I wasn`t surprised, first of all, to see that the writers responsible for this drama were the same ones who gave us "Pinocchio". Both of these dramas` strongest points is their writing.

To start off this review, I do have to admit my bias for Older Female/Younger Male trope, which has been one of my favorites for a long time now, and it is also the way I found out about this drama. I always like to start off my reviews by mentioning one drama`s pros, as I believe that each one, no matter how good or mediocre it is, has its pros and cons. For one, most of characters` emotions, thoughts and relationships are meticulously explored and tied, where you can thoroughly understand their motivations and the progression of feelings they experience. For example, I completely understand why and how Soo-ha would fall for Hye-sung. It has next to nothing to do with her appearance per se, but it is the kind of infatuation which you can hardly shake even well into your adulthood. She basically saved his life and honored his family while not really understanding the level of danger she`d be put in. That`s commendable and worthy of his affection. It`s not JUST an `idol` type of shallow obsession, it`s both gratefulness and love for someone who became your savior. I also like how, though disappointed at first, he still understood her personality instead of wallowing in self pity over a ruined facade. Another point goes for the characterization and development of Hye-sung. Now, this also partially has to do with my preference. Under almost each episode at the start of this drama, people were brutal towards her. "She`s unlikeable, downright insufferable, I hope we see her grow and change."Jang Hye-sung is the type of a female lead we still don`t see a lot in dramas, for whatever reason. She`s arrogant(and she stays this way for the remainder of the drama), proud, with very relatable goals in life in hindsight(comfortable living provided by money) and blunt to a fault, but it`s so refreshing. We do see her change however. But not in the over the top way, from bad to good, from independent to pathetically underpowered. Her arrogance, which has stemmed from her insecurities, acting like a front, instead started to stem from her ability and convictions. She did not stop being self-important and cocky, she just changed the source from which that power was coming. That`s how you understand your characters and their thoughts and develop them accordingly. Other characters receive similar treatment, especially the show`s antagonist Min Joon-gook. Up until episode 12, Min Joon-gook was one interesting and downright realistic take on a serial killer. He`s an everyman, someone you can easily employ, positive and helpful. We all like to imagine our serial killers as sociopathic, asocial and broody humans who are creepy and obviously on a bad path because that would make us feel more perceptive and safe, as we deem it easy to spot them. And admittedly, some are like that. However, the vast majority are more likely to be like Min Joon-gook. Even as a serial killer, he still makes mistakes and worries about how his plans are going to work out. That clumsiness , coupled with the eerie normalcy of his character, made him a worthy addition. Which is why I`m rather mad for what they did to him in later episodes. The OST is also very good, some bangers lead to the enhancement of the actual atmosphere instead of taking away from it.

As I`ve said, if the story is tight, the characters are fleshed out and worthy of praise and OST is great as well, then pray, what are the cons of this drama?

Well, I would be a hypocrite to give this drama an 8.5 or higher when, at the same time, it becomes lazy and employs one of the worst tropes known to the dramaworld, if not the worst. You know the one, for sure. FREAKING MEMORY LOSS. Thanks, I hate it. I hated it before, I hate it now and I`ll hate it forever until the end of time. Unless amnesia is an important plot point encompassing your story from the start until the end, don`t use it. Don`t use it to pad out the runtime of an otherwise satisfying show. It flushes your credibility down the toilet in an instant. And I hate how every drama that does this obviously does it for useless filler, shown through the fact that memories return after maximum two episodes. Another reason why I just couldn`t rate it any higher is briefly mentioned above, but I just hate how they turned Min Joon-gook`s motivation from going after Hye-sung because of her testimony, aptly showing how being consumed by hatred can make you rotten from the inside to it being a revenge against Soo-ha of all people, on the basis of his parents` past. This way they undermine most of the things he did to get to where he got. Him telling Soo-ha that he`s not his target and that he has no wish to hurt him, to him luring Soo-ha for a ham-fisted exposition on turning into a beast, it`s all diluted and unnecessary and obviously done for tacked on drama. Finally, I feel like, and this is just my gripe with both this drama and "Pinocchio" from a writing standpoint, they should`ve developed actual relationship between Soo-ha and Hye-sung more. As in, as a couple. It still felt like they weren`t even together when they`ve been in a relationship for a bit. It all stayed on the `playful-yet-innocent` level for characters whose feelings obviously warrant more.

Still, I like this drama a lot and fun fact: I actually watched "Kill Me, Heal Me" before this and had no idea that Lee Bo-young(Jang Hye-sung) and Ji Sung(Cha Do-hyun) were married!What a coincidence!