Wow... what can I say... This drama just shot up to one of my all time fave dramas. It hooks you in right off the bat and leaves you wanting more. Not a second wasted on useless filler scenes and everything that happens is pivotal to the plot. The school bullying scenes can be hard to stomach and are fairly graphic, even by western standards. But thanks to that, it helps make the revenge scenes all the more satisfying. Pacing, cinematography and soundtrack are all top notch and I dare say close to perfection. Acting is absolutely PHENOMENAL from every character and really major props to the teenage actors for being able to carry such heavy roles convincingly.

Only gripes are the strange plot developments that occur in ep 10, where no one, except Lieutenant Kang thought to investigate Kyung Min's registered properties. She waltzes in conveniently to his hideout, with all his revenge plans and diaries out for display. Despite all the easily accessible evidence, she does not call for backup and instead starts browsing through his diaries on the spot. It was truly a WTF moment because everything that had occurred so far was all fairly logical (or as logical as possible in kdrama world) and this moment truly threw me off. Another gripe was the scene where she managed to confront Jong Suk at the hospital and basically confirms that he is out for blood. Instead of trying to stop him, she brandishes a gun but doesn't do anything further. He literally tells her to stop being a busybody and leaves, leaving her looking extremely aggrieved. ?!?! Cmon girl... this is probably the lowest effort confrontation by a police officer ever. Lieutenant Kang is the show's least developed character (she has 0 character development) and her existence just serves to help the audience uncover the truth. I saw some comments that complained about her character but I wasn't too bothered by her (other than those ridiculous scenes that I mentioned above). She is the typical cold, stubborn, headstrong detective archetype in kdramas so I can see why her character was not well liked. If they had tried to develop her character more (and removed those strange scenes) I would honestly give this drama a 10/10.

Overall, this is as close to a masterpiece thriller as possible. I liked that the ending wasn't all sun and roses, with everyone living "happily ever after". The final throwback scene to happier childhood days really drove home the point of how trauma can affect one's whole life. This drama is an extremely heavy one, and the central topic of school bullying is widely relatable. There are no filler comedic scenes whatsover, so only watch if you are able to stomach through 12 episodes of almost constant violence/death. With that said, you should not miss this if you enjoy thriller dramas. It's literally one of THE best (if not the best) out there.