The age of the dark, dangerous femme fatale has come, and I am throwing myself in the deep end. Siren’s Kiss (세이렌) just finished its 12-part drama on tvN, and I am all here for it. This isn’t your typical “fish out of water” mermaid story. Rather, it is a psychological thriller in which the ocean serves as the setting for a deadly game of love and insurance fraud.
MAB fans, get your snacks and perhaps a box of tissues. It is the epitome of tension, and we should discuss all those art auctions that are so creepy, and that broken-heart ending.
A Game of Suspicion and Seduction
Image Credit: tvN
The k-drama is about a razor-sharp insurance investigator, Cha U-seok (Wi Ha Joon), who has the largest arrest record in the industry. He is infatuated with the beautiful head art auctioneer, Han Seol-ah (Park Min Young), at Royal Auction. Seol-ah has a cold reputation: all men who fall in love with her are killed. She is a “Siren” to the outside world, who seduces men to their death as insurance companies pay them off.
U-seok has one thing in mind: to prove that she is a cold-blooded murderer. But the further he probes into her mysteries, the more he is entangled in an irresistible attraction. The show is an ideal combination of the clinical world of investigations and the glamorous world of art auctions that are a part of high society. It poses a single, spooky question: Is she a predator or the ultimate prey?
The Faces of the Mystery
Han Seol-ah: The Ice Queen who has a Tragic Core
Park Min-young portrays a career-defining role of Seol-ah. Outwardly, she is the perfect girl boss: graceful, powerful, and deadly with a hammer at the auction block. However, her plot is characterized by loneliness. The society has shunned her because of rumours about the Siren. Her quest is to rediscover her humanity in a world that regards her as a monster. She is in a state of constant anxiety, awaiting the disappearance of the next individual she is concerned about.
Cha U-seok: The Reasonable Man Misplacing his Head
The ace investigator is Wi Ha-joon, who is electric. U-seok boasts of his indisputable sanity. His storyline is a downward spiral into obsession. His desire to cuff Seol-ah at the beginning of the series and his desire to keep her out of the world by the end. His detachment breaking down as he finds out how vulnerable Seol-ah is is the emotional core of the show.
Do Eun-hyuk: The Shadow in the Gallery
Han Joon-woo is the supportive photographer who has been with Seol-ah over the years. He represents the only “family” she has left. His plot appears as just another typical second-lead plot, a place to lean on. But the authors had their character pull off the year’s biggest psychological twist. He embodies the notion that the one who is nearest to you may turn out to be the worst.
The debut squandered no time in creating the lore of the Siren. We find Seol-ah at her peak as she makes millions in art sales, as gossip trails her along the hallway. The introduction to U-seok is also very punchy; he is a man who sees through the lies of everyone. Their initial encounter in a ball is nothing less than fireworks. By episode 4, the “insurance fraud” plot is in full swing, and U-seok officially begins his undercover surveillance of her life.
Episodes 5-8: The Fake Dating and Real Feelings
Here, the drama really came into its stride. To catch a suspected accomplice, U-seok and Seol-ah enter a “contract relationship.” This is a tried and tested trope, and Siren uses it so well to create an unbelievable romantic tension. In between the group dinners and the faking-it-to-the-cameras love, the distinction between the mission and their real feelings is lost altogether. The ending of episode 8 was stunning, with a confession that seemed like a point of no return.
Episodes 9–11: The Web Unravels
The case took a darker twist when U-seok found out that Seol-ah was being framed for art forgery by the influential Chairwoman Sun-ae. When we were about to reason, we had the villain, and the show yanked the rug out from under us. The betrayal was the title of episode 11 when U-seok discovered the death ledger in the studio of Eun-hyuk. It was an overall gut punch to see that the killer had been in the inner circle of Seol-ah all this time.
Episode 12: The Final Show
Image Credit: tvN
The ending was an emotional wrecking ball. We found out the awful reality: Eun-hyuk was so obsessed with preserving Seol-ah as a work of art. He murdered her parents and all her past lovers to have none other than him. Eun-hyuk was now out of the photo, and although Seol-ah and U-seok did not get a happy ever after wedding, they were at peace, having an art therapy center to help others heal their trauma.
Ending Explained: Why It Could Not Be Happy
[MINOR SPOILER] Some considered the end of Siren Kiss a controversial one, yet it was the most logical conclusion of such a dark story. The Curse of the Siren turned out to be a man-made tragedy. This was the logic of Eun-hyuk, who believed that men just wanted to have Seol-ah, and he did save her by getting rid of them. His self-inflicted death in prison was a last show of cowardice, leaving Seol-ah to clean up the mess he left of a life he ruined. [MINOR SPOILER ENDS]
The last scene in which Seol-ah and U-seok spend time in the countryside among the kids painting is a symbol of rebirth. They left behind them a world of values and prices and entered into a world of expression and healing. It was a modest, deserved closure that cared more about their psychological well-being than a melodramatic love affair.
✦ Watch This If You Loved
I’d definitely recommend Siren's Kiss k-drama for anyone who focuses on romance and psychological horror. It is a very niche genre but definitely thrilling.
Looking for more dramas like Siren's Kiss? Check out our similar picks below:
Separate from the MAB Score because a drama can be a 9.5 and still be something you just cannot bring yourself to put on again. We always give a short reason so you know what you are getting into.
Below 6 on the Rewatch Score? Not putting it on again.
What the numbers mean
8.5 - 9+Do not sleep on this one. Watch now.
We watched it and loved it. Genuinely a must watch.
6 - 8Good. Worth it.
Mostly we find these genuinely worth your time. Read the full review, check if the genre or cast is your thing, and go for it.
Below 5Dropped or skipped.
We will tell you why. Sometimes there is still a reason to check it out, especially if you love the cast. The review will say.
Personal opinions from whoever on the team watched it. Not a formula, just a genuine take.