This review may contain spoilers
Be prepared for the essay that's about to become my review.
First of all, this drama is amazing. I know it isn't popular (how I don't know), but it is truly a gem, and I recommend all to watch it. This drama is extremely well thought out, and I don't know if I've ever watched a drama where the plot, characters, acting, just everything tbh, was super thought out.
Characters:
Woo Jin played by Yeo Jin Goo: That's right, I'm even going to mention who played who in this drama, because they were all that good, and deserve as much recognition as they can get, especially this guy. Before I watched Circle, I had only seen Jin Goo in Moon Embraces the Sun. But in that role he played the child story, and I was 13 when I watched that, so my memory is fuzzy, but I remember he did well. Watching Jin Goo in Circle, I thought I was watching acting art. I have never ever felt that when watching a drama before. In fact he was so good, that when I was feeling withdrawals from Jin Goo one weekend I watched two of his movies (Shoot my Heart and Long Way Home) which he also did great in. Despite his greatness in all of those roles though, I'd say he's done his best here and improved a lot. I would consider him equal or better to more veteran actors, and he's only 19. But enough on Jin Goo, let's talk about Woo Jin. Woo Jin is a great character. He is someone you're always rooting for no matter what. As the drama goes on, you can feel his desperation to find his brother growing, and you truly feel everything he feels. He will break your heart in all the right ways, and end up being your favorite character. While he is very good, pure, loyal, kind, and all the right things, he still manages to feel extremely relatable and human. His character was one of my favorite things about this drama.
Jung Yeon played by Gong Seung Yeon: I am rarely impressed with actresses in kdramas. This one did fantastic though, I would legit follow her. She essentially played three differently personas, and did them all so well! Very versatile. I hope we get more female characters with depth and real stories (besides being in love) in the future. I really loved her character and story. She is also someone you can't help but feeling for. She plays an alien that learns to be human in child story, a cute college girl who is also going through a hard time in 2017, and a rebel in 2037. I really love her in all the roles, and she does them so well!
Bum Gyun played by Ahn Woo Yeon: I have seen Ahn Woo Yeon in Five Children and Strong Woman. Let's just say those dramas didn't properly use his talent. This guy did excellent playing Bum Gyun. He played the slightly crazed, obsessed, playful, determined older brother so well. Though he was given few scenes (since 2017 is all about finding him lol), the scenes he's in he does phenomenal in. I really enjoyed his character and his pursue of the truth really made me think.
Joon Hyuk played by Kim Kang Woo: Kim Kang Woo also did a great job in his role! He really brought depth and emotion to his character later on in the series, and had a really realistic way of acting :) I can't go too much into his character without spoilers, but let's just say he really grew on me. I didn't really care about his character at first, but as the drama continued on I grew more and more attached to his character. I also found him really relatable and loved his story!
Ho Soo played by Lee Ki Kwang: I would say Ki Kwang was the weakest actor in the series, his voice was a tad too dramatic at times, BUT he still did well and brought life to his character Ho Soo. Ho Soo's character was a real nice touch the story. I loved seeing him grow, and I found the story with his girlfriend truly touching. With his character they brought complicated issues to light, and it really gave impact to the story. Also he's like the cutest thing ever, oh my gosh this guy was adorable lol. I really enjoyed his character!
Plot:
Wow. I told a user on here that if they wrapped everything up I'd give it a 1000 stars, 1000 stars it is then, because they wrapped everything up quite nicely. I've seen 12 episode dramas before (Sassy Go Go and Solomon's Perjury) and while I loved both of those to pieces, the ending was a bit rushed. Not in this drama, everything flowed naturally and made perfect sense. I don't know if there was a single plot hole. That is quite a hard feat to pull, especially with such limited space, so kudos to the writers for being so smart in their writing! In this drama, the villains and main cast are EQUALLY smart, and it truly makes it quite the ride. The plot is unpredictable, full of twists, but somehow still makes sense in the end. It is a rare thing for a drama to make the viewers think and question themselves, without dumbing them down, which is exactly what this drama did. Fantastic writing, and I am so proud!
Ending: No spoilers! I overall liked the ending, it wasn't rushed and answered everything I needed to know. There was a small disagreement I had, but I'm still giving it 10 stars so it clearly wasn't that big of a deal. Ending was really well done and definitely worth the ride!
I would truly recommend this drama to everyone, it was very well done and you can tell the writers truly cared about what they were writing about! It honestly deserves more recognition, and its a shame that the ratings aren't higher. This drama has made it into my top 5, so watch it!
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