Powerful Greek tragedy in Korea
Intelligent, powerful drama of revenge posing the question: is the act of revenge morally better than the bad act causing the revenge in the first place? with the added twist of two supposed upholders of the law (or justice? they are not necessarily the same) - a detective and a lawyer - set against each other. Both the male leads are excellent in their very contrasting characters. Joo Ji Hoon is masterly. Also the female leads (Haein and Seungha's supposed sister)and the love element play a crucial role in the story. Can't say more, would be a spoiler.Jung Dong Hwan was also notable as a menacing, machiavellian character in the background. After slowing down in the middle, which had me thinking of dropping it, this really picked up in the last third of the series and became terrifically gripping. Comparing it with the Japanese version, this is twice as long, which led to loss of dramatic tension in the middle, but giving it more space for character development and to explore the morality. Even so, it could imo still have been shorter and done so equally well. Still the quality of Greek tragedy comes across in both versions as events come full circle (watch where it ends). This drama gets really HEAVY, so be prepared for some real catharsis. For once the word drama has its real meaning.
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