So i finished this show and I. Am. In. Awe. Very rarely does one find a drama where every single character delivers. From the main cast to the supporting cast, all of them brought their characters to life.
1) Heo jae: such an intriguing and complicated villain. Very rarely do i find myself sympathising with the bad guy and it was largely due to lee sung min's portrayal that i felt so conflicted about liking or disliking heo jae. I could absolutely understand Chae Yi Hun because it was so hard to dislike heo jae. I had to keep reminding myself that he was a murderer, that he had no qualms about killing again. But he was just so charismatic, he was just so honest about wanting to save korea....he had this ability to make even those who hated him join him in his cause. You may despise him, but when he started talking about his cause, about wanting to save korea, you got swept up in the fervour. In the end i was a little sad to see him go to jail. I genuinely wished he hadnt killed professor chae. Lee sung min absolutely shines in this role and ive become a huge fan.

2) chae yi hun. I had a bit of a hard time liking him. I related to him when it came to how conflicted he was regarding heo jae. Lee hye joon absolutely hit the nail on the head when she said he was narrow minded. He certainly was. But i think that was the whole point. He wasn't meant to be particularly likeable. He was human and flawed and obsessed with proving his father wrong. But Go Soo can act, very well at that. and when he cried upon his father's death, when he tried to warm his dead father's foot, i felt all of the emotions he felt. He was a man torn because doing what was right for his country meant joining hands with a man like heo jae. You could sense that when the fervour of patriotism was over, doubts would creep upon him because the only thing stronger than his patriotism was his sense of justice. We saw his character battle between the two and in the end it was his need for justice that prevailed because he realized that he never had to choose between the two. They were both converging paths. He could be a patriot and want justice, it was just heo jae that made him believe that being patriot meant following a man like him. Kudos to Go soo for playing such a character.

3) lee hye joon. My favourite character. I loved how she said precisely what i as a viewer wanted to be said. She was not going to take any false accusations upon her, she was not going to take any belittling. She was fire. And yes she did have an inferiority complex regarding her background and university but not once does she let it hold her back. She knew she didnt attend the best school and college and she was hell bent on proving that she didnt have to depend on such things because she HAD cleared the same exam those from better colleges had too. Also i loved her chemistry with eugene han. You cannot talk about lee hye joon and not talk about eugene han. She starts of by openly declaring her dislike of him. She had no problem telling the tobin tax team that eugene han wanted a reason to meet her. But then she goes from here to defending eugene han when chae yi hun was being his narrow minded self. And one particular scene that stood out and cemented atleast for me the fact that lee hye joon had started to feel something for him was when she was talking to chae yi hun right after the inspection team had asked questions probing into her and eugene han. The conversation was a marked difference from her usual stance. Before she was always very vocal about there being nothing between her and eugene, but now it was "this is my private life". Then "you are narrow minded" (to chae yi hun) to not picking eugene's phone when it rang there and then. Now would it not have been the perfect opportunity to pick up the call infront of chae yi hun and prove that there was nothing? But no she doesn't pick up the phone. Why? This is the same woman who had no problem mentioning that eugene han had been looking for excuses to meet her, that he was interested in her. But now she doesn't answer the phone because chae yi hun is standing there. Why? Is she afraid that she wont be able to hide her expressions when talking on the phone? And then the last conversation she has with eugene han was very telling. The fact that she was relieved that he hadnt been caught. The fact that she wanted to tell him she was believed he was korean, that he belonged to korea. And that he was a warm man capable of goodness. No one else could see this. She did. To see through someone at that level, you must feel something for them first. Also that scene when eugene got shot saving her was brilliantly shot. Especially that close up when he holds onto her coat, smearing it with blood was a nice touch. I know some people shipped her with chae yi hun but i honestly felt no chemistry between them.

4) eugene han everyone praising the actor and character are spot on. Such a complicated, beautifully gray character and played to perfection by yoo teo. Bravo to him for pulling it off so brilliantly. Loved every scene with him. The way he'd go from a rakish, devilish man to this sensitive man who was hurt by what the world had done to him and so had chosen the cold indifference of the world of money. But that isnt truly him. And lee hye joon saw that. She saw through the shields he had put up, saw through the smirk and cold exterior. She saw the warmth he was capable of and spoke to that. In doing so, she gave him a reason to throw away the passport and stay in korea. Which brings me to the last call. Why did he call her? Simple. He wanted to be given a reason to stay. He wanted to know if there was a reason for him to stay. And lee hye joon gave him that. "You are korean". The words he never knew he wanted to hear. And that was his turning point.

I wish this show had been successful enough for the makers to create a season 2. I would have loved to see it. I think it would have involved our heroes taking down bahama and eugene helping them to do so. He turned back to korea which mean he either planned on doing his time in jail (highly unlikely, he's not there yet lol) or he planned on bargaining with government to grant him immunity in return for him helping them take down bahama. I would have loved to see everyone bring korea out of this financial crisis. And of course i would have loved to see lee hye joon and Eugene han together lol :P. This drama is definitely up there with my faves like my mister, stranger, beyond evil etc. Loved it from beginning to end. Some of the terms were hard to understand but i was able to form some context and google the rest. Amazing show.
If you are putting this show off because you think it might be too dry or that it might be too complicated, put aside your doubts and watch this masterpiece. You will not be disappointed