all time faves

best chemistry with a complex murder mystery plot going on. all the characters were damaged by the incident and to see how it played out through the decades, blooming again with the arrival and intrusion of han juwon to the town was such top tier. to see juwon's standpoint change as the drama went on and see his walls come down the more he discovered was delightful, not to mention lee dongsik, what a flawed yet perfect character he is (shin hakyun, the MAN you are)... many thoughts, head full, heart full of LOVE for this show.

the best show of all time: incredible storylines (plural), high quality action scenes, complex worldbuilding and characters. the dropping format was genius, giving us the first 8 eps from the present in one go, then two a week for the individual past storylines? tHEN THE ENDING? yeah... that's the best thing ever.

i remember binge watching this when it first dropped, then watching it again and again. 

all the characters in here are going through such complex and dark things... to see them struggle with that in HIGH SCHOOL gives them a sense of maturity, being exposed to these circumstances from a very young age in order to survive. it's so tragic, yet amazing to see. it feels unfair and it makes you SO angry at times cause it's so realistic and raw. definitely one of my favorite depictions of a crime/thriller drama in a high school setting (next to WHC1).  

kim donghee deserves WAY MORE recognition for his performance here, i am praying and beggin that he gets more roles like this

acting award of the year goes to kim taeri. she NAILED this role.

i'm still hung up on the fact that most people thought the romance subplot was between the police dude and the demon? anyways, i LOVED the professor's chemistry with sanyeong and how they relied a lot on each other.

as for the akkwi plot, shim dalgi is a master at her craft... she nails these dark roles so well and oh god, she truly lived up to kim taeri's level. what a duo, 10/10 acting and story! 

this has got to be one of the SADDEST things you could ever watch,, it's not even potrayed as sad, but the miscommunication and resulting "betrayal" from it, lingers so fucking bad on you. like i swear, the outcome in this season has got to be the WORST possible outcome for the main characters- what bloomed from a beautiful frienship in the most flawed place turned sour very soon and it left everyone in pain.  

i don't even know what to say... it's just tragic, to see what every character had to go through as well as the ending. 

i need S2 but it's gonna be even more painful than it already is, i'm sure.

the opening scene with joe layne's "heaven" in the background.... that's it. that's falling in love.

i HATED the tennants, they all got on my nerves but the main characters made up with the incredible chemistry they had. definitely top 3 best chemistry in a drama EVER. i don't mind the plot that much, i mean,, it definetly could've done better cause the storyline had so much potential: the first scenes depicting the outbreak of the virus were genius, i wish it had gone that route a lot more and had our lovely couple out in the field... instead we got them as managers of the building. which, didn't give us that much either, there was supposed to be a commentary on social class or whatever but it ended up going nowhere so it was just two amazing leads dealing with annoying and unreasonable people amidst a zombie outbreak.

i felt so bad for them. bUT THE CHEMISTRY THOUGH!!! that was nice, i swear sometimes i just back to watch their scenes and it makes me so happy to see them. park hyungsik is so honest with portraying pure emotions and han hyojoo could be paired with a wall and SHE'D MAKE IT WORK. she's the most charismatic actress, i love her to pieces omg she always brings this nonchalant vibe to her characters that just make her acting so realistic. LOVE HERRRRR. 

I LOVE THIS so much, oh god. it was a genius choice to give us an already established couple, i think the conflict was well handled. i wish it would've been a bit slower (shocker, i know) but i loved the mystery surrounding the killer right off the bat so i wish they would've played into it a lot more. i think lee joongi did a GENIUS job here, his portrayal of an emotionless character felt so much deeper than anyone else could've ever done, it didn't felt flat and the addition of his complex yet honest relationship with jiwon- his wife was just... amazing! and it worked perfectly because they were already an established couple, it couldn't have worked otherwise bUT! they did an excellent job overall! 

again, i would've loved to see more of the "detective wife - murder suspect husband" dynamic a lot more cause the drama was excellent for that, it was a genius game of push and pull and well, perhaps i am very into angst so it would've weighed a lot more on that aspect. bUT IT WAS NICE and the acting from everyone was just amazing. 

i think nam joohyuk really hit it with this one, and i always say this but he has such a sad resting face/pained expression by default that just works with this role. 

i did feel like the drama fell a bit flat towards the end but i think that's because they're trying to make a second part (given this was only 8 eps.... um where's the rest?) and it also has an open ending. i thought the supporting characters were quite good as well, no romance but very adequate comedic relief given by his copycat.

i think it could've involved his friend, who sadly took the fall for his towards the end a bit better from an earlier point in the story. at some point i thought that friend was the copycat but,, it wasn't. at least not then lmao.

out of mere indulgence i gave this a 10/10 but looking back i would give it an 8.5/10, maybe even lower, cause i feel like it definetely has so much potential, i think the moral struggle from the people surrounding vigilante in contrast to his almost unwavering stance could've been explored a lot better, it was very well introduced in his relationship in the vigilante's x cho heon's fight sequences.

personally, it really could've done well with a sprinkle of romance, not for the actual love story but to give vigilante a weakness or a moral struggle. the closest thing we got was the copycat vs vigilante's relationship but that got quickly shut off on the final scene where we can see it's more of an admiration role and possibly manipulative/protective... so i don't know, if there's a second part, i would love to see some romantic interest that either helps him or strays him away from his mission.

you can't call yourself an angst lover without having this drama in your favorites. it's the perfect slice of life - coming of age - first love drama but make it realistic. the ending? PAIN, but real. i love kim taeri and nam joohyuk became one of my faves because of this drama so ! i don't have much to say cause i loved everything, the roles were so fresh too like- a reporter aND a fencer? brilliant. the setting? 2000s' ? brilliant. their relationship? BRILLIANT. 

i love this, no words. 

LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA ROMANTIC SUNDAAAYYYYYYY

the most heartwarming drama ever ohhhh god, i love how they did enemies to lovers kinda cause chief hong was just so petty all the time and they kept bickering with each other lmao this could've easily gone to the wrong side of romantic comedy but thankfully the romance prevailed and everyone behaved nicely for the most part in the comedy parts, i think it's got to do with the great cast and chemistry from the main leads. can't say anything else! 

shocking, brUTAL EVEN. this was such a cold blooded drama. i was uneasy the whole time, the actors are such good actors that i came to despise them and even fear them at times. the way this part was laid down was just amazing for the revenge plot on pt. 2 

MAJESTUOUS ! 

at times i kept thinking she was gonna do something illegal or even k word someone but she stayed within the law and reason, she even managed to help the lovely lady and her daughter, she got lee dohyun as her executioner and personally- i would've loved seeing a romance with the hot dilf.... BUT as for the revenge plot, everyone got what they deserved... i would've wished all the bullies a very CEASE TO EXIST but it's nice to know they were all in pain at the very least. 

overall, the quality of the production is unmatched, the cast was amazing (BOW DOWN TO QUEEN HYEKYO), the storyline was very heavy but i'm glad it got internationally recognized and criticized... by far, the best revenge plot in a kdrama i've ever seen.