I think most viewers are still at a great withdrawal stage because the show was frustratingly not given a proper closure this time. In fact it doesn't seem like an ending by any means, rather the beginning of a new arch. That being said, if this was a story written with a more tight plotline, it could have been nicely concluded in a 16-20 episode which becomes the biggest reason I'm able to score this a perfect 10, since the main story can stand as an independent stand-alone, and the extension of it is really more of an allowable addition. It's all about the choice of execution here, folks.

Now, onto the story. I must say this is easily one of the BEST dramas ever produced in South Korea because the story is as amazingly driven by the plot as it is by the characters. It's already given in the summary that the reason Cha Dal Geon is involved in the plane crash investigation was his sole purpose to avenge on his nephew's death. We were given enough backstory and emotional flashbacks about the close relationship between Cha Dal Geon and his nephew, as well as his headspace (or really, the lack thereof) which made him jumped right into chasing down the terrorists without any fear. In that sense, Cha Dal Geon is a very straightforward character whose actions not difficult to predict and has stayed in his elements in most parts of the drama, basically kicking ass, killing the bad guys, surviving terror attacks and more.

Ki Tae Woong on the other hand, is the complete opposite to Cha Dal Geon, being the smart and calculative NIS investigative team leader who lays out plans properly before jumping into them. Together with Go Hae Ri who I think was given the most interesting character development in the show, they make a really fantastic trio. Go Hae Ri started off in the show as the NIS agent who was transferred to Morocco for an undercover mission and was admittedly at times frustrating to watch for the ways she was easily overtaken by Cha Dal Geon. Nevertheless, as she became more entangled with the terror attacks, slowly she became more trustworthy in the eyes of her superior to carry out more difficult tasks, and has managed to rise above them with the help of Cha Dal Geon.

Suzy, Lee Seung Gi and Shin Sung Rok have utterly delivered both the strong and subtle nuances of their characters with incredible finesse, that in this drama you no longer see the actor but the characters that these people breathe themselves into. Contrary to some criticisms, not a single moment in the show where I've seen Suzy given us bad acting (even her crying scenes are wonderfully done), rather a perfect fit for how the characters should have been acted according to the story's writing at that time.

Aside from the fantastic trio, there are another five sub-plot devices driven by its supporting characters that make this drama complex and thrilling yet so incredibly written. First is the dynamics between the powerful people at the Blue House, second is the constant confrontation and power play by the NIS chiefs, third is the conflict between Jessica Lee and Edward Park representing their respective companies, fourth is the involvement of the other bereaved family members of the plane crash victims and fifth is the funny interaction/bickering between Lily and The Unkillable guy (hired assassins).

Overall, Vagabond is the perfect action drama given the romance sequence doesn't water down the main plot, and was only splashed in between the scenes. They are not overbearing and the romance build-up was rather slow and steady, therefore you cannot help but root for them. Love is given a very special context clue in here, in that even without having to confess your actual feelings, suppressing them in the hope of protecting your loved one is already a devoted act of sacred love by itself.

The soundtracks are outstanding too, and really added a fantastic touch to the action sequence and emotional scenes. My favourites are titled Breaking Dawn and Open Fire.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this one mainly because the plots are engaging, action sequences fantastically choreographed and directed, and characters perfectly cast. I read Lee Seung Gi's interview for this role and the director imagined correctly that he is the perfect fit for the half-headed, reckless image of Cha Dal Geon, as well as Suzy who portrayed accurately the transition of a half-hearted NIS agent into a full-blown femme fatale. I also found my new girl crush in this, that is Park Ah In. My girl is unapologetically sassy and badass as the female assassin, it's so hard not to fall in love!

This is definitely one of the most intelligent screenwriting I've seen off late, and paired brilliantly by outstanding directing on the part of the director/action director. The hard work they put onto the show really shows and pays off brilliantly in this one, and you are definitely jumping in for a hella good ride.

Enjoy!

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i recommended 3 other drama titles if you wanna think the story through

finished! LOL.

overall, a nice time-pass drama, but not great (as reflected in my score). my score begins from 5.0 upwards.

actually i think this drama is wildly inferior to 3 other kdrama titles that i have watched and really liked, and which themes kinda fit this drama like puzzle pieces:

1. Delightful Girl Chun Hyang

- the story of young teenagers who kinda grow up together, and she gets physical too with the male lead LOL, but here i feel like it's worse. she's literally a bully here the way i see it with him, and it's not cute nor entertaining to me. her father is right LOL in saying that the FL's husband is either a Buddha or a total fool for marrying a thug-like girl like her LOL. i personally think the kind of unconditional love that Yoon Jae gives her is one of "wonders of the world", LMAO. something that is completely hormonal instead of logical, and in that way actually rather a terrible match to his actual personality (a supposedly very intelligent, rational guy).

2. Boys Over Flowers

- the story of two men who like the same girl, and the brotherhood is really deep so the dilemma is very intense. i just really love BoF for how well it does the love triangle really, so well done in my opinion. here it's kinda meh AF. instead of a love triangle that could have been heart-wrenching, it's just so awfully done here.

3. High School King of Savvy

- i literally have a huge problem with the characterization of both the ML and FL here. for me the ML has remained dry throughout, though i must say Seo In Guk's manly charms really got into me especially from ep. 11 onwards. i just wanted to see him be more playful and i didn't get that here which was frustrating to me. as described by his friends here, he has a rather stiff, unflexible character. in real-life situations, i myself wouldn't wanna date someone like that so i kinda understand why the FL didn't see him as a man initially, LOL.

overall, an okay drama for me. i find it pretty underwhelming, and quite distastefully done in parts. it's probably because the girl had not much character development as written here. even after becoming a mother, she still went around and do hard works because of her kpop crush LOL. her husband is right when he gets mad at her about it but she fights him fiercely right away. so this is definitely one of those drama couples that is kinda/sorta shippable out of questionable reasons (just because the writer throws them on your face), and definitely one that won't make you feel too optimistic about love. LOL!

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fckin brilliant

a really fantastic drama all-around. i have seen the second FL in My Girl (2005) and i am so glad i was able to watch a more well-rounded performance by her in this drama. she's absolutely amazing, well all the three leads are including Moon Chae Won and Song Joong Ki. this is a really stellar drama with stellar casts and brilliant writings, i enjoyed it so much and it reminds me of how much i enjoy watching good k-dramas. this drama really tempted me to dig into the older k-dramas that have similar mellow and tragic temperaments. it's so heartbreaking but so fckin good :(

Now, onto the fairly confusing final episode,

"Felt the ending was rushed.... Not sure what happened in those missing 7 years... Why did the criminals got away with so little punishment.. Why Ma Roo had to suffer and care for everyone... I am just happy he was able to get his love back... Good to see him being a doctor,the dream he had as a boy..

This is my interpretation of the last episode -
I think after the knife stabbing incident and his subsequent surgery,he might have left for US after 1-2 years of recovery. He had his skills but had lost his memory. After he returns,he starts practicing as a doctor and Eun Gi sets up a shop next to his clinic. She is always watching him and chasing him.. She seems familiar to him and he likes her being around... He might have found those rings in his closet laying around and felt an urge to give it her to express his feelings.... I think He develops fresh feelings for Eun hee and not because of his memories. While Eun Hee knows the past she just wants him to fall in love with her again.....

I still feel,they should have shown more as to what happened when he falls on the road... Who saves him and how he recovers.Did he really lost and found his memories or he just falls in love again without past baggage.I think the company is now being run by some professionals and Eun Hee is happy chasing Ma Roo around."

THANK GOD I CAME ACROSS THIS COMMENT, MY SLOW BRAIN WOULDN'T EASILY CONNECT THE DOTS OTHERWISE, SIGHH.

When Ma Roo collapsed from the stab wound in the middle of the street with no passing pedestrians, i thought he was gonna die LOL. I'm surprised they actually gave us a happy ending, no wonder in the opening footage of Ma Roo (in every episode), this was the only one where he actually smiled instead of cried. I really thought i saw it wrong.

I loved this drama so much, i actually thought the ending was appropriate though unexpected and that he finally was able to become a doctor at the end, i actually thought it was all in Eun Gi's dream. Wished they didn't jump 7 years into the future because some things were left unexplained.

However just like Hello Monster i don't take off points from the ending because i really have enjoyed every second of this.

AN OUTSTANDING DRAMA. SONG JOONG KI. SONG FCKIN JOONG KI. GOSH. I'M HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH YOUR ACTING WTF. YOU'RE INSANELY GOOD!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

P/s I wished they have a better poster for this. I almost pass this drama completely because to me the poster sucks LOL.

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The first ever Kdrama that literally captured my mind and soul back when I was in high school. The drama is so well done that it's incredibly memorable. This show is also very entertaining from start to finish and there's no moment of slapstick comedy rather just genuinely very funny interactions between people of opposite personalities trying to adapt to each other, from Myong Ryong-Choon Hyang to his father-her mother relationship. The progression of the story is really enjoyable where they started off as high school students, then people who meet again in their college years and finally in their adult workings lives. In a sense, the story does not fall flat in the trap of teenage love, rather was given enough time and space to mature.

Jae Hee's performance as Mong Ryong is absolutely flawless as the very mischievous high school kid who's literally an idiot in love yet able to love so faithfully, and is the biggest reason why this drama worked so well for me. The troublemaker kid who literally goes around living his life so recklessly managed to make a dent in his life with Choon Hyang's presence, and even without her. Jae Hee in particular has delivered the many different turmoil of his character so brilliantly. Chae Young plays his love partner, and she acted out her fiesty parts as Choon Hyang so well to match well with Mong Ryong, that's it's really hard not to root for them.

All of the OST are really great songs, especially the one titled Emergency Room.

Re-watch value for this one is exceptionally high, and I wish I can erase this drama from my memory because I remember the progression of every scenes in my head, otherwise I would have re-watched this so many times more. It's a timeless classic, very able to be enjoyed by drama fans of all ages I guarantee!

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on the edge of being great, but not quite

i expected that this drama would blew me away, and to be honest it didn't.

the main problems with this drama lies on the NIS investigation part. i can see that Kang Han Na works very hard to give justice to her role, but i still feel she's not the best fit for the character. either that, or the whole investigation part concerning this accident is just written so horribly that no good actress can actually save it. yeah, probably the latter.

the most well-done things about the story is Ji Jin Hee and Lee Joon Hyuk, i.e. the political side of things. the pace is rather slow and steady (which reminds me of how similarly this drama feels to Stranger) and the thrill of the drama mostly came about when Lee Joon Hyuk was introduced into the picture. he's a more collected, mysterious and intimidating shady character here than he played in Stranger which i preferred. Ji Jin Hee is undeniably the most perfect choice for the lead role, and he executed it briliantly. his gestures and mannerisms showing discomfort and awkwardness are so spot on, it's so lovely seeing him play a timid character and grow from it throughout the show, mainly because his genius brain recognises the importance of fearing huge responsibility that comes with ultimate power/authority.

SPOILER (read at your own risk)

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i just find the VIP to be Mr. Kim himself really weird because they just want us to believe that after years of doing spying activities in North Korea, he was able to amass enough wealth to have a good grip on the highest-ranking politicians and public officials. that seems lazy ass writing which i have a hard time believing. also the other main culprit in the Blue House turned out to be that person we suspected all along, so rather than the conclusion being anti-climactic, it actually felt like it disastrously tanked somehow.

i still have problems wrapping my head around how the writers decided on that, so at the end of it i am half grateful that i ticked off this drama if not for anything else, just for Ji Jin Hee like i did for Misty LOL!

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one-of-its-kind

well i must start by thanking the MDL community for ranking this drama so highly. this is the kind of drama that would've easily slip off my radar had it not been for the high rating. even then i really had a trouble deciding to start watching this because of the massive running time for each episodes!!! though i noticed some problems that make me unable to score it a perfect 10, it was definitely an enjoyable ride and i left the drama feeling hugely dissatisfied because i wanted to stay with them for a bit more!

now, before i explain the things that marked down the score of this drama for me, i will begin by saying the positives.

first, my most favourite characters are actually all the mothers. i believe that Mi Ran, Il Hwa and Sun Young are all perfectly cast for their respective roles. in fact i think they are perhaps the real backbone to the story, i connected with all of the mother characters before i even find myself gravitating towards their teenage children. call me an outlier but my most favourite friendship of the drama was actually not the 5 gang, but the mothers LOL. they really carried the drama for me, alongside their husbands. i truly appreciate a father's special episode, and especially how Dong Il's relationship development with his daughters totally broke me in so many different ways.

which brings me to the gang of 5. i began the drama thinking ahh, this drama is so tacky and the characters are brash which reminds me as to why i don't usually like to watch high school or youth stories ever. and i had the thought of what if the drama began as them at the point of attending colleges but then i understood why they went against the idea is because the boys have started living away from their parents. so yes, as someone who began rather unimpressed with this feeling of having 'generation gap', in the duration of 20 episodes they have succeeded in making me a convert and grow immense affinity for them all.

as with the love triangle between Duk Seon, Jung Hwan and Choi Taek, i find that this part was one of the most well-done parts of the show. i thought the slow build up of their relationships was brilliant, the way she actually liked Sun Woo first, and then upon finding out that he actually liked Bora, hated it so much but was able to let go of her feelings when Jung Hwan started showing interest towards her more than as a friend. the confusion of Duk Seon, the hesitance of Jung Hwan, the honesty of Choi Taek and how both of the boys never confessed their feelings to her for 6 years because they didn't want to ruin their friendship, i loved it all. i am also more on #teamTaek because i loved he has never hesitated to confess among his group of friends about his real feelings towards Duk Seon. i did feel utterly heartbroken for Jung Hwan obviously, but in any realistic situation she can only end up with one of them so.....

also, my secret weapon for the drama, Sun Woo and his cute little sister Jin Joo! i loved when he always finds himself kissing her on the cheek and how she's always unbothered by it lmao. i love how smart he is, and how he is an all around Mr. Nice Guy. what i still don't understand even after completing the drama is that how did he end up liking Bora in the first place. i hated that the director even cut him short when he was trying to explain the reasons he liked Bora when he was trying to win over her. if only i could see Bora from his eyes, i definitely would have been more accepting of their relationship, LOL~

now, moving on to the weaker parts of the drama. i do think that the middle parts of the drama have started to fizzle down a bit. i can give several examples to explain this. first, out of the three siblings of the gang of 5, i do think that Jung Bong has had the most individual screen time of them. and i believe this was a bit misplaced. i don't mind his relationship with Duk Seon's friend Man Ok and also the scenes when almost the entirety of the episode was centered around him (the congenital heart surgery). i meant the scenes where he was going to the temple without a proper context and many extended scenes of him literally doing some unexplained stuffs in his room BUT studying. i find those scenes frustrating and should have been given to Bora instead. other than No Eul, i believe Bora was the second most under-utilized character in the whole drama, and it was a pity that the writer didn't give her a clear trajectory for character growth (refer to the spoilerful thoughts on the finale below)*.

No Eul was another important support character which i think they greatly mishandled. first of all, i really wanted to know why do they decide on casting someone who visibly looks older than Duk Seon to be her younger brother? because i didn't find that they tried to make that part funny without it being disrespectful. and secondly, when they showed how he has such a beautiful voice in ep. 16 and was later on pursuing musical gig, there was no further exploration on that except some minor conversations between him and his father about him travelling around to perform.

the more noticeable weaker parts of the drama was this: that the passing of time in the drama were filled more with rather mundane day-to-day life things, made 'worse' by an era characterized by simplicity. what i mean was that, there were nothing too dramatic that would have added more spice/flavour to the drama. and i don't mean to want very typical dramatization commonly found in k-dramas like the amnesia trope LMAO, but a more toned down dramatization of sorts to spice things up a little bit. everyone in the neighbourhood grew up well and healthy so it was kind of, boring? i don't know, LOL. i wished the writer had some sort of bigger misfortune happening than the protest arrest to Bora, that would have made her much more humble and reliant on her parents' love, support and protection.

**SPOILERFUL THOUGHTS ON THE FINALE

1. i cried really hard in this episode, but it definitely didn't feel like the most perfect ending. i have to say that i was disappointed that they make Bora gift her father a shoe bigger than his actual size to wear on his wedding. i think the writer had to go down this route because they haven't given Bora a proper character development during the running of the show to begin with!!! i kinda had the inkling that the writer wanted to imply that the reason Bora was so nasty during her college years was because of her immaturity, but i think not. i see that more of a combination of immaturity and plain rudeness. my hypothesis is that, if only they have given her a proper character development, the tears she shed when bowing to her parents at her wedding wouldn't be so full of regrets, rather sadness that now she's leaving her parents' home forever.

2. i also think that the final scene when all the families finally moved out of the neighbourhood to retire someplace else, they should have extended that a little bit towards another episode. in fact i think the wedding of Bora-Sun Woo should not have been the drama's ending. i had a bitter taste in my mouth when they didn't show how Duk Seon and Taek will finally confess to their parents about them dating. even if they had to fast forward to 6 years into the future, i think extending this to another 2-3 episodes would have sufficed it. then we could have also seen the early stages of Bora-Sun Woo's married life, and if they were to already have a baby.

3. the snippets into the year 2015 felt nothing but a huge misfortune. first, i believe they should have just cast Hyeri and Hye Young to play their 40 y/o version selves and leave Duk Seon's husband out completely. the way Taek behaved in his mannerisms in 2015 felt more like Jung Hwan to me (or many of us), that it's hard to believe anything but that such a huge misstep was a joke. and only when Taek was revealed to be her husband, they should have had a scene of the gang of 5 reuniting with special makeup effects showing that they are now in their 40s. i was just mad that we didn't get to see this part.

finally, i can see why this drama can be very charming to some people and end up being one of their ultimate favourites. as for me, i do think if i am a native Korean watching this weekly during its airing time (so that i wouldn't be so affected by the exhaustion of bingewatching), i might have scored this a perfect 10. this was a really great drama and i really haven't seen anything quite like it anywhere else :)

p/s Bogum stop attacking me with your utterly gorgeous Colgate smile pleaseeeeeee. i'm dying over here, I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF SEEING HIS BEAUTIFUL SMILE. i might watch Encounter for him LOL. okay bye, done rant.

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Before binge-watching this, I was really torn between reviews that gave it a perfect 10 and others that find all sorts of problems with its storytelling. But I jumped right in because I love good cinematic experience and I also wanted to check out Jang Man Wol's fantastic wardrobe choices, lol. Safe to say I actually belonged in the group that rated this drama a perfect 10, mainly because I believe binge-watching this helped to ease some of the problems that viewers could nitpick when watching this on a weekly basis. I don't find the individual ghost stories distracting from the actual main story consisting of Jang Man Wol and her ex-lover in the past, because I see that as exactly how the writers and director wanted them to be: to give context to the guests of Hotel del Luna (who are ghosts, but really - human). This way, the storytelling hasn't taken too much a deviation from the whole purpose and theme of what the drama seeks to achieve: 1) to entertain as well as 2) to teach you about the nature of human relationships.

IU was perfectly casted as Jang Man Wol and this was the first drama I have seen her in anything. I read that My Ahjussi was a complicated-torn character for her to play, so I was surprised that the directors and screenwriters only wanted her to play this very sassy and bratty role, which she executed perfectly. Yeo Jin Goo was fantastic in his role as Gu Chan Sung, but I admit that his character wasn't given enough depth and spectrum to be explored and expanded, other than the fact that he's the most perfect guy for Man Wol to finally break free from her centuries-old anger and need for revenge. But then I wasn't really a stickler for this since whatever of Chan Sung's thrown on my face, I don't really find the lack of it take anything much from the main story. Lee Do Hyun who played Man Wol's ex-lover was fantastic as well, and his eyes really express a lot. This is a rookie actor with so much potential to make it big!

As for the BGM, everyone knows that the whole playlist of this drama is so well done and very delicately crafted. My favourites are the songs by Paul Kim and Punch (Done for Me).

Rewatch value is very high because of all the beautiful details and scenes that make this drama so enjoyable to watch.

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exquisite and a very tastefully done, simple love story

rewatched this movie after watching Song Seung Heon in Voice 4, LOL. i first discovered this movie after finding out that Liu Yifei was his real-life girlfriend then, and they had a movie together. i wanted to watch this movie because of this power-visual couple and boy, did they serve~

also i must say i was curious about Song Seung Heon dating someone who's not Korean when there are so many beautiful Korean celebrities already, but when i watch Liu Yifei in this movie, i kinda understand LOL. her beauty is insanely breath-taking.

i am not really a movie person. i used to watch a lot of older Bollywood movies that are very well done, so i don't know much about good romantic movies from East Asia. i particularly find this movie just exquisitely done. there's just a good mixture of happiness, sadness and cute moments that permeates into the story making it really tasteful and well-balanced imo. i also really loved the way he loved her, and is always considerate of her despite fate being so cruel to both of them. he's just an all around a remarkable portrayal of the life of the super-rich, yet deep inside is just another human being who's lonely and willing to fight for his love.

give me good stories of ill-fated love anytime and this is definitely one!

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PLEASE PROCEED KNOWING THAT THIS SHOW HAS EXCESSIVE VIOLENCE AND GORE

"This was insanely good. I loved every minute of it. Seriously it was just awesome. I really love the webtoon and loved drama adaptation even more. A must watch. The cast was really well chosen. Song Kang will be added to my list of favorite actors. He portrayed Hyunsoo exactly as I'd imagine him being a real person. Lee Dohyun and Lee Jinwook fitted their characters greatly as well. We had added extra character too (firefighter). I loved how story unfolded differently from webtoon. I can't wait for season two & I really hope Eunhyuk made it out alive since his monsterization has started right before building collapsed. We all know Sangwook isn't the one who drove the truck but I hope his original consciousness will have some impact on behavior of the monster. I am honestly amazed. I think season two will detach from webtoon and be completely new thing. Once again, I can't wait."

//

well this was someone's comment on the finale that i have taken. pretty much summed up what i feel except that the excessive gore and violence are really difficult to stomach at some scenes, sh*t.

i have to add that i keep reading comments about how the webtoon had more character depths between the survivors, and also stories of the monsters itself which kept my final score for this drama considerably average/good instead of great. but at the end of the day, this was seriously a very high budget, high tech production which meant they had to cut corners on the backstory to give screentime for the live action so i can totally respect that. i guess the insufficiency of this drama successfully makes me want to read the webtoon already which is a good, commendable thing LOL. i usually don't bother.

phenomenal acting on all fronts. Song Kang is so fckin enigmatic, and i loved that they introduced the badass firefighter girl as a new character in this, and they are going to build up on that in season 2.

for what it was, i can really appreciate this drama despite my initial doubts (i have no attachment whatsoever to Kingdom series). if you can group them in the same/similar genre, then i connect to this one A LOT MORE.

FAN OF SONG KANG FOR LIFE!!! BRAVO! the ending scene when Hyun Su was fighting the other half-monster who made him turn into one, reminds me of the final fighting scene in the exorcism movie that has Park Seo Joon and Woo Do Hwan in it. so so good!

and yes, Hyun Su is my favourite character in the drama and i think Song Kang was perfectly cast for the role. he's so pitiful and my heart always breaks for him. my boy is slayin' it!!!!

p/s wish it had an excessive violence and gore warning plastered all over the drama page. it's really no joke and i think it can be very triggering. i hope people who proceed, do so with caution. i certainly would have been better mentally prepared. sighh

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a lot better than i expected

well, i contemplated a lot before scoring, and finally decided on a 10, considering i have a tendency to rate upwards rather than downwards of other more critical reviewers.

i feel like i am in a slight advantage watching this years later, especially after TKEM because that was such a trainwreck and i have definitely lowered my expectations a lot before jumping into this. i also saw some of the highly upvoted reviews saying that this show was too cheesy, which became the reason i avoided this for the longest time. boy, do i find it exactly the opposite.

i must say the first episode was really cheesy, and if all the other episodes that follow it have had the temperament and mood of that, i really wouldn't like this drama that much. but especially starting from ep. 2-12 especially all of the time when they were in Urk from one situation to the other, i was thrown under the bus constantly for not knowing where the story will take me. i enjoyed the serious military parts which are substantial, tactical, looks high budgeted and so well-done, and also the complicated budding romance by the leading couple. then from ep. 13 until the conclusion after they have moved back to Korea, things started to become normal again (from the military part point of view) and focused more on the romance with some side action scenes with the comeback of the North Korean guy who had unfinished business with him in episode 1. i still enjoyed these last episodes because this drama shows you very realistically how difficult it is to have a relationship/family with an active-duty soldier.

i think what really saved the drama for me is the fact i thoroughly enjoyed all the military-medical parts, i found them to be intense and really well done. all the romance provided a good balance of lightheartedness and heaviness to the drama which to me didn't steer the story away from it, rather enrich it and make the really badass elite soldier characters more relatable and human. the score for someone else would obviously be the opposite of mine if they find this to be a romantic drama with military-medical themes on the side. I AM SO GLAD FOR ME IT WAS NOT.

all the actors are great in their roles, especially Song Joong Ki as Captain Yoo Shi Jin and Song Hye Kyo as Dr. Kang Moo Yeon. i have been enchanted by SJK since The Innocent Man and i'm so happy to find this drama showing a cooler side of him as an actor. he's charismatic AF.

i loved the songs, in particular the OST by Gummy. i have loved the song long before watching this considering how popular it is, LOL.

well it must be hard now for any fans to re-watch this drama especially after the news of their divorce just two years into the marriage. i just hope that both leading actors move on well from their personal lives and come back with even better projects. i will be waiting, fighting! ^^

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Right off the bat, this drama is very similar to Stranger in its approach to storytelling as it is in terms of the overall quality. In fact, if you really love Stranger, it is a given that you have to watch this drama as well because you will not be disappointed.

The style of storytelling follows such that there is a main arch in the story which becomes the focal point of investigation interest by the lead characters (which I find the most skilful way of writing a crime/investigation stories because you are less likely to end up with problematic plot holes). There are no filler cases that are thrown in between because everything serves a purpose/puzzle case to the main story arch (so in that way, it's praise-worthy very neatly done). The other law drama that has multiple filler cases thrown in and therefore dragged or loses steam midway in its storytelling of the main antagonist is Suspicious Partner. You can be assured that didn't happen here. Side note: you must watch Hello Monster if you liked Suspicious Partner (same writer but miles better).

The biggest strength of this drama is its plotline, it's so incredibly sophisticated. Stranger skilfully develops its story and events around multiple main characters who are shaded to be the main culprit, whilst in Confession, the writer identifies the antagonists head-on but shades their level of involvement in the main story arch. In both stories there are similar themes: 1) crime cases that lead to a bigger corruption case and 2) support cast antagonists who are involved in a murder case and have an association with the main culprit.

That being said, although I am a huge fan of the writer's skilful writing, I find the writing of the characters incredibly dry. This is the first of anything I have seen Lee Jun Ho in, and I must admit that he's a very strong actor, but his character is very bland and often times stoic. There were only a few moments where we get to see him loosen up with Detective Ki, but they were very limited! There's also very limited chill interaction between Choi Do Hyun and his other teammates at the law office which I find regretful because there was definitely a potential to make their interactions much more interesting. What made me pulled through most times is really the gorgeousness of Lee Jun Ho (in physicality besides his great acting).

In that sense, the quartet is only brought into the story to add usefulness to the main investigation, and they were not given enough colours/layers to add balance or loosen the overall tension/mood/temperament of the story. This is why by the time I arrived at the last three/four episodes, I was already very exhausted from watching it and moved around shows a lot until I finally landed on Doctor Prisoner (which I happen to finish first without intending). True enough, the eventual downfall of the main villains in this story felt slightly lacklustre in the last two episodes given their evil forms are not given enough impact - again, it's the problem with the way of their characterization rather than the story itself.

What I am saying here is, if you want to see how the main/support characters can be incredibly interesting or tastefully written in a revenge thriller drama, then Doctor Prisoner is THE place to go to.

The BGM at the end of every episode is really great and fit nicely to the overall temperament of the story, and the rewatch value for this one is probably average due to the nature of the genre itself.

The last scene, ouhh the last scene by Choi Do Hyun wearing that uniform in the court was such a blessing to the eye. Not giving any spoiler here, but that man is just so gorgeous! The ending is so nicely done, and now this drama is complete to me, LOL.

Overall, I'd say in a heartbeat that this show definitely sits in the top tier of law K-Dramas of all time. I had no choice but to deduct marks because the characters can be too bland/stiff to my liking, but the story itself is definitely worth 9 stars and above (especially if what bothered me does not bother you).

Enjoy your watch!

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This was the first of anything I saw Ji Chang Wook in because it's the only movie to-date in which he's the lead. He's absolutely brilliant and is obviously the real MVP of the show. From the action-packed sequence that they shot in the first few minutes to the prison scenes and car chase scenes, things were delivered really well by him. The other characters helped to execute the story further, but I could not actually imagine anyone else playing this role.

Now, to the story. Some people complain that this movie lacks character development. Whilst this may be true, the pace of this movie is actually very fast. He was falsely accused of rape and murder and thrown into prison immediately after a trial only based on circumstantial evidence. If you monitor the rest of the movie, the story actually followed the pacing of this first half very closely, perhaps making it difficult for some people to follow but that doesn't mean the way of the storytelling itself is problematic. You can already tell by the pacing of the story that it's meant to be action-packed, perhaps at the compromise of better character writings.

I particularly loved the prison scenes so much, especially when he had major outbursts of raw emotions. This is where I saw and judged the range of acting capabilities by the actor Ji Chang Wook himself. This guy is mad talented, not only in action sequence but also in emotional scenes as well.

If you love action and thrillers, this is definitely a film for you. It's very enjoyable, and quite an emotional watch! You haven't seen Ji Chang Wook if you haven't seen this movie, and you definitely haven't seen one of the best K-movie releases of 2017 if you haven't watched this.

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watch this for the cast, definitely

picked this drama back up after a long pause following an emotional ep. 13.

OMG hahaha that was a somewhat open ending but i liked it. i liked how witty the ending was.

they are definitely exploring season 2, and i hope it'll happen. since the real villains are still alive. although the script sucked but the casts and action sequences were phenomenal which made me really enjoy this.

so many plot holes that are not explained or connected neatly. well i half-appreciated that a generous screentime was actually dedicated for the pretty elaborate fighting scenes each episodes, which i speculate caused less time/space for the story to fully develop. the other half is the feeling of indifference because i know that if a scriptwriter is more masterful in his/her craft, then the plotholes could've been solved within the allocated screentime, just like the masterpiece that Tunnel was.

so my generous score for the drama stems from the fact that this was an enjoyable watch/eye-candy for me being such a trash for CJH, lol.

also, i loved that Bradley was here too, who played his secretary in Devilish Joy. their interactions are so cute, haha. that was also the reason i paused watching this for a while until i finished Devilish Joy to see the boss-secretary interactions there, kekeke.

i can't wait for CJH's next projects. what a phenomenal actor, he's such a joy to watch on screen, in any genre.

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this show is on lists of most recommended k-dramas everywhere for a reason, PERIODT!

wow.

where TF do i even begin to describe my admiration for this immaculate drama?!

first of all, i would never have watched this drama for its genre if not because of its title that keeps popping up on lists of most recommended k-dramas everywhere on the internet.

finally when i realise that k-drama fanatics aren't playing when most of them are agreeable in saying that this is a must watch, i relented with a heavy heart thinking 'i am doing this to tick off a to-do list. ughh it really feels like a chore, God help me'.

i remember it was around ep. 4 that i finally warmed up to the story and its lead characters, and by ep. 6, the phenomenal performance by the young possessed woman completely won me over, AND I WAS SOLD!

after that bingewatching this one after the next is a very easy thing to do, LOL.

as a little sidetrack, a new horror Netflix k-drama series, All of Us are Dead just released. i got curious about it, but sadly the review sucked. whenever considering a drama, the story is the most important thing for me, and because of that i feel like my respect and admiration for the writer-director combo for this drama has only deepened.

I'D SAY THIS IS A TRULY PHENOMENAL DRAMA ON EVERY LEVEL.

the pacing is good. mystery/suspense element is good. horror element is good. scriptwriting is excellent. directing is outstanding. casting, chemistry and acting, phenomenal. wow!

i feel the possessed people were build or progressed in a way that they become creepier and unexpected as the story goes on. and as someone who really do not watch this genre almost at all, i can still feel the shiver inside my chest just thinking about them LOL.

also, the finale. i was a bit lost about what happened in the last exorcism scene between Mateo and Hwa Pyung but someone in the comment section clarified that part for me so i'm all good now, haha. i was about to minus 0.5 points if they ruined the ending, kekeke.

WHAT A TRUE MASTERPIECE. this drama truly converted me for its genre and i'm so freaking glad i gave this a chance.

also, the trio's friendship truly warms my heart. i can't wait to rewatch this masterpiece again in the future.

signing out. ^^

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utterly brilliant for the most part

wow. this was a phenomenal 8 episode drama, given the intended focus and how they mostly delivered within that focus.

but i am greedy person who likes my thriller to be complex and well-written, and there's just not enough 'meat' in this for me.

i personally find the finale to be probably the weakest of all episodes with the revelation of the doctor as the real killer that seemed rushed AF and therefore the u-turn in reinvestigation that lead to his release from prison not long after the judgement of life imprisonment.

also, was it that easy for the real killer to confess to a gruesome murder when someone else has already taken the fall? really? are you kidding me?

also, was it that easy for the prosecution and police department to backtrack and admit that they made a huge mistake in the investigation? all of the kdramas i watched up to this point always says otherwise.

everything up to the finale felt so fckin real, and then the finale felt like a total fiction to me, geez.

no scene of the actual murder shown in the drama also which i really hoped is given to us, but nope.

no words to be said about KSH's acting in this, he's truly phenomenal. i also recommend JCW's movie Fabricated City where he also played a falsely accused in a murder case which he also nailed as perfectly as this.

overall, a really outstanding prison drama. i would have scored this more favourably if i consider this a well crafted prison drama, but i like my full blown thrillers more, so i have to score it down purely for personal preference LMAO.

can someone please tell me the relevance of Lawyer Shin having atopic dermatitis to the story? i didn't catch that and always confused by that randomness, LOL.

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