parents were killed by the ‘Head Hunter’ teams up to track down a serial killer who slaughters his victims. Together they do whatever it takes to get this job done. Working at a local substation, the good-hearted Jung Ba Reum is a happy officer who is happy with the life he has made for himself. But when the nation is rocked by the ruthless murders of a crazed killer, Jung Ba Reum’s peaceful life gets totally upside down after meeting the killer.
Along with the main cast members, there’s a troublesome high school student Oh Bong Yi (Park Ju Hyun) who lives with her grandmother. Contrary to her small stature, Oh Bong Yi has a cool and tough personality and excels at all kinds of sports including martial arts and jiu-jitsu. Producing director Choi Hong Joo (Kyung Soo Jin) works in a crime TV show where she portrays all the murders that have to go on in the country. She has numerous awards under her belt despite her young age.
Lee Seung-gi’s character and his acting were phenomenal in this drama. The way his true character was revealed and how he executed that change was an impressive thing to watch. He delivered perfectly which was asked for the role. His tears, guilt, sadness, and regrets shown in every episode were truly magnificent. Jung BaReum, as the lead character of the narrative, was introduced as this kind and caring member of the police force trying to catch and put to justice the psychopaths in society. All this, however, would be thrown out the window when finally his true character is revealed and he is finally unmasked. With all the perfect cast members the drama felt as if everything was happening in your own life.
The scriptwriter of ‘Mouse’ Choi Ran, was inspired by the Incheon Elementary School Murder case in 2017. In 2017, at the Incheon Elementary School murder trial, when the victim's mother asked the defendant what was the hardest thing right now, the defendant's answer was not sorry or guilty. Instead, the defendant said, "The weather is nice, but it's the hardest for me not to see cherry blossoms." The whole nation was shocked and furious at the defendant's response. Perhaps it is natural for the defendant to give such an answer. As psychopaths have the same brain as ordinary human beings, but without a mirror neuron. They do not feel the pain of others at all. Neither can they perceive other feelings such as guilt, sympathy, compassion, or regret. That’s why they become so cruel. Many psychopaths also put on an act in front of others to not reveal they're true identity. A real-life psychopath named Ted Bundy was like that. He was known to be very sly and charming, which was the shiny veneer he used to lure his victims. He killed more than 30 people across the United States. But it took years for the authorities to catch him because no one was able to believe that an upstanding young man like him could do such things. He was so cruel that his own lawyer described him as a heartless evil.
Unlike other thriller dramas, from beginning to end, the plot is well-packaged and invites the audience to guess at every possibility that might occur. At first, the audience may be confused by the many theories that are presented. However, the curiosity and confusion of the audience will be answered one by one through flashbacks that appear neatly. It was an intense drama that will play with your mind over and over again. You will keep thinking and never dare to blink because you'll definitely miss a lot. There are too many characters to remember and there's too much going on. You won't even have time to look for a plot hole. In ‘Mouse’, you’re never sure what comes next. Just when you thought you knew a character’s entire backstory, the series surprises you with a twist that will leave you with even more questions. Every time you think they’ve solved everything, something else comes up. It’s always an experience.
This drama also shows us that one may come from a family of killers but does not necessarily make you a killer. We have sole authority over how we navigate our lives. The decisions that we make and how we decide to end them are what make us human, not our origins or the family where we came from. We shouldn’t carelessly give someone a negative label because what we see is not necessarily true.
K-dramas always leave a bitter-sweet taste in the audiences' mouth. Sweet for the wonderful viewing experience we have as audiences, and bitter for when the drama's end, we feel sad that we cannot watch it anymore. This 20 episode drama also ended this 19 May. As ‘Mouse’ ended fans were shocked, emotionally wrought but very satisfied with the ending and how the directors wrapped up the story. All questions and injustices were answered and served. This drama is well written and presented by the production and the cast. This drama started by amazing us and also ended by amazing us. ‘Mouse’ bid farewell to the viewers with solid ratings. The final episode of ‘Mouse’ recorded average nationwide viewership ratings of 6.246% 1st in its time slot. It also got 8.6 IMDb ratings. ‘Mouse’ can be watched on several streaming services, such as VIU, iQiyi, Dramacool, and Vidio.
* Rumaiysa M Rahman is a 10th grader at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Dhaka