I considered writing this review as soon as I finished it, the last episode was quite the finale leaving me on an adrenaline high. However I stopped to continue one of my other dramas and when I came back to review this I no longer felt I'd give it as high a rating. I find this drama to be well worth the watch especially for the finale that required the build up it received, however thinking back the build up left a sour taste in my mouth. Although I'd gladly rewatch the final 3 episodes, the rest of it was only worth one watch.

The major issue wasn't in the story, but the characters. Everyone in JungWoo's daily life outside of the goshiwon was infuriatingly plain and served the single purpose to push our main character mentally. His girlfriend was incredibly discouraging and trusting of strangers more than JungWoo, his senior from college only hired him to make him his junior again, and his coworker said the rudest things about JungWoo and treated him like crap for absolutely no reason. None of these characters seemed to have agency of their own and could be summarized by their actions towards JungWoo. His life outside the goshiwon took up almost a third of the show.

Later in the series they introduced 2 new characters to be friends with JungWoo. The first moved in across the hall and immediately took to JungWoo like a younger sibling, the second knew him in the military and, although bewildered by what JungWoo told him about the studio, rushed to the aid of his friend.
one was an incredibly satisfying addition, the other left me feeling cheated and empty.

On the flip side they did a really good job of setting up each character at the Goshiwon, even the sane ones.