Reviews

Who’s Top Dog Now?

Episode 2 built on the strong start from the premiere while giving us a better understanding of why Na Hwa Jin is so passionate about protecting both teachers and students.The central conflict focused on students fighting and taking beatings just to gain recognition from the so-called “top dog.” What made it satisfying was watching that same person completely crumble when confronted by Na Hwa Jin. All that reputation and power suddenly meant very little.My favourite scene was easily the car ride with the two troublemakers. Watching them realise they weren’t in control of the situation anymore was both hilarious and incredibly satisfying. The biggest revelation of the episode was learning that the teacher who was stabbed two years ago is actually Na Hwa Jin’s wife. It adds a lot more weight to his actions and helps explain why he refuses to stand by when teachers or students are being failed by the system.The drama continues to balance serious themes with moments of humour surprisingly well. It still gives me strong Taxi Driver vibes, with people abusing their power eventually being forced to face the consequences.Favourite Character: Na Hwa JinFavourite Scene: The brake-failure car rideCurrent Verdict: Another strong episode. The emotional stakes are growing, and I’m even more invested in Na Hwa Jin’s story.

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Justice Has Arrived

This was a strong opening episode that tackles some very uncomfortable topics. Watching the teachers struggle against students who seemed untouchable was frustrating, and the drama doesn’t shy away from showing how broken the system has become.⚖️The highlight of the episode was undoubtedly Na Hwa Jin. The moment he arrives at the school, the entire atmosphere changes. His approach is blunt, intimidating and often hilarious, but after seeing everything that happened beforehand, it was difficult not to cheer him on.⚖️My favourite scene was the gasoline confrontation. Rather than backing down, Na Hwa Jin forces the bully to confront the consequences of his actions and the impact they’ve had on others. It was intense and perfectly captured the drama’s focus on accountability.⚖️What surprised me most was the balance between serious social commentary and comedy. One minute I was horrified by what was happening, and the next I was laughing because someone had been slapped into next week.⚖️The drama gave me strong Taxi Driver vibes, with wrongdoers being forced to face justice when the system fails. If the rest of the series maintains this level of intensity, I’m definitely in for the ride.⚖️Favourite Character: Na Hwa JinFavourite Scene: The gasoline confrontationCurrent Verdict: A powerful and engaging first episode that immediately hooked me.

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Growing pains at love and work

Yi Fei finds her sleeping at work and looks over her plan. She wakes up in time for meeting to find all her whiteboards cleaned. She is starting to apologize when she’s informed YiFei had already passed the report and here was her copy. She is then questioned about specific parts and her presentation begins. Right after she’s given busy work for Fang and YiFei calls her up to the rooftop. He explains that dealing with people doesn’t give you the same luxury as dealing with numbers. He admits to partially using her abilities, but he goes on to tell her if she doesn’t back up her abilities with confidence and have a go getter attitude she will never be recognized. She finally has a chat with Ms Fang and congratulated for finally speaking up for herself. She now gets to work on the prospectus and be with the inner team that also deals with the financials. Yi Fei did not tell Qian Fei he had a far more detailed fixit plan ready. He wanted her to bask in some success. I like his impromptu poem that became a rally cry before heading back. I also liked her telling Wang to grow up and act professional without worrying about gossip. Cheng greets Dang Yu at the door and she agrees to go out with him after being embarrassed by colleagues. He tells her about himself and she politely and straightforwardly tells him confession heard and rejected. She said dinner was on her and have it packed up to eat with his mom. Considering his actions and behavior there is no sympathy for him. He needs to see through her eyes how obnoxious his behavior has been and be grateful no police reports filed. His parents sneak into his phone and that’s just as creepy. They don’t recognize personal boundaries amongst themselves, much less the general public. I fear Qian Fei’s engaged friends might be some collateral damage to fix Shanlifang’s poor credit. Qian Fei tried to warn him his ex would be coming but he shooed her away til after meeting. When meeting her they barely touched hands and acted like strangers. His presentation was flawless and Qian Fei noted he always paused at best angles for admiring. 😂🤣 They de stress playing cards when ex gf starts txting. YiFei sends a preposterous response to shut her up but that’s when she tells Qian Fei he would never like a girl like her. As if. She’s probably bored with her Milan man and missing new handbags. If she knew how frugally YiFei has been living, she would not wonder at him not mentioning her. He likes the smart girl with attitude who thinks wasting money is a crime. It will be very interesting to see all 6 at the same table as the project continues. 🫣😬😂

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Another stunning episode

Spoilers ahead. There were so many beautiful moments and references in this episode! The green light on Tan's face representing growth; Tan and Barth sitting on the stage and turning their backs on Jesus (literally); Barth giving Tan daisies which symbolise purity and new beginnings; their fingers touching like The Creation of Adam - God gives Adam life in the same way that Barth gives Tanrak life, their baptism in the waterfall acting as a rebirth for them both - after so much heartache, they've finally found a home in each other; and finally the red apple - they are in their own Garden of Eden, secluded from the horrors of the world, and partaking in the ultimate symbol of giving in to temptation. I thought Barth's story was so powerful and gave us this episode's Deadly Sin - wrath. The irony of a man of God spending his life beating his defenceless wife, and berating and pummeling his teenage son for "embarrassing him in front of God" for simply being gay will not be lost on anyone. Also the punishment that Barth's mum received for protecting her son after suffering years of physical abuse clearly highlighted the injustice so prevalent in our male-centric society - a society, in part, founded on the beliefs espoused in the Bible. Just some of the many reasons why this show is so so important. This episode also showed Tan expressing his first real doubts about joining the priesthood. I thought Joe's comments about how hard the seminary was were really impactful and, as someone who Tan looks up to, his words held a lot of weight. When he said Tan should "listen to" and "follow his heart", it was such a powerful anti- religious statement. And finally, the lyrics of Heavenly summed everything up so perfectly:"If heaven exists, how beautiful could it be? I'm not even sure I still want it...If heaven doesn't have you, then I don't want to go there."This show is a masterpiece.

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