First of all, I want to thank the writers of this show for giving us a strong female lead whose only trait is NOT that she`s strong and/or fueled by something overly moral and heroic. She just wants to make money to buy a building which she considers as her root. She`s cunning, savvy, not overly empathetic, fun, sarcastic and smart all the way through. And best of all, she`s morally GRAY!I cannot give enough praise to producers who decide to make their leads like this, whether they are male or female. We all make wrong decisions and are tempted by greed, pride or whatever. No one is exempt from this, yet dramas and entertainment seem to insist on convincing us that main characters are always either PERFECT in their beliefs and cannot waver for anything OR are cartoonishly evil, but they can change!!

That isn`t to say that our main lead doesn't go through a transformation of her own. She does, and though I wish that transformation was done a little bit more subtly, I`m grateful that her prideful stance doesn`t change at all and stays the backbone of her character throughout. There were moments when I caught myself rooting for her despite the fact that what she was doing wasn`t morally sound in my eyes. But I like that. I like questioning my own standards and ways and it`s great when a drama can get me to do that. You won`t always agree with Geum Ja, in fact you might outright hate her sometimes(mainly at the start of the show), but I love being challenged and faced with different molds of characters which I can analyze.
This isn`t to say that the male lead isn`t great too and his development comes in due time and it is every bit as beautiful as female lead`s. In fact I would say that his change went even smoother. Hee Jae was, like Geum Ja would call him, a rich brat who got where he is on the back of his family. And this is true at the start. He WAS that twerp running errands for corrupt rich without question, but what is more important, he felt entitled to impose his moral compass on someone who doesn't accept it. She more like flips that thing and destroys it, which is why he loses to her. Still, Hee Jae doesn`t feel like a bad guy. He`s more morally sound than Geum Ja but has the same objectives as her, which is why their change wouldn't be possible without each other and if that isn't the best kind of adult love, them I don`t know what is. He becomes patient, understanding and threads lightly, which after everything they`ve been through, is the best way.

Other characters are a delight as well and although he was a touch cartoonish, Song Pil-Joong was a good villain. Like, I was genuinely happy when Geum Ja erased that stupid smirk off his face.

Now, I do need to nitpick for a bit. I wish we saw just a bit more of an interaction between Geum Ja and Hee Jae. Like 10 minutes more would`ve been perfect since their comradeship and chemistry is very believable and it would`ve also cemented their relationship as something that`s gonna last. I do also have to complain about some missteps the writers made in regards to how Geum Ja distributes the vital information she receives as sometimes that`s exactly what gets them in trouble in the first place. I wish they didn`t make such a highly intelligent character go to the big bad wolf directly to spell out her plan so that he could, of course, stop her for plot convenience sake. Otherwise, the writing is quite clever in places, such as when Geum Ja tells her client:"Do you know why hyenas shit out white poop?Because they eat the bones of their pray, no matter if dead or alive. So watch me how I eat your mother."I loved it. She`s unapologetically savage and not what a badass female today should look like at all, by Hollywood`s standards. She`s older, dresses differently, curses and is overall the opposite of ruined bad woman ideal. And I love, love it.