K-drama Decoy: Jang Keun-suk, Squid Game’s Heo Sung-tae star in sombre but unconvincing mash-up of con artist and murder thrillers
- Heo Sung-tae, in his first leading role following his appearance in Squid Game, stars in Decoy as a con man and Jang Keun-suk is the detective on his case
- The series by Kim Hong-sun is cleanly put together but unremarkable; Jang’s character is thinly sketched and some plays at eliciting audience sympathy are crude
The emotional devastation of scams and the rush of the serial killer thriller combine in K-drama Decoy – formerly known as The Bait.
Like many Korean thrillers, Decoy – available to stream on Viu – begins with a stylised nighttime sequence as a voice-over gives us the lay of the land. The voice-over tells us that 200,000 cases of fraud, involving over three trillion won (US$2.4 billion) in stolen funds, are recorded every year in South Korea.
Heo, in his first leading role following his appearance in Squid Game, plays No Sang-cheon, a swindler who has amassed a fortune by promising untold riches to investors through his Bigs Network, a gigantic Ponzi scheme.
He first appears, in a flashy suit and with slicked-back hair, on stage during a presentation that is designed to whip his audience of investors into a frenzy.
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The difference here is that Sang-cheon dies during a car crash, which effectively brings the investigation into his giant con to a halt and leaves legions of people in the lurch with no recourse to turn to. But did he really die?
He is not alone when he arrives – a masked intruder attacks him and begins torturing him. He makes Young-jin call emergency services to say that No Sang-cheon is trying to kill him.
Young-jin is found dead the next day.
The detective assigned to the case is Gu Do-han (Jang). Do-han is one of the most talented officers on the force, even though he has only been there a few years. Before that, he was a lawyer who specialised in taking down shady corporations.
Do-han notices the suspicious Lee Byung-jun (Lee Seung-joon) at the scene; after photos of the murder victim are discovered on his phone, he becomes the main suspect in the case.
Byung-jun is part of a group of Bigs Networks victims; also among them is online reporter Jung Na-neon (Lee), who pretends to be Byung-jun’s lawyer to visit him in the police station.
This group believes that Sang-cheon is still alive and, when several people connected to the con artist begin dying, each calling emergency services and mentioning Sang-cheon’s name before their deaths, the rumour starts to gain traction.
The show intercuts the investigation taking place in the present with events in the immediate lead-up to Sang-cheon’s escape from Korea and action from his past as a loan shark.
The aesthetic is dark, with much of the show taking place at night. In some locations the lights do not even work, sinking the characters into deeper shadows.
Scams are extremely prevalent in South Korea and most people know someone who has had their life savings wiped out because of fraud.
The desperation of the Bigs Network victims is designed to elicit empathy from the audience but the show somewhat overplays its hand, with groups of characters frequently wailing in despair. One goes so far as to set himself on fire.
As usual, Heo is colourful as the antagonist, breaking out in evil laughter or beating a subordinate to a pulp when the occasion calls for it.
Less convincing is Jang as the gloomy detective, who misses his mark with a flat characterisation. The script does him no favours with its thin attempts to define his character, such as the swanky flat he lives in filled with operatic music, stacks of reports and soju liquor bottles.
Part two of Decoy will air later this year.
Decoy is streaming on Viu.
