I had to do a lot of math to arrive at my rating for this show. My overall impressions of the plot, script, cast, acting, filmography and soundtrack landed it an 8.5 for the baseline material, which was generally very solid and well executed.

However, I had to add 1 star purely for the absolutely riveting performances delivered by Ji ChanWook (K2) and Song YunAh (Choi YooJin), which propelled the story into a whole new stratosphere. Frankly, Song YunAh could have carried the entire film on her performance alone. I have never seen a more tragic and broken villain, or a more believable portrayal of so many raw and opposing simultaneous emotions (tears+laughter, defiance+betrayal, menace+fragility). I was completely floored!

I also added 0.5 stars for the excellent choreography of the fight scenes (which were plentiful). I would have added a whole star, but sadly, around half the scenes were shot in ways that made it hard to appreciate/follow the action. However, the ones that were clear were quite brilliant. The group shower fight scene in particular was outstanding and original, both in terms of concept and content (all those abs and biceps didn’t hurt either!). Watch it on half speed if you want to really appreciate it!

Unfortunately, I then had to turn around and deduct 0.5 stars for the awkwardness of the initial romance scenes (though the later scenes get better). It’s not that I found the chemistry to be as lacking as many viewers said. It was just poorly conveyed, IMO (both how it was written and edited). Additionally, Anna’s subtle character (who is supposed to be fragile, fearful, and comparatively helpless) just doesn’t match the feral intensity of the power-hungry characters around her (especially YooJin), which could in turn create the perception of a lackluster romantic dynamic.

Lastly, I had to also deduct 1 star for all the camera wobble (starting about 3/4 way through). Which is truly sad, because there were so many scenes which were beautifully acted, but it was hard to focus on the emotion coming through or the action taking place because the shaking screen messes with your eyes so much.

So in the end, I ended up back at an overall 8.5 stars (rounded up to 9), though there is 10 stars worth of great content, if you can get through the 7 star moments! Highly recommended!