The Game ~ Towards Zero: Is Seeing Death a Superpower?

“The Game: Towards Zero” is a Korean drama series released in 2020, with 32 episodes, and categorized as Fantasy or Supernatural, Thriller and Suspense, and Crime and Mystery.

♦ Why Can’t I See Her Death?

In “The Game: Towards Zero”, Kim Tae Pyung has a gift that is kind of like a superpower. It’s a superpower he wishes he did not have. He can see death. He doesn’t have to see the person, even if someone shows him a photo, he can see the moment of their death. Not the date or the time or the exact place. But he can tell how they will die.

A mother of a gangster who was already grieving the loss of one of her sons asked Kim Tae Pyung to tell her if she would have to bury her other son. He told her that her son would die of a heart attack. His predictions have never been wrong and nobody has ever been able to prevent a death from happening. Death is a predestined fate. At least, that’s what he believed.

The gangster was angry at Kim Tae Pyung for telling his mother about his death and kidnapped him to teach him a lesson. But while Kim Tae Pyung was tied up in a warehouse, some other gangsters came in and there was a violent fight. Everybody who was there died, except for Kim Tae Pyung. He came prepared wearing a bulletproof vest knowing the gangster would try to kill him. It turns out that the gangster did die of a heart attack, even though Kim Tae Pyung tried to warn him, hoping that maybe his prediction would be wrong. But it wasn’t. He’s never been wrong.

When the police and other detectives arrived at the scene, Kim Tae Pyung was sitting in the back of an ambulance. He was the only survivor and therefore the only witness to what had happened. A female detective, Seo Joon-Young, approached the ambulance cautiously with her service weapon drawn. She wasn’t sure if he was a criminal as well. As he looked at her, he was shocked. For some reason, he could not see her death. This was the first person whose death he could not predict. WHY? That was the beginning of their relationship.

Seo Joon-Young had heard that there was someone who could see a person’s death. Kim Tae Pyung would not reveal that he had this gift because … well! he had his reasons. But Seo Joon-Young was determined to observe him more closely to see if he was The One she had heard about. Of course, her fellow detectives would think she was crazy. But if he did have this gift, it is possible that he could be of great help to the public.

♦ A Copy Cat Serial Killer Has Started Killing Again

A young girl was on her way home with a cake to celebrate her mother’s birthday. Outside the cake shop, there was a cat that she stopped to pet. Kim Tae Pyung was sitting at a counter in the cake shop and when he looked at the girl, he saw her death. The teenage girl stopped petting the cat and continued on her way home. Kim Tae Pyung jumped up quickly and ran out of the shop, chasing after her. But it was too late. By the time she reached the place where she had been, someone had already abducted her. The murderer had already abducted her. Kim Tae Pyung was distressed because he thought there was nothing that he could do to prevent her death.

The girl’s mother was calling her but her phone was on the ground. When she was abducted she dropped her phone. Kim Tae Pyung answered and the mother asked why he was answering her daughter’s phone. He explained that he picked the phone up off the ground and that her daughter was not there. He gave the mother directions to where he was so she could come and get the phone. From there she went to the police and reported her daughter as missing, possibly kidnapped.

Twenty years earlier, a serial killer was on the loose. He abducted teenage girls and buried them alive. Seo Joon-Young’s father had investigated this case and was killed while trying to catch the killer. The abduction of this teenage girl was just like the killings that had happened 20 years ago. This time Seo Joon-Young was the investigator. She pleaded with Kim Tae Pyung to help her. He tried to deny that he knew anything but she insisted that he tell her the truth.

Kim Tae Pyung admitted that he saw the young girl’s death but there was nothing they could do to stop it. Seo Joon-Young would not accept that and persuaded him to go with her and help her find the girl before she died. The rescue mission was a success. Kim Tae Pyung was shocked for the second time.

• The first time was when he looked into Seo Joon-Young’s face and could not see her death.
• The second time was when, with his help, Seo Joon-Young saved the life of the teenage girl who had been buried alive.

But who was the new copycat serial killer? He was called the Midnight Killer because his victims died shortly after midnight. Who was now going around abducting teenage girls and burying them alive? The fact that Kim Tae Pyung was at the cake shop where the first intended victim was abducted was an unpredicted coincidence (???).

• But if a person can see another person’s death, how will the serial killer know which victims to choose?
• Now that Kim Tae Pyung realizes that his gift can save lives, will he and Seo Joon-Young work together to catch The Midnight Killer?

Main Characters:

• Kim Tae-Pyeong (played by TaecYeon, “HeartBeat”, “Bring It On, Ghost!”, “Secret Royal Inspector and Joy”)

• Seo Joon-Young (played by Lee Yeon-Hee, “Kangchi, the Beginning”)
• Koo Do-Kyung (played by Lim Ju-Hwan, “The Bride of Habaek”, “Shine or Go Crazy”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.1 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.8 out of 10 stars
• Dramabeans: 7 out of 10 stars
• Google users shared a public rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
• Amazon customers rated this series 4.7 out of 5 stars
• Viki viewers rates this series 9.3 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers: 9.3 out of 10 stars.

“The Game: Towards Zero” immediately grabbed my attention. A person who can predict death, including his own, reluctantly teams up with a police detective to prevent death. Everybody knows you can’t determine the date of a person’s death or stop it. Or can you? It’s an intriguing storyline. Plus I’m a TaecYeon fan.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• “The Game: Towards Zero” Premiere Ratings Give Boost To MBC + “Woman Of 9.9 Billion” Holds On To Top Spot | Soompi
• K-Drama Review: “The Game: Towards Zero” Blurs The Line Between Good And Evil | Hello Kpop
• Ok Taec-Yeon and Lee Yeon-Hee’s “The Game: Towards Zero” | KOCOWA+ Blog
• K-Drama Review: ‘The Game: Towards Zero’, Its Setup Is The Only Absorbing Cause to Watch It | ZAPZEE – Premier Korean Entertainment Magazine
• Viewers say bad acting spoils intense storyline of ‘Game: Towards Zero’ | The Korea Times

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

KOCOWA TV. “[the Game towards ZeroㅣTeaser Trailer] ‘I Can See the Moment Right before Their Death.’” YouTube Video. YouTube, January 21, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7jYrttdgps.‌