This review may contain spoilers
Wasted Potential
The premise of the show promises revenge, but instead the main vast majority of time spent is a show of fighting for succession in the company. Yoon Hyunwoo awakens as Jin Dojun and shortly after this, mentions that one of the family members killed him. So, it seemed that the direction of the show was going to be that he was going to find out who killed him, and take revenge on that person. Instead, what the vast majority of time spent was watching a succession war play out. Yoon Hyunwoo and Jin Dojun are *technically* the same person, however it never felt that way. Jin Dojun never felt like a poor character masquerading as a rich chaebol son trying to get his revenge. He just felt like a... rich chaebol son who wanted control of his family's company. This was especially highlighted, with how his relationship with his grandfather was portrayed. The relationship between these two was easily the best part of the show, but I just wish that they would have showed more of the emotional struggle Jin Dojun had.
For example:
-Wanting to take revenge on the Jin family vs. coming to actually care for his grandfather
-Having grown up with the identity of someone who was poor vs. straying away from that identity and becoming what he originally vowed to take down
-Using taking over Soonyang as a means for his revenge vs. actually wanting Soonyang for himself
I would have loved to see him struggle with these kinds of things! It would've made for a much more interesting character, and it would've have actually been believable that Yoon Hyunwoo and Jin Dojun were the same person.
Speaking of the last bullet point, I wasn't sure what Jin Dojun's motive was. It felt like Jin Dojun actually wanted control of Soonyang instead of it being a tool for his revenge. It never felt personal. Jin Dojun was just a rich chaebol heir who was playing games like the rest of them.
The ending was incredibly rushed, but I think it could've been perfect if they had actually built up to it. It didn't feel satisfying because Jin Dojun and Yoon Hyunwoo feel like completely different people. You spend the majority of the show with Jin Dojun instead of Yoon Hyunwoo, so going back to Yoon Hyunwoo is like getting the rug pulled out from underneath you. Jin Dojun was about to get Soonyang, which he had been working for the whole entire series! But then, Jin Dojun dies and we go back to Yoon Hyunwoo, who obviously can't take over Soonyang, so he just goes for his revenge instead? If the writers had actually made me believe that Jin Dojoon was just Yoon Hyunwoo the whole time and his goal was revenge then, yes going back to Yoon Hyunwoo would make sense. This could've actually felt satisfying, if they had actually built up to it and hinted at it though.
And then a big thing that bothered me was: why didn't Yoon Hyunwoo remember anything about Jin Dojun? It came as a "twist" at the end that Yoon Hyunwoo accidentally helped kill Jin Dojun, but it makes no sense that he would just forget about it. The only reason he forgot is *because plot*. If the writers wanted this to be the twist, they should have hinted at this more throughout the whole series, so that it actually made sense in the end.
The guy at the end calling Hyunwoo, Jin Dojun made no sense either? It doesn't explain if he actually knows that Yoon Hyunwoo and Jin Dojun are the same person, or if he was just crazy and just somehow randomly right? There was really no reason to put this in there. I also thought this guy was at the first car accident, and not the second one?
The prosecutor was so bland and boring. Her "romance" with Dojun was incredibly forced, and added absolutely nothing. Their relationship was completely overshadowed by the relationship Dojun had with his grandfather.
TL:DR;
This show had so much potential, and I wish they would have developed the character of Yoon Hyunwoo/Jin Dojun better, so that he would've had a satisfying character arc with a satisfying ending. This series would've been GREAT, had they been able to execute it correctly.
For example:
-Wanting to take revenge on the Jin family vs. coming to actually care for his grandfather
-Having grown up with the identity of someone who was poor vs. straying away from that identity and becoming what he originally vowed to take down
-Using taking over Soonyang as a means for his revenge vs. actually wanting Soonyang for himself
I would have loved to see him struggle with these kinds of things! It would've made for a much more interesting character, and it would've have actually been believable that Yoon Hyunwoo and Jin Dojun were the same person.
Speaking of the last bullet point, I wasn't sure what Jin Dojun's motive was. It felt like Jin Dojun actually wanted control of Soonyang instead of it being a tool for his revenge. It never felt personal. Jin Dojun was just a rich chaebol heir who was playing games like the rest of them.
The ending was incredibly rushed, but I think it could've been perfect if they had actually built up to it. It didn't feel satisfying because Jin Dojun and Yoon Hyunwoo feel like completely different people. You spend the majority of the show with Jin Dojun instead of Yoon Hyunwoo, so going back to Yoon Hyunwoo is like getting the rug pulled out from underneath you. Jin Dojun was about to get Soonyang, which he had been working for the whole entire series! But then, Jin Dojun dies and we go back to Yoon Hyunwoo, who obviously can't take over Soonyang, so he just goes for his revenge instead? If the writers had actually made me believe that Jin Dojoon was just Yoon Hyunwoo the whole time and his goal was revenge then, yes going back to Yoon Hyunwoo would make sense. This could've actually felt satisfying, if they had actually built up to it and hinted at it though.
And then a big thing that bothered me was: why didn't Yoon Hyunwoo remember anything about Jin Dojun? It came as a "twist" at the end that Yoon Hyunwoo accidentally helped kill Jin Dojun, but it makes no sense that he would just forget about it. The only reason he forgot is *because plot*. If the writers wanted this to be the twist, they should have hinted at this more throughout the whole series, so that it actually made sense in the end.
The guy at the end calling Hyunwoo, Jin Dojun made no sense either? It doesn't explain if he actually knows that Yoon Hyunwoo and Jin Dojun are the same person, or if he was just crazy and just somehow randomly right? There was really no reason to put this in there. I also thought this guy was at the first car accident, and not the second one?
The prosecutor was so bland and boring. Her "romance" with Dojun was incredibly forced, and added absolutely nothing. Their relationship was completely overshadowed by the relationship Dojun had with his grandfather.
TL:DR;
This show had so much potential, and I wish they would have developed the character of Yoon Hyunwoo/Jin Dojun better, so that he would've had a satisfying character arc with a satisfying ending. This series would've been GREAT, had they been able to execute it correctly.
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