Edit: wow apparently the WEBTOON is very different from the show. Damn you director. This is why you never trust these people to adapt an original work.



I went into part 1 with no expectations and was very pleasantly surprised with how good it was. I had high expectations for the second part but it was unfortunately complete and utter trash.

There is an underlying message the author tries to convey with the story. Not going into too much detail, the author tries to make the CSAT and the Korean education system a big focus, along with student mental health issues, but fails miserably. The author attempts to use the spheres and military as a metaphorical device to symbolize the messed up education system, with the students and even parents agreeing for them to become reserve forces just for extra points, and also with how students and kids are greatly influenced and indoctrinated by adults. I feel the show does a great job exploring the issues with how students and minors are basically powerless against adults and the government, and the use of the military was great in that respect. However, the theme about the education system was done very poorly.

The CSAT is a life-changing/career altering test that Koreans take extremely seriously, and it is not unrealistic that it takes a large part in the students' decision making. However, this plot point should've ended by the first few episodes, or it should have been handled in a more realistic way. Instead, in first part even I as a Korean, and many others seem to forget about the whole CSAT plot by the first few episodes. The author probably knew this and they try extremely hard to make the underlying themes more evident in the second part by taking away all of what made part one good.

First, no more spheres. They are basically not a threat and nearly completely irrelevant to the plot in part two. The tone shift amplifies this as the whole situation does not seem dire anymore. The tone shift just feels so off, and makes the second part seem like some teen drama. Also, the whole spheres having intelligence thing and them adapting to the cold feels like such wasted potential.

Second, the plot holes are horrendous. What happened to the second in command under Commander Lee? And the three students they saved? I doubt Won Bin would have just left the students to survive on their own. Also at the end when they defeat the spheres, I highly doubt the world, much less South Korea would have recovered that fast if at all. The sphere attack realistically would have been a catastrophic event for the world economy, and would have caused more than an economic collapse especially for South Korea. I mean, they lost more than half of the entire military, and who knows how much population was lost. Thinking logically, how could anyone expect to even be able to go to university or even find a job after? The entire world would fall into the greatest recession in history, people would be burning money for heat. Also, they don't even show us if Chiyeol and the others parents and family are alive. Or what happened to the four survivors, or even if Chiyeol and Nara got together, kept in touch, etc.

Third, the whole Yeongsoo plot. Even as a Korean who grew up in poverty and whose parents/grandparents lived in extreme poverty (much worse than whatever Yeongsoo was complaining about), I can not sympathize with this guy one bit. Sure, perhaps we are not supposed to sympathize with him. But obviously, he is used as a plot device to criticize the Korean education system, poverty, and mental health issues. Still, what they did with him just seems so forced and feels so off. Instead of his actions being even a tiny bit understandable, he just seems like a psychopath. In this case, using him fails to criticize the education system or the poverty in Korea, or even the mental health issues, since he just seems like he is the way he is due to his personality and mindset rather than a result of a cumulation of all these issues in Korea. Like damn, I know poverty is hard and I also suffered with extreme mental health, but not for one second would I even think of SAing someone else or have violent tendencies towards another. He honestly just seems weak to me, and that undermines the message of the story. His breakdown is not a message about student mental health, not when its done this poorly.

I get the author likely meant well with trying to convey these messages, and perhaps did not mean for the spheres to be the main focus for the story, but a poorly written story is a poorly written story. If you want to convey a message, or criticize/discuss societal issues, you at least have to have a decent story and plot to back it up. I am not sure if the webtoon is exactly the same as the show, but the second part is a such a waste of great potential from the build up of part one.

(sorry for the mess of a review, it is my first and likely last, i just wanted to vent about my disappointment and share some thoughts as a korean fluent in english who watched the show)