Lee Hee Joon Puts on a Tour de Force Performance in Episode 5 of Mouse as the Killer Escalates the Pain

Episode 5 of Mouse can probably be a standalone episode because it left me speechless. The tactics were frustrating to deliver the crescendo but the emotional impact really washed away all the nonsensical, coincidental, and absurd events that needed to deliver the gut punch. I can’t believe the Korean police would allow a live show with call in to catch a serial killer on the loose and reveal so much non public info about the case, or that the broadcasting station would broadcast the final feed AND not cut out before the kill happened ON LIVE TELEVISION. But in the end I was crying and crying along with Lee Hee Joon’s Detective Go Moo Chi, currently the ripped out heart and soul of the drama. The first four episodes felt antiseptic to me, even Granny’s death because it was telegraphed and I didn’t connect with her granddaughter because she was so traumatized and sad already in her life. But episode 5 for the first time made me sad a character I liked died, and this drama clearly is going to keep killing off supporting characters as another joins Granny and Prof. Daniel in the sky. Lee Hee Joon probably needed cups of coffee for the energy and water for his dehydration to get through the episode, he was in nearly every scene and it was just a tour de force of him butting brains with the serial killer. I think the serial killer hates himself and perhaps wants to be caught and force South Korea to terminate babies with the serial killer gene and/or actually go through with the death penalty. With Mouse being a 20-episode (!!!) drama there is clearly a lot more twists and turns to come but woo I need a breather now. This episode brought in 5.796% ratings and my gut tells me this drama will stay in the 5-6% range through its run and maybe break into 7% for the final few episodes. It’s a little too dark to get broader appetite.


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Lee Hee Joon Puts on a Tour de Force Performance in Episode 5 of Mouse as the Killer Escalates the Pain — 21 Comments

  1. Pingback: Lee Hee Joon Puts on a Tour de Force Performance in Episode 5 of Mouse as the Killer Escalates the Pain - Kpopnchill - All About K-pop News

  2. (Sorry, sorry nowhere else to post this!)

    So I don’t know who this Song Kang is or watched him in anything yet but he appears to be everywhere lately. Sweet Home, LA2, Navillera (which hasn’t even aired yet) and now I just heard he’s confirmed for a webtoon-based jTBC drama titled I Know But with the gorgeous Han So Hee (to air in June). Is he the new IT Boy or something?

    • He must be. Only drama I’ve seen him in is When The Devil Calls Your Name. But his role wasn’t really major. And now he’s popping up all over the place. Good for him.

  3. I’m addict and have already multiple theories .It’s dark but i can’t help myself to watch it . It’s “tragic” how i’m curently wacthing dark dramas in these time when i should watch good rom coms to relieve the COVID 19 ‘s anxiety .

  4. I cried as well. I didn’t expect myself to cry but I did. It’s all because of Lee Hee Joon’s terrific performance. I hope he gets more recognition like Oh Jung Se did. He’s the kind of actor I would watch in any kind of role.

  5. Lee seunggi performance pale in comparison to chungmuro actor lee hee joon. He just fits comedy not a serious crime drama like this.

    • It’s too soon to say that because well, GMC is the only character is fleshed out at this moment, he has the most screen time and emotional scenes in the first 6 eps. JBR have like 5 – 10 mins / ep, we knows little to nothing about JBR’s background or childhood, he’s written like a supporting at this point. The comparison is meaningless, all actors did great job so far, because this drama has 20 eps, a lot of things will happen.

      • He failed to captivate viewers the first two and three episodes, knowing well that he might be either a psychopath or genius. 5 to 10 minutes screentime per episodes is enough to steal a scene but he still failed terribly. Other actors only has one minutes time per episodes but still manage to be scene stealer. Looks like this is not seunggi genre. He is a miscast. I’m not going to take my words back.

      • I agree, the comparison is weird because LSG’s character is mostly in the background in 5 episodes, his scenes don’t require much acting skill and the character tbh is bland, really come up as supporting role right now, thus he has nothing to work with, some scene-stealers can make impact because the characters or stituation they are in are intersting. I think they intentionally make his character like that for contrast in upcoming eps because after ep 6, everything will change.

    • Well even if this genre don’t suit him, he dare to try different genre rather than stick with rom com. At the end of it, is the experience not just the outcome. Can I say he is not afraid to expose his weakness if you think he is that bad.

      Anyway I didn’t watch the show yet as I always wait for review to see if the story interest me. The plot is always most important for me. So far this show seems to be interesting, but I won’t start as yet because too many kdramas have good start but poor ending. I shall wait.

  6. I was like holy hell! What a performance from Lee Jee Hoon. I saw Shin Ha-Kyun performance in Beyond Evil it was outstanding and didn’t see Lee Jee-Hoon could make a comeback but he did make an outworldy performance and beastly comeback could probably have won him all the daesangs there is in Korea.. But Shin Ha-Kyun is still not out of the game tho. He has 8 episodes left to leave his mark and defeat Lee Jee-Hoon.

    I honestly think this two guys are in direct competition. The Performances they are delivering his ridiculously good and high level. I personally think Lee Jee-Hoon has already won all the awards there is in Korea with this episode dayum son! I am shaking from that episode what a performance LHJ

    • @ Pete , Lee Jee hoon performance was great , Shin ha Kyung , how can i say that Who else ? i just love this actor . When i see theses actors and the Flower boys that are leading some dramas , well … no need to add more ! Happy to see that Oh jung Se is gaining recognition !

  7. LHJ, wow, just wow. Mouse is my unexpected drama find this quarter. Hope it doesn’t get too dark or too tragic (more that it already is). I just need to be entertained during this pandemic and don’t really want to feel so heartbroken lol

  8. I was going to say so far Lee Seung Gi is bland in this drama but somebody beat me to it. I thought he the was lead in this drama? Maybe not? Is Lee He Joon the lead then? Regardless of if he is 1st or 2nd lead, Lee He Joon really blew me away with his acting. In contrast, the writing is crap. The writer threw ethics, logic and common sense out the window to write this episode. What the police and media did is not only unethical, it borders on illegal. I can’t believe they revealed so many clues about an ongoing case to the public and that the media couldn’t cut the feed when it was apparent that a man was going to be murdered on LIVE TV. Isn’t it glorifying the murder/murderer? At the very least sensationalizing the killings could lead to a wave of copycats by wannabe attention seekers. Smh.

  9. I read somewhere that LHJ’s role was originally offered to Choi Jin Hyuk. Boy am I glad he turned it down. This is just a perfect fit for Hee Joon.

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