This show proved itself to me as to why it was remade on both sides of the world from the original. It’s unfortunate that watching one will spoil the others, but the others may still be worth a watch.
First of all, the cinematography is just striking. There were so many times where I paused just to admire the framing. They make a good use of perspectives and how they distort it to express the main character’s mental state. There’s a long take in episode 3 where the scene transitions from a stable insert shot to a handheld long take from the main character’s perspective as he literally starts losing balance. They use the camera to show so much of the character development and it’s all so eye-catching.
Most of the characters served as a reflection of the main character in the context of being in his subconsciousness. Nam Sik is the sense of innocence he lost as a child. He’s the youngest and often gets scolded for making mistakes. Tae Joo is never the one scolding him, though. In the end, he comforts him. On the other hand, Yong Ki is who he doesn’t want to be. In the 1st episode, we get a glimpse of who inspired Yong Ki from 2018. Tae Joo always stands up to Yong Ki and his efforts to do things the old fashioned way. Ms. Yoon is his passion for his work. The Captain is who he could be someday. One day, he will be the outdated guy, but he doesn’t have to be like Yong Ki. The captain may seem to do things the old fashioned way at first, but he surprisingly keeps an open mind to Tae Joo’s more progressive tactics.
Finally, it truly provoked my own introspection at the end. The line “the place where you can smile is your reality” hits so hard for an ending. The main character earned being told that line.