Gonna use this review to adress things on a trope regularly used in dramas and series that is starting to get on my nerves. I named it the unnecessary brother sacrifice.

I need to say i often side with the "bad guy". First, because antagonists or second lead characters are usually the most interesting ones in term of development and psychology. Then, because i relate a lot with their emotional struggles, backstory and complexed feelings.

I'll take Rang character as an example. He has everything that i love in a fiction: charisma, sarcasm, deep and difficult feelings and a solid traumatic backstory. He's a character "forced" to be the villain but actually so soft he would cry for an animal or would save anyone too weak to fight for himself . His anger towards human and feelings come from the fact he was wronged and failed by the closest persons he had.

On the contrary, we have tragic lead characters who only exist through unnecessary melodrama. they lack nuances and are quite bland to me. I don't really like romance and every time i kinda root for the other characters and doesn't care much on the main storyline. It's also a reason why i mainly watch thrillers or dramas with no relationships. Still, as fans root for the romance, writers have to make everything to please them.

The role of the bad guy becomes some kind of redemption journey where the final act of service will be his death (or close). I hate that Rang has to sacrifice himself for the main couple to have a happy ending.
It doesn't make sense at all and it is in my opinion super cruel. Why bother give him a family , salvation and peace just to make him face death ? I always suffer a lot with those closures because it doesn't serve their evolution, especially when the character starts to live his own life, free from traumatic bounds.

I also find lead characters (not only in this drama) super self centred when it comes to their lovestory. They don't care much about other people life's and feelings. Here, Yeon expected Rang to be his "final weapon" to serve the purpose of his live story. I feel like the male lead often uses the love and dependency of the other character for his own sake. (Another example is in my Dearest)

And you'll tell me yes but he made mistakes, this way he can repair it. But i disagree. I think they bare and suffered enough. And i'd rather have a tragic sad ending for the couple than another sacrifice that the lead won't bother to stop. Why no one tries to bring him back ? Why writers consider the story ends once the lovers have reunited? I hate this one side thing so much.