I started watching this drama with high expectations because of all the comments, hype, and high rating. That’s where I made the mistake; from the first episode, it started feeling unsatisfactory. But yet, it was intriguing and baiting enough to watch more.

The acting and cast was all very well chosen and performed. It’s the only thing I do not have any comments about. They executed their roles, expressions, behaviors in quite an admirable manner.

On the other side, the characteristics/personalities of the characters were also well initially built except for that of the FL, I can say. In general, for all the characters, I didn’t see development, they really were walking around in circles. I felt especially frustrated with the FL and how much she kept going back and forth about her trust and belief. It’s as if she is the one that doesn’t love her husband, and is ready to give him up for a given reason. They tried to push the idea that she only believes what she sees in front of her, but it doesn’t justify anything. She cannot just base her judgement on what she saw at that moment, and forget the past 10 years. Even if he had lied to her about his identity, she should know how he was at first, and all the change he went through. She must know that he was being himself and not hiding his “true nature”.

Another aspect that I found problematic is the plot. In fact, to me it was the most problematic. From small incidents, to the bigger events, everything felt awfully coincidental, exaggerated and too pushed. Not just that, but very predictable also (starting from around episode 6). I somehow was not surprised by anything. The writer just somehow cannot step out of (successful) examples in drama history, and they only make the incidents in an advantageous way, in a way to continue to the story as planned, not in a rational or consistent manner at all. It is a big jumble of all what makes a drama mainstream.

To give an example, the first episode, after the ML had the reporter locked up in the basement. The scene where our man was serving breakfast, setting up the table. The wife comes, she tries to help but no she isn’t good enough. She tries to take care of her daughter, but the daughter preferred the father. That was already a lot to see, but to make the thriller meter go up and worry us all, she very randomly and spontaneously chose to go downstairs to clean. She goes into the room with no tools, with no plan, just starts walking aimlessly and looking around until she finds the piece of ceramic from the broken pot. They did not even bring it up again later, so it was an unnecessary incident. She was soon taken up again by her husband because the fact is, the breakfast is served and the there are zero reasons why she should be cleaning the workshop at that moment.

That was what first scene that bothered me, and at the end, they couldn’t avoid the overly used trope of partial or selective memory loss. Once again, I find it very unnecessary. FL was looking for the same person, and even the ML himself said he wants to look for the same person again, so what are we left with? No change. He could’ve changed slightly anyways after all they went through, it would be more realistic after he felt the huge amount of emotions upon learning of her death. They built up so much, they made them go through cruel circumstances, so why delete it all? Why destroy that and make them begin again in an awkward state?

Along with these points, I felt like slow motion in the cinematography or the physical slow motion, long-ass stares and silent moments of pondering were excessive. Before anything slightly important happens, there is a lost minute (that I would skip skip skip). If all the reactions are unrealistic, the mind cannot accept it.

With all these thoughts, I believe my high expectations could have made the drama fall short, but the points I pointed out surely made it boring. It would’ve been more digestible to watch one episode a week.