My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.

(This is a review for Part 1 and 2 together)
I watched this for Park So Dam (박소담). It’s been so long since I’ve seen her and she’s so cute. However, in this drama, she’s playing a character that’s not so cute. I was curious to see how she’d do. I wasn’t disappointed.

Acting/Cast: Great and unexpected cast. I was so happy seeing all the familiar faces and they all performed exceptionally in their roles. In particular, I think Kim Jae Wook’s (김재욱) character was so well done that he could have a drama or movie of his own. He was like every iteration of the Joker rolled into one. The styling, the suave body language, the confidently demented personality, the high-paying hobby with a horrifying secret—he was very much his own mini movie. I think the main actor, Seo In Guk (서인국) overacted at times, but it could have been more of a directing choice. 9.5/10

Writing: The writing was extremely well done. The story had a movie quality to it due to how neatly everything was laid out and then wrapped back up. I had no idea what to expect when going into this. Except, I knew it was going to have a body swapping theme, which I usually don’t like. I thought it would be another cliché plot. Not at all. There is no sugar-coating with this drama. It doesn’t pull any punches. Be advised- this drama is not for the faint of heart. There is a ton of gore…shocking gore, too. That’s something I also don’t normally like, but I think the shock value added something much needed to the idea behind this drama – the fear of death--or the reverence of death. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give anything away...but this drama is about suicide. Suicide is a sensitive topic that is difficult to address. It’s a subject that I am very familiar with, so I tend to be particularly critical regarding how it is approached. I felt like this drama portrayed the internal struggle of a suicidal person fairly well. Towards the end of the drama, my cynicism caused me to think that “this would only be an effective message for those who have at least one good parent in their life or a significant other that truly loves them. What about the people that have nobody? What’s their reason to live?” Despite my negativity, after watching this drama, I immediately typed up my reaction or my ultimate take-away from the story: “Watching all of these people die so suddenly...so easily…and watching them fight for their lives…made me think that the time we have alive can be seen as a gift or an opportunity. We really have a short, temporary life that can end at any moment. So why cut it even shorter? It'll be over before we know it anyway. ‘It's ok if we fail, as long as we don't give up.’ (a quote from the drama)” I need to mention the ending here. A little predictable…ok maybe more than a little, but not bad. This feels so out-of-character for me to say, but I think that an open ending would have worked really well for this story. Wow, this is the one time I’ve actually wanted an open ending. 8/10

Direction/SFX/Music: Watching this drama felt like watching a long blockbuster movie. Not only because of the writing, but also because of the high production value. Immediately, we see stunts, action, explosions, blood, and all out insanity. I was shocked. Why was I under the impression that this was going to be a romance? At times, I even thought it was too much--too over-the-top. Just think if this drama had a badass OST... I mean even Bad and Crazy had one awesome song that made the drama super memorable even though I didn’t really like the drama. Same thing with Tale of the Nine-Tailed. This drama just needs that one badass song to really make it unforgettable. 6.5/10

Entertainment Value: I waited for this drama to finish airing before watching it. I knew it would be binge-worthy. It does slow down quite a bit in the end, but I wasn’t complaining. I needed a break from all the insanity anyway. Sometimes, it was a bit tough to watch. I don’t like gore. I had to look away a lot. It also has a very depressing theme. I’m glad I was able to get through it quickly. I feel when I’m watching a drama, it’s sort of like a part of me is in that world until the drama’s over. So, I’m glad I wasn’t in that world for very long. 8.5/10

Overall, I gave this drama an 8/10. There’s a lot of violence and gore. It feels over-the-top at times. The topic of suicide is really tough to navigate, but I like the fearlessly aggressive approach, even if I don’t necessarily agree with everything. I don’t like it when drama creators are too afraid of the audience to do anything risky. It could have really used a badass OST though…