Drama Digest
Ji Eun comes from the most privileged class in South Korea and has almost everything at her disposal. When she meets Se Hoon, a man from a lower middle-class family, he does not give her any special treatment. Over time, Ji Eun falls in love with Se Hoon, and they finally get married, much to the opposition of Ji Eun’s family. However, recurring conflicts between the two sour their marriage, and they decide to go their separate ways.
A decade later, a reversal of fate occurs, and now Se Hoon is a powerful man who buys Ji Eun’s house seeking revenge. However, standing in front of her as Willian Jang, he realizes that he wants to help her. Things are standing in the way, though. Se Hoon/Willian is now in a serious relationship with Mi Ran, and Ji Eun has Jung Min as her new rock. This is the 2020 retelling of the intertwined tale of the lives of four individuals.
The Feel-Good Part
The female protagonist and the second male lead deliver performances that salvage the show to a great extent. Considering the rampage that went on during the show’s development, they use all the material available to them and go above and beyond to make their characters palatable. The OSTs are brilliant and are easily the best products of the show. While the writing mainly falters for the entire course of the show, it has its bright spots. The female lead’s choices are understandable and human, although they make her appear unlikeable. However, if she were written better and more empathetically, many of her choices would make more sense.
The Disappointing Factor
The writers were unclear about how to proceed with the show, and it becomes evident over the course of time. The storyline is messy, the characters are inconsistent, and everything overlaps and interweaves so much that the show seems nonsensical at points. The main lead is written out and the second lead takes his place, but the problem is that it is evident that that was not intended from the beginning. It all seems needlessly complicated and confusing at the same time. The female lead’s choices are understandable but she is written so unprofessionally that her likeability is minimized, and it becomes difficult to sympathize with her. While the actors try to salvage the drama, they cannot do much when the script they have been provided with makes little to no sense as the show progresses.
In-Depth Analysis
This show just falls apart as it progresses. One hundred twenty episodes are too long for any show, but this one is just unnecessary. It just drags on and on without making coherent points and the inconsistency is too much to remain interested in it. The actors do try to save it, but it falls flat on its face. The drama’s premise was so interesting, and had so much potential, but it was all squandered away in churning out this nonsensical mess. The ending is still satisfactory, though. If the female lead were written with more care, many of her actions would be easily seen as justifiable. In trying to bring out the characters’ humanity, the show just completely loses track of what it set out to achieve.
Star Power
Hong Soo Ha and Seo Ha Joon are the saving graces of this drama. Without them, this show would have been completely insufferable. They mould themselves so well to fit into their roles that the bad writing is not enough to stop them from getting their flowers for the commendable performances that they put up.
Overall Opinion
This kdrama is an absolute mess, and if you want to explore a similar premise, you should watch the original.
