The overall harmony required to make a stunning drama rather than a great drama is all about balance, where nothing dominates. Each aspect works with the others, so that everything blends together into a seamless whole. The final cut of this drama felt like individual soloists in a group competing for attention. The quality of the writing, cinematography, directing and acting was all really excellent, but the editing lacked the requisite harmony and balance to create a seamless, sumptuous experience. Too often, the script and actors played second fiddle to the cinematography.

The cinematography in this production was admittedly stunning but way too prominent, particularly in the early episodes. So frequent are the carefully framed and composed long shots that it becomes overly self conscious. While I want to commend the striking and beautiful set shots, they caught my attention with such an impact that they drew me out of the story. This is fine occasionally, but when it is every few minutes, it’s too much. I am watching a drama, not wondering through a photography exhibition.

There was a lot of hand held camera work, close ups, tilted frames and unusual angles which followed each other in rapid succession. As though the cinematographer was trying to push every possible ounce of novelty into the available space. I’m wondering if the editing suite was then provided with a wealth of material that may not have included enough straightforward shots to edit the scene without employing a superfluity of fast cuts. Okay, I’m being generous here, it was deliberate.

Often, in dialogues between two people, the shots continuously cut between them so that you didn’t get a sense of conversation. Admittedly, it could be symbolism for some non-communication happening, but to be honest, it intruded into the flow of the dialogue to such an extent that the actors and the words seemed to be battling for attention and the meaning was lost. It had the effect of keeping the viewer at a distance, watching what was happening as an observer, rather than being drawn in.

There was extensive playing around with depth of field which created some nice effects and the out-of-focus areas added to the texture which is normally the job of lighting. Frequently the visible area of focus was greatly reduced by including blurred pillars and walls in the frame. Shot mainly in warm tones with plenty of colour in the sets and costumes the overall feel of the production was vibrant and dynamic. A good contrast was achieved between the appearance of the two companies, Barro which was assigned golds through orange to brown and Unicon in cooler blues through green, which went a long way to setting up the tension and defining their differences in approach and character.

Overall, although I welcome and thoroughly enjoy good cinematography (and there was bucketloads of that) there is a balance to be struck between all the aspects of storytelling if a drama is going to be successful at engaging its audience. Although it calmed down towards the end of the drama, the beginning was way over the top. Here it is notable that despite the imbalances, the drama was still powerful and I put that down to the scriptwriter, Kwon Do Eun.

The script is crisp, clever, intelligent and often witty (even in translation) and contained three beautifully realised and different relationships. Scarlet’s followed the norms for romance and was cute, easy and relatable, but I found much more to interest me in the other two, more mature relationships. Song Ga-Gyeong’s partnership with her husband was the most moving for me, with a poignant performance by Jo Seung Hyun as Oh Jin Woo. I really like him as an actor in general and in this performance he did a great job of conveying the inner world below the dignified surface.

The dialogue between Bae Ta Mi and Park Morgan was fresh, original and well executed and it provided the core of the romance aspects of the story. The demands that Park Morgan makes on Bae Ta Mi and the constraints he puts himself under, as well as the compromises he makes, present wonderful opportunities for building the tension (both sexual and otherwise) between them and I enjoyed their interactions and flirtations. The progression of their relationship was not, in my opinion, created by the writer for plot convenience, but represented believable aspects of their characters and reflected the real difference in their ages and dreams.

The heart of this story though, was the exploration of the relationship between three powerful and strong women and the three actors playing them gave excellent performances. If you need to thoroughly like your heroines then this is not the drama for you. With the exception perhaps of Scarlet, who is a lightweight in comparison, the other two present the ruthlessness which they had to have in order to survive and thrive. And it’s not always pretty. But that provides the interest and character development in the story and what makes it a compelling drama. The various ethical dilemmas raised in the plot serve to test both their characters and their humanity.

Much of the plot is episodic and revolves around moral issues regarding personal information and privacy. It does a good job of giving the facts in fairly credible conversations and highlights the core problems and political pressures in the internet business world. It explores the implications of the totally connected society that we live in and highlights the shifting sands of rights and responsibilities. It’s a good show to watch if you want to be stimulated to think.

The soundtrack uses of a lot of music familiar to western ears, from jazz to classical as well as some original material. In a show bursting with strong production values, this was its weakest point. There was some good stuff in the mix but not original enough to strike my ear and hold my attention.

This show isn’t about nice neat solutions, it’s about incompatible dreams and principles and ethically messy grey areas, so expect to be conflicted.

What my rating means: 8+ A great drama with interesting content and good writing, direction, acting, OST, cinematography. But didn’t quite have the requisite sparkle to bump it into my all-time fave list. Worth watching.