I wouldn't have even known this had existed if not for MDL. That's how it popped up on my radar. You guys were seriously obsessed when it was airing. Lol. But despite the intense hype, the FMV's, and the fanfiction at the time, I didn't watch it. Granted, months later, I caved. This was one of the few times I decided to follow the masses like a fellow zombie to see what was so interesting.

Was it worth it?

Overall, yes.

I'm a sucker for anything with dystopia. This was at least in the realm of realistic dystopia, which I definitely enjoyed. The imagery was spectacular, the soundtrack was grand, the plot was unpredictable (thanks to one ML in particular), and the acting from the two ML's was no joke. Kang Yo Han as a character was just epic! Ji Sung (Kang Yo Han) nailed every scene he was in. He embodied the complex judge. And Park Jin Young did an excellent job too as Kim Ga On. He was just as good here as he was in He is Psychometric, if not better.

In my opinion, the first 10 episodes were enthralling perfection. Spot on. Highly recommend.

Now, after that was where the problems hit (though I did have some before but they were mostly ignorable, mostly). Not enough for me to hate the drama or want to drop it. But, enough to make me highly annoyed at times.

Rant incoming:

What was always annoying was the forced romance with the FL, Yoon Soo Hyun. That didn't work. At all. For one, we as the audience weren't given enough to care about her, or like her with Kim Ga On. And, for me, it was over the moment she admitted her true character. She admitted, aloud, that she confessed her feelings to Ga On every time he cried and was at his lowest and in emotional turmoil. What kind of fucked up person does that? Seriously, wtf? That is the definition of manipulative! And the drama frames it as romantic! Which it's NOT, in case you're wondering!

And, look, the chemistry just didn't work between him and her. She was like a sister, a mother, and a best friend rolled into one. Not a potential love interest. Sorry, not sorry.

Not only that, but him "falling for her" came out of nowhere, wasn't convincing at all, and felt like the writers just decided to shoe-horn in a Straight romance because "every K-Drama needs one."

When Soo Hyun died, I felt nothing. Because they didn't make me care about her.

Hot take, but not really:

This drama would have been bordering on fucking amazing if they had decided to buckle down and follow through on their Bromance-that-honestly-goes-beyond-Bromance and make Kang Yo Han and Kim Ga On be in a relationship. I said it. The chemistry between them was already absolute fire and you can't tell me some lines and scenes didn't make you think "Hmmm.... that seems questionably not straight..."

What also annoyed me to no end were the "fallouts" between Kim Ga On and Kang Yo Han. Whenever they "broke up" (for lack of a better phrase) it was because Kim Ga On was manipulated by someone/the writers decided to do a 180 on his character. I was yelling at my screen when he bought into things. And Kang Yo Han having no one to lean on anymore physically pained me. Pained me!

Lastly, the plot itself outside of the terrible romance and "break up's" got a bit too muddled and complicated during the last few episodes.

The acting and connection between the ML's definitely saved this drama when it got near the end. That, and the pure badassness of the first 10 episodes. Lol.

I may sound like I hate this drama. But, I really don't. I really enjoyed it. Or, at least, most of it. I seem that way because I'm pissed off that this could have been a 10/10 but wasn't.