Prison Playbook was a hard one for me to like at first, as in I HATED the first two episodes! But things completely change after that 2 episode mark so if you can relate, try to stick it out a little longer.

The reasons I picked this drama up: 1. all of the raving reviews/high ratings, and 2. Jung Kyung Ho is a main cast. I have to say I was a little disappointed that Jung Kyung Ho wasn't the main lead, but eventually I accepted that and warmed up to Park Hae Soo who played our star, Kim Je Hyuk. Kim Je Hyuk was a bit of an enigma at first. He seems quiet, reserved, faint-hearted, in fact, everything about his personality screams pushover! Seeing this, I was like I don't know if I can take 16 episodes of this guy. But come to find out, he's totally not! Rather he lets things play out, carefully analyzing the situation and the unforeseen dangers that lie therein and when the appropriate time comes, he strikes! Park Hae Soo's driving factors that makes him the lead we want to root for, is his thoughtful kindness and sacrificial nature. Being a star baseball player, Je Hyuk is not proud, but let's his fame motivate him to help others. He is humble but still knows his worth. No matter how hard I think about it, I can't compare his personality accurately to any other male lead I've seen in a drama before. Needless to say Park Hae Soo did a great job portraying the subtleties of our quiet and kind, yet brave and gutsy character Kim Je Hyuk.

Jung Kyung Ho I wasn't worried about and, as always, he delivers. His character, Lee Joon Ho, is really Kim Je Hyuk's savior in a lot of the early on conflicts so of course every time he showed up on screen it was not only, yay I get to see Jung Kyung Ho's face, but also a much needed relief for the story. There weren't as many opportunities for Jung Kyung Ho to showcase his acting range as his character, being a corrections officer, wasn't super involved in the daily conflicts that Park Hae Soo's character was as an inmate. Despite this, Lee Joon Ho has presence on screen, and Jung Kyung Ho made his character interesting and dynamic, and had great chemistry and bromance with Kim Je Hyuk. Lee Joon Ho always looks out for Kim Je Hyuk's best interests and holds him in high esteem, even when it would've been easy to blur the lines in their relationship with the extreme difference in power, i.e., their roles as correction officer and prisoner.

Lieutenant Paeng played by Jung Woong In was another character that the writers enjoyed playing with us a bit. He seems like a complete, insensitive jerk, but you soon come to find out that he genuinely cares for our beloved cellmates and all of the other inmates he oversees. He treats them all like humans and friends. Through his time as a corrections officer he has learned that everyone has a story to tell, and a circumstance that led them to prison, whether justly or unjustly. Lieutenant Paeng's personality is rough around the edges but a total softy! Literally an angel from heaven to our cellmates. Jung Woong In I had only ever seen as our infamous Min Joon Gook, but going forward I will remember him as this love-able, soft-hearted sweetheart.

Other favorite cast members would be all of the cellmates in cell 2, room 6, but special shout outs would be Looney/Yoo Han played by Lee Kyu Hyung and Kaist/Kang Chul Doo played by Park Ho San. Their characters really delivered in the comedy department and every scene they had together was shockingly hilarious. Looney because he carries himself in a way that makes him seem like a total whimp when he is actually the most brazen, gutsy character ever, who calls out Kaist (and any/all others) on their crap. It not only feels like sweet justice, but it is completely ridiculous and hilarious when he does. Partly because although he says the truth, he says it in the rudest way possible! His scenes with Kaist in particular but also with Jung Woo/Captain Yoo (Jung Hae In) were always my favorites!

As for the story, I think the pacing was kept really well. There was the overall storyline of Je Hyuk serving his time in prison, training diligently in hopes of returning to the mound as the star pitcher of the Nexens but each episode also had an obstacle to conquer and focused in on another cellmate. Each inmate from cell 2 had an individual story that transformed their characters from punishment deserving criminals, to flawed people who either made mistakes or were horribly unlucky. I loved each of the cellmates and I appreciated that we were given background as to who they were as people and why they arrived at Seobu Penitentiary, but at times it was hard for me to be emotionally invested in each one equally. I sympathized with each of them for sure, but I didn't become as attached to them and their struggles as I think I was meant to. With a lot of my favorite dramas I have become so attached to the characters that I cry or laugh at the drop of a hat, but I didn't experience quite that level of emotion with this one.

Prison Playbook is original and our main characters are smart, those two factors in and of itself make for a promising K-Drama. This was a very different watch for me than other dramas I've seen and I liked that. Even with hour and a half episodes, I didn't feel bored and that deserves recognition! Since so many people have watched and loved this drama I definitely think it deserves a watch.