Every story can become a 10/10 drama when it's produced, directed and casted right. But not frequently do we stumble upon a 10/10 story. In this drama, all of the above were 10/10.
1. Story. If you're a sucker for police thriller like me, you probably think you have seen it all already. "If they suspect this person now, he's not the culprit". "Clearly the culprit is someone who seems innocent". I know because this is what I thought while watching it. But I've never been so wrong. The story keeps on surprising while making perfect sense, no plot holes are found, every question is answered. No open ending and no cliche like "5 years later". The characters (and us) are never distracted by pointless romantic relationships that tend to ruin every non-romance based series out there.
2. Characters. All characters are fascinating. Shi-mok is an (seemingly) emotionless prosecutor who follows his moral code strictly. He is ready to fight for justice and doesn't care about being liked by other people. He is a badass at court but is cutely awkward when it comes to social interactions. Yeo-jin is an energetic police officer who enjoys her job: chasing (and catching!) bad guys. She's confident and comfortable with the other characters, even the socially awkward Shi-mok. She also has a strong sense of justice but also very high EQ, making her a very lovable character. Dong-jae is another prosecutor and a very complex character. You can never tell what exactly he thinks or feels and are his motives. He keeps on switching sides which makes him seem like an unloyal jerk who only cares about himself, but he also has his own moral code. He's introduced to us as a not very smart person, but actually he's quite wise and skillful. Eun-soo seems at first like the uptight newbie who is nervous and makes mistakes, but actually she's a strong-willed smart prosecutor. She has a goal and she put her life on the line more than once to get what she wants. Lee Chand-joon is the best character in my opinion. You keep on suspecting him while thinking there's no way he'd do it. He's strong, smart, scary, lovable, evil and kind at the same time. He always knows what's the right thing to say or do, so even when it seems like he failed, he probably wanted to fail.
3. Cast. The cast is mind-blowing. The acting was on point for every single character. They portrayed a whole rainbow of emotions in the most convincing way, making me forget I already saw some of them acting in different dramas before. I also liked the fact that Jo Seung-woo, playing Shi-mok, is not your typical k-drama male lead. He is handsome but not in the typical korean standarts. He's even pretty short, would you believe it? Jo Seung-woo is a super talented actor and the fact that he got the main role in this drama despite the fact that he's not as much of an "eye-candy" as some people say, makes me love the drama 10 times more.
4. Rewatch value. I put 8 because honestly, when you already know who the culprit is, I'm not sure how amazing it can be. But just for the amazing cast and characters, I would definitely consider coming back.
5. Summary. This is the first review I ever wrote. I felt like I have to write down my feelings about this masterpiece. It's one of the best k-dramas I have ever watched and I did watch a lot. I wish I could give it a 11/10, too bad... Thank you for reading!