Punch is a drama that could have been a masterpiece, but unfortunately had stumbled on its own greatness. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it's a great political thriller that feels fresh compared to the other shows with the similar premise. It's fast-paced, exciting and well-conceived... to the certain extent.

The highlight of this show, and something that I'll personally associate with it forever, are absolutely brilliant dialogues. Really thought provoking, full of rich and vivid metaphors and references. Sometimes, it reads more like a philosphical novel than a tv show.

The story dives deep into questioning the human condition, the corrupt and destructive nature of all of us. Our selfishness, greed and the desire to gain power. But it's also a story about self-redemption and the willigness to take responsibility for your actions. The show refers to relativism a lot and tries to question what ideas like "justice" and " rightousness" could mean. The main character, Park Jung Hwan, started his journey with the belief that "the world is just, only when it's good to me" and you can't really change the hypocrisy and inequality of the world. He later decided, that to die without regrets, he has to try and fight those whose corruption destroys the society from within. It's like a battle between his consciousness and the reality which is never ideal. He tries to make a world a better place, by being honest with himself first.

Which you can't say about other character who are blinded by greed. They are more than willing to throw their friends under the bus and then shake the hand with their enemies. The rivalry between the main antagonists of this story, Lee Tae Jun and Yoon Ji Sook, is like a neverending game of constantly changing alliances and backstabbing each other in order to gain the most power. But they're not your typical villains with the lack of complexity. Despite their corrupted natures and the lack of compassion towards their enemies, they truly care about their families and are not total sociopaths. And Tae Joon has a really special relationship with Jung Hwan, that is some twisted version of usual father-son dynamics. There is hate and resentment, but also respect and a deep bond that maybe once was a true friendship. The complexity of these characters is as fascinating as it is terrifying. How many people like that are aound us?

The funny thing with Punch is the fact that the writing is the strongest and the weakest part of this show. What I've mentioned above is obviously the highlight. The bad thing is that the plot is based on one formula that is repeated over and over again. New information is presented -> someone betrays one side/ alliances are changed->one side of the conflict is winning -> another new information is revealed, and so on. The same thing happens with the evidences that usually are "the new informations" that I've mentioned. One side has the evidence -> the other take it back -> the evidence is detroyed. And that's it, that's the plot.
Not to mention the constant arrests, interrogations and accusations thrown at the same people, who happened to be the most powerful prosecutors in Korea. It was overdone and it affected the credibility of the show.
The plot suffered from some illogical mishaps as well .For some reason Ha Kyung played the main role in those events. For example, she was a main prosecutor in the trial of a case that directly affected her and her husband? And she called for paramedics because she wanted to barge into someone's house without a warrant? She interrogated a witness while she was in jail? Come on, that's too convenient. It boggles my mind that the same person who wrote one of the best lines I've heard in any tv show ever is also responsible for those illogical bits.

The other thing that bothered me was an inconsistency in the production. For example, in the first half of the show we had that old-school narrator doing a recap of the previous events at the beinning of every episode. Or that (unintentionally hilarious) sound effects that accompanied every plot twist, like a gun shot or deep tube sound. They were gone after few eps. And near the end we suddenly got an ending song? All of these changes made the show less old-fashioned and I actually appreciate them, but either stick with something 'till the end or don't change it at all because the final product will look unpolished. That's why I think drama should be pre-produced, to avoid mistakes like that.

With that said, I enjoyed this drama a lot and I'll forever remember it as "that show with amazing convos", outstanding acting and really fascinating characters. But I wanted to like it more! It could have been a masterpiece, but unfortunately writer's pen slipped a few times. I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking for fast paced show full of politics, dirty games and a dose of philosphical dilemmas. Just turn off your brain here and there and you're gonna be fine.