Mickey
Reborn or repent rich
What I thought would be a typical revenge story with a fantasy twist turned out much more - explaining in detail the complexity of human greed and how it can affect things for better or for worse.
The 1st episode explores the life of a loyal servant of the Soonyang corporation, by the name of Yoon Hyeon-woo, and up to what extent can he extend his loyalty to the corporation. This episode honestly did not made a "splash" for me, even its ending where he "transported" back in time as Jin Do-joon. In fact, there was this brewing bias inside me thinking this kdrama may be not for me, yet at the same time, I also thought "why not?" and just continued to watch the succeeding episodes just for fun.
Starting with episode 2 where in Do-joon (with the mind of Hyeon-woo) would now be able to revenge for his untimely death in the present timeline, it was already obvious how the plot would progress and where does it head to. All of the actions he has done to make the Soonyang empire crumble into pieces although with the expected setbacks but still would be successful due to his meticulous planning with the help of Mason Oh of Miracle Investment, were already predictable yet still thrilling to watch and made my heart pound for a bit. Honestly, I was confused on the financial games and chaebol schemes but was still entertaining to see that he was now slowly achieving his revenge. I thought this kdrama would plateau by episode 10 or 11, with his "inevitable" succession as the new chairman of Soonyang - and in that way, would now be able to achieve his revenge, but then again, I was wrong (and gladly).
It was episode 11 (especially its ending) and the next episodes (up to 15) where the epitome of this kdrama is. It was in this episode where Do-joon/Hyeon-woo's humanity really showed. His relationship with his grandfather, really is the highlight of this show. I would not be exploring details about their "duo" to make this review spoiler-less, but the tough love Do-joon's grandfather gave to him from the preceeding episodes could've made him more focused to do his revenge up to the genuine care Do-joon have for him especially in this part, showcased another side of Do-joon that even greed could not interfere. After all, it was not the grandfather who instigated Hyeon-woo's murder, one could say, yet it is important to know that the Jin Yang-cheol is Soonyang, and Soonyang is him, as what he strongly said even in the peak of his weakness.
Forward to the penultimate episode (its ending) was epic. The "truck of doom" trope of kdramas for this show was already plenty, but this show really leveled up this specific trope, in which I would like to upgrade it to "the sandwich truck of death". I actually gasped at the end of episode, anxiously waiting for the last episode.
After watching the last episode, I mumbled to myself "was that it?", feeling disbelief with what I just watched. I immediately looked for reviews and comments regarding the finale, and was not surprised to see many negative reviews about the ending, with some outright saying the overall show is bad. I actually agree with the comments for the most part, especially with its build-up but just culminating to the rushed hearing part, the unrealistic smoking gun evidence, and the mastermind facing no consequences with what he did (well, I now understand why Seong-joon became crazy) just for the sake of plot convenience.
But with the buzz going on regarding the finale and the show as a whole, I have come up with a different perspective with regard to this "messy" finale. Hyeon-woo, with him being reborn as the youngest heir of the company he spent 20 years being loyal to, now having the knowledge on what would happen in the future while he is on the past timeline, used his new identity to plan his revenge and eventually get said company away from those who instigated his murder from the present timeline, which he actually did. Also at the present timeline, he was now able to repent on his unjust deeds while working at Soonyang (although not properly executed and just plothole alert), and ultimately win at the end, but did he really repent? How about him being an accomplice to the crime that led to Do-joon's death? That's another topic that would deviate away from this review.
As a viewer, I know that the premise of this show is actually about Hyeon-woo and his revenge, thus being reborn as Do-joon. However, I was more invested with Do-joon and his relationship with his grandfather, Yang-cheol, which what was shown for the most part of this kdrama (episodes 2-15), and became its highlight. Him now coming back as Hyeon-woo, then repent(?) and would later get his revenge is the inevitable and logical solution to end a great kdrama, but with all the plot conveniences (the convenient recording from a flip phone in 2004 and evidences to implicit the corporate crimes) and messy execution just to arrive to the end, disappointment is an understatement.
P.S. Min-yeong (and the actress) was severely underutilized in this kdrama. Although I liked that the romance part was not much emphasized here, but her role as prosecutor could've been explored more. She was casted in a main role, but was instead given a supporting role.
The 1st episode explores the life of a loyal servant of the Soonyang corporation, by the name of Yoon Hyeon-woo, and up to what extent can he extend his loyalty to the corporation. This episode honestly did not made a "splash" for me, even its ending where he "transported" back in time as Jin Do-joon. In fact, there was this brewing bias inside me thinking this kdrama may be not for me, yet at the same time, I also thought "why not?" and just continued to watch the succeeding episodes just for fun.
Starting with episode 2 where in Do-joon (with the mind of Hyeon-woo) would now be able to revenge for his untimely death in the present timeline, it was already obvious how the plot would progress and where does it head to. All of the actions he has done to make the Soonyang empire crumble into pieces although with the expected setbacks but still would be successful due to his meticulous planning with the help of Mason Oh of Miracle Investment, were already predictable yet still thrilling to watch and made my heart pound for a bit. Honestly, I was confused on the financial games and chaebol schemes but was still entertaining to see that he was now slowly achieving his revenge. I thought this kdrama would plateau by episode 10 or 11, with his "inevitable" succession as the new chairman of Soonyang - and in that way, would now be able to achieve his revenge, but then again, I was wrong (and gladly).
It was episode 11 (especially its ending) and the next episodes (up to 15) where the epitome of this kdrama is. It was in this episode where Do-joon/Hyeon-woo's humanity really showed. His relationship with his grandfather, really is the highlight of this show. I would not be exploring details about their "duo" to make this review spoiler-less, but the tough love Do-joon's grandfather gave to him from the preceeding episodes could've made him more focused to do his revenge up to the genuine care Do-joon have for him especially in this part, showcased another side of Do-joon that even greed could not interfere. After all, it was not the grandfather who instigated Hyeon-woo's murder, one could say, yet it is important to know that the Jin Yang-cheol is Soonyang, and Soonyang is him, as what he strongly said even in the peak of his weakness.
Forward to the penultimate episode (its ending) was epic. The "truck of doom" trope of kdramas for this show was already plenty, but this show really leveled up this specific trope, in which I would like to upgrade it to "the sandwich truck of death". I actually gasped at the end of episode, anxiously waiting for the last episode.
After watching the last episode, I mumbled to myself "was that it?", feeling disbelief with what I just watched. I immediately looked for reviews and comments regarding the finale, and was not surprised to see many negative reviews about the ending, with some outright saying the overall show is bad. I actually agree with the comments for the most part, especially with its build-up but just culminating to the rushed hearing part, the unrealistic smoking gun evidence, and the mastermind facing no consequences with what he did (well, I now understand why Seong-joon became crazy) just for the sake of plot convenience.
But with the buzz going on regarding the finale and the show as a whole, I have come up with a different perspective with regard to this "messy" finale. Hyeon-woo, with him being reborn as the youngest heir of the company he spent 20 years being loyal to, now having the knowledge on what would happen in the future while he is on the past timeline, used his new identity to plan his revenge and eventually get said company away from those who instigated his murder from the present timeline, which he actually did. Also at the present timeline, he was now able to repent on his unjust deeds while working at Soonyang (although not properly executed and just plothole alert), and ultimately win at the end, but did he really repent? How about him being an accomplice to the crime that led to Do-joon's death? That's another topic that would deviate away from this review.
As a viewer, I know that the premise of this show is actually about Hyeon-woo and his revenge, thus being reborn as Do-joon. However, I was more invested with Do-joon and his relationship with his grandfather, Yang-cheol, which what was shown for the most part of this kdrama (episodes 2-15), and became its highlight. Him now coming back as Hyeon-woo, then repent(?) and would later get his revenge is the inevitable and logical solution to end a great kdrama, but with all the plot conveniences (the convenient recording from a flip phone in 2004 and evidences to implicit the corporate crimes) and messy execution just to arrive to the end, disappointment is an understatement.
P.S. Min-yeong (and the actress) was severely underutilized in this kdrama. Although I liked that the romance part was not much emphasized here, but her role as prosecutor could've been explored more. She was casted in a main role, but was instead given a supporting role.
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