Soul is a 10 episode Korean television show that aired back in '09 or '10. I recall seeing the adverts for it while finishing up some other series, and I remember saying to myself "that looks interesting". So, I checked it out once it aired and I loved it right from the get go. Unfortunately, this series did everything it could to try to make me hate it by the time it all wrapped up.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Where did it go wrong?...I'll tell you exactly where: either the original scriptwriters pretty much gave up after the 6th episode or so, or somebody didn't bother to inform them that this was going to be extended to 10 episodes before/while they were writing it. The terrible "end game" script writing that happened here happens a lot with shows in the west that become hits and end up lasting much longer than were originally intended. Invariably, the writers eventually run out of decent ideas and reasonable story lines, and then the whole project becomes a tedious bore. I like to call this the 'Lost effect' (after the U.S. show 'Lost'); it's a lingering byproduct from shows that have written themselves into a corner and have nowhere to go other than down the path of stupidity and pointlessness. The same effect that happens with show like 'Lost' occurred here with Soul. However, Soul is only 10 episodes long...TEN EPISODES!!!...It is completely inexcusable to not be able to properly plot out & script a show of this run length.
Act 1: Here's your plot: Two young twin high school sisters are rolling through life at a normal pace. Being twin sisters, they're very close to each other. One day, one of the sisters gets killed by group of high school bullies while they are attempting to gang rape her. The crime goes unsolved and the sister left behind is obviously very distraught, but she quickly starts experiencing some rather unusual changes that soon far out way her grief. It doesn't take long for the dead sister to begin visiting the living one in her dreams, and ghostly spirits start appearing everywhere. Eventually, the dead sister gains the ability to possess the living one, and imbues her living twin with supernatural powers from beyond the grave. Then, it's vengeance time!; the perps who caused the death of the one sister are relentlessly tormented and slowly eliminated one by one via increasingly gruesome means. This part of the show is effectively grim and dark and creepy, and it is quite entertaining. So far, this show is AWESOME!
Act 2: Along the way, there's a criminal psychologist that comes into play who specializes in working on bizarre and unexplained cases. He soon figures out what is happening here, and decides to work in cooperation with the supernatural haunted killer girl in secret. After all, she's just recently finished dispatching the bad guys who killed her sister, but he knows plenty of other evil dudes across the nation who avoided justice and should meet their maker. He wants to satisfy his vigilante blood lust, and here is the perfect opportunity to get some!...So, he lines up the baddies, she does the dirty work with her supernatural powers, and no one else will be the wiser. As of now, this show is still pretty AWESOME!
Act 3 (Final Act): Yikes!...Here's where it all went wrong!. What the hell were the people behind this show thinking?...All of a sudden, this show abruptly changes its tone and focus, and inexplicably turns its attention to what should have been a minor subplot. For the bulk of the final 3-4 episodes, we are forced to endure an entire story line that is devoted almost exclusively to the psychologist facing off against his old arch criminal nemesis. The main character has now suddenly been bumped to 3rd banana, while we watch these two insufferable asshats have a battle of wits for the rest of the show. The lead actress barely even has anything to do here, other than to be used as a pawn or appear in dream sequences. Over the course of this time, the psychologist dude devolves into a completely intolerable and manipulatively evil douchebag (effectively destroying any good will he may have previously built up as a sinister, but well-meaning dispenser of justice). And, the arch nemesis is a NOBODY in regards to the primary story; they should have introduced him at the end of episode 6, and had super-power haunted girl burn him to death by the end of episode 7. End plot point! Now, let's get back to more ghosts & gore, and offing even worse people. Alas, no such luck!...As of the closing credits; DEFINITELY NOT AWESOME!
In summary: I would like to thank everybody involved with this production for practically ruining (for me anyway) what was a highly enjoyable & smooth running horror series, by incorporating a clumsy and boring final act that lamely limped to the finish line. Nevertheless, I ended up watching the whole series run anyway, so I guess you could say they accomplished their viewer goal and congratulations are somewhat in order. So, "Congratulations, You Jerks!"
I think 6 out of 10 stars is about right overall!...I've seen plenty worse, and I did like a good portion of this series throughout its limited run. But, it could have (and would have) been so much better with a little more foresight in regards to planning its finale.
