Every human being, when intoxicated, tends to express suppressed emotions they usually keep hidden without any filter. As the alcohol takes over, the boundary between what should and shouldn't be said naturally blurs. However, no matter how much a marriage has deteriorated, blurting out the extreme resentment of "kill my wife" is an absolutely unforgivable taboo. When throwing such cruel jokes, most people blindly believe that the other person won't take it seriously and that nothing will actually change in reality. But when a moment's carelessness and a reckless drunken confession return as an unimaginably massive boomerang, ordinary life is instantly transformed into a gruesome hell.
The new KBS drama The Completion of Marriage starts from this perilous premise and begins to choke the viewers. Late at night, while heavily intoxicated, the protagonist irrationally blurts out a violent request to his designated driver to get rid of his wife. Waking up the next morning with his memory of the previous night completely wiped out, the horror and bewilderment he feels upon hearing the bolt from the blue that his wife has actually disappeared without a trace and been kidnapped are indescribable. His brief struggle to deny reality, claiming it must be a prank, is shattered as the cold evidence thrust before his eyes completely crushes his soul.
The kidnapper does not simply confine the wife; they utilize the humiliating moment of the protagonist drunkenly rambling and ordering his wife's murder, perfectly recorded on video, as flawless blackmail material. The kidnapper’s bizarre demand—"Since you desperately wanted it, I kidnapped your wife for you. If you don't really want her dead, bring 1 billion won in cash right now"—escalates the tension to its absolute peak. In everyday life, very few people can immediately liquidate a massive sum of 1 billion won within a few hours. Unless one is tremendously wealthy, the realistic constraint of hitting the limits of financial institutions and physical time, inevitably leading to panic, heavily adds to the suspense.
Under the kidnapper's ruthless pressure to prepare the money within a strict time limit, the protagonist frantically runs around in a desperate bid to save his wife's life. Eventually realizing he cannot resolve the situation with his own abilities, he cautiously attempts to request help from his immensely wealthy in-laws. However, this choice becomes a self-destructive move that twists the incident in an uncontrollable direction. The intervention of the in-laws inflates the scale of a kidnapping case that should have been kept secret, and as the characters' interests become intricately intertwined, the protagonist falls into a quagmire of a dilemma. The drama meticulously weaves together such unpredictable developments, making it impossible for viewers to let go of their tension for even a single moment.
The most decisive reason why this work received massive, passionate attention from the public even before its broadcast is undeniably because it marks actor Namkoong Min's comeback. Namkoong Min is renowned for his exceptional eye for choosing projects, and the works he has selected have always perfectly satisfied viewers with their high quality and intriguing developments. Because there is a widespread trust and firm belief that "dramas starring Namkoong Min are unconditionally entertaining," it is a natural phenomenon that his name alone draws the public's attention, regardless of the genre. In this thriller genre as well, his overwhelming screen presence shines without fail.
In particular, a highly interesting viewing point in The Completion of Marriage is his unique connection with the female lead, Lee Seol. In their previous drama Our Movie, the two appeared in a sorrowful relationship where they loved each other deeply but had to part ways due to a tragic fate, touching the hearts of many. While the character Lee Seol played in the previous work kept her tender feelings of love for Namkoong Min deep in her heart, it is eye-catching that in this work, they finally appear as a married couple. Although they loved each other passionately and tied the knot, the drama densely portrays a precarious couple whose relationship has rapidly grown estranged due to a tragic backstory that has yet to be fully revealed.
'Kang Tae-joo', played by Namkoong Min in the play, is a highly skilled, duty-driven neurosurgeon and hospital director who considers patients' lives and healing as his absolute priority. On the other hand, 'Go Se-yoon', played by Lee Seol, is the chairwoman of the large hospital where Kang Tae-joo works and the daughter of a wealthy family; the two are firmly intertwined both professionally and privately. In the first episode, immediately after efficiently explaining their complex backgrounds and character traits, the drama dives straight into the main plot and drops the shocking wife-kidnapping incident at the forefront. Afterwards, amidst the urgently turning current events, it appropriately places sorrowful yet chilling flashbacks, progressively tracking down what kind of tragic crack existed between this couple in the past.
Right after the first broadcast, some viewers expressed slight disappointment that the overall pacing felt somewhat slow. Watching the drama without any prior information, the early parts building the characters' narratives felt rather static to some. In fact, until the middle of the first episode, the work does not strongly reveal its identity as a full-fledged crime thriller, making it look almost like an ordinary human medical drama. However, towards the middle of the episode, as the mysterious character 'Noh Man-hee', played by acting powerhouse Kim Dae-myung, begins to appear in earnest, the atmosphere of the play instantly becomes saturated with relentless tension and immersion.
An interesting directorial choice in the first episode is that it does not directly expose the kidnapper's full body or face. Instead, it solely imprints his overwhelming presence through the low, chilling 'voice' heard over the phone receiver. A human voice is like a unique fingerprint, and Kim Dae-myung's signature tone, which is so familiar to the public, delivers goosebump-inducing tension the moment it is heard. Although Kim Dae-myung has recently received great love for playing kind and warm, everyday characters in various works, he is an actor with the underlying prowess to perfectly pull off creepy villain roles in past films. The chilling duality hidden behind his ordinary and good-natured face will serve as a powerful weapon that visually doubles the cruelty of the criminal who kidnapped the wife.
Overall, this incident gives off a strong impression that it is not an accidental crime of impulse, but rather the starting point of a massive conspiracy that deliberately approached the protagonist couple with clear intentions and malice from the very beginning. Adding to this, the character 'Kim Kyung-ae', played by actress Lee Sang-hee, who is currently shrouded in a veil and has only appeared via a bizarre voice, will also become a major key to deepening the mystery of the play. The Completion of Marriage, which is expected to storm through its narrative as hidden clues are unraveled with each episode, will likely become a unique masterpiece that captivates both genre enthusiasts and the general public by showcasing the essence of a well-made chase thriller, even if it faces tough competition in viewership ratings against rival works in the same timeslot.
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