Great cast, stunning sets, but poor character development.

Overall, I would rate this show a 6/10. The cast was great (especially hyewon ❤️), and the budget clearly paid off with impressive sets and props. However, it was funny how the school was so dark, as if electricity didn't exist 😭 I understand they wanted to portray it as a dystopian place like Rian's home, which was also very dark, but it seemed silly to me. How could they even see what they're reading with such dim lights? Additionally, the repeated scenes of Jaei and Rian walking their dog on the beach felt excessive.

Now, for the three main characters:

Kang Ha: What the actual hell 😭 He was supposed to be a smart kid, but nothing in the show proved it. He contributed nothing to the revenge plot because it was all the principal's son's doing. During his whole stay in Jooshin, he didn't even manage to gather any evidence on his own. It seemed like he forgot about everything the moment he fell in love with Jaei. I don't even understand how and why he fell for her when it is obvious that Jaei contributed to the death of his brother. He was all talk, no action. Also, how did he instantly figure out that the blackmailer was the principal's son when he couldn't even find evidence against the bullies and about his brother's death? That part was so unrealistic. It also annoyed me when he told the principal's son that they should just call out the wrongdoings in Jooshin and not expose the bullies. His brother literally died because of them and he went to Jooshin for revenge. Why was he acting righteous all of a sudden?

Jaei: I didn't know she was Hera's best friend until she said it. The way she bossed Hera around is not how you treat your best friend. I hated the part in episode 6 where she said, "The things I didn't know because no one told me, like what I was doing wrong. I wish I would've known sooner," because why would anyone need to tell you that ignoring bullying is bad? 😭 She was even the top student, so she can't be dumb. Also, Inhan was apparently her friend, and she could've saved him if she had just told Rian to stop bullying him. It was really shameless of her to ask Kang Ha to not expose Rian, saying he's not bad and all. I was also confused when she told Kang Ha that what she said about her not having feelings for him at some point was a lie because I remember her telling Woojin that there was no time she lost feelings for Rian. Does that mean at some point she had feelings for both Rian and Kang Ha? 🤔

Rian: He has to be the most shallow character of all. He instigated Inhan's bullying just because Inhan became Jaei's friend? 😭 I don't even understand the reasoning behind it. After Inhan's death, he didn't show any remorse and just did the same to Kang Ha, except this time, Kang Ha repeatedly provoked him. In episode 6, if I recall correctly, he even got upset when Jaei told him to apologize to Kang Ha for taking part in the bullying and Inhan's death, saying that she was ruining their nice dinner. Like, okay, you took part in a person's death, but let's not ruin your dinner with Jaei because that's bad! When he finally said he would apologize, he just did it so Jaei wouldn't go to New York. He never really saw the need to apologize for taking part in someone's death. Even in the last episode, while apologizing to Kang Ha for everything he did, he still said he wasn't directly responsible for Inhan's death. Like, wow, what a sincere apology!

The revenge plot, if you can even call it "revenge," was so unsatisfying. I would definitely not rewatch it 😭 The ost wasn't very remarkable because it was just used every start and end of the episode, so I can't really say much about it.

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