The Penthouse is a perfect example of my taste. I like thrillers, romance, and drama. This has all three and does it even better than some dramas that are dedicated to that genre. (Un)shamefully, I have to admit that I binged all 21 1-hour episodes in 2 and a half days.

Firstly, let's dive into the story. The only complaint I have is that it has way too many flashbacks. The audience are not oblivious; we can predict some of it. The story is so well written. Kim Soon Ok did a perfect job with the script! The pieces don't make sense at first, confusing the audience, but as time goes on, more pieces will get revealed.

Now, let's talk about the cast and acting. Just want to give a props to the staff for a casting well done!
We'll start with the character Shim Soo Ryun~ quiet, but deadly- caring, but revengeful. There is no better suit for this role than Lee Ji Ah. After watching it all, I don't think I could imagine another actress playing that role.
Then we have Cheon Seo Jin~ covetous and goal-oriented. Nothing can stop her. Not going to lie, at one point in time, I actually admired her. Same situation as the other mentioned character. Kim So Yeon fits the role to the tea. Also, her hoarse screams and rapid-fire rants complete the table!
Next, we have Oh Yoon Hee. I HATED THIS CHARACTER. I spent about 10 minutes ranting to my laptop about why the writers would have the audience see her point of view when she was just going to be evil. Same as the above~ Eugene was a great actress! She definitely made me cry (more than thrice)!
Moving on to Joo Dan Tae. He's just a perfect villain. The character was well developed. That's all there is to it. If I see Uhm Ki Joon act in another drama as the innocent protagonist, I'll probably throw hands. There is no way I can unsee his villainous acting here.
Ooooh--Dr. Ha. This is the one which lost the 0.5 in the acting and cast category. Character? Not badly developed. Don't know if it's the acting or that's just his character, but this guy really gets on my nerves. He literally argues like a two year-old. You know when you watch someone act and you can tell it's acting-- that's BAD acting. He literally sticks his frickin chin out when he's mad. He literally only knows how to communicated by smashing glass (even though all the characters have a fair amount of smashing of glass). Throughout the entire drama, I think the only facial expressions I've seen or at least, remembered, from him is "anger with the chin out."
As for Kang Ma Ri, Lee Gyu Jin and Go Sang Ah, I felt like they fit the role. Not as much as the previous characters other than Dr. Ha, but I mean, they're not really schemers. The comedic relief definitely did it's job. Same goes for the other "suck-ups" to the rich people. They weren't exceptional in both character and acting but not half bad. The maid, Yang Mi Ok/Kim Ro Sa, has pretty good acting as well. It lets the audience know that she is faking it, but it is still believable that the characters in the drama fell for it.
Last but not least, Anna. The staff really played with me. During the first two episodes, I literally thought that Bae Ro Na and Anna were the same person. They looked wayyyy too alike. Her acting was on point though. The staff also played with my damned heart! You can't just build up a character and then make her die. I literally sobbed when she died.
Finally for the cast, let's talk about the kids. Kim Young Dae is on a roll these days. I'm watching one of his other dramas (Cheat on Me if You Can) and have watched many others. Ok>ok. Let's just say: I FELL FOR HIM TT! It literally took me the first 8 episodes to get over Joo Seok Hoon and see him as a bully and then what does he backstab me with: *I like Ro Na*. Ugh. Seok Kyung? Han Ji Hyun was perfect for the role. Ha Eun Byul? Same. She definitely embodied the mental illness that they diagnosed her with. Yoo Jenny? This one was ok. It's just another one of those stuck-up girls. Lee Minhyuk? The character was just a side one. But, damn, this guy screams *third gen idol acting*. I just knew from his visuals that he was an idol! Finally, Bae Ro Na. Um God, how is Kim Hyun Soo 20 years old!?? Putting that aside, her acting was super impressive and stood out to me among all the "children."

Lastly, the music was meh. I just kept hearing the same classical piece again. I gave it a particularly high score just because this drama is very music-oriented, so it made me pay more attention. On a good note, I wasn't fond of this type of music, but this drama definitely changed my mind.

Overall, I HIGHLY RECCOMEND this drama.