I think the reason Cain and Abel didn't get great reviews when it first came out is because it's in the melodrama tradition and by 2009, audiences were burnt out on the typical amnesia/car accident/terminal illness trifecta. I only stumbled upon this drama while looking up shows to binge that were leaving Netflix soon. Little did I know, I would embark on one of my fastest and most enjoyable kdrama binges.

Even though I find 20 episode dramas a challenge to finish, this one was never a slog to get through. Every episode ending is a cliffhanger and there was really good pacing for most of the show. I binged it in a single weekend! This show is an epic that spans China, North Korea, and South Korea with action, crime, hospital drama, and yes - the usual melodrama tropes but blended in such a way that I didn't mind a single bit.

Warning - the show does have some bloody scenes where viewers may feel squeamish right from episode 1. After all, it is a hospital drama. (Side note: The first episode's quick dive into surgery gore really reminded me of American TV show The Knick. Both feature a doctor who's ill himself and deals with hospital politics. Totally recommend The Knick if you're interested in the hospital genre)

CHARACTERS AND ACTING:
So Ji Sub - His portrayal of rich, hot doctor Cho In in this drama is his most droolworthy role I've seen so far. It's So Ji Sub, so of course I would love him. When he cries, I cry. Here, he showcases his acting ability with the contrast between his stone-cold revenge face and his sweet smile for his love interest. I love me a cheeky male lead who lightly teases his girl. My mom converted into a So Ji Sub fan from this drama and she thought she'd never stan an actor with monolids.

Shin Hyun Joon - Oh boy, I disliked his character in Stairway to Heaven and I dislike him here too. Sun Woo is a love-to-hate villain and you'll spend hours seething at his on-screen evil actions. Nevertheless, the writing and acting was masterful in getting me to feel sympathetic to Team Sun Woo, composed of of Sun Woo the evil brother, the evil mom, and the girl he steals.

Han Ji Min - Main girl Oh Young Ji is spunky without being annoyingly brash. I didn't like her too much in the first few episodes but she grew on me quickly. In my eyes, she got more likeable, cuter, and prettier the more I saw her on screen.

Chae Jung An - I felt bad for her character, someone who's full of regrets but cannot change the way her heart feels. This is the girl who invokes the Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder trope not once, but twice! And with brothers, no less.

Overall - Acting is on point from everyone! Even the paralyzed dad had amazing acting with just his eyes conveying emotion. The directing in this show calls for a lot of closeups, but they hold up to scrutiny due to the strength of the entire cast. Both female leads are soooo pretty and sympathetic.

ROMANCE:
First off, I found this drama so refreshing as a melodrama without Second Lead Syndrome and dragged out jealousy. Even though there was a love square, there was no girl vs girl fighting AT ALL. Wow, I can't remember the last drama I watched that had that. I had zero Second Lead Syndrome because the couples all paired off very nicely and even the minor character side couple was cute AF!

The love stories had many factors that were believable obstacles. For the main romance, I really enjoyed the progression from friendship to love and how he was uncertain whether he saw her as a sister out of duty/friendship or a woman that he was attracted to beyond that. The main couple ended up becoming one of the kdrama couples I cheered on the most! As someone who doesn't usually rewind, I have to say that the couple scenes with So Ji Sub and Han Ji Min are so cute you might want to replay them a few times! I literally went back and rewatched their scenes right after I finished the drama. That's how much I loved their interactions <3

WRITING:
(Disclaimer - this is my first time watching a kdrama with Chinese subs instead of English and I felt that the translation was more smooth in sentence cadence and transference of emotion. So I'm not sure if I'm giving higher scores than normal in this department because the writing or the translation is better than dramas I've watched before)

Sometimes, the scenes were just so dramatic, like characters punching walls and ripping papers. But that's part of the fun of the melodrama ride! Well written dialogue in the slower scenes that moved me emotionally.

Besides the sad stuff, the kdrama humour here is actually funny and most of the logic leaps made enough sense in-universe such that even my nitpicky parents who watched it with me were satisfied. One weakness was the "finish the job" gangster guys who never actually finished the job and got finished off themselves LMAO There was also an unintentionally-comedic fight scene with them in which the blows reminded me of the doge bonk meme.

Looking at the drama as a whole, I appreciated the consistency of the themes such as forgiveness, sins of the parent vs child, and choosing not to kill / to do good where possible. The drama reinforced these themes consistently with flashbacks recalling specific moments but not overdoing the flashbacks. The writers also did a great job of incorporating the good vs evil theme within an emotionally realistic cast of conflicted, morally gray characters. Character progression was realistic; serious sins were not forgiven right away.

Finally, the ambiguous ending was perfectly satisfying for me - serving just desserts but not too harsh or depressing, the exactly perfect touch of bittersweet with So Ji Sub's poignant, subtle face delivering a conflicted mix of pity, guilt, and love. I really liked how the ending resolved in a way that revenge was served but without compromising the main character's goodness completely. It served his character arc well and kept with consistent theme cues. My first reaction was to give this drama an objective 8.5 but decided to change it to 9 just because I personally enjoyed it so much and feel that it's underrated!