Adamas (2022)

Disappointment

Started the series with high expectations given the synopsis and that Ji Sung is part of the cast. While the first half of the series was not without flaws, I believed there was an attempt to build up suspense (albeit slowly), which would be fine with me if the story built up well. Unfortunately, in the second half of the series, some characters seemed to display behaviour that seemed contrary to how they were written at the start, and developments became increasingly unbelievable.

For example, some characters seem to always escape the detection of the security despite acting in an overt manner, or how characters armed with pistols seemed to prefer hand-to-hand combat despite being in life-threatening conditions. This would lead one to wonder how these gaps would be closed as the story passes (hint: it does not).

We reach the rock bottom of the series in the finale, where the ending failed to address any of these plot holes and successfully created more questions on how a good 16 hours was wasted to watch this series. Like what some of the other reviewers pointed out, the acting fails to rescue the disastrous plot.

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Failed ambitious attempt eclectic genres, bogged down by excessive sub-plots and back stories

Adamas is mainly a mystery drama, but attempts to span across different genres. Its attempt at encompassing elements of melodrama, tragedy, romance and both light and dark comedy is decent, but feels needless and does not impress. It feels almost as if the script writer or director is wanting to deliberately do so, so that the drama feels like an eclectic masterpiece.

It is a simple plot that has excessive sub-plots and back stories added, meant mainly for the purpose of keeping the suspense and drama last 16 episodes. The drama attempted to give every single character, big or small, a backstory and reason for participating in the story is comprehensive and is good in nature. However, it is excessive. Every single characters' motivation to partake in the "mystery" is due to the death of a loved one. In the end, it leaves the audience feeling that there is no poignant main storyline, and the characters were added in just because the "script" requires them to be,

Besides the protagonists who are both acted by Ji Sung, no other characters have a strong motivation to solve those 2 mysteries, so it is not engaging for me emotionally. Every other character partakes in the main story because of the death of a loved one, that is irrelevant to finding the murderer, nor locating where Adamas is.

There is also insufficient development in the character arc of the main cast. The idea of getting Ji Sung to act in 2 roles is interesting, but totally wasted as the storyline did not explore the uniqueness nor need twins to be the protagonists. It might be better to showcase them as close knitted brothers.

Both Seo Ji-hye's and Lee Soo-kyung's characters are too divorced from the main storyline and is wasted as main actresses. Seo Ji-hye has her own backstory and too little emotional involvement with Ji Sung, while Lee Soo-kyung's character arc is too unexplored to the point she feels like a 3rd lead or a main supporting cast.

The show has too many backstories and screen time for the supporting cast, to the point that it is excessive and muddles the main storyline. There are 3 antagonist, one of whom is totally irrelevant to the story. The main antagonist has too little screen time, so his character arc did not have space to develop.

The ending is definitely the major disappointment as it felt rushed and abrupt. Overall, I did not enjoy watching the show. It has potential to be a good drama, but it feels like there are too many threads that leads to nothing. Even though I like Ji Sung, Seo Ji-hye's and Lee Soo-kyung, my fondness for these artistes is still not engaging enough emotionally, nor suspenseful enough to be a mystery drama. I finished the drama only because the actors and actresses were good.

The drama is mainly carried along by good acting, directing, editing and cinematography. If you like eclectic genres and superb acting, Flower of Evil is hands down my recommendation.

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Waste of an opportunity playing twins

Not even Jisung was able to save this disaster. Story, characterization, environment are all unbalanced in this drama. It's a skip with 0 rewatchable value. And the ending, forget about being satisfied. Just a waste of your time. I don't recommend watching this eyesore. There was no point in Jisung playing twins, what was the point? A different actor could've taken one of the twin's spot and the story would've still stayed the same. What a waste of talent. Hope Jisung plays better and more interesting projects after this flop. If this was a comedy, I would give it a 6, but it actually takes itself seriously, so It's a 3.5 from me.


Re-watchable value? Better dramas to indulge in.

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A slow journey with gradual build-up and a face plant end

One of the rare times that I'm dropping the rating of a show post the finale. Adamas isn't for everyone and I'm most likely included in that list. The show had a very promising start and suddenly started to drag it's heels at the beginning making it a hard watch.

I was excited to see a dual role but by instantly separating the twins and shooting scenes separately for most of the show undid that excitement. It might as well have been played by 2 actors. The camera work that excited me at the very beginning of the series was no where to be found. The writer twin spent majority of his time roaming around the mansion repeatedly which I would just watch at 2x speed. At the time, I found the role of the prosecutor twin more exciting. But soon that too felt like it was heading nowhere.

Most of the excitement starts around episode 9 onwards. By then a lot of the secrets about the mysterious Adamas are exposed. The people fighting the bad guys all seem to be helpless and powerless despite their status and connections. It is frustrating to see them failing so badly at times and you have to wonder why they have no result to show for all the work and manpower they've put in.

There was a rare opportunity to wind everything in a positive and thrilling way but it was a disaster after disaster for the good guys. In fact, episode 14 may have been the best episode. The ending leaves you scratching your head and wondering what happened? The satisfaction that one might get from watching a crime drama is nowhere to be found here. Do some bad guys get punished? Yes. But it's so underwhelming. And one of the characters realises, "truth holds no power". This is the entire theme of Adamas.

Acting and production is good quality but if the story telling fails to enthrall you, the hard work of the cast and team is meaningless.

SMALL SPOILER:
They tease an open-ending and if just makes you think, do I want to put up with that again in the second season? Probably not, in my opinion.

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Adamas: The greatest crime of conquest.

Crime? Authoritarianism? Greed? Power? Mystery? Lies? Fights? Misery? Conspiracy? Yes, everything that a thriller Korean drama could bear, Adamas offers all that but what makes it stand out? 1) The narrative 2) The presentation 3) Ji Sung himself and 4) the elementary object, Adamas. The dramas, as a whole, is not a masterpiece or entirely a decent show if you consider whatever we have been offered till date, but it surely is up to par and can be passed as a well-made mystery thriller. It did disappoint in the finale but to judge the whole thing, this is not actually bad or a trash as some people will tell you in impulse with their final experiences about it.

Developed by ‘Studio Dragon’ and produced by ‘Mays Entertainment’, “ADAMAS (아다마스)” is a political and legal thriller. Written by Choi Tae Kang and directed by Park Seung Woo, the drama was broadcasted on tvN and internationally distributed by Disney+ in selected regions.

Adamas, keeps at center, twin brothers, writer Ha Woo Shin and Prosecutor Song Soo Hyun (played by Ji Sung), fighting against Kwon Jae Woo (Lee Kyung Young), chairman of Haesong Group, in order to unveil the evil deeds of him and the people he’s surrounded by. All these started with a murder that took place 22 years back killing their stepfather and convicting their biological father. To save their father, they go to unmeasurable and unthought lengths which lead them to discover dreadful truths surrounding the graceful yet mysterious object, namely ‘Adamas’.

Eun Hye Soo (Seo Ji Hye) is the daughter-in-law of Heo family, whereas Kim Seo Hee (Lee Soo Kyung) is a ferocious reporter. Choi Tae Sung (Heo Sung Tae) is the Chief of security at Haesongwon while Kwon Soon Yi (Hwang Jung Min) is the Butler. Lee Jun Kyung (Oh Dae Hwan) is the leader of Team A and Kang Hyuk Pil (Choi Deok Moon) is the leader of Special Investigation Headquarters (SIH). Other familiar faces in the drama are: Jo Sung Ha, Kim Jung Goo, Seo Hyun Woo, Park Hae Eun, Shin Hyun Seung, Lee Shin Won, Woo Hyun Joo, Go Yoon, Choi Chan Ho, Lee Ho Chul, etc.

The pilot episode to me was a lil underwhelming, as in I was not really impressed with how the writer was trying to lay the background. A little bit of everything, did make it seem boring and uninteresting. The follow-up felt as poor for a while. However, further twists and the development in storytelling started doing wonders at some point that I didn’t realize, and I found, myself engaged and constantly entertained by the sequence of events. The overall interest on the development, personally, was a little diminished around the interval but I was glad it picked back the momentum very quickly with the 11th episode. All I had been wishing for till the end was to see a good, even so not remarkable, ending, which didn’t really happen.
The finale week rather came off lousy. The 15th episode was all talk and less action, and it was quite visible that they were rushing it by skipping from one short scene to another. The first sequences of the 16th episode which was expected to be interesting, did end the saga very swiftly as if they have no context left to keep on the fight. The follow-up till the ending was then underwhelming and with 10 minutes left, I was sure they are gonna finish it abruptly.

I don’t quite believe that the writer is a debutant? How? I mean this is not really extraordinary and bear a fair share of flaws in writing but this is actually way better than just a decent thriller show which had us at awe at several whiles. The story is well-planned, the characters are well-drawn, the elements are well-created and the sequences are well-thought. The process of establishing the background in the pilot episode seemed a little rushed, as if they have a lot to say about the present but the way everything about the past was unveiled and represented, I was very satisfied.

The flaws of the was in regards of the keeping up with the pace of excitement as mentioned earlier, plus how the context, around the same time felt a little dragged. I was almost annoyed with the fact that they were getting diverted from what they’d intended to offer initially. The ending is the biggest letdown about the drama for it was rushed, abrupt, vaguely explained and left few things open. The audience would have liked to be answered plainly anyways, so why exactly the makers made such decisions.

Seemingly rookie director Park Seung Woo PD-nim hit it big with his previous work, KAIROS, and being a unique fantasy thriller, it really must have taken a lot, and again, that experience did help him here. The PD, I am sure, must have developed a good understanding with the debuting writer which has brought forward this amazing work. The quality of execution is way above the standard of a thriller drama. The scenario of Hanseongwon as well as the detailed elements associated were well-created, from objects to personnel and the system inside it.

The cinematography is of a moderate essence though it was not really visible a lot provided the eerie and dark vibes of the show, however, the same inside the premise of the mansion was ecstatic to some point. The sound production as well as the screen-editing were up to par. The pacing did bother me at some instants in between as mentioned earlier, as if it were going off the grid, making an overall inconsistent flow of plot. Nevertheless, the recovery was very amazing, which, in fact, took place very soon.

Composed by Jang Young Kyu, there are 6 OSTs in total though they aren't really used in the drama. Also, I couldn't really understand the essence of most of them in the story albeit my liking of them as songs.

# “Beat of My Heart” by Elodie Wave
# “NEED YOU” by Charlie Bean Works
# “Darling You” by Bernard Park
# “By Your Side” by Ha Hyun Sang
# “All About You” by KATIE
# “Rain on Me” by Kim Jo Han

The screentime was obviously and fairly dominated by Ji Sung because he was playing twins, present at different places, separated by boundaries and burdened by different responsibilities (read tasks and goals). It was like the same face in a parallel universe with distinct personalities and traits. Needless to say, that the man aced it well; it was perfectly a Jisung-type drama. I am personally a bit upset with the arcs of Soo Hyun, about he, at places, didn’t respond like a prosecutor, rather a bull-headed geezer, but its manageable. In his stead, it was Woo Shin who was always calm and better calculative.

The 2 female leads gave a decent delivery as expected from them but the character of Seo Ji Hye was kinda subpar whereas Lee Soo Kyung’s character lacked dynamics for a major duration of the show. Eun Hye Soo was surely mysterious and a lot of things about her bugged me as well, indicating a grand ending she’ll get, but the way it was plotted and presented, came as a weak motive to me; not really displeased, but it could have been better, imo. Kim Seo Hee was broached as an annoying character rarely showed her skills as a journalist, nor did she contributed a lot to the process, but I must admit, the 11th episode keeping her at the centre, was fantastic,

The antagonist side was very strong, with all the familiar faces, known to be villains in the industry, from Lee Kyung Young to Oh Dae Hwan, and as always, they scored heavens. Lee Kyung Young’s role was a bit different from others, where despite of being thecmastermind and controlling everything, he sometimes is powerless and have to be cautious and worry for things; anyways, he was charismatic with hos manipulation skills. Oh Dae Hwan probably played the cunt-est character of his life and I was pretty intrigued by him. Seo Hyun Woo with his given part, did very good as well.

Special mention to Hwang Jung Min who played the butler at the mansion and did an extraordinary job in carrying out the intended persona. Her first appearance itself was an indicatory that she will be a key rider in the show and her acting is what submitted the fascination mostly. And how her importance escalated with each episode along with a well-crafted backstory was astonishing. Her actions and reactions gave me goosebumps, particularly how she flew to to the peak in the 11th episode.

11th episode is my most favourite of all and I guess that is where the show was at its highest peak. The way two major turning events were happening throughout simultaneously did excite me to core as well as gave me goosebumps. The execution of them that was presented in bits alternately was amazing; from performance to editing, the entire episode was just perfect.

I feel the most important factor about Adamas is the fact that neither the protagonist was some sort of superheroes though one side was more radical and had more powerful cards on their side. This, subsequently proved how one person, even at the center/top of the show is not entirely responsible for the set of fortunes/tragedies that happen, rather everything is an outcome of a systematic contribution made by a group of people, no matter which side it is.

About the possibilities of a second season, I don’t think that’s gonna happen. The message is clear: you can’t wipe off the weeds completely in one go and frequent monitoring action is what you require. They might have wrapped it up with an obvious cliffhanger but now its upon us to assume and pot the ending by ourselves.

Final Remarks… I guess many people gonna try this for Ji Sung but I can say that it is as good. Only if the finale sequences were not lame and awry, this could have been a decently splendid experience. Even though it messed the ending up, the process and the vibes are good enough to be tried once, so do see for yourself. It will be a fair watch excluding the ending for those who like slow-paced thrillers with sedate buildups.

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Avoid if you are looking for romance or humor

●In dramas they say the person least suspected is actually the killer, following the same theory, the ADAMAS was at a place least expected to be and i guessed it right.

●I believed that nothing can go wrong when Ji Sung is in a drama. I have a strong faith in his projects for his spectacular character portrayal and amazing performances. I was a bit confused due to the twins concept but at the end of ep1, I decided to binge it. The story is unbelievably crazy, every episode revolves around ADAMAS Theft, murder, and powerhouse and when viewers think OK, the ADAMAS is found, a new twist happens and shows that what happened was just the tip of the iceberg with new secrets being revealed. The ending was a disappointment, I can be happy with an open or sad ending but a hint of season 2 was the least I expected. I don't want to be in a cliffhanger for a year.

●Acting is top-notch by everyone. No complaints about this., even the minor characters were bang.
#Ji Sung is always incredible. I was convinced with acting but not the actions so that minus the points of writers. He magnificently plays the twins and gives a usual twin sibling yet has a distinct emotional characterization.
#Seo Ji Hye playing Eun Hye Soo is a mysterious grey character. feels like a twisted, game-changer. To be saying psycho would be wrong, she is an elegant devious person. She is neither wrong nor right. She is a victim of a powerhouse but shows a strong character. it would still be wrong to put her as antagonist or protagonist until we know her full story.
#Lee So Kyung playing Kim Seo Hee was such a pain, she was on my nerves until the end. She was so stubborn and put everyone in danger with every decision she makes. The actress plays the character beautifully but was a pain in the head.

●Music is spooky and mysterious, like a series of mysterious events, it dropped at perfect scenes giving chills.
Park Hae Eun, as Sun, seems cute, but high on drugs. she really left an impression with her appearance as psycho. hope to see her more work.

● rewatching this drama is not possible because it is ending even though a roller coaster ride, it's disappointing.
● Also the twins concept is still a mystery cause I think the writers might have an unfinished base story so they left us with a hint second season.

●Watch this drama if like a thriller, mystery, or treasure hunt type of drama.
●Do not watch if you want some romance or humor cause the series has no romance, but an unusual tension between both the lead pairs.

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A bit disappointing

I had been looking forward to Ji Sung's drama. Was excited that Seo Ji Hye would be in it as well.

However, I must say, this has been a let down for me. The twin angle is nothing new. To top it off, having an actor play dual roles as twin who looks so identical isn't that quite believable for me.

Another "minus" for me is Lee Soo Kyung. Haven't seen any of her works and frankly if I were to base it on just this role, I wouldn't want to watch any of her other dramas. She seems to be miscasted in this role. Visually, she does not suit someone who can be a love interest for Ji Sung. She looks and sounds like a teen; very far from the calibre of Seo Ji Hye who can carry herself well be it comedy or drama.

A character I also dislike is SUN. Eeriely creepy in terms of looks. While she suits the psychotic killer character, Team A (a name which lacks imagination) doesn't need her with Mr Lee in the scene. Wonder why they had to have her in the show....

Story-wise, there are loopholes that are just blatantly obvious. An estate with security offices monitoring everyone's move via drone???? Just begs the question WHY don't they even suspect and check the reason Ji sung and Heo Sung Tae keep meeting in the forest???? Also, how is it possible for Ji Sung, the author, to be able to go the main offices several times and yet rarely gets caught?????

AAARRRRGGHHHH.... so disappointed with this storyline. Two more to go and I would be done. Hopefully Ji Sung's next would be something similar to the thrill of Innocent Defendant.

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Adamas - The Disney+ High-Society Drama

◆ A mysterious title and stylish aesthetic initially intrigued Adamas, but the prop on which the entire show is based doesn't really serve any narrative purpose.

◆ The highlight of the series is its mystery narrative, but it abandons this in favor of tedious action sequences, then barrels to a conclusion without resolution.

When it opened in late July, the high-society action-thriller Adamas captivated us with its intriguing setup and mysterious title.

In the show, Adamas inherits a diamond-encrusted arrow from Haesong Group chairman Kwon Jae-kyu (Lee Kyung-young) that turns out to be the weapon used in a murder. The victim is the father of twin brothers Ha Woo-shin - an author - and Song Soo-hyun - a prosecutor. Both brothers are played by The Devil Judge star "Ji Sung".

"Adamas" is a Greek word meaning invincible or indestructible. It is also the origin of the word diamond. Given Chairman Kwon's extravagant hype, Adamas seems a fitting emblem for his empire. However, Kwon's iron grip on power gradually begins to slip throughout the series – becoming an even stronger symbol, as we discover that the Adamas in his possession is actually a fake.

But beyond its intriguing symbolism, Adamas is a frustrating prop. Woo-shin's motive for infiltrating Kwon's compound is to reclaim it and solve his father's murder once and for all, which is given great importance in the plot.

The Gem Arrow is also being pursued by the Special Investigation Headquarters (SIH), a secret government organization trying to take down the Haesong conglomerate. But in both cases, it's unclear how its discovery actually supports their goals.

Mystery can only take you so far, and while Adamas can be a symbolic MacGuffin to bring us into the story, ultimately the show becomes so reliant on this extravaganza that it undermines the narrative.

In keeping with Adamas’s highfalutin feel, the series’ namesake isn’t the only classical reference in the story.

Woo-shin's best-selling novel is called "Persona non grata", the Latin term for "someone who is not accepted". Appropriately, Woo-shin and his search for Adamas are unacceptable to the Chairman's house.

Adamas works best as a mystery, which means that the half of the story where Haesong is helmeting Woo-shin around the closed halls was the most compelling part of the story.

On the other hand, Soo-hyun's outside investigations and eventual dealings with SIH and Haesong's "Team A" mercenary group are dominated by action and suspense. Things quickly escalate, and throughout the latter half of the series, explosions and fires become increasingly common.

This includes Team A acolyte Yoon Sun (Park Hye-eun), a psychotic and hypocritical killer who poisons and tortures. We learn that she is the sister of Chairman Kwon's mute secretary Yoon Jin (Lee Si-won), who is the secret lover of Kwon's heir, Hyun-jo (Seo Hyun-woo).

Yoon Sun despises her sister and shares some kind of dark background with her, but it's never really explained where they came from or why they enjoy such unfettered access to the most powerful corporation in the country.

After Haesong's grand 80th anniversary celebration coincides with a terrorist attack against SIH involving Soo-hyun's friend reporter Kim Seo-hee (Lee Soo-kyung), the balance of the dueling mystery-action narratives ends abruptly.

Woo-shin leaves the complex, and with him, do many of the most interesting aspects of the show. The action anthology rises, lining up in a tired gunfight parade. We also get a long sequence featuring the characters trapped inside a shipping container while those outside try to find them – which quickly becomes one of the most overused stock suspense scenes in Korean action dramas.

Secrets begin to emerge when Woo-shin and Soo-hyun join their birth father, Lee Chang-woo (Cho Seong-ha), who has escaped from prison. The trouble is, we already know or guess most of them.

As the season nears its end, characters begin to drop like flies, and another emerges as the true mastermind. But this flurry of activity leaves many threads unexplored and even obscures those that feel rushed and unsatisfying.

By the end of the finale, not much can be explained. Instead of neatly presenting us with any resolution, the show instead chooses to end on a boring season two cliffhanger.

Judging by the show's ratings, this second season is unlikely to work. What's more, the joke at this point feels like a gimmick for the show to avoid the narrative problems that have piled up throughout its 16 episodes.

Even as it continues, Adamas lacks a sense of catharsis at the end. The origins of several characters remain opaque and their motivations puzzling. Adamas eventually returns, but by then this iconic treasure has long since lost its luster.

Still many watchers like this drama because of its strong narrative & Ji Sung's acting.

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Adamas ends on such climactic ending.

The storyline is not too bad as some people have commented. Needless to say, the plot is intriguing and gripping.

Spoiler in the review:
Leaving viewers hanging with an unsatisfactory ending:
Is Song Soo Hyun really dead? If yes, where is his body? Who sent the note addressed to Ha Woo Shin? Who wants the Adamas now? Another trap for the second season? (stop it, Adamas doesn't need another season).

Ji Sung does not disappoint with his amazing performance when casted into a dual role as the two male leads, Ha Woo Shin and Song Soo Hyun. Thumbs up!!

In this drama, I love Ha Woo Shin role.

Adamas takes too much attention and brain power, so I won't rewatch it.

I hate it when the script writer decided to kill agent Kim while the psycho girl is still alive. The psycho killer should have an atrocious death.

Watch Adamas if you love unsolved mystery thriller drama.

***Unfortunately Kdramas have started following the western trend of making sequel seasons. Hate it!

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BEST TV SERIES OF ALL TIME

This is the first time that I truely felt what It means to be interested in something so much to the point where you think about it all the time.

What can I say?

-Beautiful story
-Great acting
-Powerful climax of events and thrill
-Suspense at It's best.The characters are always in danger and the consequences keep you at the edge of your seat.
-Ji-sung really did a great job by switching between totally two different characters and doing each role perfectly.
-There is no boredom in this drama.There is always something happening that is important to the story.

10/10 For The Best Tv Series That I've ever seen.

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Adamas
An object made of adamant -- the most rigid steel or iron. Anything which is inflexible, firm, or lasting. (figuratively, of one's character)
In Greek mythology, Adamas was a Phrygian participant during the Trojan War.

I have been watching Korean dramas for quite some time now and as always, the ending makes or breaks the whole drama story. Adamas didn't escape this trend. It was promising at the very beginning and stars prominent actors like Ji Sung (Devil Judge) and Seo Ji Hye (Dinner Mate, Crash Landing). This drama has its own highs and lows so I didn't rate this with the highest stars I can give.

But if you are into mysteries, problem-solving, and action and are prepared to give 16 hours of your precious time, then go ahead and watch this drama.

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Perfect but not from the beginning.

Well, I just watched the finale and I am so emotional right now but as I don't agree with other reviews, I will try to write rationally and talk about this series.

So first of all I can't say that this is what everybody likes and It's totally up to you and your favorite geners. If you like thrillers, mystery and the most important one, you don't have any problem with political scenes which can be boring to some people ( not me actually ) , this is for you.

The first 4 episodes are literally disappoing and honestly you don't have to expect that much. I was about to fall asleep while i was watching the first episode?. But but

From episode 5, everything gets better and better and you suddenly see you have watched all the episodes and you are shocked by every single thing that has happened and you can not even believe this is real..

I really admire the story and as this is the first series that is written by the writer and It's her/his ( sorry i don't remember ) debut, It's so great and thrilling and woow I don't know.

The most important one: Jisung has done a great job acting these two roles. The last episodes that we saw lots of scenes that the twins were together, it must've been so hard for his to play both roles at the same time and talk to himself but he did that perfectly and he is literally one of the best korean actors I have even seen and I have decided to watch more series from him ( Honestly I have only watched Kim Suroo and this series )

Finally, If you like this genre, I recommend you give it a try and wait a few episodes, It will prove itself to you.

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