Main Cast: Kim Hyun-Joo, Park Hee-Soon, Kim Moo-Yul, Chung Soo-Bin
Summary
Coming from humble beginnings, Nam Joong-Do (played by Park Hee-Soon) and Kim Hye-Joo (played by Kim Hyun-Joo) eventually fall for one another’s kind and generous hearts after meeting one another in Seoul. Fast forward to the present day, Nam Joong-Do is a successful member of South Korea’s National Assembly and is dedicated to helping his community. Unlike other assemblymen, Nam Joong-Do takes pride in being accessible to those in his community by giving his personal phone number and taking the time to meet with various groups to better understand their perspectives as he advocates for their rights.
Despite being a successful assemblyman, Nam Joong-Do’s wife, Kim Hye-Joo, runs a repair book repair shop and is hidden from the public eye as she refuses to take part in his political career. However, the drama slowly hints that Hye-Joo is adamant on living a peaceful and normal life since she is hiding a past secret that even her beloved husband is unaware of.
Hye-Joo successfully remains anonymous despite her husband’s high-profile life, until their young daughter Yoon-Seo (played by Choi Myung-Bin) suddenly disappears one rainy night. Desperate to find her daughter, she begs Joong-Do to leverage his status to have extra detectives dedicated to their daughter’s case. Although he is hesitant to use his political standing for additional resources, Joong-Do eventually caves and abandons his ideals of a righteous and equal society as he is concerned for his daughter’s safety. Yoon-Seo returns to her parents unscathed, however a larger scandal is underway after Joong-Do’s son, Ji-Hoon (played by Jung Taek-Hyun) is found dead and Kim Soo-Bin (played by Chung Soo-Bin) appears on the family’s door-step claiming to be pregnant with his child.
Thoughts
Although only 4 episodes have been released, Trolley is an definitely interesting and slow-burn, yet dynamic drama. There aren’t any action-packed scenes, but the series is filled with drama as Joong-Do and his family continue to face crisis after crisis. It’s interesting to watch how Joong-do’s family and campaign team navigate the various scandals. Although there is a barrage of challenges that Joong-Do must face, the drama times each dilemma in a way that I didn’t feel overwhelmed or unrealistic; they appeared more like a snow-ball effect and a consequence of someone’s actions.
The series is also unique from other dramas because it makes you question each and every character’s morals and intentions. From wondering if Joong-Do is truly as righteous and moral as he appears to be to questioning if Soo-Bin is actually pregnant with Ji-Hoon’s child and being curious about Hye-Joon’s mysterious past, Trolley has a lot of potential ethical dilemmas and questions that it needs to answer!
