Damilola

I literally have nothing to complain about. The ending was so realistic. SPOILERS AHEAD. Yi heon not wanting to return back is soo REAL! Realistically the life that has been built for him came from the gangster's personality not him and him realising this at the end is such a realistic feeling. I love the show

All I can say is this is a beautifully written drama. The drama follows the man Hwang Kyung Min on a mission to take revenge on everyone involved in the tragedy of his middle school days where he and his friends experienced assault constantly. SPOILER AHEAD! The drama unravels the issues surrounding bullying and bystanders who allow bullying to happen as well as the perpetrators showing no remorse as they grow older because repercussions were not met. The bullying that happened in middle school left the main victims Kyung Min and Jung Seok (Kyung Min’s friend) mentally bruised. Although jung seok tried to forget, upon the crimes kyung min committed he is burdened with remembering the past. They relive the days of sexual assault, physical assault, mind manipulation and teacher negligence from their middle school years. A boy Kim Cheol cannot stand the bullying and saves them, resulting in his life ending. The drama follows these boys lives as their adults and the mental games they are going through leading to kyung min’s mission to make sure everyone involved in the bullying suffer horribly whilst jong suk has to face his past and a massive error he made due to ill decision making. Beautifully done, painfully tragic, ultimately a sad yet realistic ending to how much bullying can really change a person even 20 years later! I hope this drama really gets out there so the risks of school bullying is reduced as this is a massive issue and anyone, I mean ANYONE could have become a kyung min, jeong seok or min cheol during middle school.

I have just finished season 1 and I understand people's frustrations with the plot and how undeveloped it feels as well as the lack of justice however the reason i have given this season, season 1, five stars, is because of the message behind the show. GREED, MONEY and POWER can make people who otherwise would want to do the right thing, switch over. When man faces danger, they want to protect themselves, even if initially they think they wouldn't, they end up doing so when faced with danger. This drama shows the wavering heart of man and how untrustworthy it can be. How your own flesh and blood can be so cruel for money, how the cruel world turns man evil, how man was not always evil but things made him evil. The message behind this series is chilling, well crafted and simple. Pursue the simple things in life, lead a good life. Once one gets greedy and seeks revenge, a cycle of suffering, pain and manipulation follows. I love how every action and decision of the characters followed a consequence. How the actions of a father turned a son bitter and hence, portrayed that bitterness to the whole world. I think a lot of these reviews really glossed over the message of this drama. If anyone has watched Penthouse: War in Life, I believe the writer of this show also wrote The Escape of the Seven, there is the pattern of the gruesome reality of life. How with money, infleunce and power, anything is possible, how the whole world can be against you. Many have said the plot is unrealistic which in a few ways I can agree but in its entirety, the entire plot is very much realistic. Being part of a chaebol empire comes with a lot of influence and power, many atrocities are done but the powerful continue to stand and in life not everyone's story ends with Justice. Many injustices are happening today to people who do not have money, power, influence or control and their lives do not seem to have a happy ending in sight. It also shows how the mind fails us sometimes where becasue we are busy doing so many atrocious things it hard to keep track of all the atrocities we have committed or need to keep an eye for. That is why K did not think of his father escaping or the possibility of Lee Hwi So not actually dying. The powerful also win, evil also wins. Life is not a fairytale where only the good prevails and that is why this DRAMA really executed this sad reality finely. SPOILER ALERT AHEAD: Many are upset Lee Hwi So was written off, however, paying attention closely Lee Hwi So was always a weak charachter, after getting revenge for his daughter, he said he wanted to live happily with her in a remote location, but after finding out she died, his words were, he will also die with those who killed her. Lee Hwi So never had any motivation to live after his daughter died. Therefore, Lee Hwi So dying in the last episode, although many are upset by this and claims it makes no sense, it makes a lot of sense. He knows he does not have the strength to go on fighting hence why he thanks Min Hyuk for fighting. Sorry for the long explanation, I really enjoy analysing shows x