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My overall rating is based on both seasons 1 & 2. Season 1 is 9/10, whereas season 2 is 6/10. Why the difference?

Season 1 was riveting TV, which focused on the unit level of abuse in the ROK military, and there was excellent chemistry between the DP leads.

Season 2 was more focused on the upper-level command responsibilities/cover-up for the atrocities seen at the until level. I do appreciate the writers not rehashing stories similar to Season 1, but the Season 2 storyline just wasn't as riveting as the first season. Also, in Season 2 there was little to no chemistry between the DP leads, because they were rarely in scenes together.

But Season 2 is a decent bookend to the whole storyline, so would recommend watching both seasons to get the complete picture of the ROK military issues from the unit level up to the upper-level command.

I was hesitant to watch VIP, but I like realistic K-Dramas and VIP was a pleasant surprise. I really appreciated the writer's portraying the main characters in a realistic way. Relationships are complex, and the break-ups of them, are rarely black & white. There is usually a lot of grey zones in culpability and the show did an excellent job of showing this. As much as some people like their dramas to have good, bad & evil characters when breakups are concerned, in most cases this isn't reality. The sub-stories were also interesting and realistically portrayed, but what kept me watching was the main story.

And the writer's knocked it out of the park with a superb ending. It was true to the story & the characters. It was the best you could hope for after all the drama they went through together. They are not bad people. Just a loving couple that went through a traumatic event that caused a crack in their marriage and had difficulty overcoming the increasing size of that crack due to infidelity & communication issues. I felt at the end that if this were a real couple, as time healed the pain of their past, they could be true friends.

IMO, this is the 2nd best episode behind episode 1 in the first season. It's not for the squeamish, but it's well acted (Nanno is at her wicked best), with an intense story & ominous music enhancing the dread throughout the episode. You can just sense from the beginning that this episode is going to get evil................and boy, it does.

An excellent drama where the main theme is revenge & I'm a big fan of Korean revenge films. Having lived in South Korea for a year, I know Koreans are a proud nation, and knowing their history it's understandable. Korean actors never seem to "phone in" their performances; they give it 110%, no matter the importance of their role.

This is my third K-drama & I've noticed writers like to add a "twist" to the story to throw off viewers. I do understand some suspension of belief must be held in this fictional world, but I do like intelligent writing that does not insult the viewer. And most of the writing in this drama is intelligent, but I couldn't fathom how the male lead (Park Saeroyi) fell in love with his manager (Jo Yi Seo). First, she's much younger. Second, she's plain looking even with tons of make-up. Finally, and most importantly, she doesn't have a winning personality that would enhance for her looks; she's actually a complete brat. I love how in the final episode, in a tense life or death situation, she runs away like a coward brat and leaves Chairman Yang's youngest son to fend for himself. He had deep feelings about her during the whole series, unlike her boss (Park Saeroyi), who showed NO like/love interest in her until near the end of the series.

To be fair, Park Saeroyi is somewhat of one note (but extremely focused), "no-game" dude who still hadn't kissed a girl by 34 years old.........weak! But throughout most of the series it's obvious who he has deep feelings for......his middle school crush (Oh Soo Ah). He even stated in episode 2 he likes her because she's "very pretty". And she is fine. So fine, that him and the Chairman Jang's oldest, rich son have the hots for her. But she is more than just a pretty face. She's intelligent, successful & driven and deeply cares about Park Saeroyi. Yes, she is a little shallow, but given her characters background it is somewhat understandable. She was abandoned by her mother to an orphanage. Nobody loved her, and she despised any pity thrown her way. Considering this scarred background, she turned out well. And she is NOT an irritating brat. The Jo Yi Seo character comes across as a nutty stalker type that will profess her love for you for many years, and will kill your pets & slash your tires if you dare go for another woman.

The writers got too cute. They should have written the series as more of an obvious love match. Have Saeroyi & Oh Soo Ah be together at the end & have Jo Yi Seo slowly fall for the younger son of Chairman Yang. He was a good-looking kid & had positive traits. The reason his character changed and became more like his sinister, but smart, father was Jo Yi Seo drove him in that direction. Actually, I'm not sure what his character saw in the Jo Yi Seo character. But I guess you must put aside all realistic plotlines in the fiction world of K-drama.

Let me start by saying this is an excellent acted psychological drama/love story, with the main protagonists scarred by events or situations they have been in during their life. The main setting is a psychiatric hospital & I will not go into the main storyline details b/c that can be read in a synopsis.

I wanted to give this drama an 8 or 9/10, but there is one RIDICULOUS plot twist that I cannot forgive so I've only given it a 6/10.

*****SPOILER ALERT******

Okay, let us talk about the mom of the daughter still being alive. It really goes off the rails on this "twist" in Episode 14. In Episode 13, the mom was shown explicitly being thrown off a 2nd story balcony by her husband & directly landing on the side of her head on the below stairwell. She suffered SEVERE hemorrhaging that would have killed her; but let's say for "creative license" sakes she survived this event. She would have had a SEVERE traumatic brain injury & would be eating through a straw the rest of her life! But there is more. Her husband then throws her body that's inside a bag into a cold lake. So basically, she's now dead X 2.

But nope, she's been alive the last 20 yrs. & is now the head nurse at the psychiatric hospital! Say what?? It's explained that she looks nothing like her younger version b/c of plastic surgery; and by looking at the difference b/t the 2 mom actors, extensive/multiple plastic surgeries! I don't know how she found time to go to nursing school.

If that isn't enough bad writing, it's shows the mom/head nurse helping a patient kill himself that occurs in Episode 1. But there are surveillance cameras in his room. A detective with more than 1 brain cell could look at the surveillance camera to show her helping him commit suicide! But that would have been the end of this drama after 1 episode.

To me, this type of writing is an insult to the viewer. I understand in many dramas you must suspend belief to a point. But this "suspension" is Friday the 13th Jason type-suspension. And this is not a Friday the 13th type drama. Overall, it is a beautifully written drama showing how 2 scarred individuals fall in love while one grows a soul & the other finds life beyond helping others.

My recommendation is to watch this drama but have your favorite hard liquor of choice available in Episode 14..........it might make the ridiculous plot twist go down better.