Let me start by saying that I’m all about romance, and I’m a big scaredy cat. I don’t particularly care for suspense shows because they make me too nervous. That said, I thought this show was brilliant! When I started the series, I could only watch one episode a day because it was just too stressful. I don’t usually think about how I’m going to rate a show as I watch it, but during this I was wondering how I was going to rate it since I wasn’t enjoying it. It was good, but not enjoyable, if that makes any sense. As I got better acquainted with the characters, I really needed to see what happened next. This drama deals with nature vs. nurture – are we pawns of our parents and the decisions they make? Can we truly break free from unhealthy relationships?
STORY/WRITING: I didn’t particularly care for the way Cha Ji Won was written at the beginning. She was so sure that he liked her, without any reason whatsoever. She just felt a little too needy to me. However, here are so many twists and turns in this drama, I kept being surprised in each episode. I loved the relationship between Hee Sung/Hyun Soo and his daughter. It was obvious that she was closer to her dad than her mom. This was telling to me – kids are great judges of character, they don’t hold grudges and see things for what they are. The fact that she loved him so much, there was goodness in him that he wasn’t even aware of. The flashbacks were used effectively. I didn’t feel that there were extra characters/scenes just to get the 16 episodes.
ACTING: The entire cast was good, but if Lee Joon Gi doesn’t get some kind of award for his portrayal of Baek Hee Sung/Do Hyun Soo, there is no justice in this world! He was the standout for me. At the beginning, I couldn't believe I would watch a show about a serial killer. I was so sure, he was cold and calculating. Playing a person that doesn’t know how to feel/show emotions, oh my gosh, it was heartbreaking. His performance was, for the most part, very understated, but the ability he had to convey loneliness and fear was spot on. The last episode, for me, was the one that really got to me. He was doing things that he didn’t understand, he was conflicted about his feelings, and I thought he was kind of resigning himself to living a lonely life as penance. Jung Seo Yeon as Baek Eun Ha (the daughter) was just precious. She cried (a lot) but was just so sweet. Kim Ji Hoon as the real Baek Hee Sung – oh my goodness, him switching from nice to psychopath was chilling. It gave me the creeps to watch him. Now, I need to see if he’s in something else where he doesn’t portray a crazy person.
CHEMISTRY: We got some insight to the relationship between the lead couple in flashbacks. He was so emotionally closed off and I think he started liking her and didn’t know what to make of the whole thing. Some very yummy kissing scenes. There was a lot of emotional push/pull with him because of who he was and his circumstances, but theirs was a very mature relationship without game playing/miscommunication that you see in romances. Granted, he lied to her, but the unfolding of the reasons was thrilling.
MUSIC: There were a couple of beautiful love songs, and the music throughout the rest of the drama was very effective in increasing the tension.
REWATCH VALUE: I don’t think I’ll ever need to watch this again, especially since it’s a genre that I don’t care for. But that doesn’t decrease its excellence.
My only complaint, I think, was that so many of the names were so close together that I had a hard time keepings things straight at times.