"The Mantis: Original Sin" Ko Hyun-jung dominated living rooms with ecstasy and madness.
SBS's Friday-Saturday drama "The Mantis: Original Sin" is racing toward its conclusion with a breathless development, and Ko Hyun-jung, who plays Jung Yi-shin, the brutal serial killer The Mantis and mother of Cha Soo-yeol (played by Jang Dong-yoon), has delivered a theatrical display of acting every episode, offering even more dizzying and chilling nights.
In episodes 5-6 of "The Mantis: Original Sin," not only did the identity of the copycat come to the surface, but people around Cha Soo-yeol learned of the relationship between Jung Yi-shin and Cha Soo-yeol, and the story surged like a storm. Jung Yi-shin, who visited Cha Soo-yeol's wife Lee Jeong-yeon (played by Kim Bo-ra), hid the fact that she was The Mantis for Cha Soo-yeol and lied that she had secretly lived like someone who had left her young son and died.
When Cha Soo-yeol asked why she had come to see his wife, Jung Yi-shin revealed maternal love, saying "I wanted to see the person by your side," but then when Cha Soo-yeol pressed her about Seo Gu-gwan's (played by Lee Tae-gu) death, she retorted, "Don't you feel relieved?" and sustained a suffocating tension.
Meanwhile, the copycat sent Cha Soo-yeol the victim's phone and ordered him to deliver it to Jung Yi-shin. Planning to provoke the copycat's vanity and arrogance to induce mistakes, Jung Yi-shin and Cha Soo-yeol continued calls with the copycat, and provoked by Jung Yi-shin the copycat left a hint about the next murder, but an unexpected move ultimately harmed Park Min-jae (played by Lee Chang-min). In response, Cha Soo-yeol bowed his head to Jung Yi-shin, saying "I'll think like you, so please help me."
The psychological warfare between Jung Yi-shin and the copycat continued. After ending a call and provoking the copycat, the copycat shared the scene of the fourth murder. Jung Yi-shin and Cha Soo-yeol then discovered that the copycat even sang the song Jung Yi-shin had sung at the scene where she had committed a murder in the past, and that wounds not made by Jung Yi-shin remained on the corpse, leading them to identify Kang Yeon-jung, the son of a man Jung Yi-shin had killed, as a suspect.
They even uncovered that Kang Yeon-jung had changed gender, seeming to bring them closer to catching the copycat, but the team members who learned of the relationship between Cha Soo-yeol and Jung Yi-shin rejected him, saying trust was broken, and Lee Jeong-yeon, who heard the whole truth from Cha Soo-yeol, was shown confused, bringing the investigation into a new phase.
Meanwhile, the past interrogation scene between Jung Yi-shin and detective Choi Joong-ho (played by Jo Sung-ha) left an impression. Smiling and responding calmly to Choi Joong-ho's suspicion, Jung Yi-shin said, "Please help Jeong-ho have compassion so he can resemble the detective," revealing both maternal love that puts her son first and a chilling psychopathic side. The intense acting chemistry between Ko Hyun-jung and Jo Sung-ha, which overwhelmed the atmosphere, stood out.
In this way, Ko Hyun-jung portrayed Jung Yi-shin, who provokes the copycat and leads the psychological war, in an even more three-dimensional way and showed an exceptional aura. Especially in moments when she watched the murder scene in real time, she displayed a 180-degree change in her eyes and emotions close to ecstasy, creating a chilling tension.
Her frenzied expression, as if intoxicated by killing, added to the chills. Ko Hyun-jung's skillful ability to immerse viewers instantly with eyes that change every second and subtle facial shifts came across as a thrill. Like Jung Yi-shin, who is one step ahead of the copycat, Ko Hyun-jung also raises the completeness of "The Mantis: Original Sin" with her one-step-ahead acting.
Ko Hyun-jung has drawn responses of "I didn't know she could act like this" every episode, showing unprecedented acting ability. With her tireless performance, attention is increasingly focused on "The Mantis: Original Sin," which is racing toward its end.
The Ko Hyun-jung-starring SBS drama "The Mantis: Original Sin" airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m.
[Photo] SBS
[OSEN]