!! This review contains some spoilers (nothing too specific though) !!

Rating this drama with the highest mark and calling it a masterpiece would make me sound like I’m overreacting, wouldn’t it? I gave this drama the highest mark not because it’s perfect – other reviewers pointed out some of its flaws although what makes a drama perfect and worth the highest rating is something over which not everyone agrees – but because it was truly outstanding. I wish I could write a close reading on every character and the way each actor/actress portrayed them… That’s how strong and phenomenal the acting was. Each character shone in their own way which made them all relevant to the story, no matter how “minor” they were. Obviously, I was amazed by the two main actors’ acting but they weren’t the only ones who left a strong impression on me. Choi Dae Hoon’s acting was beautifully heart-breaking. I feel like the key element of his performance was his voice: the way it cracks, weakens, quivers… I’m glad he was nominated for best supporting actor at this year’s Baeksang Arts Award. Also, Choi Sung Eun, given how few acting experiences she has, was remarkable! I’m looking forward to seeing her in other dramas/movies.

Now allow me to praise Shin Ha Kyun and Yeo Jin Goo’s acting. I wasn’t familiar with any of them. I had heard of the latter but I had never watched any of their dramas (if anyone wants to recommend me their favourite dramas/movies featuring either of them, please feel free to do so ^^). As a consequence, I can’t compare their performances with any of their previous works’ but I don’t think it really matters… They were simply amazing.
Dong Shik and Joo Won’s dynamic, the way their relationship develops as the story progresses, it was so well-written! As I see it, what makes this drama worth watching is – among other things – the complexity of the characters and their developments. Kim Soo Jin, the screenwriter, did a tremendous job with the screenplay. The plot got me hooked as early as the first episode and not a single one that followed bored me. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next although I did not binge watch this drama since I didn’t want to finish it too quickly. This is the kind of drama that should be savoured.

Anyway, back to Shin Ha Kyun and Yeo Jin Goo’s acting.
What moved me the most about Yeo Jin Goo’s character, Han Joo Won, is how his composure is gradually shaken up and how it eventually breaks – the result of which is the breath-taking scene which happened in episode 16. I loved how expressive his eyes – and frowns – were, how Yeo Jin Goo uses his hands to convey whatever his character feels, how his lips trembled as anger, sadness and/or frustration descended on him, the way he conveyed his frustration whenever Lee Dong Shik saw right through him and outsmart him etc...
Shin Ha Kyun is… something else really… It’s hard to put into words what I felt while watching his portrayal of Lee Dong Shik. His micro expressions are everything; I’ll develop this point a little further on alongside with my thoughts on the OST. The way Lee Dong Shik lets his arms dangle along his body, his hunched back, the way he folds in on himself as if the weight he has been carrying on his own for 21 years is physically crushing him, his controlled, watchful and careful gaze… His eyes but also his whole body speak VOLUMES! To be honest I could write on and on about Lee Dong Shik but I’ll just end this review with a specific point I’d like to address.

Although I didn’t fall in love with the OST right away, I was certainly in love with it by the end of the drama. Every song just fits so well each scene in which it is played… Aww it will move you to the verge of tears.
I was not a fan of the song “10 fingers memory” at first – because it seemed to me that whenever it was played it broke the dramatic tension and the seriousness of the scene – however I learnt to appreciate and acknowledge its importance as the story progressed. This song is just so well-thought. It succeeded at capturing Lee Dong Shik’s raw and complex emotions in only 1:14 minutes. As I see it, this song is the very embodiment of Lee Dong Shik’s smile and laugh and, more precisely, the emotions they hold in. It’s stunningly painful to listen to. It’s as if you could hear his laugh, as if every note mimicked and echoed his every peal of laughter. Truly outstanding.

I think I can safely say that Lee Dong Shik’s smile has left a strong impression not only on the characters – such as Han Joo Won – but on the viewers themselves. Lee Dong Shik is used to being referred to as the “nut case” of the town and so he knows very well that his smile is perceived as yet another mark of his so-called craziness. But his craziness isn’t sheer craziness if not the consequence of everything he had to bear alone for the past 21 years. The song “10 fingers memory” is usually played whenever a twist occurs. It really emphasises the hopelessness that Lee Dong Shik may have felt whenever the situation got even more ridiculous than it already was because of how never-ending and unsolvable it appeared to be.
I never saw him as someone crazy. His smile was heart-wrenching to watch because it never missed to reveal what he truly felt – that’s why the smile he gave Han Joo Won at the end was so beautiful and heart-warming because it was a smile that expressed a state of peacefulness. His smile displays his distress in such a genuine and raw way, showing us that he is a character shattered by pain, anger and helplessness… It’s one of the saddest smiles I’ve ever seen. Those emotions and the way they mingle together are what prevents him for being rational and careful at all times (hence people thinking he is crazy). This song highlights all of those emotions. “10 fingers memory” is the song of Lee Dong Shik’s pain and, paradoxically, the somewhat “comical” feels you may get from it makes you ache for Shin Ha Kyun’s character even more than you already were.
This song gives me mixed feelings and I think it’s in keeping with Lee Dong Shik’s complex personality.

I’ll end this review here. This review was more about me wanting to express the feelings I have for this beautiful drama than a proper review but I hope that, after reading it, you might consider watching it if you haven’t yet.

Thank you for taking the time to read this review till the end!