I think I should begin by of course applauding this drama for its activism, if it can be labelled as that. Kim Tony was a surprising addition to me, as I've never really seen a kdrama get so far into how black people are treated in SK. It was interesting, but only really dealt with in like 1 or 2 scenes and then Tony's character was doomed to fade into the background. I then have to talk about Hyun Yi, the transgender MTF character in the series. The actress is stunning, and was very good at making me feel for her character too. I loved her scenes, although I think at the end she ultimately met the same fate as Toni and faded into the background, as I guess her character was not deemed as important to expand on as the dreaded love triangle (square? more?). Another shame.

Onto the main actors. Park Seo-Joon did amazingly well from the very start. His "crying" scenes pulled me out of it at times, but that's a minor criticism. The revenge plot is what had me so invested in this drama and what ultimately stopped me from dropping it a few episodes early, and it was ultimately the acting chops of Seo-Joon, Geun Won and Jang Dae Hee that had me on the edge of my seat at many times. The two villains were excellent at making me want to punch them both in the face. Perhaps a bit lame in how typically "evil" they were, but a joy to watch all the same. I only wish the drama had focused a little more on their storylines, especially towards the very end of the drama.

Jo Yi Seo and Oh Soo Ah. When Yi Seo came on the scene, I honestly loved her. She seemed very bad-ass. Shame they completely destroyed her character and made her into a lovesick fool, much like Sae Ro Yi. I don't even want to talk about the love triangle too much, as it annoyed me to no end. It took over all other plot by the end and made everything else seem unimportant. Sae Ro Yi rejects Yi Seo all series long and shows no genuine interest in her, then in the course of 30 minutes falls irreversibly in love with her and coldly rejects the woman he's held on a string for the past 15 years, proceeding to have flashback upon flashback of their time together (I've already watched the series - I don't need to see it all again in flashbacks when we're reaching the climax of the show?) and seemingly leave all his dreams of revenge behind for her all of a sudden. The actors also show no real chemistry, making the pairing cringe-worthy to say the least. I actually ended up wanting him to be with Soo Ah, especially after finding out she'd spent the last 10 years compiling information to help the guy who just threw her to the side like she meant nothing lmao.

I can't keep going on like this or I'll be here all day. To summarise, the revenge plot is a great one and the drama starts of very well, but as usual with many many dramas, the awful romance overtakes it and ruins the character development of all characters involved (I refuse to discuss Geun Soo, my baby). I definitely wouldn't re-watch this, although i will say i rated it so highly for its really good start. plus the ost.