[Drama 2016] Signal 시그널

[jongski]

 I I like ep 1 more than ep 2 but ep 2 gave glimpse of the relationship between two detectives. All the three characters intertwined with the series of murders. I like the suspense of this drama. I prolly won't nitpick as well just watch and absorb this.  Good acting by the cast.

I have this nagging silly ignoramus question....but just want to confirm... the other detective has been dead, right????

 Reposting a fav shot. LJH <3

[40somethingahjumma]

Just finished watching it with C-subs, which is not always ideal but overall, it was a much slower-moving episode, which saw the establishment of a new investigation unit... not sure if it's for cold cases in general or just specifically to re-open the Hwaseong murders.

Seems like they've gone straight on to the Hwaseong murders after wrapping up the previous cold case and it looks like the walkie talkie relationship is having a butterfly effect on the space-time continuum.

The walkie talkie seems to have a mind of its own.  But is very time specific apparently.

Quote

I have this nagging silly ignoramus question....but just want to confirm... the other detective has been dead, right????

@jongki -- I believe so. The gunshots fired before walkie talkie goes dead seem to indicate that. Plus Detective Cha has been visiting his father regularly for the past 15 years and he tells her to move on.

[bebebisous33]

I haven't wachted the episode 2 yet. However, I watched the episode 1 again and this time, I realise that Park had already been in touch with Lee. The "profiler" had already given Lee clues: the abandoned mental hospital and he was warned not to go there! So when Park gets the talkie-walkie for the first time, he has no idea that he was himself the one who gave him the clue. 

@irilight I wanted to talk about the reason why Park as a student didn't go straight to the police as a witness. Based on this pictures, he and his mother had to witness how his brother got arrested and accused of murdering someone. I guess, the media and public opinion held the belief, the police got the guilty ones. We see how upset Park Hae Young is but when the reporters starts interviewing the students visiting the same school than the kidnapped child, he is reminded of this painful past and doesn't want to be confronted with it again. Therefore he is reluctant to go to the police. It's only after he hears that the police are suspecting a medicine student that he changes his mind. But it's too late. The police can't lose its face for making a mistake! That's why Park Hae young was avoiding the girl too. Because of his brother's case, he was an outcast and thought, it would be better if he avoids people and that girl. Yes, Park feels guilty for two reasons: he could have helped her twice (stopping the abduction by inviting her under his umbrella and by going much earlier to the police).

To conclude, these are the reasons why PHY is so harsh on the two detectives, when they met for the first time. He has in general a low opinion of police and police officers! 

As for the reason Ms. Yoo kidnapped the girl is because of her need to get attention. Like Park Hae Young said, she was suffering from a narcissic disorder. She thought, if she had the girl by her side, she would feel more loved and admired aso. However, the girl didn't act like she wanted or she had imagined! I can imagine, she killed the student because the latter didn't obey or do what Yoo wanted.

 

   

 

[flybabyfly]

28 minutes ago, bebebisous33 said:

I haven't wachted the episode 2 yet. However, I watched the episode 1 again and this time, I realise that Park had already been in touch with Lee. The "profiler" had already given Lee clues: the abandoned mental hospital and he was warned not to go there! So when Park gets the talkie-walkie for the first time, he has no idea that he was himself the one who gave him the clue. 

 

 I need to rewatch yet again while episode 2 isn’t out yet. I know the kid Park gave the note about the criminal is a woman but where did Lee get the one on the location Sunil Psych Hospital? Don’t say it’s the nurse who was the tipster too! that’s just crazy if she’s been playing as puppeteer of the police force from the start. Oh well it was crazy too that instead of waiting out the hours till the statute of limitations have expired she just had to draw attention of the police to her hospital. 

Lee and the lady police sunbae and hoobae relationship..and something more? 

Lt.Park is really a police? Couldn’t see it on Ep.1. Wiki has him as a psychiatrist.hmmm I should try watching shows without wiki-ing 

Btw, I initially thought the male med student crossdressed as a woman to do this crime. Eeeps poor guy

[badsmuler]

Rating Ep. 2 ( nationwide ) : 6.926 % ( + 1.511 % )

Credit : AGB Nielsen

WOOOOOW...look at the rating, chinggus...

[earthna30]

So far so good. Even if Lee Jaehan is dead, he's probably just a missing person in society (like his body was not found) because Soohyun is still looking for him. I wonder how long Haeyoung can communicate with Jaehan without Detective Cha knowing. It's not just a crazy harmless signal from the past. It can change facts! Ugh. I can't wait for the next episode. 2016 is looking like a good year for dramas so far.

[ILYSM08]

Just watched EP 1 and 2, All I can say is that  Another gem for tvN
The drama genre is my style of drama and the plot past and future detectives helping each other to solve cold cases is interesting

I have a gut feel that the police chief knows something about the whereabouts of Lee Jae Han, seems like they hide all the records of Police Lee Jae Han as if they are trying to hide something, the other long haired guy seems to be a friend of Lee Jae Han who are being threaten by the chief to zip his mouth regarding the case of Lee Jae Han. I have a feeling that the chief is the bad guy here.

Lee Jae Han might be dead now in present but I think they might change the past just like what happened in ep 2 where  Lee Jae Han save the suppose to be victim of a murder case. that walkie talkie can change facts

This is an interesting drama that makes me curious about many things and makes me make some assumptions, I'm hooked

[irilight]

Signal: Episode 1

 

Read more on Dramabeans

 

 

[liddi]

And Ep2 does it again! The pacing is spot on, and I was left at the edge of my seat as we literally count down to the second, be gripped with frustration then fistpump when the tables are unexpectedly turned, only to be devastated by the injustice of Kim Yoon Jung's case remaining unresolved due to the technicality of the law. Love how the story then cleverly brings us through the arguments for and against the removal of the statute of limitations... and the final victory that her case may have hope of closure after all with South Korea's removal of the statute of limitations for first-degree murder (the amendment to the law was passed on 24 Jul 2015 - more here). Not only that, exactly because of their respective roles in this case, the errant parties are assigned into a newly formed cold case squad, the equivalent of a death knell in their careers, punctuated by the fact that their first case is the practically insurmountable Hwaseong serial murders. We are given to see why PHY and CSH are finally motivated to investigate... and while they do not know it yet, their approach and motivations are rooted in the same source, the missing LJH.

It is interesting how we are thrown right into the investigations of the Hwaseong murders through the eyes of LJH, rookie policeman. The ramifications of PHY's words to him... the foreknowledge of which enabled LJH to save what was meant to be the 8th victim is an exceedingly intriguing twist. The online searches I did for the actual Hwaseong murder cases never named the victims, so I am unsure how accurate the description of each murder is in the drama, in particular from the 7th victim onwards. What is evident is that in this universe, we see history being rewritten before PHY's very eyes, with him very much conscious of the fact. As to how aware everyone else in the present timeline is of the shift, that has yet to be seen. However, it then brings forth an interesting question (among so many others!) - how exactly does this butterfly effect work? With history being rewritten, I cannot imagine it not being compensated elsewhere, and I wonder how this would play out in the lives of our leads. We know that as of 2000, LJH has been stabbed and the gunshots indicate that he has met with foul play. Yet he already knew then that he was communicating with PHY of the future, with his pleas for the latter to convince his younger self. So how exactly that works remain to be seen... seeing that at this point in the present timeline, PHY has had no contact with the LJH from 1989. Can't wait for the logic of these happenings to be explained.

Another question would be the significance of 11:23PM. Was that the time LJH met his untimely end? How does the communication work, and why PHY and not anyone else? It does not appear to follow any sequential order, at least not based on the timeline of the past, so how does PHY manage to communicate with LJH in 2000, then in 1989?

Am also confused by the inscription on the tree. Not sure how accurate it is, but according to C-subs, it says "Deceased: Park Sun Woo. 1983.5.31 - 2000.2.18. Waiting for the older brother who is younger than me by 18 years." Presumably these are PHY's words, but how does the "18 years" compute? I take it to mean that PHY is now older than his brother by 18 years, which would then make him 17 (his brother's age at death)+18 = 35, and born in 1980  Am confuzzled and not for the first time, wishing I am proficient in Korean, both written and spoken. Whatever it is, hopefully this part of the story will be cleared up going forward.

I truly love how the characters continue to be fleshed out in this episode. CSH's love for LJH has spanned more than 15 years... one that continues to haunt her, inasmuch as she continues to visit LJH's father. LJH is so adorably dorky and awkward especially during the photoshoot for the police magazine, albeit though a little creepy at first, with his tailing of his object of affection. PHY finds some measure of closure for his lingering guilt in not offering his umbrella those years ago through his part in seeing the truth unveiled. And we continue to wonder what exactly Director Kim and Chief Ahn are hiding, and what role they played in LJH's fate.

Two episodes in, and I am well and truly hooked, with the drama continuing to meet and surpass my expectations. Can't wait for next week!

[flybabyfly]

Okay so a magical no-battery needed walkie-talkie linking present with the past when the clock strikes 1123pm. A profiler in the present era with the compiled official records of the events/crimes and a policeman in the past involved on-site in the actual cases. 

Prevention than cure is that it? History is changed as present day Mr. Park feeds the datas through the walkie-talkie to an virtual stranger policeman from 3 decades past. Mr.Lee gets to prevent the crimes or help solve them quickly therefore lessening the amount of cold cases therefore lessening the workload of the newly formed team in the present era thereby will be earning the ire of the bad head police when they solve the unsolveable cases. 

Freeeaking creepy I love it! And that is unusual as creepy is not how I like my dramas. As long as Signal does not go the way of too dark and violent direction of Hidden Identity I am so IN! 

[bebebisous33]

7 hours ago, flybabyfly said:

 

 I need to rewatch yet again while episode 2 isn’t out yet. I know the kid Park gave the note about the criminal is a woman but where did Lee get the one on the location Sunil Psych Hospital? Don’t say it’s the nurse who was the tipster too! that’s just crazy if she’s been playing as puppeteer of the police force from the start. Oh well it was crazy too that instead of waiting out the hours till the statute of limitations have expired she just had to draw attention of the police to her hospital. 

Lee and the lady police sunbae and hoobae relationship..and something more? 

Lt.Park is really a police? Couldn’t see it on Ep.1. Wiki has him as a psychiatrist.hmmm I should try watching shows without wiki-ing 

Btw, I initially thought the male med student crossdressed as a woman to do this crime. Eeeps poor guy

Lee had two notes, the one PHY lost while running away and the other was sellotaped on his computer screen. When he left the police station, he took the paper from his computer screen and it's only in the car that he discovers the other note left by the young PHY!

[tendoclan]

I haven't gone back over all the pages but this seems to be based on the movie "Frequency". It is an excellent movie and I have watched it many times. The northern lights and an old ham radio were in the movie...look it up on IMDB

[rubie]

January 24, 2016

'Signal' lures record TV audience

Source: The Korea Times

"Signal" / Screen captures from tvN

New cable program "Signal" has posted a record audience after only two episodes.

The Friday/Saturday drama, which airs on tvN, registered a national rating average of 6.3 percent on Friday and 7.3 percent for the second episode on Saturday, according to Nielsen Korea and reports.

The drama is about detectives working on "cold" cases.

Veteran actress Kim Hye-soo, who has been dominating Korean cinema and often plays a femme fatale, is Cha Soo-hyun, a charismatic, experienced detective. The drama is Kim's long-awaited return to the small screen. Her last TV drama role was in "Queen of the Office" in 2013.

ejb@ktimes.com

[40somethingahjumma]

I guess what comes through loud and clear to me in these last couple of episodes is that the SK police force see cold cases as a blight on their record. It isn't guilt over not being able to gain justice for victims and their families but about embarrassment and disgrace for being unable to catch the killer. Maybe they do have something to be embarrassed about... from all the cop dramas I've seen... but for them to frame it in such a way and then bury these cases even when new evidence comes to light only serves to perpetuate the image of an incompetent, recalcitrant, and corrupt law enforcement agency. It's no wonder our young profiler has nothing nice to say about his sunbaes.

That walkie-talkie must create a kind of time loop. It's the only thing that makes sense to me when Det Lee claims to have spoken to Lt Park previously. Time travel stuff is always hard and potentially messy so let's hope they manage some kind of explanation for all of this.

I'm glad they got the perpetrator even if they didn't get her for the girl's kidnapping and murder. I think it was always a stretch that they could get a confession out of her in 10 minutes. That was always going to be hard but I did think they could get her for the med student's murder which they did.

As previously said, they went straight for the big one after establishing the team. Once the preliminary head-butting was out of the way, we saw some semblance of police work.

[bebebisous33]

The second episode 2 was great... sure, there was less tension, but this episode reveals the connection between the past and the future!

@liddi There must be a Park HY from the future because of the note from the episode 1 left by PHY. The PHY from 2015 had no idea about him giving the clue to Lee! It was for him their first contact! However the detective Lee had already been in touch with Park (note, the warning!) PHY from 2015 hears the gunshot and Lee died in 2001. 

[Guest ina111]

@bebebisous33 I like how you explained young PHY's state of mind and his attitude towards the police. I think that we can expect that the brother's case will be examined by the detectives at some point. PHY's character description mentions his brother being driven to his death (perhaps he committed suicide after being falsely accused), and PHY becoming hopeful that with LJH and the radio he might be able to find out the truth behind that case.

 

Do we know that detective Lee died in 2001? I was really confused about that after watching today's episode. His police employment records state that he was discharged in February of 2001, but the attack behind the psych hospital and the gunshot in the woods both happened on August 3 of 2000. It would be reasonable to assume that this is when LJH went missing, but the records don't reflect that for some reason. 

 
@liddi I think that PHY will be the only one with the awareness of the alternate past(s). He was shocked by the changes on the whiteboard, whereas CSH did not seem to react to the changes in her notebook. I'm really impatient to see how this will play out in the next episode.

I am not proficient in Korean, but my guess is that "나보다 어려진 열 여덟살의 형을 기리며" on the tree plaque means "honoring (or in honor of) my 18 year old older brother who has become younger than me." (I'm not sure if this makes sense given that PHY's hyung wasn't quite 18 when he died.)

I thought it was interesting that LJH managed to save the life of the 8th victim, but in turn accelerated the deaths of the 9th and 10th. I'm hoping that those two victims will somehow be saved as well. A couple of screencaps that show the changes on the whiteboard:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bebebisous33]

Actually this picture is not related to the crime PHY's brother had been accused of, I rather believe, his older brother committed suicide because he couldn't bear the pressure and the false accusations!

I would like Lee to investigate this case because this was the reason why PHY became so resentful towards the police and police officers!

 

[flybabyfly]

On 23/01/2016 at 6:15 PM, mamun said:

im already hooked to this series!! just a question, will lee je hoon have a loveline with kim hye soo?

 

If there’s going to be a loveline here it might be (fingers crossed)  Hae Young with the grown up (and alive) Yoon Jung & Soo Hyun and (alive!) Lee Jae Han. If they’re going to continue rewriting history they would be able to keep Yoon Jung and Lee Jae Han alive this time around and a different future for the med student and deadly nurse.

Edit. Unless they will use “fate” as the twist at the end

[nat_phoenix88]

As expected, tvn is giving an intense drama. I am wondering where did the time travel walkie talkie come from..  LJH (in the wood) was asking PHY (in the rooftop) to "stop the 1989 of LJH" as if he already knew the power of that walkie talkie and he wanted to change the past. Meanwhile, no one has noticed the power of that walkie talkie yet. It's kinda confusing me.

[flybabyfly]

1 hour ago, bebebisous33 said:

Actually this picture

 is not related to the crime PHY's brother had been accused of, I rather believe, his older brother committed suicide because he couldn't bear the pressure and the false accusations!

I would like Lee to investigate this case because this was the reason why PHY became so resentful towards the police and police officers!

 

 

Wasn’t there a crying woman being pulled by the police? My thought was that was their mother and that it was she who committed suicide while his brother was imprisoned then executed (death penalty) for whatever crime it was accused on him. 

What courage (and a healthy dose of guilt) he had to still go to the police and attempt to tell them what he knew despite the institution’s connection to his family’s tragedy.

I just remembered what it was niggling in my mind. It was a school and a primary school at that but where were the teachers?? Hello dramaland!