A few episodes into Tunnel and you can't help drawing comparisons with TVn's hit 2016 drama 'Signal'. In both you have the unsolved cases leading to a connect between the past and the present (in Signal it's the radio transmitter, in Tunnel it's...well you guessed it), 1980's Korea and the sweet and innocent girlfriend/wife of the past who brings out the hero's sweet and vulnerable side. But while Signal concentrated on resolving most of its cases through both the past and present, Tunnel only concentrates on the one serial murder case which becomes responsible for bringing Detective Park Kwang Ho from 1986 to 2017.
The story starts in the town of Hwayang in the year of 1986, where a serial killer is on the loose, targeting only young women, and the police is frustrated with no clues to who it could be. A faceless encounter with the killer in a tunnel lands Park Kwang Ho in the year of 2017, and then follows the story of catching the criminal in the present, to fix the past and the future.
Kwang Ho finds himself working with Kim Sun Jae (an excellent Yoon Hyun Min), an arrogant no-nonsense cop, and Shin Jae Yi, (played by Lee Yoo-Young, a delightful surprise!) a stoic criminal profiler, both with personal ties to Kwang Ho that unravel as the story progresses.
Kwang Ho finds himself working with Kim Sun Jae (an excellent Yoon Hyun Min), an arrogant no-nonsense cop, and Shin Jae Yi, (played by Lee Yoo-Young, a delightful surprise!) a stoic criminal profiler, both with personal ties to Kwang Ho that unravel as the story progresses.
The series develops leisurely in its initial episodes, giving us time to understand Kwang Ho and his longing to go back home, - a feeling that is a bit problematic to explain when you are from the same city but belong to an entirely different time. Alongside, the team solves a number of cases together - one robbery, one case of impersonation, one murder case in the style of Agatha Christie's Orient Express, where the suspects are locked in an inn due to a storm and one of a fire accident; each one bringing the loggerhead cops together, and closer to discovering the truth of the culprit of the past. Amidst so much going on and sharing a very similar plot line to a recent hit show, the drama works because of its strong cast, and the idea that revolves around the why and not the who. Throughout you watch investigations being carried out in methods that the characters see fit - Kwang Ho walks from door to door to investigate; Sun Jae pulls out CCTV footages, call histories, credit card details within minutes and Jae Yi pours over old newspapers and photographs from crime scenes. The one aspect I would have enjoyed being explored would have been Kwang Ho's opinion on some of the cases he works on, especially in the case of impersonation, a crime unheard of in the 80's. Instead of laughing at his inability to understand or use modern day technology, a more novel idea would be an opinion of an outsider on crimes being invented because of these advancements.
All the fight sequences also deserve a mention. Most of them mask an emotional struggle in the form of the physical one, making them seem real. Take the scene where Sun Jae finally gets hold of Jung Ho, whom he believes has killed his mother. He starts punching him, while crying and shouting hysterically. He falls down, trips, and at times misses is aim, but his outburst of frustration, anger, sadness, a certain weariness and guilt manifests in those punches.
The reveal comes sooner than expected, and it brings with it a quick trip to the past, a cat and mouse chase and a lengthy, emotional and heated interrogation sequences, with plenty of flashbacks. Emotionally draining,yes, but a very very satisfying watch.
