Brain Works Season 1 Review
Brain Works is a comedic science-fiction investigative drama about the thrilling web of a friendly detective and a wealthy, overconfident and egotistical neurosurgeon. It tells the story of a team working together to solve complex murder cases involving brain disorders. The amazing chemistry between the leads and their take on mental disorders make the drama an interesting watch despite some convoluted plots, slow causality and a rushed ending.
Shin Ha-ru is a genius, a renowned neuroscientist, and has a psychopathic brain. He is determined to do anything, including ignoring rules and regulations, in order to gather information for the project to rebuild Psychobrane. After his arrogance, he is kicked out of the Brain Hub after illegally obtaining the brain of a dead inmate. Seeing no guilt in his actions, he blames his misfortunes on friendly detective Gyeom Myung-sen.
A disturbing incident leads to an interaction between the detective and the doctor. Detective Gyeom goes in search of a famous neuroscientist to help a newly formed neuroscientific research team figure out the cause of death of a famous musician. It is in the process that he overhears Dr. Shin Ha-roo forging a consent form and, in an angry voice, mistakenly reveals the information to a reporter friend.
A news article published after his drunken mistake brings the two worlds together as a now unemployed neuroscientist offers to volunteer as a consultant to a neuroscientific research group. However, he has a hidden agenda, to prove that Detective Geum Myung-se is a dirty cop, to humiliate her and get her fired for revenge. Will his plans succeed or will he change his mind?
The sporadic duo, plus a team of cowardly brains, lead Captain Seul and sub-unit chief Kim Kil-joong to work together to solve various cases that interest viewers who might be bored by single storylines. The cases are complex, instructive and enjoyable to watch as they work as a team to solve problems, providing a mix of comedy and drama to portray lightness even in heavy scenes. However, the scientific facts make it difficult to understand the show without stopping to understand neuroprocesses and neuroscience terms.
The different storylines keep the series interesting, while the mystery of Shin Ha-ru’s past involving the work of Shin Ha-ru’s parents and the people around her, including Dr. Park, Dr. Hwang and her aunt, keep the audience guessing and glued to their screens. Also, developments in the detective’s personal life, including love drama and the challenges of raising a teenage daughter, add an extra layer of depth.
The characters of Ha-ru and the detective develop a lot throughout the series. They manage to develop an amazing friendship while entertaining the audience with their endless bickering.
While it’s a nice change to see Captain Seol get over his shy brain after the accident, the change adds little to the development of the storyline. Other characters, including the detective’s ex-wife and the sub-unit chief, feel redundant and constantly forgotten.
Moreover, the show lags in revealing Ha-ru’s childhood trauma and rushes to catch up with the audience in the last two episodes. This caused the final episodes to be incongruous with the earlier ones, where backstories were introduced while solving brain-related murders.
Although the series took some time in the finale to show what happened to the characters after Don-woo’s death, these developments were not given enough attention. All that being said, Brain Works is a solid show with some glaring flaws that hold it back from being a better watch.