This is a great coming of age story about a female fencing student who aims for Olympic glory while navigating peer pressure amidst the backdrop of a society dealing with financial and political upheaval. This well written and acted TV show was cruising for gold, but blew the dismount in spectacular fashion. Still, for Kdrama fans, this is must-see TV. To paraphrase TS Eliot, sometimes it's the journey, not the destination, that matters most.

Spoiler alert

Problems. The main characters, fencer Na Hee-do and Baek Yi-jin (rich boy/poor boy/ then rich boy again) have great chemistry and their characters are well-developed. But both turned dull and listless when the story line moved to the 9/11 terrorist attack and beyond. Further, the concluding story arcs of the delightful secondary characters were trite to the point of embarrassment. For instance, in the last few minutes of the show we learn that Yin jin's brother becomes his chauffeur. Really? What's worse, it's implied that assertive female class president Ji Seung-wan might hit on him? What's that about? The show just rushed the ending, diminishing its characters.