makes this K-drama stand out.
“Ms. Ma, Nemesis” stars Kim Yunjin as a wealthy heiress who is falsely convicted and incarcerated for the murder of her daughter. Escaping from prison to track down the real culprit and clear her name, the woman decides to use her deductive crime-solving skills in solving other cases. She does this by working under an assumed name, Ma Ji-won, and relocating to a small town to avoid attracting the attention of the police detective (Jung Woong-in) hunting her. Ms. Ma is joined by Seo Eun-ji (Ko Sung-hee), a young woman claiming to be her niece, living with her presumed aunt.
, though remains a largely overlooked K-drama in North America.
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Ms. Ma, Nemesis Is A K-Drama Love Letter To Whodunits
Ma’s activities in solving other mysteries around town while searching for her daughter’s killer also allows the show to provide its own mini-adaptations of other Miss Marple stories penned by Christie. There is a larger mystery unraveling across the series, but “Ms. Ma, Nemesis” has some fun along the way to celebrate other classic tales.
But “Ms. Ma, Nemesis” also makes some key changes that make it fit better within the usual modern K-drama formula rather than for British readers in 1971. Christie’s “Nemesis” saw Marple investigate the murder of an acquaintance who helped her on a previous case, trying to clear the name of his son. Here, Ma is framed for her daughter’s murder, making her a victim on multiple levels, with personal retribution a common K-drama theme. There are also psychological thriller elements to the story, notably through the presence of Eun-ji.
“Ms. Ma, Nemesis” retains the spirit of Agatha Christie’s work, while both modernizing and celebrating an entire genre. Thrilling and with a whole bevy of mysteries, the show is a great exploration of whodunits through the lens of a K-drama.
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