I started The Devil hoping for a smart, edgy revenge thriller and got one. The premise is intriguing and well executed, the writing is packed with allusions to art, literature and myth, and the show grapples unflinchingly with the real, lasting consequences of violence. Elegantly simple in its construction, it takes a bad man clawing his way towards redemption and sets him on a collision course with a good man tumbling into hell. I expected the show to deliver twists and thrills. I did not expect it to break my heart. I did not expect a piece so steeped in vengeance to become a story of forgiveness. Not easy forgiveness or safe forgiveness or cheap forgiveness, but the kind you buy with flesh and bone and blood. There are supernatural elements built into the plot but there is nothing magical in the way the characters wrestle with their demons. Uhm Tae Woong is solid as a scruffy detective and Shin Min Ah is radiant despite a somewhat underwritten part. However, the show ultimately belongs to Ju Ji Hoon, whose ferociously controlled performance as Oh Seung Ha is simultaneously terrifying and deeply moving. Shows that succeed within the conventions of their genre are rare. Shows that transcend those conventions are rarer still. The Devil does both. It holds a mirror up to evil, but finds sparks of grace reflected in the dark.