1. I was actually a little nervous to re-watch this one. Since I obviously know how it ends this time around, I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy it as much, or that flaws might stand out more. Groundless fears. It’s still so good, mostly because the emotional pull is just as strong. I’m not blindsided by plot twists; instead, I’m getting excited (or distraught) in anticipation of them. (And maybe crying over the twins more now BECAUSE I know how it ends.)
2. Okay, one thing did stick out as a minor annoyance. Why does the camera shake so much?
3. There are some things I’ve forgotten in two years. It’s fun getting to those parts and actually being surprised and wondering, “Oh, wait, what happens next? What IS behind that door?” or “Hold on, who is that, and what are they doing?”

4. This was the first show I watched with Yeo Jin-gu, and I loved him. Then I watched Reunited Worlds. And then The Crowned Clown. (Which, don’t get me wrong, he was phenomenal in the dual role, especially as King Yi Heon. But TCC’s second half made the unfortunate and baffling decision to do its best to pretend Yi Heon hadn’t existed, and by the end I cared nothing for the clown Ha Seon.) It’s sad when a talented actor fades in my eyes because of a less-than-stellar character, but it happened. So watching Circle was also an attempt to redeem Yeo Jin-gu in my mind, and I’m happy to say it worked perfectly.
5. Professor/Minister Park Dong Geon. I spent several episodes wondering if I’d seen him in something else recently. (You know, when I wasn’t raging at 2037 him for being a lying liar.) Then I started thinking that his character reminds me a little of Haechi’s Wi Byung-joo. And then I realized: he IS Wi Byung-joo. Same actor. All I can say to that is: I don’t know anything about the guy in real life, but I double hate his face right now.
6. Lee Ho-soo. I liked him the first time through, and always believed he would come around to Team Good and become reluctant friends with Joon-hyuk. But this time I think I gained even more appreciation for him as a character. He truly has a will of his own, and does whatever he thinks is right – which isn’t always right. He gets in the way of both good guys and bad guys. He makes mistakes, learns from them, and – reluctantly – lets his worldview change when it has to, all without losing the essence of who he is.

7. “Hyung, I’m scared.” This line KILLED me the first time I watched, and it killed me again the second time, even though I knew it was coming. Woo-jin was so brave, and so clever, and so fiercely determined to protect the people he loved, but he was still just a kid. Just an ordinary person who got dragged into something far bigger and crueler than he could handle. In a way, he was the ultimate Noble Idiot, giving his very life to save his loved ones without letting them in on it. Except, he wasn’t an idiot. He took precautions. He made plans. He tried his best to fool Professor Park’s people and run away (and he almost succeeded). And he did save Bum-gyun. But it wasn’t enough, and they still killed him in the end and used him to develop the memory-erasing technology. Much as it breaks my heart, I appreciate a story that acknowledges that very often one person can’t save the world on their own, that our best sometimes isn’t enough. But there’s still hope because Woo-jin’s efforts to save everyone by himself failed, but the combined efforts of Woo-jin, Joon-hyuk, Jung-yeon, Min-young, Ho-soo, and the detectives took Human B down. And that might not have been possible if Woo-jin had let his fear stop him from putting his life on the line. My favorite kind of hero will always be one that is vulnerable enough to admit they’re scared to death of what they know they have to do, but brave enough to do it anyway, even if the best they can do in the end is to fail as a necessary step in the process of victory.
8. That said, I love the angle of a reunion-that’s-not-quite-a-reunion, and Woo-jin “surviving” despite dying. Obviously, there wasn’t time in two episodes to fully explore all of what that means, but I’m happy with how it played out for now. And by “happy” I mean I’ll be devastated if we never get Season 2: The Alien and the Clone. Or if we do, and it’s terrible.

9. Something I love about watching kdramas is that no show exists in a vacuum. My experience with a show is always colored by other shows and by interactions here on Dramabeans. It’s a lot of fun when everyone’s watching the same show together, while or after watching a different show together. At the time when Circle aired, another show I’d been hugely invested in was Rebel, and I wanted desperately to find some opportunity to make a joke about the mystery of “Which twin is Eorini – I mean, Joon-hyuk.” For some forgotten reason, I never found the opportunity, but I never forgot it either, so I’m putting it here for the sake of finally having said it.

10. Section Chief Ko. (I was going to post a picture, but can’t figure out how…) Both times watching, I kept getting distracted trying to figure out who he was. And I’m not talking about the character here, even though we know pretty much nothing about him, either. The actor looks to me like a mix between Seo Ji-hoon and Jung Il-woo, but I couldn’t seem to find his name anywhere. Then I watched to the end of the final credits and there’s a whole sequence where they go through each major character (and some minor ones) with their picture, character’s name, and actor’s name. This was still bothering me after two years, and it’s been right there the entire time. *facepalm* One last mystery, solved! (And it turns out he’s Eopsan! Another Rebel connection!)

11. Another thing I never got around to writing: At the end of 2017 I wanted to write my review of the year’s dramas by assigning each one a song from the EveryDay6 Project. I didn’t finish my list and never started writing the review, but the song I chose for Circle was “I’ll Remember.” I think it perfectly captures the sentiment of memories being the most important thing in keeping someone alive, as well as both brothers’ desperation to hold onto each other, even when Woo-jin’s memories are literally the only thing left for Bum-gyun/Joon-hyuk.
12. I don’t really have a 12th point, but there are 12 episodes, so I couldn’t end the list at 11. If you read all of this, thanks! I’m not sure why it all poured out of me upon the second watch instead of the first, but once I got started thinking, I couldn’t stop until I’d gotten it all out of my system.