The popular Voice drama series is centred on Lee Ha-na and her superhuman hearing ability. After a 2-year wait, we finally get to see Ha-na in action again.
Read on to find out our thoughts on the drama in this Voice 4 review. Spoilers ahead – do watch at least the 1st episode before reading this.
Image credit: tvN
Lee Ha-na has an enhanced hearing ability. As the head of the emergency 112 call centre, her ability helps her to pick up details from the calls that no one else can. However, a serial killer with the same ability appears in Voice 4, and she finds herself outsmarted by the killer multiple times. She works with detective Derek Cho to nab the killer.
Image adapted from: tvN
The 1st episode starts with 3 hooded figures strolling through the snow on Christmas Day, while an ominous track plays in the background. Judging from their varying heights and builds, they looked like a family of 3 – but we were quickly proven wrong.
Image adapted from: tvN
The drama cuts to a teenage boy threatening his grandparents with a knife, and ordering them to eat chicken faeces. When they refuse, he pushes his grandmother’s head into the bowl of faeces and takes pictures of his grandparents. He then sends the pictures to someone called “Circus Man”.
Image adapted from: tvN
Shortly after he sends the pictures, the trio walking in the snow appear at the house. The man stays outside to keep watch, while the woman and the “child” – the small hooded figure – enter the house. The small person stabs the teenage boy, before turning to stab the grandparents. The woman appears to be the mastermind.
Similar murders continue to take place across the country. The murders are disguised as parricide cases, when in fact the families were murdered by a 3rd party.
Image adapted from: tvN
Lee Ha-na has been receiving cryptic emails from a person called “Circus Man”. Soon, she realises that the “Circus Man” is behind the recent parricide cases.
After this realisation, she receives another email from “Circus Man”. This time, it has a voice recording attached. Normal people only hear static noise, but Ha-na is able to pick up a woman’s voice. The “Circus Man” gives her hints for the next murder.
Image adapted from: tvN
Ha-na is now sure that the “Circus Man” has enhanced hearing just like hers. This is unfortunate because Ha-na uses her enhanced hearing ability to solve cases, and now it’s no longer an advantage because the serial killer has the same ability.
Ha-na has faced dangerous criminals in previous seasons, but the serial killer in Voice 4 seems to be her strongest adversary yet.
Image adapted from: tvN
If you’ve watched Voice 2 and Voice 3, you will know that the identity of the criminals in the Voice series is usually not revealed till the end. Many viewers were surprised to find out the identity of the “Circus Man” right from the 1st episode of Voice 4.
The “Circus Man” turns out to be a woman who resembles Ha-na. She knows that Ha-na has the same enhanced hearing ability, and refers to Ha-na as her “Siamese twin”.
Voice 4 has an exciting and chilling start. The introduction of a serial killer with Ha-na’s superhuman hearing is intriguing as well, and we look forward to seeing how Ha-na will deal with her evil twin.
Also, Song Seung-hun’s character, Derek Cho, is a promising new character in the Voice series.
However, the fast-paced drama delves into the action right away, and it seems as if the drama will simply be about finding ways to capture the criminal. Compared to recent thriller dramas such as Mouse and Taxi Driver, it lacks a meaningful story. But this is only our first impression – perhaps Voice 4’s story will develop over the next few episodes.
Voice 4 is suitable for fans of the crime thriller genre. You don’t have to watch the previous seasons of Voice to watch Voice 4, but we recommend reading reviews and recaps of the previous seasons so that you have a better understanding of the overarching plot.
Check out other drama reviews:
Cover image adapted from: tvN 드라마(Drama) and tvN 드라마(Drama)
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