A Shop for Killers – Full Review

A young woman receives the news that the uncle who has raised her is dead.  More distressing is the fact that he killed himself.  But when she goes home to visit the house the pair had shared, she is suddenly attacked by a squad of deadly mercenaries.  And as she draws on things her uncle taught her over the years about self-defense to save her own life, she will try to solve the mystery of what these dangerous men could want with her or her uncle.  

Jung Jin Man has lived a harsh life that has made him seem cold and unsupportive.  But in reality, he has always known that one day Ji Ahn’s life could be in danger because of her connection to him, just like the rest of his family.  So he has taught her the hard lessons in life, in the hopes that she will be able to protect herself when needed.  Lee Dong Wook plays this emotionally complex kind of character well.  His facial expressions easily convey the idea that there is more going on behind the lines he is saying.  I loved him in this role!

Jung Ji Ahn suffered trauma after the death of her parents that caused her to lose the ability to speak. But under the care of her uncle, she went on to become a brave woman with the ability to take care of herself.  It wasn’t always easy, and sometimes she felt lonely, but she understood that Jin Man loved her in his own way.  Kim Hye Joon is a talented actress and this drama would not have been the same without her wonderful portrayal of this amazing heroine.  

Bale once worked on the same mercenary team as Jin Man for a company called Babylon.  Now Bale has taken charge of  Babylon himself.  He devises a plan to bring in his gang, kill Jin Man and anyone else who gets in his way, and take over the shop.

This drama hits hard right out of the gate.  I love the way they just drop you into the middle of chaos with no background or explanation.  It reflects how Ji Ahn must have felt to find herself suddenly in that intense situation, and it keeps the audience on edge, which adds to the suspense and excitement.

Jin Man’s trusted core of support characters like Brother, Min Hye, and Pasin, were all so interesting and unique.  We get to find out a bit about each one and their backgrounds, and I really enjoyed all of them.  If the series had been longer, it would have been nice to see how each of their lives was affected by meeting Jin Man.

The wide variety of military weapons, gadgets, and devices in this drama were fascinating.  It made those extended fight scenes much more engaging than the average knife or pistol.  And it was a nice catalog of all the merchandise that must be for sale at Jim Man’s online shop.

With all those fancy guns and weapons, it was amazing to me that it took so long for anyone to actually die.  No matter how extreme the injury, everyone seemed to just get up and limp back into action.  It made all those long, fighting scenes seem pretty pointless for most of the series.

Well, I’m not a huge fan of open endings, although I understand that sometimes they just work better for the show.  But in this case, there were seriously more questions left in the end than I had going into the final episode.  Mostly, where was Bale during this whole final showdown and exactly where has Jin Man been the whole time?  I would have like more final answers!

I didn’t trust Jung Min from the beginning.  His presence seemed too convenient.  So I wasn’t surprised to find he was working against Jin Man and Ji Ahn.  But even I was unprepared for the chilling revelation that he was involved in Ji Ahn getting locked in at school years before.  This guy proved to be way more of a psycho than I ever predicted!

For a series like ‘A Shop for Killers’ a final body count is a pretty good insight into the conclusion.  In this case, all of our “heroes”, including Jin Man, seem to be alive.  And the villains are pretty much all dead, with the glaring exception of Bale who is nowhere to be found in the finale.  Those who did manage to survive made a deal with Ji Ahn that allows her to keep running Jin Man’s business with their grudging support.  The final scene shows Ji Ahn reuniting with her uncle, although there is no discussion of what happened to him.  This drama leaves the door wide open for a season two. The last news I heard was that they are still in talks to make that happen, so I expect we will see a sequel at some point in the future.

But if you are bored by  extended fight scenes or sensitive to violence and blood, this drama may be too much.  This is not just a story that has some violence, it is a story that revolves around the violence, so you should be prepared to see plenty of blood and fighting.  I give ‘A Shop for Killers’  a solid 9 out of 10.

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