One of the reasons why I watched this dramedy ahead of the others in my must-watch list is because it’s directed by the same director of REPLY 1988 and HOSPITAL PLAYLIST (1 and 2), both highly rated series.

If we compare REPLY 1988 (2015) with PRISON PLAYBOOK (2017), you’d notice that there’s a big improvement, style-wise. The photography and camera work in this series is superb.

The flashback visual clues are consistent: The screen goes black & white if the scene that follows happened before the current time (whether just minutes ago or years ago). It will turn black & white again to denote the end of a flashback. Yeah, like bookends.

And since it’s from the people who made REPLY 1988, many actors from that 2015 series are also here.

Bear in mind though that this one is a slow burn. Though there are funny and endearing scenes in the initial episodes, I got really hooked starting with EP 4. No turning back from then on. The series actually gets better and better as it nears the finale.

Are prison cells in South Korea really that clean and neat? Well, this is consistent with the theme of the series that a prison is “a place where humans stay” and that it is possible to even thrive there. And that not all folks who are in jail are really bad people; some were framed or were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is not for everyone one though. Like REPLY 1988, many found PRISON PLAYBOOK a great series, but some people did not. To each his own taste.

Also, if you’re looking for romantic titillating moments, these are few and far between here. But there’s bromance, if you like that.

In the finale, I missed Looney. Didn’t expect that the penultimate episode was his last. I was kinda hoping that it was just a bad dream – because THAT scene looked kinda dreamy, right? And also, he was so determined to clean up his act. Oh well. I felt sad and disappointed for his ending. Felt sad for his lover and parents, too.

I’m really glad I stayed on and finished this great series. I rate it 10 / 10.