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Chief Detective 1958: Episodes 1-2
by lovepark
The iconic series that ran for nearly two decades and aired 880 episodes has gotten a prequel, but don’t worry if you haven’t caught up with the behemoth original since there’s plenty of fun for everyone in this new show. Turning back the clock to a time when the country was ruled by a dictator and justice seemed a far cry from reality, a group of detectives would change the tide with their doggedness, ingenuity, and absurdity — showing the world that there’s very few problems a bag of snakes can’t solve.
EPISODES 1-2
The show opens with the original chief detective (cameo by Choi Bool-am) visiting his grandson who looks strikingly similar to his younger self. At the police station, he catches a glimpse of his old team pictured on the wall, and the show takes us to the past — a prequel to the adventures of the legendary detective PARK YOUNG-HAN (Lee Je-hoon). In 1958, Young-han makes a name for himself in his hometown as the greatest cow-thief catching officer and is recruited to a position in Seoul.
None of his previous accolades mean much in the big city, but Young-han soon finds a new title for himself after his first assignment. Walking right into a den of gangsters, our young detective tosses the boss a pair of handcuffs and orders him to arrest himself. The thugs don’t take kindly to his cocky attitude, but Young-han came prepared. He brandishes a bag of venomous snakes, and though his threat feels like a bluff — no sane man would bring snakes to a fight — we learn that Young-han is no ordinary man. As he leaves the room with the boss in tow, his bag rips, and thirty snakes drop to the ground in the middle of the restaurant, earning him the nickname “snake detective.”
It seems Young-han has the skills (or at least the gumption) to back up his big talk, but the real trouble in Seoul isn’t about catching gangsters but arresting them. The infamous underworld leader LEE JUNG-JAE (Kim Young-sung) has the superintendent in his pocket, so despite Young-han procuring a confession out of the assailant, the higher-ups force him to release the criminal. At least his chief YOO DAE-CHEON (Choi Deok-moon) is on his side, even buying his new (and only) team member a suit, but Chief Yoo isn’t exactly in his prime to be tussling in the streets.
Enter Young-han’s first recruit: mad dog KIM SANG-SOON (Lee Dong-hwi). An outcasted detective from Unit 2, Sang-soon will bite any gangster who crosses his path (as well as the occasional dog), making him the perfect candidate for Young-han’s team. Their first task together is to bust an illegal trade between the gang and the U.S. military, which also means turning against Sang-soon’s old unit who are all in on the shady deal. Our hot-blooded detectives break into the warehouse, guns blazing, and it becomes a showdown between the two of them and a throng of heavily armed gangsters, soldiers, and officers.
It seems Young-han’s bravery borders stupidity since he shouts at the others to shoot him, but before he actually gets a bullet in his skull, Sang-soon hits him on the head. He pretends to side with his old unit, but the gangsters know of the mad dog’s reputation and knock him out, too. Thus, our heroes wake up in the middle of nowhere, their plans a complete failure — or at least, that’s what their enemies think. Since they couldn’t stop the deal, Young-han and Sang-soon do the next best thing: hold a free giveaway of all the illegal goods to the people.
Our brazen heroes waltz into the station licking stolen lollipops and tell Unit 2 that thanks aren’t necessary. Even the superintendent is left speechless when Young-han explains how he saved their necks by not reporting them to the military police, and the corrupt cops keep quiet for now. On the other hand, underworld mastermind Lee Jung-jae is displeased by Young-han’s shenanigans and sends his men to teach him a lesson. While Young-han can take two of them easily, ten is a bit much even for our protagonist, so he runs through the streets for a place to hide.
Young-han finds help at a bookstore where owner LEE HYE-JOO (Seo Eun-soo) hides him under the floorboards after learning that he’s the infamous snake detective. With some quick thinking on her part, she manages to scare the gangsters away, and without the threat of death on his heels, Young-han gets a chance to appreciate the lovely lady who saved his life. Instantly smitten, he explains to Hye-joo that he is usually quite competent, and she smiles unconvincingly at the silly detective stuttering to explain how cool he is.
Now that Young-han has made himself known to his enemies, it’s time to gather more allies. Next on his list is burly delivery man JO KYUNG-HWAN (Choi Woo-sung) who tosses gangsters like bags of rice. He nearly throws Sang-soon over his shoulder, too, when the detectives approach him for a job, but thankfully, Young-han’s reputation as the snake detective changes Kyung-hwan’s hesitance to admiration. With the detectives’ guidance, Kyung-hwan takes the police exam and aces the physical portion of the test, officially joining Unit 1 as its third member.
Elsewhere in the exam hall while Kyung-hwan passes the brawns section, another recruit SEO HO-JUNG (Yoon Hyun-soo) astounds the examiners in the brains department. As a graduate from a prestigious university, Ho-jung should have been on his way to study abroad in order to become a man of authority as his father envisioned, but from a young age, his dream was always to become a cop. Despite his fears, Ho-jung received a sign from above — his memorabilia sheriff badge kept bouncing off the window and landing perfectly on his shirt — so he joined the police force. Unlike Kyung-hwan, Ho-jung has “prospects” which means he’s assigned to Unit 2.
Alas for our bookworm, the real world isn’t as straightforward as the scenarios he read, and during his first interrogation, Ho-jung pushes a criminal too far and almost takes out his entire unit. He did, however, blow up the superintendent’s car with a dynamite stick, and no matter how unintentional his actions are, the others brand him the black sheep of the group. Thus, Ho-jung’s dreams of being a cool sheriff burn away like the superintendent’s vehicle, and he spends his afternoons shining his teammates’ shoes.
Ho-jung’s days as a shoeshiner don’t last long, though, since Young-han takes a liking to the earnest recruit and offers him a position on his team. He gladly accepts and tags along with Unit 1 to their next case: a showdown at a restaurant between U.S. soldiers. As the only one able to speak English, Ho-jung suggests a plan to defuse the situation, and enters the restaurant with Kyung-hwan as chefs.
His shtick as an American-loving cook who wants the white soldiers to try his food in the middle of a fight is so ridiculous that the men actually let down their guards. Using this opportunity to attack, the team manages to disarm the soldiers, and before things turn hairy, the military police arrive and take away the offending parties. With that, the case is solved, and our team of one has now become four. Get ready Seoul, things are about to get crazy.
Though it took a second to get there, once the tone was set and the main characters were introduced, there’s a fun, leave-your-brain-at-the-door, kind of manic energy to the show. While I doubt this prequel will be turning heads or rewriting history like its predecessor, it feels like a playful homage that leans more towards whimsical than serious, offering its audience a rollicking time filled with zany antics and, above all else, a justice-will-prevail story.
While I’m unfamiliar with the first Chief Detective, there are tons of Easter eggs that even the uninitiated can find such as Lee Je-hoon’s attempt at Choi Bool-am’s iconic laugh or the main characters all being named after the original cast. (Fun fact: Choi Bool-am’s given name is Young-han.) I’m sure old fans who were expecting a more similar vibe to the original may be disappointed, but this prequel seems geared towards a new generation of fans and drama-watchers. It’s fast, slick, and utterly ridiculous which may not be everyone’s preference, but I’m here for a fun time, not a long one.
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