Chicago Typewriter · Season 1 · Episode 1 · 7 April 2017
S1E1 Episode 1
THE MOMENT The typewriter's appearance and the first unexplained glimpse of the trio's shared past - the show's central mystery fully planted.
The premiere layers the present-day reclusive writer storyline against flashback glimpses of the 1930s independence movement, establishing the reincarnation conceit with enough intrigue to keep the dual timelines from feeling like genre gimmickry. The chemistry between Yoo Ah-in and Im Soo-jung signals early.
Full episode analysis below. Spoiler-light verdict above.
Updated
Chicago Typewriter's premiere establishes its structural conceit with confidence: the present-day storyline of bestselling novelist Han Se-joo (Yoo Ah-in) and the 1930s Korean independence movement fighter he may be a reincarnation of run in parallel, linked by the appearance of a vintage typewriter and an increasingly inexplicable sense of connection to people he cannot account for. Director Kim Cheol-gyu and writer Jin Soo-wan trust the dual-timeline structure to carry the episode's intrigue rather than over-explaining the supernatural mechanism. The result is a premiere that establishes enough mystery to sustain viewer investment across the series without sacrificing the period aesthetic that distinguishes Chicago Typewriter from other reincarnation romances. Yoo Ah-in and Im Soo-jung signal the chemistry that the show's central triangle requires.