DAEBAK in all caps!!! This drama was such an exciting and wild ride and so easy to binge. I started watching it randomly because it showed up in my Netflix recommendations and I'm so glad I didn't judge it by its teenage angst looks. This really is a thriller more than anything, full of unexpected and extremely frustrating twists. It's also super dark, and violent, so don't let the High School setting fool you. More than anything it's a twisted coming of age story about a shy and awkwardly passive yet extremely ambitious student who's nothing like he seems.

Kim Dong Hee is brilliant as Ji Soo! I love when characters who should be "bad" are the story's hero. There's something fun about rooting for the supposed villain, and Ji Soo is so sympathetic that I was invested in his story from the very beginning. This is also the story of the most toxic relationship ever! That's where Park Joo Hyun comes in as Bae Gyu Ri. They are a great match in the worst way and I loved despising her, although she too had her sympathetic moments. Their relationship felt real, not just playing up cheesy chemistry. This isn't really a romance, it's more about a deep connection between two unlikely friends that gets way out of control. Still, the dynamic between her aggressive narcissistic personality and his soft-spoken and passive nature became addictive. I wasn't impressed with either of them in the dramas I've seen each of them in previously (A Piece of Your Mind, and Itaewon Class), but I was very impressed with them both in this.

The entire cast is also amazing! With a story like this is very easy to get on a soapbox and make the characters too one dimensional just to make a point. The cast helped make all the most unbelievable moments seem plausible. I absolutely loved Mr. Lee and the Homeroom teacher. Min Hee and Kwak Ki Tae were annoying and also very real. The true villains were a little campy but still sinister enough to be effectively scary. The character I liked the least was the female cop, but that's not because of her performance. I really cared about what happened to all of the characters, and that's impressive for a shorter drama.

However, the heart of this story is literally watching how one bad thing slowly leads to another until the story picks up to an unrelenting pace. It's like watching a train fly off the track and keep picking up speed. This is the kind of story that makes you want to yell at characters through the screen for their actions! I liked the earlier episodes better than the later ones, the final episodes were much more action-focused, but I was hooked the entire time. It also all happens at a pretty fast pace since there are only 10 episodes, which felt like the perfect amount for this story, although I do wish it had a better ending. That's my only complaint. I can appreciate the imagery, and there are a lot of cool imagery driven scenes, but I just want to warn folks that the ending is an open one. Whether that's leaving room for a second season I don't know, but I wish they just had a definitive end. This didn't ruin the story at all for me, it just stopped me from rating it a 10.

Would I watch this again? Definitely. The thrill of the unpredictable would be gone but I think rewatching Ji Soo's journey, knowing where it all leads, would still be very entertaining. It's also visually exciting, so there's no way that I would be bored.

Overall I would definitely recommend this drama, but with a warning for those who find the subject matter too sensitive. The lines between what's morally right and wrong are continuously crossed (that's obvious by the disclaimer with each episode). I personally found it refreshing that a KDrama wasn't afraid to get gritty with the subject-matter without adding a preachy moral lesson. I also like stories about imperfect characters and this drama has plenty. Don't judge a book by its cover is definitely a reoccurring theme. This drama is the perfect example of that, with the perfect title too. If you're looking for an addictive and easily binge-able drama, with a teen Bonnie and Clyde meets Fight Club's self-discovery sprinkled with Parasite's morality mood, then without giving too much away I definitely recommend that you add this drama to your watch queue. And If it's all too intense it's the perfect length for a one day binge with still some time to watch an episode of something more lighthearted once you're done. Or, if you're like me, you can start watching it all over again.