16/01/2023

I'm sure most of us have heard of at least one person imprisoned for life or executed even though they were innocent of whatever crime they were accused of committing.

This is what this short drama series is about!

It show cases this easy going fun loving naive college student, Kim Hyeon-soo (Kim Soo-hyun), who steals his dad's taxi one night to go to a party he never makes it to as he ends up having a one night stand with a mysterious girl that hops into the vehicle to be taken home.

As it so happens he wakes up to her being murdered only he has no memory of what happened and in his panic leaves fingerprints, DNA and physical evidence that is enough to arrest him and ultimately take him to trial and be found guilty.

The shock, disbelief, fear and reactions of this young male facing murder charges and life time imprisonment are quite realistic right through to how he hardens as an individual because the system failed to protect him inside a maximum penalty prison.

So, what we get to witness is the transformation of what was once a vibrant happy go lucky individual to a hardened distanced cold one that doesn't quite fit in anymore with the likelihood of no return. And this is despite the fact he is eventually proven not guilty (second time) because of an excellent lawyer that refused to give up on finding proof and establishing the truth.

Being exonerated came a bit too late for him it seems.

One of the most pivotal moments I reckon was when he was finally released from prison and suddenly stops in his tracks on seeing his father's taxi with this incredulous look on his face - the same taxi cab he took that night which lead to those unfortunate chain of events that completely turned his world upside down.

To me it was a cruel reminder of the fateful choice he made which couldn't be unchanged, erased, forgotten or turned back in time.

What simply started out as one ordinary day for most of us turned into this innocent young man's worse possible nightmare!

It really made me want to protect him and all those out there that are wrongfully accused!

I have seen a few discussions about the ending being too open and that there is this untoward suggestion of him "committing suicide" because he goes right up to the edge on the rooftop and that is where us viewers are left hanging regarding him.

Not sure why some would go that route at all - seriously.

Why don't I think he took his own life? Because he wasn't broken. Prison may have drastically changed him as a person only it didn't tear him down into an irreversible emotional mess - it just hardened him to the core. I reckon if he was going to clock out he could, and would have, done it in prison rather than on being released.

These are my own personal thoughts on that matter.

Lastly, I have to say, Kim Soo-hyun did a top notch job of his character as did Cha Seung-won who portrayed his lawyer.

It is a great drama to watch although not easy at times, but is still highly recommended!