The drama did a lot of things well, but failed in a similar number. The plots surrounding the daily work and the challenges of rangers, the team bonding - all done in an excellent manner that made me care about these characters and their struggles. On the other hand, the whole supernatural murder mystery was so mediocre and poorly written, I am surprised it came from the same author as Signal.

What was the problem with the mystery? Starting from the bad pacing - sometimes we had a whole episode focusing on the case, sometimes it was completely overshadowed by other issues and not addressed at all. It never felt like a big part of the overall plot, never made me curious what the truth is behind the past events, nor who the killer is. By the end, when the story was finally explained, all I could think was: ok. It’s not like with the revelation of the murderer everything in the plot clicked into the right place, all hints made a complete picture. We were told close to nothing during the show, so the end fell flat.

What I enjoyed about the drama were the characters. Seo Yi Kang is for sure one of the more exciting characters to watch. Her determination and skill set made me want to root for her. Not to mention her amazing chemistry with Kang Hyun Jo. Being on the subject of the characters, Hyun Jo was such a waste of Joo Ji Hoon’s talent. He barely felt like a supporting character.

That said, the show was carried on the backs of the supporting cast. For me, the fun part has been to watch the rangers just do their work, bicker and interact with each other as they perform their duties. What I find curious - with the majority of the rangers being male, the writer decided to kill the few female rangers we were able to see.

The performance that stood out the most to me was Oh Jung Se’s portrayal of Jung Goo Young. The only storyline that truly made me feel sad, the only character I wanted to see happy, the only part of the plot that I was able to connect to on a deeper level. Yes, I had fun watching others too, but the depth of emotions they were able to evoke in me never got even close to Oh Jung Se.

Production value was obviously high. The shots of the mountain were breathtaking and a true feast for the eyes. Some initial CGI and green screen were questionable, but the use of special effects was better executed later on. Is the show being beautiful enough, though? Technically speaking, I can search for YouTube videos of the mountains and get a similar experience.

Overall, I feel like Jirisan ended on a disappointing note. It did not mix well the realistic approach of the rangers’ experience with a serial killer on the loose supernatural plot. I don’t even want to think about Disney ending with everyone being cured of whatever problem they had.