“Then the kids here are inside someone’s nightmare.”

Despite all the nature vs. nurture psychobabble, this drama doesn’t really address it that much. I think they used the theme to knit it together but it didn’t quite gel for me.

I’ve been meaning to watch this one for ages.
To start with, there’s a long list of suspects that appear to have the potential to be a crazy killer. We’ve got a bullying sociopath, giggly rockstar, victimised nerd, a silent mathematician, etc. I enjoyed the characterization of each personality.
The history of how each character relates to another is all slowly revealed. Why does this one hate that one? There are some really complicated relationships.

“Why didn’t I ever confess? The Eun Sung that I like the best is the Eun Sung that’s with you.”

Yoon Su – the muso
“It’s OK. It’s my fault for being born into a rich family.”

Moo Yul – the obedient one

Moo Yul is the guy you need in a crisis.

“Besides, Park Moo Yul is there. He’ll take care of it.”

Yep, for some reason Moo Yul has this magic about him that makes the toughest bullies and the most stand-offish characters listen to him. They respect him – they know he’s fair. He has to break up so many fights the poor guy.
He’s a really average kind of dude. Smaller than the others, 2nd place in the academic ranking and motherless. He has his own grievances against his classmates that seem slight, but it turns out there’s something more. Of course there is.

Jae Kyu – the follower

I found it funny that this guy is just like Moo Yul 2nd. I was just glad to have him around so Moo Yul wasn’t alone. In a world of loners having an ally really helped double the power of rationality. I found Jae Kyu’s presence comforting.

Chi Hoon – the genius
We don’t see much of this guy, but he comes in and out at key points to make a good point or ask the important questions. He actually becomes really important and his quiet reliability was on point. I loved how he always supported Moo Yul and those intense stares when they needed to communicate without words was great.

Despite them all keeping their distance from each other like typical study-holic students they still have some sense of camaraderie.

There’s an unusually limited use of music. We get heaps of silence at critical moments.

Musical complaint: or maybe a translation complaint? Kang Mo said he was playing the cow bells in school but the flashback clearly shows him playing hand bells.