Flawed but worthwhile watch
This show has its flaws for sure: the first few episodes have so many flashbacks the narrative feels choppy, the pace is too slow from episodes 4-14 or so (this would have been great at 16 episodes), the actress playing the FL stays a bit too placid and quietly weepy to sell the desperation and longing and pathos of her character in the final third of the drama. Yet for all these issues when this show is in the groove, it works really well, well enough to justify the 24+ hour time commitment. There are a lot of poignant moments in this drama that will stick with me. The best thing this drama has going for it is Lee Dong Wook's incredible performance as Joon Soo. This character, and his performance, are the highlight of the drama and the glue holding everything together. Joon Soo is so complex and volatile that LDW needs to switch on a dime from the ardent lover to the menacing sleazebag to the suicidal depressive to almost child like innocence and vulnerability and he nails it every single time.
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