yujacha

First things first: the actors deserve all the praise here, Jeon Do Yeon and Kim Go Eun were absolutely brilliant. I could go on about them, honestly, but I feel that there would be too many spoilers so I'll just say that I think that they're two of the most talented actors working in Korea right now. No slouches in the supporting cast either - there were plenty of great performances but I'll highlight scene stealer Kim Sun Young, who played my favorite supporting character.

In terms of the story, it's a gripping psychological thriller that builds tension very effectively and unravels in a satisfying way. The first half of the show is maybe more successful than the second half in that respect - the reveal of the biggest mystery was perhaps not as impactful as earlier ones but it fit kind of nicely with the overall themes so I didn't dislike it. There are plenty of other merits. Most significantly, it's a show that is blisteringly furious about well, a whole lot: the catastrophic, compounding failures of the justice system, the myriad of ways our society fails to protect victims of sexual violence, the dehumanization of prisoners, unethical journalism & the public's rabid thirst for salacious headlines over the truth - all that and more. But still there are moments of compassion, big and small: Lawyer Jung's trust, kindness & empathy shown by the prison warden and others that work within the system, loyalty & camaraderie even among the prisoners, Mo Eun (despite everything), Yun Su (despite everything), and that final scene.

Overall, probably one of my favourite shows this year and one I will definitely want to revisit!