This is a story about what happens when people are subjected to poverty and abuse from a young age. When someone grows up in desperate circumstances they'll do anything to survive even if it means exploiting the people around them. But sometimes a brief taste of kindness and warmth can help someone turn their life around.

This drama was so much sadder than I expected. Even though the story had Kdrama fantasy elements like poor leads with an endless wardrobe of trendy coats and a 2ML who's a rich fund manager, for the most part the story reflects gritty reality. All of Oh Joon's setbacks, his relationships with his sister and his best friend, even the filming locations in poor parts of Seoul, everything added up to a story that was often heartbreaking. Yes, it has sweet and funny moments, especially at the beginning, but the story turns darker and darker as the drama progresses.

I watched Robber for Jang Hyuk and as usual he delivered an amazing performance. Oh Joon is a complex character: he starts out as a con man who is ruthless and selfish as he takes advantage of vulnerable women for money to pay off his enormous debts. He also steals money from his best friend and seemingly neglects his only sister (though all is not what it seems at first). But inside him is a tiny core of decency that grows when he meets Jin Dal Rae and experiences a loving family and warm home for the first time.

Oh Joon's journey to becoming a better person is not easy and he often backslides into his old habits. He's also subjected to gut wrenching violence at the hands of loan sharks, something that becomes very important to the story late in the drama. But he desperately wants to escape the endless circle of lies and violence and slowly manages to turn his life around. Jang Hyuk is the perfect person to portray Oh Joon because he has the ability to show complex and even contradictory emotions through his eyes and how he stands and walks. The way he slumps against a wall, staggers down a bleak alley or hangs his head with shame all make you feel enormous empathy for this deeply flawed character.

Most of the cast is very strong. Some standouts are Hong Kyung In as Mandoo, Oh Joon's best friend, Ma Dong Seok as Jong Guk, a loan shark enforcer who hates that he harms people for a living, and Kim Hae Sook as Dal Rae's mother in law Soon Sum.

Unfortunately I didn't like the writing or the acting for the female lead. Jin Dal Rae comes across as a manic pixie dream girl who seems to inhabit a different reality than the gritty and bleak world inhabited by Oh Joon. It's not helped by Lee Da Hae's acting. She's very pretty but not capable of keeping up with Jang Hyuk. It often felt like he was hard carrying their scenes together and scenes that should've made me cry left me feeling not much of anything because she was so blank. I think if the FL had been better cast this drama could've been a memorable classic instead of an obscure drama most people haven't heard of.

The 2ML is a waste of time and I had zero investment in his story. The actor was fine, it was a problem with the writing.

This drama has a bittersweet ending that could even be called tragic depending on whether you're glass half full or glass half empty kind of person. I thought it was a very fitting end to the story but it definitely left me feeling sad for Oh Joon. If you've seen dramas like Scent of a Woman or Marriage Contract you'll understand the kind of ending you're in for.

In terms of rating the drama, I'd give Jang Hyuk a 10, the supporting cast a 9, the directing an 8, the writing a 7 and the Fl a 4.5 at best.