I'll begin by saying that this is my first time seeing most of the main actors in anything (I've only previously seen Lee Jong Suk in No Breathing and Seven First Kisses, which weren't really enough for me to form much of an opinion on his acting), so I'm writing this with a relatively neutral standpoint without notable bias or existing strong opinions towards any of the actors. Also, this is my first time writing a review and I'll likely ramble a lot, so please bear with me!

The Good:

The originality of the plot was what drew me in initially and convinced me to give this drama a chance, and I still stand by the fact that it holds its own uniqueness and merit in how ambitious the premise was from the beginning. It's been a while since the initial episodes of a drama have captured my interest so quickly; the only issue was how it progressed as the episodes went on. I'll elaborate more on this later on in this review.

The soundtrack is among one of the best ones I've heard in a long time (in fact, I'm listening to the OST as I write this), and I particularly like the tracks by Eddy Kim, Henry and Monogram. I find the songs to be very well-suited to the overall mood of the drama, and excel at providing a soothing, dream-like atmosphere. The cinematography does a great job at this too, and WYWS is a very visually appealing drama as a whole. I liked how a lot of the dream sequences were executed, the use of colour and the use of changes in how the screen appears to viewers as the drama switches from a dream to reality and vice versa. There were few instances where they felt a little out of place (some of which I feel they may have revealed a little too much information, which detracted slightly from the suspense factor of some events), and it was a tad confusing to wrap my head around to begin with, but I'd still agree that the flow of these scenes were generally good.

I admit that I wasn't really sold on a lot of the workplace bickering and humour towards the start of the drama, but I really found myself warming to the side characters and secondary leads as the drama progressed, particularly Woo Tak, Seung Won, Prosecutor Lee, Chief Choi and Prosecutor Sohn. Personally, I would've liked to have seen more done with Woo Tak's character, and I have to admit that I felt as though he and Hong Joo had more chemistry in some of their shared scenes (I'm really feeling the second lead syndrome here, guys). It'd be lovely to have seen him end up happy with someone too, though I did enjoy his friendship with Kyung Han, his sunbae. It was also a delight to watch the brotherly relationship and believable bickering between Jae Chan and Seung Won. Additional props go to Lee Sang Yeob, who really impressed me with his portrayal of the drama's main antagonist, Yoo Beom - you know that the actor's doing a great job when it aggravates you every time you see them on screen. I'd like to see more from both him and Jung Hae In, as this is the first time seeing their works.

The Okay:

The main couple were lacking... something. I don't know if it was lack of chemistry, the execution of some of the scenes or the way the actors portrayed the romance, but I'd gone through the episodes feeling as though something was missing. I wasn't entirely convinced by it, since the basis of the romance relied a fair amount on random insertions of cute and comical scenes, which whilst endearing and adorable at times, felt a little too oddly-timed and a tad cringey or overdone on some occasions. Whilst I think it was a little too oversaturated in parts in terms of romance, I wouldn't say it was flat out unconvincing or difficult to watch (I appreciated the more sentimental/deep scenes in parts) but I wouldn't say it was particularly great either. Just okay.

The Not-So-Good:

My main gripe with WYWS is that the direction and pacing were pretty much all over the place; the initial episodes were strong, well-paced and left me with high hopes (perhaps too high, in hindsight). I was intrigued as to how it would all unfold as more events took place and how changes being made to one event would lead to another happening in its place. I enjoyed that unpredictability in the first few weeks and anticipated explanation behind how the dreams occurred in the first place, but in the middle episodes, it really started to grow predictable and repetitive.

I appreciate that some of the ways the cases were wrapped up were well done (and some of them were emotionally impactful, such as the case where Prosecutor Sohn's chronically ill son was directly affected by the outcome), but the fact that you're aware that somehow, our main leads will find a solution, often seemingly out of nowhere, takes away a little of the anticipation. In some cases, the way they wrapped up seemed too neat, too good to be true for my liking.

Towards the latter episodes, I really felt as though the plot lagged for so long that they left themselves with too much to cram in at the end. The ending itself was satisfying enough, but only just about. It could've really done with being more well-timed, with sufficient suspense to hold the viewer's attention, but as previously mentioned, the fact that some dreams gave a little too much about some situations away detracted from this. A lot of the past/present connections between characters should've been tied up and resolved earlier on to allow for more time to build up to the final case, and then wrap up neatly for the finale. Personally, I found this to be the most disappointing part, especially considering that the drama was entirely pre-produced.

Overall verdict:

I won't dissuade anyone from watching, and would still recommend that you try it out if the genres, actors, tropes or premise appeal to you in any way. If you're undecided, I still think you should give this drama a chance, as despite its flaws, I did complete it having enjoyed it as a whole. If you're here for a fast-paced, unpredictable plot and strong chemistry between the main leads... I don't think this is the drama for you.

Thanks for reading : )