pros:
- the acting: wow. the whole cast did an AMAZING job. I can't fault their acting at all. They all had brilliant chemistry with one another and I felt every emotion they wanted to portray. Bravo to the whole cast!
- the comedy next to the gore: on the contrary to what most have said about the comedy being out of place with the violence, I actually really enjoyed the stark contrast. Big fan of dark comedy lol kept things light enough to make the series not to feel too draining and gave everyone some depth in their personalities.
- fun villains! and I fell in love with some of the side characters because they were so charming.
- wowee, the ROMANCE!!!: Vincenzo did best was the romance. SJK and JYB have sizzling insane chemistry. Their romance reminded me of my fave anime, City Hunter, where they fall in love while working together and then becoming the cutest dream team ever. It was a mature romance where they mutually supported each other in healthy ways. If it weren't for the romance, I would have dropped this episode 4.
- a snazzy FL!

cons:
- plot was weak: with the rating and raging reviews, I was expecting an explosive plot but instead, the backseat romance storyline saved the drama imo. The plot was typical, predictable and overall meh.
- draggy: should have been a 16 episode drama. skipped loadsssssss from episode 10-19. I finished it so quickly bc i skipped so much lol i i get that it was meant to be slow-paced, slow burn or whatever but with a drama about mafia, it would have been better if it was punchy and to the point.
- ik this was not meant to be a romance drama, but it should have been. i would have rated this a 10 if they let the romance develop a bit more. they had two strong characters and actors with such chemistry and plenty leeway to make something more happen than what did. I don't think it would have taken away from the plot which i already lost interest in episode 4, but would have gave it more stability and would have made the ML seem more... human lol instead, a lot of screentime was wasted on god knows what on random characters (loved the side characters but didn't need to see them THAT much). idm the ML being super OP and perfect, but felt it was too extreme bc they didnt flesh out the more 'human' side of him, like loving others. which would have been interesting since ppl in the mafia are meant to be heartless.
- the ending was disappointing. they could have wrapped up the story so much better, like seeing the FL actually on his island. it just felt wishy washy that they threw in a kiss to a romance they hadn't even bothered to develop.

overall, 7.5/10. it was a good drama, no doubt. but not as good as it was hyped up to be. haven't watched kdramas in a while so this was nice first one in a while. do i recommend? a tentative yes. just go in with lower expectations. looking forward to the casts' future projects!