What can I say, the people responsible for the Reply series hit it out of the park again. I realize I gave it a 9.5 but I will explain myself later as to why I docked it half a point.

First of all let's start with the story:

I loved it. Me and my son were watching it and I was like this reminds me of the Reply series and he was like uuuuummmmm that's because it was done by the same people lol. My favorite drama is Reply 1988 so it hyped my enthusiasm right off the bat. There were times in the story where I was like wth these were like main characters and with no warning, poof gone. Also the way they handled the drug portion of the story and Looney kind of annoyed me but more on that later. Other than that it was fantastic, You really fall in love with the characters and their struggles in prison. Also the back stories were pretty good as well for each character.

Characters:

I usually write the actors name and I may mention them but for now I will stick with their screen names.

Kim Je Hyuk: I actually love this character. He was a super great guy who just got the crap end of the stick for protecting his sister and really it was self defense in the end. He was pretty dense but also very caring about those around him. I will say you definitely did not want to mess with the people he cared about. He did a very good job of holding the story together. Plus he made me laugh quite a bit.

Lee Joon Ho: His best friend and corrections officer. Talk about charisma, I loved him and his acting was top notch. He was super smooth and hilarious as well. His relationship with Je Hee was super sweet.

Ji Ho: This is Krystal from f (x), I really liked her character but she didn't play a huge part but did add some really good relational aspects to Je Hyuk's personality which I enjoyed.

The Inmates in cell #7:

Kim Min Chul: Omg what a great character, even though he had done something terrible his persona in the prison was quite gentle but you def did not want to mess with him. In all actuality, his later parts were probably the only ones I teared up on. I was just hoping the best for him throughout the series.

KAIST: This guy was hilarious, his relationship with Looney totally cracked me up. He was a total conman but you still felt for the guy which is a testament to the excellent writing in this drama. When he left a few episodes before the end all of the sudden it was a total disappointment, it left the story of the character without any closure at all which sucked because he was a main character in the series.

Looney: What a hilarious character. At first he kind of annoyed me but later he was an indispensable part of the story line. I will say I just hated the way they portrayed drug abuse since some of it wasn't based in reality at all. I'm wondering if they were forced to portray drug abuse in this way to discourage viewers from taking drugs but some of it was ridiculous like how he was in withdrawls for almost a year, wth was that. The way they ended his character was also extremely disappointing which is one reason along with Kaist and Dr. Ko's characters I had to dock the drama a half a point.

Captain Yoo: Man did you feel for this guy. His whole story showed how the justice system in Korea is quite flawed. You'll see what I mean when you watch it. You'll be yelling at the screen going why in the hell is he still in there. It will just make you mad and show you just how slow the system actually is. On a brighter note, he was a super sweet guy and his interactions with Looney were absolutely priceless.

Croney: Now at first his character really pisses you off but by the end you love him. When Je Hyuk gets discharged and he hugs Hyuk and says you were the only person who ever treated me like a human being was very touching. I wish they would have extended his ending so we would have gotten some closure at least.

Another aspect of the drama were the guards who did and excellent job. One in particular, Lieutenant Paeng, was excellent. He really added heart to an otherwise cold system. Rough and rude on the outside but a real teddy bear on the inside. Without him the drama wouldn't have been as enjoyable as it was because he really added to the feels in the whole story.

Only a couple of gripes. The ones I mentioned before, like characters just abruptly leaving and the way drug abuse is portrayed really annoyed me. Also this is less about this drama in particular but Korean drama in general. I freaking hate how the last episodes go almost to the end with the main story instead of giving us any real type of closure. I mean they rush the wrap ups and leave us high and dry for some of the characters with little closure to their stories at all which is very disappointing. For me I wish kdramas would do a better job of wrapping up the characters and giving fans a bit more closure.

That being said, this was one of the best kdrama has to offer, I really can't recommend it enough!