physics223
Excellent, atypical revenge thriller
Song Joong-ki tends to choose his projects wisely, and Reborn Rich is no exception. The series was adapted from the webnovel Chaebol's Youngest Son and is a revenge thriller. What makes it unique is the time loops that involve the main character, which serves for dynamic storytelling.
The first episode begins with a loyal employee, Hyeon Woo, who was recently promoted to a Senior Finance Manager in his firm, Soonyang. Later on, however, on his way back from withdrawing the slush fund of Soonyang, he gets betrayed and is shot in the head.
He ends up living the life of a young Jin Do-jun, who is the youngest grandson of the Soonyang conglomerate, and with his historical knowledge eventually gains enough money for himself to compete with his grandfather.
Before I continue further, the hallmark of this series is the adversarial and complicated relationship between Do-jun and Chairman Jin Yang Cheol (excellently portrayed by Lee Sung-min). Do-jun starts off trying to one-up his grandfather in acquiring Soonyang shares, but eventually their relationship evolves into a begrudging respect, and ultimately, a filial love.
Chairman Jin is a complicated man who loves his business above all, which leads to his children competing to be the next chairperson of Soonyang. Despite many traps and obstacles, the viewer sees Do-jun slowly ascend through Soonyang ranks while also putting the other cutthroats in their place.
Part of what makes the series interesting is the excellent portrayal of an INTJ hero by Song Joong-ki. Armed with a knowledge of history, he uses events and trends to earn even more money so that he could stand to fight for Soonyang's succession. His ability to look into potentialities and transform them into entelechies is a joy to watch. To see Lee Sung-min and Song Joong-ki devour scenes is also a wonderful treat for K-drama viewers.
Executing a series which is a closed time loop is difficult. Many media often resolve this by a restart, which means that a day is experienced over and over again until something is unlocked. Reborn Rich provides a different alternative resolution, which is also quite satisfying.
Without going into spoilers, the writing of the series is tight. It flows like one long movie, because Do-jun has to deal with problems that come up every time he becomes successful. Despite the internecine bloodbath, however, the viewer can't help but root for Do-jun as he tries to right the sinking ship of Soonyang.
Until the ending, it is impressive how the series addressed the closed time loop. Not only is the complex dynamic between Jin Yang Cheol and Do-jun a treat, the friendship between Oh Se-hyun and Do-jun is also enjoyable. If there's a weakness in the series, it has to be the romance between Min-yeong and Do-jun, as that was often shafted to the side. However, the denouement made it so, with good reason. The series comes full circle, and the series ending is, while a bit underwhelming, quite satisfying.
This is definitely one of the best, if not the best series of 2022.
The first episode begins with a loyal employee, Hyeon Woo, who was recently promoted to a Senior Finance Manager in his firm, Soonyang. Later on, however, on his way back from withdrawing the slush fund of Soonyang, he gets betrayed and is shot in the head.
He ends up living the life of a young Jin Do-jun, who is the youngest grandson of the Soonyang conglomerate, and with his historical knowledge eventually gains enough money for himself to compete with his grandfather.
Before I continue further, the hallmark of this series is the adversarial and complicated relationship between Do-jun and Chairman Jin Yang Cheol (excellently portrayed by Lee Sung-min). Do-jun starts off trying to one-up his grandfather in acquiring Soonyang shares, but eventually their relationship evolves into a begrudging respect, and ultimately, a filial love.
Chairman Jin is a complicated man who loves his business above all, which leads to his children competing to be the next chairperson of Soonyang. Despite many traps and obstacles, the viewer sees Do-jun slowly ascend through Soonyang ranks while also putting the other cutthroats in their place.
Part of what makes the series interesting is the excellent portrayal of an INTJ hero by Song Joong-ki. Armed with a knowledge of history, he uses events and trends to earn even more money so that he could stand to fight for Soonyang's succession. His ability to look into potentialities and transform them into entelechies is a joy to watch. To see Lee Sung-min and Song Joong-ki devour scenes is also a wonderful treat for K-drama viewers.
Executing a series which is a closed time loop is difficult. Many media often resolve this by a restart, which means that a day is experienced over and over again until something is unlocked. Reborn Rich provides a different alternative resolution, which is also quite satisfying.
Without going into spoilers, the writing of the series is tight. It flows like one long movie, because Do-jun has to deal with problems that come up every time he becomes successful. Despite the internecine bloodbath, however, the viewer can't help but root for Do-jun as he tries to right the sinking ship of Soonyang.
Until the ending, it is impressive how the series addressed the closed time loop. Not only is the complex dynamic between Jin Yang Cheol and Do-jun a treat, the friendship between Oh Se-hyun and Do-jun is also enjoyable. If there's a weakness in the series, it has to be the romance between Min-yeong and Do-jun, as that was often shafted to the side. However, the denouement made it so, with good reason. The series comes full circle, and the series ending is, while a bit underwhelming, quite satisfying.
This is definitely one of the best, if not the best series of 2022.
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