"what do you MEAN they don't live happily ever after?!" if I don't pretend the last five minutes didn't happen I'm going to live out the next week in a lot of pain, so ¯_(ツ)_/¯ all in all: outstanding & worth the watch (especially for a korean crime drama, imo). I appreciated the darker, grittier tone---it was the first thing I fell for, but the actors put on superb performances. (LOVED the friendship between kyung ho & hyun min here. it can't complete w/ their at-odds characters from falling for innocence.)
the romance, however, is too underdeveloped. I personally would have liked to have seen it written differently or excluded altogether, but the script remains fairly solid otherwise. ...uh, with the exception that---at a certain point---events turn predicable. in that sense, heartless city would've benefited had it been more character-driven, although a fair amount of this (&plot) pushes the show forward. so, really, I think there's more to praise than complain about...
...except the emotional turmoil episode 20 placed on my heart. that hurts. that hurts a lot.
