To start off this review with anything other than honesty would be a disservice to this drama - at first,I had no intentions of watching "Beyond Evil",despite being a huge fan of mysteries and true crime.But that all changed with the few shots of the first episode.

Again,I like to begin this review by listing the positives first,as I strongly believe it takes a lot to write,direct and film any drama,whether good or bad.That goes for movies,shows and almost every form of media.It`s hard.But,with that being said,I finished this drama feeling bittersweet,since I was saying goodbye to characters I really connected with and cared for.

What this drama does right,off the bat,is setting the atmosphere and mood reminiscent of old noir fiction,right down to our main characters and their characteristics.Paying homage almost,to one of my favorite faucets of crime fiction with morally ambiguous protagonists is a huge plus in my books.Even by the end of this drama,it was cemented in my mind that all characters meant to be on the good side,still DID one or more questionable things.Simultaneously all characters meant to be on the wrong side still DID one or more positive things.Because humans are like that.So what happens when we are faced with the consequences of our own actions?

True highlights of this show are Shin Ha-kyun as Dong Sik and Lee Gyu-Hoe as Kang Jin-Mook.They just are.As much as I was a big fan of excellent bromance between Dong Sik and Han Ju Won(played by seasoned actor Yeo Jin-Goo),there were a handful of times when the latter wasn`t as convincing as I wanted him to be,so that`s the only reason why I`m not naming BOTH principal actors as creams of the crop.That said,all actors across the board did an amazing job.Still,these two are my favorites.I was amazed at the fact that I could tell by his smile when Dong Sik was truly jubilant and when he was playing a part,despite it being the same smile in almost every way visually. It was a rush and a pleasure getting to watch such an outstanding performance.Even the way his character was written kept me on my toes and it`s so seldom I see character`s motivations displayed without any holes or contradictions in drama world. I can`t shower him with praises enough and can`t wait to see what else he does in the future.On the other hand,Kang Jin-Mook was slimy,underhanded,calculated and the complete opposite,yet he kept me invested.And that`s something,considering I knew about the twist before starting this drama.And that`s another fact:I absolutely LOVED how this case had layers to it and how it wasn`t just one person carrying the brunt of the whole act.Because in that sense,it`s so much more realistic.Not everything about this show works in terms of crime building,but this does to almost every extent. And I also liked all employees of Munju Police Station,especially Oh Ji-Hwa and Nam Sang-Bae.I actually shed a few tears during his death,but I was,in the same way,pleased with how everyone chose to honor his legacy.Through clever character placement and world building,it wasn`t hard seeing how and why all these characters cared about each other,despite their poor decision making.It was a complete,yet broken family whose members might all have something against each other,but when push comes to shove,they`re there to defend their own.And it was beautiful. Not to be forgotten,Heo Sung-Tae`s acting in this(as flamboyant and short fused Lee Chang-Jin)was exceptional and I was genuinely pleased they didn`t kill him off.Man`s clumsy,but he really won me over.

I liked the uncertainty of pinpointing character`s motivations.It was fun trying to put all these pieces together,along with our `heroes`.The OST was a masterpiece in its own right and,as I`m listening to it,not only is it different,but I note influences from shows like "Jessica Jones" and "Daredevil" weirdly enough.And I love every second of it.It`s understatedly powerful and poignant in more ways than one.

Set designs also range from good to amazing,with managing to evoke that silently dangerous charm of villages and counties.I hadn`t seen anyone commenting on it so I had to mention it regardless.

And now we have to get a bit nitpicky.And mention the shortcomings of this drama,which aren`t plenty,but are a bit more glaring when they`re placed against all these positives.And now,I fancy myself as John Wolfe of dramas(if you don`t know about him,check out his YT channel,he`s great)in that we both have to catch some inconsistencies and/or issues,even when no one else clocks them.And in this case,it`s the final few stages of case building,coupled with some smaller plot holes or deus ex machinas,if you will.I have to admit,I really wasn`t a fan of what ended up happening to Dong Sik`s sister in the end.And I was vocal about it whilst watching the show.It was just a very roundabout and clumsy way of including everyone(namely Han Ju Won`s father) in this crime scene.It was cluttered and considering the rest of this awesome drama, lackluster.It should`ve been sat on more in the writing room.Basically,the victim stumbled across a killing after a small fight with her boyfriend(Dong Sik`s best friend),had her fingers chopped off,in Jin-Mook`s signature style,managed to escape,only to be hit once and then again,after Chang-Jin couldn`t be bothered to be a real gangster and do his job.After this,she was snatched away by Jin-Mook and shoved in the wall of Dong Sik`s house.That last part was done great and the realization of your dead sister being near you all these years was also top-notch.Anything related to Jin-Mook`s part of the case I had no issue with.But they were really pushing it with involving everyone else in this one instance.Not only that,but they managed to create a big plot hole in the process.Yung-Je mentioned that he hit a deer and we are shown a shot of him hitting the victim while she was standing up.This is from his perspective,mind you.He later states that he hit her while she was laying down,which was the way they managed to crack the case.However,this understanding then negates all Yung-Je`s deer drawings as he was reminded of deers whilst looking into her eyes before hitting her.Another thing I wasn`t really a fan of is how Chang-Jin was called to the scene to clean it up TWICE,where he was just walking to and back from the road...it was a mess,that whole creative decision.Another character I wasn`t really sold on in terms of criminal acts tied to this case was Ju Won`s father.I didn`t really care about him outside the relationship with his son.And this is a small nitpick but,since the whole case swept up police stations basically,we see not one case outside of it.I can understand for Munju,as it`s a small substation and not much happens.But outside of it,I`m not so sure.

Overall,"Beyond Evil" is a gem in its genre,and even outside of it.Despite some bumps in the road(no pun intended) it`s by far the best crime drama I`ve seen so far.And I`m so glad I was given the opportunity to experience it in full. I`d recommend it to anyone except hardcore romance watchers(if they have such expectations going in). It`s a drama that deserves more hype and deserves every bit of praise and mention coming its way.