The Mantis: Original Sin star Kim Bo-ra shone with a nuanced emotional performance.
Kim Bo-ra plays Lee Jung-yeon, the wife of Cha Soo-yeol (played by Jang Dong-yoon), portraying a character with a warm yet resolute inner strength in SBS's Friday-Saturday drama The Mantis: Original Sin. In episodes 5 and 6, Jung-yeon faces her mother-in-law Jung I-shin (played by Go Hyun-jung).
I-shin, who escaped from a pensioned dwelling, came to see Jung-yeon and revealed that she is Soo-yeol's mother and that she had to disguise killing her husband as an accidental death. Even in the sudden situation, Jung-yeon calmly responded, "Welcome, Mother."
Jung-yeon then showed her solid support by quietly taking Soo-yeol's hand and saying a warm, "You don't have to say anything," after his difficult day.
At the same time, Jung-yeon questioned the past between Soo-yeol and I-shin, heightening tension by asking Park Min-jae (played by Lee Chang-min), who knows the two's past, about their relationship. Ultimately, Jung-yeon was shocked and thrown into confusion when she discovered that the serial killer "The Mantis: Original Sin" was her mother-in-law I-shin.
Kim Bo-ra drew viewers in with detailed portrayals ranging from a gentle yet strong "soft exterior, strong interior" character to the complex emotions that made her falter unconsciously in the face of her husband's secrets. Her subtle acting, calm yet probing the grain of emotion, was sufficient for viewers to follow Jung-yeon's perspective, critics say.
Expectations remain high through the end for Kim Bo-ra's performance in expressing Jung-yeon's emotional variations after learning the whole truth.
Meanwhile, The Mantis: Original Sin airs every Friday at 9:50 p.m. and Saturday at 10 p.m.
[Photo] 'The Mantis: Original Sin'
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