I put off watching this drama for ages because while it sounded interesting, the synopsis was also quite vague and I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I am officially kicking myself for delaying even one second. It has been so long since I've watched a drama that captured me the way Jirisan did. The story, the acting, the music, everything just came together almost perfectly, for my taste at least, and created such an amazing experience. I truly don't remember the last time I obsessed over a drama like this, analyzing all the events and who the murderer could be. I loved every second of it.

The story is overall pretty solid. In general, its a murder/mystery with some supernatural elements thrown in. Its a bit murky in the beginning, there are a few inconsistencies like they hadn't quite worked out all the kinks in the story and how they wanted things to flow, but after the first few episodes, it seemed to find its stride. The time change was also a tad confusing initially, bouncing between 2018 and the present, but once I got used to it, I didn't have any issues following. The whodunnit aspect of the story was quite fun initially but did start getting just a tad wearing toward the end with the shots that kept making you second guess who you thought the killer was. At that point, it really wasn't necessary since you either knew or you didn't. The pacing was good, I never got bored and as I said, once it found its stride, it stuck to it.

The acting was superb. Both Ji Hyun and Ji Hoon were phenomenal as Yi Kang and Hyun Jo, respectively. Their chemistry was fantastic. They just played off of each other so beautifully. And while the rest of the supporting cast was also wonderful, I really have to comment on Jung Se. The man can act. He is just so good and so believable there were a couple of times when he had me in tears solely because of his acting skills.

I really enjoyed all the characters and even with a relatively large cast, I felt that they overall did a good job with allowing the viewer to get to know everyone as much as possible. The one character I would have liked to have gotten to know a little more was Hyun Jo. Probably because she was so tied to Jirisan, we got a very in depth look into Yi Kang as she grew up. I have no objections to that, other than a few scenes were repeated more than once which probably wasn't necessary, as it did show her character growth over the course of the drama. That being said, I would have liked to see more of Hyun Jo's past, his family, how he grew up, etc., as a way to get to know the character better and as a contrast to Yi Kang.

One of the things that I appreciated about this drama was the lack of romance between the leads. Not every drama needs it and I really loved their camaraderie and friendship and seeing it grow. And by the end, when there's a hint that there might be more from the way the two of them are looking at each other, I honestly couldn't protest because they did such a good job of building their relationship up. I like that it was left up to the viewer as to where things may have gone from there, whether they remained friends or took things to the next level. And I actually liked the ending. Yes, it would have been nice and less abrupt to see them going through their recovery, but there was something about them seeing each other and not needing words to communicate that just summed up their whole relationship so perfectly.

On the topic of romance, I did adore Goo Young and Yang Sun's romance. I liked both their characters individually and when they got together, I thought they were perfect. I was so sad when they didn't get the happily ever after that they deserved. That being said, I was super happy at the hint at the end that he may find happiness with Hyun Jo's sister. I was literally cackling as he took off running from her.

The various villains were all interesting, believable, and, in some ways, relatable in their own ways. Sol, of course, was the most interesting, and I really appreciated the way his childhood was used to shape him and turn him into the person he became. Obviously his reasoning for killing people was absurd and made no sense, but that it made sense to him and in a believable way was appreciated. It was sad to see how the people of Black Bridge Village ruined not only his life, but also their own lives through their greed.

The cinematography was absolutely stunning. I now have an overwhelming desire to go visit Jirisan. It just looks like such a beautiful mountain to explore.

I actually really enjoyed the music for the most part. Again, in the first episode or two there were a couple of choices that I wasn't overly impressed with, but as it progressed, I felt it became more consistent. In particular Falling by Kim Jong Wan has been playing on repeat for several days now.

As I said, I absolutely loved this drama, but naturally there were a few things that weren't quite perfect. As I mentioned, once you get into the story a bit, it becomes clear that the first episode or so wasn't fully thought out. It's eventually revealed that Hyun Jo's visions are related to the murderer as he's killing off the the former residents of Black Bridge Village. However, in the first episode, he has a vision of where the kid is even though he has nothing to do with the village. Not a huge deal, just a bit of a plot hole/inconsistency. The CGI was pretty bad at times. Again, first episode, there's a rock fall that is some pretty bad CGI. Considering how they made the rest of the weather and disasters seem more or less realistic for the most part, those few times where the CGI was off were quite obvious. There were more deaths than were strictly necessary, in my opinion, particularly women. This drama definitely had a more male heavy cast, so the fact that three of the four main/supporting women were killed and really only one of the men is kind of sad. I understand why they didn't/couldn't do it, but there's a part of me that would have liked a little more of an explanation for how and why Hyun Jo ended up as he did as well as why sometimes people could see him and other times they couldn't. Was he really like some kind of Angel of Death or was it something else? Not really a negative there so much as it would have been interesting.

Obviously this drama is fiction, none of the events actually happened, but I really have to applaud the productions attention to detail and their authenticity. Watching it gave me a whole new appreciation for what rangers do and the level of skill, both physically and mentally, that they must have and maintain. They are truly amazing human beings. Huge respect for them and the work they do.

Normally a drama like this is a one and done. You've seen it, you know who the murderer is, you know how it all turns out, and the mystery is gone. I don't feel like that's the case with Jirisan. I have a feeling this is one of those dramas that you keep picking up on new things each time you see it. And if nothing else, the cinematography makes it worth watching again. But even more than that, I think the characters themselves will keep coming back to watch again, to see them grow and know that even though in the end everything's not perfect, it's still a happy ending.