Pegasus Market 쌉니다 천리마마트 [tvN]

The 2019 tvN 12-episode adaption of the webtoon Ssabnida Cheonrimamateu is a hoot to watch, if the political incorrectness of the sheer nonsensical world can be disregarded.

I'm not sure how closely the adaption followed the original webtoon, but watching it as a drama, the screenplay was snazzy with tight editing that seldom left room for the audience (ie me) to ponder on the sheer absurdity of the numerous situataions.  The set of the supermarket is one of my favourite kdrama sets, where the additional lightings were added to mimic a musical set.  The cast was also deliciously funny, and I really liked how the cast came out at the end with a bow and little dance.  It felt like watching a ticketed school play where everybody, the cast, front-of-house and backstage crew came out to bow in acknowledgement of the audience' appreciation.

I've seen the lead Kim Byung-chul in Guardian: The Lonely and Great God and he certainly left a scary impression as a spirit who continues to linger.  In Pegasus Market, he is poker-faced most of the time, yet amazingly agile and flexible.  I wonder if the stunts were done by him or a double.  

The actor playing Manager Moon is a new face to me, and initially I thought there was something off in his interactions with his mother.  Like, why was he always shown talking to his mother in his room and she in the living room.  Even in the one scene where both were in the living room and he watched her eat persimmons across the low table, something felt strange, as if he was hallucinating his conversations.  And lo, my hunch was correct.  Manager Moon has been hallucinating.

Having the staff who handled customer complaints wear the Joseon king's red dragon robe and sitting on a throne in a separate room also rocked.  It was refreshing to see customers seeking permission to change their purchase instead of screaming at the service staff, as what reality is.  So too, was Kim Byung-chul's CEO character standing up to rude customers who abuse his staff.  But still, the CEO's practice remains in the fantasy realm.

The success of Pegasus Market most likely attracted the attention of a certain automobile manufacturer, and the spin-off Vroom Vroom Pegasus Market was created, with 3 of the main supporting character helming it.  If Pegasus Market was enjoyable, the spin-off was a let-down.  Essentially a 1hr 30mins extended plug for a new automobile, the screenplay of Vroom Vroom Pegasus Market lacked the fun and surprises that made Pegasus Market so unexpectedly funny.  And the sad thing is, it exposed that the supporting characters by themselves do not make a funny and engaging drama as the main lead did.