Absolutely loved this series, however, with one issue

First off, I have never written a review on this website before, however, I felt the need to with this one. I will not do a traditional break down of what I thought about the individual parts of the show including cast, music, story, etc... Although I did love the music especially in this drama, and my being a fan of KSY did make this story more enjoyable. However, I will say that it takes more than just the actors to make me watch to the end, and I finished this drama in a solid 2-3 days. Back to the point, if you clicked on this review to see my one issue this would be it:

I was kind of disappointed with the way they dispatched the main antagonist. There was an incredible build up to the revelation of who the main villain of the story actually was. You were always told about her, but you didn't get a face until a ways into the show itself. That being said, the payoff was underwhelming. Moon Young's mother was made out to be this cruel and manipulative villain that would stop at nothing to get what she wants. She always gets her way and has even escaped death to do so, but in her first main physical altercation with the protagonists, she gets arrested. This person who could barely be described as human due to her lack of emotion or understanding of love and warmth was dealt with an episode or two after she was revealed. I simply can't forget how quickly I got over the impact of her character. It felt like she was always a presence throughout the show, this creepy shadow over your shoulder, but then she just disappeared. I don't mean that her creepiness vanished when her real face was revealed, but it vanished when I realized that she simply wasn't as strong and manipulative as I thought she was because she made a mistake the first time she tried to do something after she revealed herself.

I know this is a drawn on review, but I felt the need to share my opinion. In all honesty, it was just a disappointing moment in an otherwise incredible series. I quickly got over it once the story started focusing on a difference aspect, but that also sort of saddens me. The last few scenes with her character had little impact on me because of how rushed it felt. I do still, however, recommend this show if it is the type of stuff you're comfortable with. It isn't for everyone, but I definitely enjoyed and many other people did as well.

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Much improved from season 2

Much like many people who watched the entire season, I was hooked like no other after season 1. The way they were all stuck in a small space and the dynamics between all of the characters were very well done, it felt like they explored the side characters as well as the main characters which I appreciated. They continue to do this throughout all of the seasons which I really like in a show, especially seeing them grow (if they don't die first).
The amount of deaths is actually ridiculous, but I had a love-hate relationship with it. It was sad to see so many people I adored go, but it would make no sense to have everyone live until the end. It would have nullified the stakes and made it easy to predict in that way. It did, however, do the opposite...After a while I was certain that almost nobody would make it, you could just feel that they were going to either kill or monsterize almost everyone the audience grew attached to except for the "main main" players (and even some of those!!).

Definitely much better than season 2 since it leaned back into the monster-verse of it all while incorporating less of the military (still included, but more intertwined) which I wasn't as interested in. Everything felt much more connected, and I found it very easy to watch all at once. Acting was great, especially Song Kang! Hyun Su's growth as a character is really cool to see in comparison to the first season. Absolutely loved the dynamic between Hyun Su and Eun-Hyuk. It was very similar to the first season, but different enough considering the change in their characters. The way they bicker (kind of like brothers in some instances) really made me feel warm and fuzzy because it was a happy circle back to season 1.

I simultaneously liked and disliked the final battle scene with Nam Sang Won. It felt less like a physical battle to see who was strong, but more of a mental one. I think it makes sense though considering that's what the entire series is about if you think about it. It was just a little surprising since there was constant talk about who was stronger. Ends up having a really cool interpretation because you could say that, due to Sang Wook coming back and actually putting an end to Sang won, humans are actually the strongest. Very cool way to think about it.

Eun-yu made me sad though. I was really looking forward to seeing Hyun Su have somebody he could actually hold onto considering he's lost so much, as have all of them. Eun-yu came so far in the way she cared for people and put others before herself as opposed to season 1, so to kind of see that go down the drain was a little disappointing. There was the assumption that she would get there though, considering Eun- Hyuk did, so it's not too bad, I just would have liked to see it myself.

Overall, I would 100% watch the series if I hadn't watched it before, and I would probably rewatch season 1 (as I have already while waiting for season 2), but not the rest of the seasons. If you see the ending of the series once, that's really all you need, but I'd say it's worth it to get there.
Watching the ending was bittersweet, but the beginning is always a ride.

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