Thought provoking
If you were given the power to kill a man with a single app, would you do it?I feel like this show was so relevant if you think of this current generation. Keyboard warriors on every app.
The premisse of the show was wonderful since day one. And stayed pretty flawless until the end.
Even with all that "show" on the last ep, i still think the revenge lacked impact. They all had it easy in my eyes.
I actually wanted something more vile to happen, but that's maybe because i am used to watch so many western shows with twisted criminals.
The judge is the epitome of anti-hero. You will trust no one until the very end. Absolutely no character is to be trusted, and i love this show because of it. I genuinely didn't know who had the true version of each event.
Amazing script! Amazing acting! Amazing directing! Flawless OST!
This was a delight!
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A fascinating monster saint in a fascinating cynical story about power and unjustice
This is a review of a series that has left me incredibly drained of emotion and without power. At the same time, I'm overflowing with adrenaline and a desire to share. I'm not going to spoil it because I want whoever decides to watch it not to spoil their experience, I'll just share the information that's there in the description of the show, as well as the emotions I experienced and my opinion of the production and the cast.I don't know where to start.
Power.Corruption. A compromised justice system. Abuses. Theft. Murder. Demagoguery. Manipulation of public opinion. Vice. Fighting for justice in the midst of unjust governance and an unjust justice system amidst a parade of façade democracy.
How can you defeat evil? With good? With effort? Or with evil? The series The Devil Judge presents one judge's struggle with evil using the tools of evil. It shows how the lack of justice gives birth to monsters - at the level of the individual, at the level of the crowd, at the level of society.
As we go through the first layer of the series and its social impact, we come to the core - the soul of man. What happens to your soul as you go through suffering, temptation, fear, hate, anger, greed, doubt, self-pity, pain, pain and more pain. The decisions you make; the paths you take.
I'll be the first to share that I've been skipping this series since it came out in July because I kept thinking it was going to be something contrived; I don't like the sound of the Korean language and I don't like Koreans. However, last week I came across first a few pictures, then a few trailers and videos, and since I have a weakness for dominant men, I snapped it up for this very trivial reason. However...for me it's the show of the year of the ones I've watched and I regret passing it by for so long for frivolous reasons, just as I don't regret picking it up again for frivolous reasons.
Early on, when I started watching The Devil Judge, I found myself in the middle of a major moral conflict that made me physically unwell - tightness in my chest, heaviness in my heart, tension throughout my body. By the middle of the third episode, I resolved my moral conflict by accepting that the "Evil fights evil" formula was just and calmed down. From then on, I just followed events, at times with regret, at times with disgust, and at times with the cynical "yes, it happens often."
The series is well worth it, I don't really want to give too much away because I don't want to spoil the feeling, I'll just say that it's well shot and the characters are very well built psychologically.
All the actors do well with their roles, however the one in the lead role (Ji Sung, 44) who I'm watching for the first time is.... wow! He has built such a complex character that at first glance shows a strong and ruthless personality, but at the same time ( and this is only noticeable in the look, I mean this guy plays with his eyes) you can feel the care, love, support and iron principles behind the demonic image. In a perfect way he plays an elusive pain, I guess this will only be felt by empaths, the rest will need the visual representation to feel it.
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A Mastery of Mass Manipulation (This drama has me in a chokehold like Yohan!)
This is solid. The drama doesn't pull any punches and it hits the ground running. Everything is fast-paced from the start for a reason. This drama is a Masterpiece and a shining example of what more to expect in Kdramas moving forward. A Trailblazing type of drama that is original in its genre and a blended artwork of cinematography, casting, lighting, acting, writing, directing, sound design, and pacing. This is a must-watch.I did my research before watching this drama. I came across an article that mentioned an interview with the writer of the show who is also a former judge. His writing brought realism - scary realism - to the Dystopian alternative universe of South Korea, post-COVID.
Technically, many of the things that happened in that drama has already happened or are currently happening around the world. Like America for example, the writer said he was inspired by International government policies and politics when creating the universe and it shows! The President in the drama can be seen as a certain President that was running for the Presidental Election in 2016. (Sounds familiar?) Or the many corrupted government officials and CEOs of various conglomerates that helped fund them. Something that is definitely current in many countries.
The writer also said something else that I was impressed by: he writes characters without assigning gender. I love that. He created strong women that can be soft and fragile too. He created strong men that can vulnerable and sensitive too. Kim Gaon
was a 'Babe in The Woods'. He was thrown into a nest of vipers for the expense of someone else and instead that 'viper' turned out to be the most trustworthy person Gaon has ever known. (This story reals feel Gothic in that aspect since Gaon as the Babe in the Woods gets held hostage in the Gothic castle later, a.k.a Yohan's deary mansion in the middle of nowhere!)
The review! This drama is beautiful to look at. The camera work is flawless. The scenery, set locations, and action shots are all different from each other with different moods, colors, shadow play, and angles. I enjoyed the variety of these moments. It's a stark contrast from Gaon's small, cozy home in the poorer side of town, to the clean and immaculate office building of the Live Court, to Yohan's cold and dark mansion out in the countryside. This drama took me places and I enjoyed that!
The music is to die for, there I said it, and I won't take that back. There were moments when I was watching intensely at the screen and had to rewind to reassure myself that I wasn't just imaging the music sounding quite excellent at a very emotional or important moment. I wasn't imagining things, the music is 12/10. The OST has a song that is sweet with gentle, female vocals and an accompanying guitar to represent innocent love. Then, there's the swelling symphonies and heavy orchestra for the more chaotic moments and action scenes to rev up my heart rate because the crescendo was bittersweet since you're happy to finally breathe again, but you're upset that it's over. (Rewind button again!) Next, there's a rock guitar type of song whenever Yohan is up to his Batman acts again! Of course, with his trusty sidekick Rob- Gaon, I meant Goan. (But Yohan really referred to him as his sidekick so that's canon right?!)
The casting and acting were wonderful choices and I applaud the crew behind the camera as well as the cast in from of the camera. I loved every character and I didn't hate any character I wasn't supposed to, so this makes this drama the best drama I have seen all year. That's impressive. The women in this drama deserve a standing ovation. When the writer said that he doesn't write characters based on gender, he meant it. He truly meant it and thank you so much for that because was finally got a FEMALE VILLAIN THAT DID EVIL SO WELL! *chef's kiss*
When Seon Ah was walking down the carpet for the funeral.... that moment is seared in my brain. That is a Power Walk - the actress definitely has the legs for them. Her outfits were on point. The styling for each character fits the personality of the characters and no one looked out of place. Every detail in the visual aspects was perfect. Just as perfect as the common imagery of showing certain characters' reflections, or them looking in the mirror to represent the duality of a human being is perfect. Applause, applause, standing ovation.
(Also, the government official Cha Kyung Hee was a terrifying, powerful, cruel, horrible, and pitiful person. I nod my head at her last scene and the decision she made reflecting the proud and decisive person she was always portrayed as in the drama. A fitting end for her and a clever twist to the story.)
So is this the part where I mention the BL? Maybe.... maybe individuals that aren't aware of the writer's intention are clueless to the fact that the story is supposed to be a story of politics, crime, and love between two men. But I am aware that that was the original intention and trying to watch the drama without immediately looking for those BL moments was unnecessary because it's more or less shoved in your face within the first episode. *teehee* The tension!
Could these two characters be any more intense than that first meeting? Yes! Buckle in, because it's only the beginning.
Look, the drama starts off pretty fast-paced and continues to do so until at least episode three where Gaon finds himself in a Gothic horror romance story as the naive, yet fearless (sometimes careless) main heroine. This is why 'babe in the woods' fits him so well. I referred to him as Baby Boy quite often because he's precious and needs to be protected at all costs! (Apparently, everyone feels the same, like his childhood friend, Professor Min, his coworker, and of course Yohan.) Jinyoung's idol looks helped in the 'deer in the headlights' look of naivety and innocence. He's even beautiful when he cries, true talent because I was definitely flinching whenever he was manhandled or hurt. 'Someone save Baby Boy!' or 'Oh no, not the Baby! Don't hurt him please!' I said these phrases often and the actors Jisung and Jinyoung have an age gap of 17 (!!!) years so yeah. He's a baby.
The Devil Judge - the titular character and the drama - was a masterpiece of mass manipulation through media and the like. Some characters in this drama were playing games with other people and secrets. It was refreshing to see so many complex characters with dubious morals and corrupt ethics on-screen in one drama. The calmer, domestic and wholesome moments are between Yohan, Gaon, and Elijah. Also, the mystery behind the church fire was a clever twist and satisfying to know the whole truth. Elijah must be protected too!
The verdicts for the crimes in the show are just, unethical but just all the same. I truly enjoyed the moments where the corrupted criminals realized that the system will not let them off because Yohan is no one's friend. Especially those who are responsible for the broken system in the first place and/or benefit from it. This was cathartic to watch. Yes, I got excited at the scenes with the public flogging, castration, and electrical chair but look at it like this: an eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind.....so let me enjoy this before we all go blind! Now, the public flogging, I thought it was going to be on his butt with a long wooden paddle that I've seen in historical Korean Dramas, but that kind of flogging was acceptable too. The scene with the electric chair was more complicated since there was a scene where children were participating in something that they really couldn't truly understand and such knowledge of their actions would be very detrimental to their mental health. That moment showed the downside to such 'swift/easy justice' as Professor Min quoted in the show.
I would say watch this drama. Watch this drama and watch this drama. If you like dramas like House of Cards, Sherlock, or Law & Order - you'll love this drama for many more reasons than you were aware existed.
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Masterpiece
One of the best drama ive ever watched, i really thought that nothing can be as amazing as Mr.Sunshine, but I was wrong!1) Story
The plot is really interesting. We don't know till the end who is good and who is bad, we don't know the past of the main lead. And even that, the story isn't very complicated, which means that we have a lot of amazing plot twist without need to write everything we have known earlier. Also the "romance" is amazing. "Romance" cause the drama leaves this part to the imagination, but we have really great chemistry between Yo han and Ga On mainly (i also enjoyed Yo han and Min Jung). Maybe support characters hadn't a lot od the screen time but it has to be said that i don't mind it. Yo han. YO HAN <3
2) Cast
Do I really need to say anything?
Ji Sung. If i have him the other characters can be played by pigs. Sorry, but he steals all the show. He has AMAZING talent, he is handsome, charming and I just love him in any drama. But other actors also played good! Jung Sun Ah - as I said I really love mr.sunshine and seeing her in this show was great.
3) Music
Love so much. OST is awesome. I still listen to Tempest, Enemy of truth, Different from the outside, I am the abbys and few more. Really amazing. Btw my friend is now watching TDJ (her first kdrama) only because she heard Tempest, which was played in my home.
To sum up, this drama is amazing. In every aspect, Graphic, colors, music, cast, story... I really reccomend this. To everyone. It's interesting, mystery but not too heavy. Overwhelming sometimes, but in a good way. Sad, but not too sad. Just perferct.
Sorry for my english, cause its not my 1st language. Have a good day!
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Une dystopie effrayante
Moon Yoo Seok, auteur de "Miss Hammurabi", nous pond ici une oeuvre diamétralement opposée. Bien que le thème soit récurrent, le ton ici n'est plus le même.A l'instar de "Taxi Driver", le spectateur est interrogé sur cette fameuse justice qui est tout sauf juste.
Le scénario brillamment écrit nous dérange et nous interpelle. Peut-on au nom de la justice manipuler l'opinion publique? Manier les preuves? User de stratagème immoral? Appliquer implacablement les pires sévices au criminel?
C'est à travers le juge Kang Yo Han que nous voyons cette dystopie effrayante et sombre où pouvoir et ambition sont impunément injugeable.
Ai-je aimé? oui
Ai-je été frustré? oui
Ai-je été dérangé? oui
Il faut donc avouer que pour adhérer à cet univers sombre, il faut aussi quelque part, au fond de nous, sans fausse pudeur adhérer aux propos de Kang Yo Han et ses méthodes.
Le monde qui nous est présenté est une société fictive où à travers un système judiciaire en temps réel, un show judiciaire via une application, des juges tranchent sur des crimes. Les spectateurs de l'application sont alors invités à s'exprimer permettant au juge de choisir ensuite la sanction selon la fureur de la populace.
Le drama repose presque entièrement sur le personnage du juge Kang Yo Han. Ji Sung, toujours aussi incroyable, porte pratiquement le drama à bout de bras!
Si je dois faire abstraction de toute l'admiration que je lui porte, il faut reconnaitre en toute objectivité que Ji Sung donne une dimension et une profondeur incroyable à Kang Yo Han. Toute la subtilité de son jeu se retrouve à travers ses expressions où se s'enchevêtrent un désir implacable de rendre justice et une envie profonde de protéger ceux qu'il aime. L'attitude détachée face aux adversaires du juge tranchait vigoureusement une fois confronté à sa nièce par exemple ou durant ses moments d'humanité et de solitude. J'ai adoré voir ce personnage suivre ce chemin choisi, un chemin de croix, sans hésitation, sans remords, persuadé qu'il était de sa vérité. Loin de toute hypocrisie, Kan Yo Han soutenait sa vision de la justice, de sa vengeance, sans sourciller.
Nous pouvions être mal à l'aise face à ses méthodes discutables, mais j'avoue que je n'ai jamais pensé qu'il était en tort. Excessif, peut-être...
Face à lui, une actrice qui n'a plus rien à prouver! Kim Min Jung. Elle était excellente dans le magnifique "Mr Sunshine", elle brille de nouveau ici. Son personnage, tout en ambiguïté, explose l'écran à chacune de ses apparitions. Classe, superbe, machiavélique, Jung Sun Ah est un personnage qu'on adore haïr. Elle est typiquement le personnage qu'on aimerait voir basculer : les raisons de ses actions n'étaient certes pas excusables mais oh tellement compréhensible!
Son parcours la menant jusqu'à sa fin, bien que prévisible, nous a déchiré le coeur. Habilement, le scénariste nous donne envie de la soutenir bien qu'elle pourrait être définitivement classé dans la catégorie "psychopathe". Mais quelle psychopathe!
....Je dois parler des deux autres protagonistes....hum, mais pour être franche....
Je ne les ai pas aimé.
Ni compris.
Ni soutenu.
Kim Ga On. Bien que ce personnage soit quelque part une sorte de rédemption pour Kan Yo Han, je n'ai pas cessé de grincer des dents. Sa remise en question permanente envers Kan Yo Han était frustrante, à tel point que je ne cessais de maugréer des insanités envers lui et Yoon Soo Hyun.
Le pays part en sucette avec des psychopathes à la tête, des crimes impunis, des meurtres et des victimes en cascades.
Non, non.
Ga On et Soo Hyun pense que le plus important est d'arrêter le juge Kan Yo Han qui, bien que violent et extrême je le reconnais, punit de VRAIS criminel supposé impunissable... On se retrouve dans une situation ubuesque et absurde où le fait de voir des criminels riches et puissants sortir la tête haute d'un procès ne semble pas impacter le moins du monde les autres protagonistes.
Cet acharnement injustifié envers Kang Yo Han, basé sur des suppositions scabreuses et manifestement une antipathie envers le juge, devenait fort lourd et agaçant. A tel point, que j'avais parfois envie d'éteindre la télévision.
La réalisation du drama est superbe et visuellement magnifique. La représentation de cette dystopie, sombre et cruelle, la palette de couleur à travers les scènes de la ville la nuit par exemple, était parfois à couper le souffle.
Le grotesque et l'ambition nauséabonde des antagonistes étaient d'une violence magistrale.
J'ai d'ailleurs adoré les costumes des juges que cela soit durant les procès ou ceux revêtus à la fin.... Tout cela apportait cette intensité nécessaire nous permettant d'apprécier le côté le plus sombre que chacun d'entre nous pourrait renfermer. J'avoue m'être posé cette question " et si j'avais le choix d'appuyer sur cette application, que ferais-je?".
Les épisodes finaux dérangent. Peut-être par ce que la situation que nous vivons actuellement s'y reflètent étrangement : un virus, une manipulation médiatique, un président qui pète un câble et qui terrorise la population....
C'est donc un très bon drama dépeignant une société dystopique frisant le totalitarisme, où seul un personnage se tient debout à sa façon contre cette mainmise abusive du pouvoir. Divertissant, dérangeant et qui permet selon chacun une certaine réflexion sur la société actuelle.
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A not super homage of a superhero story
A rich guy in a powerful position with a vigilante hobby and a tragic backstory. A young protege' that lost his family. A wheelchair bound woman that's a whiz with computers. A coterie of corrupt men in power. A ambiguously good/evil female that to has a romantic interest in the rich guy. A city awash in crime.Figured out yet what story this is? So there's some surface-level differences but the similarities are too numerous to dismiss. It's not a fatal problem, but it does set a bar of expectations fairly high. It's a high-quality setup that requires excellence in execution.
The budget is definitely there. Ample sums of money have been spent here on special effects (lots and lots of fire and explosions and smoke). There's some big set pieces with lots of crowds. There's lots of fancy vehicles and a big house and the wardrobing is wonderful.
The majority of the cast is strong. Ji Sung clearly has the intensity and physicality to play Kang Yo Han. Among the supporting cast, Jang Young Nam, Baek Hyun Jin and Jeon Chae Eun stand out. Kim Min Jung pushes a bit much in to caricature than needed, but is passable. But Park Jin Young is the central character in the narrative and, while he's not the only issue with the character, he's not helping this production with his limited acting skill.
The fatal flaw of "The Devil Judge" is the character of Kim Ga On played by Park Jin Young. This is a show of intrigue. It's a deadly game of five dimensional chess where subterfuge and strategy are critical to survival. Kim Ga On, however, shows no traits that would make him useful in any conceivable way. Ga On doesn't control his emotions. He doesn't keep secrets. He doesn't conceal his intentions. When he attempts to dig up info, he is easily caught. He doesn't listen to simple directions. He is not only useless to someone playing in such a game, he's an obvious liability with no redeeming value. That Kang Yo Han has selected him among a legion of more worthy potentially useful allies to be his sidekick is inconceivably poor scripting. Yo Han is an unforgiving man bent on revenge and a brilliant tactician, but his choice as his wingman would struggle to outsmart an inanimate object.
Even more frustrating is that Ga On is the lifelong friend and object of affection for Park Gyu Young's Detective Yoon Soo Hyun. There's a backstory as to how they were childhood friends but it is entirely unconvincing as to why Soo Hyun has any feelings for Ga On. He has no apparent reason for not returning her feelings despite the fact that does actually like her. There are times when drama characters may not immediately become an item based on sketchy reasoning, but this is over the line of any credible basis.
There's more bad logic in the storyline here than needs to be reviewed. And it should be noted that entertainment or art in general should be permitted license to ask the audience to engage in some degree of suspension of reality. That's part of the point - to disengage from the stress and fatigue of our daily lives. But there's still a requirement that a story have solid footing. A line exists that should not be crossed. "The Devil Judge" crosses it and then sits fire to it and then salts the earth where it once lay.
As an aside, Park Gyu Young still deserves a leading role. It would be a bonus if it was on a show that didn't seem so bent on making her look as bedraggled as possible.
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Too theatrical and too grotesque
Delightful music is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of this drama. Stunning music and phenomenal Ji Sung whose acting stunned me.Unfortunately, that's as far as praise goes. The drama is done too artistically for my taste. The cinematography, the set design, the costumes - everything is beautiful, but I was too wrapped up in the beauty where the plot was lacking. The first episode in terms of carrying out the process enthralled me, but then everything started to break down. There was too much of something that verged on caricature and not enough of the elements that are most important to me - something that would draw me into rooting for the hero. The theatricality of this drama, sometimes grotesque, took away my feeling of satisfaction from the first episode and took away my pleasure from watching. I abandoned this drama two or three episodes before the end and came back only because I saw the phenomenal Ji Sung in an older drama and wanted to compare the acting.
The drama is aesthetically pleasing but for me it was a bit too much in terms of form and the characters were cartoonish.
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Give it a try you won't regret it
At first the drama could see like messy but while the time pass you would understand everything like why happened those things, I like that they don't introduce the drama like in a boring way and they keep that line of surprise in every episode, I love the chemistry that Jisung and Jinyoung have, what I don't like is that the writer made Gaon like stupid he keeps making conclusions out nothing but anyway apart from that I love the character and the evolution he has every episode, I love Yohan in every aspect, but the character I hate is Oh jinju that's sorry but the worst character I can't deal with her. Anyway give it a try you might like it, is easy to watch and the cast has an environment so friendly all the time I hope we can see them together in the future.Considerați utilă această recenzie?
Interesting but heavy
This is one of those dramas where you kind of have to focus and "think" with the characters which is why I rated the rewatch value pretty low. It's not exactly the type of drama I'd want to rewatch and go through the process again. The plot is interesting and the acting is superb, but it's pretty heavy. Definitely not something you'd want to play in the background while doing something else.In a way, I kind of know how it's going to end anyway. To win the villains in power, you gotta be evil. That seems to be the message Kdramas these days like the deliver (i.e. Vincenzo, Penthouse, etc.). Regardless, I love the whole thinking process and how the plans are executed so creatively. Ji Sung, as per usual, is an amazing actor. He is the one actor whose expressions I can never seem to decipher (in a good way). Is he good? Is he evil? It feels like I have to brainwash myself everytime I watch him: "He's the main character of this drama. Of course he's not evil. He's like a dark hero."
Unlike most dramas, this is not the kind of drama that is stuck in my mind. I don't think about the previous episode all the time and I don't crave or anticipate for the next episode. 2 episodes per week is just right for me. Overall, I think this drama is worth watching, but not exactly the top drama on my list.
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lyriabrokenwings
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De tirar o fôlego
The Devil Judge foi uma excelente surpresa dentre as séries coreanas desse ano. A história em si não é tão original, mas vem com uma nova roupagem e consegue prender a atenção do espectador do começo fim. E que final!Motivos para você assistir a série:
1. Atuação
Jin Young mostra uma evolução considerável na sua atuação se comparada à série He's Psychometric, suas cenas de emoção conseguem transmitir o estado do personagem e ele tem muita química com o outro male lead, Ji Sung, e ele está espetacular! Vale destacar também a vilã interpretada por Kim Min Jung que dá um show.
2. Produção e fotografia
Essa série deve ter tido um bom orçamento porque está recheada de cenas de ação e efeitos bem executados. Como eu sou dessa área não consigo deixar de prestar atenção nos detalhes, mas The Devil Judge não desaponta.
Alguns aspectos importantes de saber antes de ver:
Xenofobia
A série apresenta uma realidade distópica na Coréia do Sul e trás alguns elementos um pouco xenofóbicos, mas é sempre bom lembrar que é uma obra de ficção científica, então não leve isso como verdade e nem para a sua vida.
Personagem principal com moral questionável
Particularmente eu adoro personagens conflitados e com moral duvidosa, mas é bom saber que o nosso querido juiz Kang Yo Han está mais para vilão do que para herói.
Para concluir, essa série vai prender a sua atenção desde o primeiro episódio e trás diversas reviravoltas, alianças inusitadas e traições. E o mais importante, o final é bom!
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WHY OH WHY!!!
When I started watching it, I was so excited. WoW!!! Another great Korean Drama.. I love the characters and their chemistry and their flaws! The two male leads bromance chemistry is just beautiful, between Yo Han and Ga On, how the older being protective over the younger. The baddies are bad you can almost hate them and wish they were run over by a steamroller. The storyline is way more exciting than anything I have seen in Korean dramas so far. The plots are so interesting as they build up towards the final quarter, and then towards the end of Episode 12, shit happened. What happened? All the beautifully build up plots and storylines just fell out of the bottom, they just turned into waste. All that expectations all that hope and excitement just turned into one big disappointment! Devoid of logic and a clear explanation to all the things that happened. And things just happened for the sake of drama. I think it's the case of the writer/writers trying too hard and failed to deliver the goods.If they have kept the plot unusual and simple like they always do in Korean drama and that's why we love them, it would have worked so well, and I would have given it a 9.2 even, but what a disappointment! Am I going to continue? Hell, of course, I have invested so much of my time in it, at least I will see it till the end. But now, no matter how fantastic the ending is, it's going to be a non-event because the tidal wave that we ride on died around episode 12 and there won't be a THUMP on the beach, but a mild flat trickle..... We were building to expect a wad, but we got only a trickle.... Not nice. Not nice at all.... What an anti Climax!
Love the acting though.... even Ga On whimpish character that makes you feel like slapping him over and over again.....
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